Tangshan: Another Day of Missing Master Hai Bodong

Inside one of the VIP rooms on the second floor of the auction house.

The room offered a wide view, allowing an unobstructed view of the entire hall. However, due to its construction with special materials, those outside could not see inside.

At this moment, Mitel Tengshan stood by the window, his eyes scrutinising a young man in a green robe below, observing every move he made.

From the young man's intrigued observation of Ya Fei to the moment when, amidst the crowd's confused stares, he bid on the fragment of a map they had studied countless times.

Moreover, Tengshan noticed that the young man seemed particularly fond of magic cores. Eleven magic cores appeared during the auction, and the young man acquired them all, spending nearly a million gold coins.

These actions left Tengshan puzzled.

If not for witnessing the young man's remarkable battle at the Grand Princess Yao Ye coming-of-age ceremony yesterday, Tengshan might have dismissed him as just another foolish spendthrift obsessed with collecting magic cores.

But now, Tengshan began to speculate if there was a deeper meaning behind it all.

He keenly sensed the young man's joy after bidding on the fragment, which forced him to wonder: Could the royal family have discovered more information about the map?

To be honest, for a brief moment, Tengshan regretted not reclaiming the map. However, in the end, he decided to let it be.

Another day of missing Master Hai.

"Ya Fei applied for reassignment to Wutan City, correct? When was she originally scheduled to leave?"

"Chief, she's scheduled to leave in three days. This will be her last auction," replied the steward behind him.

"Delay her departure by two months. Tell the elders to keep an eye on their younger family members. If anyone brings disgrace to the family, don't blame me for being ruthless."

"Yes."

After giving these casual instructions, Tengshan left.

Clearly, the way the boy had been sizing up Ya Fei gave Tengshan a peculiar thought. It was the phase of youthful fascination, and perhaps, after seeing each other more often, sparks could fly.

If things were indeed headed in that direction, Tengshan wouldn't mind giving them a little push.

Of course, this "push" was different from the one Grand Princess Yao Ye had once mentioned.

Naturally, Chen Guan was unaware of the old fox's scheming.

Shortly after Tengshan left, Chen Guan went to retrieve his purchased items and exited the auction house without lingering.

Having achieved his goal, there was no need to waste time here.

All men appreciate beauty, and Chen Guan was no exception, but he wasn't so enthralled as to neglect his true purpose.

Rather than admiring Ya Fei's grace, he was more eager to visit the Alchemist Guild to retrieve the Ice Spirit Cold Spring, a treasure closely tied to enhancing his strength.

At the Alchemist Guild.

Upon meeting Fa Ma, Chen Guan soon realised he had been tricked.

"Purifying the Ice Spirit Cold Spring is quite a hassle. I can only manage a small step each day, so it should be ready in about ten days. You can come by every afternoon to oversee it and, while you're at it, supervise Yue'er's studies," Fa Ma said insincerely, avoiding direct eye contact with Chen Guan. Even though he had accepted reality, seeing Chen still filled him with frustration.

Chen Guan nodded, unconcerned. It was only ten days, after all, and he usually spent his time with the two sisters when not training, so he had no other plans.

This routine continued for several days, during which Chen Guan discerned Fa Ma's intentions. Fa Ma often took the opportunity to teach him alchemy basics, demonstrate the process of refining pills, and showcase the charm of alchemy.

It was clear that, deep down, Fa Ma was still unwilling to give up, hoping to ignite Chen Guan's interest through such methods. At the very least, he wanted to lead him onto the path of an alchemist.

With such exceptional talent, if Chen Guan never learned alchemy, Fa Ma felt he would have been struck by divine retribution.

Chen Guan listened attentively and watched closely, but every time Fa Ma urged him to try it himself, he declined.

He could feel Fa Ma's sincere hopes, but he simply couldn't bear the intensity of Fa Ma's expectations. He didn't want to be pursued relentlessly in the future.

In the blink of an eye, ten days they had passed.

That afternoon, Chen Guan was on the first floor of the alchemy room, watching Yao Yue proudly display the Rejuvenation Pill she had successfully refined. Suddenly, Fa Ma entered.

"Here's your Ice Spirit Cold Spring and Blood Lotus Pill," Fa Ma said, handing over the two items before leaving abruptly, exhausted. He muttered something about wanting the world to end.

Chen Guan paid no mind and carefully stored the items.

During his time at the Alchemist Guild, he had taken the opportunity to not only escort the little girl and attend some lessons but also to converse with other alchemists, gathering information and poring over many ancient texts from the guild's collection. Fa Ma had mistakenly thought Chen Guan had finally come around and was very forthcoming with his knowledge.

Unfortunately, Chen Guan's sole interest was in understanding how to absorb and refine Heavenly Flames.

To be honest, the ancient texts contained quite a wealth of information on the subject. After all, Heavenly Flames were treasures that everyone desired, especially alchemists.

When a dream exists, people strive for it, racking their brains over how to tame and refine Heavenly Flames if they ever encounter one.

Although most of the recorded methods were life-threatening and had slim chances of success, one had to admit these thinkers were brilliant—truly talented individuals.

According to ancient texts, using the fire attribute Dou Qi to refine Heavenly Flames offered a higher success rate than using other attributes, which was easy to understand.

In addition, factors such as the level of one's technique, strength, soul realm, and even physical resilience all played crucial roles.

Refining a Heavenly Flame was inevitably a long and arduous battle. If one's cultivation technique were too weak, the Dou Qi within would be insufficient to sustain the process, leading to failure.

Strength was even more accessible to grasp. If one were powerful enough, one could simply suppress the Heavenly Flames by force, like Xiao Yan's ancestor, Xiao Xuan.

In terms of soul power, the higher one's realm, the better one can endure the pain involved, and the same logic applies to physical resilience.

These were the internal conditions. Certain external items, in addition to oneself, could also increase one's chances of success.

For instance, Chen Guan had the Ice Spirit Cold Spring and the Blood Lotus Pill, two of the three essential items Yao Chen had once prepared for Xiao Yan in the original story.

Strength, soul, cultivation technique…

Chen Guan summarised his advantages. His configuration, compared to what Xiao Yan had when refining the Green Lotus Core Flame, was like comparing a spear and a machine gun. If he still failed with this setup, he would be too embarrassed to show his face.

Now, he just needed the Acceptance soul!

Thinking about this missing piece, Chen Guan felt quite helpless.

The royal family didn't have it, which was fine, but the Alchemist Guild didn't either. Fa Ma had told him that Yunlan Sect had one in their collection.

Based on Chen Guan's guess, the Acceptance soul had likely already fallen into Gu He's hands, which made things tricky.

Gu He had long been coveting Yun Yun and the Heavenly Flames.

With a slight sigh, Chen Guan had made up his mind, "It seems I can't avoid this visit to Yunlan Sect."

(End of Chapter)