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**
A moment later—
Both men let out a sigh at the same time, their tones filled with complex emotions.
Wei Yang gently shook his head before turning slightly to look at Yao Lao. "My apologies for disturbing you at this late hour, Senior."
At this moment, Yao Lao's complexion looked much better than before. The frail aura he had half a year ago was completely gone, and his translucent soul now appeared much more solid.
Wei Yang was even surprised to notice that—despite Yao Lao being in soul form—his face seemed to have a faint rosy glow?
The thought made him chuckle as he shook his head lightly. "It has been six months… It seems that Senior has recovered quite well during this time."
"All thanks to your Soul Nourishing Liquid." Yao Lao instinctively stroked his white beard, a hint of pride in his voice. "I even re-refined those two bottles and managed to enhance their medicinal effects by nearly twenty percent. Not waste, after all."
"With just a little effort, Senior naturally surpasses me by a great margin. It seems I still have much to learn." Wei Yang smiled.
"You're still young—it's normal that you haven't reached mastery yet."
Yao Lao waved his hand dismissively, his expression filled with satisfaction. "Besides, you were never systematically trained and had to figure things out on your own. To reach this level already is quite impressive."
His gaze toward the young man before him was filled with appreciation.
To create a Tier 4 pill formula on his own, even if it still had some flaws and couldn't fully unleash the medicinal effects—this was already a remarkable feat!
A Tier 4 pill formula wasn't something one could find just anywhere!
Every time Yao Lao thought about this young man's talent and comprehension, he couldn't help but feel a deep sense of regret.
If only he had met this boy a few years earlier…
—
Hmm?
Suddenly, Yao Lao's hand, which was stroking his beard, froze. His gaze sharpened as he stared at Wei Yang in surprise. "You… have broken through to Dou Wang?"
"Yes." Wei Yang nodded with a faint smile. "I was fortunate enough to make a breakthrough just a few days ago."
"Just a few days ago, yet your aura is already so steady and restrained? Looks like this 'fortunate breakthrough' of yours was anything but simple." Yao Lao sighed in amazement.
Then, as if realizing something, his eyes widened in shock. He focused, carefully sensing Wei Yang's presence again. His expression turned strange. "And… your soul power… something is off… Don't tell me… you broke through in that as well?"
Wei Yang pretended to think for a moment before hesitantly replying, "Soul power… I'm not sure if it's the breakthrough Senior is referring to, but when I advanced to Dou Wang, I felt my soul power also breaking through a bottleneck—it seems to have doubled in strength."
Twitch.
Yao Lao's face visibly twitched, and for a moment, he was utterly speechless.
As expected, this boy's soul power had broken through as well.
Mortal Realm Late Phase! This is ridiculous!
A Dou Wang under the age of nineteen wasn't too shocking, even in Central Plains.
But a Mortal Realm Late Phase soul power at nineteen?
Now that was insane!
Soul power was far harder to cultivate than Dou Qi—by a massive margin.
Without special opportunities, it could only be slowly refined over years of accumulation.
There were countless alchemists in the world, yet how many could reach Tier 6 and beyond?
A rarity among rarities—perhaps one in a thousand!
And why was that?
Because of soul power limitations!
Yet for Wei Yang… it was as easy as drinking water.
He had simply broken through Dou Wang—and soul power came along for the ride.
How is that even fair?!
This boy's future was, at minimum, that of a Peak Tier 7 Alchemist!
If fortune smiled upon him, even an Tier 8 Alchemist wasn't out of reach!
At this realization, Yao Lao's expression grew serious.
A Peak Tier 7 Alchemist was no trivial existence.
Even in Central Plains, such an alchemist would be welcomed as a guest of honor by all major forces. No one would dare offend them lightly.
Even in the Pill Tower, they would hold a high status.
—
"Alright, brat, tell me—why did you come to see me so late at night?" Yao Lao asked.
Unconsciously, his tone had already changed.
Yes, Wei Xiao Wawa (Little Wei Baby) had now leveled up to Wei Xiao Zi (Little Wei Boy).
Wei Yang smiled at Yao Lao and slowly uttered two words.
"A transaction."
—
Yao Lao raised an eyebrow. Looking at Wei Yang's expression, he seemed to have an inkling of what was coming. He hesitated before testing the waters. "Ordinary items don't interest me."
Wei Yang's lips curled slightly. He met Yao Lao's gaze and spoke in a calm tone.
"What if it's the nineteenth-ranked flame on the Heavenly Flame Ranking—Green Lotus Core Flame?"
Whoosh—
Yao Lao's eyes half-closed, and he slowly exhaled a deep breath.
His expression was unreadable.
His eyelids remained slightly open, his voice carrying an odd tone.
"Brat Wei… Are you serious? Don't joke with an old man like me."
"I wouldn't joke about something like this." Wei Yang smiled.
"Haha, true. You don't seem like the type to make such jokes." Yao Lao nodded.
His eyes then narrowed as he asked, "You should understand the significance of a Heavenly Flame, yes? I truly cannot fathom… why you would…?"
"It's simple—'A bird in the hand is worth ten in the bush.'"
Wei Yang said calmly, "Heavenly Flames are indeed powerful, but for the time being, I can't refine one… at least, I have no confidence in doing so safely before reaching Dou Zong."
"Senior, you should know how dangerous it is to refine a Heavenly Flame. One misstep, and I'll be reduced to ashes. I value my life—so unless I have at least a seventy to eighty percent chance of success, I won't recklessly attempt it."
Yao Lao nodded.
Caution.
A cautious person could live longer.
A dead genius was nothing more than a corpse.
For this, Yao Lao understood completely.
Refining a Heavenly Flame was truly a life-or-death gamble—few dared to attempt it.
Back when he refined the Bone Chilling Flame, he had barely survived. Even now, thinking about it still sent a shiver down his soul.
"So." Wei Yang smiled, "Instead of keeping it, why not trade it for something I need more?"
"Such as?"
Yao Lao's posture straightened slightly.
He was already mentally prepared to be ruthlessly extorted.
Because he desperately needed a Heavenly Flame!
Whether for training Xiao Yan or resurrecting himself, he needed at least one Heavenly Flame—if not more.
In fact, resurrection was Yao Lao's true goal.
Not training a disciple.
At first, Yao Lao didn't have much attachment to Xiao Yan at all.
His real reason for training Xiao Yan was to prepare for his own future resurrection.
And to reforge a physical body, multiple Heavenly Flames were needed.
As a Nine-Star Dou Zun, just a step away from Ban Sheng, and the number one alchemist on the continent, Yao Lao possessed an invitation to the Spatial Trade Fair.
At that fair, one could trade for Heaven-Grade techniques, Dou Techniques, and Tier 8 pills.
With his wealth and connections, it was unbelievable that he didn't own Heaven-Grade techniques or Dou Techniques.
But back when Xiao Yan became a Dou Zhe, what did Yao Lao say to him?
When helping Xiao Yan choose a cultivation method, Yao Lao had explicitly warned about the risks of training Flame Mantra. He even told Xiao Yan that the success rate of cultivating it to the peak was less than twenty percent.
Yet, what did he do next?
He only offered Xiao Yan two choices—
First, A Low-Level Earth-Grade fire cultivation method
Second, Flame Mantra
Why?
Because he wanted to tempt Xiao Yan into choosing Flame Mantra.
And then he said, "No matter what you choose, you will still be my disciple."
He made it sound nice, but was that really the case?
Only by cultivating Flame Mantra could Xiao Yan obtain multiple Heavenly Flames at a lower cultivation level—exactly what Yao Lao needed for his resurrection.
That was his real plan.
Of course, Yao Lao knew how dangerous it was to cultivate Flame Mantra.
Refining even a single Heavenly Flame was a gamble with death.
And refining multiple?
Who had enough lives to risk something like that?
It was practically suicidal!
This was precisely why he never gave Flame Mantra to Han Feng, the disciple he had once treated like a son.
Ironically, this decision led Han Feng to betray him.
A cruel twist of fate.
Han Feng was a fool.
To betray a master just for a cultivation technique?
And not just any master—the number one alchemist on the continent?
How brain-dead could he be?
So, to say that Yao Lao had deep affection for Xiao Yan from the very beginning was unrealistic.
With his status, strength, and pride, how could he immediately value a boy from a small clan?
At first, Xiao Yan was nothing more than a tool.
Even if Xiao Yan had failed or died, Yao Lao would have simply moved on, searching for another suitable candidate.
—
It was only after spending years together that Yao Lao gradually came to truly view Xiao Yan as his successor—ultimately replacing Han Feng's position in his heart.
He even risked his life multiple times for Xiao Yan, falling into deep slumber and eventually getting captured by the Hall of Souls.
—
This Author Note..not mine
(A.N: This isn't my personal interpretation—if you don't believe it, go back and carefully reread the original novel. Pay attention to Yao Lao's first interaction with Xiao Yan, how he lured him into becoming his disciple, and the expressions and words he used when persuading him to choose Flame Mantra.)
(So yes, Yao Lao was selfish at the start—but can you blame him? Who in this world isn't? Especially someone of his stature, looking down on a mere ant from a backwater town like Wu Tan City. To him, Xiao Yan was just an experiment. Would you care about the life and death of a mere ant? A lab rat?)
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