Heavenly Poison Girl, Xiao Yi Xian

"Mm. Understood."

Xiao Han suppressed the excitement in his heart. He casually tossed a hundred gold coins to the clerk, then slowly placed the Blood Lotus Essence into the System Package.

His movements were orderly, without the slightest sign of anything unusual.

A treasure like Blood Lotus Essence was exceedingly rare. If Xiao Han remembered correctly, even when Xiao Yan came here a year later, he had only encountered one piece of Blood Lotus Essence—and had somehow spent an extra 2,300 gold coins on it.

"Ding dong!"

"Congratulations, you have disrupted the Storyline of Battle Through the Heavens and seized Xiao Yan's opportunity from one year later—Blood Lotus Essence. Reward: 6,000 Experience Points. 1,200 Coupon Points."

Having just stepped out of Myriad Medicine Pavilion, Xiao Han paused slightly. A warm current flowed out from the system before seeping into his Dantian. Perhaps because Blood Lotus Essence was the main ingredient for refining the Blood Lotus Pill, as well as a crucial part of Xiao Yan's absorption of Heavenly Flames, the Experience Points awarded were exceptionally generous.

Xiao Han's cultivation had already risen from the initial stage of Seven-star Dou Zhe to the advanced stage.

His trip to Myriad Medicine Pavilion had not only earned him the rare medicinal ingredient Blood Lotus Essence, but had also disrupted the Storyline and granted him considerable Experience Points. Xiao Han was in an excellent mood.

"Hey, look! Xiao Yi Xian!"

"Damn, this is the Xiao Yi Xian you were talking about? Tsk, tsk, that face is absolutely unreal. And that waist is so damn slim. I just want to touch it!"

"Are you trying to get yourself killed? Xiao Yi Xian holds a very high reputation among mercenaries. Many mercenaries have been treated by her, and she's saved their lives. If you dare insult Xiao Yi Xian like that, you probably won't even know how you died."

One man seemed to be new here and had blurted out those words without restraint. When he cautiously looked around, he immediately felt the hostile stares of the surrounding mercenaries.

"Heh heh heh..." The man quickly tried to smooth things over, scratching his head as he gave a foolish grin. "I was just saying it. Don't take it seriously, don't take it seriously. Heh... heh..."

Xiao Han followed the voices and, sure enough, saw a woman in a pale white dress walking this way amid the crowd.

The woman could not be called breathtakingly beautiful, but she was still a rare beauty. A faint smile always rested on her gentle face, and with the pale white dress accentuating her figure, she radiated a fresh, graceful air, like an angel who had descended into the mortal world. That temperament alone greatly elevated her charm.

At last, Xiao Han's gaze fell upon the woman's willow-thin waist, bound by a green sash. A flash of amazement crossed his eyes. "So this is Xiao Yi Xian. She really is stunning."

In Battle Through the Heavens, Xiao Xun'er was the most captivating, possessing flawless beauty and an air of mystery. Ya Fei was the most seductive; with her mature nature, she knew exactly what true temptation was. It was said that Xiao Yu had the longest legs, though Xiao Han had yet to see those slender legs for himself. As for the Xiao Yi Xian before him, she had the most slender waist of all the women in Battle Through the Heavens.

"Master, it's Xiao Yi Xian. Aren't you going over to say hello?" System Xiao Ai teased.

"Better not." Xiao Han paused. He did not act impulsively and repeat the same mistake he had made with Old Man Yao.

Before Old Man Yao, Xiao Han had displayed an incomprehensibly advanced understanding, knowing everything about Old Man Yao. It was precisely because of this that Xiao Han had failed to win him over.

Sometimes, when one person knew too much about another—even more than that person knew about themselves—it instead aroused fear in their hearts. Out of self-preservation, they might even become hostile in the end.

This had been the key reason why Xiao Han had failed to win over Old Man Yao on the Xiao Clan's Back Mountain. Had Xiao Han taken a gradual approach from the start, he might truly have succeeded in winning Old Man Yao over.

The same was true of Xiao Yi Xian now.

Xiao Yi Xian was currently only a physician at Myriad Medicine Pavilion, though she seemed to have already discovered the nature of her Calamity Poison Body. If Xiao Han rashly approached her, there was a ninety-percent chance that what happened with Old Man Yao would happen again. If he provoked Xiao Yi Xian's hostility, the loss would outweigh the gain. That was not what Xiao Han wanted.

As Xiao Han conversed with System Xiao Ai, Xiao Yi Xian had already passed the entrance. Her gaze swept over Xiao Han's face without pausing in the slightest. Only the faint fragrance lingering in the air proved that a person of extraordinary talent had just passed by his side.

After passing through the crowd, Xiao Han casually found an inn along the street and checked in. After bathing, he lay on the bed and fell asleep, carrying the fatigue of a day's journey with him into dreamland.

The night quietly passed amid the song of the cold wind. When the eastern sky had only just begun to pale the next day, countless mercenaries sat cross-legged, formed hand seals, and began breathing exercises to improve their cultivation.

Xiao Han did not awaken from his sleep until sunlight outside had brightly illuminated the window.

With the Invincible Destroyer King System, Xiao Han had no need to cultivate step by step like ordinary people. After living on the Battle Qi Continent for several months, he had developed the habit of sleeping until he woke naturally.

"Today, I'll go meet the future Heavenly Poison Girl of the Cloud Empire!"

Xiao Han rose, washed up, and ate a simple meal. Then he summoned a clerk and asked for brush and ink, a wooden pole, and a piece of cloth. Afterward, he took out a black robe and the Cat Face Mask from the System Space.

Once everything was prepared, Xiao Han took the completed vertical banner, called a Chuang Fan, in his hand. On it were seven vigorous, dragon-like characters: "Knowing fate, thus no worries." Only then did he leave the inn.

Compared to yesterday, Xiao Han's unusual attire now drew intense curiosity from passersby.

On the Battle Qi Continent, there was likely no such person as a Divine Fortune Teller who could foresee the future.

"Ask of wealth and honor, and I shall reveal wealth and honor; the stars may shift, yet I can know their course!"

Xiao Han muttered the line as he calmly walked down the street.

"Sir, what exactly are you doing?" Unable to restrain his curiosity at such strange attire, a mercenary stepped forward and asked Xiao Han.

"Fortune-telling." Xiao Han's hoarse, low voice came from behind the mask.

"Fortune-telling? Destiny can be calculated?" The mercenary looked at Xiao Han with thirty percent surprise and seventy percent mockery.

"That's right. In the vast void, even the shifting stars leave traces to follow. How much more so for insignificant humans like us?"

"What's the fee?" Seeing how convincingly Xiao Han spoke, the mercenary became interested.

"No charge if I'm wrong."

"No charge if you're wrong?" The mercenary laughed. "Fine, then calculate it for me. What is my fate like?"

"Sorry, I only read the fortunes of those fated to meet me."

Xiao Han walked around the curious mercenary, carrying the vertical banner as he continued down the street.

The town in the early morning brimmed with life. Among it all, the mercenaries' shouts were especially numerous, as they recruited companions to enter the Monster Beast Mountain Range.

Mercenaries generally fell into three types. The first consisted of organized groups with internal rules, as well as legal systems and regulations. Such mercenaries possessed strength comparable to regular armies, and all their members were Dou Zhe or above. To say nothing else, the leaders of Qingshan Town's three most powerful mercenary groups all possessed the combat strength of Dou Shi.

The second type consisted of temporarily assembled teams. These mercenaries usually disbanded after completing a mission, and their trust and coordination were greatly lacking.

The third type consisted of mercenaries who acted independently. Those who dared venture alone into the Monster Beast Mountain Range usually possessed at least a few trump cards to preserve their lives.

The mercenaries shouting in the town naturally belonged to the second type. They had neither powerful mercenary groups backing them nor many life-saving trump cards.

Xiao Han did not pause for even a moment as he passed these mercenaries. His goal was not to join a mercenary party and enter the Monster Beast Mountain Range, but to head straight for Xiao Yi Xian, who was staying at Myriad Medicine Pavilion.