Poison Flame Emerges

For Xiao Yan, who was merely a Dou Zhe, Yao Wan had long been prepared for the possibility that he might be poisoned quickly. She just had not expected it to happen so soon.

It seemed she had still underestimated the power of the poison swamp.

Yao Wan sighed softly, then glanced at Xiao Yan's fingertips, where black veins had already begun to creep upward.

"Fortunately, the symptoms are only mild. Open your mouth."

Yao Wan exhaled a breath of foul air, then took out a pill from her Storage Ring, one different from the Clear Spirit Pills she had refined earlier.

Xiao Yan obediently opened his mouth and saw Miss Wan raise her hand and toss the pill directly into it.

The pill melted as soon as it entered his mouth. Its medicinal fragrance seeped into his lungs and organs, clearing Xiao Yan's mind almost instantly.

"Don't overthink it. Circulate your cultivation and refine the medicinal power."

Just as Xiao Yan was spacing out, Yao Wan's voice immediately snapped him back to his senses.

"Mm!"

"Spirit Cleansing Pill?"

"By the way, Old Yao, can you sense where the Nether Poison Flame is?"

"Don't rush... Just in case, take a few more Spirit Cleansing Pills. Their effects are a little weaker than the Clear Spirit Pills I just refined, but until we find the Nether Poison Flame, there's no need to waste the Clear Spirit Pills."

Xiao Yan froze. Miss Wan was far too perceptive—he had not even said anything.

Only then did Old Yao's voice pull Xiao Yan out of his brief daze.

"Mm...?"

"Hehe, of course. When the time comes, I'll protect this brat. Don't worry about us."

Crack—

"But if I really end up fighting that fire spirit, I may not be able to protect Xiao Yan. Old Yao, I'll have to trouble you then."

Xiao Yan could not help but speak up.

When those soft, slender jade fingers clasped his hand in her palm, Xiao Yan blinked. It was rare for him to be so at a loss.

Yao Wan could not help asking.

"Most Heavenly Flames may condense a fire spirit to protect themselves. Girl, are you confident?"

Xiao Yan nodded and immediately circulated the Fen Jue, setting the Dou Qi within his body flowing once more.

In the southern part of the Netherworld Poison Swamp, at the very deepest point beneath the swamp, a cluster of deep purple-green flames burned quietly. Then, as though it had suddenly sensed something, it began to blaze violently.

"That's because every word you want to say is written all over your face, brat."

Yao Wan said softly.

It sounded like the bamboo strips on the bamboo hat snapping in the wind, yet it was too indistinct to hear clearly.

"...I found it."

"However, there seems to be something south of the poison swamp that makes the Bone Spirit Cold Flame feel hostile."

"South of the poison swamp..."

Xiao Yan immediately grew irritated. Why did this old man always have to undercut him?

"Alright, the effects of the Spirit Cleansing Pill should last about a day. Let's keep moving. Even though the Netherworld Poison Swamp is still slowly shrinking, it is still far too vast for us. The Nether Poison Flame will probably not be so easy to find."

"Did you discover something?"

Old Yao stroked his beard, merely telling Yao Wan to set her mind at ease and not let them hold her back.

Xiao Yan opened his black eyes tinged with red and spoke.

Then Xiao Yan experienced the speed a Dou Wang was supposed to possess.

But the Netherworld Poison Swamp was enormous. How long would it take her to search it alone?

At that thought, Yao Wan suddenly remembered that Old Yao seemed able to sense the location of Heavenly Flames as well.

After a moment of silence, Old Yao sighed from within the Storage Ring.

As the fierce wind blew, Xiao Yan looked at Yao Wan's profile. The bamboo hat on Miss Wan's head was battered by the violent gale, and the black veil before her face swayed restlessly as well.

Old Yao sighed and said, "Heavenly Flames are things born of heaven and earth. They are both violent existences and wonders among all things."

They had merely been ordinary items Yao Wan had casually bought by the roadside. Asking them to withstand such violent winds was indeed a little too much.

As soon as she finished speaking, before Xiao Yan could say anything, Yao Wan grabbed his hand.

Xiao Yan froze. Perhaps everything had happened too suddenly, leaving him unable to react in time.

Yao Wan then drew back her spiritual perception. With the formidable soul strength of a Heavenly Soul, nothing within a thousand li could escape her "eyes."

"Let's go!"

Old Yao asked. Unlike Xiao Yan, he naturally understood just how dangerous and terrifying things like Heavenly Flames could be.

Yao Wan handed Xiao Yan a jade bottle and said,

Thus, Yao Wan could only turn to Old Yao for help.

Beneath the bamboo hat and black veil, the girl's gaze burned brightly.

"Don't look at me like that. Helping you is one thing, but I don't want you getting used to relying on me. If I'm not around someday, would that not leave you unable to do anything?"

"A mere twentieth-ranked Heavenly Flame on the Heavenly Flame Ranking is not enough to do anything to me. Don't worry."

Yao Wan shook her head. Since they had already come this far, there was no turning back after drawing the bow. They had no way out now.

"Alright... no problem. Let's continue on."

The Living Flame showed no reaction, perhaps because it had not yet matured...

As Dou Qi guided the medicinal power through his limbs and bones, the numbness in Xiao Yan's extremities gradually faded, making him breathe a sigh of relief.

The girl's light, melodious voice, like a singing bird's, denied it by his ear.

"This place is filled with deadly poison. The Nether Poison Flame is hidden within it, so I can't sense anything either..."

"Such things are often hidden very deeply. Besides, the Poisonous Barrier here is far too thick and heavy. It will not be easy for the girl to find it..."

For now, she could only protect Xiao Yan while searching for the Nether Poison Flame.

"Mm... I understand, Miss Wan."

Her spiritual perception covered the entire Netherworld Poison Swamp, yet she found nothing unusual. The place was filled with nauseating poisons; even touching the slightest bit would be troublesome enough.

Xiao Yan was stunned, unsure whether what he had heard was truly real or merely an illusion.

Yao Wan did not answer immediately. Instead, she unwillingly searched again and again.

"...No."

Old Yao could not help saying from within the Storage Ring.

Sensing Xiao Yan's gaze, Yao Wan sharply noticed something and could not help warning him.

As Yao Wan used Dou Qi to shield Xiao Yan's body, she spread her wings and tore through the heavy clouds hanging down from the sky.

Xiao Yan subconsciously muttered, "Miss Wan really can take out any kind of pill whenever she wants."

As the poison flame deep within the swamp stirred, the entire surface of the swamp churned with it. Countless poisonous creatures were forced out of the water, and dense black-purple poisonous smoke began to rise.

"That is—"

The black-purple poisonous smoke fused with the poison flame, weaving itself into enormous wings. Then, a black poisonous dragon covered in scales and armor flew out from the poison swamp.