Xiao Yan left Wutan City after staying for only three days. He spent most of those three days handling matters for Xiao Yi Xian's Medical Hall, only returning to the Xiao Clan in his spare time to see Xiao Zhan and leave him a few things. He honestly could not bear to watch the clan treasure a pile of high-grade Yellow Tier Cultivation Methods and Combat Skills as though they were priceless. This visit was the perfect chance to swap their birdshot guns for cannons.
He had little use for the Cultivation Methods and Combat Skills he had obtained in the cave, but they were undoubtedly an enormous fortune to the Xiao Clan. On top of that, he had looted quite a few things after wiping out the He Family and the Snake Nest Mercenary Group. Now, he handed almost all of it over to Xiao Zhan in one go. With these resources, the Xiao Clan would definitely become Wutan City's undisputed overlord in a short time.
Still, Xiao Yan cautioned Xiao Zhan to introduce these things gradually rather than bring them all out at once, lest they attract unnecessary trouble. He had originally intended to give him an Earth Tier Cultivation Method suited to his cultivation as well, but after much hesitation, he decided against taking it out.
An Earth Tier Cultivation Method was naturally nothing special in his eyes, but it was far too precious in the Jia Ma Empire. If word accidentally leaked, it might instead bring a calamity down on the Xiao Clan's head. In any case, some of the Cultivation Methods and Combat Skills he had provided were suitable for Xiao Zhan. The rest could wait until his next visit.
Besides those collections, he also gave Xiao Zhan two Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pills. This kind of pill could raise a Da Dou Shi's strength by one star. Xiao Zhan still had some distance to go before reaching Dou Ling, and his talent was not particularly good, so he could only rely on external help such as pills to improve his strength quickly. If Xiao Zhan could reach the Dou Ling level, the other clans would no longer have any ability to contend with the Xiao Clan.
After settling the Xiao Clan's affairs, Xiao Yan focused on setting up a Medical Hall for Xiao Yi Xian. Naturally, the Medical Hall was located on the Xiao Clan's territory, so the clan could look after it if anything happened. Xiao Yan took charge of every aspect of setting it up, while Xiao Yi Xian merely helped out at his side.
What Xiao Yi Xian did not know, however, was that Xiao Yan had done two other things as well. First, he found a few thugs and had them go to the Medical Hall to cause trouble from time to time. Second, he asked his father for a dedicated squad of guards to protect Xiao Yi Xian in secret. Their job was to drive off those thugs and "inadvertently" reveal that Xiao Yan had sent them.
As for the thugs, Xiao Yan had fed them poison beforehand, which could only be counteracted with regular doses of the antidote. Naturally, this was to keep them from getting physically rough while causing trouble. Their antidote was held by the guards responsible for playing the part of driving them off. Of course, he had poisoned the guards as well, and their antidote was in Xiao Zhan's hands...
Just in case, he also left Xiao Yi Xian a ring before departing. Inside it was a mass of Nine Nether Flame he had stored away. If she encountered anyone particularly powerful, she could simply throw it out.
Only after handling everything did Xiao Yan finally set off for the Chu Yun Empire. He had visited the Chu Yun Empire once in his previous life, but that had been a very long time ago, so his memory of the route was somewhat hazy. To be safe, he bought a detailed map from the Mittel Auction House and only departed once he had made thorough preparations.
Wutan City was rather remote, so reaching the Chu Yun Empire required crossing almost the entire Jia Ma Empire. There was also some distance between the Chu Yun Empire and the Jia Ma Empire themselves. Thus, even with the Purple Cloud Wings, Xiao Yan took nearly a month to reach the Chu Yun Empire.
Of course, that was also because Xiao Yan was in no particular hurry. Whenever his Dou Qi ran out, he did not use Qi Recovery Pills to replenish it. Instead, he immediately found somewhere to cultivate and restore his Dou Qi, which was why the journey took so long. Had he chosen to keep replenishing it with Qi Recovery Pills, he could have reached the Chu Yun Empire in fewer than ten days.
During that nearly month-long journey, Xiao Yan lost count of how many times he repeated the process of exhausting his Dou Qi and gradually restoring it. Through that monotonous cycle, the strength within his body slowly grew without him even noticing. By the time he fully entered the Chu Yun Empire's borders, his strength had already risen to that of a five-star Da Dou Shi.
After arriving in the Chu Yun Empire, Xiao Yan put away his Purple Cloud Wings. The Chu Yun Empire was considerably more dangerous than the Jia Ma Empire. Though it was not as chaotic as the Black-Corner Region, it was still an extremely perilous place. In the Jia Ma Empire, even if someone recognized a Flying Dou Technique, they would at most feel a little envious. In the Chu Yun Empire, however, someone was bound to entertain thoughts of seizing the treasure.
To avoid such unnecessary trouble, he stopped using the Purple Cloud Wings to travel. Besides, the map in his possession ended at the Chu Yun Empire. Even if he wanted to fly, he would not know where to go.
After all, although the Mittel Family was powerful, its influence was limited to the Jia Ma Empire. Its reach could not extend into the Chu Yun Empire. Even if it truly had maps of the Chu Yun Empire's interior, he would have to go somewhere central, such as the imperial capital, to buy one. A little place like Wutan City clearly would not have them.
Thus, the first thing Xiao Yan did upon arriving in the Chu Yun Empire was buy the most detailed map available and familiarize himself with its geography. Only then could he find regions that met the conditions for the birth of the Netherworld Poison Flame, rather than blunder about like a headless fly and end up wasting his time.
Fortunately, whether in the Black-Corner Region or the Chu Yun Empire, no matter how harsh the surroundings were, these shops still operated normally.
After obtaining the map, Xiao Yan did not rush to leave. Instead, he found an inn and rested for a night, until he had recovered to peak condition. After all, no matter how crazed the people in those two places were, they still had to eat, drink, and relieve themselves, so these shops instead became the safest places in such regions.
Of course, shops that could operate in places like these were hardly respectable establishments either. Prices here were several times higher than in ordinary places. Even a single map cost over ten thousand. Fortunately, Xiao Yan had held back some of the He Family's wealth, or he probably would not even have been able to afford a map.
"Poison Miasma Forest... Hundred Poisons Mountain Range... Heavenly Poison Swamp..." Xiao Yan's gaze swept across the map in his hands before finally settling on three regions marked with danger symbols. The Chu Yun Empire certainly lived up to its reputation as a nation famed for poison. There were actually three places that met the conditions for the birth of the Netherworld Poison Flame. Clearly, though, all three regions were extremely dangerous, or they would not have been specially marked on the map.
"Fortune must be sought amid danger..." Xiao Yan murmured with a sigh, then put away the map and set off toward the first location.
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