Beyond the skies of Tianbei City, Xiao Yan's form halted for a moment, then exhaled softly, turning his body and transforming into a streak of light, rushing toward the distant horizon. After flying nearly several hundred li, Xiao Yan's body suddenly stilled, and the powerful aura flowing within him rapidly diminished, as if a sponge had shrunk and lost its moisture. "Has the time come yet?" Feeling the steadily waning strength within himself, Xiao Yan chuckled faintly, glanced around, and then moved, landing upon a mountain peak covered with towering, strange stones. "You've exerted your strength too vigorously this time, causing some internal injuries as well. You should prioritize healing first, or else you might suffer long-term complications. Also, unless it's a critical moment, try to use my spiritual power less frequently. Over the past few days, I've noticed that every time you draw upon my spiritual energy, a faint imprint of mine remains within you. If these imprints accumulate, your body may begin to resist your soul, preventing seamless integration between your soul and physical form—by then, you'll be too overwhelmed to even cry." The voice of the Heavenly Fire Sovereign, slightly serious, echoed as Xiao Yan settled to the ground. Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan's expression changed instantly. He had, in fact, been subtly aware of this sensation over the past period, though he hadn't fully considered it until now. After all, he had previously drawn upon Yao Lao's spiritual energy, yet no such issue had arisen. Though he wasn't entirely sure what was going on, Xiao Yan still nodded. The Heavenly Fire Sovereign wouldn't harm him; if he'd said that, it surely wasn't an exaggeration. "It seems that relying on others' strength comes with its own set of drawbacks. I'll have to be more careful from now on..." Xiao Yan gently exhaled, murmuring to himself. Carrying this matter in mind, Xiao Yan scanned the surroundings with his gaze, then moved swiftly to appear on the steep cliff face of the mountain. With a sweeping motion of his heavy staff, he sliced through the rocks as if cutting tofu, sending fragments flying and carving out a small, habitable cave. For now, his priority was to heal the injuries within his body. Though he had successfully defeated the Fenglei Northern Pavilion, he knew they would not rest content. Yet he was not afraid—Zhongzhou was vast, and the Northern Region alone was boundless. While the Fenglei Pavilion was a major power, there were certainly other forces within the Northern Region capable of standing equal to it. As long as he stepped outside their sphere of influence, they would likely find themselves powerless against him. As for pressuring the Han family, one instance should be sufficient. Everyone would understand that our relationship with the Han family isn't particularly close, and the Fenglei Pavilion wouldn't be that foolish about doing it repeatedly. After all, if they did it a second time, not only would they face criticism, but the Han family might truly become frantic—after all, when a rabbit is startled, it bites back; how much more so when it comes to the Han family, a well-respected household in Tianbei City? With that thought passing through his mind, Xiao Yan moved swiftly, stepping into the cave and then immediately settling into a meditative posture. From his storage relic, he retrieved a pill, placed it in his mouth, and formed the hand seals for cultivation, gradually entering a state of healing and restoration... "Indeed... this thing is quite troublesome." After discovering these soul imprints, Xiao Yan sighed with a wry smile. As he attempted to erase them using his aura and even the unique fire, yet found himself unable to succeed, his smile only deepened. Fortunately, he had discovered them early—otherwise, should these imprints accumulate over time, he might eventually have to shed his innate body and become a soul-bodied being like Tianhuo Zunzheng and the others. Though the imprints were not numerous, they still posed a significant inconvenience. By nature, Xiao Yan would never tolerate such potentially fatal issues within his body. However, after trying various methods without success, he could only reluctantly accept the situation. In the mountain cave, with his eyes closed, Xiao Yan slowly opened them. Now his aura had once again reached its peak—every movement radiated a powerful aura, flowing gently at his fingertips. A nine-star Duke of Battle truly surpassed a seven-star Duke in strength. "This soul imprint is indeed troublesome, yet not impossible to eliminate—I recall there are certain pills that can accomplish this..." Gazing open his eyes, Xiao Yan murmured softly, then gently touched the dark ring left by the Elder Medic. With his soul energy seeping into it, he discovered within a wealth of prescriptions collected by the Elder Medic throughout his life. This was a treasure he had bequeathed to Xiao Yan—a treasure, in fact, even more precious than the Bone Spirit Cold Flame. Without these prescriptions, Xiao Yan's journey as a pharmacist would undoubtedly have been far slower. Their importance was thus evident. The search lasted nearly an hour. Throughout this time, Xiao Yan remained motionless. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, glowing with surprise. With a simple hand motion, an ancient, rustic black scroll appeared in his hands. "The Qinghun Pill, a top-tier sixth-rank pill, can cleanse all soul energies within the body that do not belong to the individual itself, while also nourishing and strengthening the soul. The ingredients include Qingti Grass, Binghuo-Ronghun Fruits, and Shuilin Lotus seeds..." As the soul energy flowed into the scroll, imprinting the entire prescription onto his mind, upon seeing the functions of the Qinghun Pill, Xiao Yan's smile grew warmer and more sincere. "Top-tier sixth rank—quite a high level. It should be possible to prepare. The ingredients, though some are rather obscure, can likely be obtained with a bit more inquiry. After all, this isn't an urgent matter. The soul imprints currently within his body aren't yet fully developed, and there's still ample time to work with." After carefully reviewing the prescription, Xiao Yan murmured to himself. With a sense of relief at having a solution, he stored the scroll in his storage relic and paused briefly, then raised his hand—four silver scrolls materialized before him. The scroll shimmered brilliantly, with countless blood-like veins spreading out, exuding a subtly mysterious aura. These four scrolls, naturally, were those obtained by Xiao Yan from the four senior elders of the Fenglei Northern Pavilion. "I suspect these three scrolls should comprise the remaining parts of the 'Three Thousand Thunder Phantoms Body'..." Xiao Yan flexed his fingers, summoning the Earth Spirit Puppet, then tossed the scroll toward it. The puppet immediately grasped it and spread it out as instructed. Boom! Boom! Boom! As Xiao Yan had anticipated, each scroll concealed a powerful, fierce surge of thunder energy. Gazing at the Earth Spirit Puppet, now flying off and causing the cave walls to crumble inward by a span of several feet, he chuckled coldly, "These Fenglei Pavilion people are indeed quite cunning..." With a simple hand gesture, he drew the three silver scrolls into his hands, and his soul energy swiftly flowed into them. The soul power flowed into the scroll, and within that space, it mirrored precisely the one inside Shen Yun's scroll—below, there were thunder pools filled with surging lightning. Xiao Yan effortlessly wiped away the lightning formed from soul energy on the surface, and then, once more, intricate and profound thunder-like characters emerged on the clear lake. He carefully recorded all these characters into his mind. After withdrawing his soul power, he proceeded to enter the third scroll, then the fourth, and so on. This feeling was just like having discovered a treasure chest, yet missing the key to open it... "The key..." he murmured softly. After a moment, Xiao Yan clenched his hands tightly. Yes, indeed—he was missing the key that would translate these intricate thunder-like characters into actual cultivation techniques. But what exactly that key was, he didn't know. Probably only the qualified practitioners from the Wind-Thunder Pavilion would know. Yet clearly, they wouldn't be willing to share this secret with him. "Ugh, damn it!" Xiao Yan gritted his teeth, exasperated. After all the effort, he ended up with two high-tier, ground-level techniques that he could only observe but not practice—something that truly frustrated him and felt like a constant torment. "A piece of junk, making such a fuss. When I finally gather three thousand Yanyan Flames and launch an attack on your Fenglei Pavilion, I'll have you hand over your cultivation techniques..." With growing frustration, Xiao Yan reluctantly stored the scroll into his storage relic. "For now, this has to be set aside. Having offended the Fenglei Pavilion, I'll have to retreat, stay out of the spotlight, and seek a city with space wormhole access—leave this region. The North Domain is vast; even the Fenglei Pavilion can't reach every corner. Once I step outside their influence, I'll immediately gather materials to craft a body for Tianhuo Master. That will be a tremendous advantage. At the same time, I need to make progress in breaking through to the Battle Emperor stage and reaching the Battle Sovereign level—ideally, before the Dan Festival." Standing up, Xiao Yan also stored the Earth Demon Puppet into his storage relic, murmuring to himself as he did so. With a clear plan in mind, Xiao Yan did not linger any longer. A tremor ran through his back, and his bone wings gradually unfolded. Then, with a single振, he transformed into a streak of light, darting forward and vanishing against the distant horizon.