Taking the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame Fragment Map!

Xiao Yi Xian abruptly looked up and saw a figure standing in the shadows at the corner of the room, though she had no idea when he had appeared.

The man wore azure robes and had a young, handsome face and deep eyes. It was Gu Long.

He seemed completely unaffected by the deadly poisonous mist as he strolled up to Xiao Yi Xian, his gaze settling on the strange grayish-purple poison markings across her body.

"Who... who are you?"

Xiao Yi Xian watched him warily, instinctively backing away as the poisonous mist around her surged.

"I am someone who can help you control this power."

Gu Long spoke calmly and extended a finger toward Xiao Yi Xian's forehead.

Xiao Yi Xian tried to dodge, only to discover that beneath that calm gaze, she could not move at all.

The instant Gu Long's fingertip touched her forehead, a cool, gentle force flowed into her mind.

An ancient cultivation art called the Poison Control Secret Record immediately appeared in her mind.

At the same time, the violent poison energy rampaging through her body seemed to receive some kind of guidance and gradually became more docile.

It was still icy cold, but no longer so difficult to control.

The gray poisonous mist around her slowly withdrew into her body at her command, and the poison markings on her face gradually faded.

Only a lingering trace of grayish-purple remained in her eyes.

"This Poison Control Secret Record can help you initially guide the poison energy within your body, preventing it from backlashing against you or easily losing control and harming others."

Gu Long withdrew his finger and looked at Xiao Yi Xian, whose eyes were still filled with confusion and fear.

"As for whether you can completely master this Calamity Poison Body and carve out a path of your own, that depends on your own fortune."

Having said that, he spoke no further. His figure gradually faded away, vanishing as though he had merged into the shadows.

Xiao Yi Xian was left standing alone amid the wreckage and corpses, feeling the strange energy within her that brought both power and endless pain. Her mind was in turmoil.

Outside, the chaos at the Wolf Head Mercenary Group headquarters continued, but it no longer had anything to do with her.

Mu She was on his way back, but what awaited him was the terrible news of his only son's death and the collapse of his hard-won foundation.

Xiao Yi Xian looked at her hands, which had returned to normal yet seemed to contain endless poison, then glanced at the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture that Mu Li had discarded on the table. A complicated light flashed through her eyes.

Perhaps this path was not entirely hopeless.

She picked up the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture, recalled the Poison Control Secret Record in her mind once more, then gave the hellish scene one final look. Gritting her teeth, she silently slipped into the night under cover of the chaos outside.

The turmoil and bloodshed at the Wolf Head Mercenary Group headquarters did not disturb the silence of the Monster Mountain Range.

Like a ghost, Gu Long silently reappeared at the entrance to that hidden Valley.

The stone door at the cave entrance had long since been violently broken open by the Wolf Head Mercenary Group. Broken chunks of stone lay scattered across the ground, exposing the dark passage beyond.

The interior was already empty. Only the mess left behind by the battle and the faint scent of blood had yet to fully dissipate.

Gu Long calmly entered the cave, treating the chaotic scene within as though it did not exist.

His target was clear. It was neither the items from the stone boxes that had already been taken nor the few Gold Coins left behind in the corner.

He walked straight to the center of the stone chamber, where the dried skeleton of the cave's former owner still sat upright.

Its sunken eye sockets stared blankly ahead, bearing witness to the brief conflict and escape that had taken place earlier.

Gu Long's gaze did not linger on the skeleton. Instead, it fell upon the stone chair on which the skeleton sat.

The chair looked as ancient and crude as the stone chamber itself, utterly unremarkable beneath a thick layer of dust.

He extended a finger, and a wisp of pure Dou Qi at his fingertip, like the most delicate carving blade, lightly traced across an inconspicuous joint in the chair.

"Click."

A faint mechanism sounded. On the side of the chair's armrest, a stone panel nearly indistinguishable from the surrounding rock quietly sprang open, revealing a deeply hidden compartment.

The compartment was small, and inside lay an ancient fragment map made from some unknown material.

The map was yellowed and badly frayed around the edges, seemingly steeped in the traces of time.

Several vague routes and strange symbols were drawn on it. In one corner of the fragment map was a seemingly ordinary lotus-shaped flame insignia, yet it faintly radiated a mysterious aura that made even one's soul tremble.

The Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame Fragment Map!

Gu Long took out the fragment map and spread it across his palm, carefully sensing the faint yet exceptionally high-grade flame aura within.

Even his eyes flickered with a barely noticeable ripple.

The Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame ranked third on the Heavenly Flame Ranking. It possessed the terrifying power to purify all things and was a supreme divine treasure coveted by countless Alchemists and fire-attribute experts.

And this was merely one of the fragment maps that pointed toward its whereabouts.

"Tou She Ancient God's collection truly is extraordinary," Gu Long muttered.

He knew that there should be several similar fragment maps scattered throughout the Dou Qi Continent.

Only by gathering them all could one locate the true position of the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame.

In the predetermined course of fate, this fragment map would have been accidentally discovered by Xiao Yan and become a crucial part of his future collection of Heavenly Flames.

But now that Gu Long knew of it in advance, he naturally would not allow it to fall into Xiao Yan's hands again.

He carefully put away the fragment map and stored it in the safest place within the System Space.

The fragment map itself could not directly increase his strength, but the potential value it represented was immeasurable.

It concerned whether he could control the third-ranked Heavenly Flame in the future and whether he could gain a critical trump card in his path against the Soul Clan.

After finishing all this, Gu Long inspected the stone chamber once more. Once he confirmed there were no other hidden mechanisms or treasures, he did not linger.

He walked out of the cave and swept his gaze across the Valley. This place had lost its value. After suffering such a devastating blow, the Wolf Head Mercenary Group would surely be badly weakened and unable to concern itself with this place any longer.

"Xiao Yan jumped off the cliff, Xiao Yi Xian's poison body awakened and she fled, and the fragment map is in hand..."

Gu Long silently reviewed the progress of this side story involving Wutan City and Qingshan Town.

"This matter is settled."

He did not investigate whether Xiao Yan had lived or died after jumping off the cliff, nor did he track Xiao Yi Xian's whereabouts.

Xiao Yan had the old fox Han Feng's soul protecting him. A protagonist-standard scene like jumping off a cliff had a high chance of not killing him and might instead lead him to a new "fortuitous encounter."

Of course, whether that encounter would be a blessing or a curse was another matter.

As for Xiao Yi Xian, her Calamity Poison Body had already awakened, granting her the power to protect herself and even harm others. The road ahead was one she needed to walk herself.

His arrangements had already achieved their initial goals: greatly disrupting Xiao Yan's growth trajectory, obtaining the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame Fragment Map, and incidentally planting pieces involving the Misty Cloud Sect and the future Poison Fairy.

It was time to turn his attention toward more important places.

Gu Long moved, transforming into a streak of azure smoke and disappearing from where he stood. In the next instant, he appeared high in the sky.

He identified the direction. It was toward the Black Corner Region, where Jia Nan Academy was located.

Xun Er and Ling Ying should have been waiting for quite some time.

Jia Nan Academy's Falling Heart Flame in the Inner Academy was his most important goal at this stage.

Moreover, under Zhou Yu and Zhao Yun's management, the Dragon Domain must have undergone new changes as well.

He no longer suppressed his aura. The imposing presence of a Dou Emperor soared into the heavens, and his speed suddenly increased. Like a meteor streaking across the sky, he shot straight toward the Black Corner Region.

Qingshan Town below, along with the Monster Mountain Range behind it, rapidly shrank in his vision until they became a blurred backdrop.

This region, where he had planned for so long and stirred up such turmoil, temporarily faded from the center of his attention.

Yet the effects he had left behind were far from over.

Xiao Yan's fate had been forcibly twisted, Xiao Yi Xian had embarked on an entirely different path, the Wolf Head Mercenary Group stood on the verge of collapse, and the Misty Cloud Sect owed him an enormous favor...

All of it was like stones cast into a lake. The ripples they had stirred would continue spreading into the future. As for how they would cross paths with him again, only time could provide the answer.

A new stage had already opened.

Gu Long's journey advanced toward a broader world.

And the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame Fragment Map he had tucked away quietly waited for the day when, at some crucial moment in the future, it would bloom with a radiance capable of illuminating the entire continent.