Hearing the voice echo in his mind, Xiao Yan blinked slightly and nodded imperceptibly.
Instead of immediately picking up the black iron piece, Xiao Yan gently picked up the green monster core, which still had a bit of blood clinging to it. He smiled at the rather shifty-eyed mercenary behind the stall and asked, "Which magic beast's core is this?"
"Heheh, young master has excellent eyesight! This is the monster core of a Rank 1 Wood-Swallowing Fox. Among Rank 1 monster cores, it's considered top-grade. To get this core, our Sharp Fang Mercenary Group had to lie in ambush for three days and kill five Wood-Swallowing Foxes just to obtain this single one..." Seeing Xiao Yan's extraordinary attire, the mercenary immediately introduced it with great enthusiasm.
"If the young master has taken a liking to it, it will only cost five hundred gold coins. Heheh, to hunt down those Wood-Swallowing Foxes, several of our brothers sustained quite serious injuries..."
Xiao Yan wiped away the blood on the monster core with his finger and indeed found that it was not yet completely dry. Nodding slightly, he glanced at the two gold stars on the man's chest and said casually, "Too expensive. Normally, a Rank 1 monster core costs between four hundred and four hundred and fifty gold coins. Furthermore, although the Wood-Swallowing Fox is a magic beast, its attack power isn't high. Surely your squad members aren't so weak that they haven't even reached Dou Zhe?"
The mercenary's mouth twitched, and he let out a dry laugh. Clearly, he hadn't expected the youth in front of him to be so knowledgeable about the market and magic beasts. He quickly said, "Four hundred and seventy then, no less. After all, my brothers and I have to make a living..."
"Sigh..." As the mercenary sighed with a worried look, Xiao Yan leaned over and rummaged through the stall, picking up a random assortment of items, which just happened to include that strange black iron piece. Holding up the items in his hand, he said, "Four hundred and seventy, for all of this..."
Looking at the items in Xiao Yan's hand, the mercenary quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he was still getting the better end of the deal...
"Deal!"
Readily handing over the gold coins, Xiao Yan turned and walked away without another word...
"Heh, Xiao Yanzi, not bad. Even when buying something, you have to be so stingy." As he turned around, Yao Lao's teasing voice echoed in his mind.
"Those guys are all dishonest merchants. The moment they see you're interested in something, they'll immediately jack up the price. I don't want to waste my money..." Replying calmly in his mind, Xiao Yan ignored the eccentric old man in the ring. Together with Xun Er, he leisurely walked out of the marketplace and slowly made his way back to the clan...
After parting ways with Xun Er, Xiao Yan hurriedly ran back to his room and carefully locked the door...
Turning around, he saw Yao Lao, who had emerged at some unknown point. Xiao Yan took out the medicinal herbs and the monster core he had purchased and said with some urgency, "Everything we need is here. What do we do next?"
Yao Lao chuckled, his eyes casually sweeping over the ingredients on the table. Suddenly, he asked, "Don't you want to take a look at that black iron piece?"
"Eh?" Xiao Yan was taken aback. He immediately took out the black iron piece, examined it carefully from top to bottom, and frowned. "What is this thing used for?"
Yao Lao casually took the iron piece and smiled. "Inside it, there seems to be a Dou Technique. However, the creator of this iron piece was also an alchemist, so only someone with extraordinary soul perception can sense it."
"A Dou Technique?" Hearing this, Xiao Yan's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly asked, "What class is it?"
On the Dou Qi Continent, the importance of Dou Skills was no less than that of Dou Qi Qi Methods. A profound Dou Skill could allow a person to unleash a powerful force far exceeding their own during battle.
Both Dou Skills and Qi Methods were divided into four classes: Heaven, Earth, Xuan, and Huang. The Dou Skills circulated among ordinary people were, at most, high-grade Huang class. Some high-grade Dou Skills could only be obtained by joining academies or sects.
Of course, the Dou Qi Continent was vast and boundless. There would always be some Dou Skills of predecessors that were lost due to various reasons, only to be eventually obtained by some lucky individual. The black iron plate that Xiao Yan now possessed was likely left behind by such a predecessor...
Yao Lao flipped the iron plate over and over. After a while, he smiled and said, "Suction Palm: Low-grade Xuan class!"
"Low-grade Xuan class?" With a look of joy on his face, Xiao Yan had not expected that a piece of junk he bought on a whim would actually conceal a Xuan-class Dou Skill. One had to know that in his clan, the most profound Dou Skill was merely mid-grade Xuan class, and only the clan leader and a few elders were qualified to learn it.
"Suction Palm: Once mastered, it can attract a thousand-pound boulder. If you encounter an enemy, the violent suction force can forcefully draw the blood out of their body!"
"Draw the blood out of their body?" His face filled with shock, Xiao Yan swallowed hard and said with a hint of horror, "This... isn't this too overpowered? If their blood is drawn out, how could anyone survive?"
"This thing, of course, can only be used against opponents of a lower or equal level to yours. If you meet a stronger opponent, they will simply use your suction force to close the distance and get near you, which won't end well..." Yao Lao tossed the iron plate back and said indifferently. It seemed he did not think highly of this Dou Skill.
Yao Lao was a legendary figure, so his standards were naturally very high. But in Xiao Yan's eyes, this was a high-grade Dou Skill! He immediately grabbed the black iron plate with joy and smiled, saying, "No matter what, the Suction Palm is much better than the ordinary Dou Skills in my clan. I'll practice this one from now on..."
"Pfft, with your measly three stages of Dou Qi, you'd be lucky to even attract a tree branch, let alone draw someone's blood..." Shaking his head, Yao Lao curled his lips and said.
Rolling his eyes, Xiao Yan ignored the eccentric old man. He hugged the iron plate to himself and chuckled foolishly.
"Look at you, getting so obsessed over a mere low-grade Xuan-class Dou Skill. How pathetic..." Shaking his head helplessly, Yao Lao picked up the monster core on the table and instructed Xiao Yan, "Go bring a large basin of water here."
Seeing that Yao Lao was about to start working, Xiao Yan quickly put away the black iron plate and hurriedly ran off to prepare...
.....
Inside the quiet room, Yao Lao held the Violet Leaf Orchid in his left hand, his eyes narrowing slightly. After a moment, he exhaled softly, and a white flame suddenly erupted from his left hand...
The moment the flame appeared, the temperature in the room rose significantly.
Staring unblinkingly at the white flame, Xiao Yan felt a tremor in his heart. He understood the process of an alchemist refining medicine, but to externalize Dou Qi and materialize it into physical form—even his father could not achieve such a feat...
With a calm expression, the white flame in Yao Lao's hand flared up, swallowing the Violet Leaf Orchid... As the flame surged, the Violet Leaf Orchid was instantly incinerated into a small amount of emerald-green liquid...
His right hand then picked up another Violet Leaf Orchid and threw it directly into the flame...
After throwing in all three stalks of Violet Leaf Grass, the emerald-green liquid grew significantly larger.
The green liquid writhed continuously within the flame as the searing heat burned away its impurities...
Under the heat of the flame, the emerald-green liquid shrank more and more. After a moment, it was only about the size of a finger...
Next, Yao Lao placed two Bone Washing Flowers into the flame. After melting them, he merged them into the green liquid...
After that, it was time to refine the Monster Core...
These three steps lasted for about an hour, yet Yao Lao's face remained full of vitality, without a single trace of fatigue.
After an hour, the hard Monster Core had been melted into a pale green liquid. The violent energy contained within the Monster Core was also filtered out by Yao Lao, using a miraculous combination of medicinal properties...
Within his palm, the white flame gradually shrank, finally vanishing completely.
Looking at the drop of jade-green liquid hovering in Yao Lao's palm, Xiao Yan's superior perception allowed him to clearly sense just how immense the energy within this liquid was...
"Teacher, do I just swallow it like this?" Xiao Yan blinked, looking a little impatient.
"If you want to die, go ahead and swallow it. With those meridians of yours, you'll instantly become a true cripple." Glaring at Xiao Yan, Yao Lao flicked his finger gently. The jade-green liquid merged into the water inside the tub, instantly turning the clear water green.
"From now on, cultivate in there. With your talent, reaching the seventh stage within a year won't be difficult." Yao Lao clapped his hands and said with a smile.
Xiao Yan's heart filled with joy, and he hurriedly nodded.
"Oh, I almost forgot. This medicinal liquid only lasts for two months. In other words, you'll have to buy today's ingredients again every two months." Yao Lao smiled.
His face stiffening, Xiao Yan felt like crying as he nodded.
"Damn it, this stuff really is only for the rich..."