Chapter 15: I Have a Special Source of Intelligence...

Chapter 15: I Have a Special Source of Intelligence...

Before long, Lu Bu slowly opened his eyes and spotted Xiao Yan standing several meters away.

"Xiao Yan?"

Lu Bu raised an eyebrow. He had anticipated that Xiao Yan might return, but he didn't expect the boy to come back so quickly. As expected of someone destined to become a Dou Di such decisiveness was rare among ordinary people.

"You… you know me?" Hearing Lu Bu call out his name, Xiao Yan was visibly shaken. During their earlier battle, he hadn't revealed his name at all.

"Who doesn't know your name?" Lu Bu teased with a smirk. "Xiao Yan of the Xiao family in Wu Tan City, third young master, fiancé of Nalan Yanran. That line of yours 'Thirty years to the east of the river, thirty years to the west' it was truly earth shaking…"

Hearing this, a trace of embarrassment flashed across Xiao Yan's face. He hadn't expected this person to know so much.

But before Xiao Yan could recover from his awkwardness, Lu Bu continued, "The infamous lecher of the Dou Qi Continent. At the age of three, you sneaked into your cousin's room and touched her all over, claiming it was for 'nurturing her body.'"

"At ten, you spied on your cousin bathing, and when caught, you threw a tantrum and turned the blame on her. Hmm? Wait, wasn't Xiao Yu supposed to be your paternal cousin? How did she become your maternal cousin instead?"

"Y you… how do you know all this?!" Having his embarrassing past exposed, Xiao Yan's face turned bright red as he angrily yelled.

"I have a special source of intelligence…" Lu Bu replied mysteriously, a faint smile lingering on his face.

Xiao Yan's face flushed even redder. "Y you… nonsense! I'm not some kind of lecher!"

"Kid, your reputation as a lecher is known across the Great Thousand Worlds and all the heavens!" Lu Bu scoffed and gave him a disdainful look.

Xiao Yan: "…"

Damn it! If I wasn't weaker than him, I'd beat him so hard his own father wouldn't recognize him!

"Let's get to the point." Lu Bu's tone shifted. "What do you want from me?"

Xiao Yan heaved a small sigh of relief. Thankfully, this guy didn't dwell on the embarrassing details. Without hesitation, he explained his intentions: borrowing the area and the puppet for training.

"Fine, I'll lend it to you. Use it." Lu Bu casually waved his hand, summoning the puppet. With his spiritual imprint already engraved on it, no one could take it from him.

Xiao Yan nodded. Although this guy was annoying, he was true to his word.

"Not bad, kid." Yao Lao emerged from his ring with a faint smile of approval. This person was indeed reliable.

Yao Lao's presence was no longer hidden, as Lu Bu had already figured out his existence.

Lu Bu glanced at him briefly but didn't respond. Instead, he formed hand seals and resumed meditating to consolidate his newly advanced Dou Shi realm.

…

Time passed quickly, and another month went by. Lu Bu stuck to his routine of cultivation and physical training, occasionally venturing into the depths of the Magical Beast Mountain Range to fight beasts. His Dou Qi steadily grew, and within this month, he advanced again, reaching the rank of Two Star Dou Shi.

Xiao Yan's progress was similarly impressive. With Yao Lao's assistance and medicinal pills, he advanced two stars in one month, steadily approaching the Dou Shi level.

Clang, clang, clang…

By the waterfall, Xiao Yan was once again sparring with the puppet. Without using Dou Qi, the puppet's offensive strength was only equivalent to that of a three or four star Dou Shi.

Lu Bu had previously estimated the puppet could fight a Da Dou Shi level opponent to a draw because of its lack of pain, tirelessness, and solid defense.

It must be said that Xiao Yan's sharp instincts had proven correct. The puppet was indeed an excellent sparring partner, allowing Xiao Yan to progress at a pace noticeably faster than in the original timeline.

Bang!

The puppet's iron fist struck Xiao Yan squarely in the chest, sending him tumbling into the lake with a splash.

"That's enough for now. Take a break," Yao Lao said, waving his hand. His spiritual power activated a formation engraved on the puppet, causing it to freeze in place like a machine shutting down.

"Ugh… I'm exhausted…" Xiao Yan panted heavily, lying on the lakeshore and catching his breath.

The puppet had no sense of restraint, striking with full force every time. One careless move could lead to injury. Although Xiao Yan could recover from injuries, the healing process wasted a lot of time a resource he lacked. Every day, he had to maintain peak focus to handle the puppet's relentless attacks.

Meanwhile, Lu Bu ignored them entirely. He was holding a yellowed scroll a partially incomplete map that faintly depicted a sinister black fire lotus.

The map of the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame it's time to extract Yao Lao's alchemy techniques. This map of the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame was nothing more than bait.

Both the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame and the Ancient Refining Formation were things Lu Bu had to obtain; there was no way he would let Xiao Yan get his hands on them.

As for how to take the map back from Xiao Yan... Jie. Lu Bu was a transmigrator. He had more than enough leverage to crush Xiao Yan and make him call him "father."

Not long after, Xiao Yan, now in clean clothes and panting heavily, arrived beside Lu Bu. Noticing that Lu Bu wasn't cultivating as usual but instead staring blankly at a piece of yellowed paper, Xiao Yan couldn't help but lean in closer to look.

"Brother Lu, what's that?"

"Xiao Yan, this thing… is quite extraordinary!" Yao Lao exclaimed in his mind. "That lotus looks like the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame!"

"The Purifying Lotus Demon Flame? The third ranked flame among the Heavenly Flames?" A flash of excitement appeared on Xiao Yan's face. His Burning Flame Art was still at its beginner level Yellow Rank and was absolutely abysmal in every aspect.

His Dou Qi would run out within minutes during a fight. He was desperate to upgrade his technique and had been dreaming of obtaining a Heavenly Flame to the point his eyes practically turned green with envy.

"Brother Lu, this map seems to hold a lot of secrets…" Xiao Yan licked his lips and cautiously probed.

Lu Bu glanced at him, knowing full well the fish had taken the bait.

"Oh? You're interested?" Lu Bu asked indifferently.

"Jie…" Xiao Yan chuckled nervously. "I've always been curious about mysterious things like this."

"Do you know what this is?" Lu Bu asked with a sly smile.

"No idea. I'm just curious," Xiao Yan replied, shaking his head. This was clearly something related to a Heavenly Flame, and he didn't want that information leaking out. The person in front of him also had fire attribute Dou Qi; who's to say they wouldn't end up competing for it?

"Do you want to know?" Lu Bu smiled.

"You know what it is, Brother Lu?" Xiao Yan asked in shock, but inwardly, his heart sank. This could get troublesome...

"This was left behind by the Purifying Lotus Demon Saint." Lu Bu flicked the map with his fingers and smirked.

"The Purifying Lotus Demon Saint…" Xiao Yan's expression drastically changed. Even the name suggested a Dou Sheng level expert.

"Indeed, the Purifying Lotus Demon Saint," Lu Bu nodded and continued with a sly smile. "He was a peerless expert at the peak of Nine Star Dou Sheng, just half a step away from becoming a Dou Di. He was nearly the first Dou Di to emerge after Tuoshe Ancient Emperor."

Xiao Yan's jaw dropped. His mouth went dry as he stood frozen in shock. He had thought this map was merely connected to a Heavenly Flame, but it turned out to involve a near Dou Di expert!

"Th this…" Xiao Yan stammered, unable to find his words.

Even Yao Lao, upon hearing this, emerged from the ring with a solemn expression.

Seeing their reactions, Lu Bu continued, "The Purifying Lotus Demon Saint earned his title because he refined the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame."

"And this map he left behind? Its purpose is to guide someone to obtain the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame. In other words…" Lu Bu waved the map in his hand with a grin.

"This is the Purifying Lotus Demon Saint's legacy!"

Boom! Xiao Yan's mind felt like it exploded. He stood there dumbfounded, mouth agape, unable to utter a single word.

"Th this… I… you… how…?" Xiao Yan stuttered incoherently, his brain unable to process the enormity of the revelation.

Meanwhile, Yao Lao's eyes narrowed as he fell into deep thought. After a long moment, he finally spoke: "Kid, why are you telling us all this? And how do you even know these things?"

As someone who had traveled the continent for decades and seen countless wonders, Yao Lao could only identify the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame on the map. He had no knowledge of the Purifying Lotus Demon Saint or his legacy. So how did this boy know?

Xiao Yan suddenly snapped out of his daze. That's right why was he telling them all this? Wouldn't it be better for him to keep it to himself?

"Of course, I have a special source of intelligence," Lu Bu said as he tapped the map lightly. "Do you want it?"

"What do you mean?" Xiao Yan's expression darkened.

"If you want it, I can give it to you," Lu Bu said with a smile. "As long as you can offer something of equal value in exchange."

Hearing this, Yao Lao's eyes sparkled with excitement. As the continent's number one alchemist, he lacked nothing except, perhaps, more wealth.

Xiao Yan's eyes also lit up with excitement. This was the legacy of a near Dou Di! Even if it was incomplete, obtaining it meant a sliver of hope for unparalleled power!

"Speak, boy. What do you want?" Yao Lao laughed heartily. "Whether it's cultivation techniques, Dou Techniques, or pills, there's nothing I can't provide!"

That's exactly what I was waiting for.

Lu Bu smiled faintly. "I want… your alchemy techniques."