Yao Wan Battles the Poison Dragon

"That is..."

Xiao Yan watched the Poison Dragon burst out of the viscous poisonous swamp and throw its head back with a long howl. He only felt an especially intense pressure, accompanied by that pungent, fishy stench, come rushing straight at him.

"Ugh...!"

Yao Wan immediately stepped in front of Xiao Yan and waved her hand, blocking the poisonous wave of air.

"What terrifying pressure..."

Though Miss Wan had blocked the vast majority of the pressure for him, his current cultivation was only that of a Dou Zhe, and just the aftermath alone was already somewhat more than he could bear.

"That is the fire spirit of the Netherworld Poison Flame."

Yao Lao explained from within Xiao Yan's Storage Ring.

"Judging by this pressure, I'm afraid it's at least a Dou Emperor-level powerhouse, right?"

"Cough, cough, cough!... A mere Strange Fire ranked twentieth on the Strange Fire Ranking has actually gathered a fire spirit with the strength of a Dou Emperor?"

Xiao Yan coughed violently. Though he had taken a Purification Pill and was temporarily unafraid of the churning Poisonous Barrier that filled the sky, his body still inevitably showed a rejection reaction, and physiological tears brimmed in his eyes.

"You brat are in no position to call someone else's twentieth-ranked Strange Fire 'mere.'"

Though he could not help lecturing him, Yao Lao still helped Xiao Yan block that all-pervasive Poisonous Barrier.

"Even the Profound Yellow Flame at the very bottom of the Strange Fire Ranking would be an existence countless alchemists across the entire Dou Qi Continent would flock to."

"And the Netherworld Poison Flame is the Strange Fire countless Poison Masters dream of. Don't set your sights too high, brat, or you'll suffer for it in the future."

"All right, let's hurry and find somewhere to hide."

After saying that, Yao Lao brought Xiao Yan down in a forced landing onto a jagged stone beach within the poisonous swamp and hid.

"Girl, I'll leave this side to you. No problem, right?"

"Mm. Since I brought you all out here, naturally I also have the confidence to resolve these troubles."

Watching Xiao Yan retreat to a relatively safe area, Yao Wan finally let out a breath of relief.

After all, bringing along Xiao Yan, who was currently only a Dou Zhe, meant there were too many restraints once a fight broke out.

And now, Xiao Yan had hidden himself as well.

As Yao Wan let out that breath of relief, her aura also began to climb and surge wildly.

"Teacher, look!"

Xiao Yan, who had just hidden himself, looked worriedly at the beautiful figure in a plain dress high above. Just now, when she had blocked in front of him, she had seemed no more than a lone skiff, barely able to preserve herself amid the poisonous tide.

Yet at this moment, she seemed to have turned into a jagged reef by the shore. No matter how the waves of the poisonous tide battered and scoured her, she remained unmoved.

The change in her aura was completed almost in an instant.

"Hm?"

Yao Lao looked at Yao Wan in the sky, and could not help slightly furrowing his pale brows as a few guesses stirred in his heart.

But he still suppressed the doubts in his heart and continued watching for the time being.

"...I'll give you a chance."

Yao Wan looked at the twisted Poison Dragon roaring before her and said in an indifferent tone, "Submit to me, and I can preserve a shred of your spiritual intelligence, allowing you to witness the birth of the king of all flames."

With the faint spiritual intelligence the Netherworld Poison Flame's fire spirit had brewed over a thousand years, though it could not think like a human, it could more or less still understand Yao Wan's words.

But that Poison Dragon narrowed its black-purple eyes and roared angrily at Yao Wan, as if facing a great enemy.

Thinking about it, that was only natural. As a thing born of the world's own creation, Strange Fire was practically synonymous with destruction. How could it possibly be an existence that would choose to submit so casually?

Yao Wan's words instead completely enraged that Poison Dragon. With the lower half of its body still in the poisonous swamp, the Poison Dragon immediately thrashed its tail with all its might and pulled its huge, foul-smelling body fully out of the swamp.

After that, the Poison Dragon did not even have time for hesitation or wariness before it crazily pounced toward Yao Wan.

"Hmph, stubborn fool."

Yao Wan gave a cold snort.

"Teacher, can Wan Guniang really deal with that Poison Dragon?"

Xiao Yan could not help worrying about Yao Wan's safety. After all, Wan Guniang's apparent cultivation was merely that of a Dou Wang, while the Poison Flame spirit before him was, in his teacher's words, undoubtedly a Dou Emperor-level powerhouse.

Not to mention that it was also a Strange Fire spirit. Something as extremely destructive as Strange Fire was something even a Dou Emperor would likely be burned to nothing by if touched by the slightest bit. Could Wan Guniang, a Dou Wang, really resolve it...?

Worry flickered in Xiao Yan's eyes.

Yao Lao stood beside Xiao Yan, and when he heard his concern, he could not help shaking his head.

"Rather than worrying about that girl's safety, I'm more worried about how you are going to refine such a violent Netherworld Poison Flame."

Yao Lao said, "Strange Fire is already dangerous enough to begin with, and on top of that, the Netherworld Poison Flame itself is a deadly poison that kills on contact. I'm afraid it will inevitably be a matter of nine deaths and one life..."

Xiao Yan sighed helplessly. Since he could not get an answer from his teacher, he could only watch with his own eyes.

You must be careful... Wan Guniang.

Xiao Yan felt as if his heart was about to leap into his throat.

High up in the sky, amid the raging wind and poisonous tide, Yao Wan faced the incoming Poison Dragon and finally, after a long time, once again circulated the Dou Qi within her body, running the cultivation method she practiced.

For a moment, heaven and earth converged, the storm roared, and countless streams of Dou Qi were forcibly drawn out under Yao Wan's guidance and poured into her body.

"...Di Xi Chan Ge. As expected, this girl..."

Beside Xiao Yan's ear, amid the howling gale and the hissing noise of burning that raised bubbles and poisonous smoke from the reefs, he heard his teacher's voice sound so shaken for the first time.

"Teacher, what is Di Xi Chan Ge?"

Xiao Yan did not understand and asked subconsciously.

"...It is the cultivation method that girl practices."

Yao Lao's expression shifted slightly before he finally recovered some of his usual calm and explained.

"From your tone, Teacher, that cultivation method must be very powerful, right? What grade is it? Could it be Heaven Class?"

Xiao Yan kept his eyes fixed on everything happening above and asked subconsciously. Only this time, Yao Lao did not continue answering.

However, Xiao Yan had indeed guessed correctly.

The cultivation method Yao Wan practiced, "Di Xi Chan Ge," was a mid-level Heaven Class cultivation method created by the ancestor of the Yao Clan in the past, the Medicine Emperor.

It had a total of nine levels, each corresponding to a major realm, and Yao Wan had now cultivated it to the fifth level.

With every gesture, she breathed in and out the qi of heaven and earth.

Yet facing Yao Wan, whose aura had changed drastically, the Poison Dragon showed not the slightest fear. With an enraged roar, it opened its bloody maw and charged straight at Yao Wan, as if it wanted to swallow this blind human directly into its belly, smoke her with Poison Flame, and turn her into a pool of blood.

"You want to eat me? Aren't you afraid I'll break your teeth?"

Yao Wan gave a soft laugh, and her plain dress ignored the howling gale around her.

Only the Dou Qi wrapped around her body condensed into a glass-colored light and shadow.

"That is..."

Xiao Yan watched that glass-colored beautiful figure simply wave her hand and block the Poison Dragon's bite.

"Glass Body Sculpting Art... A Secret Technique rumored within the clan to be something one can only come into contact with after reaching the Dou Venerate realm... No wonder that girl dares to meet it head-on. So she even learned this kind of body-tempering method."