Taking Control of Fate

In the cold, desolate universe, crystal-diamond-like stars were embedded in the pitch-black heavens.

At some unknown time, the silver moon had risen high. Everything behind the Xiao Clan was silent, save for the occasional beastly roar that startled infants who had just fallen asleep.

Inside the cave, Xiao Yan lay sprawled on the ground with lifeless eyes, his mouth hanging open as he gazed at the starry sky, as though he were about to die.

Xiao Yi Xian smiled at the sight and took out the only two soul-restoring herbs she had from her Storage Ring.

The moment the herbs appeared, their faint medicinal fragrance was enough to make one feel refreshed and invigorated with a single breath.

As if sensing something, Yao Chen drifted before Xiao Yi Xian with a gleam in his eyes and eagerly asked, "Brat, are these two herbs for me?"

Looking at Yao Chen, who was right in front of her and had completely abandoned all dignity, Xiao Yi Xian felt rather helpless. Where had his previous bearing gone?

Hadn't he looked like an immortal sage just moments ago?

Xiao Yi Xian swayed the herbs from side to side. Yao Chen's eyes remained fixed on them as he followed his beloved medicinal ingredients with his gaze.

"Catch!"

Xiao Yi Xian directly tossed the herbs away. Yao Lao shot out with a whoosh like a little dog, then held the herbs before Xiao Yi Xian and showed them off.

A glint flashed through Xiao Yi Xian's eyes as she extended her fair little hand, clearly intending to take the herbs back.

Seeing her posture, Yao Lao threw Xiao Yi Xian a flirtatious glance and said with a smile, "I'm going back into the ring to refine these herbs. We can discuss anything later."

Yao Lao immediately transformed into a wisp of white smoke and slipped into the Storage Ring on Xiao Yan's chest to refine the herbs.

Seeing what had just happened, Xiao Yan remembered that this beautiful young lady before him was an expert. That meant she should have quite a bit of money too, right?

"Big sis, lend me some money, waaah..."

Xiao Yan directly hugged Xiao Yi Xian's leg, looking up at her with a tearful expression. From their earlier conversation, he knew that the girl before him really was a young girl.

She was only a few years older than him, and her cultivation was not that terrifying either—she was only a Dou Zhe. It was just that she seemed to possess some secret technique...

Seeing Xiao Yan like this, black lines once again appeared across Xiao Yi Xian's forehead. Raising her fist, she gave him a wild beating while saying nonstop, "You want to borrow money? Sure. I'll give you some for free in a moment..."

"Help!"

A familiar miserable scream spread out from the cave, while Xiao Yan's Storage Ring suddenly flashed with a faint light.

Inside, Yao Lao, who was refining the herbs, sensed the scene outside and smiled.

He also realized that they could be considered members of the same camp. Later, he would have to have a proper talk with Little Yan...

If they could win over the last remaining heir of the Xuan Yuan Sect, perhaps...

After venting her anger, Xiao Yi Xian obediently kicked Xiao Yan out of the cave and tossed him a money pouch.

"Hehehe!"

Holding the pouch and feeling its weight, Xiao Yan smiled. At least the beating had not been for nothing.

Yao Lao's forehead twitched with black lines at this sight. He could not help wondering whether taking Xiao Yan as his disciple had been the wrong choice.

After casually tidying up the stone cave, Xiao Yi Xian sat cross-legged on the stone bed. Now that she had established ties with the protagonist's group, all that remained was to follow the plot.

Their relationship was bound by mutual interests. Yao Lao would surely have a proper talk with Xiao Yan, especially since she possessed information about Heavenly Flames.

Xiao Yan had only recently had his engagement broken off, and the plot had only just begun. What she needed to do now was raise her own cultivation.

Techniques suited for the Calamity Poison Body were especially rare. If she wanted to refine poison quickly, a cultivation technique was extremely important.

The cultivation of Dou Qi merely involved absorbing Dou Qi to nourish the body and meridians, while becoming a Dou Zhe was the process of Dou Qi forming a vortex.

If one relied solely on the cultivation methods of the Dou Qi stage to condense a vortex, it would be far too slow.

Cultivation techniques generally had one or two functions, specifically drawing in Dou Qi of matching attributes.

For example, if one possessed fire-attributed Dou Qi but cultivated a wind-attributed technique, then the energy circulated through the technique would be wind-attributed, completely incompatible with one's body. It could even cause one to explode and die.

In other words, cultivation techniques helped one specifically absorb Dou Qi of a certain attribute. Heaven and earth contained all kinds of Dou Qi, while cultivation at the Dou Qi stage could use any attribute.

A Dou Zhe was equivalent to the Foundation Establishment realm in cultivation. One's attribute was like a spiritual root. If one's foundation was chaotic and incompatible with oneself, there would be no possibility of advancing further.

A suitable cultivation technique could transform the surrounding Dou Qi into an attribute suited to oneself, thus providing the foundation to grow stronger.

The strength of a cultivation technique also determined the size of the vortex, the amount of Dou Qi it could hold, and its quality.

The foundation cultivated through a Yellow-rank technique was fundamentally imperfect and unstable, and its vortex could hold very little Dou Qi.

Earth-rank and Heaven-rank techniques, on the other hand, were far more perfect. Their Dou Qi capacity far surpassed that of lower-ranked techniques.

If a Yellow-rank technique was a cup of water, then a Heaven-rank technique was a river. The difference between them was enormous.

As someone with the Calamity Poison Body, Xiao Yi Xian possessed only Poison Dou Qi within her body. Cultivation techniques for Poison Dou Qi were extremely rare across the entire continent.

There was no other reason—it harmed both others and oneself...

The Seven-Colored Poison Scripture she had obtained before was also a mid-grade Profound-rank technique, and it allowed her to absorb Poisonous Gas more quickly.

But now, that was not the only technique she could cultivate. She had obtained an ancient inheritance, and among it was an attribute-less cultivation technique.

The Sword Canon was a sword cultivator's technique. It cultivated matching Sword Qi within the body, and it was also a rankless technique.

How strong it could become depended entirely on its cultivator. Sword Qi was inherently the sharpest of energies, even surpassing metal-attributed Dou Qi.

If she cultivated the Sword Canon, poison-attributed Sword Qi would appear within her body. To increase the strength of that Sword Qi, she would still have to rely on her poison.

A single strand of her Sword Qi would be impossible for anyone below the seventh stage of Dou Qi to resist. They would either die to the sword or be poisoned to death.

It possessed both the sharpness of Sword Qi and the power of poison. It was simply the best possible choice.

And the Xuan Yuan Sect she had mentioned before was no joke either. After all, a single person's strength was limited.

Still, all of that would have to wait until she became stronger. Without strength, everything was merely empty wishful thinking.

"Phew!"

Xiao Yi Xian let out a breath. Since she had thought it through, her immediate priority was cultivating the Sword Canon. Ever since breaking through to Dou Zhe, she had spent all her time traveling and had barely cultivated.

A cultivation technique was deeply imprinted in her mind. Profound characters continuously drew closer to her, while the Dou Qi within her body circulated through her extraordinary meridians and eight channels.

The Dou Qi followed the technique's path for one cycle, then made another circuit through the sword case before finally returning to the vortex in her lower abdomen.

If she wanted You Su to grow stronger and become as nimble as an extension of her arm, she had to nurture it through everyday cultivation. It might even be possible to raise a sword spirit.

As the sun rose in the east, Xiao Yi Xian stretched her slender waist. After cultivating for an entire night and consuming quite a bit of poison, her cultivation had reached the level of a three-star Dou Zhe.

Though she had only risen by one star, her strength was already several times greater than before.

Xiao Yi Xian brought two fingers together, and purple Dou Qi coiled endlessly around them. Compared with her previous Dou Qi, it now contained an aura of sharpness.

With a flick of her fingers, she pierced straight through a large tree not far away. The lingering Dou Qi even continued to corrode the tree.

Xiao Yi Xian smiled at the sight. Now, she finally had the power to take control of her own fate.

She even wanted to shout aloud, "My fate is mine, not Heaven's!"

She had finally seen a path forward and was no longer lost...

The clear blue sky mirrored her mood, while her purple hair glimmered faintly beneath the morning sun.

From afar, a gaze watched Xiao Yi Xian's figure with a peculiar light in its eyes...