Picking Up a Blood Lotus Essence, Xiao Yi Xian Proposes a Deal

Green Mountain Town.

An ordinary town near the Magical Beast Mountain Range, it mainly survived by hunting magical beasts.

The Ten Thousand Herb Pavilion was one of Green Mountain Town's four largest powers. Like the town's three major mercenary groups, it had a Dou Master expert stationed there.

Having risen through the sale of medicine, the Ten Thousand Herb Pavilion not only had no conflicts with the three major mercenary groups, but maintained good relations with them. Its status throughout Green Mountain Town was faintly superior.

Yet today, Mr. Yao, the owner of the Ten Thousand Herb Pavilion, was humbly receiving a young man.

"Young Master Xiao, this is all the Yellow Lotus Essence our Ten Thousand Herb Pavilion has. Please take as much as you like!" Mr. Yao said enthusiastically.

Xiao Yan nodded faintly. His gaze swept across all the Yellow Lotus Essence in the Ten Thousand Herb Pavilion's warehouse, and a trace of disappointment appeared in his eyes.

Suddenly, he remembered something and said to Mr. Yao, "This isn't all the Yellow Lotus Essence, is it? You didn't bring over the ones in the display cases, did you?"

Mr. Yao froze, then said, "Oh, that's my mistake. Young Master Xiao asked for all the Yellow Lotus Essence—how could I have forgotten the ones in the display cases? I'll have someone bring them over right away."

After saying that, Mr. Yao called outside, "Someone, bring all the Yellow Lotus Essence from the display cases to Young Master Xiao!"

Mr. Yao's words carried considerable authority. The moment he spoke, everyone began moving.

Before long, three figures arrived at the warehouse, each carrying some Yellow Lotus Essence.

There were two men and one woman.

The two men needed no introduction. They wore the yellowish-brown clerk uniforms of the Ten Thousand Herb Pavilion.

As for the young woman, Xiao Yan could not help but look at her a few extra times.

Her appearance was slightly inferior to Xiao Xun'er's. She wore a simple white dress, and her temperament was elegant and ethereal. A polite, faint smile rested on her face, her brows and eyes curved gently.

Most striking of all was her soft, slender willow waist, which made one want to pull her into an embrace and added greatly to her charm.

Xiao Yan stared at her naturally not because of her beauty.

Within the Xiao Clan, Xiao Mei and Xiao Yu were both beautiful young women no less attractive than Xiao Yi Xian before her Woeful Poison Body awakened.

But... this young woman was Xiao Yi Xian!

The possessor of the Woe Poison Body, Xiao Yan's greatest protector during the middle stages of the original story.

Now that he was seeing her in person, it was inevitable that his heart would stir.

When Mr. Yao saw Xiao Yan staring at Xiao Yi Xian, his eyes shifted. With a lewd grin, he said, "Young Master Xiao, this is Xiao Yi Xian, the finest physician in our Ten Thousand Herb Pavilion. She's practically the goddess of every mercenary in town."

Xiao Yi Xian shyly brushed back her hair and nodded to Xiao Yan. "Hello, my name is Xiao Yi Xian."

Xiao Yan returned the greeting. "Hello, I'm Xiao Yan."

After that, Xiao Yan stopped looking at Xiao Yi Xian and began examining the Yellow Lotus Essence that had just been brought over. When he saw one particular piece, delight appeared in his eyes.

It was a Blood Lotus Essence! One of the main ingredients for refining the Tier 5 Blood Lotus Pill!

Seeing that Xiao Yan was no longer looking at Xiao Yi Xian, Mr. Yao felt slightly disappointed. But when he noticed the gleam in Xiao Yan's eyes, he immediately beamed. "Young Master Xiao, do you like all this Yellow Lotus Essence?"

"Mm, they're all quite good."

"Then, about what you promised earlier..." Mr. Yao trailed off.

Xiao Yan glanced up at him. He had no intention of reneging on the deal. With a casual motion, he took a Tier 2 Medicinal Pill from his Storage Ring and tossed it to Mr. Yao.

Mr. Yao was startled. He hurriedly caught the pill with great care and breathed a sigh of relief.

He inspected the pill closely. It carried an unusual fragrance, and its color was smooth and lustrous. It was truly an excellent Tier 2 Medicinal Pill.

Trading a pile of Yellow Lotus Essence for one Tier 2 Medicinal Pill—he had practically made a fortune.

Of course, if he had known that one of those pieces of Yellow Lotus Essence was actually Blood Lotus Essence, he would have regretted it until his intestines turned green.

This result was best for everyone. Both Xiao Yan and Mr. Yao felt that they had come out ahead.

"Mr. Yao, what is Young Master Xiao's background?" Xiao Yi Xian asked curiously.

Mr. Yao replied quietly, "He's so generous, paying directly with a Tier 2 Medicinal Pill. Either he's an Alchemist himself, or he's the descendant of a great clan traveling to gain experience."

"I think it's the latter. He's so young—how could he possibly be an Alchemist?"

Xiao Yi Xian nodded, deep in thought.

Xiao Yan put away all the Yellow Lotus Essence, including the Blood Lotus Essence that had been mistaken for Yellow Lotus Essence.

He did not linger at the Ten Thousand Herb Pavilion and turned to leave.

After walking some distance away from the Ten Thousand Herb Pavilion, he suddenly heard someone call out behind him.

"Young Master Xiao, please wait!"

Xiao Yan turned around and discovered that Xiao Yi Xian had caught up to him. He stopped and asked, "What is it?"

Xiao Yi Xian said, "Sorry, Young Master Xiao. I only wanted to ask... are you an Alchemist?"

The moment he heard that, Xiao Yan understood.

Although Xiao Yi Xian possessed the Woe Poison Body and was naturally suited to become a poison master, she harbored an intense yearning for alchemy deep in her heart.

So...

"That's right. I only became an Alchemist a year ago," Xiao Yan said openly.

Xiao Yi Xian's eyes lit up, and she immediately asked, "Young Master Xiao, to be honest, my dream is to become an Alchemist. Could I trouble you to tell me about Alchemists? Perhaps even teach me some alchemy techniques?"

Seemingly feeling that her request was rather shameless, Xiao Yi Xian hurriedly added, "Please rest assured, Young Master Xiao, I won't take advantage of you for nothing. Some time ago, while I was gathering herbs outside, I discovered a hidden cave on the outskirts of the Magical Beast Mountain Range."

"I'm willing to tell you where the cave is. If there is some opportunity within it, then after you gain something from it, you can teach me alchemy techniques."

Xiao Yi Xian looked at Xiao Yan expectantly.

Xiao Yan recalled the cave from the original story and immediately nodded. "Of course. However, the requirements to become an Alchemist are too harsh. You probably don't meet them, and learning alchemy techniques may be useless, so you should prepare yourself mentally."

Xiao Yi Xian nodded. "Even if I don't have that talent, I still want to try. At the very least, I don't want to leave behind any regrets."

Xiao Yan said nothing more.

He had no intention of missing out on either the flying Dou Technique or the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame Map Fragment.

Especially the flying Dou Technique.

Most of his current strength came from his physical body, while his cultivation was not particularly high. As a result, the ability to fly would be one of his weaknesses.

Once he obtained a flying Dou Technique, that weakness would no longer exist.

Since Xiao Yi Xian had already thought it through, there was no need for him to persuade her further.

Xiao Yan said, "Let's each return and make preparations. We can set out tomorrow?"

Xiao Yi Xian's eyes shone. "Yes, I'll go back and prepare right away. Goodbye, Young Master Xiao!"

With that, Xiao Yi Xian left happily.

Xiao Yan did not stay either. He planned to find an inn and spend the night there.

However, before he had gone far, five figures surrounded him.

"Kid, Xiao Yi Xian is someone our young group leader likes. You'd better stay away from her, or don't blame us for getting rough!" said a male mercenary around forty years old.

Xiao Yan had wanted to say, "I'd like to see how you plan to get rough," but the words reached his lips and were swallowed back down.

Saying that still felt far too cringe to him.

"Ah, it seems I'm not very good at talking." Xiao Yan sighed, then clenched his fist.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

He threw five rapid punches in succession. Before the five mercenaries could even say another word, all of them were sent flying and knocked unconscious.

With Xiao Yan's physical strength comparable to that of a Tier Four Magical Beast, it was already mercy that he had not turned the five men into bloody mist.

But he would only give them one chance.

He had already displayed his strength. If they remained blind enough to cause him trouble again, he would not mind killing them.

Of course, wiping out a mercenary group along the way would not be a problem either. One had to pull out the weeds by the roots.