Who Are You, Really?

Whoosh!

The wind howled past his ears, and the fresh air of the forest was invigorating.

With the Purple Cloud Wings beating behind him, Xiao Yan sped through the mountains and woods, soon catching sight of the familiar basin.

Flying into the mist, he slowly descended, and the full view of the small valley appeared before him.

It was a beautiful place.

But...

Xiao Yan had no time to admire it now.

Because he saw a second-tier Combined Ape pouncing at Xiao Yi Xian!

Xiao Yan's expression changed. He hastily drew the Heavy Profound Ruler, preparing to unleash Flying Immortal from Beyond.

Yet in the next instant, Xiao Yan's pupils contracted.

She calmly raised her head, parted her lips, and exhaled a stream of purple mist.

The Combined Ape immediately melted into a puddle of bloody water at a speed visible to the naked eye!

What terrifying poison!

Xiao Yan forcibly halted his movement. Looking at Xiao Yi Xian's eyes, which had somehow taken on a faint purple tint, he pressed his lips together.

Ordinary poison techniques should not have been capable of producing poison this terrifying.

Could it be...?

Xiao Yan's face stiffened.

Had Xiao Yi Xian already begun using the Woe Poison Body?

But he had not noticed her taking poison recently...

Whoosh!

The wings on Xiao Yan's back flapped, and he swiftly flew before Xiao Yi Xian and landed, asking with concern, "Are you all right? What was that just now?"

Xiao Yi Xian had not expected Xiao Yan to return at the exact moment she made her move.

This was going to be troublesome.

She had not wanted Xiao Yan to know.

She had truly been happy during the days she spent with Xiao Yan. Yet whenever she watched him return from hunting magical beasts, skip his rest, sit down immediately to recover and cultivate his battle qi, even cultivating through the night without sleep, she felt that she could not simply stand by and watch.

She did not want to remain the woman Xiao Yan always protected behind him.

She wanted to fight at his side, even bear some of his burdens for him!

Although Xiao Yi Xian did not understand why ten-year-old Xiao Yan was already under such immense pressure, cultivating tirelessly at the expense of food and sleep, she knew that she had the ability to help him.

Thus, she could only make use of the Woe Poison Body.

As long as she restrained the frequency with which she consumed poison, then with the experience from having once cultivated to the Dou Zong realm, she could at least guarantee that this time, she would push her strength all the way to the Dou Zong level without losing her sanity.

Still, she was not very confident about her current realm.

But it did not matter. Before that day came, she could at least remain by Xiao Yan's side for more than ten years!

Compared to her previous life, this was already far better.

She had no intention of going to the Chu Yun Empire to establish some damned Poison Sect.

She wanted to remain at Xiao Yan's side forever.

"I'm sorry. I've been hiding this from you."

Xiao Yi Xian looked at the worried expression on the young man's face and smiled gently.

A glimmering purple battle qi appeared in her palm, and her aura rose with it, reaching the level of a three-star Dou Master.

A three-star Dou Master?

Feeling Xiao Yi Xian's battle qi fluctuations, Xiao Yan's eye twitched slightly.

So she really had begun using the Woe Poison Body.

"Let me tell you a story, all right?"

Xiao Yi Xian reached out and took Xiao Yan's hand.

"Once, there was a girl who wanted to become an alchemist, but could not because of her talent. She later became a physician.

One day, during an unremarkable herb-gathering mission, she met a young man.

Their first meeting was unpleasant. They were even trapped in a cave by others.

Later, they escaped. After many twists and turns, they arrived at a small valley in the Monster Mountain Range, where they lived together for a time and became very good friends.

Until one day, her body could no longer endure that terrifying poisonous battle qi. At the brink of death, she felt that life was like a dream—except that for her, this dream had been nothing but a dreadful nightmare.

When she opened her eyes again, she discovered that she was not the sect master of the Poison Sect. She was still Xiao Yi Xian of Green Mountain Town."

What Xiao Yi Xian had described was naturally her experience of being reborn.

In truth, even she did not know whether she had truly been reborn, whether it had all been a great dream, or whether everything before her now was merely a fantasy from before her death.

But she was certain that no matter which it was, she hoped that everything before her was the most real thing of all!

Xiao Yan had not expected Xiao Yi Xian to confess everything so directly.

It was just that he was not the Xiao Yan from her memories.

As Xiao Yan pondered this, he heard a rustling sound.

When he came back to his senses and looked over, his eyes widened at once.

Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing?!

Xiao Yi Xian undid her outer skirt and lifted her clothes, revealing her smooth, fair lower abdomen.

A seven-colored line entered Xiao Yan's sight.

"I think you must have read the Seven-Colored Poison Manual, right? You should be familiar with this."

Xiao Yi Xian's pretty face was still slightly flushed, but she did not feel embarrassed.

For one thing, Xiao Yan before her was only ten years old.

For another, she could risk her life for him. It was only her stomach—what was there that he could not see?

"The Woe Poison Body..."

Looking at the seven-colored line on Xiao Yi Xian's lower abdomen, Xiao Yan closed his eyes heavily.

Although he was confident he could cure Xiao Yi Xian, thinking of the torment she had suffered because of the Woe Poison Body made his heart ache.

Such a kind girl, yet she had been treated that way and endured such tragic experiences.

Really...

"You really do know."

Seeing Xiao Yan's reaction, Xiao Yi Xian seemed to have confirmed something. She said with a smile, "Then, what if I told you that I'm not the Xiao Yan from your memories?"

Xiao Yan fell silent for a moment before asking.

"Of course you're not."

Xiao Yi Xian shook her head without any surprise.

Xiao Yan froze at her words.

"The Xiao Yan in my memories was older than you, but he was not as mature as you. So after thinking it over, I felt there was only one possibility."

As if she had anticipated this all along, a wise gleam flashed in Xiao Yi Xian's eyes!

"You were reborn too, weren't you!"

Having exposed the truth, Xiao Yi Xian's face was filled with pride.

???

Xiao Yan wanted to speak, but stopped himself.

"Yes, I was reborn."

After a moment, Xiao Yan nodded somewhat helplessly.

"But I truly am not the Xiao Yan you think I am," Xiao Yan said seriously.

Xiao Yi Xian fell silent at that.

Indeed, after spending this time together, she had been able to sense certain differences.

She had always thought they were personality changes brought about by rebirth.

But after several months together, she had become quite familiar with the Xiao Yan before her. She knew that at a time like this, Xiao Yan would not lie to deceive her.

"Then... who are you, really?"