Qing Lin's eyes lit up at his words.
"That's right! Sister Xiao Yi Xian needs highly poisonous things to cultivate!"
She clapped excitedly. The three flower patterns in her emerald eyes abruptly spun, and a dim ray shot from her pupils.
"Come out!"
Space warped slightly, and an enormous jet-black python appeared out of thin air.
The Branding Iron Poison Seal Python was dozens of yards long, its body black as ink. Its scales gleamed with a cold, metallic sheen, and wherever it passed, even the ground corroded, giving off wisps of white smoke.
Yet at that moment, this fifth-rank magical beast was as docile as a cat. A trace of emerald shone in its scarlet eyes, and a rune appeared on its forehead. Clearly, the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils had brought it completely under control.
"Hiss-"
It lowered its enormous head, flicking its tongue as it gave a low hiss.
"Be good, Little Iron. Spit out some venom."
Qing Lin stood on tiptoe and patted the Branding Iron Poison Seal Python's head with her little hand, speaking as though she were coaxing a pet.
After spending so much time with these magical beasts, Qing Lin was no longer afraid of them and had even grown quite affectionate toward them.
At her words, the Branding Iron Poison Seal Python parted its enormous jaws, and a stream of ink-black venom slowly flowed out.
The venom fell into the jade bottle Xiao Yi Xian had prepared beforehand with a sizzling sound. It even left faint marks of corrosion inside the bottle, though none leaked through its walls.
"That's enough, that's enough!"
Qing Lin hurriedly stoppered the bottle and cradled it carefully in her hands, her little face brimming with pride.
"Sister Xiao Yi Xian, look!"
She turned and ran toward another part of the valley, where Xiao Yi Xian was crouching among the flowers, quietly gathering herbs.
Xiao Yi Xian looked up at her call. A pale green kerchief held back her dark hair, with a few loose strands hanging beside her ears, making her lovely face look all the gentler and more charming.
A flower basket hung from her arm, filled with medicinal herbs of every kind. A little dirt had stained her pale white dress, but it did nothing to diminish her ethereal grace.
"Is this... venom from the Branding Iron Poison Seal Python?"
She took the jade bottle and sniffed it gently. A flicker of delighted surprise immediately crossed her eyes.
"What a potent poison! It's stronger than any of the poisons I've learned about in the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture so far!"
"Of course!"
Qing Lin puffed out her little chest, looking proud.
"It's venom from a fifth-rank magical beast!"
Xiao Yi Xian smiled with pursed lips, her eyes full of warmth.
"Thank you, little sister Qing Lin. With this venom, the poisons I concoct will be even more fearsome."
She turned and headed out of that part of the valley, her pale white figure appearing and disappearing among the flowers and grasses until she stopped before a wooden cottage.
Over the next half month, a rare peace and warmth settled over the little valley.
Every morning, Xiao Yi Xian would tie on her kerchief and carry her flower basket out along the valley path to gather herbs, looking like a beautiful young village girl.
Her steps were light and her figure graceful. Whenever she returned, her basket was filled with medicinal herbs of every kind.
"Brother Xiao Lin, little sister Qing Lin, it's time to eat!"
Standing before the thatched cottage, she called in a voice as gentle as the breeze, drawing back Qing Lin, who was cultivating, and Xiao Lin, who was supervising her.
On the table, simple wild vegetable porridge, roasted beast meat, and stir-fried vegetables had all been made into dishes rich in color, aroma, and flavor.
Qing Lin always ate until grease shone around her mouth, a satisfied smile spreading across her little face.
"Sister Xiao Yi Xian's cooking is even better than the mercenary company's cook's!"
Xiao Lin turned nothing down either. Whatever the food, he ate it bite by bite, calmly and elegantly.
Xiao Yi Xian rested her chin in her hand and watched them with smiling eyes.
She noticed that neither Xiao Lin nor Qing Lin had ever shown the slightest worry, unease, or suspicion toward her cooking because she practiced poison arts.
Their gazes remained as clear as water, filled with heartfelt trust and acceptance.
That trust quietly melted a tender place deep within her heart.
"Brother Xiao Lin, this soup... I made it with mushrooms I just picked. Try some."
She pushed a steaming bowl of soup toward Xiao Lin, a hint of anticipation in her eyes.
Xiao Lin raised his eyes and glanced at her, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
"All right."
He lifted the bowl and drained it without so much as furrowing his brow.
The light in Xiao Yi Xian's eyes grew brighter, and her smile grew gentler.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
Inside the thatched cottage, dozens of jade bottles stood before Xiao Yi Xian, their various venoms, poisonous powders, and Poison Pills neatly arranged.
At the very center lay a blood-red jade bottle. An ink-black liquid flowed within it, exuding an aura that made the heart tremble.
It was the Ten Thousand Snakes Heart-Rending Powder, which Xiao Yi Xian had spent half a month painstakingly concocting, using the Branding Iron Poison Seal Python's venom as its main ingredient and supplementing it with several deadly substances recorded in the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture.
Its potency was such that a Dou Ling would die upon contact.
Even a Dou Wang struck by it could only resist with Dou Qi. Once their Dou Qi ran out, the poison would immediately kill them.
"So... it's finally time to begin..."
She murmured softly, a flicker of apprehension crossing her eyes, though it was outweighed by a resolve to smash the cauldrons and sink the boats, leaving herself no retreat.
She took a deep breath and gripped the jade bottle tightly in her palm.
"Sister Xiao Yi Xian..."
Qing Lin stood in the doorway, her emerald eyes filled with worry.
Though she knew nothing of poison arts, she could sense the terrifying aura contained within that jade bottle. Even the fourth-rank Rot-Bone Mud Snake inside her pupil space seemed to be trembling.
"Are you really going to drink it?"
Xiao Yi Xian turned to look at Qing Lin's little face, so full of worry, and curved her lips into a gentle smile.
"Don't worry. I'll be fine."
Her voice was soft, yet it carried an unquestionable firmness.
"Brother Xiao Lin said that the Poison Pill Method, the Poison Flame Method, and the Heavenly Poison Pearl could all help me control my body..."
"But before that, I have to gain control over the poison inside me."
Without further hesitation, she pulled out the stopper and drained the ink-black venom in one gulp!
"Ngh-!"
The instant the venom entered her stomach, it became a raging torrent that ravaged her body!
Xiao Yi Xian's slender body suddenly went rigid. Her face contorted in an instant, and cold sweat poured down like rain.
Wherever the deadly poison passed, it felt as though countless steel needles were piercing her meridians at once, while her flesh was burned and eaten away by raging flames!
"Aah-!!"
She threw back her head and let out a piercing scream, her voice hoarse with indescribable agony.
She curled up on the floor, her slender body shaking violently. Her pale white dress was soaked with sweat and clung tightly to her skin.
"Sister Xiao Yi Xian!"
Qing Lin cried out and tried to rush forward, only for Xiao Lin to scoop her up and toss her out the door.
A violent poisonous mist surged from Xiao Yi Xian's body, corroding even the ground into deep pits wherever it spread!
"Don't go near her."
Xiao Lin's calm voice rang out. At some point, he had appeared beside Qing Lin, Heavenly Dao Energy circulating around him and keeping all the poisonous mist at bay.
"The poison is too potent. Its conversion into Poison Dou Qi inside her body will take time."
His Double Pupils rotated slightly as he saw through everything happening inside Xiao Yi Xian's body.
"Passing out for a while is actually better for her."
Sure enough, Xiao Yi Xian's screams gradually weakened, and the trembling of her slender body slowly subsided.
Her eyes were tightly shut, her face as pale as paper. A black trace of venom remained at the corner of her mouth as she sank into a deep coma.
"She'll be all right, won't she?"
Qing Lin looked up, tears shimmering in her emerald eyes.
"Of course."
Xiao Lin rubbed her head, then turned his gaze toward Xiao Yi Xian, a hint of anticipation flashing in his eyes.
"When she wakes, she'll be reborn."
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