Poison Vein Shock and the First Sign of Flame

Snake Abyss Oasis, Poison Barrier Valley in the northwest.

The valley lay at the edge of the oasis, a natural hollow sculpted by time. Gray-green miasma, deadly and thick, swirled through it year-round, shrouding the valley like a heavy pall. Beneath their feet stretched black marshland, viscous as ink, bubbling and burbling as its pungent stench assaulted the nose and turned the stomach. Ordinary plants could not survive here. Only brilliantly colored, grotesque poisonous plants took root in the toxic mud like stubborn warriors, their leaves glimmering with an ominous sheen, as if warning of the dangers that lurked here.

This was the most dangerous forbidden ground in the oasis, like a ferocious beast lying in wait, inspiring fear in all who beheld it. And yet it was also the cultivation ground Xiao Zhan had carefully chosen for Xiao Yi Xian: Poison Barrier Valley.

At that moment, deep in the valley, Xiao Yi Xian sat cross-legged atop a relatively dry patch of black rock. Her eyes were shut, and she was as still as a silent statue. The Detoxification Spirit Bead rested against her chest, radiating a soft, mysterious emerald glow that formed a thin veil of light, protecting the vital points around her body. Her hands were clasped in a complex, esoteric seal that emanated an eerie aura, as though she were communicating with some mysterious force between heaven and earth.

The Seven-Colored Poison Scripture coursed through her body at full force, like a surging river! The visible gray-green miasma seemed drawn by an unseen force, transforming into wisps of poisonous fog. Like slender threads, they streamed unceasingly into Xiao Yi Xian's body. Faint, seven-colored patterns emerged across her skin, like a mysterious painting, giving off a cold, restrained aura. Her gray-white pupils shifted slightly beneath her eyelids, as if scrutinizing the changes within her body.

She was actively absorbing and refining the valley's pure poison energy! Each breath brought another rush of miasma, strengthening the cycle of poison energy within her, like a precision machine running smoothly and methodically. With the Detoxification Spirit Bead protecting her, she could finally try to control this destructive power with relative safety, instead of passively enduring its backlash. It was as if she had gone from a prisoner shackled by fate to a master of her own destiny.

Xiao Zhan appeared soundlessly atop a towering rock near the mouth of the valley, as elusive as a ghost. His gaze, sharp as a torch, pierced the dense, ink-dark miasma and settled firmly on Xiao Yi Xian. With his keen senses, he could clearly detect the astonishing speed at which the poison energy in the girl's body was growing and condensing. At the same time, her understanding of the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture was deepening as rapidly as bamboo shoots breaking through the earth.

The Woe Poison Body and the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture complement each other perfectly. Add this uniquely favorable environment, and her progress is downright terrifying. Xiao Zhan pondered silently, his brow furrowing slightly. Still... haste makes waste, and too much of anything can be harmful. I'll have to keep a close eye on her, lest the poison energy run amok beyond even the bead's power to suppress and bring disaster.

Just then!

A sudden change struck like a thunderclap!

The huge black rock beneath Xiao Yi Xian seemed to be shaken by an invisible giant hand. Without warning, it began to tremble violently! Countless densely packed cracks appeared across its surface like a spiderweb, and a heart-chilling, ghostly green light shone through them, like a glow from the depths of hell! A torrent of terrifying poison energy, a hundred times purer and a thousand times more violent than the miasma in the valley, burst forth from beneath the earth like a volcano that had been repressed for millennia, unleashing the power it had built up without end!

BOOM!!!

The thunderous blast shook the entire Poison Barrier Valley, making the ground heave as if the world were coming to an end! The viscous black poison mud roiled like boiling water! The newborn ghostly green poison energy swept away and devoured the dense gray-green miasma like a gale scattering fallen leaves. Wherever it passed, even the poisonous plants that had stubbornly thrived here withered in an instant, their vitality drained away until they crumbled to ash and vanished into the air!

"Ah!" Xiao Yi Xian took the brunt of the sudden upheaval! The seven-colored patterns across her skin flared in an instant, like brilliant fireworks blooming in the night sky. Meanwhile, the emerald light barrier formed by the Detoxification Spirit Bead flickered violently like a candle in the wind, letting out a buzzing, anguished wail beneath the strain!

Xiao Yi Xian suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood flecked with seven-colored light, and it traced a tragic arc through the air. Her body was struck as if by an invisible sledgehammer, sending her flying backward like a kite with its string cut. The poison energy she had forcibly absorbed ran wild within her like an unbridled horse. Tearing pain coursed through her meridians, as though ten thousand steel needles were stabbing her all at once. Faced with this sudden, surging Earth Vein Poison Qi, the Detoxification Spirit Bead's suppressive power seemed utterly inadequate—like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

"An underground poison vein erupting?!" Xiao Zhan's pupils contracted sharply, shock and wariness filling his eyes! He understood at once: hidden beneath Poison Barrier Valley was an ancient poison vein of exceptional purity, like a slumbering dragon! The unusual fluctuations caused by Xiao Yi Xian's cultivation of the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture had, quite by accident, stirred this long-dormant poison vein and awakened it from its slumber!

"Not good!" Xiao Zhan's thoughts raced, and his figure vanished in an instant, as if blending into the void. He reappeared in Xiao Yi Xian's path as she flew backward, a solid mountain of a man, and swept her into his arms. Pure Dou Zong Dou Qi surged into her body like a mighty river, forcibly suppressing the rampaging poison energy and building a sturdy defense around her fragile heart meridian.

At the same time, he formed a seal with one hand in a smooth, flowing motion and pressed it down toward the fissure spewing ghostly green poison energy!

"Space Binding!"

The moment he spoke, that patch of space became as solid as frozen crystal. The violently surging ghostly green poison energy was forcibly held in midair, as if time itself had stopped flowing.

"Dragon Phoenix Flame!" Xiao Zhan said in a low voice, its quiet tone still carrying boundless authority. He flicked a finger with his other hand, sending out a streak of reddish-gold flame infused with the aura of the Dragon Phoenix. Rather than attack the poison energy, it drifted lightly into the space where the energy was bound, like a spark landing in a pile of kindling, ready to work its peculiar magic.

Ssssss!

The instant the reddish-gold flame met the ghostly green poison energy, a sharp, violent hissing erupted, like thousands of blades scraping against one another. The supreme yang power containing the Dragon Phoenix Origin was like the blazing midday sun—a natural nemesis to this utmost yin, deadly poison. Under the roaring flames, the rampaging poison energy was tamed like a headstrong beast, quickly becoming docile and contained. Its terrifying ghostly green hue slowly shifted to a deep, mysterious dark purple, like the most distant star in the night sky.

"Condense!" Xiao Zhan said in a low voice, deep and sonorous as a great bell. He closed his hand into a fist, exuding the might of one who commanded heaven and earth. Space power and the Dragon Phoenix Flame worked together in perfect harmony, like two master craftsmen, forcibly compressing and condensing the "tamed" dark purple source of pure poison. At last, three strange crystals the size of dragon's eyes hovered quietly in his palm. Deep purple light flowed over them, and within each one, a nebula-like vortex seemed to turn slowly, like a trio of mysterious stars from the depths of the cosmos.

Poison Source Crystal Cores! Treasures containing pure, controllable poison energy!

Only after he had finished did Xiao Zhan lower his head and look at Xiao Yi Xian in his arms. Her face was as pale as paper, and her breathing was unsteady, like a candle flickering in the wind. He furrowed his brow slightly and asked with concern, "How do you feel?"

"Much... much better... Thank you, Uncle Xiao..." Xiao Yi Xian's voice was so weak it was barely louder than a mosquito's buzz, and she was still shaken. That rampaging Earth Vein Poison Qi had been like a demon charging out of hell, nearly dragging her into an abyss of no return. If Xiao Zhan hadn't come to her rescue in time, she could hardly imagine what might have happened.

"Misfortune and fortune depend on each other." Xiao Zhan remained calm and resolute as he held out one of the dark purple Poison Source Crystal Cores. "This contains pure poison energy. I've refined away its violent nature and left only its essence. If you absorb it slowly using the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture, you'll progress twice as fast with half the effort and strengthen your foundation. I'll hold on to the other two. Once your cultivation has stabilized, I'll give them to you."

Feeling the pure, docile yet boundless-as-the-sea poison energy within the crystal, Xiao Yi Xian's eyes instantly lit with incredulous delight. It was as if a broad road to the pinnacle of poison cultivation had opened before her. This was a treasure every poison cultivator dreamed of!

"Yes, Uncle Xiao!" She accepted the crystal with utmost care, her hands trembling slightly, her eyes filled with boundless gratitude and unwavering resolve.

In the ancient, mysterious stone hall beside Spirit Gathering Pavilion at the heart of the oasis.

Xiao Zhan had just carefully brought Xiao Yi Xian back to her chamber and settled her in. He had even arranged for experienced Snake-People Tribe healers to care for her. He was about to leave when the usually docile Seven-Colored Little Snake in his arms suddenly grew extremely restless!

Sss! Sss!

It writhed anxiously, its small but nimble body twisting as urgent light flashed in its pale purple eyes. It stared fixedly toward some unknown place deep in the desert. It repeatedly butted its little head against Xiao Zhan's chest, letting out sharp, hurried hisses, as if trying to tell him a vital secret. Through their contract mark, a powerful urge and a guiding impulse streamed into Xiao Zhan's mind like invisible threads!

"That direction... the Green Lotus Core Flame?" Xiao Zhan suddenly understood, a flash of delight in his eyes! The Seven-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python could sense Heavenly Flames far better than ordinary people! Though Medusa was still asleep, that instinct rooted deep in her bloodline remained keen. She had clearly sensed the precise location of the Green Lotus Core Flame!

Just then!

"Ding!" A crisp, pleasant system chime rang out, as if answering a call from fate.

[Special Quest Triggered: Subdue the Green Lotus Core Flame!]

[Quest Objective: Immediately travel to the location indicated by the Seven-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python and subdue the Green Lotus Core Flame, ranked nineteenth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking! This flame holds endless secrets and power, and is a rare treasure of heaven and earth!]

[Quest Reward: Heaven Rank Low Grade Flame-Control Secret Art, Flame Emperor Art (Incomplete Scroll One). This art will help you command flames as easily as your own limbs; greatly increase your affinity for fire-source energy, bringing you into closer harmony with flames and making your cultivation path smoother!]

[Failure Penalty: None (But beware: someone else may get to the Heavenly Flame first. Missing such an opportunity would be a genuine regret!)]

[Hint: Heavenly Flames possess spirit, like living creatures. The process of subduing one is fraught with danger, and the slightest mistake could leave you beyond salvation. Host, please make thorough preparations to face the challenges ahead!]

Xiao Zhan's eyes blazed, two sharp flashes of light cutting through the air! The Green Lotus Core Flame! After all those twists and turns, he had finally found it! This Heavenly Flame was no ordinary prize. It was not only tied to Queen Medusa's future recovery—the immense energy within it would be like life-saving rain—but also closely connected to his own growth in strength and the system's generous reward! A Heaven Rank flame-control secret art! Once learned, it would be vital to controlling his Dragon Phoenix Flame and facing other mysterious Heavenly Flames in the future, like a lamp lighting his path of cultivation!

"Yue Mei!" Xiao Zhan called in a deep voice, which echoed through the hall like a great bell.

"Elder Xiao!" Yue Mei reacted swiftly. Her figure appeared outside the hall like a ghost, and she dropped to one knee, waiting respectfully for his orders.

"Immediately assemble three Dou Wang elders who know the terrain deep in the desert best! Then prepare our fastest Sand Lizard Camels—ones with both speed and stamina! I'm going to this place!" Xiao Zhan's expression was grave. Using his soul power, he sent Yue Mei the precise coordinates of the direction sensed by the Seven-Colored Little Snake, as if entrusting her with a mission of life and death. "Also, raise the oasis defenses to the highest level! While I'm away, you'll be in complete charge of all affairs in the oasis! If you encounter a powerful enemy, remember: protecting the tribe comes first. Hold your ground and await reinforcements. Don't launch a rash attack!"

"Yes! I'll obey!" Yue Mei sensed the unmistakable urgency in Xiao Zhan's words and didn't dare delay. She accepted the order at once, then vanished outside the hall in a flash.

Xiao Zhan gazed at the still-restless Seven-Colored Little Snake in his arms as it gently rubbed its little head against his fingers. A trace of warmth softened his eyes. He gently stroked its cold scales and murmured, "Don't worry. That Heavenly Flame isn't going anywhere. It's destined to become a weapon in our hands."

Deep in the Death Sand Sea in the Tagor Desert, in the "Quicksand Burial Pit" region.

The terrain here was bizarre beyond belief. Beneath the seemingly flat, mirror-smooth sand lay countless bottomless quicksand whirlpools, like demons with their jaws wide open, waiting silently for prey. The grains of sand seemed alive, slowly flowing and whispering with a rustle that spoke of endless mortal peril. At the slightest misstep, travelers and Lizard Camels alike could be swallowed by the merciless quicksand and vanish without a trace. It was a death trap in the desert that made people blanch at the mere mention of it.

Yun Du led more than ten elite disciples from the Misty Cloud Sect cautiously through this land of death, as if walking along the edge of an abyss. Dou Qi swirled around them, forming layer upon layer of solid protective barriers. Every face was taut, every gaze sweeping warily across their surroundings. Even Yun Du, a six-star Dou Wang, dared not slacken his vigilance in the face of nature's terrifying might. He placed every step with extreme caution.

"Elder, according to the direction last detected by the Tracking Compass, Xiao Yan, that little bastard, and the Woe Poison Body should have fled into this area," one disciple said, holding a compass that glimmered faintly. His voice was tight with tension and concern.

"Hmph! They're practically courting death!" Yun Du's face was dark enough to drip water, and his eyes glinted with malice. "Search carefully! I want to see them alive—or, dead... dig their bodies out for me!" Elder Yun Sheng's death had placed him under immense pressure within the sect, like a heavy mountain on his shoulders. Only by claiming Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian's heads could he wash away this humiliation and restore his authority within the sect.

Suddenly!

RUMBLE!!!

The entire desert shook violently without warning, with more than ten times the force of the earlier quake in Poison Barrier Valley! It was as if an ancient, primeval beast had turned in its sleep beneath the earth, ready to burst through the layers of sand and return to the world.

"Not good! A sandstorm! A super sandstorm!" one disciple shrieked in terror, pointing at the horizon. His voice brimmed with despair and helplessness.

On the distant horizon, a terrifying yellow wall of sand hundreds of feet high stretched from earth to sky, bearing down on them with an unstoppable, earth-splitting force! Lightning and thunder wove through the sand wall as howling winds roared without end. It was as if the apocalypse had arrived, filling them with boundless fear and despair.

The sandstorm was on a scale far beyond anything ordinary, like a primeval beast awakened from the dawn of time, rampaging through heaven and earth with claws bared. Worse still, the violent earthquake triggered a chain reaction in the underground quicksand, like a row of dominoes falling, until the cascade could no longer be stopped.

"Thud!" "Thud!"

The sand beneath the Misty Cloud Sect group seemed to be yanked away by a giant hand, collapsing without warning! Several huge quicksand whirlpools suddenly opened like abyssal chasms. Their dreadful suction, like a summons from hell, swallowed several slower-reacting Dou Ling disciples on the outer edge! They vanished into the endless darkness before they could even cry out.

"Hold steady!" Yun Du was both enraged and alarmed, his eyes bloodshot as the might of a Dou Wang erupted from him. Dou Qi surged around his body as he forcibly stabilized the sand beneath his feet, trying to hold his ground against the raging forces of nature. But the terrifying sandstorm was already upon them, a violent beast almost within reach! Sand and grit blotted out the sky, sweeping down with destructive force like ten thousand sharp blades, swallowing everyone in a flash!

"Form up! Defend!" Yun Du roared, but his voice sounded feeble against the gale, like a fallen leaf fluttering in the storm. Still, it was the only thing he could do: try to gather the group's remaining strength to withstand the might of heaven and earth.

The raging sand cut at their Dou Qi barriers like billions of sharp knives, scraping against them with a piercing shriek. Quicksand whirlpools tugged at and devoured everything around them like greedy mouths, as if they meant to drag the whole world into an endless abyss. Thick bolts of purple lightning also crashed down from the storm, like the wrathful lash of a god, striking their defensive formation with a deafening boom!

"Ah!"

"Help me!"

Screams rose and fell amid the sandstorm, like the mournful cries of night owls, tearing at the heart. More disciples were swallowed by quicksand, struck by lightning and burned to char, or had their Dou Qi defenses shredded by the raging grit and were gravely wounded in an instant, collapsing in pools of blood.

Yun Du's eyes were nearly popping from their sockets, filled with boundless fury and despair. He desperately poured Dou Qi into the defense, flames of energy burning around him, but before the might of heaven and earth, the strength of an individual seemed so small, so helpless. He could only watch as the elite disciples he had brought died or vanished one after another, unable to do anything but struggle in the raging sandstorm.

BOOM!

A bolt of purple lightning as thick as a barrel, like a divine sword of punishment wielded by a god, crashed down with boundless authority and destructive power, striking the Dou Qi shield Yun Du had hurriedly formed. Under the lightning's violent impact, cracks instantly spread across the shield like glass about to shatter.

CRACK!

With a sharp, final snap, the shield broke apart, scattering into flecks of Dou Qi that vanished in the gale. A force like an avalanche slammed into Yun Du. He felt as though he had been struck by a thousand-ton hammer, and a sharp pain tore through his chest. He couldn't help spitting out a great mouthful of blood. It traced a tragic arc through the air before splattering across the scorching sand. His body was swept away by the raging sandstorm like a kite with its string cut, vanishing in an instant amid the boundless yellow sands. Whether he lived or died was unknown, leaving only a silence that weighed heavily on the heart.

In mere moments!

The terrifying super sandstorm, roaring with thunder and wielding the devouring power of the quicksand, swept through the region like a beast of destruction from hell before charging deeper into the desert, leaving nothing but desolation in its wake. The entire Quicksand Burial Pit seemed drained of life, returning to a deathly silence.

On the sand lay only a few tattered robes from the Misty Cloud Sect, fluttering helplessly in the wind as if recounting their former glory and present desolation; several weapons half-buried beneath the sand, their blades stripped of their former luster and dulled by patches of rust; and... patches of glaring dark red blood, not yet fully buried by the wind and sand. Like fallen flowers from the other shore, they stood out starkly in the silent desert and sent a chill through anyone who saw them.

The Misty Cloud Sect's elite squad, led by a six-star Dou Wang and carrying both a mission and ambition, had entered the Death Sand Sea. Yet before finding any trace of their target, they sank beneath the surging waves of sand like a ship that had run aground... nearly wiped out to the last soul! Their former confidence and pride had vanished, leaving only a silent lament in the yellow sands.

On the edge of Snake Abyss Oasis.

Three exceptionally powerful third-tier magical beasts, Sand Lizard Camels, stood quietly. Their thick scales glimmered coldly in the sunlight, like an unbreakable suit of armor. On their backs sat the tall, imposing Xiao Zhan, along with three seasoned Snake-People Tribe Dou Wang elders whose auras were deep and steady as abysses. Their expressions were stern, their eyes firm and resolute, like warriors about to march into battle.

The Seven-Colored Little Snake wound itself nimbly around Xiao Zhan's wrist, its little head held high. Excitement glimmered in its pale purple eyes as it stared toward a certain direction deep in the desert, hissing hurriedly and cheerfully to urge them onward, as if leading everyone toward some mysterious, unknown place.

"Move out!" Xiao Zhan's command rang out, loud and powerful as a bugle call.

The Lizard Camels seemed to understand. They let out a deep, resonant roar that echoed across the desert, full of authority and strength. Then they strode forward on their thick, powerful legs, leaving deep tracks in the scorching sand. Like three streaks of yellow lightning, they carried four people and one snake toward the Green Lotus Core Flame, where the Seven-Colored Little Snake had directed them, racing at full speed!

Deep in the desert, the blue lotus that had quietly been taking shape for countless ages waited in silence, like a sleeping immortal maiden awaiting her master. Would it awaken at last and bloom with an astonishing, peerless radiance?