Deep in the Mountains, Flame Wings, Heaven Slash!

"What did you just see?"

Xiao Yan's voice came low and heavy.

Sunlight spilled like scattered gold through the branches, and the scent of blood still clung to his dark robes.

Thump.

He raised a hand to brush a fallen leaf from Xiao Yi Xian's temple, his knuckles tapping the tree trunk with a crisp clatter.

She pressed herself flat against the bark, her body close within Xiao Yan's embrace.

A trace of paleness crept onto Xiao Yi Xian's small face:

"You... what are you doing?"

The corner of Xiao Yan's lips curled up involuntarily:

"It just hit me—I've killed so many people, and you saw it all. That's not great, is it?"

Nervousness tightened in Xiao Yi Xian's heart, but she still spoke softly:

"I... I won't tell anyone."

Xiao Yan didn't answer. Instead, his gaze lingered on her fair face:

"A verbal promise won't cut it."

"Since you know I'm a murderous fiend, how about you pay me back with some flesh first?"

"Then I'll let you go."

A rosy flush instantly spread across the girl's jade-white earlobes. The bark pressing into her back left a faint, stinging ache.

Then she caught the mischievous glint flickering in the boy's eyes, and realization struck:

"You—you're messing with me!"

"Hahaha!"

Xiao Yan pulled back three steps and tossed a green jade bottle her way:

"Three-Pattern Spirit Nourishing Pill. Works wonders on hidden injuries and scars."

"But why were you so tense? Do I really look like some bandit who snatches pretty girls?"

"Xiao Yan!"

Xiao Yi Xian cut him off urgently, her fingers trembling slightly as she held the pill bottle.

Suddenly, she remembered the scene of this man turning into an Asura amidst the rain of blood.

Compared to the youth teasing her now, they were worlds apart.

Was this the real him?

Xiao Yan's smile faded. Two fingers suddenly pressed against the girl's wrist pulse.

The Kirin Devouring Heaven Flame coiled into threads and sank into her meridians!

The gray mist poison lurking inside Xiao Yi Xian recoiled as if meeting its natural predator, shrinking back deep into her Dantian.

A blush tinted Xiao Yi Xian's cheeks, but she didn't pull away:

"What are you doing?"

Xiao Yan withdrew his hand, his expression turning serious as he sat down against the tree:

"Didn't you get a copy of the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture?"

"Flip it open. The last page."

"Maybe it'll clear up some of your doubts?"

The girl was stunned. Why the sudden shift in topic?

Still, she didn't argue. She opened the ancient tome and read carefully.

A long silence passed. Xiao Yan heard no sound from her.

Only a single crystal dewdrop fell, landing on a withered leaf below.

The rustle of leaves broke the stillness. Xiao Yi Xian slumped to the ground, her knuckles white from clenching:

"So... the village back then, it was because of me..."

"Calamity Poison Body... why..."

Her voice was barely a whisper, but the despair in it was unmistakable.

Soft sobbing rose.

Grief flooded her heart, but then she felt a warm hand press down on her shoulder.

"Follow me. Within three years, I'll break this deadlock!"

"Your life was saved by me. No one else."

"No one takes it away."

The dark robe swept past the scattered debris, the youth's voice carrying an unyielding authority:

"The terms..."

He leaned down, lifting the girl's chin, meeting those tear-filled eyes:

"When gathering herbs and testing poisons in the future, be quicker about it."

Xiao Yi Xian said nothing, staring up at those firm yet gentle eyes.

The last barrier of resistance in her heart crumbled completely, and she threw herself into his embrace.

Seven days later, in a clearing deep within the Monster Beast Mountain Range.

Crimson flames flickered restlessly within the medicine cauldron as Xiao Yan's palms moved with agile precision.

The Kirin Devouring Heaven Flame coiled around the cauldron, enveloping the herbs.

At a speed nearly visible to the naked eye, impurities were stripped away, leaving behind crystalline medicinal liquid.

Xiao Yan suddenly frowned and barked:

"Add three White Bone Flowers!"

"Yes, yes!"

Xiao Yi Xian scrambled to grab the herbs from the Jade Box.

The truth was, Xiao Yan's pace in refining and adding ingredients was so fast that she could barely keep up.

After all, her poison body had yet to awaken, and her cultivation was still very low.

Before the White Bone Flowers even fell into the cauldron, they released a burst of poison.

"Foolish girl."

Xiao Yan used his Dou Qi to force back the poisonous mist:

"The White Bone Flowers for the Five-Heart Returning Origin Pill must be handled with the Mysterious Jade Shovel—how many times have I told you?"

With a flick of his palm, Xiao Yan incinerated the poison mist, and the crimson flames churned in the air, forming the word "Idiot."

Xiao Yi Xian's face flushed red.

"I thought I was taking on a test subject girl, but now I have to treat you like an ancestor."

"Give me your hand."

Xiao Yi Xian timidly extended her fingertips.

A thread of crimson-gold flame patterns coursed through her meridians, and wherever it passed, the poison gas dissolved into nothing.

The warmth of the youth's fingertips lingered long after, melting her heart until it trembled.

"Focus on the changes in the cauldron's flame."

Xiao Yan suddenly pulled her close, his voice brushing past her ear:

"If you ruin this batch of Five Elements Returning Origin Pills, tonight you'll serve as this young master's bed-warmer."

Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian walked deep into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, gathering herbs.

But Xiao Yan's attention was fixed on the ring on his right hand:

"Teacher, you must know a way to resolve the Calamity Poison Body, right?"

Xiao Yan asked this mainly because the original story's details were already a bit fuzzy in his memory.

He couldn't possibly remember every single detail.

After a moment, Old Yao's voice came from the ring, tinged with mild teasing:

"When you need something, it's 'Teacher,' and when you don't, it's 'Old Man,' isn't it?"

"Since you dared to promise that girl, how could you not have a solution?"

A rare hint of flattery crept onto Xiao Yan's face:

"Isn't that because Teacher gives me the confidence?"

"Teacher is a peak alchemist on the continent—a small problem like this is nothing but a piece of cake!"

A smile appeared on Old Yao's face inside the ring.

Though he had once been renowned across the land and had heard such praise countless times, flattery depended on who delivered it. A bunch of irrelevant nobodies and his own monstrous disciple were clearly different!

Just as he was about to speak:

"Boom!!!"

A Purple-Gold Thunderstorm suddenly exploded in the distant sky, its violent roar echoing across hundreds of miles!

Xiao Yan's flame wings unfurled in an instant as he soared into the air, seeing where the mountains had collapsed a hundred miles away.

A woman in green was locked in battle with a massive purple beast.

For ten miles around, mountains crumbled and clouds were torn apart!

The might shook the heavens!

Bloodstains seeped through Yun Yun's light gauze at the shoulder, yet the strange sword in her hand still gleamed with biting cold light:

"Purple Crystal Winged Lion King, give up and you'll suffer less. How much longer can you hold on?"

"Ant of a human!"

Lightning and fire spewed from the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King's fangs, cracks already spreading across the spiral golden horn atop its head:

"This King would rather die than let you have your way!"

"Purple-Gold Seal!"

The moment violet light burst forth, radiance enveloped ten miles in every direction!

Struck by the flowing light, Yun Yun's Fighting Wings dissolved behind her, and she plummeted through the air.

Amid the sea of purple light, a single thread of crimson sliced through the curtain of light, plunging straight into the center!

In one sweep, it caught the falling Yun Yun!

Xiao Yi Xian in his right hand, Yun Yun in his left.

Flickering through the air, he landed on the ground.

Turning, he pushed Yun Yun into Xiao Yi Xian's arms:

"Xiao Yi Xian, please look after this one. Mm, a voluptuous and alluring Dou Emperor senior."

"You insolent brat!"

A faint flush of anger rose on Yun Yun's pale face, but the seal's effect left her unable to move.

Xiao Yan paid her no heed. Behind him, four wings spread open, blood-red as fresh crimson.

The scorching heat incinerated everything around!

He looked at the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King, already at its last gasp, collapsed on the ground:

"Old lion, I'll spare your life. Get lost!"

"Roar! Mere ant!"

The beast king roared in fury!

Crimson light surged behind Xiao Yan:

"Forgot to mention—I specialize in curing stubborn beasts!"

As the red flames blazed, illuminating the night, Old Yao's voice drifted faintly:

"Boy, that woman bears the mark of the Misty Cloud Sect..."

"I know."

A grin spread across Xiao Yan's lips.

He raised his left hand, and a cyan storage ring materialized in his palm.

"Old man, care to take a guess where her storage ring is right now?"

"And later, we can name our price—higher!"

In the ring, Old Yao's mouth twitched, and he said no more.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yan had fully nurtured his strongest strike of the moment:

"Flame Wings, Heaven-Slashing!"

Crimson light erupted in full brilliance...