Ice Silkworm Mask, Han Li Expels the Poison

"Oh. I never expected Brother Xiao Yan to have a marriage contract with Old Master Nalan's granddaughter.

I heard that Nalan Yanran was not only beautiful, but also one of the Jia Ma Empire's most outstanding young talents. Yun Yun of the Cloud Mist Sect had taken her as a direct disciple and was grooming her as the sect's future leader.

What a pity that she disappeared. Brother Xiao Yan lost such an excellent wife."

Hearing this, Ya Fei looked astonished. A strange emotion flashed through her peach-blossom eyes as she spoke softly.

What a pity?

It should have been a blessing!

Xiao Yan sneered inwardly. If one could be a normal person, who would want to bear the humiliation of having their engagement annulled?

Although he had once deeply disliked and resented Nalan Yanran, he had imprisoned her for nearly three years now. Xiao Yan had long since let it go.

If his strength allowed it now, he could even release Nalan Yanran from the space.

As for Old Master Nalan, Xiao Yan had no complaints whatsoever. Instead, he felt a trace of guilt.

After all, because he had imprisoned the old man's granddaughter, the elderly man had suffered a severe blow. Xiao Yan bore some responsibility for the outbreak of his Brand Poison.

Besides, there was the reward of the Seven-Colored Spirit Saliva. So Xiao Yan wanted to give it a try.

However, this place was too close to the Cloud Mist Sect, and Xiao Yan did not want to reveal his identity.

"Big Sister Ya Fei, does the auction house have any special items that can alter one's appearance?"

After pondering for a moment, Xiao Yan asked.

"Items that can change one's appearance are extremely rare, but the auction house seems to have one..."

Ya Fei thought for a while before replying with a smile.

She summoned a beautiful maid and whispered a few instructions into her ear.

The maid nodded, then quickly left.

More than ten minutes later, the maid hurried back to the office carrying an exquisite jade box in her hands and placed it on the table.

Ya Fei opened the jade box, revealing a thin layer of skin inside. She smiled and introduced it.

"This was made from the ice silkworm threads spun by an Ice Mountain Snow Silkworm magical beast. Once you infuse it with Dou Qi, the mask will perfectly cover your face. You can also use Dou Qi to make subtle alterations to it."

Xiao Yan was greatly surprised upon hearing this.

He reached out and carefully took the mask from the jade box. It felt icy cold in his hand, as thin as a cicada's wing and nearly weightless.

Xiao Yan gently pressed the mask against his face and circulated his Dou Qi into it. The icy mask immediately wriggled like a living thing and perfectly adhered to his face.

Ya Fei brought over a crystal mirror and placed it before Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan looked at himself in the mirror. His features had not changed, but his skin had become fairer.

Facing his reflection, he began circulating Dou Qi into the mask, "applying makeup" to his face.

Very soon, an ordinary-looking youth with dark skin appeared in the mirror.

Even someone familiar with Xiao Yan would not be able to recognize him now without relying on his aura.

"Brother Xiao Yan, even if you wanted a disguise, did you have to make yourself so ordinary?"

Watching the refined and handsome Xiao Yan turn dark and plain-looking, Ya Fei slightly furrowed her delicate brows.

"Hehe, if I'm disguising myself, I should do it thoroughly. Also, from now on, call me Han Li."

Xiao Yan looked at the figure in the mirror with satisfaction. Even if his father, Xiao Zhan, stood before him, he would not recognize him without relying on his aura.

Ya Fei laughed charmingly. "All right, Brother Han Li. Some time ago, Nalan Su came to the Mittel Auction House looking for Alchemy Masters. I'll write you a letter of recommendation now.

If you can truly cure Old Master Nalan, it will greatly benefit the Mittel Auction House as well. Consider this Ice Silkworm Mask the auction house's reward for you."

With a recommendation letter from the Mittel Auction House, Xiao Yan would avoid much unnecessary scrutiny when visiting the Nalan Clan.

Ya Fei leaned over the desk, holding an ink brush in her slender hand as she wrote on an exquisite card, lending her an air of intellectual elegance.

"Little Friend Xiao, I'll be leaving for a few days to return to my clan."

On the street outside the auction house, Hai Bodong spoke to Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan nodded in agreement.

As one of the empire's three great clans, the Nalan Clan's location was easy for Xiao Yan to find out.

More than half an hour later, Xiao Yan saw the luxurious and massive manor.

At the entrance, several Alchemy Masters dressed in alchemist robes and carrying recommendation letters were being inspected by an old man. Once they passed inspection, he summoned servants to respectfully lead them into the estate.

Xiao Yan was not wearing an alchemist's robe, so when he stepped forward, the old man did not notice him. Instead, the guards tried to drive him away.

He did not get angry. He simply produced the Mittel Auction House's recommendation letter. After verifying that it was genuine, the old man respectfully had a servant lead Xiao Yan into the estate.

After all, with the Mittel Auction House vouching for him, there was no question about Xiao Yan's safety.

Led by the servant, Xiao Yan arrived at a rather spacious hall. At that moment, dozens of Alchemy Masters were seated inside.

At the head of the hall sat a middle-aged man with an exhausted expression. He was Nalan Jie's son and Nalan Yanran's father, Nalan Su.

At this moment, a white-haired Alchemy Master emerged from a side room. Nalan Su immediately rose from his seat and looked at the old Alchemy Master with hopeful eyes.

This was a fourth-tier Alchemy Master, one of the five fourth-tier Alchemy Masters who had come today.

The old Alchemy Master coughed lightly, then shook his head at Nalan Su.

"My apologies, Clan Head Nalan. I brought seven or eight types of antidote pills, but none of them had any effect."

Hearing this, Nalan Su sat back down in disappointment, a bitter smile appearing on his face.

Then another seven or eight Alchemy Masters entered the side room. More than ten minutes later, they emerged awkwardly as well, clearly helpless against the Brand Poison.

At this moment, a maid walked out of the side room and whispered to Nalan Su.

"Clan Head, Old Master has vomited three times already."

Most of those Alchemy Masters' poison-expelling methods involved feeding Old Master Nalan antidote pills, antidote pellets, antidote soups, and the like.

They had failed to expel his poison, but they had practically stuffed Old Master Nalan full with all those pills and soups.

Nalan Su frowned tightly, gave a bitter laugh, and stood up.

"Everyone, Old Master's body has already reached its limit. Let us end things here for today. Those who have not yet tried, please return tomorrow."

"Steward Peng, take them to collect their rewards."

The Nalan Clan's steward, an old man in black robes named Peng Huan, wore a faint smile as he bowed.

"Esteemed Alchemy Masters, please follow me."

The dozen or so Alchemy Masters who had tried to expel Old Master Nalan's poison followed Peng Huan out of the hall. Another five Alchemy Masters headed toward the gate with two maids.

Nalan Su rubbed his right temple, easing the fatigue in his mind.

His daughter had vanished, and his father's poison had flared up. The blows dealt to this middle-aged man were immense.

"Hmm, little brother, you're the Alchemy Master introduced by the Mittel Auction House, aren't you? Why haven't you left?"

At this moment, Nalan Su noticed a black-clothed youth still seated in the hall. After briefly recalling the youth's information, he smiled and spoke.

"My name is Han Li. I would like to try expelling Old Master Nalan's poison." Xiao Yan clasped his hands in greeting.

"Little brother, Old Master's body has reached its limit today. Come again tomorrow."

Nalan Su slightly furrowed his brows, but still spoke with a smile.

Xiao Yan chuckled. He held out his palm, and with a boom, a strand of green flame surged to life. The temperature in the hall rapidly rose.

"A Heavenly Flame?!"

Nalan Su stared in disbelief at the green flame in the youth's hand, then his expression turned ecstatic.

"Lead the way."

Xiao Yan spoke calmly.

Nalan Su hurriedly nodded, his expression respectful as he led Xiao Yan into the side room.

Inside the side room, a gaunt old man lay on a large bed. Two maids stood guard beside it, using handkerchiefs to wipe the vomit from the corners of the old man's mouth.

Xiao Yan walked to the bedside and saw a gray-black tint spreading across the old man's face. Even in his quiet slumber, he already carried the aura of death.

Old Master Nalan could die at any moment.

"Begin. Drive everyone irrelevant out."

Xiao Yan did not even remove his shoes. He stepped directly onto the bed and threw the soft, luxurious quilt onto the floor.

Nalan Su waved his hand, dismissing the servants from the room, then stood silently beside the bed.

"Remove Old Master's upper garments."

Xiao Yan supported the old man with one hand as he spoke.

Nalan Su hurriedly and carefully removed the old man's upper garments, revealing his emaciated body. A trace of pain appeared on his face.

Xiao Yan pressed his right middle and index fingers together, a green flame burning at their tips.

His soul power slowly extended from his body and wrapped around the green flame, isolating its heat. Then, his middle finger lightly pressed against an acupoint on Nalan Jie's back.

The green flame entered Nalan Jie's body. Xiao Yan used his soul power to control it as it slowly moved through his meridians, searching for the Brand Poison that even Dou Emperors feared.

After investigating for a while, Xiao Yan discovered that the Brand Poison had attached itself to Nalan Jie's bones, staining them pitch-black.

Xiao Yan slowly brought the green flame close to the blackened bones, then gradually loosened the suppression of his soul power. The green flame immediately expanded into green fire, and its temperature slowly rose.

As the flame's temperature increased, pain appeared on Nalan Jie's previously motionless face. His withered hands clenched tightly, and veins bulged along his arms.

Xiao Yan frowned. Though his flame control was excellent, Nalan Jie's body was far too weak. It seemed that the Brand Poison could not be completely expelled in one session and would require several treatments. That would be troublesome.

When the green flames began refining the Brand Poison on his bones, Nalan Jie suddenly opened his tightly shut old eyes and let out a pained roar like a beast.

"Old Master..."

Seeing the old man awaken, Nalan Su called out worriedly.

"Old Master, I'm expelling your poison. Endure it. If you truly cannot bear it, speak up."

Xiao Yan spoke calmly as he continued using soul power to control the flames refining the Brand Poison.

Expelling the poison required one to press forward in one go. Otherwise, all previous effort would be wasted, and the suffering would have been for nothing.

Nalan Jie knew his own condition well. If the Brand Poison was not removed, he would undoubtedly die.

Thus, he gritted his teeth and smiled. "Little brother, go ahead and do whatever you must. This old man can endure it."

Time passed, second by second.

Large beads of sweat continuously rolled down Nalan Jie's forehead, while his gray-black face gradually turned pale.

Nalan Su used a handkerchief to wipe the old man's sweat beside him. Seeing the pain on the old man's face, he grew increasingly anxious and uneasy.

"L-little brother, is it done?"

Nalan Jie clenched his fists tightly, his body trembling without pause as he asked in a shaking voice.

Clearly, his body had reached the limit of what it could endure.

"Since you can no longer endure it, we'll stop this treatment here."

Xiao Yan's flame control was incomparably superb, so this poison-expelling session had been rather easy for him.

He withdrew the green flame from Nalan Jie's body, then returned it to the Fire God Space.

Xiao Yan frowned. As the green flame returned to the Fire God Space, he sensed a trace of black substance within it.

"Little brother, is something wrong?"

Seeing Xiao Yan's deeply furrowed brows, Nalan Su's heart lurched as he cautiously asked.

"It's nothing. I'll come again tomorrow."

Xiao Yan shook his head. He needed to return and see what the black substance inside the flames was.

As he spoke, he stepped toward the exit.

"Little brother, why not stay in our residence?"

"No need!"