Chapter 169: Pure Sandalwood Fire Lotus!

It wasn't as brutal a clash as imagined; Yuan Fei led a group of Stone-Arm Apes and directly charged open a large gap.

The Earth Flame Lizard King, caught off guard by Yuan Fei's sudden appearance, failed to organize any effective resistance.

Yuan Fei had awakened his inherited memories, and his intelligence was no less than that of humans, even rivaling fifth-rank transformed beasts.

Having him lead a team was clearly far superior to the Earth Flame Lizard King.

Ye Yuan didn't hesitate and directly rushed through the large gap.

His movement technique was extremely fast, and he soon disappeared among the chaotic troops, heading deeper into the cave.

Ye Yuan found that the deeper he went, the more spacious the underground cave became.

Finally, he reached the end of the cave, which opened into a vast underground plaza.

The plaza was empty, save for underground rocks and occasional spurts of magma.

At the end of the plaza lay a large magma pool.

As Ye Yuan stepped into the plaza, he immediately felt an extremely terrifying wave of heat from the direction of the magma pool, as if it would incinerate everything into nothingness.

"I never expected the treasure that emerged this time to be the Pure Sandalwood Fire Lotus! It's incredible that this underground magma could nurture a Pure Sandalwood Fire Lotus. Though it's just born, it already possesses fourth-rank Pure Sandalwood Sacred Flame!"

Seeing the terrifying heat wave, Ye Yuan was not worried but overjoyed!

Beyond the Divine Realm, there are countless lower planes, and the types of primal fires are innumerable.

A great power in the Divine Realm once compiled a catalog of known primal fires, listing thousands of types from first to ninth rank!

And the newborn Pure Sandalwood Sacred Flame is among the top existences of fourth-rank primal fires!

The Pure Sandalwood Sacred Flame does not exist independently; it is the companion primal fire of the Pure Sandalwood Fire Lotus. Once the lotus is refined, the flame can be used.

Moreover, among all fourth-rank and even higher-rank primal fires, the Pure Sandalwood Sacred Flame is the most suitable for alchemists!

Because the Pure Sandalwood Sacred Flame has an inherent attribute: purifying all things!

The lotus is a symbol of purity, and the Pure Sandalwood Fire Lotus is the cream of the crop among lotuses.

If an alchemist can master the Pure Sandalwood Sacred Flame, they can purify impurities in pills during alchemy, elevating the quality of the pills!

Additionally, the Pure Sandalwood Fire Lotus itself can be used to refine an external incarnation, further enhancing Ye Yuan's strength!

Thus, upon seeing the Pure Sandalwood Fire Lotus for the first time, Ye Yuan was also extremely excited!

This Pure Sandalwood Fire Lotus seemed tailor-made for him!

In his previous life, a newborn fourth-rank primal fire would have been beneath his notice. But now, it could become a great boon!

Even with Ye Yuan's calm demeanor, he couldn't help but feel his heart race.

Ye Yuan stepped toward the Pure Sandalwood Fire Lotus, but at that moment, a sudden warning arose!

Without turning back, Ye Yuan could sense a powerful palm wind striking from behind.

Without a second thought, Ye Yuan executed the Nine Sword Style movement technique, transforming into nine figures of himself.

"Bang!"

A nearby rock was struck by the palm wind and instantly turned to dust!

Such was the might of a single palm strike!

"Tsk tsk, who would have thought a mere Liquid Realm first layer not only recognizes the Pure Sandalwood Fire Lotus but also dodges my Soul-Chasing Palm? Impressive! That movement technique of yours looks interesting!"

The attacker seemed uninterested in pursuing, instead praising Ye Yuan.

Ye Yuan turned around to see a somewhat aged middle-aged man blocking his path back!

It seemed this fellow knew someone would come and had been lying in ambush here.

"Senior, as a Crystal Formation Realm martial artist, ambushing a junior—wouldn't that be improper if word got out?" Ye Yuan said coldly.

"Haha, it's just you and me here. Once you're dead, word won't get out. We beast hunters always prioritize profit and ignore such conventional rules. If it means killing you, I don't mind ambushing." The middle-aged man seemed proud rather than ashamed.

Ye Yuan was secretly surprised at the sight of this middle-aged man.

This man had managed to evade the notice of Black Crow Elder and Golden Sword Eagle to sneak into the cave—he must have some skill.

At the very least, his concealment ability was likely among the best of beast hunters.

However, encountering a Crystal Formation Realm beast hunter was quite unexpected for Ye Yuan.

Crystal Formation Realm martial artists are usually proud and rarely become beast hunters. As far as Ye Yuan knew, the State of Qin had no Crystal Formation Realm beast hunters, and this one was also a Grand Alchemist!

It seemed this man was either a reclusive expert or a Crystal Formation Realm martial artist from another state.

From the middle-aged man's soul fluctuations, Ye Yuan could gauge his strength.

"But unfortunately, Senior still failed to kill me," Ye Yuan said calmly.

"It doesn't matter. You have no retreat now; you must face me head-on. I don't think a Liquid Realm first layer brat can escape from my, Fang Yaojiang's, hands."

Ye Yuan's expression darkened; Fang Yaojiang was right—the situation was unfavorable for him!

"Senior, do you really think you can kill me so easily? Or can you kill me in a short time? Don't forget, there are two more formidable ones outside eyeing us covetously! If I do everything to delay you until one of them arrives, it'll be a fight to the death at best. Even if you do kill me, you probably won't have time to collect the Pure Sandalwood Fire Lotus, right?" Ye Yuan sneered.

Fang Yaojiang's expression changed; Ye Yuan had clearly hit a sore spot.

Ye Yuan's movement technique had made him wary. Although a Liquid Realm first layer posed no threat, with that movement technique, a quick victory wouldn't be easy.

He had thought a Liquid Realm brat barging in would be an easy prey, but it had turned into a hot potato.

"Hmph, arrogant brat! Do you really think I have no way to deal with you?" Fang Yaojiang blustered with a dark face.

"I'm not being arrogant; I'm just stating a fact. Besides, even if Senior kills me, I doubt you can subdue the Pure Sandalwood Fire Lotus," Ye Yuan said calmly.

The Pure Sandalwood Sacred Flame was a fourth-rank primal fire, and the Pure Sandalwood Fire Lotus itself was no pushover. Fang Yaojiang was merely a first-layer Crystal Formation Realm martial artist with soul power at the初级 Grand Alchemist level; subduing the Pure Sandalwood Fire Lotus would be extremely difficult.

He knew this well, which was why he hadn't acted rashly and had instead ambushed Ye Yuan.

When martial artists subdue primal fires, most subdue fires of equivalent rank. Attempting to subdue a higher-rank fire usually results in being burned to ashes.

Of course, Ye Yuan was an exception.

As an Alchemy Emperor, he was a master of fire. Though his current strength was lacking, he still had methods to subdue a fourth-rank primal fire.