Chapter Fourteen: Absorbing the Palm
Listening to the voice echoing in his mind, Xiao Yan blinked his eyes slightly and inconspicuously nodded his chin.
He didn't immediately pick up the black iron piece; instead, Xiao Yan lightly tossed the blood-stained green magic crystal in his hand and smiled at a mercenary man behind the stall who looked a bit shifty-eyed, saying, "What kind of magical beast's magic crystal is this?"
"Hehe, young master, you have a good eye. This is the magic crystal of a first-tier magical beast, the Swallowing Wood Fox. Among first-tier magic crystals, this one is considered top-notch. To obtain this crystal, our Sharp Fang Mercenary Group had to guard for three days and kill five Swallowing Wood Foxes to get just this one..." Seeing Xiao Yan's extraordinary attire, the mercenary hurriedly introduced with enthusiasm.
"If the young master is interested, it will only cost five hundred gold coins. Hehe, we also had a few brothers get seriously injured while hunting the Swallowing Wood Fox..."
Xiao Yan wiped the blood on the magic crystal with his finger and indeed found that the blood had not fully congealed. He nodded slightly and glanced at the two gold stars on the man's chest, casually saying, "That's too expensive. The usual price for a first-tier magic crystal ranges from four hundred to four hundred fifty. Moreover, while the Swallowing Wood Fox is also a magical beast, its attack power isn't that high. Your team members wouldn't have all failed to reach the fighter level, would they?"
The mercenary guy twitched his lips and let out a couple of dry laughs, clearly not expecting this kid in front of him to know so much about market prices and magical beasts. He could only awkwardly chuckle, saying, "Four hundred seventy, can't go any lower, after all, us brothers gotta make a living too..."
"Sigh..." Under the mercenary's nervous gaze, Xiao Yan bent down, rummaging through the stall. Just then, he happened to grab that strange iron piece, raising the item in his hand: "Four hundred seventy, for everything..."
The mercenary's eyes darted over the stuff in Xiao Yan's hand, and he quietly let out a sigh of relief, thankfully it was all cheap stuff...
"Deal!"
Without hesitation, Xiao Yan tossed a small bag of gold coins and picked up the items, turning to leave...
"Hey, Xiao Yan, not bad, huh? Buying something and still being so cautious." At that moment he turned around, the Medicine Elder was snickering in his heart.
"These guys are just a bunch of crooks. As soon as they see you show any interest in something, they jack up the price like crazy. I don」t want to be the sucker..." With a calm thought in his mind, Xiao Yan ignored the strange old man in the ring, and leisurely strolled out of the market with Xun Er, slowly making his way back to the family...
After parting ways with Xun Er in the family, Xiao Yan rushed back to his room in a hurry, then carefully shut the doors and windows...
Turning around, he looked at the old medicinal master who had appeared he didn」t know when, and Xiao Yan hurriedly took out the medicine and magic crystal he had bought, saying eagerly: "I」ve got everything, what else do I need to do?"
The old master chuckled, casually glancing over the materials on the table, and suddenly said: "Aren」t you going to check that black iron piece?"
"Uh?" Xiao Yan was taken aback, then quickly took out the black iron piece, examining it carefully from top to bottom, frowning as he asked: "What」s this thing for?"
The old pharmacist casually took the iron piece and laughed, saying: "Inside this, it seems there's a kind of fighting technique, but the person who made this iron piece might also be an alchemist, so only those with extraordinary soul perception can sense it."
"Fighting technique?" Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly asked, "What level is it?"
In the Douqi Continent, the importance of fighting techniques is no less than that of Douqi cultivation methods. A profound fighting technique can allow a person to unleash power far beyond their own during battle.
Like cultivation methods, fighting techniques are generally divided into the four ranks of heaven, earth, mystery, and yellow. The fighting techniques that circulate among the public on the continent are at most of the high yellow rank, while some high-level fighting techniques can only be obtained in certain academies or sects.
Of course, the Douqi Continent is extremely vast, and there are always some ancient fighting techniques that, for various reasons, have been lost to time, eventually being discovered by some lucky individual. Perhaps the black iron piece that Xiao Yan obtained is one such relic left behind by an ancient predecessor...
The old man flipped the iron piece and chuckled after a moment, saying, "Absorption Palm: Low-level Xuan rank!"
"Low-level Xuan rank" brought a slight smile to Xiao Yan's face. He didn't expect that this random junk he bought would actually hide a Xuan rank fighting skill. To be clear, the most profound fighting skill in his family was only a mid-level Xuan rank, and only the clan leader and a few elders were qualified to learn it.
"Absorption Palm: When cultivated to perfection, it can absorb a thousand pounds of boulders. If encountered by an enemy, the fierce absorbing force can forcibly pull the blood out of a person's body!"
"Pulling blood out of the body?" Xiao Yan's face changed in shock, and he swallowed hard, saying in surprise, "This... is too awesome, right? If the blood leaves the body, who can survive?"
"Of course, this thing can only deal with opponents of the same or lower level than you. If you encounter someone stronger, they'll just use your force against you, and the one in trouble will be you..." Old Yao casually tossed the iron piece over and said lightly, clearly not holding this fighting technique in high regard.
Old Yao is a big shot, so his standards are high. But in Xiao Yan's eyes, this is a high-level fighting technique! He happily picked up the black iron piece and said with a smile, "No matter what, this Absorption Palm is much better than those ordinary fighting techniques in the family. From now on, I'm going to learn this..."
"Tch, with your three-tiered fighting energy, being able to absorb a twig is already impressive. You want to absorb blood?" Shaking his head, Old Yao scoffed.
Rolling his eyes, Xiao Yan couldn't be bothered to pay attention to this quirky old man, clutching the iron piece and chuckling to himself.
"Look at you, a mere low-level battle skill has turned you into this, what a shame..." Shaking his head helplessly, Elder Yao grabbed the magic crystal on the table and instructed Xiao Yan, "Go get a big basin of water."
Seeing that Elder Yao seemed ready to start, Xiao Yan quickly put away the black iron piece and hurried off to prepare...
In the quiet room, Elder Yao picked up the purple-leaf orchid with his left hand, his eyes narrowing slightly. After a moment, he let out a gentle breath, and a somewhat pale flame suddenly erupted from his left palm...
As soon as the flame appeared, the temperature in the room rose significantly.
Staring unblinkingly at the white flame, Xiao Yan felt a bit shocked. Although he was aware of the alchemist's refining process, this release of battle energy into a tangible form was something even his father wouldn't be able to achieve...
With a calm expression, the old man in the pharmacy held a white flame that flickered slightly, engulfing the purple-leafed orchid within... The flame churned, and the purple-leafed orchid was almost instantly burned down to a small lump of green liquid...
He grabbed another purple-leafed orchid with his right hand and tossed it directly into the white flame...
After throwing all three purple-leafed orchids in, the lump of green liquid noticeably grew much larger.
The green liquid writhed continuously in the flames, the scorching heat tirelessly refining the impurities within...
As the flames continued to burn, the green liquid shrank smaller and smaller, and in a moment, it was reduced to about the size of a thumb...
Next, the old man threw in two washing bone flowers, melting them into the green liquid after they were refined in the flames...
Then came the refining of the magic crystal...
The three steps lasted for about an hour, yet Elder Yao's face still looked lively and energetic, showing no signs of fatigue.
An hour later, the hard magic crystal had been refined into a pool of pale green liquid, and the raging energy contained within the crystal had been washed away by Elder Yao's miraculous medicinal properties…
In his palm, the white flames gradually faded away, eventually disappearing completely.
Looking at the drop of liquid suspended in Elder Yao's palm, which was as green as jade, Xiao Yan rubbed his hands together, his extraordinary soul perception allowing him to clearly sense how abundant the energy of this liquid was…
"Teacher, do I just take it like this?" Xiao Yan blinked, feeling a bit impatient.
"If you want to die, just swallow it down directly. With those veins of yours, you'll become a real waste in no time." After giving Xiao Yan a sideways glance, the old pharmacist flicked his fingers, and the emerald liquid fell into the basin of clear water in the room, instantly turning the clear water into a shade of blue.
"From now on, train in here. With your talent for cultivation, reaching the seventh stage within a year shouldn't be a difficult task." The old pharmacist clapped his hands and said with a smile.
Xiao Yan was overjoyed and hurriedly nodded.
"Oh, almost forgot. This potion only lasts for two months, which means you'll have to buy today's stuff again every two months." The old pharmacist said cheerfully.
Xiao Yan's little face stiffened, and he nodded with a bit of a mournful expression.
"Damn, this stuff really is only affordable for the rich..."