The Misty Cloud Sect, the Sect Master's Main Hall.
Yun Yun sat at the head of the hall, listening to the reports from Liu Ling and the elder below, her brows slightly knitted.
"Elder Gu He... wants to search for Heavenly Flames?"
"That is correct," Liu Ling replied respectfully from below.
"After my master returned to the sect, he mobilized every intelligence network. Not only is he tracking down that 'Yao Yan,' he is also searching for information on Heavenly Flames throughout the empire."
Yun Yun pondered for a moment, a flicker of complicated emotion crossing her eyes.
She recalled what Xiao Lin had said about "inheritors" that day in the Magical Beast Mountain Range. Gu He's bloodline awakening was clearly one such case, and now he wanted to launch a sweeping search for Heavenly Flames...
"Xiao Lin... Yanran..."
She murmured softly, gazing at the crystal-clear Amethyst Spirit Armor Pill in her hand. Gu He had just sent it over with his disciple, Liu Ling.
When Nalan Yanran reached Da Dou Shi and took it, a layer of amethyst armor would cover her Dou Qi Armor, improving its defense while also granting it some of the power of purple flame.
This was precisely the special effect brought about by adding companion amethyst source!
"Pass down my order." She spoke slowly, her tone leaving no room for doubt.
"The sect's disciples are to assist Elder Gu He and spare no effort in searching for Heavenly Flames."
"Yes!"
The Magical Beast Mountain Range, a small valley.
Watching Yun Yun's dignified, decisive manner, Xiao Lin smiled faintly before withdrawing his gaze.
Inside the house, the dark poison fumes continually leaking out had gradually begun to diminish. Xiao Lin no longer needed to keep the house sealed.
Xiao Yi Xian slowly awoke, feeling a strange energy flowing through the meridians throughout her body.
The energy was as black as ink, yet it brought an indescribable sense of exhilaration, as though the shackles that had confined her for years had finally been shattered!
She instinctively circulated her cultivation method and immediately felt the Dou Qi within her surge like a mighty tide!
"This is..."
Her eyes snapped open, a flicker of disbelief passing through them.
Within her dantian, the seven-colored line had fully awakened, seemingly turning into a raging river of poison that flowed freely through her meridians.
And her Dou Qi cultivation...
"Dou Zhe... nine-star?!"
She cried out involuntarily, her voice trembling slightly with excitement.
From two-star Dou Zhe, she had leaped straight to nine-star Dou Zhe! All because she had taken a single poison!
Even the core disciples of those Central Plains sects might not be capable of such a leap!
Examining herself internally, she discovered that a large amount of medicinal potency still remained unconverted within her, steadily transforming into poison Dou Qi!
"The poison hasn't finished converting yet..."
She murmured to herself, a gleam of wild joy flashing through her eyes.
"That means my cultivation will keep increasing!"
"Congratulations."
Xiao Lin's voice came from the doorway. He walked slowly inside, his green robes fluttering in the mountain breeze.
"Your woeful poison body has officially awakened."
[Target: Xiao Yi Xian] [Cultivation: Nine-star Dou Zhe] [Fortuitous opportunities: Woeful poison body; Snow-Colored Swan Kiss] [Fortune value: 424]
Quite an increase...
Xiao Yi Xian raised her head and looked at that handsome, mysterious face, an indescribable emotion flickering in her eyes.
"Brother Xiao Lin..."
She stood up, intending to thank him, only for her legs to weaken beneath her. She nearly fell.
Xiao Lin flashed forward and caught her. Gentle, warm energy seeped from his palm into her body, slowly calming the restless poison Dou Qi.
"There's no rush. Stabilize your cultivation first."
He spoke calmly, his gaze falling on the scene outside the window.
There, Qing Lin was playfully sparring with the Purple Lightning Viper. The Dou Qi fluctuations around her were considerably stronger than they had been half a month ago.
Beside him, however, Xiao Yi Xian suddenly remembered something. Dazed, she felt the ink-black poison Dou Qi rushing through her meridians.
As that energy spilled outward, even the air along its path gave off wisps of corrosive black smoke, as though she had become a walking source of poison.
"I..."
She lowered her head to look at her hands. Blood vessels were faintly visible beneath her fair skin, lending them an eerie, dangerous beauty.
"Brother Xiao Lin..."
She suddenly looked up, undisguisable fear and vulnerability flashing through her eyes.
"Have I... become very frightening?"
Xiao Lin paused slightly.
An achingly pale look had appeared on Xiao Yi Xian's delicate, ethereal face.
She instinctively retreated half a step, putting distance between herself and Xiao Lin, as though terrified that the poison fumes around her might touch him.
"This poison... even I'm a little afraid of it."
Her voice trembled, her eyes reddening slightly. "If I'm even a little careless, I might hurt little sister Qing Lin..."
"Will you... will you distance yourself from me because of this, too?"
She bit her red lip, tears shimmering in her eyes, but stubbornly held them back.
"After all... after all, I now carry a terrible calamity..."
Xiao Lin watched her quietly, his double pupils rotating slightly, as though seeing through her show of strength to the vulnerability and unease beneath.
He stepped forward slowly. Before Xiao Yi Xian could react, he raised his hand and gently rested it on her head.
"Mm..."
Xiao Yi Xian stiffened. His palm felt warm and smooth as jade, carrying a reassuring warmth that even slowly soothed the restless poison Dou Qi within her.
"Silly girl."
Xiao Lin's voice was low and gentle, filled with an unquestionable certainty.
"Do you think I'd be afraid of this?"
He pressed his palm down slightly and rubbed her head, the gesture natural and affectionate.
"Your poison Dou Qi may be strong, but it can't harm me in the slightest."
"But..."
Xiao Yi Xian looked up, tears circling in her eyes, yet stubbornly refusing to fall.
"Don't believe me?"
The corners of Xiao Lin's lips rose slightly. He suddenly reached out and clasped the wrist of the hand from which she was trying to release Dou Qi, purple-black mist curling around it.
"Brother Xiao Lin! Don't!"
Xiao Yi Xian cried out and tried to pull free, only to feel a warm yet overbearing energy pour from his palm, instantly suppressing every last bit of restless poison Dou Qi within her!
What shocked her even more was-
The moment that black poison Dou Qi touched Xiao Lin's meridians, it melted and dissolved like ice and snow beneath a warm sun, without stirring even a single ripple!
"What! How... how is that possible?!"
Her pupils contracted sharply as she stared at the sight before her in disbelief.
Xiao Lin remained calm, as though he had merely done something utterly insignificant.
"I told you. Your poison still can't hurt me."
He released her hand. A wisp of heavenly Dao energy flowed around his fingertip, dispersing all the lingering poisonous mist.
"So... there's no need to keep worrying."
Xiao Yi Xian stared at him blankly, the tears in her eyes finally spilling over.
They were not tears of sadness, but of relief, as though a massive stone that had weighed on her for so long had finally crashed to the ground.
"Thank you..."
Her voice choked, yet carried a trace of joy she could not suppress.
Several days later, the Misty Cloud Sect's Intelligence Hall.
A white-robed disciple hurried inside, holding a Communication Jade Slip in his hands, his face filled with excitement.
"Master!"
"The sect's disciples have sent word. A Heavenly Flame may have appeared in the Tagor Desert!"
Gu He abruptly rose from his seat, his eyes blazing.
"The Tagor Desert?"
"That's right!" Liu Ling replied respectfully.
"According to the Misty Cloud Sect disciples investigating near the Snake-People Tribe, strange phenomena seem to have appeared deep in the desert recently. The temperature changed abruptly, and that area became unbearably hot in an extremely short time!"
"And..."
He paused briefly, then lowered his voice.
"Queen Medusa of the Snake-People Tribe has also been appearing deep in the desert frequently these past few days. She seems to be searching for something."
"Medusa...?"
A trace of gravity flashed through Gu He's eyes.
That woman was a peak Dou Emperor, notorious for her ferocity. Even the Misty Cloud Sect treated her with considerable wariness.
But a Heavenly Flame...
He gritted his teeth, the fervor in his eyes growing ever more intense.
"Make the preparations. I'm going to the Tagor Desert myself!"
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