High in the sky, a streak of purple-gold light pierced the clouds and flew toward Wutan City.
Xiao Yi Xian let out a series of cries, unable to resist wrapping her slender arms tightly around Xiao Yao's neck.
Pressed close against him, the mounds on her chest were flattened against Xiao Yao's, letting Xiao Yao feel their heart-stirring softness.
Though Xiao Yi Xian cried out, her face was radiant with an excited smile.
This was the first time anyone had carried her in flight.
Soaring through the air, she looked down to see the scenery on the ground reduced to shapes almost indistinguishable to the naked eye, filling her with boundless wonder.
Xiao Yao flew for quite some time before slowly landing on a mountaintop.
"Xiao Yi Xian, I'll recover my Dou Qi first."
Xiao Yi Xian nodded in understanding. As she saw it, only a Dou Wang expert could possess the ability to fly.
Now that he could fly by relying on flying Dou Qi, the Dou Qi it consumed had to be considerable.
That Xiao Yao had managed to keep going for so long before stopping had already far exceeded her expectations.
"Come to think of it, Xiao Yi Xian, you left in such a hurry that you didn't seem to pack any luggage, did you?"
The question suddenly occurred to Xiao Yao.
Xiao Yi Xian shook her head and said unconcernedly,
"It doesn't matter. Those are just worldly possessions. Once we reach Wutan City, I can buy some more."
As she spoke, Xiao Yi Xian patted her little medicine pouch, a hint of satisfaction appearing on her beautiful face.
"I've saved up a little over the years, enough to support myself."
"That won't do. You're already my maid, so I should be responsible for all your food, clothing, and daily expenses."
Xiao Yi Xian hesitated. "Young Master Xiao Yao, is that a rule in great clans?"
Xiao Yao shook his head and said with a smile, "I'm not sure about that. I haven't had a maid before, and the clan members I often spent time with didn't have maids either."
"But you're my maid, so of course what I say goes. Never mind other people's so-called rules."
Xiao Yi Xian nodded, her pretty face faintly red.
The two chatted for a while longer before Xiao Yao sat cross-legged to cultivate and recover his Dou Qi.
Before long, Xiao Yao circulated his Dou Qi again, channeling it through the branch meridians in his back and into the Purple Cloud Wings. The wings immediately grew larger and spread open.
Purple light flowed from the Purple Cloud Wings, blending with the golden light produced by Xiao Yao's yang-attribute Dou Qi to form an exceptionally gorgeous purple-gold radiance.
With the ability to fly, the time needed to travel between Wutan City and Qingshan Town had been shortened once more.
Xiao Yao had rested only twice before reaching the vicinity of Wutan City.
Seeing the city nestled among the mountains at the edge of his vision, Xiao Yao landed with Xiao Yi Xian.
Flying was simply too conspicuous.
In the Jia Ma Empire, the moment someone displayed that ability, the vast majority of people would assume a Dou Wang expert had appeared.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, Xiao Yao landed with Xiao Yi Xian in a mountain forest, and they continued toward Wutan City on foot without flying again.
As the saying went, a mountain in sight could still run a horse to death.
Xiao Yao had seen Wutan City from high in the sky, but after landing and continuing on foot, he realized that the seemingly short distance would still take quite some time to cover.
Looking at the mottled bloodstains and various marks left by battles on Wutan City's walls, Xiao Yi Xian could not help feeling a little awed.
Though both were close to the Magical Beast Mountain Range, Wutan City clearly faced far greater pressure from magical beasts.
But as a large city, Wutan City was also far more prosperous than Qingshan Town.
Xiao Yi Xian followed Xiao Yao toward the Xiao Clan's grounds, feeling dazzled along the way.
Shops of every kind, the likes of which could never be seen in Qingshan Town, appeared one after another, leaving Xiao Yi Xian unsure where to look.
Seeing her like this, Xiao Yao smiled and said, "I'll take you out to have a look around when we have time. For now, let's return to the Xiao Clan."
When the guards at the Xiao Clan's gate saw Xiao Yao enter with a breathtakingly beautiful young woman, they hurried to greet him respectfully.
As for the young woman's identity, they dared neither stop her nor ask about her.
Xiao Yao took Xiao Yi Xian to see the Third Elder, who looked surprised when he saw Xiao Yao and asked,
"Xiao Yao, haven't you set out yet?"
"Third Elder, I'm back."
Xiao Yao briefly explained that the trip had gone extremely smoothly. He had encountered no trouble and had returned after successfully accomplishing his goal.
Xiao Yao informed the Third Elder so that the Xiao Clan would not make excessive arrangements because of his departure.
"Since you're back, the people stationed at the Extreme Yang Land can be withdrawn as well."
The Third Elder did not complain or think that Xiao Yao had made him go to all that trouble for nothing.
On the contrary, he wished Xiao Yao would stay in the Xiao Clan all the time, so the Extreme Yang Land could produce an endless supply of Fire Attribute medicinal herbs.
Elsewhere, Xun'er was listening to Ling Ying's report.
"Brother Xiao Yao really went looking for ruins?"
"Yes, young miss. Young Master Xiao Yao returned after obtaining what the mercenary group had found in the ruins."
Xun'er picked up a scroll and slowly unfurled it. On it was a black-and-white portrait Ling Ying had drawn using Dou Qi.
It was Xiao Yi Xian, depicted so lifelike that one could even sense her fresh, ethereal bearing from the portrait.
"So this is the young woman Brother Xiao Yao brought back, a possessor of the Woeful Poison Body..."
Xun'er murmured, feeling quite intrigued.
"Brother Xiao Yao was lucky indeed. He went to a remote little town and still managed to meet a possessor of the Woeful Poison Body who had yet to mature."
"The Woeful Poison Body... if properly nurtured, she would indeed make a good helper."
"Young miss, I feel that besides luck, Young Master Xiao Yao's knowledge also deserves much of the credit."
Ling Ying suddenly spoke up.
"To be honest, at first, even I didn't recognize that the young woman possessed the Woeful Poison Body."
"Even when Young Master Xiao Yao exposed it, it took me a little while to recall what I knew about the Woeful Poison Body."
As Ling Ying spoke, he could not help but smile wryly.
For all that he was a Dou Emperor, whose knowledge and experience should clearly have far surpassed Xiao Yao's, he had been outdone by a youth.
Hearing this, Xiao Xun'er's pink cherry lips curved slightly upward, and she said with a soft laugh,
"Elder Ling, there's no need to belittle yourself. Brother Xiao Yao spent just six years reading every book in the Xiao Clan's collection."
"Though the Xiao Clan's collection can't be called as vast as a sea of books, it is no small number."
"Perhaps Brother Xiao Yao found records of the Woeful Poison Body and how to identify it among them."
Hearing this, Ling Ying could not help revealing his amazement.
"It's truly hard to imagine that at the age of seven or eight, Young Master Xiao Yao could endure such tedium, settle his mind, and persevere until he had read every book in the Xiao Clan's collection."
"With such character and such perseverance, combined with Young Master Xiao Yao's talent, his future achievements are limitless."
"I believe that not even the shackles of his cultivation method can hold Young Master Xiao Yao back."