At the meeting point between the desert and the field, a few green-colored leaves were occasionally decorated across the desert. The bits and pieces of the leaves may have been extremely rare, but compared to the monotonous golden-colored yellow sand within the desert, it was undoubtedly much more soothing to the eye.

As this place was close to the desert’s edge, one would occasionally see people coming and going, along with small groups of mercenary that had returned after hunting for Magic Beasts in the desert.

A black-clothed human figure walked at an even pace at the intersection between the desert and the land. The human figure was carrying a black ruler that was comparable to his height on his back. This somewhat strange combination of person and ruler caused the passerbys to throw him surprised glances.

However, the black-clothed young man simply ignored the surprised gazes shot from around him. His footsteps slowly fell on the firm road. Although his pace did not appear to be very fast, if one were to observe carefully, one would realize that each step that the young man took appeared to have been meticulously measured; the distance between each step was approximately the same.

The hot sun that hung high in the sky did not cause even the slightest drop of perspiration to surface on the young man’s forehead. His leisurely walking manner did not appear to be someone in a hurry. Instead, he appeared to be admiring the scenery along the way...

The slow travelling of the young man persisted for nearly an entire day. When the hot sun gradually descended beyond the horizon of the desert, he finally came to a slow stop. He raised his head and eyed the huge city that appeared at the edge of his sight. A faint smile surfaced on his delicate and handsome face. Xiao Yan lazily stretched his waist. When he heard the brittle sound between the bones, he laughed softly and reached his hand into his sleeves. He smiled and said, “Desert City. I’ve finally arrived.”

“Teacher, are we really going to refine the medicinal pill for that guy?” Standing on a sand dune, Xiao Yan stared at the distant city entrance where people were moving in and out as he whispered with a slight frown. The ‘guy’ whom he was referring to was naturally the hermit that Xiao Yan had coincidentally met back then in the ‘Desert City’, one of the former ten strong of the Jia Ma Empire, Ice Emperor, Hai Bodong.

“Ke ke, why not? Since we are already here, we should grab a favor from a Dou Huang along the way.” Yao Lao’s old laughter was emitted from within the ring, “Moreover, do you not wish to obtain the remaining map fragment? Although you have already obtained a ‘Heavenly Flame’ now, the upgrading of the Qi Method in the future will be even harder. Additionally, the ‘Purifying Demon Lotus Flame’ is quite an incredible thing. If you are able to obtain it, there won’t be many people who dare to easily look down on you in this Dou Qi continent.”

“But I keep getting the feeling that the guy is not a simple honest person.” Xiao Yan waved his hand and said.

“Hee hee, so what if he is not simple and honest? Even if he recovers his strength, he is only but a Dou Huang. What can he do to us?” Yao Lao laughed faintly, “But we should always be cautious of others even if we are also not some soft persimmon. In order to be safe, we should take some defensive precaution... I have told you before that when refining the medicinal pill, we can add some additional ingredient in it. If he does not have any ill will, everything can be discussed. But if he has some wicked ideas, then we will naturally not show any mercy.”

TL: Soft persimmon = weak

Hearing this, Xiao Yan parted his mouth and smiled. He nodded his head and said softly, “It’s just as well. Let’s do as Teacher has said. If we can really obtain a favor from a Dou Huang, that would be quite beneficial. This is especially true for the trip to the Misty Cloud Sect two months from now. Although I am not worried about fighting to the death with Nalan Yanran, those old fellows from the Misty Cloud Sect might want to attack me out of anger and humiliation if I were to win. This Ice Emepror might not be a bad bodyguard.”

“Hee hee, the specialty of an alchemist is their network. Did you not see the snatching of the ‘Heavenly Flame’ this time around? With just Gu He’s strength alone, he would not have been able to barge into the inner regions of the desert. However, that guy managed to invite so many strong people to help him. In the end, he even created a mess in the Snake-People race.” Yao Lao said with a smile.

“Yes.” Xiao Yan smiled and nodded his head. He patted his Heavy Xuan Ruler and began to slowly walk toward the huge city located at the edge of the desert.

After successfully entering the city, Xiao Yan stood on the street and looked around him. He then followed the route from his memory and walked toward the end of the street. A long while later, he stopped at the entrance of an old fashioned map shop located at the end of the street.

At the moment, the door of the shop had already been closed perhaps due to the sky being dark. A faint light was shooting out from the gap in the door, shining onto Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan stood at the door of the shop and eyed the unlatched door. His heart could not help but think back to his luck. He did not expect that by randomly running around back then, he would meet a hermit Dou Huang. This kind of result had really exceeded his expectations.

After tilting his head and sweeping his gaze across the street which had very few people, Xiao Yan quietly pushed open the main door. After which, he entered, turned his hand around and shut the building’s door tightly.

Within the shop, a Moonlight Stone was emitting a faint glow. The warm and not eye-piercing glow shined upon the entire room until it was quite bright.

The room still had the same decorations as in the past. The damage caused by the fight from the last time had already been completely repaired. Behind the platform that was piled with maps, an old man was lowering his head and meticulously creating a map in his hand. As he was too engrossed, he did not sense Xiao Yan who had quietly entered.

Within the shop, there were another four people choosing maps. Three were male and one was a female. Their clothes were also extremely gorgeous. Behind the four of them, there were a few large men with strongly build bodies standing by them respectfully. When Xiao Yan entered, the four tilted their heads over and took a glance. However, when they saw Xiao Yan’s dusty look, they turned their heads back and lazily chose the maps in front of them.

When the four people turned around, Xiao Yan’s gaze jumped across their faces. The three men had quite good appearances but their eyes carried a faint haughtiness that greatly discounted the impression people had for them. The other person, the lady, was wearing a tight red-colored long dress. Her appearance was extremely pretty. With her figure being wrapped in the red dress, it appeared exquisite and orderly. The three men beside her would occasionally sweep their gaze over the attractive back of the lady in the red dress. An adoration and yearning would flash in their eyes. However, under this adoration, there appeared to be a hidden fear toward this lady in the red dress.

Xiao Yan ignored this group of people whose actions appeared a little strange. His gaze swept across the old man and slowly walked toward the counter. He randomly picked up a map scroll and lazily flipped through it.

Hearing the sound of the map being flipped, the old man’s ink pen which was moving like flowing water paused. However, like the first time he and Xiao Yan met, he did not lift his head. He simply said indifferently, “I’m sorry. This store has already closed for the day. If you need to buy a map, please come again tomorrow.”

Hearing the old man’s usual cold and indifferent words, Xiao Yan could not help shaking his head. This old man...

Just as Xiao Yan was about to speak, two large men moved agilely and blocked Xiao Yan’s path. Their hands were holding their weapons on their waist as they stared at him with fierce faces.

“Uh?” The sudden scene before him caused Xiao Yan to be at a loss. Did he offend someone without even saying a word? Immediately, he shook his head, confused. Xiao Yan then tilted his head toward the lady in a red dress who appeared to have quite a high position in the Desert City.

“When Grandmaster Bing is making maps, he does not like to be disturbed. Therefore, I would like to trouble you to leave for now.” The lady in a red dress who had a pretty appearance slowly walked forward and said faintly.

Although the lady’s voice was gentle, it was not difficult to hear the overbearing and unreasonable tone within it. “...Don’t tell me that these people know of his identity?” When he saw that this lady was so thoughtful for Hai Bo Dong, Xiao Yan was immediately at a loss as he said with surprise in his heart.

Compared to Xiao Yan’s surprise, the red dress lady in front of him was a little dispirited in her heart. Her father had always told her that the old man in this map shop was a strong person with extremely great strength. Thus, each time she had some free time, he would instruct his precious daughter to come here to greet and inquire about the old man and use all his authority to provide him with the best care. However, the old man was not appreciative of his care. Each time she came, she would receive a cold shoulder for her feverous effort. The lady of haughty character had difficulty accepting the old man’s actions.

Although she had always received a cold shoulder, the red dress lady held great trust in her father. Moreover, on one instance, she had faintly sensed the frightening Qi that the old man did not easily reveal. Under that Qi, she realized that she only had the right to tremble...

Thus, for a long time, she had still treated the old man with great respect despite his indifferent attitude. Her submissive and docile manner frequently caused some of her companions to be in disbelief. Was this obedient girl the same person as the spoiled demon girl who had once caused the Desert City great havoc?

Today, she had come to the shop to support the old man as usual. Naturally, the old man’s attitude towards her was as indifferent as it usually was. Other than glancing at her when she came in, his attention was poured over his map and was too lazy to bother with them.

With the haughty character of the red dress lady, her heart naturally had some resentment that she had difficulty expressing when faced with such treatment. However, this resentment was something that she could not express to the old man. Therefore, Xiao Yan, who had barged in at this time coincidentally became the target of her anger.

Xiao Yan ignored the spoiled cry by the lady and simply glanced at her carelessly. He randomly threw the map in his hand onto the counter, leaned his body to one side and side-stepped the blockade of the two large men.

Seeing that Xiao Yan not only did not obey her words and leave, but instead became overbearing and moved closer, the eyebrows of the red dress lady became vertical. A dangerous glint flashed across her eyes and she raised her snow white chin slightly. The surrounding few large men carried a fierceness on their faces as the began to surround Xiao Yan.

The red dress lady folded her hands in front of her chest as she stared at Xiao Yan with mocking eyes. However, just as she was prepared to see the latter begging for mercy, Xiao Yan performed an action that caused her to be totally stunned.

Xiao Yan pulled over a map with his hand and violently threw it at the old man who held an extremely distinguished position in the lady’s heart. At the same time he threw it over, his mouth grumbled, “Old Man, are you still pretending to be indifferent? Do you still want me to refine that medicine?”