Drawing a Map, Giving a Gift

Nalan Chenfeng lifted his teacup and took a light sip, his gaze calmly resting on Xiao Yi Xian.

"You think I'd believe that kind of nonsense?"

A trace of mockery rose on Xiao Yi Xian's smooth, pretty face as her red lips curled disdainfully.

Over the past few years, she had done everything she could, consulting every medical tome she could access, and had found the reason why poison erupted from his body at regular intervals.

Rumor had it that there was a calamitous constitution known as the Woeful Poison Body. Those with this constitution would suffer periodic outbreaks of poison, with no possibility of a cure.

In the end, anyone with this constitution would die when the poison body spiraled out of control.

And not only that—they would drag down those around them as well.

"You haven't even reached the Dou Zhe realm, so naturally you wouldn't believe there's a solution."

Nalan Chenfeng smiled faintly. Then he raised his hand, and as Dou Qi surged, a longsword condensed directly in his palm.

"You should understand what level of strength it represents when Dou Qi can take solid form."

As soon as he finished speaking, Nalan Chenfeng lightly flicked his hand. The Dou Qi in his palm dissipated into nothingness, and an oppressive aura that left Xiao Yi Xian breathless spread outward.

"A... a Dou Ling expert!"

Xiao Yi Xian stared intently at Nalan Chenfeng with her clear, bright eyes, her face filled with disbelief.

A Dou Ling expert at such an age was simply unimaginable.

"Can you believe me now?"

The corners of Nalan Chenfeng's lips lifted slightly, carrying a hint of confidence.

The difficulty of helping Xiao Yi Xian solve her problem depended on his own strength. Moreover, she was still far from the day when her poison body would fully mature and become uncontrollable.

"Nalan... Nalan Chenfeng..."

Xiao Yi Xian was stunned for a long while before she suddenly seemed to recall something.

"I..."

"Wait, you said your name was Nalan Chenfeng... You're that genius from the Nalan Clan?"

More than three years ago, an exceptionally dazzling genius had emerged from the Nalan Clan, one of the Jia Ma Empire's three great families. At the age of ten, he had successfully condensed a Dou Qi vortex and advanced into the Dou Zhe realm.

Looking across the history of the entire Jia Ma Empire and its neighboring empires, such a monstrous talent was unprecedented. She had often heard mercenaries and merchants talking about him.

She just had not expected that someone even younger than her would come looking for her of his own accord today.

And judging from the Dou Qi strength he had displayed just now, that pressure far surpassed the few Dou Shi experts in Qingshan Town. His Dou Ling strength was beyond doubt.

A thirteen-year-old Dou Ling... that kind of talent and potential...

"I didn't expect that after leaving the Jia Ma Empire for a few years, my reputation would have spread all the way here. A tall tree catches the wind..."

Nalan Chenfeng paused slightly, then mocked himself.

Everyone knew of the Jia Ma Empire's three great families. It was hardly strange for his name to spread, but he had not been in Jia Ma these past few years, so he knew nothing of it.

Xiao Yi Xian did not respond. Instead, she fell silent, her dark, gleaming eyes blinking as she wondered about something.

"What, you still don't believe me?"

Nalan Chenfeng pressed again.

"Even if you're very strong, if I truly have the Woeful Poison Body, it'll be difficult to control. Even Dou Emperors and Dou Zong experts can't solve it..."

"On the Dou Qi Continent, it seems no one has ever successfully controlled a Woeful Poison Body."

Xiao Yi Xian twisted her sleeve with her jade-like hands, not daring to look at Nalan Chenfeng.

Qingshan Town was very close to the Chu Yun Empire, and things from that empire often made their way over. Aside from medical tomes, the Myriad Medicine Hall also had several poison manuals concerning Poison Masters.

Poison Master was a profession deeply despised in the Jia Ma Empire.

Yet to become a good physician, one had to know how to cure poison. In those poison manuals, a constitution called the Woeful Poison Body was revered as a divine body.

And everything that had happened to her seemed to prove that she possessed such a constitution.

Still, the information available to her had been limited, so she had never been able to fully confirm it. But if the person before her said so, it was most likely true.

"You can become the first."

Looking at the pitiable Xiao Yi Xian, Nalan Chenfeng smiled encouragingly.

"Then why do you want to help me?"

Xiao Yi Xian raised her head, her clear black eyes fixed on Nalan Chenfeng as if trying to find the answer on his face.

"What do you think?"

Nalan Chenfeng did not answer. Instead, he asked a question in return.

Some things did not need to be spelled out. Xiao Yi Xian should have been smart enough to understand.

"You can't possibly be..."

Xiao Yi Xian thought for a moment. A blush spread across her pretty face, and she hesitated to continue.

Someone so young, so powerful, with limitless talent and potential, should not have had any reason to associate with someone like her.

Other than this body of hers, there was probably nothing about her worth his attention.

"You guessed correctly, but that's something for the future. It's too early to speak of it now."

"I called you out this time mainly to ask for a map of the Myriad Medicine Hall's herb-gathering route into the Magical Beast Mountain Range."

Nalan Chenfeng looked through the window toward the distant Magical Beast Mountain Range.

Xiao Yi Xian was a physician at the Myriad Medicine Hall. When entering the Magical Beast Mountain Range, she could not possibly stray too far from the mercenary party. Therefore, the cave she had discovered in the original world should have been near the Myriad Medicine Hall's herb-gathering route.

So long as he searched according to the map, with his Dou Ling strength, he would be able to find that treasure-filled cave within a few days.

"A herb-gathering route map?"

Xiao Yi Xian froze, surprise surfacing in her dark, sparkling eyes.

She had thought that the man before her would take the opportunity to make that kind of demand. She had not expected him to merely ask for a map into the mountains.

"What, is it inconvenient?"

Nalan Chenfeng looked at Xiao Yi Xian and asked.

"Not really. Many mercenaries in Qingshan Town know that route, so it isn't a secret."

Xiao Yi Xian hesitated. "The Myriad Medicine Hall's herb-gathering route was set by the steward. I don't have a complete map, but I can draw you a rough one here."

"A rough one will do."

Nalan Chenfeng took out a blank sheet of paper from his Storage Ring, along with a brush and ink, and pushed them in front of Xiao Yi Xian.

Xiao Yi Xian glanced at Nalan Chenfeng without asking what he needed it for. She dipped the brush in ink and bent over the table to begin drawing.

The tip of the brush rustled across the paper. Starting from the Myriad Medicine Hall, the route bypassed the two mountain peaks north of Qingshan Town, passed through several distinctive forests and mountains on the outskirts of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, and extended all the way inward.

Xiao Yi Xian drew very carefully, marking every water source and every area where magical beasts were active. She even clearly noted what grades of magical beasts appeared along each stretch of the route.

After drawing for nearly half an hour, Xiao Yi Xian set down her brush and handed over the map, pointing with her slender finger at an area marked with second-tier magical beasts.

"Our Myriad Medicine Hall usually only goes as far as this area. Further in, second-tier magical beasts begin appearing, and it's too dangerous. Even with mercenaries protecting us, the herb-gathering team won't go there."

"Thanks."

Nalan Chenfeng put the map Xiao Yi Xian had drawn into his Storage Ring, rose to his feet, and thanked her.

With this herb-gathering route map, finding that treasure cave would become much easier.

And his time was limited. He had to find it before returning to Jia Nan Academy. He could not miss this Inner Academy selection tournament no matter what.

"It's nothing."

Xiao Yi Xian rose with him and shook her head.

Drawing a route map was not much trouble.

"I should be leaving. This Wind-Walking Grass is the main ingredient for refining the third-grade Wind-Walking Pill. If you take it back to the Myriad Medicine Hall, you should receive a good reward."

Nalan Chenfeng smiled. His dark eyes flickered as he raised his hand and took a jade box from his Storage Ring.

During more than a year of training in the Black-Corner Region, he had acquired quite a few miscellaneous items. Though none were especially valuable, if they were placed in Qingshan Town, they would be enough to make countless people fight over them.

"Wind-Walking Grass?"

Xiao Yi Xian froze for a moment, then her pretty face filled with delight.

The Myriad Medicine Hall did not have many medicinal ingredients used to refine third-grade pills. Each time the herb-gathering team entered the mountains, it was rare for them to obtain such spiritual herbs.

High-grade medicinal ingredients were often guarded by high-grade magical beasts. Spiritual herbs like Wind-Walking Grass were commonly protected by second- or third-tier magical beasts.

That level of strength was beyond comparison to the mercenaries hired by their herb-gathering team.

So if she brought this Wind-Walking Grass back to the Myriad Medicine Hall, it could count as a contribution and allow her to advance to become a physician of the Myriad Medicine Hall sooner.

"Take it..."