Chapter 21: My Surname Is Xiao, My Given Name Is Yixian

It was an Advanced Black Rank Cultivation Method, yet the Old Lord had dismissed it as trash. Somehow, that made perfect sense.

"Improve my cultivation?" Xiao Yan scratched his head, sounding uncertain.

"If you can master the Cultivation Methods I gave you, you'll be unbeatable among your peers, perhaps even able to fight above your level. This Mad Lion whatever-it-is... it's nothing but a shortcut." The Old Lord's voice dripped with disdain.

Xiao Yan's face twitched. "Master, I have attacks, defense, and flame covered. What I lack is a Dou Technique for flying away. Wouldn't it be a shame to throw out Eagle Wings?"

By his reckoning, even the weakest staff technique among the Cultivation Methods the Old Lord had given him was probably above Earth Rank. Master it, and one strike could split a mountain. As for the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts, it was a top-tier Cultivation Method even in the world of Journey to the West. No Heaven Rank Cultivation Method could measure up to it.

But...

He was still a long way from reaching the Dou Wang Realm and forming wings from Dou Qi. He had learned no movement technique in the meantime, and traveling everywhere on foot was a nuisance. Just getting from Wutan City to Qingshan Town had taken him half a month.

What was he supposed to do, ride a horse?

The thought of an old joke from his previous life nearly made Xiao Yan lose it.

"Hmm..." The Old Lord pondered for a while. "Keep it for now, then. I'll help you improve it later."

"Thank you, Master!" Xiao Yan grinned, delighted.

Anything the Old Lord made was bound to be good.

"Who are you talking to?! Don't scare me like that!" Xiao Yi Xian studied Xiao Yan, who stood there in a daze. Rising onto her toes, she waved a slender hand before his eyes, suspicion flickering across her pretty face.

"The remnant soul of an old man in this cave," Xiao Yan said calmly.

"He said there was a map on the skeleton up ahead."

With that, Xiao Yan strode forward and bowed slightly to the skeleton in the cave. He then felt around inside its sleeve and pulled out a dusty sheet of yellowed hide.

"There really is one?" Xiao Yi Xian's beautiful eyes widened. She leaned in to examine the yellowed map with Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan gently brushed away the dust. A damaged Fire Lotus was drawn on it, its color impossible to make out. His eyes lit up. The Purifying Lotus Demon Flame, ranked third on the Heavenly Flame Ranking, was also Xun'er's... Ahem.

"Boring..." Xiao Yi Xian took one look and lost interest. Her attention returned to the herbs she had gathered. Humming to herself, she turned them over in her hands, clearly pleased with her haul.

"All right, let's go." Xiao Yan rubbed the torn map between his fingers, then put it in his Storage Ring.

"Where?" Xiao Yi Xian hesitated. The man was infuriating, and she often wanted to hit him, yet there was something as steady as a mountain about him. He had stirred the stillness of her life for the first time in years.

Now that they were suddenly about to part, she found herself reluctant to leave.

"Back to our own homes, of course." Xiao Yan rested the Mystic Staff on his shoulder and spoke with an easy air.

Xiao Yi Xian's red lips parted. Disappointment flashed through her eyes, but she forced a smile. "Right. I should get back to Qingshan Town. My patients are waiting for me."

"Though..." Xiao Yan stopped and glanced back at her. "I'm planning to train in the Magical Beast Mountain Range. If you're interested, you can come along and have a look."

"Well, I suppose I could take a look." Xiao Yi Xian's eyes brightened. Her skirt fluttered as she trotted after Xiao Yan, a little shy, like a young deer.

Outside the cave.

Several burly men stood waiting, their expressions grim. The two at the front were dressed differently from the men behind them: Gan Mu and Hemon, the second and third leaders of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group.

Hemon frowned. "Second Brother, let's go in and check. I still need to get back and go drinking with the brothers at the Drunken Spring House."

"The young master may already be dead." Gan Mu slowly opened his eyes, a vicious glint flashing in them.

"Stop thinking about women, or you'll end up dying in one's bed. I've already sent word to the leader. He should be here soon. We only need to hold the kid here..."

"What?!" Hemon's pupils contracted sharply.

"Leader Gan, what a grand welcome. I'm flattered." A teasing voice came from inside the cave.

The next instant, two figures emerged slowly from its shadows.

"Brat, so it was you! Xiao Yi Xian, it seems you had a hand in this too." Gan Mu studied them coldly, then curled his lips into a sneer.

"No matter. Once the leader arrives, we'll deal with both of you!"

"Second Brother, a beauty this tender... Why not let the brothers have some fun before she dies?" Hemon swallowed, his eyes gleaming.

"Idiot! That woman handles poison like a master. Make a move on her and you won't even know how you died!" Gan Mu snapped.

"Need my help?" Xiao Yi Xian asked quietly, her brows knitting as she glanced at the members of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group in disgust. "Mu Li's father, Mu She, is a Two-Star Dou Shi, and he's cunning. If—"

Before she could finish, Xiao Yan charged. The Mystic Staff whipped through the air, its movements flowing like a dragon. In a few breaths, the members of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group lay sprawled across the ground and draped over tree branches, dead in miserable heaps.

Both leaders had their skulls smashed.

"Old Lord, am I too quick to kill?" Xiao Yan rubbed his nose. His staff technique still lacked something. He wondered when he would be able to split mountains and seas with a single strike.

Killing would look more presentable then. He wouldn't have to do it like this...

At least the Mystic Staff never held on to blood. After killing Mu Li, he had tried to wipe it clean, only to find the blood held away from the staff by some mysterious force, as though an invisible film covered it.

That saved him the trouble of washing it.

"We Daoists believe in following our nature and our hearts. That doesn't mean doing whatever you please. It means acting true to yourself. If you kill someone, so be it. You won't incur any karmic debt for it, so what are you afraid of?"

The Old Lord smiled. "Don't forget, this isn't..."

Understanding dawned on Xiao Yan. "Thank you, Master. Your disciple understands!"

"..."

"Let's go." Xiao Yan smiled at Xiao Yi Xian, who still stood there stunned.

"You..."

Xiao Yi Xian's eyes were full of shock. Killing Mu Li in an instant was one thing; a Nine-Star Dou Zhe could do that. But Xiao Yan had just crushed several people at the peak of the Dou Zhe level with ease. His cultivation might rival Mu She's.

"I told you. You just didn't believe me." Xiao Yan grinned.

"I'm a Four-Star Dou Shi."

"As if."

The young woman scattered a handful of medicinal powder, dissolving the dozen or so bodies to erase all traces of them, then hurried after Xiao Yan.

"What's your name?"

"Xiao Yi Xian."

"Your real name."

"My surname is Xiao, and my given name is Yi Xian. Happy?"

"Xiao Yi Xian really is your name?"

"Mm-hmm..."