Xiao Yan's party smoothly descended to the top floor. As they reached the final staircase, Xiao Yan paused, turned his head to gaze at Ye Zhong, who was furrowing his brows, and smiled gently. "Senior Ye, are you worried about those people?" Upon hearing this, Ye Zhong nodded with a wry smile and sighed, "The Xuanming Sect has strong influence. We didn't expect to encounter them here. From the guards surrounding that white-robed man, it seems he holds a high position within the Sect. Today's conflict with him may not go unchallenged—given the Xuanming Sect's reputation for holding grudges, I doubt he'll rest easy." Xiao Yan smiled calmly. "This is also beyond our control, but there's no need to worry too much. Should he have any means at his disposal, then I shall be..." Now, Xiao Yan certainly has the credentials to say this. With his current strength, once fully unleashed, he can face anyone beneath the level of a Battle Sovereign. Should he grow truly passionate, the devastating Flame Lotus could even force even a Battle Sovereign to temporarily retreat. Moreover, he now has two genuine Battle Sovereigns standing beside him—this combined strength and influence are already sufficient to challenge the very top-tier forces. Although the Xuanming Sect boasts a strong background, Xiao Yan’s nature makes it unlikely that he would simply hand over the copper plate to Chen Xian. Given that neither side is willing to yield, a clash is inevitable. Hearing Xiao Yan say that, Ye Zhong naturally had no further words to add. Having gone through the incident last time, he always believed that Xiao Yan had an exceptionally strong background behind him—otherwise, how could he have made a super-strong figure like Bing He retreat? As for what was going through Ye Zhong's mind, Xiao Yan was completely unaware. After descending to the top floor, he took a circuit through the second floor and then found Xin Lan’s stall. Seeing Xiao Yan and his companions arrive, Xin Lan, who had been somewhat bored with waiting for a buyer, immediately brightened up and stood up. "How's it going?" Xiao Yan smiled and asked. "Heh, that old man finally gave in after all..." Xin Lan chuckled, then turned her beautiful eyes toward the red-robed elder standing a little distance away, who was also eagerly watching them. "Any other good things?" Xiao Yan smiled—this old man was clearly not going to last long. "There's none of that everlasting young-life spirit vine you mentioned—it's a quite rare medicinal herb. I've asked many people here, but none of them have it..." Xinlan shook her head, expressing her helplessness. Xiao Yan nodded, unsurprised by the outcome. After all, the everlasting young-life spirit vine was indeed uncommon, and furthermore, it was an essential ingredient for crafting high-tier elixirs. Even if some people possessed it, they rarely offered it for exchange. "Should there be any more Blood-essence Immortal Fruits, Wanyuan Qing Spirit Vines, or Snow-Bone Ginseng in the future, come to my Ye Pavilion in the northern part—I'll take them all, and the price will be satisfactory..." Xu Xin casually picked up the jade box resting on the crystal stand, running his fingers over the Blood-essence Immortal Fruit. A smooth, slippery sensation immediately spread from his fingertips, and only then did he nod, placing the items into his storage amulet with a gentle smile. Upon hearing this, the red-robed elder also smiled and nodded. The Su Xin Pill is highly beneficial to alchemists, especially since its preparation is quite demanding—even among alchemists who have reached the mid-seventh rank, the success rate remains relatively low. This very difficulty is what makes the Su Xin Pill so costly. By exchanging these ingredients for the pills, he had secured a solid advantage. After giving the robed elder a final instruction, Xiao Yan didn't linger any longer, but instead led the group straight toward the first floor, then stepped out of the Herbalist Exchange and rushed back to the Ye Compound... Upon arriving at the Ye Compound, Xiao Yan immediately urged Ye Zhong and the others to close the compound gates, then escorted the Tian Hu Master and Xiao Yi, the Young Healer, into the room. Inside, the three of them gathered around a table, upon which lay the peculiar copper plaque they had just obtained. The plaque was a pale yellow color, covered with numerous winding, worm-like green copper patinas that had partially obscured and corroded certain patterns on its surface. "Master Yao," Xiao Yan asked, "are you certain this item is worth at least as much as the formula for the Su Xin Pill?" Xiao Yan stared straight at this ordinary copper plate, which was as unremarkable as could be. He had employed every means possible, even carefully copying the patterns etched upon it with great care, yet still managed to extract not a single useful clue from it. Tian Huo Master smiled gently at Xiao Yan, who had struggled so diligently, and with a composed air of profound mystery, said, "Young man, if the secrets inscribed here were so easily decipherable, do you think you'd still be sitting here enjoying the fruits of your labor?" Seeing Tian Huo Master's expression, Xiao Yan couldn't help but chuckle softly and replied, "Then, could Master Yao kindly explain to me just what makes this object so special?" With that, Tian Huo Master beamed with satisfaction, reached out, took the copper plate in his hand, held it gently, and tilted it slightly toward the light before holding it up toward Xiao Yan and asked, "Can you see anything now?" Xiao Yan carefully stared at the copper plate. Under the reflection of the candlelight, he could only see the wavy, worm-like layers of copper rust. With a sigh of resignation, he shook his head and said, "Master Yao, please stop delaying—just tell me what's going on..." "You really don't have much patience," the Heavenly Fire Sovereign replied, shaking his head. Then, he curled his two fingers and rapidly condensed a stream of combat energy into a slender, fine needle. Holding this intensely concentrated combat energy needle, he gently and carefully inserted it diagonally into the green copper rust on the surface of the plate. Under the Sovereign's careful manipulation, the green copper rust began to slowly peel off and settled entirely upon the table. Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi, standing by, exchanged glances, each utterly puzzled. For the two bewildered figures, the Tianhuo Sovereign paid no heed, only after spending nearly half an hour did he finally remove all the green copper patina from the bronze plate. And just as Xuanyin and his companion had begun to expect him to reveal the secrets hidden within the plate, the Tianhuo Sovereign, under their stunned gazes, casually tossed the plate aside. "Wait—what?" Xuanyin's mouth twitched, utterly puzzled by the Sovereign's seemingly arbitrary action. "Ah, you two—your abilities are indeed commendable, but your experience? Rather lacking," the Tianhuo Sovereign said, lifting his head and shaking his head in mild exasperation. With a slight curve of his palm, a surge of suction emerged, drawing all the green copper patina from the table into his palm, where it coalesced into a green copper sphere the size of a thumb. The true secret lies not within the plate itself, but within these seemingly ordinary copper patinas. How could an ancient entity be understood by ordinary reasoning? "Master Tian Fire gently extended his finger, flicking a greenish copper patina toward Xiao Yan, and said, 'Use the unique fire to burn it. I'd like to see what's inside.'" With careful hands, Xiao Yan took the green copper ball, glanced up and down at it, and then, with a mixture of hesitation, summoned a cluster of emerald flames to engulf the ball. After this heating process, Xiao Yan finally noticed the unique qualities of the copper patina. No matter how high the temperature of the emerald flames rose, the copper ball remained steadfast—showing no sign of melting. "Indeed, there's something special about this," he murmured, pleased. He promptly increased the flame's intensity, and after nearly ten minutes, the copper ball finally began to show signs of melting. As the melting progressed, Xiao Yan observed that the green hue on the surface of the copper ball gradually faded, tiny specks of pale yellow dust delicately detaching from the molten patina and floating within the flames, shimmering like sprites—radiating a profound sense of vitality and spirit. The pale yellow dust gradually detached, ceasing after approximately two minutes. As the dust fully fell away, the copper sphere vanished in an instant. With the disappearance of the copper sphere, five specks of pale yellow dust shimmered with a vibrant, spiritual luster, floating within the flame, unchanged by the intense heat of the emerald flame. "What is this?" Xiao Yan stared in astonishment at the five specks of pale yellow dust suspended within the flame, slightly bewildered—something entirely unfamiliar to his understanding. After a moment of bewilderment, his gaze shifted to Tianhuo Zhuneng, only to find that he too was deeply contemplative. After a long pause, he slowly exhaled, and said in a measured tone, "If I'm not mistaken, these are the spiritual dusts that existed since ancient times—the primordial spiritual dusts!" "Hehe, I'm truly not mistaken, young man. Compared to this, even a seventh-rank mid-level prescription is a real treasure—you've come across a fortune!" "Gravidity Spirit Dust?" Observing the Fire Sovereign's suddenly animated expression, Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow and murmured softly to himself.