"Join the Misty Cloud Sect?" Xiao Yi Xian was quite startled by Xiao Lin's suggestion.
"Brother Xiao Lin, are you a member of the Misty Cloud Sect? An elder?"
Xiao Lin shook his head, his blue robes swaying gently in the gloom. "No."
"..."
"Then..."
"Just wait."
He spoke mildly, his voice carrying an unquestionable certainty.
"The time isn't ripe yet. Saying more would serve no purpose."
Xiao Yi Xian stared at him blankly, doubts gathering like clouds in her mind, yet she had no idea where to begin asking.
Brother Xiao Lin seemed shrouded in a mysterious mist. The closer she drew, the harder it became to see the truth.
"As for cultivating your poison body... I suggest you start now."
Xiao Lin shifted the subject, his tone growing solemn.
"The awakening of the woeful poison body poses little danger in its early stages. You can use the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture to develop poisons that will accelerate your cultivation."
"If you have no talent for cultivation, even joining the Misty Cloud Sect won't give you access to what its higher ranks possess. Unless you're an Inheritor yourself-but if you aren't a core disciple, revealing that identity won't do you any good."
"As for the Snow-Colored Swan Kiss, any poison that comes into contact with it will multiply in potency hundreds or thousands of times. Don't rush to use it."
Xiao Yi Xian looked thoughtful at his words, then nodded gently.
"No wonder the Misty Cloud Sect has only publicly acknowledged four Inheritors so far."
After pondering for a moment, Xiao Yi Xian suddenly looked as though understanding had dawned on her. Her voice was quiet:
"The current sect master, Yun Yun; the young sect master, Nalan Yanran; the grand elder Yun Leng's grandson, Yun Xiaotian... and Elder Gu He, a Sixth-grade Alchemist and honorary elder, who is rumored to be an Inheritor as well."
At Xiao Yi Xian's mention of Gu He, Xiao Lin raised his eyebrows slightly and smiled, as though he had recalled something pleasant.
"Brother Xiao Lin, what are you smiling about?"
Xiao Yi Xian tilted her head and asked curiously.
"Nothing... You just said Gu He was suspected of being an Inheritor too. Why is that?"
"Oh, here's what happened." With Xiao Lin asking a question, Xiao Yi Xian had no time to press her own and began recounting everything she knew.
"According to rumors that spread from the Misty Cloud Sect a while ago, Elder Gu He suddenly felt his cultivation speed increase inexplicably one day, and a strange mark appeared between his eyebrows..."
"They don't know what the mark does, nor are they certain whether it's an inheritance, but the people of the Misty Cloud Sect insist it is, so..."
"I see..."
Listening to Xiao Yi Xian's explanation, Xiao Lin couldn't help giving an amused smile.
"They say that in the distant Central Plains, only people with special bloodlines awaken a clan mark between their eyebrows. This Gu He is probably a descendant of some race whose people ended up far from home."
"Never mind. It doesn't have much to do with us. Pack everything up, and let's go."
"All right!"
Watching Xiao Yi Xian strip the Cave Abode bare, putting everything from medicinal herbs and the Stone Boxes containing Dou Techniques to gold coins into her Storage Ring, Xiao Lin nodded slightly and turned toward the stone chamber's entrance.
Suddenly, as though remembering something, he paused and spoke slowly. "Right, that skeleton..."
"The skeleton?" Xiao Yi Xian froze, then followed his gaze.
In the center of the stone chamber, the skeleton seated cross-legged on a chair gleamed a ghastly white beneath the light of the moonlight stones.
"Check his right arm," Xiao Lin said mildly. "Some things are hidden rather deeply."
Puzzled, Xiao Yi Xian stepped forward and sent Dou Qi into the skeleton's right arm.
A moment later, her pupils abruptly contracted-hidden inside those stark white bones was a thin scroll!
The parchment was made of a special material that had resisted decay through the years. A mysterious lotus pattern was drawn upon it, resembling a blazing sea of fire...
"This is..."
"The Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame Fragment Map," Xiao Lin said evenly.
"The Purifying Lotus Demon Flame ranks third on the Heavenly Flame Ranking. Clues to it are hidden in this Fragmented Map. Keep it safe. Someday... it may prove useful."
Deeply shaken by what she heard, Xiao Yi Xian hurriedly placed the Fragmented Map inside her Storage Ring.
She gazed at Xiao Lin's back, gratitude and awe mingling in her eyes, and felt more than ever that this mysterious young man's background was unfathomable.
"Let's go." Dou Qi Transformation into Wings slowly unfurled behind Xiao Lin. "Qing Lin is still waiting for us."
Deep within the Magical Beast Mountain Range, in a poisonous swamp.
Qing Lin sat cross-legged on a slab of bluish stone, her little face pale but her eyes resolute.
Four serpentine figures coiled around her-the Rock Snake, Jade Phosphorous Serpent, Purple Lightning Viper, and Rot-Bone Mud Snake.
Her Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils glimmered faintly beneath the moonlight, the Three Green Flower Marks rotating slowly as though gathering some sort of power.
"Qing Lin, are you ready?"
Xiao Lin's voice rang out as he handed her a pitch-black pill.
"This is a Soul-Concentrating Pill. It can temporarily increase your Soul Force and steady your mind, helping you control a Fifth-Order magical beast."
Qing Lin gently took the pill and nodded firmly. "Young Master Xiao Lin, I'm ready!"
She lifted her eyes toward the depths of the poisonous swamp.
There, a massive figure slithered slowly along. Its entire body was black as ink, its scales gleaming with a cold metallic sheen. Wherever it passed, even the poisonous swamp was corroded into wisps of white smoke.
A Fifth-Order magical beast—the Branding Iron Poison Seal Python!
In the original story, Nalan Yanran's grandfather, Nalan Jie-the head of the Nalan clan, the Jia Ma Empire's Lionheart Marshal, and a Dou Wang expert-had once fought an exceptionally venomous Branding Iron Poison Seal Python.
Although he had ultimately killed it, he had also been infected with brand poison, which seared itself deep into his bones and even his marrow.
Relying on his powerful Dou Qi, Nalan Jie had kept the poison suppressed. As he aged, however, its backlash grew increasingly fierce, until the brand poison finally erupted in full and he collapsed completely.
In the end, it had taken Xiao Yan wielding heavenly flames to slowly purge the poison from Nalan Jie's body.
The one before them was likely that magical beast's offspring, and it had now grown to the level of a Dou Wang.
"Go ahead."
Xiao Lin stepped back, heavenly Dao energy circulating around him and enveloping the entire area.
"I'll keep the situation under control. Just focus."
Qing Lin took a deep breath and swallowed the Soul-Concentrating Pill.
Instantly, a cooling sensation poured in through the crown of her head, and her Soul Force surged severalfold!
Her eyes snapped open, her Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils suddenly lighting up as the Three Green Flower Marks burst with an unprecedentedly brilliant, eerie radiance!
"Hiss-!!"
The Branding Iron Poison Seal Python abruptly raised its head, a flicker of terror crossing its scarlet eyes.
It felt a suppressive force rising from the depths of its bloodline-the presence of a natural enemy to its very soul!
"Control it!"
Xiao Lin barked, heavenly Dao energy surging out like a tide and pinning the Branding Iron Poison Seal Python firmly in place.
Qing Lin's slender body trembled, her Soul Force draining at a frantic pace. A Fifth-Order magical beast's resistance was several times fiercer than a Fourth-Order beast's!
She felt as though dozens of venomous snakes were tearing at her mind at once. Her body shook violently, her head threatening to split, yet she clenched her teeth and refused to give up.
"I can do it... I know I can!"
She murmured to herself, her voice quiet but filled with unquestionable resolve.
The eerie light of her Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils grew ever more brilliant, finally enveloping the Branding Iron Poison Seal Python's eyes completely.
The enormous python's wildly struggling body gradually stiffened. A mark emerged on its forehead, while a trace of jade green slowly spread through its scarlet eyes...
"It worked..." Qing Lin smiled weakly, swayed, and fell backward.
Xiao Lin rushed forward and caught her in his arms. The girl's little face was pale as paper, the three flowers in her eyes dull and lightless. Clearly, she had exhausted her Soul Force and fallen unconscious.
"She overexerted herself and needs a few days of quiet rest. It's nothing serious." After examining her, Xiao Lin understood her condition and spoke calmly.
Hearing this, Xiao Yi Xian, standing nearby, let out a small breath of relief.
But just then-
BOOM!!!
An earth-shaking explosion thundered from the heart of the Magical Beast Mountain Range!
The entire world trembled. Violent waves of Dou Qi swept in every direction like a hurricane, even blasting the poisonous liquid in the swamp high into the sky!
"Human woman, why have you come to disturb this king's rest?"
Before you continue