Chapter 37: Departure

A month later.

In the silent world of lava.

On the shore of the lava lake, atop a platform.

Wei Yang sat cross-legged on the edge of the platform, extending a pale, slender hand. In his palm, a dark red flame danced mischievously. This was the beast fire of the Twin-headed Fire Spirit Snake, specifically a strand of fire it had separated from its body.

At this moment, this flame had already been refined by Wei Yang and had become a fire under his control. Its color had transformed from a deep red to a dark red. Wei Yang named this flame the Lava Core Fire.

«Go!» Wei Yang waved his hand.

Whoosh~

The dark red flame in his hand immediately surged, fanning out in a sweeping arc. It burned so intensely that the air in front of it distorted.

With the impetus of his own Dou Qi, the flame's power appeared even more ferocious and violent than when it was wielded by the Twin-headed Fire Spirit Snake.

Beside him, Ye Xian'er also waved her small hands, with a deep red flame tinged with a hint of grayish-white swirling in her palms. She played with the fire enthusiastically.

A few days ago, Wei Yang had finally assisted her in successfully refining and absorbing three Green Lotus Seeds. It took nearly a month, causing her level to soar from a one-star Great Fighter to a nine-star Great Fighter. And just yesterday, Wei Yang helped her refine the beast fire into her body.

Given her own fire-poison physique and her nine-star Great Fighter strength, she could have refined an unowned peak fourth-tier beast fire on her own. It would have been troublesome, painful, and time-consuming, but doable.

Seeing this, Wei Yang decided to help her refine it directly, saving time and effort.

Now, Ye Xian'er not only possessed a fire-poison attribute but also contained a strand of rich, pure wood attribute. This strand of wood attribute was purer than that of most alchemists born with a trace of wood attribute.

Using this pure wood attribute to drive the flame made its power even more violent and strong.

«Actually, you're better suited to crafting poison pills, as they have a synergistic effect,» Wei Yang said with a smile as he looked at Ye Xian'er. «Your Dou Qi has a fire-poison attribute, so when you use it to drive the flame, the flame also contains fire-poison. When crafting regular pills, you have to exert extra effort to control the fire-poison, preventing it from contaminating the medicinal properties. It can be troublesome.»

«I don't mind the trouble. I want to make both poison pills and regular pills,» Ye Xian'er shook her head, unconcerned. Becoming an alchemist was her dream, and she was content with her progress. Troublesome? She wasn't afraid.

Seeing this, Wei Yang didn't say more. If she liked it, she could practice; it would only waste some herbs.

…

The next day.

It was time to leave.

«We've been in this Tagore Desert for nearly three months. It's time to go,» Wei Yang said.

«Ah? Are we leaving now?» Ye Xian'er glanced at the lava world, slightly reluctant. «I think the cultivation environment here is great. Why not stay a bit longer?»

She was naturally calm and gentle, not fond of bustling places. So, staying in such a desolate environment didn't bother her. In fact, she preferred it to the outside world and was reluctant to leave. After all, the cultivation environment here was excellent, and the fire poison was highly beneficial for her.

Although she could still absorb the fire attribute energy from the world outside to strengthen her fire poison and enhance her strength, or take poison pills to quickly boost her power, the effect wouldn't be as good as staying here. The pure fire poison here seemed inexhaustible.

«This place is indeed good for our cultivation,» Wei Yang nodded as he glanced around the lava world. But then he shook his head, saying, «Unfortunately, it's in the Tagore Desert. We need to return to the empire's interior. After all, to become an alchemist, we can't stay here. We need a large amount of low-grade herbs to start learning from first-grade pills and gradually improve.»

«Right,» Ye Xian'er nodded. Indeed, to become an alchemist, they needed many preparations: a large amount of low-grade herbs, pill recipes, cauldrons, alchemist heritage, and more.

Wei Yang stood up. «The storyline is about to officially start… in three or four months at most. It's time to go back and take a look,» he thought to himself.

After another glance around, Wei Yang retracted his gaze. «Let's go.»

Ye Xian'er walked over and directly jumped into his arms, skillfully clinging to Wei Yang.

Wei Yang patted her small bottom, teasing, «You're a nine-star Great Fighter now. Can't you run up the passage yourself? Do you really need me to carry you for such a short distance, you little lazybones?»

«I can't fly yet, and you'll have to carry me out anyway. So why not carry me now?» Xian'er snuggled comfortably against his chest, breathing in his pleasant scent and closing her eyes with a sweet smile.

Wei Yang teased her, «So when you become a Dou King, you won't need me to carry you anymore?»

«I'll still need you to carry me. I can't fly as fast as you,» Ye Xian'er pouted playfully.

«You little girl,» Wei Yang chuckled, pecking her lips lightly. «Lazybones, always with an excuse.»

Holding Xian'er, Wei Yang moved swiftly to the passage entrance and slipped inside.

As they advanced through the passage, the wind whistled past their ears, quickly heading towards the surface exit.

In a few minutes, they reached the outside world.

With a sweep of his soul force, the sand covering the passage entrance rolled back, and sunlight poured in.

Wei Yang squinted, adjusting to the outside light, then flew out with Xian'er.

Whoosh! Black wings spread from his back as they floated in the sky.

Looking down at the passage hidden under the sand, Wei Yang raised his hand to destroy it but then decided against it, simply waving his hand to cover it with sand again.

They might return someday, so it was better to leave the passage intact. Covered by sand, it would be hard for anyone else to find the entrance.

After determining the direction, Wei Yang's black wings flapped, and they turned into a black-red streak of light, quickly leaving the area.

In no time, the wind and sand would erase all traces of their presence.

…

After more than a month, they returned to the desert. Flying in the sky, Wei Yang breathed in the hot air, feeling it refreshingly clean.

The desert remained unchanged: the blue sky, scorching temperature, blazing sun, and rampant wind and sand. But after nearly two months underground, the outside air felt particularly fresh.

Soon, they saw the outline of Stone Desert City in the distance.

Wei Yang slowed down slightly, took out a map from his ring, identified the direction, and veered around Stone Desert City.

«Brother Yang, aren't we going back to Stone Desert City?» Ye Xian'er asked.

«No, we'll head straight to the empire's interior, to Black Rock City,» Wei Yang smiled.

He glanced back at the receding Stone Desert City, thinking of Qing Lin, who was somewhere in the city. He shook his head gently. If fate didn't bring them together, so be it.

They had lived in Stone Desert City for about a month, going in and out daily without encountering the poor little girl. Although Wei Yang hadn't specifically searched for her, staying a month and not meeting her meant it wasn't meant to be.

So he didn't bother to search for her, holding a mindset of acceptance.

(End of Chapter)