Crackle! Pop!
In a small valley shrouded in mist, a little campfire roasted fragrant bird meat, its faint aroma drawing over other small animals.
Now, only a few low-grade demonic beasts remained in the entire valley.
Xiao Yi Xian happily ate the meat. Although the Seven-Colored Poison Line on her lower abdomen had risen slightly, it did nothing to diminish her joy at breaking through to Dou Shi.
After all, Xiao Yan had not even reached his Coming of Age Ceremony yet. His cultivation was surely still hovering around Dou Qi.
Achoo!
Far away in Wu Tan City, Xiao Yan sneezed and could not help grumbling, "Someone must be cursing this handsome guy!"
"You call yourself handsome?"
Yao Chen could not help mocking the narcissistic Xiao Yan. Back when he had been the Number One Handsome Man of the Continent, he had not been this full of himself.
The whip formed from Yao Chen's soul power lashed down more and more fiercely, making Xiao Yan howl in pain.
Little Spirit noticed nothing at all. Her eyes remained fixed on the roasting meat. Even with food in both her mouth and hands, she still kept glancing at the meat over the fire.
Seeing the small animals gathering around them, Xiao Yi Xian shared some food with them as well.
After eating and drinking her fill, Xiao Yi Xian stood in an open space, the You Su in her hand gleaming beneath the sun.
With a lift of her sword, Xiao Yi Xian began practicing the basic sword forms—or perhaps it would have been more accurate to call it a sword dance.
The Dou Venerate whose inheritance she had received had loved swords as dearly as life itself. At the heart of that inheritance was the belief that one should treat a sword like family.
Some had even developed sword dances in order to better coordinate with their swords. They had no offensive use whatsoever.
Though supposedly meant to coordinate with the sword, this sword dance had actually been created by that Dou Venerate to perform for a woman.
It was simply to show off. In the memories, that figure had danced with his sword to the accompaniment of a woman's flute, looking like an exiled immortal.
When Xiao Yi Xian had received this part of the inheritance, she had even felt that if he had been holding a cup of wine, he would have been Li Bai.
Xiao Yi Xian danced with the sword in her hand, her Dou Qi blending with the rhythm of the sword dance.
Little Spirit stood there blankly, watching the purple figure dance through the flower grove.
You Su gave off a faint violet radiance. Sword Qi swirled around Xiao Yi Xian, while her long purple hair drifted through the chaotic air.
While dancing, Xiao Yi Xian could even sense the sword's happiness. After all, it was already somewhat spiritual. If this continued, its spirituality might one day fully mature.
Whoosh!
Xiao Yi Xian sheathed You Su. It was still quite early, and this place was relatively close to the center of the Monster Beast Mountain Range. If Yun Yun arrived, there would surely be massive disturbances that she would be able to sense.
Before Yun Yun arrived, she might be able to advance another step. Becoming a Da Dou Shi was not impossible.
Xiao Yi Xian did not feel as though the Poisonous Gas was about to erupt yet. Perhaps it still needed some time. She had a premonition that the Poisonous Gas would erupt once more when she became a Da Dou Shi.
During her exploration around the small valley, she had discovered a Cold Pool atop the southwestern mountain. The pool was filled with Cold Poison. If she cultivated there, she was confident she could break through to Da Dou Shi by the time Yun Yun arrived.
However, that Cold Pool was guarded by a Fifth-order demonic beast, the Twin-Winged White Crystal Snake—a giant snake with a crystal-white body and enormous white wings growing from its back.
With her current cultivation, she definitely could not overpower it. Poison would likely be of little use either. It was a demonic beast with both cold and poison attributes; its poison was certainly stronger than hers.
Do not ask why. One was a Dou Shi, and the other was a Dou Wang. No matter how potent the poison of the Calamity Poison Body was, it could not surpass a demonic beast four whole realms above her that also cultivated poison.
After considering it again and again, she still decided to do it. The timid starved, while the bold stuffed themselves to death!
A Dou Wang-level demonic beast could already speak, and its intelligence was even greater than that of some not-so-bright humans, let alone a snake.
Since ancient times, snake spirits had been extremely sinister and cunning, comparable to foxes unmatched in strategy.
Thinking of snakes suddenly reminded her of Zi Yan. If she could lure Zi Yan over, she would not need to take this risk. After taking Qing Lin away, she would have to find a way to lure Zi Yan away too.
Xiao Yi Xian had Little Spirit return to the mark, then headed toward the Cold Pool beneath Xiao Lan's reluctant gaze.
She had already instructed Xiao Lan to take her token. When Liu Yan arrived, he would naturally bring him to the Cold Pool.
There was only one way to seize that precious place from beneath the Twin-Winged White Crystal Snake's jaws, and perhaps this method might even earn her a follower.
After all, there was a saying: "The longer one lives, the more one cherishes life!"
"Better to live badly than die well..."
In the face of certain death, they would never risk their lives in one desperate gamble. The difference between creatures with intelligence and those without it was immense.
Demonic beasts without intelligence attacked whether they could win or not, unless the difference in strength was truly enormous...
Demonic beasts with intelligence knew how to avoid misfortune and seek fortune. If they could not win, they either fled or surrendered...
Although Little Spirit was only a Dou Zhe, she could transmit Dou Qi to Xiao Yi Xian through the mark. That would better ensure Xiao Yi Xian's endurance and prevent an awkward situation where her Dou Qi ran dry.
After an unknown amount of time, Xiao Yi Xian, dressed in purple and wearing a worn Bronze Mask, approached the Twin-Winged White Crystal Snake's territory!
Roar!
The Twin-Winged White Crystal Snake sensed an unfamiliar presence entering its territory. A fierce glint flashed through its eyes, and with a spread of its wings, it arrived at the border.
Xiao Yi Xian stood quietly atop You Su, waiting for the prey to take the bait. Her entire aura was restrained, making her seem like an ordinary person.
Beyond the distant horizon, a black shadow rushed over at astonishing speed. Its massive body seemed to blot out the sky, several times larger than Xiao Yi Xian.
Those white wings in particular stretched over two meters long, making Xiao Yi Xian secretly marvel. As expected of a Fifth-order demonic beast at the Dou Wang level.
When the Twin-Winged White Crystal Snake arrived and saw the human standing within its territory, it found the situation strange. Its vertical pupils stared fixedly at Xiao Yi Xian.
A powerful pressure radiated from its body, the pressure unique to a fourth-order demonic beast, bearing down upon her. Yet the human before it seemed not to feel it at all.
In its perception, the human before it was a woman, but she possessed no cultivation aura whatsoever. She seemed entirely like an ordinary person.
But how could an ordinary person stand upon a sword?
And how could she have reached the depths of the Monster Beast Mountain Range?
A few thousand miles west of here was the territory of the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King. Without sufficient strength, no one could reach this place.
No matter how the Twin-Winged White Crystal Snake thought about it, it could never know that Xiao Yi Xian had taken a route with very few demonic beasts to get here.
"May I ask why Your Excellency has come here?" the Twin-Winged White Crystal Snake asked Xiao Yi Xian timidly.
If it could not sense her cultivation aura, then she was either completely and utterly mortal, or stronger than it was.
Although it was somewhat fearful of the human before it, this was its territory. The human had neither entered deeper within nor left, so she had clearly been waiting for it.
Through her worn mask, Xiao Yi Xian watched the enormous Twin-Winged White Crystal Snake before her. It had not attacked immediately, instead choosing to probe her. As expected of a demonic beast with intelligence.
Before you continue