"The Flame Spirit Tripod? It seems that this is indeed the artifact that will play a role."
Ye Xuan’s gaze sharpened slightly as he beckoned with his hand, and both the Molten Lava Earth Core Fire and the Xuanbing Cold Flame obediently flew over, to be cast into the cauldron.
The two flames had already fused into one, but this was merely a physical combination. After Ye Xuan cast them into the cauldron, the cauldron quickly revealed a layer of very striking ancient patterns.
"It will take at least seven days for the two flames to complete their final fusion."
The voice of the Artifact Spirit sounded once more, and now it viewed Ye Xuan with nothing but respect.
"Alright, let it slowly complete the fusion here."
Ye Xuan nodded, taking advantage of these days to refine some pills and consolidate his recently advanced cultivation.
Once the two Spiritual Fires were fully integrated, it would be like a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly, and its power would be several times stronger than it is now. At that time, it would indeed rival the so-called natural wonders of the Spirit Martial World.
Ye Xuan was originally in closed-door cultivation when he was summoned by Zi Ying. Although he didn’t know what she wanted, since Zi Ying was now his boss, he couldn’t ignore the call.
The territory of the Shadow Demon Clan was vast, and the distance between Zi Ying’s residence and Ye Xuan was considerable. Zi Ying, the daughter of the Shadow Demon Clan Leader, lived in a place akin to a human manor, not somewhere just anyone could enter.
"Human, this isn’t a place you can just enter at will. Go back."
To Ye Xuan’s surprise, he was still stopped from entering, even after he mentioned he was summoned by Zi Ying.
Ye Xuan didn’t intend to force his way through. After being stopped by the guards, he conscientiously left.
"They won’t let me in openly, but would I not come back at night? That woman is not someone to be trifled with."
Ye Xuan secretly plotted, wondering whether some internal issues had arisen within the Shadow Demon Clan. Since when had Miss Zi Ying’s words carried so little weight that even the gatekeepers wouldn’t let him in? Surely, there must be something else at play.
He didn’t make a move during the day, but at night, Ye Xuan quietly slipped into the Clan Leader’s residence.
"Where does that girl live again?"
Ye Xuan wandered around the Clan Leader’s residence, searching for Zi Ying’s room, but he couldn’t be careless—prohibitions were everywhere, and one false step could possibly trigger a prohibition, causing a disturbance.
Ye Xuan swept up and landed on the roof of a pavilion—if he remembered correctly, Zi Ying should live there.
Outside the pavilion, a prohibition shielded it, blocking all Divine Sense probes. However, Ye Xuan was no ordinary man, and his Heavenly Realm Perfection level soul power could seep through the prohibition undetected.
Inside the prohibition, there was a boudoir filled with a faint fragrance, and the air seemed to be permeated with a layer of steam. Ye Xuan’s soul power pushed further, and a misty bathtub came into view.
In the bath, there was an extraordinarily beautiful woman; the milky white liquid of the pool emitted a light mist, veiling her perfect and alluring body.
Any man who would see such a scene would likely nosebleed profusely.
To look further would be inappropriate. Ye Xuan quickly retracted his soul probe, peeping at a young lady taking a bath, after all, was not the act of a gentleman.
"I’m really puzzled, asking me to come just for a bath."
Ye Xuan couldn’t help but murmur to himself, but he didn’t consider whether sneaking into a girl’s boudoir in the middle of the night might be a bit inappropriate.
Just as Ye Xuan was about to leave, he suddenly spotted a sneaky figure approaching from a distance.
Ye Xuan quickly found a place a little farther away to hide. If he were to be discovered now, not even jumping into the Yellow River could clear his name.
"Who’s this in the middle of the night?"
After hiding, Ye Xuan couldn’t help but feel puzzled. Who would come here in the dead of night, and acting so sneakily at that, not much better than himself?
Slowly releasing his soul power, Ye Xuan saw a hunchbacked old man, shadowy like a phantom. If he remembered correctly, this man should be the Second Elder of the Shadow Demon Clan, with cultivation at the Semi-Saint level.
This Second Elder clearly did not fear the prohibition, tearing a small opening in it with ease and sneaking in.
Looking around with shifty eyes, the Second Elder finally took out a jade bottle from his sleeve. Opening the bottle, he blew wisps of smoke, almost invisible to the naked eye, into the room.
"Is this old guy trying to rob the cradle?"
A rather sleazy idea suddenly popped into Ye Xuan’s mind. His initial reaction was surprise, but his second was a bit of schadenfreude. I let you act all high and mighty all day long, little miss, and now your own clan’s elder is plotting against you. Serves you right.
After releasing the colorless and odorless Poison Smoke, the Second Elder did not enter Zi Ying’s room as Ye Xuan expected, but left directly.
Ye Xuan was immediately puzzled. Had he thought too much? Then, releasing his soul power once more, he saw within the room that the Poison Smoke was having a significant effect. Zi Ying seemed to be succumbing to the poison, looking drowsy and about to fall asleep.
At this moment, probably even an ordinary person could easily walk into the room and have their way with her.
But Ye Xuan clearly wasn’t the kind of person to take advantage of someone in danger, nor did he have any intention of doing so.
Rustle, rustle, rustle...
Just then, suddenly, there were more sneaky footsteps approaching from not too far away.
"Someone else is coming?"
Ye Xuan was taken aback, then cursed under his breath and slipped back into his previous hiding spot.
This time, it was none other than Young Master Flame Demon, Fei Lian.
"Why is it this guy?"
Ye Xuan was stunned for a moment, but as soon as he saw the eager expression on the other’s face, he immediately understood. It turned out that the old man was in league with this guy. The Second Elder’s actions were just making a wedding dress for Fei Lian.
Fei Lian must have been afraid of exposure if he came directly, which was why he had the Second Elder do the dirty work and scout the surroundings beforehand, only approaching when he was sure it was clear.
"So it’s this guy who wants to feast on the greenery."
Ye Xuan finally understood, a glint in his eye, "I didn’t really want to interfere, but if someone’s going to defile this beauty, it definitely can’t be you."
Fei Lian had already harbored the intent to kill him, and the two were enemies. Naturally, Ye Xuan would not let Fei Lian succeed.