Mu Li

Refining the Soul Origin was not something that could be completed overnight. Fortunately, with the Storage Ring's isolation, even if the Pill Tower Ancestor turned the place upside down inside the ring, the outside world would not detect the slightest disturbance.

In the original story, Xiao Yan had relied on the Soul Origin obtained from the Soul Hall to successfully raise his soul to the Heaven Realm Great Perfection.

Although the Pill Tower Ancestor's soul had been damaged, his foundation was still there. Relying on this purer and more powerful Soul Origin, even if he could not recover the strength of an Emperor Realm Soul, restoring himself to the Heaven Realm Great Perfection should not be difficult.

A soul at the Heaven Realm Great Perfection could rival a Two-Star Dou Saint.

Since Xiao Jin could not frequently urge his soul power with all his strength, having a Two-Star Dou Saint as his bodyguard would greatly improve Xiao Jin's safety.

In fact, it was not that Xiao Jin could not use his soul power at all. He simply could not urge it at full strength for an extended period.

After all, his body was far too frail, making it difficult for him to endure high-intensity battles lasting a long time.

It was like Xiao Yan's Buddha Fury Fire Lotus—it could only exist as a trump card.

Of course, when it came to crushing those with insufficient cultivation, his soul was still very useful.

For example, when Nalan Yanran had come to break off her engagement a few days ago, he had relied on his soul power to suppress Ge Ye and Liu Ling so thoroughly that they could not get a word out.

With Xiao Jin's current physical strength, even without urging his soul power with all his might, he could still rival experts at the Dou Zun realm.

Thus, the Pill Tower Ancestor returned to the Storage Ring without worry and began refining that mass of Soul Origin.

Xiao Jin also took advantage of this time to bathe and change his clothes.

Before long, Xiao Yi Xian had prepared four dishes and a soup.

Looking at the delicious food, which was pleasing to both the eye and the nose, all the exhaustion from a day of travel was swept away in that instant.

After wolfing down most of the food, Xiao Jin finally asked, "Xiao Yi Xian, what realm are you at now?"

"Three-Star Dou Ling." Xiao Yi Xian answered crisply, her face full of smiles.

The effects of the Woe Poison Body were already heaven-defying. In the original story, without condensing a Poison Pill, Xiao Yi Xian had relied solely on consuming poisons to break through from Dou Zhe to Dou Zong in just six years.

Now that she had a Perfect Poison Pill and had also taken the Ninth-Grade Golden Pill Xiao Jin provided, reaching the Three-Star Dou Ling realm in a little over a year was already the result of her holding back.

Every one of these heaven-defying physiques on the Dou Qi Continent was enough to make people envious.

Unlike Xiao Jin, who was utterly ordinary and had nothing special about him.

He merely possessed an Emperor Realm Soul by birth.

"Impressive. With the strength of a Three-Star Dou Ling, you can already be considered an expert even in the Inner Academy of Jia Nan Academy."

With Xiao Yi Xian's Three-Star Dou Ling cultivation, combined with her strange Poison Dou Qi and Woe Poison Body, she could unleash battle strength comparable to an Eight-Star or even Nine-Star Dou Ling.

With such strength, she was already powerful enough to rank among the top ten on the Strong Ranking of Jia Nan Academy's Inner Academy.

"Isn't that all thanks to your pills? The two Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pills saved me at least two months of cultivation."

"Quite the humblebrag. For an ordinary Da Dou Shi to advance by one star, it would take at least a year or two." Just look at Xiao Zhan of the Xiao Clan. He had been stuck at the Da Dou Shi realm for nearly ten years and had only barely reached Five-Star Dou Grandmaster.

The three elders were even worse off. After all, their aptitude was right there for all to see.

Xiao Yi Xian stuck out her tender pink tongue, showing not the slightest embarrassment at being exposed.

"Xiao Jin, what level are you at now?"

"Hehe, I just happen to be one major realm above you." Xiao Jin proudly lifted his chin, looking incredibly pleased with himself.

"Huh? I thought my cultivation speed was already fast enough. I didn't expect that you'd already broken through to Dou Wang!"

"Hehe, it was just luck, just luck."

"Hmph, then, Lord Dou Wang, I'll leave the dishes to you tonight."

"Sure. The person who cooks doesn't wash the dishes. Wasn't that the rule we agreed on?"

A few days later, Xiao Yi Xian woke Xiao Jin early in the morning.

"Today, I hired dozens of mercenaries to enter the Magic Beast Mountain Range and help me search for medicinal herbs. Come with me."

With Xiao Yi Xian's strength, she did not need anyone to protect her while gathering herbs.

These people's task was not protection. They were there to provide a quiet environment while Xiao Yi Xian gathered herbs and to handle the hauling work as well.

However, Xiao Yi Xian's strength was still a mystery in Green Mountain Town. Almost no one knew what realm she was truly at.

Keeping a trump card hidden was something Xiao Yi Xian had learned from Xiao Jin.

Xiao Jin agreed. Since he had nothing to do that day, he might as well stroll around the Magic Beast Mountain Range with Xiao Yi Xian.

After washing up and eating a simple breakfast, the two arrived at the place they had agreed upon with the mercenaries.

Quite a few mercenaries who had already seen Xiao Jin yesterday immediately revealed gritted-teeth expressions upon seeing him.

Those who had never seen him looked surprised. They had never seen Xiao Yi Xian get so close to any man.

Some had already begun asking their companions about Xiao Jin, while others revealed sinister looks.

Xiao Jin sensed the surroundings slightly and discovered that one young man harbored the deepest hostility toward him.

He could not help leaning close to Xiao Yi Xian's ear and asking in a lowered voice, "What's the deal with that guy?"

The warm air brushed against the girl's delicate earlobe, causing Xiao Yi Xian to shrink her neck involuntarily.

A flush had already crept up her fair neck. The girl looked somewhat bashfully in the direction Xiao Jin pointed, but the shyness on her face vanished in an instant, replaced by disgust.

"That's the Young Leader of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group. I think his name is Mu Li."

"He likes you?"

"Don't say something so disgusting." Xiao Yi Xian could not help shuddering. In her eyes, being liked by a scumbag was completely unacceptable.

"Then why don't you just deal with the trouble once and for all?"

"I want to, too. But if I make a move in Green Mountain Town, I won't be able to stay here." Xiao Yi Xian sighed softly. Deep down, she was someone who liked peace and quiet and did not want to become the center of attention. "If I can't stay here, what if you come back and can't find me?"

Xiao Jin felt as if something had lightly scratched at his heart, and his gaze softened involuntarily.

"Now that I'm here, you don't have to worry anymore, right?"

"Mm. If Mu Li dares to cause any trouble, I'll cripple him!" The girl revealed two sharp canine teeth. Not only did she fail to look fierce, but she instead seemed a little adorably foolish.

Seeing her like this amused Xiao Jin, and he could not help rubbing her little head.

That very action made Mu Li's gaze from the other side even more venomous.

"Have you found out who that man is?" Mu Li asked through gritted teeth, turning to his subordinate.

The man replied nervously, "Young Leader, the brothers have done their best, but we really couldn't find out anything about his identity."

"Could he have fallen from the sky?" Mu Li cursed under his breath, already sentencing Xiao Jin to death in his heart.

Judging by this kid's age, he was probably only in his teens.

At that age, he would be a Dou Zhe at most—and a low-level Dou Zhe at that.

This young master could crush him without lifting a finger!

As luck would have it, entering the Magic Beast Mountain Range would present a rare opportunity.

There were countless Magical Beasts inside the Magic Beast Mountain Range. If a Second-Rank Magical Beast happened to take this kid's life, no one could say anything about it.