Journey to the Cloud Empire

Seeing that Xiao Yan had nearly exhausted all his Dou Qi, Old Yao stroked his beard and said, "Do not slack off. Cultivating now will be even more effective."

Xiao Yan, who felt as though even his bones had been pulled out, leaving him a limp heap of flesh without the strength to rise again, could not help rolling his eyes.

Yet no matter how much he complained, he still forced himself up and sat cross-legged to cultivate.

And the truth was indeed as Old Yao had said. When all the Dou Qi in his body had been exhausted, and the abundant Dou Qi circulating within his Dou Qi vortex was converted back into his body once more, Xiao Yan could clearly feel that it was different from before.

So much so that he soon touched upon the threshold of a breakthrough.

Old Yao and Yao Wan could not help exchanging glances. He was progressing quite quickly.

On the journey to the Cloud Empire, they traveled on and off like this. In just a few short months, Xiao Yan's cultivation had soared from a One-star Dou Zhe to a Four-star Dou Zhe.

After condensing his Dou Qi vortex and becoming a true Dou Zhe, his speed of absorbing Dou Qi had increased by far too much. Given the environment and pressure Xiao Yan had been subjected to, his rate of breakthroughs was unexpected, yet reasonable.

"Mm, your hard cultivation these past days has not been in vain."

Yao Wan was quite satisfied with Xiao Yan's efforts during this period.

Still, subduing the Heavenly Flames would likely remain somewhat difficult.

The preparations were already complete, so should she...

A dangerous idea arose in Yao Wan's mind.

"Alright, it is time for us to leave."

Yao Wan urged him.

"Alright."

Xiao Yan hurriedly followed Yao Wan's footsteps.

The Cloud Empire's territory was no weaker than that of the Jia Ma Empire. In some respects, it was even far more expansive than Jia Ma. Yet compared with the Jia Ma Empire, this empire was undoubtedly much more chaotic.

Poison Masters, a profession almost universally despised in the Jia Ma Empire, flourished exceptionally well in the Cloud Empire. In any city, one could see people dressed in Poison Master robes almost everywhere. There was also a sight rarely seen in the Jia Ma Empire: the sale of poisons.

Every city in this empire had shops specifically dedicated to selling poisons. As long as it was related to poison, it could be bought in such places. The stronger the poison, the more expensive it was.

Their scale had even surpassed that of apothecaries.

In the Cloud Empire, there was one type of Dou Qi that outnumbered all other attribute-based Dou Qi by countless times. The people of the Cloud Empire called it Poison Dou Qi.

Compared with ordinary Dou Qi, Poison Dou Qi indeed had certain advantages in terms of lethality. But poison was poison, after all. It did not distinguish between friend and foe. As one's cultivation deepened, the body would be increasingly weakened by the poison's corrosion. Unless one could advance to the Dou Wang realm, those who cultivated poison attributes generally had far shorter lifespans than ordinary people.

Moreover, with layers upon layers of poison mixed within their bodies, some people inevitably developed twisted personalities. This was also why the Cloud Empire was so chaotic.

Sparring and fighting were undoubtedly far more frequent here than in the Jia Ma Empire. Perhaps because the poison within their bodies could attack their hearts at any moment, the people of the Cloud Empire cultivated even more frantically. Everyone knew that if they did not reach the Dou Wang rank, the Poison Dou Qi they cultivated would sooner or later devour their lives.

Under such pressure from death, the Cloud Empire's cultivation culture was indeed rather insane. And precisely because of this, the hidden experts among its common folk might well outnumber those in the Jia Ma Empire. These experts rarely joined any major factions. Instead, they fought alone and cultivated desperately, hoping to completely escape the erosion of the poison within their bodies.

As for why this empire differed from all the others, why Poison Masters—who were suppressed to varying degrees in every other empire—found the most suitable soil here, Yao Wan guessed that it was probably related to the Cloud Empire's geography.

"Miss Wan, where exactly is the Nether Poison Flame?"

"It seems to be within the Ancient Nether Poison Marsh Ruins in the southern part of the Cloud Empire. Though the poison marsh is no longer as dangerous as it was in ancient times, when not a blade of grass could grow for ten thousand li around it, with such a massive poison pool there, the people of the Cloud Empire would naturally want to make use of the terrain to cultivate."

Yao Wan explained.

"I see... Come to think of it, how did you learn about this, Miss Wan?"

"Of course, I happened to come across it while reading ancient records."

"The Netherworld Poison Swamp is the place most likely to produce the Nether Poison Flame, and in all these years, there has been no news of the Nether Poison Flame emerging and being obtained by anyone."

"Still, we had better be careful. If the Nether Poison Flame appears, the local powers of the Cloud Empire will surely fight to seize it. This is not our territory, and we will certainly be at a disadvantage if we fight others here."

"So once we obtain the Poison Flame, we leave. We absolutely must not linger in battle, understand?"

Yao Wan frowned slightly as she instinctively warned him.

"Mm, I understand."

Xiao Yan understood. This journey would likely not be safe.

"Oh, right. How are the food supplies?"

Yao Wan suddenly remembered. While she no longer needed to eat, Xiao Yan, who was only a Dou Zhe, could not do the same.

"There is still a month's worth of dried rations in the Storage Ring. That should be enough, right?"

Xiao Yan asked.

"It should be enough."

"Then let us take one final breather. I will refine some antidote pills. The poison marsh will be filled with poisonous creatures, so we must be prepared."

Yao Wan glanced around. This was a desolate wilderness, and it seemed unlikely that anyone foolish enough to provoke them would come by.

"Mm?"

As though he had sensed something, Old Yao's thoughts stirred, and his illusory form emerged from the Storage Ring.

"Teacher? Why did you come out?"

"Curious."

Old Yao spoke frankly. After all, that girl came from the same clan as him. Yet he was merely an abandoned child of the clan, while she was the undisputed Heavenly Pride Daughter.

But in the end, he still could not let it go...

Whether he simply wanted to watch a junior refine pills, or wished to confirm that he was no worse than those of the Yao Clan, whatever his feelings were, they unconsciously urged him to reveal himself.

"That girl is very talented. If you have the chance to watch her refine pills in the future, observe carefully. It will greatly benefit your pill refining later on."

Old Yao said.

"Mm, I understand."

As Old Yao and Xiao Yan spoke, Yao Wan took a massive bronze square cauldron, taller than a person, from her Storage Ring.