Xiao Yi Xian

"Master, the total profit from selling the pills this time is fifty thousand. As agreed, I took twenty percent. Here are forty thousand gold coins."

In a courtyard in Black Rock City.

A middle-aged man in yellow robes bent slightly at the waist and respectfully presented a Gold Coin Card to Lin Feng, who stood before him dressed in a black hooded cloak.

His fat face was full of ingratiating smiles, terrified of offending Lin Feng.

After all, a year ago, the alchemist Liu Xi, whom he had painstakingly befriended, had been killed by a mysterious person.

The nearly one hundred thousand gold coins he had invested in Liu Xi had gone completely down the drain, and his trading company had nearly gone bankrupt.

Fortunately, he had come to Black Rock City to try his luck and had happened to encounter this mysterious alchemist.

With this alchemist's support, he had finally recovered.

"Mm."

Lin Feng accepted the card, gave it a casual glance, and put it into his Storage Ring. From beneath the hooded cloak came a slightly hoarse voice.

Seeing his former employer like this, Lin Feng could not help finding it somewhat amusing.

A year ago, he had happened to run into his former shopkeeper on the street and overheard his conversation with someone else.

Only then had he learned that the man had fallen into such dire straits because Lin Feng had killed Liu Xi.

Since Lin Feng also happened to need someone to help sell his pills, he had given his former employer a hand.

However, to avoid attracting trouble, he had never shown his true face.

Clearing his throat, Lin Feng took out two bottles of Purple Orchid Spirit Liquid that he had brewed by imitating Old Yao's Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid based on the pill recipe in his memories.

With a flick of his hand, they landed steadily on the tea table before him. He then said, "These are two bottles of second-grade Purple Orchid Spirit Liquid. Their effects are the same as the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid occasionally sold in your Wutan City."

"Second-grade?!"

At those words, the yellow-robed man's fat trembled. He lived in Wutan City, so how could he not have heard of the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid?

He immediately picked up the two Jade Bottles on the tea table with delight and said fawningly, "I truly failed to recognize greatness before me. I never expected you to be a Second-grade Alchemist, Master. Rest assured, I will sell them for a high price."

"No need."

Lin Feng shook his head and said, under the yellow-robed man's puzzled gaze, "I'll be leaving Black Rock City in a few days. Consider these two bottles of medicinal liquid payment for helping me gather Medicinal Herbs these past days."

"L-leaving?!"

The yellow-robed man's face instantly turned anxious. Thinking Lin Feng was dissatisfied with the profits, he hurriedly said, "Master, if there is anything you are dissatisfied with, please say it. I can take only ten percent of the share—"

Lin Feng shook his head again. "I'm leaving because I have important matters to attend to, not because of the profits."

"Master, this—"

"Enough. You need not say any more. I've already made my decision, and I won't change it."

Hearing the slightly hoarse male voice coming from beneath the black cloak, the yellow-robed man cupped his hands in disappointment before leaving the courtyard helplessly.

Once the yellow-robed man had left, Lin Feng removed his hooded cloak and entered the room in the courtyard to begin preparing supplies for surviving in the wilderness.

In a few days, he planned to head to the Monster Mountain Range near Qingshan Town and search for the cave containing the Flying Dou Skill.

During his year in Black Rock City, he had not only advanced to become a Second-grade Alchemist, but his strength had also reached the level of an Eight-Star Dou Practitioner.

He still did not dare search the Monster Mountain Range near Qingshan Town alone.

But if he joined up with a few mercenaries, there would be no major problem.

Moreover, with Lin Feng's strength as an Eight-Star Dou Practitioner and the Profound Tier Dou Skills in his possession, he could handle the vast majority of unexpected situations.

Besides, according to the original story, Xiao Yan would go to Qingshan Town for training in about three months.

If he did not go find it now, Xiao Yan would find it in his place.

Because it bordered the Monster Mountain Range, Qingshan Town was also known as the Monster Town. The most numerous people in the town were naturally the mercenaries who lived each day with their lives on the line. They gathered in groups, hooked arms, and boasted loudly along the streets, brazenly discussing which women in town had the most flavor, where the strongest liquor could be found, and which magical beasts were the fiercest...

After several days of travel, the dust-covered Lin Feng walked along the bluestone-paved streets.

There were many shops on both sides of the street, and thanks to the town's location, business was quite bustling.

However, as a Second-grade Alchemist, Lin Feng had no interest whatsoever in the low-grade goods in those shops.

"Myriad Medicine Zhai." As he walked, Lin Feng's gaze suddenly fell upon a medicinal herb shop.

"I remember there seems to be a piece of Blood Lotus Essence in this medicinal herb shop. I wonder if I can still find it now."

With that thought, Lin Feng immediately walked straight into the fairly spacious shop.

Blood Lotus Essence was an extremely rare high-grade medicinal herb.

This herb generally grew alongside Yellow Lotus Essence, but its quantity was exceedingly scarce.

Its appearance was almost exactly the same as Yellow Lotus Essence.

Anyone unfamiliar with it would certainly find it difficult to tell the two apart.

However, unlike the cheap Yellow Lotus Essence, Blood Lotus Essence was one of the main ingredients for the Fifth-grade Pill, the Blood Lotus Pill.

If he obtained it, trading it to a high-level alchemist for a low-grade fourth-grade pill would not be a problem.

As soon as Lin Feng entered Myriad Medicine Zhai, his nostrils were filled with the various medicinal fragrances emitted by countless medicinal herbs.

He looked around and found the shop illuminated as brightly as daytime by Moonlight Stones hanging on the walls.

There were quite a few customers in the shop at the moment, and the clerks were all extremely busy, so no one came to attend to him for the time being.

Lin Feng did not mind. Instead, he continued searching the shop for the Blood Lotus Essence he wanted.

Before long, Lin Feng's eyes fixed through a transparent counter on a pale yellow, block-shaped object in the farthest corner.

He licked his lips and casually approached the counter.

Lowering his head, he examined the pale yellow medicinal herb once more.

"Cough... Please take this out for me."

Slowly withdrawing his somewhat greedy and excited gaze, Lin Feng raised his head and smiled at a male clerk walking over.

The young clerk glanced sideways at the plainly dressed Lin Feng, then looked at the item he had requested.

When he saw that it was merely a piece of the lowest-grade Yellow Lotus Essence, he immediately curled his lips impatiently and stiffly took it from the counter. "Yellow Lotus Essence, low-grade medicinal herb, one hundred gold coins."

Lin Feng paid no attention to the clerk's condescending attitude.

He sneered inwardly and casually took the piece of what was believed to be the lowest-grade Yellow Lotus Essence.

His fingernail secretly scraped across it, peeling back a small portion of the faintly yellowed surface.

A trace of deep crimson, as red as blood, was revealed beneath it.

Staring at that nearly invisible crimson hue, Lin Feng was overjoyed. He then casually rubbed his nose.

He deeply inhaled the strange, slightly bloody scent lingering on his fingers.

At once, a flash of excitement leaped in the depths of his eyes.

Found it. Blood Lotus Essence!

If Lin Feng had not read the original story, then with only the medicinal knowledge he had learned over the past year, he would never have discovered that this inconspicuous little thing was actually a rare medicinal herb.

Suppressing the wild joy in his heart, Lin Feng casually played with the Blood Lotus Essence in his hand beneath the clerk's impatient gaze, then took out a cloth bag and handed it over.

After weighing it, the clerk nodded, put away the gold coins, and went to attend to other customers.

Having put away the item and preparing to leave, Lin Feng suddenly noticed a commotion at the entrance of the medicinal herb shop.

"Wow, it's actually Xiao Yi Xian!"

"So beautiful. Tsk, tsk, that waist is so slim..."

"Idiot, are you trying to die? More than half the mercenaries in Qingshan Town have been treated by Xiao Yi Xian. Be careful someone hears you and cuts out that tongue of yours!"

Two men standing not far from Lin Feng were conversing in low voices.

After one of them made a somewhat lewd remark, his companion hurriedly grabbed him and cursed under his breath.

"I was just talking nonsense... Heh, heh..."

Seemingly sensing the hostile gazes around him, the man's face turned pale. Looking utterly embarrassed, he was dragged out of the medicinal herb shop by his companion.

Hearing this, Lin Feng also curiously moved closer.

He was deeply interested in Xiao Yi Xian's waist, reputed to be the finest on the Dou Qi Continent.

Pushing his way to the front of the crowd, he clearly saw Xiao Yi Xian's appearance amid the people surrounding her.

The woman wore a pale white dress. Though her features could not be called breathtakingly beautiful, she was still a rare beauty.

Her faintly smiling face gave off a fresh, ethereal air. That distinctive aura immediately raised her charm considerably.

Lin Feng's gaze wandered over her body before finally stopping on her willow-like waist, bound by a green sash. Seeing that slender waist, which seemed small enough to fit in one hand, a trace of amazement flashed through his eyes.

Among all the women Lin Feng had seen, the Xiao Yi Xian before him had the most slender and delicate waist.

He clicked his tongue in admiration, but then heard the clerk's quiet laughter beside him. "Xiao Yi Xian is a physician specially employed by our Myriad Medicine Zhai. No one knows how many people in all of Qingshan Town like her. Whenever she goes into the Monster Mountain Range to gather herbs, if Xiao Yi Xian accompanies them, those Mercenary Groups will lower their prices to the minimum. They often nearly come to blows over the remaining spots."

Looking at the white-dressed woman, who had already taken a seat and was treating the injured people coming and going, Lin Feng rubbed his chin.

He had to admit that the kind smile Xiao Yi Xian wore while treating the wounded was indeed deeply affecting.

No wonder those fierce mercenary brutes, who were usually so vicious, became as gentle as little lambs in front of her.

But he knew that this seemingly frail young woman possessed a physique dreaded throughout the Dou Qi Continent: the Calamity Poison Body!

Still, while that physique was terrifying, it was also rather enviable in some ways.

After all, if one possessed the Calamity Poison Body, one only needed to persistently consume poison to easily reach the Dou Zong realm, a height ordinary people could scarcely dream of attaining. But after that...

Looking at the delicate Xiao Yi Xian, Lin Feng began to have some ideas. If he could trick Xiao Yi Xian into... No, if he could become Dao companions with Xiao Yi Xian.

Then in a few years, he would have a Dou Zong expert backing him.

In that case, even if he went to the Black Corner Region, he would still be able to thrive.

Thanks to the two readers who cast recommendation votes yesterday.

And thanks as well to the reader who invested.