Ye Xiu carried Xiao Yi Xian as they flew for two days and two nights. In the distance, a city came into view.
Mo City. They had arrived.
The city stood on the edge of the Tagor Desert. Farther west stretched endless sands. Its earthen-yellow walls blended into the surroundings, giving the place a drab, dusty appearance.
Ye Xiu landed outside Mo City and dismissed his Dou Qi Wings.
Xiao Yi Xian climbed out of his arms and looked around. "Master, this is Mo City?"
"Mm." Ye Xiu nodded. "Let's find somewhere to stay and take a couple of days to get settled."
"Mm, Master!" Xiao Yi Xian nodded.
The two of them headed into the city.
Mo City was much larger than Qingshan Town, too. The streets were crowded, mostly with mercenaries carrying weapons and sporting sun-darkened skin. There were also caravans driving camel-beasts into the city, their backs loaded with goods.
Ye Xiu took Xiao Yi Xian to an inn and booked two rooms.
They had just set down their things when a long-unheard voice suddenly rang in his mind.
"Ding!"
"Check-in location refreshed: Tagor Desert, Snake-People Tribe."
"Please proceed to the location to check in, Host. A generous reward awaits."
Ye Xiu froze for a moment, then couldn't help giving a wry smile.
The Snake-People Tribe.
That place wouldn't be easy to enter. It was Queen Medusa's territory. But since the system had set the location there, he would have to make the trip.
He did the math. Judging by the pattern of his previous check-ins, each one should raise him by a major cultivation level.
The first check-in had been in Wutan City. Thanks to the bonus for his first check-in, he had risen straight to Nine-Star Great Dou Master.
The second had been in Qingshan Town, taking him from Three-Star Dou Ling to Three-Star Dou Wang.
If he succeeded this time, he should reach Three-Star Dou Emperor.
He was currently a Three-Star Dou Wang. If he could advance once more before checking in and become a Four-Star Dou Wang, then afterward he would be a Four-Star Dou Emperor.
A Four-Star Dou Emperor could basically go wherever he pleased in the Jia Ma Empire. Even if he faced Medusa head-on, he was confident he could hold his own against her for a while and then escape unscathed.
After all, the moment he became a Dou Emperor, his Innate Medicine Body talent would make him a Sixth-grade Alchemist on the spot. With that, he would have far more trump cards than he did now.
Ye Xiu sat on the bed and began to think it over.
Cultivation progressed too slowly through ordinary training. Even with his Innate Medicine Body, which let him cultivate much faster than most people, it would still take him a month or two to rise from Three-Star Dou Wang to Four-Star Dou Wang.
But he had another option.
Cultivating with Xiao Yi Xian.
He had noticed it back in Qingshan Town: whenever the two of them were together, the Dou Qi in their bodies resonated on its own. When Xiao Yi Xian cultivated, he absorbed and refined her Poison Dou Qi, then returned the energy to her, benefiting them both.
His own Dou Qi circulated at least three times faster.
If they did this a few more times, he might actually break through before heading to the Snake-People Tribe.
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
"Master?" Xiao Yi Xian's voice came from outside. "May I come in?"
"Come in."
The door opened, and Xiao Yi Xian walked in carrying a tray with a teapot and cups on it.
She set the tray on the table, poured a cup of tea, and handed it over. "Master, have some tea."
Ye Xiu accepted it and took a sip. Xiao Yi Xian stood there, looking as though she had something to say but didn't dare.
"Is something the matter?" Ye Xiu asked.
Xiao Yi Xian nodded. She hesitated, then said softly, "Master, I want... I want to cultivate with you."
Ye Xiu looked at her.
Xiao Yi Xian's cheeks reddened, but she didn't look away. She continued, "When we cultivated together in Qingshan Town, it felt wonderful. I cultivated so much faster, and the poison in my body settled down, too."
She paused, her voice growing even quieter. "You're going to the Snake-People Tribe, Master. It must be dangerous there, right? You said there were Heavenly Flames there, and devouring one must be even harder. I thought that if I could help you break through sooner, you'd have a better chance..."
Ye Xiu didn't say anything after hearing her out.
The little girl really knew how to think of him.
He set down his teacup and patted the edge of the bed. "Then let's do as you suggest. Come over."
Xiao Yi Xian's face reddened further. She lowered her head and obediently walked over, sitting down at the edge of the bed.
They sat cross-legged, facing each other, their knees almost touching.
Ye Xiu reached out and rested a hand on her shoulder.
"Let's begin. Just circulate your technique. Leave the rest to me."
"Mm, Master." Xiao Yi Xian took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and began circulating the technique from the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture.
Before long, a faint gray Poison Dou Qi rose from her body.
The Dou Qi within Ye Xiu immediately responded, eagerly rushing toward it like a hungry wolf catching the scent of meat.
The two streams of Dou Qi met and began to intertwine.
The gray Poison Dou Qi flowed up Ye Xiu's arm and into his body. His purplish-gold Dou Qi surged to meet it, wrapped around the poison, and carried it through his meridians.
The violent, harmful elements in the poison were refined by his Dou Qi. The remaining pure energy flowed back into Xiao Yi Xian through the point where they touched.
At the same time, the speed of Ye Xiu's own Dou Qi circulation began to soar.
One cycle, two cycles, three...
It was more than three times faster than usual.
Xiao Yi Xian kept her eyes closed, her face growing redder and redder.
It wasn't a blush from embarrassment. She was genuinely flushed.
Ye Xiu's Dou Qi was simply too powerful. A Three-Star Dou Wang was on a completely different level from her, a newly initiated Dou Zhe. As the purplish-gold Dou Qi circulated through her body, it carried a scorching heat that left her weak all over.
"Master..." A soft whimper escaped her.
Ye Xiu opened his eyes and looked at her.
Xiao Yi Xian's lashes trembled. She bit her lip, her blush spreading all the way to the base of her neck. A thin sheen of sweat dampened her clothes, which clung to her body and outlined her slender waist.
"Are you all right? Should I slow down a little?" Ye Xiu asked.
Xiao Yi Xian shook her head, her voice faint. "N-no, I'm fine..."
Ye Xiu didn't stop circulating his Dou Qi, but he slowed it down a little, letting it flow more gently.
Time passed little by little.
The room was quiet, with only the faint sound of their breathing.
The sun slowly sank outside the window. The light turned from bright to golden, then faded into darkness.
Ye Xiu had no idea how much time had passed. He only knew that the Dou Qi inside him was circulating more and more smoothly. His purplish-gold Dou Qi had grown denser, with a faint dark-red sheen.
The bottleneck of Three-Star Dou Wang seemed to have loosened a little.
He circulated his Dou Qi for a few more cycles, then slowly withdrew his hand.
Xiao Yi Xian opened her eyes.
She was limp as water, leaning against the bedpost and panting heavily. The blush hadn't faded from her face, and her eyes were watery as she looked at Ye Xiu.
"Master..." Her voice was so weak it barely sounded like her. "I..."
Seeing her like this, Ye Xiu's lips curved into a smile. "Are you all right?"
Xiao Yi Xian nodded, then shook her head. She couldn't get the words out.
Ye Xiu helped her sit upright. "Lie down and rest for a while. I'll go get us something to eat."
Before you continue