When Xiao Yan awoke from his unconscious state, he still felt a persistent, needle-like pain throughout his body. He gently touched the Na-Jie on his fingers, and a small jade bottle appeared in his hand. Tilting the bottle, he poured a few drops of pink liquid into his mouth. After swallowing the liquid, which had a pain-relieving effect, the sharp pains gradually subsided. He then sat up, picked up the black scroll, only to find that all the characters and the eagle-wing illustrations had vanished completely. Staring at the now empty scroll, Xiao Yan blinked several times. Suddenly, he removed his robe and took out a crystal mirror from his Na-Jie. With the reflected light, he noticed that black eagle-wing tattoos had appeared on his back—unexpectedly, of palm-sized dimensions. "Is this the Purple Cloud Carved Wings?" "Somewhat puzzled, he murmured softly and directed his ki along the two slender branches, channeling it into the pair of small tattoos on his back. Upon receiving the ki flow, the dark tattoos immediately emitted a faint purple glow, eventually solidifying into tangible wings—expanding from palm-sized to nearly half a foot in span. Curious about the purple-veined eagle wings, Xiao Yan gently flapped them, and a subtle lift emerged beneath him. However, the lift was still too weak to lift him off the ground. "To enable the Purple Cloud Wings to fly requires a considerable amount of ki. With your current strength and even with mastery, you'll likely only be able to achieve short glides," the old doctor chuckled, watching Xiao Yan's somewhat comical movements. With a smile, Xiao Ran nodded. He hadn't expected immediate true flight, and having this level of effect was already more than satisfactory—after all, everything had to come gradually. Stopping the infusion of Qi, the eagle wings on his back once again settled against his shoulders, transforming into a dark eagle tattoo. He then slowly stretched, gathering the now-blank black scroll in front of him. After a brief pause, he retrieved another scroll from his storage ring. Examining the scroll closely, which was somewhat yellowed and ancient, Xiao Ran excitedly rubbed his hands. Since it had been concealed within the crevices of a predecessor's bones, it must be no ordinary item. Unfolding the scroll carefully in his hands and laying it flat, Xiao Ran paused, slightly taken aback: "What is this?" What appeared before him was a sheet of paper made from some unknown material, slightly yellowed, upon which were drawn patterns that seemed entirely irregular. A finger pointed to one of these patterns and then slowly traced along it, yet eventually moved beyond the edge of the paper without revealing any further object or detail. "What on earth is this?"萧炎 frowned, gazing at this mysterious, almost incoherent array of lines. The black ring on his finger trembled slightly. Even the old doctor, Yao, drifted out and scanned the ancient parchment with a furrowed brow, murmuring thoughtfully, "It seems... like a fragment of a map." "A map? And fragmented?" Hearing this, 萧炎 raised an eyebrow, instantly losing interest. Ignoring Xiao Yan's lackluster interest, the Ye Elder slowly unfolded the skin paper completely and carefully examined it back and forth. When his gaze suddenly fell upon a somewhat blurry, flower-like shape in the corner of the paper—resembling a lotus—he slightly frowned, then bent down again to closely inspect this mysterious lotus-like object. This lotus-like form, perhaps due to the passage of time, appeared slightly yellowed and a bit hazy, though its overall outline remained discernible. The lotus itself was black, with a thin layer of black flame seemingly adhering to its surface. Upon closer inspection, the entire bloom seemed to exude an eerie, otherworldly quality. "Master, have you noticed something?" Xiao Yan was slightly startled by the Elder's demeanor—after all, this was the first time he had ever seen the Ye Elder react in such a manner during their long-standing relationship. "Is this... the 'Pure Lotus Fiery Spirit'?" His eyes were fixed intently on this strange black lotus. After careful observation, the herbal elder suddenly murmured with a touch of surprise. "Pure Lotus Demon Fire?" He blinked in curiosity. At that moment, Xiao Yan's mind stirred, and he ventured, hesitantly, "Is it an unusual fire?" "Yes, it's an unusual fire—indeed, one of the most mysterious on the list of Unusual Fires." The herbal elder nodded, his face slightly serious, and spoke in a measured tone. "The Pure Lotus Demon Fire ranks third on the List of Unusual Fires, possessing a special effect that purifies all things. Anything touched—even slightly—by this fire will be purified into pure nothingness, making its power exceptionally formidable. This kind of unusual fire is extremely rare throughout the world, seemingly existing in only a handful of instances, though no one knows exactly where they are located or who first documented them. Indeed, no one has ever truly witnessed one. I was able to recognize it only because, while searching for unusual fires, I encountered a faint trace of it at one point. Remarkable—could this very map be the pathway to finding the 'Pure Lotus Demon Fire'? "The old pharmacist stared in astonishment at this ancient parchment, marveling at it. "Unfortunately, this is only a fragment of the map. With such vague information, we simply cannot locate it." Xiao Yan was also intrigued, yet he felt a sense of regret upon realizing that it was merely a partial map. "Having this bit of information about the 'Pure Lotus Demon Flame' is already quite good. Even if you manage to locate it now, with your current strength, you won't be able to handle it—so just take it slow. Who knows, perhaps in the future you might be able to gather other fragments as well." The old medic smiled and added, "If you succeed in absorbing the 'Pure Lotus Demon Flame,' do you think the 'Burn Technique' will evolve to what level?" "The medicine elder smiled, his body slightly trembling as he shimmered into a streak of light and vanished into the ring, leaving behind a chuckle: 'Rest today. From tomorrow on, the rigorous training begins!' Hearing this, Xiao Yan touched his face and grinned: 'I'm really looking forward to it!' ... Gentle sunlight bathed the earth, while the massive waterfall surged powerfully beneath it, eventually transforming into a silver ribbon that surged like a furious dragon, plunging down the mountain peak, its thunderous roar echoing throughout the small valley. Standing beneath the waterfall, Xiao Yan inhaled the moist air deeply, then lifted his gaze toward the towering cascade, his heart tingling with excitement. In the open space behind him, dozens of wooden stakes were planted. At just two meters above these stakes, several of them were suspended from tall tree trunks. As a strong wind blew through, the suspended stakes swayed wildly. The black ring trembled slightly, and the Yeold wavered out, drifting toward the dozens of wooden stakes. He surveyed them with a satisfied nod, his gaze lingering with a hint of cunning upon Xiao Yan, pointing at the stakes with a warm smile. "Every morning from now on, you must practice here. I'll command these floating stakes to attack you. You must evade them—during your evasions, you must not remove the heavy sword on your back. Oh, I nearly forgot—by now, you've already named it the Xuan Zhong Chi. During your evasions, you must keep the Xuan Zhong Chi in place, and you must also refrain from using the Absorption Palm or the Blowing Fire Palm." Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan nodded slightly, his face showing eager anticipation. He was confident in his own agility and evasion skills. "Would you like to try?" the Yeold smiled suddenly, his expression revealing a touch of cunning. "As you wish." Shrugging his shoulders, Xiao Yan pushed off the ground with his foot tip, his figure gracefully drifting upward to rest on a wooden post. With a slight adjustment of his hands, his tall and elegant posture subtly exuded the air of a master. He smiled at the old doctor and said, "Come on, let me see how these things your teacher has prepared will make me feel the pain." "Good spirit—let's see how many posts you can endure!" The old doctor nodded warmly, then waved his sleeve, sending a sudden gust of wind bursting forth from it. Instantly, among the dozens of wooden posts floating in midair, one surged forward and struck Xiao Yan squarely on the post. Before his body could straighten up, another spear shot forth. As Xiao Yan's foot pressed against the wooden stake, he was about to step away from it when his face suddenly changed—his foot, pressed upon the stake, seemed as if glued there by something unseen. The sudden turn of events startled Xiao Yan, yet his composure remained strong. His battle energy flowed effortlessly through his body, reaching his foot with swift precision, where he planted his feet firmly once more, finally breaking free from the hold and narrowly avoiding the two wooden stakes that had come directly toward him. Though he had dodged this attack, when the five wooden stakes struck simultaneously, Xiao Yan, still bound by the stuck feet, was thrown hard against the ground. "The wooden stakes were coated with ink glue; every time you moved, you had to use your qi to counteract that adhesive force. Otherwise, if you failed to dodge in time, you'd be knocked out of the arena. Thus, while dodging, your internal qi had to remain constantly flowing. However, if you maintained this state for a prolonged period, the benefits you would gain would be tremendous." The old doctor smiled gently. "This is precisely what's designed to train your agility and your command over qi..." Turning around, he pointed to the stakes with a warm smile.