Word Count: 2,832 Words
******
Zi Yan covered her butt, her lips immediately pouting as she gazed at Xiao Yan with tear‐filled eyes, her face a picture of utter grievance.
"Looking at me like that won't help," Xiao Yan stated. "The Lion King and its cub are also magical beasts, and these heavenly treasures can accelerate their growth. You can't take them all for yourself."
At that, the Lion King hastily stepped forward. "We don't need them. Just leave everything to Zi Yan. All I want is a Body Transformation Pill."
The Lion King didn't dare offend Zi Yan. Although she had just entered Rank 6, her strength already surpassed its own as an established Rank 6 magical beast. Moreover, she belonged to the Ancient Void Dragon Tribe! How could it possibly afford to offend her? Half a month ago, everyone had witnessed that terrifying Dragon Breath; even now, the scorched marks from that day had not yet cooled!
"We can't consume heavenly treasures as recklessly as Zi Yan does. We don't need them," added the Amethyst Winged Lion King. Its body and bloodline were inferior to Zi Yan's. If it consumed as much as she did, its body might explode before it could grow stronger.
Hearing the Amethyst Winged Lion King's tactful response, Zi Yan lifted her chin proudly toward Xiao Yan. "You heard them. It's only right that I get a bigger share."
Xiao Yan looked helplessly at the slightly spoiled Zi Yan. "Fine, I'll give you more. But leave the detoxifying ingredients for Little Fairy Doctor, and I need the tier 7 and above medicinal ingredients for alchemy. As for the tier 6 ones, I'll take some as a service fee. We'll split them fifty-fifty."
Zi Yan's purple eyes widened in disbelief! How could Xiao Yan, surrounded by Heavenly Flames, utter such cold-hearted words!
"You're taking all the tier 7 medicinal ingredients and still want to split the tier 6 ones evenly with me?! No way! Seventy-thirty, or no deal—I get the seventy!" Zi Yan placed her hands on her hips, clearly dissatisfied.
"Alright, alright, you get seventy percent," Xiao Yan agreed without hesitation.
This immediately made Zi Yan feel that perhaps she had asked for too little!
…
Having settled matters with Zi Yan, Xiao Yan made his way over to Little Fairy Doctor. Her strength was skyrocketing, having now reached half a step into the Dou Ancestor realm.
And yet, it wasn't cultivation in the usual sense. She appeared more like someone painstakingly defusing a bomb. She struggled to absorb as little of Venerable You Du's poison as possible, so that the remainder could disperse and be compressed instead of being wholly devoured by her Woeful Poison Body.
"Rest assured," came the voice of Venerable Tian Huo from within the storage ring. "With her current method of gradually releasing the poison as she cultivates, plus the Ghostly Poison Flame and part of the poison already removed by you, she won't step into the Dou Venerate realm. The Woeful Poison Body shouldn't erupt prematurely."
Xiao Yan felt much more at ease upon hearing Venerable Tian Huo's assessment.
"You should go take a look over there," Venerable Tian Huo suddenly pointed to a distant spot on the cliff where a pure and holy orchid bloomed. Zi Yan knew this flower was reserved for Little Fairy Doctor, so she hadn't dared touch it, fearing she might harm it.
After all, it wasn't merely a medicinal ingredient but a special, rare flower not meant for alchemy.
As Xiao Yan drew closer, he confirmed that the Clear Soul Nether Orchid remained unscathed. He wasn't sure when he would acquire the Bodhisattva Body Transformation Saliva and the Monster Core of a Rank 7 Sky Poison Dragon Scorpion Beast, but the Clear Soul Nether Orchid was a treasure capable of delaying the eruption of the Woeful Poison Body.
"I wasn't telling you to look at the Clear Soul Nether Orchid, but to look beside it," Venerable Tian Huo reminded him.
Only then did Xiao Yan notice a green storage ring half-buried in the soil. The moment he picked it up, the ring emitted a subtle spiritual fluctuation that caused the Ghostly Poison Flame within his body to stir briefly before settling again.
"This must be Venerable You Du's storage ring!"
Naturally, this storage ring had become ownerless after Venerable You Du had completely perished.
Xiao Yan sent his Spiritual Strength into the ring and retrieved a letter. After reading its contents thoroughly, he finally understood the whole story.
First, the reason why Venerable You Du was willing to self-detonate using his acquired Woeful Poison Body, and even attempting to induce Little Fairy Doctor to activate hers to kill that massive Tunling Clan member named Tun Yuan, was for revenge.
It turned out that before the emergence of the Chu Yun Empire, there had been a small empire called You Du. In a sense, the You Du Empire was the predecessor of the Chu Yun Empire, as it too was a nation primarily composed of Poison Masters.
Venerable You Du had once been the crown prince of this empire.
The tens of millions of corpses Xiao Yan initially saw were those of the former citizens of the You Du Empire.
Venerable You Du's empire had been destroyed by Tun Yuan, who reduced all its citizens to nourishment for his resurrection.
The end result was the current situation. Venerable You Du escaped with his life, later found the Ghostly Poison Flame in the south, cultivated the acquired Woeful Poison Body, broke through to the Dou Venerate realm, and returned for revenge, leading to the present outcome.
And this storage ring contained Venerable You Du's legacy! Besides the letter, it held numerous poison recipes, various items, a method for cultivating the acquired Woeful Poison Body, and a rare, poison-type Low Tian Class Dou Technique!
Xiao Yan took out the scroll containing the poison-type Dou Technique, gave it a wave, and shot a pointed look at Venerable Tian Huo.
"Look at someone else's Dou Venerate legacy, and then look at yours," Xiao Yan said leisurely.
"Cough. My Five Ring Flame Expelling Technique isn't just a Dou Technique; it's also a fire control method that enhances one's fire control ability. Its power is comparable to Tian Class," Venerable Tian Huo replied somewhat indignantly. My legacy isn't weak either, okay?"
Not arguing further, Xiao Yan opened the scroll and began to read.
"Woeful Demon Poison Claw, Low Tian Class Dou Technique. The technique is divided into five levels. Each level requires condensing one finger with the poison of the Woeful Poison Body. When all five levels are mastered, the five fingers collectively exert force, and demonic poison descends upon the world, corroding all things. If the poison claw draws blood, even a Dou Venerate will fall!"
"This Dou Technique can only be cultivated by those with the Woeful Poison Body."
Xiao Yan frowned. This was actually a specialized Dou Technique for the Woeful Poison Body, and an extremely rare poison-type one at that. If injured by the poison claw, even Dou Venerates would perish!
"Once cultivated to perfection, just a scratch can cause a Dou Venerate to fall! This Dou Technique is truly vicious!" Xiao Yan swallowed hard.
Of course, he understood that its power lay not only in its Low Tian Class ranking but, more importantly, in leveraging the terrifying toxicity of the Woeful Poison Body to its fullest.
"Indeed, it's an extremely ruthless Dou Technique. It's quite suitable for that little girl to use for self-defense," Venerable Tian Huo nodded in agreement. It appeared that Venerable You Du's cultivation during his lifetime was by no means weaker than his own.
"Hmm? What's this?"
Xiao Yan then took out a sealed wooden box from the storage ring. The Nihility Devouring Flame devoured the seal, and as he slowly opened it, a terrifying aura suddenly surged from within!
Peering inside, he saw a Monster Core brimming with violent energy. The moment the box opened, the Monster Core trembled, and the resentful spirit of a massive scorpion-like magical beast leaped out!
Fortunately, Xiao Yan's Spiritual Strength was formidable, and a Dou Venerate's soul body was also watching nearby. Venerable Tian Huo snorted coldly and pressed his large hand downward, sealing the beast's resentful spirit back into the Monster Core.
Upon seeing the form of the magical beast, Xiao Yan was overjoyed and exclaimed, "This is the Monster Core of a Rank 7 Sky Poison Dragon Scorpion Beast!"
He couldn't believe his luck. Such a coincidental find!
But he soon understood the reason when he found an identical Poison Pill Method scroll in Venerable You Du's storage ring.
"No wonder he sought the Ghostly Poison Flame. He wanted to control the Woeful Poison Body as well," Xiao Yan realized. If one could complete the Poison Pill and fully control the Woeful Poison Body, their cultivation and combat strength would undoubtedly rise to another level.
That explained why the storage ring contained a sealed Monster Core of a Sky Poison Dragon Scorpion Beast. However, Xiao Yan speculated Venerable You Du's acquired Woeful Poison Body was also on the verge of losing control. This left him insufficient time, forcing him to choose self-detonation along with Tun Yuan.
This, in turn, directly benefited Little Fairy Doctor!
"Great! Now, we only lack the Bodhisattva Body Transformation Saliva to perform the Poison Pill Method!" Xiao Yan carefully stored away the Sky Poison Dragon Scorpion Beast's Monster Core. It felt like receiving a pillow just when he was about to doze off.
He couldn't help but reveal a gratified smile as he glanced at Little Fairy Doctor, who was not far away, still suppressing her Woeful Poison Body.
The heavens had finally shown a bit of kindness to this pitiful girl. Recalling her determination to self-detonate back then, Xiao Yan felt a pang of heartache.
Perhaps she felt that living was too exhausting.
Just then, Venerable Tian Huo doused Xiao Yan's enthusiasm with a bucket of cold water. Casting a sidelong glance at the elated Xiao Yan, he said, "Don't forget, the Poison Pill Method requires a 7th-tier alchemist. You seem to be only at tier 6."
!!!!!!
Xiao Yan's pupils contracted in shock. Fuck! Now he was the one holding things back!
He was stunned. He had originally believed that his alchemy skills were the least of his worries regarding the Poison Pill Method. As long as he gathered all the ingredients, he was confident he could help Little Fairy Doctor refine the Poison Pill.
But now it seemed that, while only the Bodhisattva Body Transformation Saliva was missing in terms of ingredients, his alchemy skills hadn't yet reached tier 7!
Moreover, the Poison Pill Method couldn't be carried out by just any ordinary, low-grade 7th-tier alchemist. To successfully refine a perfect Poison Pill, his alchemy skills definitely needed to be as high as possible!
"Never mind. There's still half a year until the Great Faction Meeting. I'll advance to tier 7 within that time!" Although Xiao Yan spoke firmly, a tinge of uncertainty crept in.
He had successfully refined the Emperor Heaven Pill and the Zong Breaking Pill before, but he had to admit that luck had played a part. In other words, he could barely be considered a peak 6th-tier alchemist. Breaking through to tier 7 within half a year would indeed require both talent and relentless effort.
"Also, your Five Ring Flame Expelling Technique has only just condensed a Fire Spirit; you haven't formed the formation, nor learned the subsequent formation changes." Venerable Tian Huo gave Xiao Yan a disdainful look. He had more tasks than just alchemy.
Xiao Yan felt a headache coming on! Now that he was a Dou Emperor, he could cultivate the Sea Flipping Seal, the second seal of the God Seal Technique. However, he had only just begun mastering the first seal, the Open Mountain Seal!
"I... I still have half a year!" Xiao Yan firmly believed that hard work could create miracles!
…
As the saying goes, 'Sharpening the axe doesn't delay the work of chopping wood.' Xiao Yan first refined all of Zi Yan's tier 6 medicinal ingredients into 'candies'. He then refined tier 5 and tier 6 pills specifically for the Amethyst Winged Lion King and its cub. Only then did he begin his own cultivation.
In the subsequent months, Xiao Yan slowed his Dou Qi cultivation to focus on refining his alchemy skills and cultivating Dou Techniques.
Especially the Dou Techniques. It wasn't just the Five Ring Flame Expelling Technique and the God Seal Technique he needed to cultivate; he also had to work on the Asura Soul Reaping Technique, the Ancient Dragon Roar, the 'Three Thousand Lightning' of the Three Thousand Lightning Movement, and create new Heavenly Flame Dou Techniques. All of these required diligent effort.
Within this space sealed by a Space Lock, the black-robed youth tirelessly refined pills day and night. After finishing each batch, he would cultivate Dou Techniques.
Fortunately, besides Xiao Yan, both Zi Yan and the Amethyst Winged Lion King were Dou Emperors. They could serve as sparring partners for his Dou Technique practice.
Having opponents made practicing Dou Techniques progress much faster.
"Three Thousand Lightning!"
Boom!
A thunderous sound echoed. Xiao Yan seemed to traverse space, his speed too fast for the naked eye to follow.
Moreover, the lightning clone left behind was indistinguishable from his real body, incredibly lifelike!
Xiao Yan wiped the sweat from his forehead. His Three Thousand Lightning Movement had finally been cultivated to perfection. To reach perfection in such a short time would make him a legendary figure in the Wind Lightning Pavilion.
"Too bad I don't have the Three Thousand Lightning Illusory Body," Xiao Yan couldn't help but feel regret. The Three Thousand Lightning Movement was not just a top-tier Low Di Class agility-type Dou Technique; it was also the prerequisite for the Wind Lightning Pavilion's secret technique, the Three Thousand Lightning Illusory Body.
"The Wind Lightning Pavilion isn't easy to deal with. Don't even think about asking them for the Three Thousand Lightning Illusory Body. If they discover you've cultivated the Three Thousand Lightning Movement, it'll be a big problem," Venerable Tian Huo cautioned.
Xiao Yan shrugged, not overly concerned about the Wind Lightning Pavilion. He already had a Dou Venerate's soul body on his side. Once he refined the Yin Yang Life Soul Pill and resurrected Venerable Tian Huo, he would have a Dou Venerate bodyguard bound for ten years. Why would he fear Venerable Lei?
Suddenly, the winds and clouds shifted. Xiao Yan's eyes sharpened as he looked toward Little Fairy Doctor's location. Her cultivation had finally ceased to increase.
"7-star Dou Ancestor... This is... Sigh." Xiao Yan sighed, feeling somewhat overwhelmed.
Over the past half-year, he had managed to raise his cultivation by one star, reaching the 3-star Dou Emperor stage thanks to his Tian Class Qi Method. Yet even with a Tian Class Qi Method, he had advanced only one star. Meanwhile, Little Fairy Doctor had leaped over an entire major realm and more in just half a year!
"Is this the power of a forbidden physique? Truly enviable," Venerable Tian Huo nodded in agreement. If not for the risk of losing control and self-detonation, such rapid growth would indeed surpass everyone.
But precisely because of this, the Woeful Poison Body was both a blessing and a curse. The faster one grew, the sooner disaster struck.
Little Fairy Doctor slowly opened her eyes. Sensing her own cultivation level, a hint of melancholy appeared in her gaze. She sighed inwardly when she noticed that her hair had turned completely snow-white.
"Had a good rest? You've been 'asleep' for half a year," Xiao Yan and the others gathered around upon her awakening.
Seeing Xiao Yan's face, especially noticing his lips as he spoke, Little Fairy Doctor's delicate cheeks flushed slightly.
"I'm fine, but my Woeful Poison Body likely doesn't have much time before it erupts," she replied with a bitter smile.
Xiao Yan smiled and produced the Clear Soul Nether Orchid along with a box containing the Monster Core of a Sky Poison Dragon Scorpion Beast. "Heaven rewards those who are diligent. There's a Rank 7 Sky Poison Dragon Scorpion Beast's Monster Core in Venerable You Du's storage ring."
Little Fairy Doctor's eyes shone with elation, and her smile—truly befitting the 'fairy' in her name—was captivating. "Thank you, Xiao Yan."
Xiao Yan saw her heartfelt smile and was entranced for a moment.
He quickly regained his composure and shifted the topic. "Ahem, now besides the Bodhisattva Body Transformation Saliva, there's still one more thing."
Little Fairy Doctor tilted her head slightly, her delicate brows furrowing. She didn't quite understand. Wasn't the Poison Pill Method missing only the Bodhisattva Body Transformation Saliva?
"We still need a skilled 7th-tier alchemist!"
With that declaration, Xiao Yan took out the Black Demon Cauldron from his storage ring. Today, he intended to successfully refine a tier 7 medicinal pill!