Words Betray the Heart, Calamity Awakens!

Deep within the cave, a flash of blazing fire flickered and vanished as Xiao Yan shot out.

He raced back in the direction he had come.

Half a day later:

Moonlight spilled over Yun Yun's shoulders outside the cave, the Azure Luan pendant swaying gently at her waist.

As she turned, the ends of her hair brushed against Xiao Yan's bloodstained sleeve, leaving a faint lotus scent:

"Young Master Yan Xiao."

The deliberately emphasized alias rolled off her tongue:

"Are you truly unwilling to join my Misty Cloud Sect as a Guest Elder?"

Xiao Yan leaned against the rock wall, wiping the Heavy Black Ruler clean. Firelight traced flowing golden patterns across its surface:

"Sect Master Yun flatters me. I'm used to roaming free."

"I have no plans to join any sect."

As he spoke, a dual-colored pill of ice and fire suddenly condensed at his fingertips:

"This Fifth-grade Ice Heart Flame Poison Pill can help dissolve the lingering Purple Fire toxins in your body."

It wasn't that Xiao Yan was generous—he had quietly swallowed Yun Yun's entire storage ring.

This single pill didn't even count as compensation.

The moment Yun Yun took the pill, her fingertips brushed against the scorched marks on his palm.

Her heart tightened. It seemed his mission hadn't gone as smoothly as she'd imagined.

Gazing at Xiao Yan's face, she suddenly spoke softly:

"Have you heard of the Xiao Family of Wutan City?"

Her sudden question came as starlight reflected in her eyes, dancing with the campfire's glow.

The Heavy Black Ruler scraped sparks across the bluestone as Xiao Yan turned his back and walked into the cave's shadows:

"A third-rate minor clan, nothing worth mentioning."

His footsteps suddenly halted. A thought stirred in his mind:

"Though I did hear... your sect's young mistress made quite a blunder."

The night wind seeping through the rock crevices suddenly froze.

Yun Yun crushed the Message Jade Slip hidden in her sleeve, fragments trickling through her fingers:

"In three days, Elder Yun Leng will take Yanran to the Xiao Family to acknowledge."

Before she finished, the young man's black robe had vanished around the corridor's bend.

Yun Yun let out a soft sigh. She had only confirmed Xiao Yan's identity recently.

After all, she had seen the portrait of that Xiao Family Young Master after Yanran's engagement was called off.

But the gap in strength was so vast, she hadn't dared believe it at first:

With such a genius by her side, Yanran had actually thought to break off the engagement?

Ah, forget it.

She could only hope no trouble would befall the Misty Cloud Sect in the future.

At dawn, Yun Yun spread her wings and swept over the Monster Beast Mountain Range.

In the morning mist, she suddenly reached for the sachet at her waist, where a singed strip of cloth was hidden.

It was left behind three days ago when Xiao Yan had broken the Amethyst Seal for her.

Deep in the cave, Xiao Yan had just finished refining medicine.

He turned to see Xiao Yi Xian pounding a pestle with earth-shaking force.

The Purple Back Sunflower in the stone mortar was mashed into pulp, splattering onto her plain white skirt in vicious purple stains.

"Some people still want the Sect Master Yun to offer herself in marriage, don't they?"

"Why not just become the Misty Cloud Sect's live-in son-in-law?"

"She said Guest Elder."

At Xiao Yan's words, Xiao Yi Xian curled her lips:

"What's the difference?"

Seeing her reaction, Xiao Yan gave a helpless smile.

Suddenly, he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, a warm sensation seeping into his palms.

Feeling the heat at her waist, Xiao Yi Xian's body stiffened sharply.

Xiao Yan rested his chin on her burning earlobe:

"The sour smell in this cave is more pungent than a Jade Scale Python's venom."

"What? Can't stand seeing me close to someone else?"

"But didn't I already tell you? I have a childhood sweetheart, you know!"

As Xiao Yan's words reached her ears, the shy blush on Xiao Yi Xian's face instantly turned to anger.

"You!"

"You're simply..."

Xiao Yi Xian struggled to turn around, her lips brushing against his Adam's apple without warning.

A numbing sensation like an electric current coursed through her entire body.

The black pupils in the young man's eyes were dyed crimson in an instant.

Before Xiao Yi Xian could finish her words.

Four Wings snapped open, pressing her against the rock wall:

The hand around her waist tightened slightly, pulling her into his embrace.

He lowered his head and kissed her lips.

The warm sensation on her lips made Xiao Yi Xian's pupils dilate instantly.

She struggled to push Xiao Yan away, but found herself utterly powerless.

A long moment passed before their lips parted.

Xiao Yi Xian's face was already flushed crimson. Ignoring how Xiao Yan still held her, she buried her head deep in his chest, not daring to meet his eyes:

"Simply what?"

Xiao Yan's teasing voice reached her ears. Xiao Yi Xian suddenly grabbed his lapels.

Yet her voice came out soft, tinged with panic and indignation:

"Simply a lecher!"

"You're shameless!"

"We've only known each other a few days, and you... you..."

A smile curled at the corner of Xiao Yan's lips:

"That's what you say."

"But even now, you're still holding on pretty tight!"

"Xiao Yan! You're despicable!"

"Hahaha!"

A few days later, in a private room of an inn in Black Rock City:

The Seven-Colored Poison Scripture lay open on the bed, its pages rustling in the breeze.

Xiao Yan flicked his finger, sending a blood-red flame dancing out, splitting into streams of fire that coiled around Xiao Yi Xian.

"Hold your breath, focus your mind!"

Xiao Yan raised his hand and fed the Nether Poison Pill into her mouth.

His right hand pressed against her Dantian:

"Channel the Heavenly Calamity Poison Canon I gave you!"

Xiao Yi Xian didn't respond, already pouring all her concentration into the technique.

Feeling the medicinal power erupt within her!

Her pupils abruptly contracted to pinpricks. Purple patterns on her neck slithered like living snakes.

Poison qi surged from her Dantian, spreading wildly.

But the moment it touched the surrounding Kirin Devouring Heaven Flame, it was incinerated to ash.

Xiao Yan pressed both palms against her back, guiding the Fire Cloud Water Flame into her Meridians.

Forcing the rampaging poison mist back into her Dantian.

"Mm..."

The intense pain within her body made the girl grit her teeth against the discomfort.

Yet she still let out a pained groan.

Poison mist frantically emerged around her, only to be suppressed by Xiao Yan's Strange Fire within a one-zhang radius.

The mist condensed into a vortex, then collapsed with a bang, forming a purple imprint on Xiao Yi Xian's brow.

The surge in her cultivation sent teacups on the table flying.

Her cultivation level skyrocketed wildly, starting from a one-star Dou Practitioner!

When the dust settled, the cultivation of a Seven-star Fighter bloomed—the Calamity Poison Body had awakened successfully.

The girl collapsed limply into Xiao Yan's arms, her fingers unconsciously clutching the fabric of his chest.

"Xiao... Yan."

Xiao Yan let out a soft laugh, the gravity in his eyes slowly fading.

He gently laid Xiao Yi Xian flat on the bed and covered her with a blanket.

Turning, he walked toward another room.

Scorching heat seared the air as the Black Demon Cauldron hovered between the Fire Cloud Water Flame.

Xiao Yan controlled the flame with his left hand to refine the Snow Bone Ginseng, while his right hand flipped through motions to concoct poison.

By the window, Xiao Yi Xian toyed with the Amethyst Jade Hairpin—a gift from Xiao Yan when she had awakened.

She held a mirror in her right hand, but her gaze kept drifting to the boy's profile, lit by the firelight.

"Splitting your focus in two—are you asking for death?"

Old Yao's voice rang out in his mind.

"You could get away with that when refining fourth-grade pills."

"But now you dare do the same with a fifth-grade pill?"

"Even the wealth in a Dou Emperor's storage ring can't afford such waste."

A smile spread across Xiao Yan's face, the pill patterns reflected in his crimson eyes.

"It's fine. The Ice-Fire Dragon Beard Pill only needs one last step."

"Just watch, Teacher!"

Xiao Yan formed the final pill-condensing hand seal and lifted the cauldron lid.

A captivating Pill Fragrance spread out, coalescing into a phoenix that tried to soar into the sky.

But the moment it moved, Xiao Yan's Kirin Devouring Heaven Flame suppressed it.

A pill with red-and-blue patterned markings flew out from the cauldron's top and vanished into a Jade Bottle.

Old Yao stared at the pill patterns, then suddenly spoke.

"Do you know why I had you come to Black Rock City to take the alchemist certification?"

Xiao Yan rubbed the Pill Tower Emblem replica that Old Yao had given him.

His gaze seemed to pierce through the city walls, looking toward the Tagor Desert.

"The location of the Green Lotus Core Flame—I need the Alchemist Guild's intelligence network, right?"

Though he knew the general area, he didn't know the exact spot.

But for something like this, finding an "angel investor" would solve it.

Old Yao shook his head, however.

"That's not the main reason. You, as a..."