Word Count: 3,361 Words
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One day later, in the dead of night, inside dusa's room.
A pair of piercingly cold, beautiful eyes stared fixedly at Xiao Yan. dusa's face was as icy as frost. Despite possessing a Heavenly Fla body, her gaze remained so cold.
Xiao Yan didn't dare look at her. He slowly averted his gaze and defended himself, "You know how it is. The Ten Thousand Beast Fla is unreasonable. It'll burn all the clothes, and your true form is too large now."
dusa was no longer the little snake that had once been held in Mao Wu's mouth. After fully condensing her physical body, her true form had grown to an unimaginable size.
To use the Ten Thousand Beast Fla for healing and to stimulate her bloodline strength, she could no longer directly burn her true form as she did back at Jia Nan Academy.
Being blasted by Heavenly Flas was not sothing simple pills could heal. Xiao Yan had spent a full day refining dicine to create a tub of dicinal liquid for treating her injuries.
Moreover, it required the cooperation of the Yin-Yang Life and Death Fla and the Ten Thousand Beast Fla to achieve better healing results.
dusa's face grew even colder by a few degrees upon hearing these words. However, Xiao Yan was the alchemist here. Though she was formidable in combat and killing, she knew nothing about alchemy.
She tossed a black cloth to Xiao Yan and said coldly, "If you dare use Spiritual Strength to perceive, I will kill you!"
Xiao Yan's expression changed when he saw the black cloth in his hand. Her Majesty was getting fancy! She wanted him blindfolded!
Of course, Xiao Yan, whose strength was inferior to dusa's, could only comply. He used the black cloth to cover his eyes, withdrew all his Spiritual Strength perception, and even placed Venerable Tian Huo's storage ring outside.
dusa's frosty face gradually softened when she saw that Xiao Yan had blindfolded himself. Then a piercing pain caused her exquisite features to twitch involuntarily.
Undoubtedly, that battle had been anything but easy for her.
After glancing at Xiao Yan once more to ensure he wasn't peeking, she slowly untied her clothing.
Xiao Yan couldn't help swallowing when he heard the rustling sounds of clothing. Facing dusa in human form in such a situation, he wouldn't be a man if he didn't have fantasies!
Xiao Yan silently recited Xun Er's na to stabilize his mind, keeping his heart as calm as an ancient well.
Splash!
A splashing water sound rang out. dusa's eyes narrowed in pain the instant her wounds contacted the dicinal liquid, but the strong-willed dusa quickly endured it.
She slowly sat in the wooden tub. The scalding dicinal liquid brought her so relief. She tied up her hair and slowly raised her head to look at the man before her. Her beautiful eyes flickered with strange colors as unknown thoughts crossed her mind.
"You can start," she said in an icy voice.
Xiao Yan didn't dare make a sound. He only slled a dicinal fragrance in the air, though it seed mixed with so enticing aroma that stirred one's heart.
He spread the fingers of his left hand, and a pair of Yin-Yang fish appeared in his palm.
The white fish's Life Fla swam to dusa's side. After lightly kissing her cheek, a jade-white fla appeared to heal her wounds, while the black fish's Death Fla spat out Death Flas to decompose the flesh burned by Heavenly Flas. Then the Life Fla regenerated new flesh.
Death and life cycled endlessly.
Although Xiao Yan had withdrawn his Spiritual Strength, he knew how serious dusa's injuries were through the feedback from the Yin-Yang Life and Death Fla. Her front, back, arms, and snake tail all had extensive burns. Moreover, these were all burns from Heavenly Flas, extrely difficult to heal without special thods.
Only after healing the external wounds would he use the Ten Thousand Beast Fla to begin repairing the damage to her bloodline.
"I'm sorry. If my strength had reached the Dou Ancestor realm, you wouldn't have had to suffer such severe injuries." Xiao Yan couldn't help feeling sowhat guilty. The Yan Alliance was his proposal. To put it bluntly, recruiting dusa back then was taking advantage of her, utilizing her strength.
And now, she had stepped forward to defeat the Sky Serpent Mansion, Thunderbolt Sect, and Profound Lion Sect.
dusa glanced at the sowhat guilty Xiao Yan and rely said indifferently, "I also have a share in the Yan Alliance."
Xiao Yan nodded lightly and smiled. "Then from now on, we can be considered companions."
"This is an alliance relationship, not partnership!" Queen dusa's rosy lips curled as she completely dismissed Xiao Yan's thoughts of drawing their relationship closer.
"An alliance is still an ally relationship, still companions." Xiao Yan shalessly persisted, then grinned and said, "But since we're already in an ally relationship, I can't just call you dusa directly, right? Isn't dusa your race's na? It's too easy to cause confusion. How about I give you a na? Otherwise, when I call your na in the future, others will know your identity."
"No need for your concern!" dusa replied coldly to Xiao Yan's presumptuous suggestion.
"How about 'Cai Lin'? It suits you very well." Xiao Yan pondered for a mont before suggesting this, not caring at all whether the na he ca up with was corny.
He didn't know why he chose this na. Perhaps it was destiny.
dusa's beautiful eyes filled with cold intent as she stared at the young man before her. However, when she saw the brilliant warm smile on his face, the anger in her eyes sohow eased slightly for unknown reasons. She said coldly, "Queen dusa is my na and also my identity. I don't need you to give any other na."
"But this way it's easy to cause confusion. What if there's a second dusa one day—"
"Scram!" dusa erupted instantly, her patience broken by his chatter. Her eyes narrowed as an imposing force rippled outward like a gust of wind.
The rush of air caused the loosely secured black cloth over Xiao Yan's eyes to drift away. When his vision returned, he saw a sight that tugged at the deepest impulses in a man's heart. He instantly felt sothing rising, his blood surging, making him feel a bit dizzy.
"It was an accident! This isn't my fault!" Xiao Yan tried to explain, but words were useless at this mont.
"Argh!! You did this on purpose!"
"Agh, no, it really was an accident!"
"Ow ow ow, that hurts! Why are you in such a rush? It's not like I haven't seen it before!"
"Aaahhh~~!!"
Before long, pitiful cries echoed through the residence. In the adjacent room, which happened to be Yun Yun's room, upon hearing his series of agonized yet... pleasurable screams, Yun Yun's cheeks imdiately flushed.
"Master, wasn't dusa the one injured? Why is Xiao Yan the one screaming?" Nalan Yanran asked curiously from within the room.
Yun Yun's face grew even redder. She covered Nalan Yanran's ears and said, "You're still too young. Don't listen."
Nalan Yanran was left baffled. Too young??
Yun Yun, anwhile, could only think, 'I didn't expect Xiao Yan to have such a... fetish.'
...
Early the next morning, Xiao Yan appeared in the Yan Alliance mansion's main hall covered in injuries, while Hai Bodong struggled to suppress his laughter. Yun Yun turned her blushing face aside, clearly having misunderstood sothing.
All four leaders of the Yan Alliance were present, including dusa, because starting yesterday, the Yan Alliance had received nurous visitation requests, hoping to pay their respects at the Yan Alliance mansion.
And this was exactly what Xiao Yan, or rather the Yan Alliance, needed!
Xiao Yan put away his playful expression and nodded to his elder brother Xiao Ding beside him. Xiao Ding and Xiao Li understood tacitly, and the two walked to the mansion's front door to welco guests.
Countless people had already gathered outside the Yan Alliance mansion's gates. These people were all renowned experts of the North-Western Region, powerful figures, and even leaders of various forces.
Now, these famous experts all wore nervous or even trembling expressions. They actually took the initiative to line up and wait for the mansion doors to open. Let alone cutting in line, these Dou Emperor and even Dou Ancestor level experts didn't even dare whisper to each other, only silently waiting.
Creak!
Nalan Yanran and Qing Lin slowly pulled open the doors. The Yan Alliance mansion slowly opened. Second brother Xiao Li brought out a table and chair, taking out paper and ink to record things.
The eldest brother Xiao Ding walked to the front door and revealed a harmless smile, "We thank everyone for thinking highly of our Yan Alliance. Unfortunately, there are too many visitation requests, so we must ask everyone to wait outside for a bit."
"Is the Sect Leader of the Tiger Sword Sect present?" Xiao Ding asked with a smile.
A peak Dou Emperor expert hurriedly walked up from the back. A hideous scar ran from his forehead to his chin on his face, but this person who should have looked fierce and vicious now approached with a face full of smiles.
"Present, present." Tiger Sword Sect's Sect Leader Hu Tianchou said with a beaming smile.
So onlookers clicked their tongues in amazent seeing Hu Tianchou, who had a notorious reputation for killing without blinking in his empire, behaving like this.
But they could understand. Let alone soone with a fierce reputation, even if the sect leaders of the Sky Serpent Mansion, Thunderbolt Sect, and Profound Lion Sect ca, they would still have to greet with smiling faces.
Simply because this was the Yan Alliance's territory!
Xiao Ding smiled and said, "Sect Leader Hu's reputation precedes him. This way please."
Xiao Ding led Hu Tianchou inside. As they walked, he probed a little, saying things that scared Hu Tianchou so much that his back was drenched in sweat, and he hurriedly denied any wrongdoing.
Hu Tianchou followed Xiao Ding into the main hall and saw the four leaders of the Yan Alliance all seated at the head. He was so frightened that his scalp tingled.
The Dou Qi Continent was not a civilized society. This was a world where the strong were respected.
Just like a few days ago, when the dicine Bone Sect colluded with the Gold Geese Sect and Mulan Valley to fra Yun Yun, no one spoke up. In the end, dusa appeared and slaughtered them with a flip of her hand. Xiao Yan even killed Gu Tong. The other disciples of the Gold Geese Sect and Mulan Valley all died, yet no one would condemn them for indiscriminate killing.
To put it bluntly, if the Yan Alliance truly wanted to expand its territory, no one would dare to say a word of dissent.
Especially when he saw dusa sitting in the head seat as if nothing had happened, his throat bobbed up and down in fear.
"Grandmaster Xiao Yan, this is a thousand-year-old tier 7 Bone Nourishing Grass. I heard Her Majesty the Queen was injured, so I specially ca to deliver it." Hu Tianchou hurriedly took out a precious box from his storage ring, wanting to respectfully hand it to Xiao Yan with both hands.
However, with just one glance from dusa, Hu Tianchou stopped in his tracks. Xiao Yan smiled to smooth things over and said, "Sect Leader Hu is too polite. This ordinary low-grade tier 7 dicinal ingredient can be given to Yue Er. This can also serve as a test of her dicine identification abilities."
Hu Tianchou's heart sank. Xiao Yan's words were very clear: a re low-grade tier 7 dicinal ingredient wasn't qualified to be presented to ; you can give it to Princess Yue Er.
The implication was: I'm not very satisfied.
This frightened Hu Tianchou senseless. However, he was an old fox and naturally had prepared more than one item. He took out another brocade box from his storage ring and handed both to Princess Yue Er, "Princess Yue Er, this is a middle-grade tier 7 Mountain Spirit Grass. It's a congratulatory gift from our Tiger Sword Sect for the Yan Alliance winning first place at the Great eting of Factions."
Before Princess Yue Er could even receive the brocade box, Zi Yan snatched it first. As soon as she opened the brocade box, a dicinal fragrance wafted out. She licked her lips, clearly very satisfied.
Jia Xing Tian, who was standing nearby, caught on and smiled. "Sect Leader Hu, what other matters bring you here today?"
dusa waved her hand, and only then did Yue i slowly bring a cup of tea and place it on the seat. Hu Tianchou finally breathed a sigh of relief. He sat down, took a sip of tea, and began discussing matters related to his sect while also probing the Yan Alliance's policies.
This was exactly the result Xiao Yan and the entire Yan Alliance wanted.
Plundering resources, or rather 'receiving gifts'.
Over a hundred factions participated in the Great eting of Factions. These factions were all renowned in the North-Western Region. Even the weakest were factions established by Dou Emperors. Even the forr Snake-People Tribe, Misty Cloud Sect, and Jia Ma Empire were only ranked as second-rate.
One could imagine what enormous wealth could be gained from plundering resources from these hundred-plus factions.
It should be known that Xiao Yan was now a low-grade 7th-tier alchemist, but if he wanted to advance to middle-grade, high-grade, peak, or even 8th-tier alchemist, the amount of dicinal ingredients needed would be enormous.
The Bone Fla Ring only contained pill recipes, not dicinal ingredients. dicinal ingredients had always been a huge headache for Xiao Yan.
The Yan Alliance simply couldn't afford to support such a big spender like him. Let alone the Yan Alliance, even any one of the three major factions couldn't afford the dicinal ingredients needed to supply him to tier 8.
And this was under the premise that Xiao Yan didn't need to improve his Spiritual Strength and fire control. For a normal alchemist to reach tier 8, the heavenly treasures required would be enough to severely damage even the Five Major Clans of the Pill Region.
To put it in more modern terms, energy is conserved. A large region could only produce one 8th-tier alchemist because this 8th-tier alchemist had already concentrated many resources to grow.
This was also why Xiao Yan wanted to unify the North-Western Region. Before he left the North-Western Region to go to the Central Plains to participate in the Pill Gathering, he had to collect enough tier 7 and even tier 8 dicinal ingredients to beco an 8th-tier alchemist.
The difficulty Hun Huzi had added for Xiao Yan was that Venerable Mu Gu was not only Venerable Yao's junior brother but also an 8th-tier alchemist. To defeat him at the Pill Gathering, Xiao Yan had to reach tier 8.
No matter how capable Xiao Yan was, he couldn't make bricks without straw.
It was impossible for the Yan Alliance to unify the entire North-Western Region overnight, but now, with the complete victory at the Great eting of Factions, they could proceed to 'receive gifts'.
As long as those faction leaders weren't stupid, they would understand that currying favor with the Yan Alliance now versus when the Yan Alliance ca knocking at their door would have completely different costs.
Xiao Ding also suggested the Yan Alliance take a peaceful path. The Yan Alliance would still follow the Yan Alliance Treaty, remaining just a defensive alliance organization that wouldn't interfere with faction operations. However, factions joining later would need to pay annual 'mbership fees'.
This was equivalent to becoming subordinate factions in disguise, except the Yan Alliance wouldn't interfere with their daily affairs.
This gift-receiving lasted a full seven days!
After all, this involved over a hundred factions. Even if each sect only talked for ten minutes, that would still be a thousand minutes. Although it was tiring, seeing those tier 7 and even tier 8 dicinal ingredients made it hard for Xiao Yan to feel tired.
It was just that his cheeks were a bit sore from smiling too much.
The Thunderbolt Sect and Profound Lion Sect even specifically offered high prices to request Xiao Yan's help because their sect leaders had Heavenly Flas invading their bodies and needed them removed.
Xiao Yan was naturally very willing. What he wanted were resources and the power to protect his family.
After seven days, the dicinal ingredients the Yan Alliance harvested shocked everyone. Even dusa's eyes went wide.
Those faction experts were truly... so considerate! Xiao Yan was moved to tears.
"The Thunderbolt Sect and Profound Lion Sect truly have deep foundations. Low-grade tier 8 pill recipes and two stalks of tier 8 dicinal ingredients." Xiao Yan looked at the two scrolls of low-grade tier 8 pill recipes in his hands. This was the price the Thunderbolt Sect and Profound Lion Sect paid for requesting his help.
Even in Venerable Yao's inheritance, tier 7 pill recipes were already very rare, let alone tier 8 ones, which numbered only a dozen or so.
Moreover, if the dicinal ingredients couldn't be gathered for these pill recipes, they would be equivalent to waste paper. So Xiao Yan indeed needed so new tier 7 and tier 8 pill recipes.
"The Thunderbolt Sect and Profound Lion Sect didn't just co to request pills from you, Third Brother. They also ca to observe Queen dusa's injuries." Xiao Ding said with a serious expression.
Xiao Yan smiled and waved his hand nonchalantly, "Then they're destined to be disappointed. With taking action, Cai... dusa's injuries are healing very quickly."
Zi Yan pouted and looked at Xiao Yan with pleading eyes.
"Xiao Yan~" she said in a coquettish tone.
"I know, I'll refine pills for you right away." Xiao Yan smiled and patted her little head.
This ti was definitely a super harvest. Xiao Yan had also obtained the pill recipe for the Beast Emperor Body Tempering Pill that Sima Lin had refined before. This low-grade tier 7 pill happened to be perfectly suitable for Zi Yan, so he promised to refine it for her.
Refining the Beast Emperor Body Tempering Pill wasn't difficult. Moreover, he specifically used the Ten Thousand Beast Fla to refine it, raising the dicinal properties of this Beast Emperor Body Tempering Pill to another level.
Without a doubt, pills refined by Xiao Yan using Heavenly Flas would definitely attract Pill Lightning. Furthermore, he very deliberately didn't refine it inside the Space Lock but openly refined the pill in full view of the Sky Serpent Mansion.
Pill Lightning descended with a rumbling sound. Xiao Yan remained extraordinarily calm facing the Pill Lightning of a tier 7 pill and easily resolved it.
He directly tossed the pill to Zi Yan and said, "Here you go."
"Yay!" Zi Yan didn't stand on ceremony and swallowed it in one gulp. Her cheeks instantly turned red, and her body released bursts of purple light. She ran back to her room in a flash to begin refining the dicinal strength.
Zi Yan was only Rank 6. Even though she was an Ancient Void Dragon, she still needed so ti to refine this tier 7 pill.
"Cai Lin, how have things been these past few days?" Xiao Yan looked at dusa, who was leaning against a stone pillar guarding him while he refined pills, and asked.
dusa's face darkened when she heard Xiao Yan randomly calling nas, but she still answered, "Most of the factions in the North-Western Region have already left the Sky Serpent Empire."
"As for the Sky Serpent Mansion," she sneered and said, "During these days while you were refining pills, they sent three Dou Ancestors to secretly observe, presumably to assess my injuries."
Xiao Yan smiled and revealed a aningful expression, "That's normal. They indeed find it difficult to accept the reality of their defeat for a ti. Give them so ti, and they will co to understand."
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