Five-Year Agreement?

Under the warm sunlight, a gentle breeze fluttered the gray robes with a rustle. The smooth fabric clung tightly to the masked woman's body, outlining breathtakingly perfect curves.

Mu Chen neither dodged nor retreated as he met Jun Chenxi's gaze. The woman before him possessed the power to kill him with ease. Yet, judging from what he had heard before being poisoned, her decision not to kill him might have something to do with the "Poison Core Method" he had revealed.

"Such dense poison. This woman is practically the source of all poisons. It's obvious she's doing her utmost to restrain it.

Otherwise, if the poison within her were allowed to spread, every living thing within dozens of miles would likely perish.

The poison she gives off feels somewhat similar to Xiao Yi Xian's, only far stronger. Could it be... that she also possesses a Woeful Poison Body?"

Mu Chen was startled by the thought that flashed through his mind. A Woeful Poison Body was absolutely rare in this world. How could they appear one after another like bamboo shoots after the rain?

"I can see a shrewdness in your eyes that does not belong to someone your age. So, take a guess. What do I want?"

Her voice remained hoarse and dry, utterly mismatched with the graceful body she had revealed. However, the danger had yet to pass, and Mu Chen would not let his mind wander toward useless thoughts.

"If I'm not mistaken, what you want is a specific method to save a Woeful Poison Body.

The poison accumulated within your body is probably unmatched across the continent.

Even with the strength of a Dou Venerate, you cannot completely suppress such vast amounts of poison. Every moment, wisps of poison leak from your body.

You are already showing signs that your poison is about to lose control.

Given all that, are you, like Xiao Yi Xian, someone with a Woeful Poison Body? Or do you possess a poison-type constitution similar to hers?"

Mu Chen leaned more toward the latter possibility. Whether she possessed a Woeful Poison Body or not, if she wished to survive, she had to use the Poison Core Method to control the poison in her body.

The alluring masked figure let out a soft, charming laugh. Mu Chen automatically ignored the unpleasant rasp within it and waited solemnly for what came next. Yet inwardly, he was anxious. Having his life and death controlled by someone else was truly suffocating.

"The Poison Core Method is an exquisite concept. I need to know every detail of it. Do not include a single unnecessary word. You would not want to witness my methods."

Beneath the mask, Jun Chenxi's violet eyes narrowed slightly. The space imprisoning Mu Chen immediately tightened, and immense pressure bore down on his body. His bones creaked, and thin trails of crimson blood slowly slipped from the corners of his mouth.

"Consider this punishment for those irritating eyes of yours wandering around."

Mu Chen immediately mobilized the Dou Qi within him and switched his attribute to Wood Attribute, using it to offset the pressure crushing his body. However, his Dou Qi was rapidly depleting. His efforts were no more than a drop in the bucket.

With a bitter expression, Mu Chen had no choice but to explain the "important" details he knew about the Poison Core Method. Then, like a salted fish, he waited for Jun Chenxi's decision.

Not long after, Mu Chen felt his entire body loosen. The spatial pressure binding him vanished without a trace.

"Three Heavenly Flames. You have a way to refine three Heavenly Flames and keep them within your body?" Jun Chenxi asked doubtfully.

Those violet eyes continuously examined the youth before her. Aside from being a little more handsome than most, he did not seem particularly remarkable.

Here it comes, Mu Chen thought. He had known she would ask about this crucial point.

Everyone knew that Heavenly Flames were naturally repulsive toward one another. Even a Dou Venerate expert could not contain two different Heavenly Flames within their body. Such an act was no different from suicide! This was a conclusion countless madmen across the continent had paid for with their lives over the ages.

"Forgive me, but I cannot tell you. Senior only needs to understand that throughout the Dou Qi Continent, I alone can fuse multiple Heavenly Flames into one body."

Mu Chen spoke without blushing or skipping a beat. The person before him could never know about the Flame Mantra, nor could she know about Xiao Yan. Mu Chen had to fabricate his importance into something unique. Only then could he retain even a little initiative in the conversation to come.

Neither humble nor overbearing, Mu Chen kept his eyes fixed on Jun Chenxi's every movement. Seeing no reaction from her, he continued, "In other words, I alone can save Senior's life.

"I am not using this opportunity to threaten Senior. I merely wish to reach an equal agreement with you. Please spare Xiao Yi Xian and me. I will certainly do everything in my power to help Senior control the poison within your body."

"Equal? Hehe, a mere Dou Master like you actually dreams of speaking of equality with a Dou Venerate!"

Jun Chenxi laughed as though she had heard the funniest joke in the world. Yet as she laughed, her voice suddenly turned cold. "The lives of you two are in my hands now. Why should I discuss this so-called equality with you?

"What does your uniqueness matter? I, Jun Chenxi, have never accepted threats.

"If you cannot be of value to me, then death is your only fate."

As the final word fell, Mu Chen suddenly felt his body fly forward beyond his control. His vision blurred, and a slender hand like white jade clamped tightly around his throat. Deadly poison mixed with a sandalwood-like fragrance flooded into his nose and mouth.

Mu Chen gritted his teeth. Since he had chosen to take a hard stance, he would never allow himself to display such contemptible weakness.

He locked eyes with those star-like violet eyes, and a ruthless thought rose in Mu Chen's heart. He decided to gamble everything.

Damn it. When a man dies, that's all there is to it; if he doesn't, he'll live for ten thousand years.

If one day I ascend to the Ninth Heaven, I'll pin this woman beneath me and XXOO her.

A stubborn curve tugged at Mu Chen's lips. He deliberately closed his Origin Space and allowed the poison to spread through his body. The agony twisted his features as sweat poured down him like water.

He forced his eyelids open, refusing to let them close, and kept his eyes locked on those violet eyes.

Purple-black blood sprayed from Mu Chen's mouth. Yet when the blood came within a foot of Jun Chenxi, it evaporated completely, leaving not even a trace behind.

Just as his consciousness was about to fade and fall into an endless abyss, Mu Chen felt the hand around his throat loosen. Immediately afterward, a palm struck his chest and sent him flying.

However, the owner of that palm controlled her force perfectly and did not harm Mu Chen in the slightest. Moreover, the moment her palm touched his chest, the poison raging through Mu Chen's body was drawn out.

Cough, cough!

Mu Chen coughed violently, then spat out a mouthful of clotted blood lodged in his throat. His pale complexion improved somewhat. He forced himself upright, greedily breathing the outside air. A hideous curve pulled at his lips. Mu Chen knew he had won the gamble.

Mu Chen instinctively reached out and caught it. What shot toward him was the Battle Emperor Power Card.

"Five years. Within five years, come to Heavenly Poison Spirit Mountain in the Central Plains and help me control my poison.

"I will spend the effort to gather the Magic Core of the Heavenly Poison Scorpion Dragon Beast and the Bodhi Body-Transformation Saliva. You will have to find the Heavenly Flames yourself.

"I have not left any means within your body. However, I am taking your little girlfriend with me. She will inherit my legacy. Perhaps she will not even need five years before she faces the same crisis of a poison body eruption as I do.

"I am betting on the feelings between you two. If I lose, then I was blind.

"Do not think that having the initiative means you can choose to ignore this. I may not have long to live, but I can guarantee that before I die, news of your ability to contain multiple Heavenly Flames in one body will spread throughout the entire Dou Qi Continent.

"You decide what to do."

After taking one deep look at the bedraggled yet stubborn youth, Jun Chenxi stepped forward. Ripples like water spread through the space before her, and a pitch-black spatial gate opened. With a wave of her hand, Jun Chenxi brought Xiao Yi Xian, who looked like a sleeping beauty, into the gate.

After the spatial gate disappeared, Mu Chen gazed expressionlessly at the spot where Xiao Yi Xian had vanished. His fists tightened. With his lips pressed together and without saying a word, he turned and walked toward Black Rock City.