Time flew by. Two months of life in the Imperial Capital had brought Xiao Yi Xian plenty of benefits, and her combat strength had made a qualitative leap. From being crushed at the first clash, she had now reached the point where she could stand toe-to-toe with Xiao Chen.
Though part of this was the boost her improved strength brought to her cultivation, it also served as proof of just how powerful the Woe Poison Body was.
"Xian'er's about to break through to Dou Ling, isn't she? This can't go on. I need to speed up my cultivation too!"
Xiao Chen looked at Xiao Yi Xian, sitting cross-legged on the bed as she refined her Poison Pill, and suddenly felt a sense of crisis. He finally understood the saying, "The field never wears out from plowing; it's the ox that drops dead." A true maxim was a true maxim—it held up in any world.
As he thought, Xiao Chen's gaze fell on Xiao Yi Xian's legs again. Mm... The Woe Poison Body really is so fair. No, no, what am I thinking?
"Xiao Chen, Xiao Chen, you can't sink this low. You have to get stronger, become an Emperor, ascend to the Great Thousand World and become a ruler, and leave your name on the Firmament Ranking. Keep going—you're the best!"
Xiao Chen suppressed the urge rising within him. But just as the thought had formed, Xiao Yi Xian opened her eyes on the bed. "Brother Xiao Chen, I feel like I've gotten stronger again. Want to spar with Xian'er?"
"...6! How is anyone supposed to play this without a nerf?"
Xiao Chen swallowed, and a scene of two little figures fighting popped into his mind.
[Angel Celestial]: Have you forgotten what you just said? Stay true to yourself! Don't let beauty tempt you. A gentle embrace is a hero's grave!
[Demon Imp]: What are you babbling about? I want to watch the training! Skip ahead to the training!
[Angel Imp]: What the—? You really don't care about the River Crab God?
[Demon Imp]: Quit yapping and hurry up. A real man should... Mmph...#~&%￥*(Try covering my mouth if you dare)!!!
After a painful struggle within himself, Xiao Chen decided he couldn't go against his true nature. He should follow his heart.
[Angel Imp]: Didn't you say your true nature was to get stronger? You call this following your heart?
[Demon Imp]: Hey! That was lesson one. Now he's learned lesson two!
[Angel Imp]: ????
"Sure! Don't cry when you lose!"
Xiao Chen punched the Angel Imp into oblivion, then pounced on Xiao Yi Xian like a tiger swooping down from the mountain. But he hadn't expected her to be ready. She used the golden cicada shedding its shell, flinging her clothes away in an instant and dodging his fatal strike.
When Xiao Chen's attack missed, he turned and pinned Xiao Yi Xian down. A Nine-Star Great Dou Master was still a little weak in front of a Dou Wang. Even with both hands and feet, she couldn't do him any harm.
Seeing Xiao Chen's imposing momentum, growing stronger the longer they fought, Xiao Yi Xian had no choice but to use her trump card. Her body itself held little advantage in terms of physical strength. Her true advantage lay in poison—that was the terror of the Woe Poison Body.
Xiao Yi Xian gave a soft grunt, clamped her legs together, and exerted herself, locking Xiao Chen in place so he couldn't escape. Then she spat a stream of poisonous liquid over him.
"Hiss! You wicked woman! How could you use such a despicable trick to hurt me?"
Xiao Chen winced in pain and couldn't help drawing a sharp breath. A fierce glint flashed through his eyes. Since Xiao Yi Xian had used poison, he couldn't be blamed for doing the same. Poison? It wasn't as if he didn't know how to use it.
As the saying went, medicine and poison were inseparable. The Poison Pills he'd been refining all this time hadn't been for nothing. Besides, Xiao Yi Xian had the Woe Poison Body. Was his any different?
His Woe Poison Body was no weaker than Xiao Yi Xian's. After all, it had been copied from her. Thinking this, Xiao Chen stopped holding back, determined to teach Xiao Yi Xian a lesson she wouldn't forget.
A cold smile curled Xiao Chen's lips. He activated his Woe Poison Body, sped up his attacks, and suddenly released a dense mass of poison while she was off guard.
Caught unprepared, Xiao Yi Xian was hit. A large amount of poison entered her body, its terrifying toxicity rapidly invading the nerves in her brain. Even the Woe Poison Body couldn't absorb it.
In moments, Xiao Yi Xian had lost control of her body and collapsed limply to the ground. "Brother Xiao Chen, you cheated! We agreed not to use the Woe Poison Body!" Xiao Yi Xian glared at Xiao Chen, cheeks puffed in anger, her eyes full of resentment at her defeat.
"Xian'er, you were the one who cheated first. How can you blame me?"
Xiao Chen shrugged. His gaze at Xiao Yi Xian was full of teasing. "You're only a Nine-Star Great Dou Master, yet you actually dared to challenge a Dou Wang. Do you know your mistake now?"
"Hmph! Brother Xiao Chen clearly cheated. Otherwise, how could I have lost?"
Xiao Yi Xian got up from the ground. Xiao Chen's poison was indeed powerful, but in front of the Woe Poison Body, even the strongest poison was useless.
Though Xiao Yi Xian couldn't refine it, she could use her poison Battle Qi to force it out of her body. That gave her the chance to fight again.
"Still stubborn, huh? Since Xian'er's mouth is so hard, I'll keep at it until you can't talk back!"
Seeing that Xiao Yi Xian still refused to admit defeat, Xiao Chen pulled out a stick and swung it hard at her mouth.
Xiao Yi Xian never expected Xiao Chen to launch such a sudden attack. With no time to defend herself, she was struck squarely.
At that moment, Xiao Chen had no thoughts of sparing a beauty. He wanted nothing but victory. The stick in his hand came down like a shower of raindrops, beating Xiao Yi Xian until she couldn't even speak.
Xiao Yi Xian whimpered in frustration and said, her mouth full of childish indignation, "Damn it, I'm not giving up just like that. Once I become a Dou Ling, I'll get my revenge!"
"If you want to beat me, then train hard!"
Xiao Chen smiled triumphantly, but his thoughts were quite different. That battle had put him under tremendous pressure.
Xiao Yi Xian was improving too quickly. Her strength and combat ability were both growing by leaps and bounds. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before he really lost to her. No, I really can't slack off anymore. That Demon Imp messed with my head!
[Demon Imp]: You son of a—how can you have no conscience when you say that? You... Let me ask you something! Let me ask you something! Are you even human?
"Let's refine a Dou Ling Pill, and make some Tier Five Poison Pills to boost my strength while I'm at it!"
Xiao Chen's mind was calm as still water. This was the perfect state for refining pills; it would be a waste not to take advantage of it.
(So why did Xiao Yan get better and better at alchemy after getting married, even surpassing Yao Chen? I think I've found the reason!)
The Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame condensed into a pill furnace. The Fallen Heart Flame and Green Lotus Core Flame tempered several different medicinal herbs inside it. If a high-tier alchemist had been here to see this, they would probably have been left gaping in shock. Xiao Chen actually intended to refine several different kinds of pills at once.
That was right: at the same time. And he wasn't controlling several pill furnaces at once, either. He was refining different pills in the very same furnace. An act like this would probably overturn the entire world view of that crowd of alchemists.
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