Chapter 240: Chapter 240: The Old Method Still Works

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    Word Count: 2,055 Words

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    The Green Wood Celestial Vine was a key ingredient for refining the Ground Spirit Pill. Encountering it here by chance was truly a stroke of incredible luck!

    Suppressing the surge of joy in his heart, Xiao Yan squeezed through the crowd and slowly approached this somewhat special stone platform. The surrounding people, observing his actions, could not help but halt their steps. Their gazes carried a hint of anticipation for some excitement.

    After all, even though two months had passed, Xiao Yan''s reputation remained significant. Some busybodies had already considered him a contender for the top ten in this year''s Strong Ranking Grand Competition.

    And the person in front of him, Lin Yan, had been ranked 9th in the previous Strong Ranking. It was evident that the encounter between these two would undoubtedly be a good show.

    "Xiao Yan ge-ge?" Xun Er softly called upon sensing his movement.

    Xiao Yan halted in front of the stone platform. His eyes remained fixed directly on the Green Wood Celestial Vine. After a moment''s hesitation, he reached out his hand toward it.

    Just as his hand was about to touch the vine, a sharp gust of wind suddenly tore through the air. The force was so intense that it even made the fine hairs on his arm stand up slightly.

    A faint smile curled at the corner of Xiao Yan''s mouth as he sensed the sharpness of that force. With a thought, a wisp of blood-red flame instantly surged from his Acceptance Soul, swiftly traversing several meridians, and finally burst out of his body as his hand retracted rapidly. "Huh?"

    The moment the blood-red flame wrapped around his hand, a surprised exclamation sounded. Immediately after, that sharp gust of wind was completely incinerated by the Ten Thousand Beast Flame.

    Having been warned by the stall owner, Xiao Yan did not forcibly take the Green Wood Celestial Vine. Instead, he withdrew his hand and lifted his head to look at the gray-robed man before him.

    By now, Lin Yan had opened his eyes and looked at Xiao Yan with slight surprise. His brows furrowed as he asked, "You''re Xiao Yan?"

    Xiao Yan nodded slightly and smiled. "Hello."

    He was not unfamiliar with the red glow in Lin Yan''s eyes. Anyone who spent long periods cultivating in the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower would develop this condition, commonly known as ''fire poison invasion.''

    Even someone as special as Xiao Yan would inevitably have some fire poison lingering in his body if he stayed too long, requiring the power of the Nihility Devouring Flame to cleanse it. However, the red glow he usually saw in others'' eyes was just a faint trace, whereas Lin Yan''s eyes were almost entirely filled with red light. Evidently, the fire poison had already invaded his heart.

    "If you''re not buying, don''t touch as you please. Others might fear you, Xiao Yan, but I, Lin Yan, do not." Lin Yan cast a cold glance at Xiao Yan with his reddened eyes.

    "Who said I''m not buying? You haven''t even set a price." Xiao Yan crossed his arms over his chest, displaying an air of wealth.

    And indeed, it was so. Who did not know that Xiao Yan had earned ten thousand days'' worth of Fire Energy two months ago and had become a veritable tycoon in the Inner Academy?

    Lin Yan sneered coldly, "Four hundred days of Fire Energy."

    The entire area suddenly fell silent as soon as these words left his mouth. People looked at him as if he were a madman. A sum like four hundred was enormous; some might not accumulate that much in a whole year or even two.

    It was unclear whether Lin Yan was intentionally quoting a high price or not.

    Xiao Yan pursed his lips in dissatisfaction. "Hey, hey, isn''t this daylight robbery? Although this thing is somewhat special, it''s not worth four hundred days of Fire Energy."

    In his heart, however, he agreed with Lin Yan''s asking price. Though four hundred days of Fire Energy seemed expensive, this was the main ingredient for a tier 6 pill, equivalent in value to a tier 5 pill. Four hundred days of Fire Energy was not unreasonable.

    "Although I don''t know exactly what this green vine is, the fact that two Dou King-level magical beasts fought to the death over it proves its value is definitely not low. Moreover, I almost lost my life obtaining it. So, four hundred days of Fire Energy isn''t expensive. If you can''t afford it, then move along and stop delaying my business." Lin Yan cast a sidelong glance at Xiao Yan and waved dismissively.

    Even though Lin Yan spoke casually, his words still caused a stir among the surrounding crowd. Snatching something from two Dou King-level magical beasts-this Lin Yan truly lived up to his reputation as the craziest person in the Inner Academy.

    Xun Er''s eyes narrowed with displeasure when she heard Lin Yan''s contemptuous words toward Xiao Yan. She retrieved a Fire Crystal Card from her storage ring and said coldly, "I''ll buy it."

    Even Lin Yan was momentarily stunned when he saw Xun Er take out a green Fire Crystal Card with a four-digit number displayed on it.

    A rich lady indeed!

    The gazes cast toward Xiao Yan were filled with astonishment.

    This Xiao Yan was actually an alchemist?!?

    All the senior students knew only of Xiao Yan''s formidable strength, but they had not

    expected him to be an alchemist as well!

    Lin Yan slowly exhaled, his facial expressions shifting several times before he calmed down.

    Regaining his composure, he gave Xiao Yan a cold look and said, "Why should I believe you have this ability? The fire poison in my body was examined by the top talents in the Inner Academy''s Alchemy Department, and they all said it was incurable. What makes you

    different?"

    Xiao Yan chuckled, "The Alchemy Department? Don''t lump me in with those alchemists. I once removed the Searing Poison from a Dou King. Is your fire poison more troublesome than

    that?"

    Though Xiao Yan spoke with a smile, his absolute confidence in his alchemy skills shone in his

    eyes.

    After pondering for a moment, Lin Yan said, "How about this? If you really can completely expel the fire poison from my body, then with an additional hundred Fire Energy this green vine will be yours. How about that?"

    Xiao Yan lightly shook his head and replied, "You''re the one in need of my help now. If you''re

    unwilling, I can still buy it for four hundred Fire Energy. I am not lacking in Fire Energy

    anyway."

    His eyes narrowed slightly as he was certain Lin Yan would agree.

    Xiao Yan was all too familiar with this kind of situation! Back then, wasn''t it the same with Nalan Jie and Hai Bodong? The method might be old, but as long as it works, it works!

    Lin Yan''s eyes sharpened as he nodded heavily. "Fine! But you must completely remove the

    fire poison from my body; not a trace can remain. Even a little residue is unacceptable. Only then will I give you the green vine."

    Xiao Yan waved his sleeve dismissively. "Come find me at the Xiao Hall tonight. I still want to

    stroll around with Xun Er."

    "Huh? You''re not going to remove the fire poison now?"

    "Your matter is just a small matter for me."

    With that said, Xiao Yan took Xun Er''s hand and continued to wander the trading area, leaving

    Lin Yan standing dumbfounded in the cold wind.

    If he did not coax Xun Er now, this girl would be harder to deal with than the fire poison. After all, he planned to enter closed-door cultivation in the No. 1 cultivation room ten days later when Zi Yan came out, and incidentally help Queen Medusa condense a Heavenly Flame Body.

    Xiao Yan and Xun Er spent most of the day browsing the trading area and even enjoyed a delightful dinner outside before returning intimately.

    Lin Yan, who had been pacing back and forth at the door for half a day, hurried over and

    exclaimed when he saw that Xiao Yan and Xun Er had finally returned, "You''re finally back! If you hadn''t returned, I was about to go find you in the trading area."

    Lin Yan was on the verge of tears. This is a matter of life and death for me! Can''t you postpone your flirting for a while?