Woe Poison Body

"What does that brat Yun Li mean by that?"

Inside the guest room of the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion, Yao Lao said with unconcealed indignation.

"Resources? Would a dignified alchemist like me ever lack resources? Teacher, am I not far superior to that Yun Shan or Gu He?"

"Teacher, Brother Yun Li doesn't even know you exist, why must you get so worked up over him..."

Xiao Yan smiled helplessly at Yao Lao's childish behavior.

"I suspect he knows exactly of my existence, which is why he said those things on purpose!"

Yao Lao continued, still full of resentment.

Xiao Yan simply assumed Yao Lao was just being petty, unaware that the two of them had stumbled upon the truth...

"I should see what is inside this storage ring."

Yao Lao's soul power probed into the high-grade storage ring. Seeing that it contained only medicinal herbs and money, he smiled with self-assurance, but just as he was about to retract his soul power, he suddenly discovered something.

"This... what is this?!"

Yao Lao's ethereal body trembled slightly, and for the first time, a look of wild joy appeared in his eyes. With a flick of his mind, two tattered parchment scrolls, one large and one small, appeared before them.

"Little Yanzi, if my eyes do not deceive me, you are about to strike it rich!"

The two tattered parchment pieces floated before Xiao Yan. The faint, interwoven lines resembled a broken map, pointing toward half of a certain pattern. Where the fragments met, the broken designs pieced together to form the majority of a blurry, dim, and eerie lotus flower.

"This is the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame, this is the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame!"

Yao Lao examined the fragments excitedly, muttering to himself.

"The third-ranked Heavenly Flame, the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame that is said to be able to purify all things?!"

Xiao Yan was also struck with inexplicable astonishment.

"Indeed. Unlike the mysterious and unfathomable Nihility Devouring Flame, the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame is already the most ferocious known Heavenly Flame, and the one most coveted by all on the Heavenly Flame Ranking."

"You lucky little fellow, to obtain two fragments that might contain information about the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame at once."

Yao Lao clicked his tongue in wonder, feeling shocked by the sheer luck of that brat, Yun Li.

"Brother Yun, if this truly is the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame, then this favor is one I will never be able to repay in my lifetime..."

"Hey, you..."

Just as he was about to say something, a strange and ferocious aura erupted not far away. Yao Lao's expression changed drastically as certain sealed memories resurfaced in his mind.

"Little Yanzi, relax your mind and hand your body over to me for a moment!"

With a wave of his hand, he stowed away the fragments. Yao Lao transformed into a streak of white light and merged into the center of Xiao Yan's brow. A pair of world-weary, indifferent eyes appeared eerily upon Xiao Yan's youthful face.

"Woe Poison Body, I should have guessed it sooner!"

The black-robed Yao Lao sighed inwardly as he dashed out; he had wondered why that young girl seemed so off today.

"Xiao Yan" quickly formed hand seals, and the Bone Chilling Flame surged out like a tidal wave, transforming into a massive fire barrier that intercepted and incinerated all the purple poison mist drifting outward.

"A Dou Emperor expert?!"

The Misty Cloud Sect disciples inside the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion exclaimed in shock. Yun Zimo spoke softly, stopping those who intended to rush forward.

Yun Zimo's figure moved rapidly, flying into the sky in an instant. Cyan-white Dou Qi erupted from his body, releasing a massive, illusory Dou Qi barrier that enveloped the entire Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion.

"I do not know which senior has come to our aid!"

Yun Zimo did not approach, but called out from a distance.

At this moment, Yao Lao had no intention of responding. His figure flashed, passing through layers of poison mist. With a fingertip glowing with a bone-white flame, he pressed heavily upon the lower abdomen of the seated Xiao Yi Xian.

His hands moved in a blur of afterimages as he manipulated the Bone Chilling Flame to weave and circle around Xiao Yi Xian's body. His soul power, mixed with the fiery Dou Qi, finally converged into a white flame seal that vanished into the center of Xiao Yi Xian's brow.

"Teacher!"

Yao Lao, controlling Xiao Yan's body, stumbled. Xiao Yan instantly regained control of his own body, and upon sensing Yao Lao's withered and weak soul, he could not help but cry out.

"It is nothing, just a bit of overexertion. Hurry back to the room, or that brat Yun Li will start to suspect you!"

As he spoke, Yao Lao's voice gradually faded, and no matter how much Xiao Yan called out, there was no response.

"Teacher, you don't seem like the type to meddle in other people's business..."

Xiao Yan muttered with a bitter smile; he could not fathom why Yao Lao had suddenly intervened.

Taking one last look at Xiao Yi Xian, who still had traces of poison mist lingering around her bed, Xiao Yan hurriedly circulated his Dou Qi and fled the scene.

"Whew~"

Taking advantage of the chaos within the pavilion, Xiao Yan carefully slipped back to his room and breathed a sigh of relief upon finding it empty.

"Little Yanzi."

Yun Zimo's voice suddenly came from behind, giving Xiao Yan, who had just changed out of his black robes, a sudden fright.

"Y-Yun, Brother Yun?"

Xiao Yan forced a smile and greeted him with an unnatural expression.

A strange look flickered in Yun Zimo's eyes, but he said nothing. He simply nodded gently, told Xiao Yan that a minor incident had occurred in the pavilion, and instructed him not to worry about it and to get some rest.

"I thought he had discovered me..."

Xiao Yan closed the bedroom door and gasped for breath, once again calling out to Yao Lao in a low voice.

"Tea... Teacher, your body!"

Gazing at Yao Lao's nearly translucent soul, Xiao Yan exclaimed in shock.

"The Woe Poison Body is indeed difficult to suppress. My current strength is less than one-tenth of what it once was; attempting to cast such a seal was far too strenuous..."

Yao Lao shook his head helplessly, refusing to say another word about the state of his soul.

"Teacher, you... you exhausted your soul power, didn't you?"

Xiao Yan's eyes were filled with heartache and guilt. If not for his own meager strength, Yao Lao would never have needed to expend his already dwindling soul power.

Yao Lao's indifferent expression faltered for a moment before he reached out to retrieve a scroll, the words Woeful Poison Scripture engraved upon it.

"An old friend of mine entrusted this to me when he passed, asking me to help find a successor..."

Yao Lao's tone was heavy with regretful memories, drifting back to the glorious years of the past.

"Woeful Poison Maiden, you have committed wanton slaughter! Today, I shall act on behalf of the heavens and eliminate you, this devil!"

The yellow-robed elder, who had arrived by stepping through the air, shouted with righteous indignation. Ahead of him, the grey-clad woman wreathed in purple mist fled frantically, dodging the elder's pursuit. Droplets of blood fell from the sky to the ground, and as the purple mist rose, vast swathes of vegetation withered and died instantly.

"Damn it, if only my old wounds hadn't reopened..."

The Woeful Poison Maiden cursed inwardly, increasing her speed once more. With a twist of her body, eight phantoms wreathed in purple energy shot out in different directions.

"Damn you! Woeful Poison Maiden, you cannot escape!"

The yellow-robed elder roared in frustration after chasing the wrong target, but he had no choice but to turn back in a fit of impotent rage.

"Oh? Found it!"

Two voices rang out simultaneously. The Woeful Poison Maiden looked toward the sound to see a handsome youth in white robes with purple trim looking at her in surprise. His smooth, straight black hair draped casually over his shoulders, fluttering in the breeze with an air of uninhibited grace.

"Are you... the Woeful Poison Maiden?"

Yao Chen curled his palm, and the medicinal herb was uprooted, instantly falling into his hand.

"You! You are Yao Chen?!"

The Woeful Poison Maiden recognized this alchemy grandmaster who had risen to fame across the Central Plains Continent in recent years.

"Does a dignified alchemy grandmaster really need to snatch things from a weak woman like me?"

"A weak woman? Hah, if you are a weak woman, then there are no stronger women left on this Dou Qi Continent!"

Purple and white Dou Qi collided. In an instant, the purple figure was sent flying backward, kicking up a sky full of smoke and dust.

"Cough!"

The Woeful Poison Maiden could not help but cough up a mouthful of toxic blood; a chilling, sizzling sound erupted wherever the blood droplets landed.

"A two-star Dou Ancestor, heavily wounded. My apologies."

Yao Chen produced a bottle of sacred healing medicine. If she hadn't been injured, today might have been far more troublesome.

"Yao Chen, this matter will not end here!"

Watching the elegant flow of Yao Chen's hair as he turned away, the Woeful Poison Maiden thought to herself.

Later, as Yao Chen traveled across the Central Plains Continent, the two crossed paths many times. Each encounter erupted into a great battle, yet the Woeful Poison Maiden, relying on her own bizarre constitution, was surprisingly able to fight the rising star of the Central Plains, Yao Chen, to a standstill. Perhaps it was a case of heroes cherishing heroes, for after every fight, the two would drink and laugh together.

"Three peak Dou Ancestors? Over a dozen Dou Emperors!"

The Woeful Poison Maiden murmured softly after hearing Yao Chen mention them in passing.

"It is of no consequence; they are merely clowns jumping on a balance beam."

Yao Chen chuckled softly. Once he broke through to the Dou Zun realm, he would handle them accordingly.

A few days later, news arrived that the Dou Ancestor family had been wiped out and numerous factions had been reduced to ash. While outsiders rumored it to be the work of several powerful Dou Zuns, only Yao Chen understood that the traces of the Woeful Poison Maiden were inextricably linked to it.

"Yao Chen, I am going to die."

One day, the Woeful Poison Maiden sat beside Yao Chen and spoke in a casual, detached tone, as if she were pronouncing the death of someone else.

The flame in Yao Chen's hand flickered, and he sighed softly.

"Is it still too late? Is the Woe Poison Body truly beyond saving?"

Hearing the unwillingness in Yao Chen's tone, one realized he had searched everywhere, even breaking into the Little Pill Tower, yet he still could not find a perfect solution to the problem of the Woe Poison Body!

The Woeful Poison Maiden, conversely, smiled with carefree grace. Her life had been brilliant enough; having been destined to fall early, she was now a high-level Dou Ancestor. Was there anything left to regret?

As she thought of this, the Woeful Poison Maiden looked at Yao Chen. Perhaps there was...

"This is the Woeful Poison Scripture, compiled by the strength of both you and me. If there is a chance in the future, help me find a successor. And if you can, help her resolve the hidden dangers of the Woe Poison Body as well."

A trace of regret finally surfaced in the Woeful Poison Maiden's tone. Her palm gently caressed the Woeful Poison Scripture. It was too late—for her, it was far too late...