Starting as a supporting character in Doupo

Xiao Yan and Yao Lao exchanged a glance, a hint of curiosity flashing in their eyes. Why would they come here so late? Judging from their actions, they didn't seem to have any hostile intentions.

Xiao Yan hesitated for a moment, then said softly, "Who is it?"

A clear voice answered from outside the door, "Young master, would you mind opening the door for a chat?"

Xiao Yan saw Yao Lao nod silently, then walked to the door and opened it.

A young man stood outside the door. As for his strength, after Yao Lao's investigation, Xiao Yan knew that the man was a nine-star Dou Zhe.

This person wasn't particularly handsome, and his skin was tanned and somewhat rough from being in the desert for so long. However, he gave a good first impression, and at least Xiao Yan didn't feel any aversion towards him.

This man was Yuan Wen, a member of the Iron Cavalry Mercenary Group, who was acting on Xiao Fan's orders.

Yuan Wen was slightly curious to see that the person who opened the door was so young, but remembering the young master's words, he cupped his hands to Xiao Yan and said, "My name is Yuan Wen. I apologize for disturbing you, young hero. I have been asked to come in for a chat."

Xiao Yan was also very curious. Why would a stranger come to him so late? When he heard that he was entrusted by someone, he let Yuan Wen in. He looked at Yuan Wen curiously, thinking back to Mo City. He didn't seem to know anyone there.

After Yuan Wen entered, he bowed slightly to Xiao Yan and said softly, "I have been entrusted to deliver something to you, young master, but before that, I need to verify your identity. I apologize for any offense."

Xiao Yan returned the greeting and asked softly, "Are you sure you've got the right person? I don't have any old friends in Mo City."

Yuan Wen shook his head, recalling Xiao Fan's words, and asked softly, "I wonder if Young Master has mastered the white flame?"

Upon hearing Yuan Wen's words, a hint of shock flashed in Xiao Yan's eyes, and Yao Lao beside him also narrowed his eyes slightly. White flames? Could it be...?

Having received Yao Lao's affirmation, Xiao Yan extended his right hand, and the Bone Spirit Cold Flame ignited in his hand.

Seeing that there was no problem, Yuan Wen took out the package that Xiao Fan had given him, handed it to Xiao Yan, and said softly, "My young master said to give this to you, young hero, and to include one word - Fan."

After saying that, he bowed to Xiao Yan and said, "Now that I have delivered the items, I will take my leave."

Upon hearing Yuan Wen's words, Xiao Yan learned of the existence of the Bone Spirit Cold Flame and the hint given to Xiao Fan. He immediately guessed that it was something Xiao Fan had sent to him. But why didn't he come out in person? Had something unexpected happened?

Thinking of this, Xiao Yan quickly stopped Yuan Wen and asked, "I don't know where the person who delivered the item is?"

Yuan Wen noticed Xiao Yan's concern and said with a soft smile, "Don't worry, young hero. The young master is well. It's just that it's inconvenient for him to appear in person right now, so he asked me to pass on the message. I'll take my leave now."

Watching Yuan Wen leave, Xiao Yan excitedly communicated with Yao Lao. "Teacher, was that Senior Brother?"

The old apothecary also appeared, saying curiously, "It should be it. It seems your senior brother has his own opportunity! Let's see what your senior brother gave you!"

Upon hearing Yao Lao's words, Xiao Yan finally realized what was happening and hurriedly stepped forward to open the package. After all, Xiao Fan had taken good care of him when he was down, and he held Xiao Fan in high esteem.

Upon opening the package, Xiao Yan discovered it contained a parchment map. He turned to Yao Lao and asked, "Teacher, is this a map? Is it the place where my senior brother is?"

Yao Lao rolled his eyes at Xiao Yan's appearance. "Why don't you open it and see for yourself? I was just about to say that you've matured a bit after half a year of training, but you're still so immature."

Xiao Yan scratched his head, suppressing the joy he felt upon receiving Xiao Fan's message, and opened the map to check it out.

"Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame?" Xiao Yan exclaimed in surprise.

The old apothecary's gaze also focused on the map, and he exclaimed in surprise, "This seems to be a map of the Tagor Desert."

When the map was fully opened, Xiao Yan also found a letter. He quickly opened it and read it.

In the letter, Xiao Fan said that he was safe and sound, but had reasons for not being able to meet for the time being. He also mentioned that this was a map of the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame, but the flame might have fallen into Medusa's hands, so it was up to Xiao Yan to make his own decision.

After reading the letter, Xiao Yan looked at Yao Lao.

The old alchemist remained silent for a long time, finally exhaling a breath of turbid air. "Xiao Yan, you must remember your senior brother's sacrifices. There is no alchemist who wouldn't want any strange fire. Every piece of information about a strange fire is priceless, not to mention a complete map."

Chapter 57 Struggle in the Oasis

More than ten days have passed since Yuan Wen handed the map of the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame to Xiao Yan.

After tidying up the room, Xiao Fan gave Han Jue some instructions. From now on, Mo City would be under Han Jue's jurisdiction. He was to make good use of his power. Han Jue's loyalty to Xiao Fan was beyond doubt, and Xiao Fan was very relieved.

After unifying Mo City, the mercenary group's resources increased visibly. Han Jue consumed the Hundred Herbs, and his cultivation would progress very rapidly in the future, basically enabling him to handle any problems he encountered.

Today, Xiao Fan is going to continue his journey. After all, staying in Mo City was a last resort, and unifying Mo City was just a side project.

......

Under the scorching sun, in the arid desert, a man dressed in a black robe, shirtless, trekked through the sand.

If anyone saw him, they would probably be shocked. The desert is already hot, and there are monsters hiding in the sand that attack from time to time. To dare to wander alone in the vast Tagor Desert like this, he would probably fall into a coma due to dehydration before long. In the desert where no one goes, falling into a coma means death.

This person was Xiao Fan. After leaving Mo City, Xiao Fan cultivated in the desert, planning his route along the distance between several oases on the map, heading towards the territory of the Snake People.

The Shadowless Mask remained on Xiao Fan's face, but due to its special nature, it still transformed Xiao Fan's face into Mo Shang's appearance.

His bare upper body was covered in large beads of sweat that slowly trickled down Xiao Fan's collarbone, chest, and abdomen, leaving streaks of sweat mixed with sand under the scorching sun.

Xiao Fan's originally fair skin has gradually turned bronze due to his recent cultivation, losing some of its fragility and gaining more of a resolute and masculine charm.

Xiao Fan let out a slight breath, feeling the pain in his body gradually disappearing. He then took out a small jade bottle from his storage ring.

He evenly applied the red liquid from the bottle to his bare upper body. Although he was prepared, the burning pain still made Xiao Fan grit his teeth.

This was the medicinal liquid that Yao Lao had prepared for Xiao Yan's cultivation in the desert. With Yao Lao's soul memories, Xiao Fan easily refined it as his own cultivation method while traveling in the desert.

Where the medicine was applied, Xiao Fan could clearly feel that both his perception and absorption of fire attributes were much faster. His internal fighting spirit circulated slowly, and the energy around him seeped into his body through the pores of his skin. Xiao Fan's strength increased little by little.

Although Xiao Fan's strength could be increased through system tasks due to the existence of the system, he still did not give up on his own cultivation.

The process of cultivation, which Xiao Fan personally experienced, not only increased his physical strength but also elevated his soul. Xiao Fan felt that the cultivation process was like forging a famous sword; without personal tempering, even if one possessed the cultivation level of a Dou Sheng, one could not unleash the advantages of a Dou Sheng. On the other hand, Xiao Fan also enjoyed the process of cultivation. After all, he didn't have Yao Lao with him, and no one to talk to and relieve his boredom. Only cultivation could give Xiao Fan's lonely heart a little release.

And so it went, day after day. Xiao Fan continued his cultivation in the desert. Soon, the medicinal liquid in the jade bottle was gone. He closed his eyes, felt the fighting spirit within his body, and opened the system to check his panel.

Five-Star Dou Master (5731000)

Thanks to the rewards from completing the previous mission, Xiao Fan's cultivation level reached five-star Dou Shi. Since he already had 420 Dou Qi before, after completing the mission of unifying Mo City, he gained 100 Dou Qi, reaching 520 Dou Qi.

During his time in the desert, Xiao Fan, in order to increase his cultivation level, searched for this cultivation-aiding elixir in Yao Lao's soul memories. After this period of cultivation, he reached a value of 573.

Once the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame quest is completed, the system will reward Xiao Fan with another 300 Battle Qi points, meaning that Xiao Fan will be able to advance three ranks in the Battle Master stage.

Therefore, Xiao Fan wanted to reach the level of a six-star Dou Shi during this period. Once the system mission was completed, he would be able to reach the level of a nine-star Dou Shi. Moreover, having absorbed the essence of the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame, his strength might even leap to the level of a Great Dou Shi.

Thinking of this, Xiao Fan felt a surge of excitement, and his determination to cultivate grew even stronger.

After all, two and a half years of the ten-year time limit given by the system have already passed, making Xiao Fan increasingly feel that slow cultivation is simply not enough to reach the ten-year goal.

Therefore, he could only seize every opportunity to improve his strength as much as possible, and then rely on his strength to help Xiao Yan as well. Only in this way could he escape the system's elimination. Another thing was the abnormality of the system before. Xiao Fan still did not understand what was going on. This was like a shadow hanging over Xiao Fan's heart.

Thinking of this, Xiao Fan couldn't help but chuckle to himself: "Other transmigrators are all protagonists, and I'm just a supporting character, which is bad enough, but the system seems to have a problem too, sigh~"

A sigh tells the story of joys and sorrows, separations and reunions.

Shaking his head, Xiao Fan temporarily banished these thoughts from his mind. He should focus on cultivating and hurrying to the Snake-People Clan to find the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame.

Xiao Fan took out a map of the Tagor Desert from his storage ring, identified his location, and headed toward the nearest oasis.

In the desert, water is an indispensable part. These days, Xiao Fan has prepared enough food, and only water has been replenished once in another oasis in the desert.

As dusk approached, Xiao Fan spotted the oasis in the distance, and a sense of peace settled over him.

After all, in the vast desert, there is only yellow sand and desolation, and a lush oasis is the best place for mercenaries to live.

There's an unwritten rule in the desert: no fighting or conflict will occur near oases. After all, oases are the lifeline of the desert, and no one wants their peace to be disrupted.

Xiao Fan felt that this principle seemed to apply to every world. Just like the animals in his previous life, during the season when water sources dried up, animals near the water sources would basically not engage in predation, because that would attract an attack from all the animals.

As Xiao Fan slowly approached the oasis, he frowned slightly and sniffed the air.

"The scent of blood..."

Xiao Fan strode towards the oasis, where countless animals should have lived, but he found no sign of life.

As soon as he stepped into the oasis, Xiao Fan felt the lingering chill of the place.

Heading towards the center of the oasis again, Xiao Fan soon arrived at the oasis's center.

The lake, which is usually a popular source of drinking water for many creatures, now has only remnants of tents and some corpses on the beach around it. Xiao Fan frowned as he looked around but did not find any traps. Among the many corpses, Xiao Fan also figured out the cause of their deaths.

Many mercenaries are killed because of the effects of sleeping pills, which greatly reduces their combat effectiveness and makes them vulnerable to being killed unexpectedly.

After surveying the battlefield, Xiao Fan realized that the battle was between two groups. One group had probably drugged the water source, and after the other group of mercenaries drank the drugged water, they launched a surprise attack. However, they probably didn't wipe them all out, and instead chased them away temporarily.

Xiao Fan discovered that there was another mercenary who, although he had been stabbed in the abdomen, was fortunately spared a fatal wound. He had lost too much blood and was unconscious, but if he did not receive treatment soon, he might die.

"You're lucky," Xiao Fan muttered.

Xiao Fan walked to the river, fetched some water, and examined it briefly. "There are basically no other problems."

Returning to the man's side, Xiao Fan took out bandages and hemostatic medicine from his storage ring, cleaned the wound, applied the medicine, and then bandaged it up.

After finishing, Xiao Fan dragged the man to the bushes nearby, where he leaned against a large tree to rest.

Not long after, the man gradually woke up, muttering something, but Xiao Fan couldn't hear him clearly.

The man quickly regained consciousness and was about to sit up when a sharp, tearing pain shot through his abdomen.

Xiao Fan glanced at the man indifferently and said, "Don't move, I just applied medicine to your wound."

Upon hearing Xiao Fan's voice, the man turned to look at him, revealing his white teeth and grinning as he said, "I am Liu Yun from the Chasing Wind Mercenary Group. Thank you for saving my life, young hero. May I ask your name?"

"Don't be hurt," Xiao Fan said calmly.

"Thank you very much, Brother Mo. It's a pity I don't have anything to thank you with right now." The man said, then gave a wry smile.

Xiao Fan looked at him curiously and asked, "Around the oasis, there are no irreconcilable hatreds, and there are basically no fights. How did you manage to start a battle here and even poison the lake?"

It's important to understand that oases are a vital source of life in the desert. If word gets out that someone dared to poison someone in an oasis, all the towns around the Tagor Desert would likely shut down the organization. After all, most of the caravans operating in the Tagor Desert hire mercenaries from the surrounding area, and without water in the desert, they are not far from death.

Upon hearing Xiao Fan's words, the man slammed his fists on the ground beside him and said bitterly, "They are bandits from the desert. They have their eyes on our goods. We never expected them to dare to poison us in the oasis. That's why we were ambushed. We don't know if the captain and the others escaped."

There is also a profession in the desert, just like bandits in the mountains and pirates at sea. They specialize in guarding the places that caravans must pass through in the desert, robbing some small caravans. However, they generally do not poison the oases, after all, they live in the desert and cherish the oases even more.