Seeing Xiao Yan's determined expression, as though he was about to resort to that grueling method of his again, Yun Yun frowned and pondered for a long while before finally sighing helplessly and saying softly:
"All right. If you really need to leave the mountain, I can't stop you as your teacher. But for your safety, you must take a guardian from the sect with you."
Looking into Yun Yun's gentle eyes, Xiao Yan suddenly felt his face flush. After a moment of silence, he said awkwardly, "Teacher, there's no need to choose a guardian from the sect. My father will be coming with me."
The moment he said this, suspicion filled Yun Yun's face.
Having his own father serve as his protector-what sort of arrangement was that?
Seeing Xiao Yan's embarrassed expression, Yun Yun sighed inwardly.
It seemed this disciple she had picked up had secrets of his own, and as the teacher he had picked up, she could hardly probe any further.
Ultimately, he wasn't as close to her as Nalan Yanran, whom she had raised since the age of ten.
So be it.
She would let him have his way.
"Since you've put it that way, what else can I do as your teacher?"
"Thank you, Teacher." Xiao Yan was delighted.
Having Xiao Zhan cultivate alongside him had been Gu Yuan's suggestion.
Inside the Answering Space, Xiao Xuan clearly no longer trusted him. Otherwise, why would he give perfectly good points to a stranger? Wouldn't it have been better to save them to buy the resurrection reward?
Although the rewards in the Answering Space had their pitfalls, requiring a full twenty points to make the purchase, there was still hope.
Besides, this boy Xiao Yan would become a Dou Di in the future. Who knew whether a Dou Di had a way to resurrect Xiao Xuan?
Gu Yuan had to build up some goodwill before Xiao Xuan escaped his predicament. Otherwise, when the day came that Gu Yuan truly broke free, even with a fine Dou Di son-in-law, he would still have to take that beating.
Xiao Xuan, who could drain the entire Xiao Clan Bloodline in an attempt to break through to Dou Di, was no benevolent soul.
Before long.
At the foot of the Misty Cloud Mountain Range.
"Xiao Yan." A girl's soft, sweet voice at the mountain gate brought Xiao Yan to a halt. He raised his head and looked at the pretty girl standing gracefully beneath the gate. The corner of his mouth twitched as he said helplessly, "Senior Sister Yanran, why are you here?"
"Naturally, I heard someone was leaving the mountain, so I came especially to see you off." With a sweet smile, Nalan Yanran slowly approached, looking Xiao Yan up and down before reminding him, "Be careful on the road."
"Uh." Xiao Yan rubbed his nose uncomfortably.
Nalan Yanran had changed so much lately that Xiao Yan was beginning to suspect this woman could see the Answering Space too.
But even if she really could, Xiao Yan would never admit it.
Xun'er's father was everywhere, after all.
Xiao Yan rubbed his nose awkwardly and said helplessly, "Senior Sister Yanran, Senior Sister Yanran, if there's something you need, just say it. I still have to hurry and meet up with my father."
"Junior Brother Xiao Yan, do you still blame me? I really was immature to come to your home and break off the engagement." Gazing at Xiao Yan, Nalan Yanran sighed. After a brief silence, she smiled and continued:
"But I haven't come to say I regret it. I've come to tell you some good news. There's a sixth-rank Amethyst Winged Lion King deep in the Magical Beast Mountain Range. According to the information my Nalan Family received, she's pregnant.
"When this kind of magical beast gives birth, there's a chance it will produce companion amethyst source. Your Qi method requires you to devour Heavenly Flames, but Heavenly Flames aren't so easy to find. You could try your luck."
Xiao Yan froze briefly, then smiled and nodded.
Although Nalan Yanran had made his father lose face by coming to break off the engagement, a strange twist of fate had also resolved his inability to cultivate, not to mention allowed him to join the Misty Cloud Sect.
In Xiao Yan's heart, they were already even.
So Xiao Yan truly felt somewhat reluctant to accept this kindness delivered right to his doorstep. Xun'er was still watching him from somewhere on the mountain.
Still, one didn't strike a smiling face. Heavenly Flames really were hard to find. If he had a purple flame to use, at least his Dou Qi wouldn't run out after just a couple of moves.
After thanking her, he endured the chill running down his back and chatted with Nalan Yanran for a while longer. Then, under her gaze, Xiao Yan dragged his somewhat stiff legs away and hurriedly disappeared at the end of the mountain path.
"Senior Sister Nalan." Xiao Xun'er had appeared on the mountain path at some point. Standing above her, she looked coldly at Nalan Yanran and said indifferently, "You've already broken off the engagement."
Her body trembled slightly. Nalan Yanran fell silent for a moment, then suddenly broke into a smile.
"Little Sister Xun'er, I did break off the engagement, but that was only because I disliked arranged marriages." Seeing Xiao Xun'er's cold expression, Nalan Yanran clenched her hands and spoke loudly.
"Heh." With a derisive laugh, Xiao Xun'er suddenly started down the path. Under Nalan Yanran's wary gaze, she slowly approached her, finally stopping a meter away. The bright eyes in her delicate face narrowed slightly as she said softly, "Nalan Yanran, you can definitely see that space too, can't you?"
Nalan Yanran's pupils instantly contracted.
In the Magical Beast Mountain Range, a crescent moon hung high overhead, lending faint traces of light to the pitch-black night sky.
Inside a cave beneath a cliff, a faint campfire brought a little warm light to the chilly cavern.
Beside the campfire, Xiao Han added firewood while idly leafing through the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture.
A full day had passed since he had taken Xiao Yi Xian. Having tasted it for the first time across two lifetimes, he had gone a little overboard, and Xiao Yi Xian's body, which had yet to reach Dou Zhe, really couldn't take it.
"Tsk, the Woeful Poison Body really is something. If I hadn't devoured Strange Lightning, I really couldn't bear to let Xiao Yi Xian cultivate it," Xiao Han muttered as he flipped through the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture.
Every record in it was enough to make one's heart quake.
Its many poisons could kill even a Dou Emperor who ingested them.
And the Woeful Poison Body, which served as their vessel, was even more extraordinary. Any poison swallowed could have its toxicity doubled. From strands of hair to the soles of the feet, from saliva to blood, the Woeful Poison Body truly was lethally poisonous throughout.
No wonder anyone with it was treated as a harbinger of disaster the moment they appeared.
No wonder even after becoming a Dou Di, Xiao Yan hadn't dared touch Dou Sheng Xiao Yi Xian in the slightest.
Because the Heavenly Poison Body's constitution would keep evolving as its cultivation realm rose higher and higher.
If Xiao Yi Xian became a Dou Di, a single fallen strand of her hair could silence every rooster within a thousand miles.
The Poison Pill could prevent her body from exploding and becoming a biochemical bomb, but that didn't mean her body contained no poison!
So all that talk of a female confidante was bullshit. Xiao Yan was simply afraid of being poisoned.
But while Xiao Yan was afraid, Xiao Han wasn't.
"Looks like I need to put cultivating the Great Sun Thunder Body on the agenda." Xiao Han chuckled.
Although the Great Sun Thunder Body was only a quasi-Creation-grade body-refining martial art, Xiao Han had a cheat.
Lin Dong could only passively draw heavenly lightning into his body, but Xiao Han could temper himself for all twelve double-hours of the day.
Once he mastered the thunder body, a single thought would let Strange Lightning envelop his entire body.
When it came to purifying all things, Strange Lightning that had been devoured and refined was no worse than the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame.
As long as he kept his cultivation realm above Xiao Yi Xian's, the poison in her body would be nothing more than an added element in their lovemaking.
When the time came, Strange Lightning would transform...
Just then, a soft moan brought Xiao Han back to his senses.
Before you continue