Yue Mei's Probe and the Woe Poison Scripture

Deep beneath the Snake-People Holy Temple, inside an unknown secret chamber.

The floor all around was cold and hard. Its chill pierced through his clothes and straight into his bones. The air was thick with the mingled smells of blood and dust, like a heavy haze pressing down on him until he could hardly breathe. A strange, faint fragrance also lingered in the air, seemingly a mysterious summons from ancient times, yet tinged with something uncanny.

Amid the violent pain and dizziness, Xiao Zhan struggled like a small boat tossed by a storm, slowly regaining a sliver of consciousness. The pain was like countless sharp daggers, stabbing and slicing wildly through his body.

A searing pain lanced through his left shoulder, as if ten thousand arrows had pierced his heart, and he couldn't help drawing in a sharp breath. When he looked closely, he saw that the flesh there was mangled, the jagged ends of the broken bone clearly exposed in a gruesome sight, like a demon's gaping maw. His internal organs felt as if an invisible hand were squeezing them mercilessly, and the wrenching pain of their displacement left him pale as paper. Every breath was like salt sprinkled into his wounds, tugging at his internal injuries until his whole body trembled.

The random teleportation of the Minor Teleportation Talisman had brought with it spatial forces that wrenched at him like a surging tide. On top of that, he had taken a fierce blow from Protector Wu head-on, as well as the shockwaves from Queen Medusa's Dou Qi. Even as a newly advanced Dou Zong, he had been badly injured by the double blow, like a flower withering in a raging gale.

He struggled like a wounded beast, trying to sit up and circulate his Dou Qi to heal himself. But when he tried to do so, he was horrified to find a sinister, frigid energy entrenched in his wounds and meridians like a maggot in the bone. It devoured his Dou Qi like a pack of ravenous wolves, stopping his injuries from healing. This was the Soul Hall Dou Qi left behind by Protector Wu's ghostly claw, a dark cloud that refused to lift, hanging over his heart.

"Damn it..." Xiao Zhan's heart sank. The words seemed to scrape out from between his teeth, carrying boundless anger and helplessness. Soul Hall's Dou Qi was like a thorn embedded in the bone, exceptionally hard to deal with. At his full strength, he might have been able to slowly force it out through sheer power. But now, with his severe injuries, his Dou Qi was barely circulating, like a dried-up river. With the two forces vying against each other, the situation had become dire, as if he stood on the edge of a cliff, ready to plunge into a bottomless abyss at any moment.

"Ding!" Just then, a clear system notification rang out, like a beam of dawn in the darkness. "Severe injuries detected. Host is being eroded by 'Soul-Eroding Dou Qi.' Emergency system protocol activated: spend 1,000 temporary points (advance payment) to exchange for one sixth-grade 'Jade Bone Flesh-Regenerating Pill.' It can quickly repair physical injuries and temporarily suppress foreign energy. The points will be deducted from future mission rewards."

A jade-green pill, as smooth as fine jade and brimming with vigorous vitality, appeared silently in Xiao Zhan's palm. A gentle halo flowed around it, like a green gemstone carved with painstaking care, radiating a mysterious aura. Xiao Zhan didn't hesitate for a moment. He swallowed it at once.

In an instant, the pill entered his stomach and burst into life like a blazing spark, transforming into a mighty yet gentle warmth that flowed through his limbs like a babbling brook. Wherever it went, it was like spring breezes sweeping over the earth, bringing life and hope. The horrifying wound on his left shoulder began to stop bleeding at a visible, astonishing speed. Fresh flesh sprouted like bamboo shoots after spring rain, and his broken bones gave a faint but crisp series of cracks as they quickly mended, as if time were running backward and gradually wiping away his pain. At the same time, the heart-piercing agony in his internal organs ebbed rapidly like the tide.

However, the frigid Soul-Eroding Dou Qi was only suppressed in a corner of his body, like a venomous snake lurking in the dark, waiting for its chance. It had not been completely eradicated.

"Phew..." With his injuries temporarily stabilized, Xiao Zhan let out a long breath, as if it carried away all his exhaustion and pain. Only then did he finally have the energy to examine his surroundings.

It was a stone chamber, not very spacious, its walls rough and mottled, as if they had been hastily carved by time, giving the place an ancient, weathered air. In one corner stood a simple stone bed, covered with some kind of soft animal hide. It radiated a faint warmth, as if recalling a warmth from long ago. A few Moonlight Stones were embedded in the walls, their dim, gentle glow like scattered stars in the night sky, lending the gloomy chamber a touch of mystery. The strange fragrance in the air had grown stronger. It seemed to drift lazily from the stone bed.

"Where is this place? Am I still inside the Holy Temple?" Xiao Zhan remained on high alert. He slowly released a faint wisp of soul power, like a soft tendril, and cautiously probed his surroundings.

[Scan complete: Current location is in a deep underground area of the Snake-People Holy Temple, relatively secluded. A simple energy barrier is present outside the stone chamber (strength: can block detection below Dou Ling).] The system's notification rang in Xiao Zhan's mind, clear and calm.

Just then, a faint click came from the heavy stone door at the chamber's only entrance, as if the gears of fate had begun to turn. The door slowly swung open, and an unknown figure was about to shatter the chamber's silence.

A seductive, alluring figure slipped soundlessly into the chamber, like a ghostly flower blooming in the dead of night or a nimble, graceful sprite, shrouded in mystery and the uncanny.

Her figure was breathtakingly voluptuous. Tight dark-purple leather armor clung to her body like a second skin, tracing the astonishing curves of her S-shaped figure. Her slender waist looked as if it could be encircled by a single hand, while her full chest strained beneath the armor, promising endless temptation. Her face was almost demonically beautiful, with a delicately sculpted pointed chin and a high, graceful nose. Most striking of all were her eyes: her irises were unusual vertical pupils, like a snake's, gleaming with green light. They were deep as unfathomable pools, brimming with soul-stealing allure, yet tinged with a cold scrutiny that made one afraid to meet her gaze. Her lower body was a purple-scaled snake tail, more slender than Queen Medusa's. It glided soundlessly, like a graceful purple ribbon drifting through the air.

She was Yue Mei, one of the Snake-People Tribe's eight chieftains, and a Dou Wang expert!

Alarm bells rang in Xiao Zhan's mind like a call to battle, but he showed no sign of it, as steady as a mountain. He forced himself to sit up and lean against the cold stone wall, his gaze as calm as still water as he looked at his unexpected visitor. He quickly circulated his Dou Qi, suppressing his cultivation to the level of a severely injured Nine-Star Great Dou Master, as if shackling a ferocious tiger.

"You're awake?" Yue Mei's voice was like silken thread tipped with tiny hooks, so bewitchingly sweet it seemed to seep into the bones. Every word plucked at the heartstrings. Swaying her waist like a mermaid gliding through water, she slowly approached the stone bed. Her green vertical pupils examined Xiao Zhan with keen interest, as if appraising a precious treasure. "You survived the shockwaves from Her Majesty and that mysterious black-robed man, even after taking such strange, sinister Dou Qi... Human, you've got a tough life."

Her gaze swept over Xiao Zhan's left shoulder. Most of the wound had healed, but it remained gruesome, like a twisted mouth recounting its past pain. Then her eyes settled on his pale yet resolute face, as if she hoped to read more secrets there.

"Thank you for saving my life, milady." Xiao Zhan's voice was hoarse as he spoke, as if the words had scraped their way out of his parched throat. His tone held just the right measure of weakness and gratitude. He judged that Yue Mei had dragged him from the dangerous passage into this secret chamber. He would remember this debt.

"Saving your life?" Yue Mei's petal-red lips curled into a seductively alluring smile, like a shooting star streaking across the night sky, beautiful and deadly. She leaned forward, her warm breath carrying a faint fragrance, almost brushing Xiao Zhan's face like a gentle spring breeze. A dangerous light glimmered in her green vertical pupils, like a blade hidden in darkness, ready to leap from its sheath at any moment.

"I never said I was going to save you." Her voice was soft and lilting, yet edged with steel. "You trespassed in my tribe's Holy Temple and disturbed Her Majesty. According to our laws, you should receive the Ten Thousand Snakes Devouring Heart Punishment and die in endless agony. I brought you here only because I wanted to see what secrets you, this audacious little mouse who barged in without a thought, were hiding."

As she spoke, a wisp of green poison mist had somehow curled around her fingertips. It writhed like a nimble venomous snake, radiating a chilling aura that made one's heart tremble, as if it were a summons from hell. She slowly raised her hand and pointed the mist-wreathed fingertip at Xiao Zhan's brow. Her touch was gentle, yet carried an authority that would brook no refusal.

A deadly sense of threat descended over Xiao Zhan like an invisible mountain. His pupils contracted slightly, like cold stars glittering in the night sky, but his body remained motionless. He knew that, faced with a Dou Wang expert, any resistance in his current, gravely injured state would be nothing but a mantis trying to stop a chariot: futile. At this moment, he could only pin his hopes on her curiosity and gamble that his words would interest her.

"You saved my life. If you wish to take it, I'll accept my fate." Xiao Zhan slowly closed his eyes, his tone as flat as a pool of stagnant water, without the slightest ripple, as if he had already resigned himself. "It's just a shame... The black-robed man's origins, and how he managed to slip into the barrier without anyone noticing..."

Just as his words were about to end, Yue Mei's poison-wreathed fingertip halted abruptly, a mere inch from Xiao Zhan's brow! Time seemed to freeze, and tension filled the air. A flash of light gleamed in her green vertical pupils, like lightning streaking across the night sky.

"You know who that black-robed man is?" Yue Mei's voice remained alluringly sweet, but a hint of gravity had crept into it, like an undercurrent stirring beneath a placid lake.

Xiao Zhan slowly opened his eyes. His deep gaze, bright as the most dazzling stars in the night sky, met Yue Mei's scrutinizing stare. "Soul Hall. It's an extremely mysterious and powerful organization, a beast lurking in the dark that specializes in collecting powerful souls. In my opinion, their target is probably far more than just Heavenly Flames. They may be after Her Majesty herself as well!"

"Soul Hall?" Yue Mei's brows knitted slightly, like a lake ruffled by a spring breeze. The name was utterly unfamiliar to her, like a passerby who had never left a trace in her life. Yet someone capable of silently slipping through the barrier, with such terrifying strength, could hardly be some nobody. Xiao Zhan's words were like a stone tossed into a still lake, sending ripples of suspicion spreading through her, growing deeper with every passing moment.

"How did you find out?" Yue Mei's gaze burned into Xiao Zhan. Her poison-wreathed fingertip still hovered before him, unretracted, as if it might become a deadly blade at any moment.

"I've been lying low in this desert for a long time, like a hunter stalking through the night. I once intercepted fragments of their secret correspondence by chance. The information on those scraps gradually pieced together an outline of the organization." Xiao Zhan spoke with a mixture of truth and falsehood, his tone tinged with resignation and the weariness of age. At the same time, he secretly roused the suppressed aura of his Dragon Phoenix Physique. Like a slumbering ancient dragon slowly stirring in its sleep, it mimicked a trace of bloodline pressure—extremely faint, yet unmistakably ancient and noble. The pressure blended with his weakened Dou Qi and quietly drifted out like a faint, elusive fragrance.

"I meant to sneak into the Holy Temple and warn everyone to be on guard against this mysterious organization, but I didn't expect..." Before Xiao Zhan could finish, that faint yet unmistakable Dragon Phoenix pressure flashed and vanished! Though it was as thin as a shooting star that vanished in an instant, Yue Mei possessed snake blood and was exceptionally sensitive to superior bloodlines. To her, it was like thunder splitting the darkness, instantly illuminating her doubts.

Yue Mei's green vertical pupils contracted into slits, like a pair of sharp daggers, their light filled with caution. The poison mist curling around her fingertip churned violently, as if startled by the sudden pressure. She abruptly stepped back half a pace, like a startled cat. Her gaze fixed on Xiao Zhan, uncertain and wary, and for the first time, shock appeared on her beautiful face, as if she had witnessed something utterly impossible.

"You... inside you..." Yue Mei's voice suddenly trembled. Though the aura was as weak as a candle flickering in the wind, it carried the vast pressure of antiquity, from beyond the wilderness, that surpassed the Snake-People Tribe's bloodline! Such pressure could never belong to an ordinary human. It seemed like a faint mark left behind in the world by an ancient deity.

"Just a trivial inherited bloodline. After the passage of countless years, it has nearly faded away." Xiao Zhan's lips curved into a "bitter" smile. He willingly dispersed that faint, elusive aura, and his face grew even "paler," like thin paper weathered by wind and snow. "Without that remnant of bloodline power, I couldn't have been lucky enough to escape that terrifying battle just now. I also wouldn't have been able to sense Soul Hall's lingering presence, like the spirits of the dead that refuse to leave."

Xiao Zhan's words were half true and half false, like a carefully painted picture, skillfully sketching out his "special nature" and "purpose." His grievous injuries, mysterious "inherited bloodline," precious intelligence about Soul Hall, and sincere claim that he had come to "warn" them fit together like carefully assembled puzzle pieces. In Yue Mei's mind, they formed a blurry but seemingly reasonable picture: a human powerhouse with a special, ancient bloodline who had been lying low in the desert for some secret reason, accidentally learned of Soul Hall's shocking plot, and tried to warn the Snake-People Tribe.

The killing intent and scrutiny in Yue Mei's eyes receded like the tide, replaced by a rising tide of curiosity and a hint of wariness she could hardly hide. She slowly withdrew the poison mist curling around her fingertip. Her green vertical pupils swept over Xiao Zhan again and again, like sharp daggers trying to see through him and uncover the secrets hidden deep within.

"I'll report what you said to Her Majesty truthfully. She'll decide your fate." Yue Mei's voice gradually regained its lazy, alluring lilt, like a spring breeze brushing past his ear, though her gaze remained as sharp as an eagle's. "Until Her Majesty makes her decision, stay here and recover. Don't even think about escaping. The barrier outside this chamber is as solid as a fortress. It can trap anyone below Dou Emperor and leave them no way out."

With a graceful twist of her supple snake tail, she turned and glided toward the door. Just as the stone door was about to close, she suddenly glanced back at Xiao Zhan. Her red lips parted slightly, like a rose quietly blooming. "By the way, human, what's your name?"

"Xiao Zhan." He answered evenly, his expression calm and unruffled, his voice steady and firm, like a mountain standing tall and unshaken.

"Xiao Zhan..." Yue Mei softly repeated his name, her voice like a bamboo flute carried on the night wind, tinged with an ethereal mystery. Her green eyes, deep as an unfathomable pool, lingered on him as if to etch his face into her memory. Then the stone door slowly closed, a barrier that could not be crossed, separating the inside from the outside into two different worlds.

Silence returned to the stone chamber, and it seemed that time itself had frozen. Xiao Zhan's taut nerves finally eased a little. His back was already soaked with cold sweat, like clothing drenched by the rain. The test he had just faced had been perilous, every step like walking along the edge of a cliff! If not for the faint aura of his Dragon Phoenix Tyrant Body, which had cowed Yue Mei, the consequences would have been unthinkable. He might already have been dead.

"Soul Hall... Medusa..." Xiao Zhan's gaze grew grave, like the deep night sky concealing endless worries. The immediate crisis had passed, but a greater storm lurked in the shadows, quietly drawing near. He knew he had to recover his strength as quickly as possible and completely expel the Soul-Eroding Dou Qi embedded in his body!

Meanwhile, deep inside a mysterious cave in the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

Moonlight Stones cast a soft, warm glow, like stars in the night sky, illuminating a small stone chamber. Its furnishings were extremely simple: a skeleton sat cross-legged, long since reduced to bare bones and made all the more weathered by the erosion of time; a dust-covered stone platform stood silently, as if recounting a past glory; and three dust-laden scrolls rested upon it, the dust on their surfaces like the wrinkles of time, recording the passage of the years.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian stood tensely at the chamber entrance, their eyes full of wariness and curiosity, like two young deer venturing into a forest for the first time. Yao Lao's illusory figure floated beside them like a ghost. He closed his eyes and concentrated, warily sensing everything around them, looking like an old guardian watching over a treasure.

"There are no more traps. It's safe." Yao Lao sounded excited, like an explorer who had found treasure. "Go take a look, you two. It seems you've come upon the legacy of a senior. There may be an unexpected reward."

Only then did Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian breathe a sigh of relief. They stepped forward cautiously. Xiao Yan gazed at the skeleton with respect and bowed deeply, his voice sincere and warm. "Senior, pardon the intrusion. I hope you won't take offense." Only after paying his respects did he slowly reach out and carefully lift the three dust-covered scrolls, brushing them clean as gently as if they were priceless treasures.

He slowly unfurled the first scroll, as though opening a door to a mysterious world. It recorded the crafting and use of a high-grade Yellow-tier Flying Dou Technique called "Purple Cloud Wings"!

"Flying Dou Technique!" Xiao Yan's eyes lit up instantly, like a dazzling shooting star streaking across the night sky. His excitement was plain to see. With this Flying Dou Technique, it would be like gaining a pair of invisible wings, greatly improving his chances of survival in battle, like finding a bright guiding lamp in the darkness.

The second scroll revealed an extremely ancient, tattered hide map. Its material was neither metal nor wood, and it carried an ancient, mysterious air. The map depicted a complex landscape in meticulous detail, like a miniature painting of the world. At its center was a blurred lotus design whose color constantly shifted, like a hue from a dream. It radiated an ineffably profound aura, as if concealing endless secrets. Incomplete ancient characters lined the map's edges. Two of them, "Purifying Lotus...," could just barely be made out, like vague traces left behind by history.

"This is..." Yao Lao's illusory figure drifted over like a wisp of smoke. He stared intently at the fragmentary map, carefully sensing every trace of its aura. His voice carried a gravity and shock unlike anything before. "The Purifying Lotus Demon Flame?! Could this... could this be a fragmentary map showing its location?!"

"The Purifying Lotus Demon Flame?" Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian stared blankly, like two children lost in a sea of knowledge, confused by this unexpected name.

"Third on the Heavenly Flame Ranking! A terrifying existence said to possess the power to purify all things! It's like a mysterious judge: wherever it passes, everything can be cleansed!" Yao Lao's voice was filled with excitement and disbelief, as if he had laid eyes on the most precious treasure in the world. "A fragmentary map of such a divine treasure... its value is beyond measure! Keep it safe! Make sure you keep it safe! Not a word of this can get out, or countless experts will covet it!"

Xiao Yan's heart lurched as if struck by thunder. He hurriedly and carefully tucked the fragmentary map away, as if protecting his most precious possession.

The two looked toward the final scroll, both nervous and expectant. It was a strange grayish-white color from end to end, as if veiled by a mysterious mist. A faint, unsettling aura drifted from it, like a demon lurking in the darkness, stirring restlessly.

As though drawn by the scroll's mysterious aura, Xiao Yi Xian unconsciously reached out, as if some invisible force were pulling her hand toward it.

"Careful!" Xiao Yan's heart tightened. He hurried to warn her, but his words had not yet left his mouth.

Xiao Yi Xian's fingers had already touched the scroll, as if she had activated a forbidden mechanism.

"Vmm!"

The scroll suddenly burst into an intense grayish-white light, as dazzling as an exploding sun! A frigid, lifeless energy, brimming with the aura of destruction, swept through the stone chamber in an instant like an invisible storm. The dust on the stone platform vanished, while the moss on the walls withered at once, as if its life had been drained away.

Xiao Yi Xian was struck as if by five thunderbolts. Her delicate body trembled violently like a lone boat caught in a raging storm. The scroll seemed to come alive, suddenly transforming into a streak of grayish-white light. Fast as lightning, it shot into the space between her brows and vanished without a trace.

"Ah—!" Xiao Yi Xian let out a pained, faint cry, a wail that seemed to rise from the depths of her soul. She clutched her head with both hands, her body curling uncontrollably as she collapsed to the ground, like a delicate flower battered by a gale. Her lovely face turned as white as paper, drained of all color. Faint, strange gray patterns appeared on her forehead, like mysterious runes whispering of an unknown fate.

"Xiao Yi Xian!" Xiao Yan was horrified. His face turned deathly pale, and he instinctively rushed forward, wanting to pull her free from her agony.

"Don't touch her!" Yao Lao shouted, his voice booming like a bell, his tone utterly grave, as if it bore the weight of a thousand jun. "It's a legacy! This scroll... is a legacy prepared specifically for someone with her special constitution!"

The grayish-white light surged like a roaring tide, wrapping Xiao Yi Xian in its entirety and forming a massive cocoon of light. Inside it, an enormous torrent of information poured into her mind with the force of a breached dam, bringing unimaginable pain, as if countless steel needles were stabbing at her soul.

The Seven-Colored Poison Scripture!

Four ancient, uncanny characters seared themselves into the depths of her soul like a burning brand, impossible to erase. With them came countless secret arts for refining poisons, controlling poisonous creatures, and cultivating a poison constitution. They shone like countless stars, yet concealed endless dangers. And there were also... forbidden methods for fully controlling and unleashing the Woe Poison Body's world-destroying power, like Pandora's box—once opened, it would bring consequences beyond imagining.

"No... please... I don't want to become a poison monster..." Xiao Yi Xian's anguished, despairing sobs came from inside the cocoon. Her voice brimmed with fear and struggle. She could clearly feel the long-dormant force of destruction in her body slowly awakening as the Poison Scripture's legacy took hold, like a sleeping beast gradually stirring. It was being carefully brought into order, like tangled threads slowly unwound; becoming more controllable, yet also more vast and dangerous, like a volcano on the verge of eruption, ready to unleash calamity at any moment. She felt as if she stood on the edge of a cliff. On one side lay the possibility of commanding immense power, radiant as a brilliant star; on the other, the abyss of sinking into a poison demon, a bottomless black hole that devoured all hope.

"Teacher! What do we do? Will she be all right?" Xiao Yan was frantic, his eyes filled with worry and fear. He paced like an ant on a hot pan, turning this way and that in desperation.

Yao Lao's illusory figure was graver than ever. Like a perilous peak about to be toppled by a gale, he stared fixedly at the cocoon shrouded in grayish-white light. His voice was low and solemn. "This Seven-Colored Poison Scripture... is both a blessing and a calamity for her! It's like a double-edged sword: it gives her the key to controlling the Woe Poison Body, allowing her to touch the terrifying power hidden within her. But at the same time, it's like opening Pandora's box, releasing endless temptations and dangers. Can she hold on to her true self amid this surging tide of power, without being consumed by the urge to destroy or sinking into the endless temptations that power brings...? That all depends on her own unyielding will!"

Inside the stone chamber, the grayish-white light flickered like a dream. The girl's anguished sobs drifted through the stillness like a mournful song, echoing faintly through the space. Xiao Yan's clenched fists stood out with bulging veins. His eyes were filled with worry and helpless anguish, as though he wished he could pierce through the cocoon and pull Xiao Yi Xian out of her pit of suffering. He knew that from this moment on, Xiao Yi Xian's fate had changed completely. Like a leaf caught in a gale, she had been swept onto an unknown and perilous course.

Wutan City, the Xiao Family.

Ya Fei lounged against the soft couch in a private room on the top floor of the Mittel Auction House, her graceful figure like a gorgeous rose blooming in the night. She gently toyed with a jade slip that glowed with a warm luster. Light flowed across it as if recounting a mysterious tale. It was a copy of the Flowing Cloud Steps that Xiao Zhan had entrusted to her earlier; he had asked her to keep it safe and said she could study its secrets herself. Her red lips parted as if countless words were caught in her throat. A trace of resentment, of which even she herself was unaware, colored her soft murmur. "That scoundrel... He's been off in the Magical Beast Mountain Range for so long, and he's vanished without a trace. Not a word from him..."

Suddenly, a hurried knock shattered the room's quiet. The door swung open, and Master Gu Ni, the Mittel Auction House's chief appraiser and a Second-Rank Alchemist, strode inside with a grave expression. Worry was written all over his face, as if he were carrying a thousand-jun burden.

"Miss Ya Fei, something's gone terribly wrong! Someone's arrived from the imperial capital! It's Mu Tie, the direct bodyguard commander of Grand Elder Teng Shan! He's carrying Grand Elder Teng Shan's order, and he's demanding to immediately take over the escorting of those two Yin-Yang Profound Dragon Pills. And... and he specifically asked to see you!" Gu Ni's voice carried a hint of tension, as if he were delivering an ominous prophecy.

The charming smile on Ya Fei's face froze at once, like a flower struck by frost. Her gaze turned cold, sharp as two blades of ice. She thought to herself, The people from the imperial capital had finally lost patience and come. And they had come with hostile intentions. A storm seemed to be quietly brewing...