Chapter 99: The Great Deceiver

Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Hai Bodong with a smile curling on his lips. For some reason, a chill ran down Hai Bodong's spine from being looked at in this manner.

Xiao Yan chuckled and said, "Old Hai, although the faction behind me is powerful, they are not specialized in alchemy. There are indeed higher-tier alchemists, but I am the only one who possesses a Heavenly Flame."

"To be honest, although I can only refine 4th-tier pills right now, my innate Spiritual Strength is much higher than the average person's. It has already reached the level of a 5th-tier alchemist."

Hai Bodong suddenly realized something upon hearing these words. He thought to himself, 'No wonder this kid's attacks are so sharp, almost as if he can see through my moves. His Spiritual Strength is actually comparable to that old fellow Fa Ma!'

Xiao Yan revealed a brilliant smile and said, "Moreover, I'm actually only one step away from becoming a 5th-tier alchemist myself. All I need is to practice refining 5th-tier pills, which means I just need resources to get there quickly."

! ! ! !

Hai Bodong's eyes widened. He originally thought Xiao Yan's combat strength was already astonishing enough, but he didn't expect his alchemy skills to be even more astounding! Whose disciple was this?!

"Old Hai, I'm confident that I can reach the level of a 6th-tier alchemist within one year at the earliest, or three years at the latest. By then, I will be able to refine the pill you need."

If the Amethyst Winged Lion King were here, it would likely curse Xiao Yan for being a great deceiver. How familiar this spiel sounded!

But! Xiao Yan's bluff worked like a charm every single time! Hai Bodong actually started to seriously consider it. The main reason was that Heavenly Flames were extremely difficult to obtain, and it was even rarer to find a 6th-tier alchemist who possessed a Heavenly Flame.

Hai Bodong had searched for over twenty years without finding one. Xiao Yan could be said to be the most promising candidate he had encountered in the past two decades. If he missed this opportunity, Hai Bodong might not live long enough to wait for the next one.

Most importantly, Xiao Yan was still very young and even possessed a Heavenly Flame. Becoming a 6th-tier alchemist, which was difficult for others to achieve, might not be too challenging for him.

Xiao Yan was getting more and more skilled at making these empty promises. His ability to bluff had gone from impressive to downright masterful!

"What do you want?" Hai Bodong understood Xiao Yan's intention to some extent. While he was trying to inflate the value of the map fragment, Xiao Yan was raising his own worth.

The two of them were engaged in a subtle game of bargaining.

"Old Hai, it's not about what I want, it's about what you can offer me," Xiao Yan replied, a fox-like smile spreading across his face.

"Alas," Hai Bodong couldn't help but sigh. He knew that Xiao Yan had him cornered, as he was his only hope to break Queen Medusa's seal.

His hair was already white; he couldn't afford to wait much longer.

"I'll give you the remaining map fragment."

"Old Hai, I'm afraid the map fragment you have is likely only a small part of the entire map. An incomplete map isn't worth that much, is it?"

"Once I recover my strength, I will be a 5-star Dou Emperor. You help me refine the pill, and I can take action for you once." This was indeed the usual price, a 6th-tier medicinal pill to warrant the aid of a Dou Emperor.

Xiao Yan still shook his head and said, "Old Hai, the pill you need is not an ordinary 6th-tier pill, but a special one that requires a Heavenly Flame to refine. And even if you regain your strength, it's uncertain how strong of a Dou Emperor you'll be after being sealed for over twenty years. I'm afraid it won't be sufficient."

Hai Bodong's face turned red with anger! But he was also unable to refute Xiao Yan's words for a moment. There were differences in quality even among 6th-tier pills, and naturally, there were also differences in strength among Dou Emperors. A Dou Emperor who had been sealed for over twenty years indeed couldn't be considered very strong.

"Boy, this is my final offer. If you still disagree, then there's nothing to discuss. If you can really help me refine the pill within a year and remove Medusa's seal, I will give you half of the Miteer Auction House in the imperial capital of the Jia Ma Empire. But the offer is off the table if it takes more than a year." Hai Bodong directly threw out a bombshell!

Even Xiao Yan was stunned upon hearing this! The Ice Emperor had such a connection with the Miteer Auction House?! The Miteer Auction House in the imperial capital was the headquarters!

In Wu Tan City, countless clans wanted to take over the Miteer Auction House, but no one had succeeded. Let alone others, even when Ya Fei had offered to exchange the auction house for the pill recipe back then, he had been tempted for a moment.

The most important thing an alchemist needed was experience in refining pills. This experience could not be gained through shortcuts; it took time and effort to practice alchemy. And to refine pills, one needed medicinal ingredients, which translated into money.

The place with the largest collection of medicinal ingredients in the entire Jia Ma Empire was the Miteer Auction House. It was said that the assets owned by the Miteer Auction House were even greater than those of the imperial family! It was truly wealthy enough to rival a nation.

'No wonder the Miteer Auction House can operate so successfully in the Jia Ma Empire. It turns out a Dou Emperor was backing it.' Xiao Yan looked at Hai Bodong and finally understood why the Miteer Auction House could grow so large without the Jia Ma imperial family interfering with it.

Who would dare to touch it with a Dou Emperor watching over it?

This offer was like timely rain for Xiao Yan. To reach the 5th or even 6th-tier and eventually refine the Body Transformation Pill for the Lion King, he would need a vast amount of medicinal ingredients to support his 'extravagant' needs. However, he needed time to cultivate, so where would he find the time to earn money to purchase those ingredients?

This was like a pillow arriving just in time when he was sleepy!

In fact, Hai Bodong also had a little scheme in mind. That was to set the condition that Xiao Yan had to accomplish it within a year. He was betting that Xiao Yan wouldn't be able to refine it in a year. After all, the pill in that recipe was a high-grade 6th-tier pill, which was anything but easy to refine.

But how could he possibly imagine that Xiao Yan had an ace up his sleeve!

"So, what do you say?" Hai Bodong asked.

Xiao Yan smiled confidently and extended his hand. "Happy cooperation, Old Hai."

The old fox and the young fox smiled at each other as they shook hands, both with their own cunning plans in mind!

Xiao Yan suddenly remembered something and said, "By the way, Old Hai, you know the rule for alchemists refining pills, right? The ingredients must be provided."

Hai Bodong froze for a moment before awkwardly saying, "Well... there's still an ingredient called Sand Datura that's missing. This medicinal ingredient is quite rare and can only be found near the desert of the central Holy City of the Snake-People Tribe."

"Not even the Miteer Auction House has it?"

"No."

Xiao Yan pondered for a moment. He initially wanted to say it wasn't necessary, but if he said that, not only would he be unable to swindle the pill recipe and medicinal ingredients, but most importantly, he wouldn't be able to buy himself time.

Removing Hai Bodong's seal wasn't a problem. The problem was that once it was removed and Hai Bodong regained his Dou Emperor strength, how could he ensure his own safety?

Xiao Yan definitely wouldn't remove Hai Bodong's seal and allow him to regain his former strength before having the means to protect himself.

The one-to-three-year timeframe he mentioned was a stalling tactic to give himself time to grow strong enough to face a Dou Emperor, or at least be able to escape from one.

"I can help you find it, but..." Xiao Yan raised his eyebrows. The meaning was very obvious.

It would cost extra!

"I can give you some intelligence. Just half a year ago, Gu He had secretly led a group into the desert to search for a Heavenly Flame."

!!!? A Heavenly Flame in the desert!

"Did he find it?" Xiao Yan asked, only to realize it was a stupid question. If Gu He had found a Heavenly Flame, Hai Bodong wouldn't be in such a predicament.

"No, he didn't. That's why this intelligence is so valuable. A Heavenly Flame is a natural treasure of Heaven and Earth, and only those who are predestined can possess one. Since you have a Heavenly Flame, it might be able to attract each other and help you find another Heavenly Flame. Gu He couldn't find it, but maybe you can."

Xiao Yan rolled his eyes directly. He had bluffed Hai Bodong, and now Hai Bodong was trying to bluff him back.

If Gu He couldn't find it, it proved that this intelligence was either false or the Heavenly Flame had already been taken by someone else. Even Gu He had come up empty-handed, so what could he possibly do?

However, he still agreed in the end because this was something he got for free. He wasn't going to look for any Sand Datura at all. When his strength had increased, he would come back to remove Hai Bodong's seal and take the map fragment.

This intelligence was just a free gift, so why not accept it?

After bidding farewell to Hai Bodong, Xiao Yan unfolded his Purple Cloud Wings and flew directly toward Rock Desert City. Looking at the map in his hand, he saw that it was marked with several circles but contained no other information.

Xiao Yan shook his head helplessly. This Hai Bodong was too good at deceiving people, almost as good as himself.