Regarding this "Fen Jue," to be honest, Xiao Yan truly didn't want to give it up. After all, the possibility of it evolving into a Heaven-tier cultivation method was incredibly appealing to him. On this vast Dou Qi Continent, anyone who possessed a Heaven-tier cultivation method virtually had a pass to become a peak-level expert.
However, despite the power of the cultivation method, the success rate was less than twenty percent, which could make anyone abandon hope.
Xiao Yan's ten fingers stretched out, rubbing against each other, his face constantly changing, hesitation and sorrow continuously flowing across it.
Silently observing the solemn expression on Xiao Yan's face, a complex look also appeared on Yao Lao's aged face. After a long time, he softly sighed, "This kind of matter, you can only rely on yourself. I don't want to interfere too much. However, I want to ask you one more thing... how do you feel about that little girl, Xun Er?"
"Ah?" Startled by Yao Lao's sudden question, Xiao Yan's face flushed slightly. After a moment of stuttering, he gave a bitter smile and said, "Master, why are you suddenly asking this question? Xun Er is my younger sister. How could I... have any feelings for her?" In the last sentence, Xiao Yan himself seemed to feel a bit weak.
"Haha, what's wrong with loving your younger sister? You know very well that you and she have no blood relation. This girl is only fifteen or sixteen now, and she has already captivated the young generation of the Xiao Family. If she grows up later, what more is there to say?" At this point, Yao Lao glanced at Xiao Yan, then leisurely smiled, "If you can imagine her being embraced by another man in the future, how would you feel then?"
With a somewhat stiff, bitter smile on his face, Xiao Yan frowned, let out a breath, and said in a low voice, "It seems... a bit difficult to accept!"
"Hehe, since you find it a bit difficult to accept, then in your heart, you can't simply regard her as just a younger sister...!" Yao Lao said with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.
His face flushed, Xiao Yan stammered, unable to speak. He helplessly threw up his hands and sighed, then said with a bitter smile, "Master, what exactly do you want to say?"
"I've said all this to you simply to make you recognize your feelings... Since you already have some 'improper' thoughts about her, then you should also re-evaluate your current strength and potential." His face suddenly stiffened, Yao Lao swallowed, and said with some doubt, "That girl's background is quite terrifying. I don't know exactly what her background is, but even if your family isn't considered small, it still can't bridge the huge gap between the two of you. Your identities are too disparate, too great. Even if the girl likes you, the people behind her will absolutely not agree."
His eyes narrowed, and Xiao Yan's hands, which had been rubbing together, involuntarily clenched.
"This continent is a world where strength reigns supreme. Only with strength can you have dignity. You saw Nalan Yanran's attitude before, didn't you? She could look down on you and mock you from above because her strength and background were far more profound than yours!" Looking at Xiao Yan's expression, Yao Lao's words were filled with a profound sigh.
"The power behind Xiao Xun'er is far more terrifying than the Misty Cloud Sect. Therefore, in their eyes, your status is merely that of an ant. Even if you are a genius with outstanding cultivation talent, they won't take you too seriously. Having been passed down for so many years, they must have encountered many world-shaking geniuses... Only your true strength can make them truly wary, and only then will they accept you as normal."
Xiao Yan touched his nose and asked softly but firmly, "Can cultivating this 'Flame Mantra' truly bring me such power?"
"It should be said that only when you successfully cultivate the 'Flame Mantra' can it!" Yao Lao shook his head, adding with solemnity.
Sighing, Xiao Yan rested his chin on his hand. For some reason, the girl's smile from back then slowly appeared before his eyes, and her voice, like silver bells, seemed to ring in his ears.
Taking a long breath, Xiao Yan said with a bitter smile, "Teacher has said so much, yet he still calls it leaving the choice to me?"
"Heh heh...!" Yao Lao touched his withered old face, smiling awkwardly, a hint of embarrassment in his voice as he said, "Alright, I admit I have a bit of an ulterior motive, but from my perspective, I truly hope you can cultivate this 'Flame Mantra'!"
"You must know that I am currently only in a soul state, right?" Yao Lao spread his hands and sighed, asking.
Xiao Yan nodded.
"In this state, normally speaking, I would be considered dead. However, because my soul power is many times stronger than that of ordinary people, I am able to survive in this strange state..." Yao Lao chuckled self-deprecatingly, his smile containing a hint of sorrow.
"I don't like this kind of illusory life. I still want to personally complete something, so I need to break free from this soul state!"
"Master wants to be resurrected!" Xiao Yan's eyes widened, and he said in surprise, "In this world, it seems there's no such thing as a dead person coming back to life, is there?"
"Under normal circumstances, that is true." Yao Lao nodded, his quiet gaze suddenly becoming fervent. "However, according to the brief introduction in the first part of the 'Flame Mantra,' if one cultivates it successfully, it seems possible to combine several types of Heavenly Flames. I speculate that it can create a body capable of fusing with a soul, and once I obtain a new body, it can also be seen as another form of resurrection."
"I have persisted within the ring, in the darkness without sunlight, precisely hoping that one day I would meet someone whose soul power reached the required level. I am very fortunate to have finally met you." On Yao Lao's old face, a subtle, hard-to-detect sorrow was hidden.
Yao Lao opened his large, pleading eyes and looked at Xiao Yan, saying with a bitter smile, "Haha, just consider these words as an old man idly babbling. Alas, I clearly said I wouldn't interfere, but I still couldn't help but say so much. It seems I truly am..."
Shaking his head in self-mockery, Yao Lao extended his withered hand. With a flourish of both hands, two scrolls, one red and one black, appeared separately from the void into his grasp.
"The red scroll is a low-grade Earth-tier fire-attribute cultivation technique, and the black scroll is the 'Fen Jue'..." Yao Lao smiled, raising his arm. A hint of gentleness appeared on his withered, aged face as he softly said, "You choose for yourself. Consider what you need. Just remember, no matter what you choose, you are still my disciple. I will not blame you for it."
Staring blankly at the two illusory scrolls before him, Xiao Yan rested his hand on his chin. After a long while, he licked his lips and forced a somewhat fearful smile, saying, "Although I am a bit afraid of death, without strength, there is no dignity. I do not want to experience the humiliation from Nalan Yanran a second time. Besides, if by some chance I truly cannot cultivate it, I can always switch to another cultivation technique later, can't I?"
Shaking his head, a brilliant smile bloomed on Xiao Yan's handsome face. He reached out his hand, and under Yao Lao's slightly red and somewhat moist gaze, he took the black scroll.
The moment his hand touched the scroll, it transformed into a stream of information that directly flooded into Xiao Yan's mind.