Qin Chen was the first to leap into the hole in the ground. After hesitating for a moment, Xiao Yi Xian followed closely behind.
Even as he walked through the passage, Qin Chen did not lower his guard. Only after using the corpse to confirm that there was no danger did he dare proceed.
"Why weren't you this cautious earlier?" Xiao Yi Xian asked softly, her voice carrying a hint of teasing.
Qin Chen chuckled and answered without looking back, "The situation is different now. These materials can block soul perception, so naturally we have to be careful."
They had yet to encounter any traps. It had to be said that the owner of this cave had far better character than the Creation Saint.
That damned Creation Saint refused to let others rest even after his death, setting up so many lethal traps in his ruins. Even his own skeleton would rise up to kill people.
Just look at the magnanimity of the Pure Lotus Demon Saint and the Yellow Springs Demon Saint. Even if others failed to obtain their inheritances, they would not casually condemn them to death. No wonder the Creation Saint remained nothing more than a Low-Grade Dou Sheng until he died!
He had gotten off track...
The underground passage was not long. At its end lay a cramped secret chamber. In the center stood a stone platform, upon which rested a pale purple ring that glimmered with a dim violet light. Its characteristics as a High-Grade Storage Ring were obvious.
Beside the Storage Ring lay a palm-sized green stone.
"Gastrodia Jade Essence!" Qin Chen blurted out the instant he saw it.
He quickly stepped forward and carefully cradled the Gastrodia Jade Essence in his palm. Feeling its cool yet warm touch, Qin Chen let out a soft breath.
The stone was covered in strange patterns, and its surface was somewhat translucent. Within it, one could vaguely see viscous pulp slowly flowing.
In the original story, it was precisely because of this, along with two other heavenly treasures, that Xiao Yan had managed to turn the tide at the Pill Gathering, defeat Mu Gu in one stroke, and win the championship.
Although Xiao Yi Xian did not recognize the stone's origins, Qin Chen's expression told her that it was extraordinary. She could not help asking curiously, "What is Gastrodia Jade Essence?"
"Oh, it's a very precious medicinal ingredient. If it is blended with Earth Core Soul Marrow and Pill Spirit Pulp, it can greatly strengthen one's soul power."
After confirming that it was indeed Gastrodia Jade Essence, Qin Chen smiled. "I'm an alchemist, and strengthening my soul power is extremely important to me. This belongs to me. You don't have any objections, right?"
"You're an alchemist?"
Xiao Yi Xian was genuinely shocked this time. She knew Qin Chen was powerful, but she had never imagined that he had such an identity as well.
"What? I don't look like one? Not only am I an alchemist, I've even reached Tier 6."
Qin Chen shrugged and said half-jokingly, "Could it be that, in your eyes, all high-level alchemists should be a bunch of old men? Or should they all be full of arrogance?"
"Pah!"
Xiao Yi Xian's cheeks reddened slightly. She gave a soft, reproachful spit and said, "I never thought that. I was just a little surprised. Since you want it, take it."
Though she said that, Xiao Yi Xian still found it hard to believe. Someone around her own age was already a Tier 6 Alchemist. Such talent was simply terrifying!
Thinking of how her attributes prevented her from becoming an alchemist, a trace of melancholy could not help rising in Xiao Yi Xian's heart.
As for the Storage Ring on the table, when the two opened it, they discovered many precious items inside.
However, they were of little use to Qin Chen at his current level. A High-Grade Storage Ring was far more practical.
After taking the pill formulas and casually selecting several Earth Grade cultivation methods and Dou Techniques, Qin Chen stuffed everything else into Xiao Yi Xian's hands.
Although many of those things were of little use to Xiao Yi Xian as well, they could make things much easier for her when she established the Poison Sect. After all, a newly founded sect needed resources to attract experts.
If nothing else, they could always be traded away.
Woeful Poison Body
There were no corpses in the secret chamber. Perhaps the cave's owner had met with misfortune while leaving and had been unable to return.
Qin Chen guessed that the cave's owner had likely been facing some kind of crisis at the time, so he had temporarily hidden his lifelong savings here, intending to return for them after the turmoil had passed.
After silently analyzing the situation, Qin Chen looked at the girl beside him. "Xiao Yi Xian, what are your plans from here on?"
Xiao Yi Xian's delicate brows furrowed slightly. "Why are you asking?"
"Would you like to come train with me in the Magical Beast Mountain Range?"
Qin Chen smiled lightly. "Green Mountain Town isn't suitable for you anymore."
"Uh..."
After a moment of silence, Xiao Yi Xian shook her head. Her red lips parted as she said, "Thank you for the offer, but I don't have such plans for now."
She had only known Qin Chen for a few hours. Compared to the perilous Magical Beast Mountain Range, she still preferred the peaceful life of Green Mountain Town.
"Ah..."
Qin Chen let out a deep sigh. After silently cursing himself, he slowly said, "Can you give me the Seven-Colored Poison Manual?"
Though puzzled, Xiao Yi Xian still took the seven-colored scroll from her Storage Ring and handed it to Qin Chen.
"Take a look."
Qin Chen flipped the seven-colored scroll to its final section before returning it to Xiao Yi Xian.
Xiao Yi Xian took the scroll and looked at the contents written in the Poison Manual with confusion.
"Woeful Poison Body: an unusual poison body capable of rapidly increasing one's strength by devouring poisons. The method of identifying a Woeful Poison Body is a thin seven-colored hidden line on the lower abdomen. This seven-colored line will grow as the concentration of poison power contained within the body increases. When the line extends to the heart, the Woeful Poison Body will reach its strongest state. At the same time, however, one will suffer the agony of ten thousand poisons devouring the body."
As the words on the scroll entered her eyes, Xiao Yi Xian's face instantly turned deathly pale. Two clear tears silently slid down her cheeks, and even the hands clutching the scroll began to tremble slightly.
That seven-colored hidden line, the agony of ten thousand poisons devouring her body... Every word and every sentence was like an icy dagger stabbing fiercely into her heart, leaving her almost unable to breathe.
She had always thought that she merely possessed a special constitution and was more resistant to poison than ordinary people. She had never imagined it could be this terrifying.
She had once accidentally discovered the hidden seven-colored line on her lower abdomen. At the time, she had only found it strange and had not given it much thought. Only now did she learn that it was the mark of a Woeful Poison Body.
At that thought, Xiao Yi Xian's eyes filled with fear and despair. The peaceful life she had always longed for seemed to have been utterly shattered at this moment.
"Hehe..."
In the end, Xiao Yi Xian let out a dry laugh, filled with indescribable bitterness and self-mockery.
Looking at the girl before him, her face ashen, Qin Chen did not immediately try to comfort her. He knew that any words now would be pale and powerless. Xiao Yi Xian could only slowly come to terms with this cruel truth herself.
"So you already knew I had a Woeful Poison Body."
Xiao Yi Xian raised her head, her voice slightly hoarse. "What are you planning to do with me now? Kill me to rid the people of a menace?"
"Kill you?"
Qin Chen burst out laughing. "Why would I kill you?"
Seeing Qin Chen's amused expression, Xiao Yi Xian's tears paused. "My constitution will bring disaster to countless people. Aren't you afraid?"
By the end, a trace of hope she herself had not noticed rose from deep within her heart.
"Afraid?" The smile on Qin Chen's face widened. "If I were truly afraid, would I still have held you in my arms?"
"You!" A blush instantly spread across Xiao Yi Xian's cheeks, and much of the sorrow in her heart dissipated.
Qin Chen gave a shameless grin and continued, "As for the misfortune you mentioned... hehe, if I had a Woeful Poison Body, I'd be thrilled."
"Hm?"
Xiao Yi Xian tilted her head, her clear eyes full of confusion. She was beginning to wonder whether this man was deceiving her.
Meeting Xiao Yi Xian's gaze, Qin Chen explained, "Although the Woeful Poison Body is dangerous, it is itself the source of all poisons and can contain every poison in the world. If this power is properly mastered, it will not become a calamity. Instead, it will become an incredibly powerful aid."
"But... but the Poison Manual says that the Woeful Poison Body cannot be controlled at all." Xiao Yi Xian bit her red lip tightly.
Qin Chen waved his hand dismissively and said mockingly, "What the Poison Manual records is merely the compiler's own view. This so-called inability to control it only means that his knowledge was too shallow."
"Is there really a way to control the Woeful Poison Body?" Xiao Yi Xian's voice trembled, as though a drowning person had caught hold of a thread of hope.
"Of course there is."
After a pause, Qin Chen slowly said, "As far as I know, there are two methods to control the Woeful Poison Body. One is the Poison Pill Method, and the other is the Netherworld Poison Flame."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yi Xian swiftly searched through her memories for information about those two methods.
Yet even after searching through every memory she possessed, she found nothing about either method. She asked in confusion, "What are this Poison Pill Method and the Netherworld Poison Flame?"
"The Poison Pill Method can gather all the accumulated toxins in your body and condense them into a Poison Pill, thereby achieving control over the Woeful Poison Body."
"Although I don't have this secret method in my hands yet, I know where it is. I'll find a way to get it for you."
After thinking for a while, Qin Chen said somewhat uncertainly, "As for the second method, it is only my guess. The essence of a Woeful Poison Body's outbreak is that the host absorbs too many toxins, causing the body's strength to fall behind and become unable to withstand the toxins' corrosion and backlash."
"As for the Netherworld Poison Flame, it is a Heavenly Flame that feeds on toxins. If it can be used to absorb the excess toxins within your body, it should be able to control your Woeful Poison Body."
The materials required for the Poison Pill Method were far too astonishing for the current Xiao Yi Xian, so Qin Chen did not tell her the details.
"Poison Pill Method, Netherworld Poison Flame..."
Xiao Yi Xian softly repeated the two names, her eyes filled with confusion.
She had never heard of either method. She did not know whether the Poison Pill Method was truly feasible, nor did she know how to find such an elusive Heavenly Flame.
Qin Chen saw Xiao Yi Xian's worries and patted her fragrant shoulder. "Don't be so pessimistic. I'll help you. Even if you don't believe in yourself, you should believe in me, right?"
"Why are you so good to me? I'm just a poison master everyone detests."
Recalling everything that had happened since they met, Xiao Yi Xian's clear eyes were filled with confusion. The young man's kindness left her at a loss. This was nothing like what a stranger she had only recently met should do.
Qin Chen had no intention of hiding it. Instead, he smiled frankly. "Just as I said earlier, I desperately desire the supreme power of a Woeful Poison Body. Therefore, I can only settle for the next best thing and seek someone who possesses a Woeful Poison Body."
Then Qin Chen leaned close to Xiao Yi Xian's ear and gently breathed out warm air. "I wonder if that reason is enough, my dear little beauty..."
Fostering Feelings
"You!"
Warm breath brushed past her ear, and Xiao Yi Xian instinctively stepped back half a pace. A trace of panic flashed through her beautiful eyes before she shot Qin Chen a reproachful glare. "Hmph! You lecher!"
"What are you thinking now? Do you want to remain as you are, or awaken the Woeful Poison Body?" Qin Chen asked.
"Ah..." Xiao Yi Xian shook her head. "I don't know. My mind is a mess right now."
"Then take this time to think it over carefully."
"Mm."
Three days later, outside Green Mountain Town.
A delicate-looking young man slowly made his way forward. His entire body was drenched in sweat, and a black massive ruler completely disproportionate to his build was strapped to his back. With every step he took, yellow dust splashed up from the ground.
"Damn it, this thing is way too heavy." Xiao Yan panted as he complained.
The black ruler Yao Lao had given him was not only heavy in itself, but also suppressed the flow of Dou Qi within his body. Carrying it as he walked was simply torment.
"Hard training must look like hard training. If you cannot even endure this little hardship, how can you become strong?"
Before you continue