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**
As for those rare medicinal herbs, he didn't need them yet, so there was no point in purchasing them.
Just as he was about to leave the marketplace, Lin Feng suddenly stopped near the exit, turning his head to look at a certain corner.
There, in that corner, stood a dilapidated stone stall.
Behind the stall sat a thin, wretched-looking man with a somewhat sleazy appearance.
Since the herbs displayed on his table were not particularly rare, very few people bothered to check them out.
As a result, the man's face carried a hint of bitterness.
Lin Feng lowered his gaze and slowly scanned the stone stall.
Those herbs stored in jade bottles, some of which even looked slightly withered, were naturally unworthy of his attention.
He automatically filtered them out.
Finally, his gaze landed on a not-so-eye-catching black, broken jade fragment in the corner.
Immediately, his face showed a hint of ecstasy, but he quickly forced himself to suppress his excitement.
If the stall owner noticed his reaction, things might take an unexpected turn.
"Skyfire Three Mysterious Change... it's already here this early?"
As he stared at the black, broken jade fragment, Lin Feng muttered to himself while walking toward the stall.
Skyfire Three Mysterious Change was an extremely profound secret technique.
Although it was similar to a Dou Technique, it was generally classified separately.
These kinds of secret techniques had highly coveted effects—some could even drastically enhance one's combat strength.
And Skyfire Three Mysterious Change was a high-level secret technique that could temporarily boost strength!
Lin Feng was surprised that Skyfire Three Mysterious Change had appeared here so early.
However, since he had already found such a treasure, there was no way he was going to miss out on it.
Otherwise, wouldn't that make him an idiot?
The thin man behind the stall was initially startled when he saw Lin Feng walking over.
But after catching sight of the first-tier alchemist badge on Lin Feng's chest, his eyes immediately lit up.
He quickly stood up, looking at Lin Feng with an eager smile.
"Master, what do you need?"
Seeing Lin Feng stop in front of the stall, the man hurriedly asked.
"I'm just looking to see if there are any herbs I need."
Lin Feng casually replied as he observed the middle-aged man.
For the first time, he felt a bit of sympathy.
Thanks to his powerful soul perception, his journey as an alchemist had been relatively smooth.
Even without a teacher to guide him, he had barely encountered any major obstacles.
But looking at the man before him, Lin Feng suddenly realized the struggles of those born with inferior talent, forever limited by their potential.
Sensing the man's envious gaze, Lin Feng sighed inwardly, feeling a hint of gratitude for his own gifts.
Crouching down, Lin Feng pretended to browse for a while and picked out a few herbs.
Then, as if casually, he picked up the black, broken jade fragment and held it in his hand.
The jade fragment didn't feel smooth—it was covered in tiny rough grains, indicating that its material wasn't particularly good.
There were even faint cracks on the surface, with traces of sand stuck in the crevices.
Glancing at the man who was eagerly watching him, Lin Feng ran his fingers slowly over the jade fragment.
Finally, he placed it beneath the herbs he had chosen, then waved at the middle-aged man with a light smile.
"Do you want to trade, or do you prefer selling?"
"Master, I'd like to trade it for a third-tier pill."
Hearing this, the man's spirits lifted, but his smile became a little awkward.
He knew very well that these herbs weren't worth the price of a third-tier pill.
Lin Feng glanced at him and smiled.
"You're an alchemist apprentice, aren't you?"
The man was taken aback but then nodded in embarrassment.
Looking at Lin Feng's youthful face, he couldn't help but smile bitterly with envy.
"Yes, my talent for alchemy isn't great. Even after so many years, I'm still stuck as an apprentice."
"My teacher once helped me hunt for Beast Flames and ended up killing an extra magic beast. This Rank 4 Beast Flame isn't of particularly high grade, but once you absorb it, your success rate in refining pills will increase significantly. I'll trade it with you—what do you think?"
Lin Feng glanced at the middle-aged man and took out the Rank 4 Beast Flame that Xiao Ling had helped him obtain back in the Tagore Desert, smiling as he handed it over.
This Beast Flame was something he hadn't used when experimenting with a Dou Technique.
Since he had managed to pick up Skyfire Three Mysterious Change from this man, giving him this Rank 4 Beast Flame could be considered an act of mercy.
"Thank you, Master!"
The man hurriedly accepted the jade bottle containing the Beast Flame and immediately bowed deeply to Lin Feng.
His joy was impossible to conceal.
As long as he absorbed this, his chances of becoming a first-tier alchemist would increase significantly.
Compared to a third-tier pill, this Beast Flame was undoubtedly the better choice.
Lin Feng simply waved his hand and stored all the items into his storage ring.
Then, he turned around and continued walking toward the exit.
Meanwhile, Xiao Yan carefully poked his head out from the bushes, cautiously scanning his surroundings.
Seeing that the ice-attribute Dou Huang had not discovered him, he asked Yao Chen,
"Master, he didn't catch up, right?"
"No, it seems like he has already given up on the chase," Yao Chen replied after sweeping his powerful soul perception around the area.
"Phew~"
Hearing this, Xiao Yan finally let out a sigh of relief, cursing,
"Damn it, I don't even know what that Dou Huang was thinking, chasing us for several days straight. Did he think that Rank 5 magic beast was his blood brother or something?"
"Who knows? If I had some heavenly materials to replenish my soul power, and if I wasn't busy helping you obtain flames to upgrade Flame Mantra, I would have killed that bastard already," Yao Chen said, clearly frustrated by the past few days of constant fleeing.
Mentioning Flame Mantra, Yao Chen took out the Rank 5 Beast Flame from earlier and handed it to Xiao Yan,
"Hurry up and absorb this. See if it can evolve Flame Mantra. If it can, I'll find a way to get you a few Rank 6 ones. As for the Ice Heart Pill and Protecting Vein Pill you need to absorb the Beast Flame, you'll have to refine them yourself."
"Got it."
Xiao Yan took the jade bottle, glanced at the raging flames inside, and stored it into his storage ring.
Then, he retrieved his medicine cauldron and began refining the necessary pills.
At the same time, Hai Bodong was flying at full speed toward the Imperial Capital.
His face was so dark that it was practically freezing over.
He never expected a Dou Wang to escape right under his nose.
Now, that person could be anywhere.
Since he couldn't find him for now, he had no choice but to return to the Mittel Clan first.
Although he hadn't seen the black-robed man's face, he had captured a trace of the strange flame's aura during the fight.
And he could tell that something was off about that person's strength.
That power did not belong to the black-robed man himself—it had to be a high-level secret technique!
In that case, as long as he encountered that person again, all he needed to do was stall for time.
Once the side effects of the secret technique kicked in, the man would become weak,
and at that point, he would be nothing more than a fish on the chopping block!
As soon as he got back, he would mobilize the Mittel Clan and all his connections to hunt him down.
At the same time, he would send this trace of Heavenly Flame aura to Gu He.
He refused to believe that Gu He wouldn't be tempted by a Heavenly Flame and wouldn't join forces with him to track down the black-robed man.
With Gu He's influence as a Pill King, it would be impossible for a wandering sixth-tier alchemist—who had no powerful background but had stolen a Heavenly Flame—to escape a fate of certain death!
However, he needed to find that man as soon as possible and kill him quickly.
If that black-robed man had any opportunity to spread his cultivation methods or Dou Techniques, things could get troublesome.
More importantly, the revenge of a sixth-tier alchemist was not something the Mittel Clan could afford.
After all, he was the only ice-attribute Dou Huang in the entire Jia Ma Empire.
If anyone looked into the matter, his identity would be exposed in no time!
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