In the secluded and tranquil valley, day after day passed slowly. It had already been half a month since Xiao Yan had refined the purple flame. During these two weeks, Xiao Yan almost completely abandoned his cultivation of Dou Qi, directing all the energy absorbed into his body into that bottomless pit of purple flames. Under this frenzied nurturing, the results he achieved were quite significant. The once tiny, finger-sized purple flame had grown several times in size. Each time he observed the gradually expanding purple flame within him, a sense of satisfaction welled up in his heart. At this rate, it would take at most another half a month for the purple flame to reach the energy threshold needed for the evolution of his technique.
Another practice session under the scorching sun, meditating on the mountain rock, Xiao Yan’s clothes were drenched in sweat. After training for nearly two hours under the blazing sun, when the temperature finally started to drop, Xiao Yan emerged from his meditation, looking down at his soaking wet clothes with a sigh of resignation. He stretched his body, closing his eyes to inspect internally. Seeing that the purple flame had grown a little more, he smiled contentedly and stood up, lightly jumping on the spot. After two weeks of exposure to the sun, Xiao Yan’s skin had darkened. His originally fair face now bore a hint of determined maturity, thanks to his relentless cultivation.
Once his numb legs had fully recovered, Xiao Yan extended his palm, gently flicking his fingers. With a faint sound, a large cluster of purple flames surged out, enveloping his hand completely. In just two weeks, the once tiny threads of purple flame that barely emerged from his fingertips could now cover his entire hand. Looking at the purple-flame-encased hand, Xiao Yan grinned, slowly clenching his fist, then suddenly threw a punch. Instantly, a wave of intense heat distorted the space in front of him.
“Wow, if this hit a person, I bet it would be quite effective, right?” he mused, smiling as he let the purple flames on his hand rise.
After playing with the purple flames on the rock again, Xiao Yan reluctantly retracted them into his body. His body shook slightly, and the Purple Cloud Wings sprang out from his back. Turning his head, he smiled at the pair of black wings tinged with purple, then leaped down towards the valley. The fierce wind whistled past his ears, and when he was still twenty meters above the ground, he flapped his wings, slowing his descent. Extending his hand, he pushed against the air, sending his body soaring upwards. Using this momentum, Xiao Yan flipped in mid-air, the Purple Cloud Wings retracting with a swish, transforming into a tattoo on his back.
His feet landed steadily, and after a slight tremor, he dissipated all the force, then straightened up, walking with a smile towards the small straw hut in the valley. As he approached the hut, he frowned slightly. Normally, Little Healer Immortal should have returned from gathering herbs by now. Why was it so quiet today?
A tinge of confusion crossed his mind, and he walked slowly to the door of the straw hut, knocking lightly. No response. He knocked harder, but there was still no answer. Frowning, a sense of unease gripped him. After hesitating for a moment, he gritted his teeth and kicked the door open, bursting inside. He was immediately choked by the smoke inside, coughing violently.
Quickly extending his right hand, he released a burst of energy that swept the smoke out of the room. As the smoke cleared, he saw Little Healer Immortal lying on the bed, her eyes tightly shut, her usually rosy cheeks now a strange mix of seven colors. Seeing her breathless state, Xiao Yan panicked, about to rush over, but a figure suddenly shot out from the black ring on his finger, bellowing, “Don’t go near her!”
The Pharmacist Elder’s shout froze Xiao Yan in place. After a moment, he shook off the deafening roar and looked at the elder, confused. “Touch her if you want to die,” the elder said, his gaze fixed on Little Healer Immortal’s colorful face.
“What’s going on?” This was the first time Xiao Yan had seen the elder like this, and he was taken aback. He looked back at Little Healer Immortal, anxious. The elder didn’t respond, floating around her, examining her. After a while, he shook his head and sighed, “As I thought…”
Seeing the elder’s serious expression, Xiao Yan felt a knot in his chest. “What’s wrong with her?” he asked cautiously.
“Look at her hand,” the elder pointed to her slightly open palm. Following his gaze, Xiao Yan saw she was holding a small bag of black powder. Puzzled, he leaned in, sniffing the powder from a few inches away. Suddenly, his head spun, and his stomach churned. He sat down, retching for a while before standing up, pale-faced. “That’s some poison! Even a Dou Shi might be killed by this, right?”
“Yes, I have to say, this girl has an extraordinary talent for refining poisons,” the elder commented, his tone mixed with admiration and something else.
Xiao Yan nodded, smiling bitterly. Indeed, Little Healer Immortal seemed to be a natural with poisons. Maybe ‘Little Poison Immortal’ would suit her better. “Look at her lips,” the elder reminded, floating in the air.
Xiao Yan’s gaze moved to her lips, noticing a few specks of black powder. Judging by the color and smell, it matched the poison in her hand. “She… she tried to commit suicide? Why? She had no reason to do this.”
“Who said she committed suicide? Have you ever seen a dead person look so beautiful?” the elder retorted, rolling his eyes.
“But she’s only a one-star Dou Shi. How could she resist a poison that would kill even a Dou Shi?” Xiao Yan wanted to check her, but the elder’s warning held him back.
“For an ordinary person, it would be fatal, but…” The elder fixed his eyes on the sleeping form, “She won’t.”
“What do you mean?” Xiao Yan stopped, puzzled. “How is she different? Is it because she’s a poison master? But even poison masters can be killed by their own poisons, right? They’re not invulnerable to all poisons.”
“True, even a master poisoner can be killed by their own poison. But there are exceptions. On the Dou Qi continent, there is a special constitution known as the ‘Born Poison Body’ or ‘Calamity Poison Body.’ This constitution is associated with calamity.”
“Born Poison Body? Calamity Poison Body?” Xiao Yan was bewildered by the unfamiliar terms.
“You’ve been cooped up in Utan City, so you wouldn’t know about the hidden secrets of the Dou Qi continent. Back in my day, a woman with a Calamity Poison Body appeared. In a fit of rage, she turned an entire empire into a land of poison, causing the death of hundreds of thousands of souls.”
Xiao Yan gasped. Such ruthlessness? To take hundreds of thousands of lives without mercy? Was this slaughtering chickens?
“Know that in the Dou Qi continent, the strong have their own rules. That woman’s actions violated these unwritten laws. Many powerful figures came from that empire, so they retaliated. One after another, they fell, even a nine-star Battle Emperor and a Battle Sect level powerhouse.”
Sighing, the elder said, “But they all perished at her hands.”
Xiao Yan swallowed hard, wiping his cold sweat. “Such power… She’s really a beast. Killing people like slaughtering dogs and chickens.”
“The incident escalated, drawing out the reclusive elders. After a great battle, the five-star Battle Emperor woman escaped, gravely injured, while a Battle Sect level powerhouse spent ten years recovering from the poison.”
“Awesome…” Xiao Yan’s throat bobbed. A Battle Emperor daring to challenge a Battle Sect and leaving a deep impression? For such a person, he could only use that word.
“After twenty years, she resurfaced, having advanced to the Battle Sect level. The elders, having learned their lesson, kept silent, pretending to be unaware of her return.”
“Twenty years… From a five-star Battle Emperor to a Battle Sect, that’s insane,” Xiao Yan remarked, shaking his head.
“Yes, she was a prodigy,” the elder agreed, turning to look at Little Healer Immortal. “Years later, I met her over a spiritual herb, and we clashed. In the end…”
Xiao Yan’s eyes widened. “What happened?”
“Well, I narrowly won,” the elder smiled, a hint of nostalgia in his cloudy eyes.
Xiao Yan took a deep breath, his mind reeling.
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