Poison Body Awakens, Strange Fire Seeks Trail!

Lin Chen's outstretched hand was steady and powerful.

Qing Lin, curled up in the corner of the alley, continued to tremble violently with her small body.

Through the gaps in her tightly shut eyes, she looked in terror at the corpses at the alley entrance, severed at the waist and drenched in blood.

Then, she looked at the youth before her, who seemed to have walked out of hell yet was reaching out a hand to her.

Fear threatened to swallow her whole.

But... those eyes looking at her, though cold, lacked the disgust, contempt, and brutality she saw in the eyes of other children and adults.

There was only a kind of... calmness?

And even... a faint trace of... an emotion she could not understand.

Driven by an inexplicable impulse, she trembled and, with great caution, placed her small, dirty hand—covered in tiny wounds and pale green scales—into his warm, dry palm.

Lin Chen applied a slight force, pulling her up.

The girl was as light as a feather; she couldn't even stand steadily and relied almost entirely on his support.

"Can you walk?" Lin Chen asked.

Qing Lin shook her head timidly, her voice as thin as a mosquito's hum, laced with tears:

"My... my legs hurt..."

Lin Chen looked down to see that on her calves, there were not only bruises both old and new, but also several wounds from sharp stones.

Blood was slowly seeping from them.

He said nothing more and simply picked her up.

He wrapped his wide robe around her small, shivering body, shielding her from the nauseating, bloody scene in the alley, and strode toward the outside.

Returning to the relatively clean street, the sunlight was blinding.

Qing Lin buried her face in Lin Chen's chest, not daring to look up at the gazes that might be cast by passersby.

Finding a quiet corner, Lin Chen set her down.

He crouched down himself, trying to keep his gaze level with hers.

"Do they bully you like this often?"

Lin Chen's voice had softened slightly.

Qing Lin's body shuddered, and she nodded.

Tears began to well up in her eyes again.

"How do they bully you? Tell me."

Lin Chen needed to know the details.

He also needed to give this long-repressed girl an outlet for her emotions.

Perhaps it was because Lin Chen had descended like a god to save her just moments ago.

Perhaps it was because his calm tone now gave her a sliver of security.

Qing Lin sobbed, beginning to recount her story in broken fragments.

The bullying was far worse and more persistent than Lin Chen had imagined.

Throwing stones was just a daily occurrence.

Those boys always took pleasure in hitting her, using all their strength.

There was hardly a patch of intact skin on her body; old wounds had not yet healed before new ones were added.

She rolled up her tattered sleeve to reveal her arm.

It was densely covered in bruises and scabbed wounds, some deep enough that they were still oozing blood.

Even more heinous was a girl named Lily.

Qing Lin tremblingly pointed to several pink, not-yet-fully-healed scratches on her cheek.

Her voice was filled with fear and grievance:

"She... she used a very, very sharp stone... to scratch my face... it hurt so much... I bled so much..."

"Why?"

Lin Chen's voice remained calm.

But the surrounding air seemed to turn cold in an instant.

"She said... said that a half-breed like me... shouldn't have such a pretty face..."

Qing Lin's tears rolled down in large, heavy drops.

"Every time... every time it's almost healed... she comes back to cut it again... over and over..."

"She says that this way I'll never get better, that I'll always be a monster..."

Because she possessed a trace of Snake-Person blood, her constitution was different from that of an ordinary person.

Her ability to heal wounds was stronger than that of a normal human child.

Yet, this had become the very reason she was subjected to continuous torture!

Heal, then be wounded again—a cycle without end!

Lin Chen's gaze sank completely.

An uncontrollable rage began to fester in the depths of his heart.

He was no saint filled with pity for the world.

But treating someone he had deemed his own in such a manner had already crossed a certain line for him.

"Have you never tried to resist? Or told someone else?"

He asked.

"I tried to resist..."

Qing Lin cried even harder.

Her voice was filled with despair:

"One time... Lily came to cut my face again, and it hurt so much... I pushed her... she fell down and cried..."

"And then?"

"Then... then her parents came... along with the parents of two other families..."

Qing Lin's body curled up in terror.

As if recalling something truly horrific:

"They... they dragged me into an alley... and used such thick wooden clubs... to beat me within an inch of my life..."

"They said I dared to fight back... said I was a monster... that they were going to beat me to death..."

She lifted her tattered clothes, revealing her thin, frail back.

It was covered in crisscrossing, hideous old scars!

Some even showed overlapping marks left by repeated beatings!

"That time... I almost died... I had to lie there for days before I could move..."

She sobbed uncontrollably.

"Ever since then... I haven't dared to resist again... When they hit me... when they curse me... I just endure it..."

"At least... at least I won't be beaten to death... I want to live... I'm so scared..."

She wanted to live! She simply wanted to survive!

And so, she chose to silently endure this endless torment!

She had nowhere to go, and no one to help her.

To her, the entire world held nothing but malice and pain!

Lin Chen fell silent.

He looked at the little girl before him, covered in wounds, who had to trade immense humiliation just to stay alive.

The rage in his heart gradually transformed into a cold, tangible killing intent.

He cultivated the Blood Scripture, walking the path of slaughter.

He plundered the essence of all living things to seek transcendence.

But he was not a mindless maniac who killed without principle.

His principles were simple, perhaps even cold:

If others do not offend me, I do not offend them.

If others offend me, I will cut them down, root and branch!

He would not kill the innocent just because he disliked them or to purely increase his power.

His killings usually served a clear purpose:

Revenge, resources, or the removal of obstacles.

But likewise, once someone crossed his bottom line.

Or touched someone he had decided to protect.

Then, regardless of who they were—old or young, strong or weak, right or wrong.

For them, there would only be one outcome:

Die!

Clearly, those families in the alley—from the bratty children to their unreasonable, vicious parents—had all perfectly crossed this line, and they had crossed it repeatedly. They deserved to die!

If they did not die, heaven would not tolerate it!

"I understand."

Lin Chen's voice betrayed no emotion.

He picked up Qing Lin once more:

"Don't be afraid. From now on, no one will ever bully you again."

Carrying Qing Lin, he returned to the inn with quick strides.

Xiao Yi Xian was in the room organizing her medicinal herbs.

Seeing Lin Chen return with a filthy, scarred little girl in his arms, she was startled.

"Lin Chen, this is..."

"Her name is Qing Lin. She will be staying with us from now on."

Lin Chen said simply.

He placed Qing Lin on the bed:

"Help her wash up and treat her wounds. Use the best medicine."

Xiao Yi Xian looked at Qing Lin's miserable state.

Especially the glaring scratches on her face; her maternal instincts were instantly triggered.

She nodded quickly:

"Alright! Leave it to me!"

She brought over warm water and took out her finest salves.

With gentle movements, she began to wipe Qing Lin down and apply the medicine.

Lin Chen walked to Qing Lin's side and gently tapped his finger against the center of her brow.

He slowly channeled a strand of incomparably pure life energy, refined repeatedly by the Karma Fire Red Lotus, into her body.

This energy was gentle and brimming with vitality.

It rapidly nourished her frail body, accelerated the healing of her wounds, and dispelled the chill and fear within her.

Qing Lin felt a warm current surge through her limbs and bones.

The pain in her body seemed to diminish significantly.

She opened her eyes in surprise, looking at Lin Chen, her pupils filled with gratitude and a hint of reliance.

"Rest well."

Lin Chen ruffled her soft hair.

He turned and walked out of the room, closing the door softly behind him.

He needed to go back to the vicinity of that alley.

Some things had to be finished completely.

He had only killed a few of them earlier, but he hadn't finished the job yet!

Following Qing Lin's vague description and tracking the lingering resentment of those families through his soul perception, Lin Chen quickly located their residences.

They were all households of the lowest class in Mo City, living in dilapidated shacks.

He did not hesitate in the slightest, not even bothering to knock.

At the first house, the burly man who had nearly beaten Qing Lin to death with a wooden club was drinking.

A single finger strike from a distance pierced through his brow.

At the second house, the shrew who had indulged her daughter's violence and participated in the beating was busy cursing others as "thousand-knife-slashing" wretches.

A Yuantu Sword Shadow swept past, and her head was severed from her body.

At the third house, another couple who had participated in the beating and had long turned a blind eye to their child bullying Qing Lin!

They were still wailing and cursing over the miserable death of their child when the Abi Sword Shadow swallowed all their vitality.

The entire process was fast, accurate, and ruthless.

There was no unnecessary chatter, no mercy, and no hesitation.

Even the other members of their households who might have known and tacitly approved were cleaned out as well...

After finishing all this, Lin Chen acted as if he had merely done something trivial.

He returned to the inn with his breathing steady.

Inside the room, Xiao Yi Xian had already finished dressing Qing Lin's wounds.

She had changed her into a set of clean clothes.

Exhausted and finally relaxed, Qing Lin had already fallen into a deep sleep.

She would tremble occasionally in her dreams, as if she were still afraid.

Xiao Yi Xian sat by the bedside, looking at Qing Lin's peaceful yet scarred sleeping face.

Her gaze was complex, filled with pity and... an indescribable sense of resolve.

When Lin Chen walked in, he keenly sensed that the aura on Xiao Yi Xian was somewhat off.

A trace of Dou Qi, extremely faint yet carrying a strange, sweet scent and dangerous fluctuations, was subtly radiating from her body!

His brows furrowed, and he arrived before her in an instant, grabbing her wrist.

As his soul power probed inside, his expression darkened:

"You ingested poison? You activated the Woe Poison Body?"

Xiao Yi Xian's body trembled, and she looked up.

There was no fear in her eyes, but rather a sense of burning determination.

She nodded, her voice somewhat hoarse:

"Mn... I tried it using that Rot Bone Flower you gave me..."

"Why?"

Lin Chen's voice carried a trace of imperceptible confusion.

"You should know the consequences. Activating it without my guidance is very likely to..."

"I know!"

Xiao Yi Xian interrupted him.

She looked at him with burning eyes, filled with tears yet exceptionally firm:

"But I have to do this! Lin Chen!"

She looked at the sleeping Qing Lin on the bed, her voice choked with sobs:

"Do you know how I felt after hearing about what happened to Qing Lin? I hate it!"

"I hate the viciousness of those people!"

"But I am even more afraid! I am afraid of having no power!"

"If... if the one who encountered danger today was me, or if we drag you down in the future..."

"Must I also be like Qing Lin, only able to endure silently and pray for someone to save me?"

"I don't want to be so powerless anymore!" Her voice was tearful, yet filled with strength.

"I don't want to be a burden to you! Even if... even if I am eventually consumed by the poison and die in agony..."

"I must possess power! At the very least... at the very least, I can protect myself, or even... help you just a little bit!"

She raised her hand, and a wisp of extremely fine gray energy coiled around her palm, carrying a corrosive aura.

"Look, I can feel it... my power is growing... although it is very weak... this is just the beginning..."

Lin Chen looked at the tears in her eyes, her stubbornness, and her desperate resolve, and fell silent.

He understood her fear and her choice.

In this cruel world, lacking power was a sin in itself.

Especially for those with such unique constitutions.

He let go of her hand and sighed:

"Fine. Since you have chosen, I will find a way to control it as soon as possible."

"Remember, do not ingest poison lightly again; proceed step by step."

Xiao Yi Xian nodded heavily, breaking into a smile through her tears:

"Mn! I will listen to you!"

Just then, Qing Lin on the bed let out a soft moan and slowly woke up.

She opened her eyes and the first things she saw were Lin Chen and Xiao Yi Xian guarding the bedside.

Her eyes were no longer as fearful as they were at first, holding a bit more peace and reliance.

"Master... Sister..."

She called out in a small voice.

Lin Chen sat on the edge of the bed and looked at her:

"Feeling better?"

"Mm..."

Qing Lin nodded, hesitated for a moment, and asked in a small voice:

"Those... those bad people..."

"They will never appear again."

Lin Chen's tone was calm, yet carried a convincing power:

"Never again."

Qing Lin stared at him blankly. Although she was young, she understood the meaning behind those words.

A massive, unprecedented sense of security wrapped around her small heart like a warm current.

The grievances and fears she had suppressed for so long seemed to have found an outlet.

She lunged into Lin Chen's arms and burst into loud sobs.

It was as if she wanted to cry out all the pain she had ever felt.

Lin Chen's body stiffened slightly.

In the end, he reached out and awkwardly patted her back.

Xiao Yi Xian stood to the side, wiping away her own tears.

Yet, a gratified smile rested on her face.

After crying for a long time, Qing Lin finally calmed down.

She pulled away from Lin Chen's arms, embarrassed, her small face flushed red.

Lin Chen looked at her and said earnestly:

"Qing Lin, remember, you are not a monster, nor are you a half-breed."

"Your bloodline, your eyes—perhaps they are a unique gift bestowed upon you by the heavens."

"From now on, follow me, and no one will ever be able to bully you again."

These words were like warm sunlight, shining completely into the heart that had been frozen for too long.

She nodded vigorously.

Tears shimmered in her jade-green eyes, but they were no longer filled with sorrow.

Instead, they held a brand-new light called hope and reliance.

She knew that from this moment on, her life would be different.

After settling the two of them, Lin Chen instructed them to stay in the inn and not go out.

He walked out of the inn, unfurled his dark red Purple Cloud Wings, and soared into the sky:

"Boom!"

He flew toward the boundless Tagor Great Desert outside the city!

Based on the several potential areas provided by Hai Bodong, he needed to confirm the location of the Green Lotus Core Flame as soon as possible.

The desert environment was harsh—high temperatures, lack of water, hidden dangerous magical beasts...

But for the current Lin Chen, these were not problems.

He pushed his soul perception to the limit while simultaneously sensing the movement of the Karma Fire Red Lotus within his dantian.

The Karma Fire Red Lotus had a natural affinity for Heavenly Flames, acting just like a compass.

He circled high in the sky like a falcon.

He swept over vast sand dunes and stretches of Gobi desert.

Finally, upon reaching the second area marked by Hai Bodong:

A massive desert basin, the phantom of the Karma Fire Red Lotus within his dantian suddenly became restless!

It transmitted a clear and intense craving, pointing toward a spot deep underground in the center of the basin!

Found it!

A flash of brilliance ignited in Lin Chen's eyes, and he did not hesitate.

He immediately turned around and returned to Mo City at top speed!

...Perhaps he could make that old fellow put in some effort ahead of schedule.

His wings vibrated, and his figure tore through the sky.

He dove straight toward the shop named "Ancient Map Shop"!