During his time within the Hun Clan, Xiao Yan maintained a reclusive lifestyle. This, however, didn't raise any suspicions. After all, Hun Xuzi was known to be a ninth-tier alchemist, and it was entirely normal for someone of his caliber to isolate himself for extended periods to refine pills. Moreover, his status in the Hun Clan was high enough that even if he did act strangely, few would dare question him.
Of course, Xiao Yan hadn't been idle. During this period, he quietly dispersed fragments of his soul consciousness throughout the Hun Clan's territory. Part of his efforts were to map out the clan's geography, while the other part involved infiltrating areas such as their treasuries to scout for valuable items.
Thanks to his current soul power, and with all spiritual fluctuations carefully masked, no one noticed anything amiss. But Xiao Yan didn't act recklessly—after confirming his targets, he merely used his spatial mastery to open small concealed channels in those locations. When the time came to leave, he would retrieve them all in one sweep.
During his downtime, he also began sorting through the items he had acquired from Hun Xuzi. As expected of the Hun Clan's top alchemist, Hun Xuzi's collection was indeed vast. Pills, herbs, and rare alchemical prescriptions were abundant—enough for Xiao Yan to refine several ninth-tier profound pills with ease.
Although his Dou Qi cultivation had surged recently, he hadn't neglected his alchemy. Especially after his soul power broke through to the Heaven Completion stage, his refining skills had soared even further. By the time he stepped into the Dou Sheng level, he could already attempt ninth-tier pill refinement with a decent success rate. Now, having reached the Emperor Realm in soul cultivation, his confidence was even greater.
According to Xiao Yan's calculations, with his current power and soul strength, his success rate for ordinary ninth-tier treasure pills was above 90%, perhaps even near-perfect. For ninth-tier profound pills, he had over a 70% chance. As for ninth-tier golden pills, the highest tier of them all, the success rate dropped significantly—perhaps 30 to 40% at most.
Unfortunately, he didn't possess complete prescriptions or ingredients for most golden pills. Even after acquiring Hun Xuzi's collection, Xiao Yan only found one golden pill formula—and it was missing nearly a quarter of the required ingredients, some of which he had never even heard of.
As a result, he shifted his focus toward refining ninth-tier profound pills. At his current strength—early Seven-Star Dou Sheng—a single ninth-tier profound pill could potentially push him to late-stage Seven-Star, maybe even the peak. As for golden pills, even Nine-Star Dou Shengs would find them immensely valuable. But even in his past life, Xiao Yan had never successfully seen one refined.
Naturally, he wasn't foolish enough to attempt such a feat in the heart of the Hun Clan. The refinement of a ninth-tier profound pill required an immense amount of energy and created a tremendous commotion. If he accidentally alerted Hun Tiandi during the process, the consequences would be disastrous. So for now, Xiao Yan only gathered the auxiliary ingredients needed for consumption—he'd have to wait until he left this place to proceed.
In between his preparations, Xiao Yan also reviewed the remaining techniques of the Demon Wrath Nine Absolutes. With his strength now improved, he could fully unleash the might of these self-created techniques. The last time he had defeated the Northern Dragon King—who had used the Dragon Transformation Devil Formation—it was largely due to the overwhelming power of this set. He would surely rely on them again when facing the Void Devouring Flame or Hun Tiandi in the future.
Xiao Yan spent more than a month inside the Hun Clan's territory. Just as boredom was starting to settle in, Hun Dai'er finally sent word—along with the next steps in their plan.
At the same time, he learned a crucial piece of news:
The Void Devouring Flame had emerged from seclusion.
Originally, Xiao Yan had planned to avoid the Void Devouring Flame until he had a clear method of capturing or defeating it. But the plan Hun Dai'er proposed required its direct involvement. After some hesitation, Xiao Yan decided to take the risk and headed toward its residence.
As the second-in-command of the Hun Clan, the Void Devouring Flame's status was even higher than Hun Xuzi's. It was second only to Hun Tiandi himself. In fact, because of its significance, many in the clan considered the Void Devouring Flame even more vital than their clan leader. It was no exaggeration to say that without it, the Hun Clan might not have survived until now.
And surely, Hun Tiandi was aware of this. Given his personality, some dissatisfaction must already be festering in his heart. Though the Void Devouring Flame held no ambition, its very presence was a thorn in Hun Tiandi's side. As the saying goes: a subject too powerful will shake his ruler's throne.
Even so, Hun Tiandi kept up appearances. The Hun Clan still needed the Void Devouring Flame, and both sides maintained a fragile balance. This strange relationship had enabled the clan to flourish—yet all it would take was a single disruption, and that balance would collapse.
In Xiao Yan's eyes, if no outside force intervened, the likely victor in this eventual conflict would be Hun Tiandi. Across two lifetimes, he had never encountered an enemy as terrifying. Compared to him, the Void Devouring Flame's methods felt almost immature.
Standing outside the palace, Xiao Yan bowed respectfully and said, "Lord Void, I have an urgent matter to report."
Inside his body, Xiao Yao—spirit of the Heavenly Flame—was trying hard to suppress her presence. She could clearly sense the terrifying aura awakening inside the palace, a force far greater than her own. If it detected her, it would bring great trouble to her master.
"Oh? It's you, Hun Xuzi. Speak." As Xiao Yan's words fell, a surge of pitch-black flame materialized before him. The flame churned and twisted before condensing into a humanoid figure inscribed with dark runes.
At its appearance, the very air around them seemed to vibrate under some unseen pressure.
Xiao Yan could feel an overwhelmingly powerful devouring force radiating from it—far stronger than what he could produce with his Black Dragon Devours Spirit Hand.
This was the flame ranked second on the Heavenly Flame List—
The Void Devouring Flame.
(End of Chapter)
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