The torrential Black Flame Fire Wave was quickly suppressed by Emperor Yan, and then she fiercely slammed her delicate hands onto Zhu Bufan's chest, as if determined to put him to death.

"Ah!!"

A mouthful of blood spurted out, and Zhu Bufan felt the Wutian Black Flame from Emperor Yan splitting into countless tendrils, burrowing into the meridians of his body. The scorching Wutian Black Flame continuously burned away the stagnant blood within him, which naturally caused Zhu Bufan to cough repeatedly.

However, soon, the effects of the Ice River Immortal Fruit and Hundred Herbs Fragrance previously fed to him by Emperor Yan began to take effect. The Hundred Herbs Fragrance rapidly transformed into Primordial Qi, inducing the nearly halting Qi vortex within Zhu Bufan. Meanwhile, the Ice River Immortal Fruit nourished Zhu Bufan's damaged meridians and more. Streams of blood-red sweat flowed from Zhu Bufan's body, and his complexion turned to a purple sauce hue.

Finally, with the efficacy of the Hundred Herbs Fragrance and the nearly extravagant solo use of the Ice River Immortal Fruit, Zhu Bufan's purple sauce complexion began to change, and the Primordial Qi vortex within him crazily spun up. Zhu Bufan's Primordial Qi also autonomously began to surge against the blocked meridians, with waves of Qi fluctuations emerging from him.

"Hu" Seeing that Zhu Bufan's Primordial Qi had finally started moving, Emperor Yan breathed a sigh of relief. It was as if she was in a hospital saving a patient whose heart had stopped. What Emperor Yan could do was to use the Wutian Black Flame to 'electrocute' Zhu Bufan, to make his Primordial Qi 'pulse' again. Of course, this also relied on things like the 'cardiac stimulant' Hundred Herbs Fragrance, but what really mattered was Zhu Bufan himself. Now that Zhu Bufan's Primordial Qi had started moving again, it was like the patient had regained a heartbeat, and things would be much easier to handle.

Feeling that Zhu Bufan's Primordial Qi had begun to circulate on its own, Emperor Yan slowly shifted to guiding the flow. Soon, the stagnated blood within Zhu Bufan was forced out of his body, and Zhu Bufan gradually regained consciousness.

"Is that you, what about Huo Ling? Did she successfully advance to the Bone Forging Realm?" Upon seeing Emperor Yan healing him with a serious expression, Zhu Bufan smiled and said, "Don't tense up your little face so much. It's hard on you."

"How dare you joke right now?" Seeing that Zhu Bufan had regained his senses and was joking with her, Emperor Yan rolled her eyes in displeasure and said, "What are you thinking about at a time like this? If that woman hadn't concealed her condition, would you have ended up like this? If it weren't for your sake, I would've wiped out everyone there, including her!"

Having said that, a killing intent unseen before surged from Emperor Yan. A faint dark flaming phantom slowly condensed behind her, clearly showing her extreme frustration and anger over Zhu Bufan's severe injury. If it wasn't because she needed to rush to save Zhu Bufan just now in the grove, no living person would have been able to leave.

"Okay, I'm fine now, aren't I?" Touching Emperor Yan's little head, Zhu Bufan said, "Put away that thing behind you. You're not suited for fighting right now; you don't have a body. If you overexert yourself, the consequences can be very severe."

"Eh?" Hearing Zhu Bufan, Emperor Yan suddenly became puzzled. Indeed, just as Zhu Bufan had said, Emperor Yan at this moment didn't have the assets to fight. Although she could forcibly intervene with immense power, it would be at the cost of consuming her Soul Power and the Spiritual Power of the Soldier Spirit that formed her current body, and excessive consumption could result in the dissipation of both her soul and spirit.

Of course, Emperor Yan's original soul power was immensely strong, naturally unafraid of such consumption. However, the five seals placed on her by the Darkless Abyss truly left her helpless. Unless Zhu Bufan could lift even one of those seals, her current state could not be improved.

"I don't know why I know this, but looking at you, it just dawns on me unconsciously. Now, hurry up and reel in your aura. Even just using this level of pressure is going to consume Spiritual Power." Seeing that Emperor Yan looked somewhat doubtful, Zhu Bufan smiled and spoke.

"Alright then." Although she didn't know why Zhu Bufan understood that she could not fight without possession, Emperor Yan still reluctantly pursed her little lips and retracted her aura, and Zhu Bufan, seeing Emperor Yan resume her usual cute demeanor, also slowly closed his eyes to begin recuperating. Even with Emperor Yan's help in clearing his blocked meridians, he still needed to properly meditate and recover.

'Boom'

A loud noise came from afar. Hearing the sound, Emperor Yan's pretty face once again turned frosty, with deep cold killing intent and leaping flames surging forth.

"These bastards! Do they really think I am easy to bully? Persevering relentlessly, I'll send you all to the Darkless Abyss, to be imprisoned forever in the darkness!" As her angry voice rose, Emperor Yan bolted off towards the source of the sound like a cannonball, leaving behind a trail of pitch-black flame behind her. Zhu Bufan didn't even have a chance to stop her, and she had already disappeared from sight.

"Water Cloud Spirit Space? Burst!"

Five water balls from the Water Cloud Spirit Space exploded in a semi-encircling formation, a blazing red wave of fire adamantly resisted the burst of the Water Cloud Spirit Space.

"This lady, I have already said that I mean no harm. I was merely attracted by that black Abnormal Fire, that's all. If you dislike it, I can very well leave; there's no need for any violence." As the crimson flames swirled and continued to fend off Huo Ling's Water Cloud Spirit Space, a man clad in a green shirt was strenuously explaining to Huo Ling.

The man in the green shirt appeared to be in his thirties or forties, with a fair complexion and clean-shaven face, exuding an air of elegance. Beneath his sword-like brows and starry eyes was a prominent nose, combined with his thin lips and square-shaped jaw, one could sense that the man was both cultured and steady.

"Enough with the nonsense. Since you dared to pursue, don't look for such excuses!" Huo Ling was completely indifferent to the middle-aged man's words and continued to cast spells, while the middle-aged man seemed helpless as he carried on summoning Primordial Qi Flames to defend himself, looking as though he was not lacking the strength to counterattack but simply did not wish to do so.

Just as the middle-aged man was using Primordial Qi Flames to counter Huo Ling's attack, a formidable pressure that made him feel like vomiting blood was rapidly approaching. It was like a black cloud, as the Wutian Black Flames surged toward them, seemingly covering the sky.

"Can this be real?" The middle-aged man saw that the immense pressure, filled with unparalleled deep rage, clearly indicated that the owner of the Black Flames was currently in a furious state, and, unfortunately for him, he realized that the source of this fury could very possibly be due to himself.

"Stop joking" Sensing the boundless pressure bearing down on him, the middle-aged man's heart went cold as he activated Primordial Qi Flames to shatter the Water Cloud Spirit Space. However, the crimson flames shrank dramatically when they sensed the sky's Wutian Black Flame and just trembled continuously around the middle-aged man.

"All of you time and time again challenge my Emperor's dignity, truly believing that I fear you. Now you even dare pursue me, it seems I must reduce your Heiyan City to ruins!" The voice of Emperor Yan was like rolling thunder, echoing both near and far in the void, with none of the youthful tones of before, just supreme pressure. In the rolling Black Flames, two points of red glinted through, as if they were a pair of eyes.

"Wait!!!" Seeing that the person above wielding endless pressure was about to strike, the middle-aged man hurriedly shouted, "I really do not understand what you are talking about. I am an Alchemist who just happened to be passing by and was curious about the pitch-black Abnormal Fire that shot up into the sky. I am really not the tracker you are speaking of!!"

"You are an Alchemist?" Emperor Yan hesitated within the Black Flames, as he too sensed the fervent Primordial Qi flowing through the middle-aged man below. If he claimed to be an Alchemist, that first point was plausible.

"An Alchemist? What is your name?" Not quite able to guess the truth, Emperor Yan did not immediately make a move, but simply inquired indifferently, his heavy voice resonating in the dim sky.

"The junior's name is Wang Hui, a Third Rank upper-level Alchemist." Hearing Emperor Yan's question above, the middle-aged man, who should be called Wang Hui, quickly paid his respects to Emperor Yan. Huo Ling was slightly shocked when she heard Wang Hui's name; she vividly remembered what Gu Yue had said at the auction, so when Wang Hui revealed his own name, Huo Ling was surprised to encounter the person known as the strongest Alchemist of the first layer of the tower.

"Oh? A Third Rank upper-level Alchemist? Unless you provide evidence, how can I believe you?" Upon hearing Wang Hui introducing himself, Emperor Yan's eyes quickly shifted, formulating an idea, for when Gu Yue had mentioned Wang Hui, Emperor Yan had also heard of him. So, upon hearing Wang Hui's name, Emperor Yan had almost confirmed that Wang Hui was not the one being pursued—after all, sending an Alchemist as a tracker was indeed unheard of!

"Of course." Seeing Emperor Yan somewhat believing his side of the story, Wang Hui quickly nodded, joking aside. Facing Emperor Yan, Wang Hui was far from having any desire to fight, the absolute pressure and the merciless suppression of his Primordial Qi Flames by the Abnormal Fire—either one left Wang Hui without the slightest inclination to battle.

Wang Hui quickly produced several kinds of medicinal herbs and his customary Medicine Tripod, intending to refine Elixirs on the spot. But, realizing that his Primordial Qi Flames could not rise under the suppression of Emperor Yan's Wutian Black Flame, Wang Hui had no choice but to look up and say, "Predecessor, your flames..."

"Hmph!" Upon hearing Wang Hui's words, Emperor Yan slightly reduced the intensity and pressure of his flames, and Wang Hui quickly began to place the medicinal herbs into the Medicine Tripod to refine the Elixir. Before long, wafts of Elixir fragrance slowly filled the air under Wang Hui's refining flames.

"Rise!"

With a cold shout, the lid of the Medicine Tripod flew open, and then four Elixirs glowing with light lay inside the tripod, "Returning Qi Pill, a mid-grade Elixir of Human Rank, you should recognize it, shouldn't you, predecessor?"

"Yes!" Seeing the Elixirs in the Medicine Tripod, Emperor Yan nodded in satisfaction and then said, "It seems you truly entered unintentionally; I shall no longer pursue your impudence." Just as Wang Hui breathed a sigh of relief, Emperor Yan suddenly continued, "However, there's something I need you to do for me, to atone for your offense."

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