Dense forests, a dark silhouette suddenly darted past. Occasionally, the flowing black robe brushed against branching trees, flapping open to reveal a fresh, youthful face—none other than Xiao Yan, who had just slain Fan Ling and others, and was fleeing with the precious treasures. Concerned about leaving footprints or other subtle traces on the ground, Xiao Yan had chosen to glide along tree trunks ever since he left the scene of the attack. Even when he occasionally landed, he carefully smoothed out any footprints or disturbances. Amidst the dense foliage, though Xiao Yan had once sensed an overwhelmingly cold and deadly aura sweeping past overhead during his escape, thanks to the elder's assistance in concealing his presence, he remained undetected by the furious Fan Lu throughout the entire journey—indeed, a remarkable stroke of luck. After a full day and night of relentless fleeing, Xiao Yan had pulled far ahead of Hei Yin City, and at this point, even with his boundless abilities, Fan Lu would absolutely be unable to locate Xiao Yan within these several hundred miles. This time, as a thrifty vulture, Xiang Yan's harvest far exceeded his expectations. He had originally intended merely to secure the fragmented map, but unexpectedly, Fan Ling and the others had actively seized the rare treasures—Yin-Yang-Xuan-Long Pills and the Three-Thousand-Thunder Artifact—on his behalf. These two items, each capable of stirring significant waves even across the entire Qi Continent, had landed in Xiang Yan's hands with a touch of comic irony. Such a stroke of good fortune felt almost like a dream to him now. The laughter gradually subsided. Xiao Yan flicked his hand, and the ancient, weathered map appeared in his palm. Then, with a gentle tap of his finger on his storage ring, a slightly larger map, along with two others that had been split in two during the previous encounter, materialized. He carefully assembled the three maps in his hands. Upon gazing at the large missing section in the lower left corner, Xiao Yan couldn't help but offer a light smile. He hadn't expected that, in just over three years, three such fragmented maps—scattered across various parts of the continent—had ended up in his possession. Indeed, it was truly fortunate. "Good thing the fragment of the map I first obtained featured the pattern of the Qinglian Demon Fire. Otherwise, I doubt even my teacher would have connected this broken map to the Qinglian Demon Fire, ranked third on the Unusual Fire List. If we didn't know the map's true significance, then even if we encountered identical fragments elsewhere, we probably wouldn't have risked our lives—facing pursuit from both a Douhuang-level powerhouse and a vast faction—to seize them now..." After gazing at the map for a while, Xiao Yan murmured with a sense of relief. After a moment of gratitude, he carefully stored the map, then flipped his palm, revealing a cold jade box emitting a mist of white vapor. Fixing his eyes steadily on the jade box, Xiao Yan's throat moved slightly, and though his heart had initially calmed, it surged again with renewed vigor. In the presence of such a rare treasure, even his composure had been significantly weakened. Gently lifting a crease of the box, a beam of golden light instantly spilled out. Seeing this, Xiao Yan quickly covered it again, acting with great caution, fearing he might attract a powerful contender. After all, with such a precious item as the Yin-Yang Dragon Pill—worth a fortune—most people, unless they were already at a certain level of strength or completely indifferent to such treasures, would likely be unable to conceal their greed and might even resort to killing others to seize the prize. In the Black Angle Domain, those two categories of individuals seemed to be rare indeed. Xiao Yan was utterly astonished. After all, this was a seventh-rank pill—how could he simply take it here, in a place that wasn't even particularly safe? Previously, when he had taken the Three-Stripe Qingling Pill, he had had to find a quiet, undisturbed spot to properly absorb and refine its effects. "Enough talking!" the elderly pharmacist urged impatiently. "... " With a sigh, Xiao Yan nodded and carefully lifted the cold jade box. As the lid lifted, he suddenly pressed it firmly onto his palm. Instantly, a steady, pale green qi surged from his hand, successfully blocking the golden light that was about to burst skyward. In his palm, the surface of the Yin-Yang Dragon Pill shimmered with golden light. Two slender golden dragon spirits spiraled continuously within the pill, emitting a faint dragon's roar that permeated the medicine. Listened closely, this delicate roar seemed to possess a peculiar magic—enough to cause a sudden daze and trembling in a person's soul. A surging wave of heat poured in like a flood, flooding his body. Xiao Yan clenched his teeth and quickly settled into a meditative posture, waiting for the medicine's effects to manifest. However, shortly after he had settled, the expected release of medicinal energy did not occur. Instead, that powerful, flood-like heat flowed into his body as if water seeping into a sponge, gradually settling and finally dissipating completely. As his eyes, which had been tightly closed, began to open, Xiao Yan stared at his still, motionless form, his mouth twitching in frustration. "Teacher," he said, growing increasingly agitated, "is this阴阳玄龙丹 (Yin-Yang Xuanlong Pill) a fake? It's showing absolutely no reaction at all!" "What kind of reaction do you expect? A radiant golden glow throughout your body? Or, like when you took other pills before, making you suffer unbearable pain?" Xiao Yan hesitated, sighing, "At least something should have happened, right? After taking the Yin-Yang Dragon Pill, I feel like I've just drunk a glass of plain water... After all, that's a seventh-rank pill." "Not necessarily..." Hearing this, the herbal master remained silent for a while, then said, "This Yin-Yang Dragon Pill has already reached the stage of condensed spirit essence, and furthermore, it is crafted using the magical cores from two six-tier dragon-like beasts that died no more than seven days prior. Thus, it possesses a certain trace of delicate dragon energy—this is precisely why the dragon's song within the pill causes a trembling sensation in one's soul." "As for those who have taken the Yin-Yang Dragon Pill, if fortune smiles upon them, there is a slight chance—though not very high—that they may absorb the thin dragon energy into their own bodies. Yet even the ancient Wind Master, Gu Lin, did not manage to acquire this particular ability." At this point, the elderly physician suddenly added, "If you'd like to try, simply keep circulating your internal qi continuously. When your qi flows rapidly, if you sense an unusual energy separating out from it, then that means the thin dragon energy contained within the Yin-Yang Dragon Pill has been successfully inherited by you." "What benefits would one gain once possessing that dragon energy?" Xiang Yan inquired curiously. "If you truly inherit that thin dragon energy, and then later acquire a technique involving sonic attacks, then during future battles, when you suddenly roar, causing your opponent to momentarily lose their sense of consciousness—wouldn't that give you a decisive advantage?" A clash between the strong can determine victory or defeat within mere seconds... Moreover, the sonic waves imbued with dragon energy possess tremendous lethality against soul-bodied beings. This will become their decisive weapon when facing such soul-bodied champions in the future—preventing them from being overly constrained, since you lack the peculiar energy attacks of the 'Hall of Souls.' The old pharmacist said this calmly. Hearing the old pharmacist's words, Xiao Yan's eyes brightened considerably. Standing at the edge of the cliff, he inhaled a deep breath of cold air and gradually closed his eyes. The battle crystals within his internal spiraling energy began to tremble subtly, then released streams of vibrant green qi that surged forth, eventually flowing like rushing lake waters along his meridians. As the speed of his internal qi circulation intensified dramatically, the robust green qi on his body transformed into a thin mist, completely enveloping him. Even without his active control, these energy mist began to subtly coalesce, forming the appearance of a self-organizing armor of combat qi. The Qi surged in waves, rotating fiercely like a wind wheel, and by the end, it even emitted some sharp, unusual sounds. Within the meridians, a faint, intermittent ache could be felt. "Just hold on a moment," the elderly doctor hurried to say, sensing the slight distortion on Xiao Yan's face. For some reason, his voice now carried a tone of seriousness and hope. Holding his breath tightly, Xiao Yan's hands began to tremble subtly. After a while, the drawing pain intensified sharply, causing his soul to tremble—finally, he could bear it no longer. Yet, as Xiao Yan reached the brink of his endurance, the swiftly circulating qi within him suddenly jolted, and a strange energy was forcefully expelled. Once released from his meridians, this energy seemed drawn by an unseen force, rushing straight upward toward Xiao Yan's throat. At that moment, the tightly clenched teeth were forcibly broken by this strange energy, and a resonant, soul-shaking wave of sound erupted powerfully from his mouth. "Roar!" Under the force of this extraordinary sonic wave, the mountain, which occasionally echoed with the roars of wild beasts, fell completely silent—into a state of profound awe and stillness. "Oh... Indeed, a fortunate one. I never expected he would truly inherit that dragon energy. If the ancient, refined one were to hear this, she'd surely be red-eyed with envy." As the peculiar sound waves radiating from Xiao Yan gently spread, the elderly pharmacist's soft murmurs rose, flowing steadily.