"Came... came out!" The onlookers outside the gate cried out in alarm. Xiao Lei emerged leisurely from the Wolf Head Mercenary Group, a long saber resting on his shoulder.
"This Wolf Head Mercenary Group is really poor!"
Xiao Lei couldn't help clicking his tongue. He'd searched the enormous mercenary group and found barely over a hundred thousand gold coins. As for those Yellow Tier Dou Techniques? Forget it! Probably only the few high-grade Yellow Tier Dou Techniques Mu She used were worth anything.
Mercenaries believed in enjoying life while they could. After all, they risked their necks every day; they might kick the bucket any time. Few mercenaries knew how to save money.
Xiao Lei was already a Da Dou Shi. Use Yellow Tier Dou Techniques? Not a chance! He'd never do that in his life!
Xiao Lei paid the onlookers no mind and left directly. He'd already searched the Wolf Head Mercenary Group clean. If these people could still find anything, he'd accept it.
Sure enough...
"Holy crap, he searched the place way too thoroughly! We didn't find a single gold coin. All that's left is a pile of broken-down houses!"
The mercenaries had seen something incredible. Xiao Lei was an alchemist, after all, with powerful soul strength. When he searched, not even a drop could slip through the cracks!
Ignoring the people on the roadside eyeing him with all sorts of looks, Xiao Lei went straight to the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion, where Xiao Yi Xian saw patients.
He tossed the Poison Vine Snake aside, then walked into the clinic.
"Why did he go back inside? My goddess Xiao Yi Xian!"
A mercenary burst into tears!
"Forget that for now. Look at the ground—that... that's a third-tier magical beast, a Poison Vine Snake! That pretty boy carried it here!"
"This... terrifyingly powerful!"
"You...!"
Xiao Yi Xian noticed him the moment he stepped through the door. Naturally, she also noticed the bloodstains on him.
Xiao Yi Xian still remembered how clean and fresh Xiao Lei had looked on the first day he came to see her. His blood-smeared, murderous appearance now made him seem like a completely different person.
"The Wolf Head Mercenary Group came after me, so I cleaned them up a little."
Xiao Lei's casual manner made it sound as ordinary as killing a chicken.
Xiao Lei seemed naturally unafraid of killing. Even after killing dozens of people in one go, he felt no fear at all. Of course, he wasn't excited like some bloodthirsty killers, either. He remained perfectly calm.
"You've had several days to think it over. What have you decided? I still have plenty to do. If you can't make up your mind, I'll leave."
Whether he wanted to refine a Beast Flame or continue searching for a suitable person to copy, Xiao Lei shouldn't stay in Green Mountain Town.
He'd just cut his way through the Wolf Head Mercenary Group. They were weak, but that didn't mean some other trouble couldn't crop up. Xiao Lei needed a stable environment to refine a Beast Flame.
"Before I answer, may I ask you a few questions, Young Master Xiao Lei?"
Xiao Yi Xian stared straight at Xiao Lei. She'd always been curious about why he knew so much about the Woe Poison Body, and why he'd guided her into awakening it.
"Of course. Ask away."
Xiao Lei didn't think Xiao Yi Xian was a fool who'd blindly follow a stranger she'd only met twice.
Still, Xiao Yi Xian's actions had already made it clear that she was considering awakening the Woe Poison Body. She just lacked the resolve.
"First, why do you know so much about the Woe Poison Body?"
"Because I have the Woe Poison Body too. But I'm a very special case. My Woe Poison Body is controllable, and among all the cases I've learned about, mine is the only one!"
You had to risk the child to catch the wolf!
Xiao Lei could only win Xiao Yi Xian's trust quickly by revealing his secret. Besides, people like them were naturally drawn to one another. They both had the Woe Poison Body, so it was only natural they'd feel close.
"You... you have the Woe Poison Body too! How is that possible? How could something so coincidental happen in this world?"
Xiao Yi Xian was utterly shocked, but a trace of comfort quietly rose in her heart. At least she wasn't alone.
Xiao Lei knew she wouldn't believe him easily, so he used a special Dou Technique he'd already mastered long ago.
Woe Poison Transformation!
In an instant, all the Fire Attribute Dou Qi in his body turned into poison Dou Qi.
Xiao Lei flicked a finger, and a strand of poison Dou Qi shot out, landing on the ground.
A sizzling sound of corrosion rang out.
"You... but aren't you an alchemist? Shouldn't you have a fire attribute?"
"That's what makes me special. I can suppress the Woe Poison Body whenever I want, so the poison doesn't affect my daily life or my alchemy."
"Let's leave that question there. Ask the next one!"
Xiao Yi Xian's awakening of the Woe Poison Body was a foregone conclusion. Xiao Lei didn't mind her learning more about him. Once she knew about the method but couldn't obtain it herself, she'd follow him...
"I want to ask whether you know of any way to resolve the Woe Poison Body. I've been thinking about something these past few days. Why did you want me to awaken it, and why did you promise to give me a gift afterward? I think you must have seen my potential for growth. If you don't know how to resolve the Woe Poison Body, I'd be a time bomb."
Xiao Yi Xian looked confident. It was all reasonable speculation, even if she didn't have a shred of evidence.
"I really do know of a way to help you control your Woe Poison Body. But the requirements are harsh. More importantly, I only know of the method; the specific way to do it is in someone else's hands. So if you decide to awaken the Woe Poison Body, you'll have to raise your strength as much as possible. Then we can figure out how to gather what's needed and trade for the method."
Xiao Lei hadn't told her the whole truth. Although he'd read about Xiao Yi Xian in a book, the two of them had only met twice. He couldn't possibly reveal everything.
"Haha, he really does know a way! I guessed right."
Xiao Yi Xian was overjoyed. Hope flooded her heart, and the haze hanging over her these past few days lifted completely.
"May I ask what we'll need?"
Xiao Yi Xian spoke hurriedly. She was, after all, still a young girl, and her heart was racing.
"Three Heavenly Flames, a seventh-tier Heavenly Poison Scorpion Dragon Beast Magic Core, and the Bodhi Body Transformation Saliva born where the Bodhi Ancient Tree appears—the legendary tree that offers an extraordinary opportunity to break through to Dou Sheng."
"This... this..."
Xiao Yi Xian stared blankly, stunned by Xiao Lei's words. Never mind the Heavenly Flames. Of all those things, the only one she had even the slightest idea about was the seventh-tier Heavenly Poison Scorpion Dragon Beast.
Seventh tier! That meant Dou Zong!
She'd lived in the Jia Ma Empire all these years and had never even heard of a Dou Zong. Now she was expected to kill a powerful magical beast comparable to a human Dou Zong!
An opportunity to break through to Dou Sheng! Dou Sheng!
Xiao Yi Xian hadn't even heard the name of that realm before. It was far too distant. From where she stood now, it was impossibly difficult!
Xiao Yi Xian fell silent. The excitement she'd felt after guessing that Xiao Lei had a way to control it vanished completely.
As she stood there dazed, a pair of large hands settled on her shoulders. At some point, Xiao Lei had come up behind her.
"Where there's a will, there's a way. Since I dared to guide you into awakening the Woe Poison Body, I must have confidence that I can help you obtain these things. Now everything depends on you."
"Give me your answer seriously. What have you decided?"
Xiao Yi Xian drew a deep breath. Feeling the warmth and security flowing from his hands on her shoulders, she slowly spoke.
"I'll awaken the Woe Poison Body of my own accord. I'm going to fight fate—!"
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