Atop the mountain, Xiao Yi Xian watched Xiao Yao fall into thought. She did not dare disturb him and simply waited in silence.
After a while, Xiao Yao looked at her, and only then did Xiao Yi Xian ask apprehensively:
"Senior, what method did you have in mind?"
Hearing Xiao Yi Xian's question, Xiao Yao smiled and said,
"Come to think of it, you've already agreed to become my maid, but you still don't know who I am, do you? I'm Xiao Yao, a young master of the Xiao Clan in Wutan City."
"Xiao Yao..." Xiao Yi Xian softly repeated his name, then bowed respectfully to him.
"Xiao Yi Xian greets Young Master Xiao Yao."
Xiao Yao waved a hand and said with a smile, "My attribute is naturally special. Because of its affinity with the sun, it's called the Yang Attribute."
"And as far as I know, power as utterly Yang and pure as this has a powerful suppressive effect on the Woeful Poison Body."
Xiao Yao was not making things up. In the original story, the Yang Fire Ancient Altar had a considerable suppressive effect even on Xiao Yi Xian after she had become a Dou Zong.
"However, this suppression should only prevent the Woeful Poison Body from erupting. It won't let you control it completely."
"That's already very good, Young Master Xiao Yao. If its eruptions can be suppressed, my Woeful Poison Body should become much less dangerous."
Xiao Yi Xian spoke hurriedly. From the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture, she already knew that every eruption of the Woeful Poison Body brought untold suffering to living beings.
Now, Xiao Yao's Yang-Attribute Dou Qi could directly suppress her Woeful Poison Body. That was already very good.
"But this is only a guess of mine. Why don't we try it now?"
Xiao Yao said thoughtfully, "You haven't truly started taking poison yet, so your Woeful Poison Body is relatively weak right now."
"If I can't suppress it even at this stage, that would mean my guess is wrong."
Hearing Xiao Yao's well-reasoned explanation, Xiao Yi Xian had no objection.
"Should we start now, then? Or do you need me to do anything?"
Xiao Yao considered it. Xiao Yi Xian was not even a Dou Zhe yet and could not look inside herself, so she could not fully grasp what was happening within her body.
Xiao Yao was worried: if the suppression worked, would her condition relapse after he withdrew his Dou Qi?
Suddenly, Xiao Yao recalled what was recorded in the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture, and an idea flashed through his mind.
"Xiao Yi Xian, according to the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture, the Seven-Colored Hidden Line on your lower abdomen should also reflect the state of the poison Qi in your body."
"If I can suppress it, that should affect the Seven-Colored Hidden Line. Why don't you go and record its position now? We can see afterward whether it worked."
Xiao Yi Xian thought about it. That made sense.
At present, she could not look inside herself, nor could she sense the poison Qi in her body.
Otherwise, Xiao Yi Xian would have discovered what was special about her long ago.
They could not count on Xiao Yi Xian to sense afterward whether there were signs of the poison Qi recurring.
But she looked down at the long white dress she was wearing, and her pretty face reddened slightly.
"Ahem, go behind a tree and check it yourself. It would be best to find something to mark the position."
Her pretty face flushed scarlet, Xiao Yi Xian ran behind a tree and cautiously poked her head out. Seeing Xiao Yao still standing where he was, basking in the sun, without even the thought of turning to look at her, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She took a small box of ointment from her little medicine pouch, undid her dress, and dabbed some at the tip of the Seven-Colored Hidden Line.
Only then did Xiao Yi Xian come back out. The blush on her face had faded a little, and she said with feigned composure,
"All right, I've marked my lower abdomen."
"Sit down. We'll place our palms against each other. Do your best to suppress the Dou Qi in your body and don't resist, or it might clash with my Dou Qi and end up injuring you."
Xiao Yi Xian breathed a sigh of relief. She was not so bashful as to fuss over that much contact. She immediately sat cross-legged and extended her pair of jade-like palms.
Xiao Yao sat cross-legged opposite Xiao Yi Xian. Refining Ya Fei's meridians and improving her talent earlier had greatly improved his ability to control Dou Qi.
With practiced ease, he circulated his Yang-Attribute Dou Qi and sent it into Xiao Yi Xian's body through the meridians in her hands.
Xiao Yao did not rush to probe Xiao Yi Xian's lower abdomen. Instead, he first circulated his Dou Qi once along her main meridians, allowing her to grow accustomed to his Yang-Attribute Dou Qi.
Only then did he move toward Xiao Yi Xian's lower abdomen. Like other Dou Qi cultivators, she had a misty mass of Dou Qi there, which had yet to form a true Dou Qi Vortex.
Under the pressure of Xiao Yao's Yang-Attribute Dou Qi, the misty Dou Qi slowly withdrew into her lower abdomen as though it had encountered its natural enemy, shrinking back and staying still.
Seeing that it was working, Xiao Yao breathed a sigh of relief.
He slowly withdrew his Yang-Attribute Dou Qi from Xiao Yi Xian's body.
When he opened his eyes, he saw that Xiao Yi Xian was drenched in fragrant sweat, her face flushed and her pearly teeth clenched, as though she were forcing herself to endure something.
"Xiao Yi Xian, are you all right?"
Xiao Yi Xian hurriedly shook her head.
"I'm fine. It's just that I wasn't quite used to your Yang-Attribute Dou Qi, Young Master. I was worried I might affect you, so I kept myself from making a sound."
Xiao Yao looked carefully at Xiao Yi Xian's face and, after confirming that she was not putting on a brave front, said,
"Then wait a while and see whether it worked."
"Afterward, you can also try taking some poison to break through to the Dou Zhe realm. Then I'll see whether I can still suppress it."
Xiao Yi Xian nodded in agreement, following Xiao Yao's advice.
A short while later, Xiao Yi Xian said in surprise,
"Young Master Xiao Yao, the Seven-Colored Hidden Line on my lower abdomen really has receded a little."
Xiao Yao was holding the Purple Cloud Wings scroll at the time. Hearing Xiao Yi Xian's words, he was quite pleased as well.
At least Xiao Yi Xian now had an added safeguard as she grew stronger, and would not have to worry all the time about her Woeful Poison Body erupting.
"I'm going to cultivate this Flying Dou Technique. Xiao Yi Xian, stand guard for me."
Hearing Xiao Yao's instructions, Xiao Yi Xian grew solemn and patted her little medicine pouch.
"Young Master Xiao Yao, rest assured. I have plenty of poison stored here. Ordinary magical beasts won't even think of coming close."
Xiao Yao smiled and nodded, showing his trust in Xiao Yi Xian.
He reckoned cultivating the Purple Cloud Wings would not take him long, since his Soul Power was not weak either.
Xiao Yao placed a hand on the pair of wings on the scroll and released a wisp of Soul Power into it.
In an instant, the remnant vicious soul of the Purple Cloud Eagle inside let out a terrifying shriek powerful enough to shake the soul.
Feeling an attack on his soul for the first time, Xiao Yao could not help letting out a muffled grunt.
But knowing that the Purple Cloud Eagle was fierce on the outside and weak within, Xiao Yao quickly calmed down.
He held his mind steady. No matter how the vicious soul attacked, Xiao Yao's soul stood unmoving like a reef in the sea.
Seeing that a simple soul attack was useless, the Purple Cloud Eagle's vicious soul paused.
Immediately afterward, an extremely violent emotion seeped out of the scroll, as if it meant to devour Xiao Yao and infect his soul, turning him into a beast that knew only slaughter.
Xiao Yao felt the extremely violent emotion, but he did not panic in the slightest.
He took a deep breath and summoned the Sun Power. A majestic, righteous power surged from his soul and swept the violent emotion away like rotten wood. In the next instant, Xiao Yao's eyes snapped open.
Success!
He was now qualified to cultivate the Purple Cloud Wings.