Breaking the Masked Man

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 77 Imperial Capital

The holy city of Gama.

The bustling streets were filled with traffic.

Yao Yan and Cai Die stepped inside and discovered the magnificence of the city. Compared to a 'small city' like Wutan City, the capital of the Jia Ma Empire was undoubtedly much, much larger. The aura of powerful individuals within it was countless. In a short period of time, he sensed the aura of several Dou Ling level individuals.

In the Gama Empire, Douling is by no means weak, as can be seen from Wutan City. If they wanted to, they could occupy a city and become kings.

"Young Master, the capital of the Gama Empire is truly enormous!"

Butterfly still wore a bamboo hat, but it didn't obstruct her view. Looking at the enormous thing in front of her, she couldn't help but sigh from the bottom of her heart. Compared with the capital of the Gama Empire, the palace of the Snake People was really too small, far inferior to the city in front of her.

Yao Yan wasn't interested in the building in front of him. He took out a bottle of herbal essence from his storage ring and handed it to Ling'er. Then he said to Cai Die, "Let's go to the Mittel family to find Hai Bodong first."

"The Mittel family?"

Cai Die was taken aback by his words and asked with some curiosity, "Could it be that Hai Bodong is also a member of the Mittel family?"

"Yes, he is the Grand Elder of the Mittel family. When we parted, I made a promise with him that I would come to the capital to see him after I finished dealing with my business."

Yao Yan explained briefly, then walked to the side and asked a passerby where the largest auction house in the capital was. The Mittel family had been in business for generations, and their auction houses were all over the Gama Empire. Of course, there would be one in the capital, so it was easy to ask. Before long, he got the answer he wanted.

The two then strolled leisurely towards the largest auction house in the capital.

Soon, a massive building came into view, its unique symbol representing the connection between the place and the Mittel family.

Yao Yan looked at the colossal thing that seemed like a bottomless pit, swallowing up the endless stream of people. He turned to Cai Die beside him and said with a smile, "Let's go in and take a look later. Come to think of it, you've never been to an auction before. This time you can see for yourself."

Actually, he was also a bit curious about the auction, but as for the Xiao family's affairs... it wasn't appropriate to be a thief in broad daylight.

"Ok!"

The butterfly nodded, full of curiosity.

Soon, the two followed the crowd into the auction house. What came into view was a huge crystal hall. At the same time, a dozen or so powerful gazes were directed at them. These were obviously the guards inside. In addition, there were many servants who were greeting guests, asking whether they were there to auction items or to buy items. They also directed each person to their respective destination based on their strength and the value of the items.

The entire auction venue resembled a giant stadium, divided into several areas, with the front section clearly a shopping plaza where numerous valuable items were displayed on counters, awaiting customers' selection.

At this moment, a rather attractive woman approached with a professional smile and asked softly, "Are you here to shop or to auction off items?"

"Auction off a grade-five pill. Have your manager come over here."

Yao Yan said softly.

The moment the words fell, many people around looked over curiously. After discovering Yao Yan's age, they immediately felt that Yao Yan must have obtained some kind of opportunity to be so lucky as to obtain such a top-grade pill. All pills that can be classified as fifth-grade pills have unimaginable magical effects, which are incomparable to ordinary low-grade pills.

Even a single Grade 5 pill is enough to make a Dou Huang (Battle Emperor) take action for it, which shows its value!

The woman was taken aback for a moment, then a warm smile spread across her face as she invited, "Please come upstairs, gentlemen."

"What a lucky kid!"

"A fifth-grade pill? I wouldn't even dare to dream of it. I wonder what kind of fifth-grade pill this kid has. If it can improve his cultivation, then this kid will be set for life."

"Even if it can't improve one's cultivation level, its value won't be low!"

……

Amidst the whispers of the crowd, Yao Yan and Cai Die disappeared from sight, and the commotion gradually subsided. Although the fifth-grade pills were precious, they were not enough to cause a stir among the crowd. Occasionally, some lucky individuals in the Jia Ma Empire would obtain relics left by their predecessors, which often contained high-grade pills.

The Mittel family's most prestigious achievement was auctioning off a seventh-grade elixir specifically designed to replenish lifespan, which caused a sensation throughout the entire Gama Empire.

Led by a maid, the two quickly arrived at a private room on the top floor.

"Please wait a moment, distinguished guests."

The woman bowed respectfully, then turned and left.

Cai Die wasn't interested in the room's decor. She gazed softly at Yao Yan and asked, "What brings you to the capital, young master?"

"Do you remember the fragment of the map I asked you to retrieve before? Actually, I have another one, but I only know the whereabouts of these two so far. As for the rest, I'd like to ask Hai Bodong to look for it. It would be best if he could find it."

The doctor gave a half-truthful explanation.

"Does the young master know what treasure lies hidden in that incomplete map?"

The butterfly's eyes sparkled, clearly showing its interest in the treasure hunt.

Yao Yan immediately uttered a white lie, coaxing, "I have a guess. Do you still remember the lotus mark on that fragment of the map? Perhaps it's related to the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame."

He knew that Cai Die must have studied that fragment of the map. This silly girl was very curious and had a keen eye for detail. How could she not have noticed the lotus mark? Therefore, it was obviously more suitable for a Dou Huang to know about the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame than to let her know about the Pure Lotus Demon Flame. Even if she accidentally let it slip in the future, it wouldn't matter.

Upon hearing this, Cai Die seemed to realize something and exclaimed, "Is the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame a strange flame?"

"Hmm, the strange fire ranked nineteenth on the Strange Fire Ranking!"

Yao Yan nodded. He even planned to use this excuse on Hun Xuzi later. It was quite normal for an alchemist to know about a strange fire and search for it in this area. Then, after obtaining the strange fire, he could use the connection between different strange fires to find Yao Lao's Bone Spirit Cold Fire. This also seemed reasonable...

Butterfly knew these basic facts. After all, as a member of the Medusa Queen's clan, one way for them to evolve to a higher level in the future was to burn their old bodies with strange fire, putting themselves in a life-or-death situation!

"No wonder the young master was so concerned..."

She knew that Yao Yan was an alchemist, and she naturally understood what a strange fire meant to an alchemist.

Just then, there was a knock on the tightly closed door. A moment later, two middle-aged men entered. The one in the lead was a six-star Dou Ling. He glanced at Yao Yan and Cai Die's attire, knowing they were trying to conceal their true identities. With a guess in his mind, he smiled and said, "Have you two obtained any cave ruins? If you trust the Mittel family, you can entrust them with the auction. In the Jia Ma Empire, I can guarantee you the highest price!"

"I've come to find Ice Emperor Hai Bodong; we are his friends."

Yao Yan waited for the other party to finish speaking before calmly revealing his purpose, and at the same time took out the token that Ice Emperor Hai Bodong had given him earlier.

The moment the leader saw the token, his attitude became extremely respectful, and he said in a deep voice, "Please follow me, both of you!"

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 78 Planning

The Mittel family's residence is connected to the headquarters of the Imperial Auction House.

Soon.

Yao Yan and Cai Die then met Hai Bodong, who had already received the news and was waiting at the door. The moment he saw him, a smile appeared on his cold face, which surprised Teng Shan, who rarely saw the old man smile so happily.

Hai Bodong did not suppress his emotions and greeted them with a smile, saying enthusiastically, "I knew it was you as soon as I heard the news!"

"Did I disturb you?"

Yao Yan looked at Hai Bodong, then his gaze lingered on Teng Shan for a moment. The other party's strength was not high, only at the level of a six-star Dou Wang. Given his age, if he did not have the opportunity in this life, he would have no hope of breaking through to Dou Huang. As for the other party's identity, he had already guessed it.

The current head of the Mittel family - Tengshan.

The other party is also a very interesting person. In the original work, he almost sacrificed the entire Mittel family for the sake of the Xiao family. Just for this reason, the other party is indeed worthy of being Hai Bodong's friend.

People gather in kind, and things are divided into groups.

This statement has always been true: people with incompatible personalities will never become friends, while those who can become true friends mostly have similar personalities.

Hai Bodong laughed heartily and said, "How could I disturb you? If I had known you would come, I would have greeted you outside the city. How could I have let you come to me on your own?"

"There's no need to be so polite between friends."

Yao Yan smiled and agreed, then led Cai Die and Ling'er, following Hai Bodong into the courtyard.

Teng Shan then told the others not to gossip outside, and then followed them. He was quite curious about this fifth-grade alchemist who was not yet seventeen years old, after all, such a prodigy had not appeared in the entire Jia Ma Empire for hundreds of years.

If the Mittel family could establish a connection with him, the benefits would be unimaginable!

As she entered the house, Cai Die removed her straw hat, revealing her stunningly beautiful face. Her bright eyes curiously surveyed her surroundings, like a princess who had just stepped out of a palace.

However, she did not take off her black robe, because Yao Yan had told her to dress more conservatively when outside so that others could not see her for no reason. She thought about it and agreed, because she did not like being stared at by others, and she was not some kind of object of admiration.

Hai Bodong looked at Yao Yan and said with a smile, "You have caused quite a stir in the Monster Mountain Range. Now the entire capital is in turmoil because of this matter, and the storm is far from over."

This matter caused quite a stir; the entire holy city of Gama was shaken. However, based on his understanding of Yao Yan, he estimated that the other party wouldn't care too much.

Three fighting kings, that's all.

"It has nothing to do with us."

Yao Yan denied it outright. He wasn't stupid; why would he admit to something without evidence?

The butterfly obediently closed its mouth.

Seeing the two becoming increasingly in sync, Hai Bodong fell silent, understanding Yao Yan's meaning. He nodded slightly, skipping the topic, and asked, "Did you come to the capital this time for the Alchemist Conference? It's only a few days away from this grand event, and even some alchemists from the vicinity of the Jia Ma Empire are rushing here."

"It depends. I mainly came here to ask you for a favor. I accidentally obtained a fragment of a map. See if you can search for it in the Gama Empire. It is very important to me."

Yao Yan took out the fragment of the map he had obtained in the Shennong Mountains. It did not have the mark of the Pure Lotus Demon Flame on it and looked like a blurry fragment with no value whatsoever. However, he spoke in a very serious tone.

Hai Bodong took the fragmented map and glanced at it a few times. He frowned slightly and said hesitantly, "This map doesn't seem to be a map... At least I haven't seen similar terrain in the Gama Empire. Are you sure it's in the Gama Empire?"

Born into an assassin organization, map drawing was one of his basic skills, so he could naturally tell the difference between this fragmented map and a regular map.

Isn't it in his hands?

Yao Yan was somewhat disappointed upon hearing this, but she quickly composed herself and said, "I'm sure. Help me look for it. There should be some clues in the Tagor Desert area. If you find it for me, I can give you a gift in the future."

He trusted Hai Bodong's character quite a bit, so rather than searching himself, he decided to let Hai Bodong look for it, and they would talk about it if they really couldn't find it!

There are still decades before the Pure Lotus Demon Flame is born; he can wait.

"it is good!"