Fire Toxin Outbreak, Nantian Wan'er

Lu Chen was already close to the center of the Fiery Domain. The Demonic Beasts around him were gradually getting stronger, with the weakest being at the Breath Regulation Realm.

Lu Chen carefully dodged the high-level Demonic Beasts. Just then, Lu Chen's aura plummeted. All the way here, the Yang Sea Pearl in Lu Chen's Celestial Pool had been slowly ignited in the fiery abyss.

"Pfft."

Lu Chen spat out a mouthful of blood and slowly fell to the ground.

"Little Lu, what's wrong?" Wind Dragon anxiously called out to Lu Chen, feeling the impact on the Primordial Giant Sword within his Celestial Pool.

"My... Celestial Pool... is in chaos..."

"I'm hot..."

Lu Chen kept repeating this sentence, his consciousness beginning to blur.

"Grandpa, look quickly, there's someone collapsed over there. Let's go take a look," a young girl's voice came from afar.

"Wan'er, don't go, be careful of danger," the old man in front of the girl quickly stopped her.

"It's okay, Grandpa. He doesn't look like a bad person. Can we go help him first?"

"But your illness..."

Before the old man could finish speaking, the girl had already rushed towards Lu Chen. Seeing the girl running over, Wind Dragon could only repeatedly call out to Lu Chen.

"Lu Chen, wake up, someone's coming."

Lu Chen ignored Wind Dragon. The Yang Sea Pearl in his body had already gone out of control. His Celestial Pool was in chaos, being destroyed by the fire-attribute Spiritual Energy. The Azure Emperor Divine Tree and the Yin Sea Pearl were constantly absorbing and balancing the Yang Sea Pearl.

Lu Chen looked at the approaching girl.

The girl had bright, beautiful eyes, long black hair cascading down her back, and wore a white dress. However, a trace of sickly, cold aura emanated from her.

"What's wrong? Are you injured?" The girl leaned over Lu Chen, probing his aura.

"Hot, hot..." Lu Chen repeated. The girl gave him a sense of affinity; he could feel she wasn't a bad person.

The girl embraced Lu Chen, using her own icy aura to cool him down.

"Wan'er, why must you do this? You're a patient yourself, yet you go to save him," the old man said to the girl.

"Grandpa, you don't need to say more. Precisely because I am a patient, I can feel his pain." The girl continued to hold Lu Chen, using her body to cool him down.

"Sigh, fine, fine. I'll help him," the old man seemed persuaded by the girl. "Let's find a quieter place first."

Wind Dragon circled above Lu Chen's head, now only able to hope that the two could save Lu Chen.

Wind Dragon was a tool spirit, and unless he allowed it, ordinary people couldn't see him. He could feel a very friendly aura from Nantian Wan'er.

Lu Chen's consciousness was gradually fading. Only the girl's face remained in his eyes. He felt safe in her embrace and slowly drifted into sleep.

When Lu Chen woke up again, he was in a room, his entire body immersed in a medicinal pool.

"You're awake? Feeling any better?" The girl, seeing Lu Chen wake up, quickly stepped forward to ask.

"Where am I? Who are you?" Lu Chen stood up from the medicinal pool, looking around. In his memory, he had fainted in a lava cave.

"Ah... Put on some clothes first." The girl, seeing Lu Chen stand up, quickly covered her eyes and turned away.

Lu Chen looked at his body. His clothes had all been removed. He quickly got out of the medicinal pool and put on clothes.

"Wind Dragon, what's going on?"

"Little Lu, they are good people. This young lady saved you when you were injured and fainted the other day."

Wind Dragon landed on Lu Chen's head again.

Having understood the situation, Lu Chen quickly thanked the girl in front of him. "My name is Lu Chen. Thank you, young lady, for saving me. May I ask your name?"

The girl turned to look at Lu Chen. Lu Chen had already changed into clean clothes.

"My name is Nantian Wan'er. You can also call me Wan'er. My grandfather, Nantian Xiu, and I are here searching for herbs and happened to encounter you."

"Nantian Wan'er? Nantian? Are you from the Nantian Region? I have a brother whose surname is also Nantian, his name is Nantian Yijian. You should know each other," Lu Chen said doubtfully.

"No... no, I don't know him. The Nantian Region is very large. I haven't heard of that name."

This was the first time Nantian Wan'er had stayed in a room with a man for such a long time. Feeling the warm breath Lu Chen exhaled, Nantian Wan'er's ears instantly turned red, and she nervously lowered her head to hide her embarrassment.

"Your little dragon is so cute. It's been circling your head since you fainted," Nantian Wan'er took the opportunity to change the subject.

"You can see Wind Dragon?"

Lu Chen and Wind Dragon were very surprised. Logically, Wind Dragon hadn't revealed himself voluntarily, so others shouldn't be able to see him.

"Yes, I've been very close to Demonic Beasts and Spirit Beasts since I was young. Even the most ferocious beasts won't harm me," Nantian Wan'er said softly.

Hearing Nantian Wan'er's words, Wind Dragon carefully probed her aura.

"This aura... could it be the Phoenix Ancestor's bloodline aura? It's been gone for so long, I didn't expect to see it here."

Seeing Wind Dragon's shocked expression, Lu Chen asked, "Wind Dragon, what is the Phoenix Ancestor bloodline?"

Nantian Wan'er was also curious about what was special about her bloodline and looked up, wanting to hear what Wind Dragon had to say.

"I heard this from the Sixth Ancestor. Legend has it that in ancient times, five beings were conceived. One of them was the East Pole Azure Emperor, the source of Little Lu's bloodline. Another being was called the Southern Phoenix Ancestor, and all beasts today were conceived by him."

"Those with the Phoenix Ancestor bloodline naturally possess a suppression over beasts, so all beasts in the world greatly respect those with the Phoenix Ancestor bloodline."

The Wind Dragon looked at Nantian Wan'er and said in confusion, "But someone with the Phoenix Ancestor's bloodline should only possess the fire attribute. Yet, I see her body enveloped in extreme cold. This shouldn't be possible at all."

Hearing the Wind Dragon's words, Lu Chen also noticed the sickly, Yin-cold aura filling Nantian Wan'er's body. Furthermore, when he approached her, he felt a sense of security, and the Yang Sea Pearl also calmed down.

Lu Chen asked, "Wan'er, is there something wrong with your body?"

"I'm not sure. But ever since I can remember, my body has been exceptionally weak. After entering the Qi Gathering Realm, for every bit my cultivation increased, the Yin-cold energy in my meridians would also increase by a bit."

"Now, I have to take Bright Sun Grass every month to suppress it. Unless I can find something extremely hot to refine into a pill or someone can absorb the Yin-cold energy from my body, the Yin-cold energy will erupt once at the end of every month."

"My grandfather and I came out because we heard there's a Fire Prison in this Secret Realm, hoping to find something extremely hot to help me suppress the Yin-cold energy within me."

Listening to Nantian Wan'er's explanation, Lu Chen instantly understood that Nantian Wan'er's situation was similar to his own. However, he absolutely had to find the Yin Sea Pearl.

"If it's possible, I'll do my best to help you find it. By the way, where is your grandfather?"

"Grandpa Xiu went to collect Bright Sun Grass to refine pills for me. It's almost the end of the month, and without Bright Sun Grass, the Yin-cold energy in my body will erupt."

Lu Chen sensed Nantian Wan'er's slight distress. "I'm fine now. Shall we go outside and take a look?"

The two walked out of the room and saw the old man refining pills not far away.

"You're awake? Feeling better?" The old man looked at Lu Chen as he walked out.

"I'm much better. Thank you for saving me, Grandpa Xiu." Lu Chen cupped his hands in thanks to the old man.

Nantian Xiu brought a bowl of medicinal soup to Lu Chen. "I noticed your condition was similar to Wan'er's, so I tried to treat you. However, to resolve the Fire Toxin within you, you might need to find another solution."

"Drink this bowl of medicine and rest for a few more days. It will temporarily suppress the Fire Toxin in your body."

Lu Chen knew his own condition. After drinking the soup, he handed the bowl back to Nantian Xiu and expressed his gratitude.

For the next few days, Nantian Xiu treated Lu Chen daily, and Lu Chen's body slowly recovered. Perhaps due to their similar ailments, the relationship between Lu Chen and Nantian Wan'er also became somewhat subtle.

One day, Lu Chen felt that the Fire Toxin in his body had been suppressed. Moreover, he had been here for quite some time, and he was afraid that the people from Fengtian Prefecture would worry about him. He proposed to Nantian Xiu that he wanted to leave as soon as possible and head towards the center of the Secret Realm.

"Grandpa Xiu, I'm planning to head into the depths of the Fire Prison. If you need anything, I can help you collect it."

"Lu Chen, you're going into the depths of the Fire Prison, but your injuries... aren't healed yet..."

Nantian Wan'er immediately spoke up to stop him when she heard Lu Chen was going into the depths of the Fire Prison, her face full of worry. However, realizing she was a girl, her ears instantly turned red, and she lowered her head, fiddling with the hem of her clothes.

Nantian Xiu looked at Nantian Wan'er and understood that this was a young girl's budding affection.

Nantian Wan'er had followed him around searching for herbs to treat illnesses since she was young and had never met many strange men. Now, seeing a young man like Lu Chen, it was inevitable that feelings would arise.

Nantian Xiu was not a rigid person. He had seen clearly over the past few days that Lu Chen was a kind and respectful child. Furthermore, they shared similar illnesses, and he immediately had the idea of matchmaking them.

"Young man, why don't we head into the depths of the Fire Prison together? Wan'er still needs to find an extremely Yang item for her condition. We can look out for each other. Wan'er, don't you think so?"

"Yes..." Nantian Wan'er replied unconsciously. Suddenly, she realized Nantian Xiu was teasing her, and her face instantly turned red again. She lowered her head deeply. "Grandpa, you're teasing me again. I'm not talking to you anymore."

Lu Chen didn't understand why Nantian Wan'er was blushing, but it was good to have someone to accompany him on the journey, especially Nantian Wan'er, who gave him a special sense of comfort.

"Alright, Grandpa Xiu. Then we'll set off together." Lu Chen patted his head and agreed with a chuckle.

"Wan'er, did you hear that? The young man agreed. Aren't you going to pack your things quickly?" Nantian Xiu said with a chuckle. Nantian Wan'er's entire face instantly turned crimson.

"Ah... Grandpa, why are you asking me..." Nantian Wan'er said shyly and quickly fled.

Lu Chen watched Nantian Wan'er flee, still chuckling foolishly. "Miss Wan'er, why is your face red again? Is your cold toxin acting up? Do you need help?"

Nantian Xiu chuckled heartily at Lu Chen's simple and honest appearance.