Once the pill was ready, Yao Ling returned control of the body to Xiao Yan, then went back into the Storage Ring.
Xiao Yan glanced down at the pill in his hand, then turned toward Yun Yun, who was sitting on the ground, and said,
"The pill is ready, but taking it alone won't be enough to break the seal on you. We'll need to use an ointment as well to remove the seal completely."
Yun Yun froze for a moment at his words, then asked,
"An ointment? Where does it need to be applied?"
When Yun Yun asked, Xiao Yan did not beat around the bush. He told her plainly.
"The place where the Amethyst Winged Lion King wounded you is where the sealing power is most concentrated, so you'll need to take off your clothes and apply the ointment to the wound."
Seriously? He actually wants me to take off my clothes and have ointment applied to the wound? Won't he see everything, then?
At that thought, Yun Yun's face flushed, and embarrassment crept over her.
Although she was no longer particularly young, she had never experienced intimacy, so such a request inevitably left her shy and at a loss.
After all, she was the dignified Misty Cloud Sect Master, a Three-Star Dou Emperor, yet she had never undressed in front of a man. Moreover, the young man before her was only fifteen or sixteen, which made her feel all the more embarrassed.
"Um... could we do this another way? Could I just take the pill, for example?"
Xiao Yan shook his head at her question.
"The pill can only dissolve part of the sealing power from within. But the Amethyst Winged Lion King's sealing technique struck your body directly. If you rely on the pill alone, it'll probably take ten days to half a month to recover."
"If you can wait, then I don't mind."
At his words, Yun Yun fell silent for a moment, then bit her lip and finally nodded.
"All right, then... sorry for the trouble."
Yun Yun turned her back to him and slowly removed her outer garment, leaving only her underclothes and exposing a broad expanse of snow-white skin on her back.
A deep wound marred that pale skin, with a faint purple tinge lingering around it-the sealing power left by the Amethyst Winged Lion King.
Xiao Yan did not let his gaze linger. He simply took out the ointment, placed his hand over Yun Yun's wound, and began spreading it little by little.
The instant his fingers touched her skin, Yun Yun's body gave a slight shiver.
She had never had a man touch her body before, and now a boy was applying ointment to her like this. Her face burned crimson.
This Xiao Yan is so young, yet his hands are so steady. He doesn't seem like a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old boy at all.
Yun Yun thought this to herself, but said nothing more. She merely bit her lip and silently endured it.
Xiao Yan did not dwell on it either. He focused on spreading the ointment, carefully coating every part of the wound.
As he applied it, he could feel the sealing power around Yun Yun's wound being dissolved little by little.
It looks like this Amethyst Spirit Recovery Pill formula really is extraordinary. It can even dissolve a seal placed by a sixth-rank magical beast.
With that thought, Xiao Yan continued to concentrate on applying the ointment.
Once he had finished, Xiao Yan withdrew his hand, looked at Yun Yun, and said,
"All done. You can circulate your Dou Qi now and see whether the seal has loosened."
After speaking, he looked at Yun Yun with an impassive expression, then sat down to one side.
Seeing how assured he was, Yun Yun felt rather surprised. Could the ointment he had applied really have such miraculous effects?
Still, she found it hard to believe. This was the Amethyst Winged Lion King's seal, after all. Even a Dou Emperor would probably struggle to...
And Xiao Yan's age truly left her astonished.
It really broke the seal?
Yun Yun could hardly believe it. She turned toward Xiao Yan and said earnestly, "Xiao Yan, thank you for what you've done."
At her words, Xiao Yan waved a hand.
"It's nothing. Just a lift of the hand."
The entire night passed like that. Xiao Yan found a spot to sit down and cultivate in meditation. After all, this trip to the Magical Beast Mountain Range had brought him considerable gains.
Meanwhile, Yun Yun kept watching Xiao Yan from nearby, her heart brimming with curiosity about him.
This Xiao Yan is only fifteen or sixteen, yet his strength is unfathomable, and he's an alchemist too. More importantly, his confidence and composure are nothing like what a boy his age should possess.
Just what sort of background does he have? As the Misty Cloud Sect Master, I've never heard of anyone like him in the Jia Ma Empire. And since he can refine a pill that dissolves the Amethyst Winged Lion King's seal, his rank must be high. I really wonder what rank of alchemist his teacher is.
The Xiao Clan... I know of the Xiao Clan in Wutan City, but it's only a small clan. How could it have a disciple like Xiao Yan?
In that brief span, countless possibilities and all manner of guesses had already passed through Yun Yun's mind.
Indeed, she was full of curiosity about Xiao Yan's identity.
His name also sounded somewhat familiar, as though she had heard it somewhere before, but she could not recall where.
Early the next morning, the moment Xiao Yan opened his eyes, a system notification appeared before him.
[After a night of cultivation, your strength has increased.] [Current strength: Four-Star Dou Shi.]
When he noticed the notification on the system panel, Xiao Yan froze for a moment, then quickly came back to his senses.
Damn, I reached Four-Star Dou Shi that quickly!
Xiao Yan was incredibly excited. Only yesterday, he had been a mere Seven-Star Dou Zhe, yet now he had already reached Four-Star Dou Shi, breaking through so many levels in a single night.
He would not dare claim that this cultivation speed ranked among the best even on the Central Plains Continent, but it was certainly quite impressive in the Jia Ma Empire.
At that thought, Xiao Yan stood up in satisfaction and prepared to leave.
But as he was about to go, Yun Yun, who was sitting nearby, bit her lip and slowly spoke, voicing what was in her heart.
"Xiao Yan, thank you. I'll remember this kindness. Also, I might as well tell you who I am. I'm Yun Yun, the Misty Cloud Sect Master."
"If you run into trouble later, or need my help, just say the word, or come find me at the Misty Cloud Sect. I certainly won't refuse."
Yet when Yun Yun finished speaking, Xiao Yan remained utterly calm, seemingly unconcerned. He simply waved a hand and left.
Left standing there, Yun Yun felt deeply surprised, and a question crossed her mind. She seemed to recall Yanran mentioning that her fiancé was a young man from the Xiao Clan named Xiao Yan.
Could it be him? Surely there couldn't be such a coincidence in this world?
Before you continue