Threats

"In this world, three kinds of people are the most welcome. One is clever people, another is fools. Do you know what the third kind is? People like you, who are as stupid as pigs yet insist they're incomparably brilliant." Xiao Yan smiled. "Unroll the map, and the dagger is revealed. That trick went out of fashion thousands of years ago."

Seeing that Xiao Yan had seen through her, Ye Xiaolian immediately bit through the poison sac hidden in her mouth. A trickle of black blood seeped from the corner of her lips as she stared fixedly at Xiao Yan, her eyes brimming with hatred.

"Want to die? It won't be that easy." Xiao Yan sneered and gently slipped a finger into her mouth. The poison flowing into Ye Xiaolian's mouth immediately surged toward his finger under some unseen pull. Even the toxins that had already seeped into her mouth were forcibly drawn out.

The netherworld poison flame had the miraculous ability to absorb every exotic poison under heaven. With it, Xiao Yan not only possessed every deadly poison, but also effectively held the antidote to every deadly poison in the world. Whatever the poison, he could absorb it himself. That was why he had not simply dislocated Ye Xiaolian's jaw at the outset to prevent her from taking poison.

On the one hand, he still needed her to speak; on the other, there was simply no need. Possessing the netherworld poison flame, he could not only withstand every toxin under heaven, but also absorb all those toxins into his own body. Thus, in a sense, he could already be considered another kind of woeful poison body-except this kind would never face the danger of an outbreak.

"I gave you a chance. Unfortunately, you didn't treasure it." Xiao Yan rummaged lightly through his Storage Ring, and a small jade bottle appeared in his hand. "Do you know what's in here? I got this from a rapist a while ago. Take a guess-what do you think it does?"

Although Xiao Yan had not explicitly stated what the substance did, Ye Xiaolian was no naïve innocent. She easily guessed what he meant, and her small face immediately turned somewhat pale. She had chosen so decisively to poison herself precisely to avoid being violated. She had never expected Xiao Yan to have a way to remove the poison from her body.

"I hear the Jia Ma Empire has a magical beast called the Mating Ape. It's especially fond of little girls like you. I wonder whether the Chu Yun Empire has any..." Seeing Ye Xiaolian's terrified expression, Xiao Yan slowly withdrew his finger.

He looked with some distaste at the saliva coating his finger and wiped it lightly on Ye Xiaolian's clothes before continuing, "But even if there are no Mating Apes here, it doesn't matter. You're reasonably pretty, and there happen to be so many people outside. I imagine plenty of them would be happy to do me this little favor."

At Xiao Yan's words, Ye Xiaolian's eyes filled with terror. She did not fear death, but the methods Xiao Yan had described inspired genuine dread in her. Especially given her extraordinary status, if Xiao Yan truly dealt with her as he had said, it would undoubtedly bring shame upon the Chu Yun Imperial Family!

"I'll give you the map..." Under such threats, Ye Xiaolian finally yielded.

"I suggest you don't try any tricks. You should know I have a way to determine whether you're telling the truth." Xiao Yan released the map-dagger and said with a smile, "My patience is limited. If you toy with me again, I guarantee that everything I just described will happen, one thing at a time. And I don't just mean those people outside-the magical beasts in the Hundred Poisons Mountain Range are included too."

Truthfully, if Xiao Yan had not needed to use her to accomplish a certain goal, he would not have bothered wasting so many words on her. He would long since have dragged this fool who dared toy with him outside to experience what it meant to live a life worse than death. But just as he had said, his patience was indeed extremely limited, and she was now hopping back and forth across that limit.

After the repeated threats, Ye Xiaolian played no tricks this time and produced the real map. Naturally, Xiao Yan would not trust her so easily. He used the Interrogation Secret Art once more to confirm that what Ye Xiaolian had produced this time was genuine before slowly unfolding the Treasure Map in his hands.

To Xiao Yan's surprise, he had assumed that the Treasure Map in his hands would be rather rudimentary, but the reality was quite the opposite. Counting his previous life, Xiao Yan had obtained quite a few maps, yet the one in his hands was the most detailed he had ever seen.

He studied the map in his hands, then glanced at Ye Xiaolian, who had once again been hypnotized by the Interrogation Secret Art, and asked, "Do you know where the place marked on this is?"

"No." Still under hypnosis, Ye Xiaolian retained that same blank expression. She shook her head and said slowly, "I happened to obtain this map from a disciple of the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect. I don't know where the terrain shown on it is. I only know that there's no such place in our Chu Yun Empire. I originally wanted to take it back and show my father, but then the people from the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect found out..."

"Oh, I see." Although Ye Xiaolian had not finished, Xiao Yan had already guessed the broad course of events. Presumably, this thing had not been obtained through legitimate means. Most likely, she had killed a disciple of the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect and stolen it, only for its rightful owners to discover her and chase her all the way here.

Thinking it over, those fellows from the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect had been rather unfortunate. They were clearly the aggrieved party, yet after pursuing her here, they had provoked Xiao Yan and all met their end in this place. Of course, Xiao Yan would not apologize to those dead fellows, nor could he possibly return this thing to the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect.

Leaving aside the fact that he had already slaughtered a group of their people, even if there had been no grievance between them, Xiao Yan would never return something that had fallen into his hands. In any case, whatever reached his hands now bore the surname Xiao.

As for the location marked on the map, Ye Xiaolian did not know it, but Xiao Yan knew it very well, because this was none other than a route map of the Magical Beast Mountain Range. During his recent training there, he had even passed through part of the area shown on it. He had never expected the so-called Great Beast Den to be so close.

On reflection, it was actually quite natural. Not only did the Magical Beast Mountain Range cover an immense area, but the number of magical beasts within it far exceeded those in the Hundred Poisons Mountain Range. If a magical beast tomb truly lay hidden there, it would hardly be surprising.

"Looks like I'll have to visit the Magical Beast Mountain Range when I have time." Xiao Yan calmly tucked the rolled map into his Storage Ring before releasing Ye Xiaolian from the secret art. The moment she regained her senses, she backed away several steps. "I've already given you the Treasure Map. You've got what you wanted. Can you let me go now?"

"Oh?" Xiao Yan tilted his head and said with a smile, "When did I ever say you could leave after handing over the Treasure Map?"