Nalan Yanran changed her clothes and went to her grandfather's residence in the backyard.
"Where are Grandpa, Father, and Uncle-Master?"
She looked around but didn't see Nie Yuan.
"I'll leave after I finish treating your grandfather."
Nalan Su looked at her.
"Grandpa, how are you feeling?"
Nalan Yanran turned to look at the old man, somewhat nervous.
Nalan Jie smiled. "It's a little better than before."
Upon hearing this, Nalan Yanran breathed a sigh of relief.
Unexpectedly, the solution to the branding poison that my martial uncle mentioned was something he would personally come up with.
Just then, the butler led in a young man of average appearance.
Nalan Yanran!
As soon as Xiao Yan stepped across the threshold, he saw that face that was almost flawless.
"You know me?"
Nalan Yanran felt strange when she noticed the other person staring intently at her.
"Don't be too narcissistic."
Xiao Yan snapped out of his daze and replied indifferently, then looked at the old man on the bed.
"Young master, are you an alchemist?"
Nalan Su stood up and asked.
Before Xiao Yan could speak, Nalan Yanran's voice rang out first.
She looked at her father and asked, "Why do we still need to find an alchemist? Didn't my uncle already examine Grandpa?"
Xiao Yan lowered his eyelids slightly, a hint of surprise flashing across his face.
The only person she could address as "Shishu" (a respectful term for a senior martial arts master) was probably the spear master from the Yunlan Sect.
But can he also detoxify?
"You can go out now."
Nalan Su waved his hand, and the steward, understanding the signal, led Nalan Yanran out.
"I am Nalan Su, the current patriarch of the Nalan family."
He turned to look at the young man.
"My name is Yan Xiao, a third-grade alchemist."
Xiao Yan said calmly, then changed the subject, "Has anyone come to examine him?"
As he spoke, Xiao Yan's gaze fell on Nalan Jie on the bed.
Nalan Su nodded. "Yes, Sect Leader Nie treated my father before, but the effect was not good, and the poison is still in his body."
He took a few steps forward and walked past Nalan Su.
Xiao Yan came to the bedside. "Let me see."
On the bed, Nalan Jie remained silent, letting the other person touch his arm.
As his soul power spread into Nalan Jie's body, Xiao Yan couldn't help but gasp when he saw the blackened bones.
The poison has seeped into his very bones; no wonder it could torment a Battle King to this state.
"Young master, is the branding still there?"
Nalan Su asked nervously.
Xiao Yan nodded solemnly, "That's right, the old man's poison has spread to his bones. If it were up to me, it would probably take several attempts to completely remove it."
"Can it be cured?"
Nalan Su understood the other meaning in the words, and his face showed a hint of excitement.
"I'm somewhat confident."
After considering for a moment, Xiao Yan gave his answer, "But I need the Seven Illusions Azure Spirit Saliva."
"no problem."
Nalan Su agreed without hesitation. This was the price he had previously offered to attract alchemists.
"Then I'll start."
Xiao Yan noticed Nalan Jie's furrowed brows from time to time, knowing that the old man was still suffering. He felt sorry for him, as the old man and his grandfather used to be close friends.
"Young master, how can I cooperate with you?"
Nalan Jie asked.
"Don't resist my flames, and bear the pain."
Xiao Yan sat cross-legged on the bed and gestured for the old man to extend his hands.
Nalan Jie obediently did as instructed, and soon felt a scorching aura emanating from the other's palm and flowing into his body.
Nalan Su watched quietly from the side.
At first, nothing seemed amiss; Xiao Yan controlled the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame to burn away the poison.
When the flames reached the vicinity of the opponent's dantian, they seemed to encounter some kind of stimulus and suddenly became violent.
Xiao Yan's expression changed.
Nalan Jie's face contorted in pain, and a mouthful of blood gushed from his mouth.
"Father!"
Nalan Su panicked immediately and glared at the young man.
Nalan Jie shook his head slightly and looked at the young man opposite him with his brows furrowed. "Young master, what's wrong?"
"There's something inside you that's stimulating my strange fire."
Xiao Yan's voice was exceptionally solemn. He had only encountered a similar phenomenon when he devoured the Green Lotus Earth Core Flame, but that time his teacher helped suppress it.
Feeling the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame raging within both of them, Xiao Yan's heart began to pound violently and rapidly.
"Go and invite Sect Leader Nie here!"
Nalan Jie knew very well that he had absolutely no chance of stimulating the strange fire, so there was only one other person!
"Sigh, this..."
Nalan Su sighed heavily and hurriedly went out to find Nalan Yanran, asking her to invite Nie Yuan, and emphasizing that she must not mention the alchemist.
They came with good intentions to help, but now you've brought in an alchemist and caused trouble. What if they don't come back?
After all, the other party is the sect leader of Yunlan Sect, so it's normal for him to have a temper.
On the other side.
The flames danced under their skin, and Xiao Yan felt a tingling sensation on his face. Then, the human face mask fell off.
Nalan Jie was taken aback at first, then his heart tightened immediately, and the first thought that flashed through his mind was that the other party had deliberately come to harm him.
But the next second, he felt that the other person's face looked somewhat familiar. "Child, what is your relationship with Xiao Lin?"
"My grandfather."
Xiao Yan answered instinctively.
"Are you Xiao Yan?"
Nalan Jie immediately realized what was happening, and a look of guilt appeared in his eyes. "It's my fault for not teaching Yanran well. Child, our Nalan family has wronged you so much, and you still came to save me."
"Grandpa Nalan, let's keep things separate. What happened between her and me has nothing to do with you. It's just that I was useless. I wanted to save you, but I ended up making a mess of things instead."
Xiao Yan sighed.
Suddenly, a surge of power erupted from Nalan Jie's body, pushing Xiao Yan away.
Taking advantage of this, Xiao Yan broke free, the flames on his face and body subsided, and he hurriedly looked at Nalan Jie, "Grandpa Nalan."
"Our Nalan family has already wronged the Xiao family; I cannot harm you further."
Nalan Jie pushed Xiao Yan away, causing his body to be burned by flames, resulting in excruciating pain and a distorted face.
Just then, footsteps could be heard outside again.
"Child, hide quickly."
Nalan Jie was worried that Xiao Yan would be seen by Nalan Yanran or even Nie Yuan.
After all, Xiao Yan and the Yunlan Sect have a conflict now.
Xiao Yan gritted his teeth, grabbed the human skin mask, and hid in a shady spot.
Where are the others?
Nalan Su walked in and paused for a moment.
"Tell the steward not to show himself yet. When Sect Leader Nie arrives, just say it's my fault."
Nalan Jie said solemnly.
Why?
Nalan Su was full of questions, but seeing his father lying on the bed in pain, he didn't dare to ask any more.
Soon, Nalan Yanran and Nie Yuan walked in.
"What happened?"
Nie Yuan quickly walked to the bedside, easily taking control of the situation. At the same time, he also sensed the presence of another flame within Nalan Jie's body and vaguely understood something.
"I first sealed the poison in the old man's body, instead of removing it directly, because I didn't want his fighting spirit to dissipate. He might still be in some pain for the first two days, but the poison will gradually lessen over time."
Nie Yuan looked at Nalan Su.
The latter finally realized his mistake, but he had no choice but to suffer in silence. He couldn't very well reveal that they had invited an alchemist, because that would be a slap in the face to Nie Yuan and a clear sign that they didn't trust him.
"Cough cough..."
Just as Nalan Su was in a dilemma, Nalan Jie recovered and took the initiative to take responsibility, "I'm sorry, Sect Leader Nie, I was too hasty and troubled you to make the trip. Please rest assured, there won't be a next time."
"They are all..."
Just as Nalan Yanran was about to speak, she was interrupted by Nalan Jie's serious gaze.
He looked at his granddaughter and said, "Go to the best restaurant now and reserve a table. We'll treat Master Nie to dinner tonight as a token of our gratitude."
Nalan Yanran stared at him for a few seconds, stomped her foot angrily, and turned to leave.
"I'm so sorry, Sect Leader Nie."
Nalan Jie looked at Nie Yuan with a face full of shame and a hint of nervousness in his eyes, afraid that the other party would see through something.
"I didn't explain it clearly before. Now the old man should understand. I'll be going now."
Nie Yuan waved his hand.
"Sect Leader Nie, please do me the honor of joining us tonight."
Nalan Jie gestured for Nalan Su to go out and see him off.
Inside the room, Xiao Yan finally emerged from the shadows and put his mask back on.
But a hint of self-mockery could be seen in his eyes.
He had been somewhat smug, thinking that although Nie Yuan was a Dou Huang, he might not necessarily know how to heal, especially how to use fire to remove poison, which required a high level of control over fire.
Without considerable alchemy skills, it's almost impossible to do.
But having just watched the whole thing, and after listening to what Nie Yuan said...
Xiao Yan discovered that he had become a clown.
"Nalan…"
He looked at Nalan Jie.
Just then, an angry shout rang out from the doorway.
"Hey, you're still here! You almost killed my father. Today, even if you're a third-grade alchemist, I'll make you pay the price!"
Nalan Su rolled up his sleeves, his face showing anger, and his fighting spirit surged from his body, swirling around him.
"Nalan Su!"
Nalan Jie frowned and stared straight at him.
Immediately, Nalan Su dared not move.
"Go and fetch the Seven-Illusion Azure Spirit Saliva!"
Nalan Jie gave the order.
Nalan Su didn't move until Nalan Jie gave the order again with a roar.
"Grandpa Nalan, I..."
Xiao Yan was in a dilemma, feeling that he hadn't been of any help and had even made things worse. How could this be so difficult?
But he really needed it, since he was about to go to Yunlan Sect, and his teacher waking up would be a great help to him.
"Child, don't be embarrassed. Consider this my way of making it up to you. I've spoiled Yanran since she was little, and I also have a responsibility to your Xiao family."
Nalan Jie sighed deeply. This was the first time he had met Xiao Yan, but from the fact that Xiao Yan was willing to treat him despite past grievances, he knew that he had missed out on a good grandson-in-law.
Soon, Nalan Su returned with the Seven Illusions Azure Spirit Saliva and handed it to Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan hurriedly left the Nalan family home, stood at the end of the street, stared at the Nalan family's gate for a while, and then disappeared into the crowd.
That evening, Nie Yuan went out for dinner.
He had actually guessed Xiao Yan's arrival while he was at the Nalan family's house, and he understood the other party's goal. He even sensed that there was another presence besides Nalan Jie at the scene.
But Nie Yuan didn't expose him.
As he turned to leave the main hall of the Yunlan Sect, he realized that since Yun Yun insisted she was right, there were some things he didn't need to stop.
The best way to deal with stubbornness is to present the facts to you!
Moreover, Nie Yuan was also very curious about what kind of expression Yun Yun would have when she met Xiao Yan if she knew that it was Yun Ling, whom she had personally promoted, who caused the Xiao family's misfortune.
As for the potential problems Xiao Yan might face, Nie Yuan was not worried.
Back at his lodgings, Nie Yuan replaced sleep with cultivation, planning to take the alchemist level exam the next day.