. Turning his gaze away from Hai Bodong, Xiao Ling led Zi Yan towards the map shelf inside the shop.
Randomly browsing, he first selected a map of the surrounding towns, then pulled out a map of the Tagor Desert. Examining them carefully, Xiao Ling couldn't help but sigh, "As expected of a map created by a former Dou Huang master. It's on a completely different level than others. Even some areas of the Tagor Desert are marked. I wonder if this guy deliberately got lost in the desert before."
After picking up the two maps, Xiao Ling unleashed his spiritual perception and began to explore the remaining map of the Pure Lotus Demon Fire hidden within the shop.
With his spiritual perception, which had reached the spiritual realm, Xiao Ling quickly detected a blazing energy in the corner of the shop. This must be the remaining half of the map that appeared in the original novel. He wondered where Hai Bodong had hidden the other half, and he hadn't even noticed it. This former Dou Huang master had some tricks up his sleeve.
Walking towards the quaint wooden shelf in the corner of the shop, Xiao Ling's eyes swept over it. It was clearly ancient, riddled with holes from rotten wood. Atop it lay a few yellowed maps, haphazardly piled. The marks on their surfaces suggested they were the product of failed attempts at creation.
He casually flipped through the yellowed maps, a faint musty smell hitting him. He frowned slightly, tossing the failed maps aside. A palm-sized, tattered map appeared before Xiao Ling's eyes.
Seeing this, Xiao Ling was delighted. The incomplete map of the Pure Lotus Demon Fire, ranked third on the Strange Fire List and essential for taming it, had unexpectedly been found in the remote Jiama Empire. Grasping it in his hand and placing it in his ring without hesitation, Xiao Ling said, "Old sir, this map is only half complete. I'll buy the other half too. Name your price."
Hai Bodong, behind the counter, paused slightly in his map-drawing, and the carefully plotted route deviated slightly, clearly unable to continue. But Hai Bodong paid no attention. Instead, he spoke in a cold tone, "Have you ever seen a fragment of a map like this before?"
Zi Yan, standing by, immediately became displeased at the old man's arrogant attitude. She waved her fist and angrily demanded, "You old idiot! Can't you hear me?"
Upon hearing this, Hai Bodong's expression darkened. I, the former one of the ten most powerful men in the Jia Ma Empire, the renowned Ice Emperor, had been scolded by a little girl. If others knew about this, I, Hai Bodong, would have no dignity left.
He released a burst of icy fighting spirit from his body, causing the temperature in the map shop to drop by more than ten degrees in an instant. He looked at Xiao Ling and Zi Yan with a dark gaze, and said in a harsh tone, "Little girl, didn't your elders tell you that if you mess with someone you shouldn't mess with outside, you will lose your life?"
The people who had come in to pick out maps, seeing the tense scene, didn't dare stay any longer and left the shop one after another.
Just as Zi Yan was about to step forward to take action, Xiao Ling touched her head, pulled her behind him, and said to Hai Bodong, "Old man, we are just planning to buy a map. I am a sixth-grade alchemist. Perhaps I can help you remove the seal on you." He immediately took the sixth-grade alchemist badge from his ring, put it on his chest, and extended his right hand. A golden flame leaped up, emitting a heat that distorted the space. The temperature, which had just dropped due to Hai Bodong's release of momentum, instantly rose significantly.
Hai Bodong on the opposite side saw this scene and felt the heart-pounding temperature. He couldn't help but exclaimed: "A sixth-grade alchemist, and a sixth-grade alchemist with strange fire. How is it possible? You are so young. Which force cultivated this monster? The Jia Ma Empire is definitely not able to cultivate talents like you." He immediately retracted the ice fighting spirit he had released into his body. A sixth-grade alchemist with strange fire can just help him refine the Breaking Evil Pill. Could it be that the opportunity for my Ice Emperor Hai Bodong to recover lies in this person?
Seeing Hai Bodong restrain his aura, Xiao Ling also retracted the Golden Emperor Burning Sky Flame into his body, and replied with a smile: "My name is Xiao Ling, an elder of the Canaan Academy in the Black Horn Region, and a member of the Xiao family in Wutan City, Jia Ma Empire."
Because Hai Bodong has been living in seclusion on the edge of the desert for many years and has no contact with the people in the Miter family, he has never heard of Xiao Ling's name. However, since the other party introduced himself first, Hai Bodong also said: "I didn't expect that the Jia Ma Empire would produce a monster like you. It's really that I am ignorant. I His name is Miter Haibodong, he is the Grand Elder of the Miter family, formerly known as the "Ice Emperor". Decades ago, he was sealed away by the Serpent Queen Medusa because of his fighting spirit, so he lived in seclusion on the edge of this remote desert. "
Xiao Ling pretended to be very surprised, and said in surprise: "So it is the "Ice Emperor" senior. I didn't expect that the senior disappeared for many years because of such a hidden secret."
Waving his hands, Haibodong replied nonchalantly: "It's all in the past, there's no need to mention it again." He asked with some anticipation: "Xiao Ling, Master My master also saw that the map was incomplete. With my years of cartographic experience, I split it into two and hid the other piece. Unless I take it out, no one can get it. I got this thing in the Tagor Desert many years ago. I even had a fight with Queen Medusa for it, and ended up like this. Based on my knowledge, I think the origin of this map must be extraordinary. I haven't wasted my time these years. In order to remove the seal on my body, I found a prescription called Po'erdan. "It can break the seal on me, but it requires the use of a strange fire. In the Jia Ma Empire, even the Yun Lan Sect's guest elder Gu He has failed to subdue a strange fire. I have a strange fire in my master. If Master Xiao Ling can refine a Breaking Evil Pill for me, I will offer the other map with both hands. Otherwise, even if you kill me right here, I will not reveal a single piece of information about the map."
Xiao Ling knew Hai Bodong's character, so he had no intention of robbing him. He was a natural worker, so why not? So, smiling, he said to Hai Bodong, "Give me the herbs and the prescription. I will help you refine a Breaking Evil Pill. The reward is the other half of the map fragment."
(End of this chapter)