Floating in midair, Yao Chen suddenly remembered something.
"Kid, now that you've advanced to Dou Zhe, it's time you chose a weapon that suits you."
He waved a hand, and dozens of weapons of varying quality materialized before Xiao Baichuan.
There were longswords gleaming with cold light, heavy, solid sabers, exquisite, sharp daggers, and several pitch-black spears.
"Take a look. These are all from my collection back in the day. Pick whichever you like, and it's yours."
There was a hint of pride in Yao Chen's voice.
Xiao Baichuan glanced over them, his gaze suddenly stopping at a corner of the pile.
There lay a giant black ruler, its body broad and thick, pitch-black all over, its surface covered in rough markings. It looked cumbersome and unremarkable.
Xiao Baichuan recognized it at a glance.
Wasn't this Brother Lucky's signature weapon?
Seeing him stare at the giant ruler, Yao Chen thought it had caught his fancy. With a casual wave, he sent it over to Xiao Baichuan.
"Good eye. This ruler might not look like much, but its material is superb. It weighs a hundred jin. An ordinary Dou Zhe can't even swing it..."
Before he could finish, Xiao Baichuan shook his head.
"No need."
Yao Chen froze.
"What?"
Xiao Baichuan raised his hands and clenched his fists.
"My hands are the best weapons!"
Yao Chen frowned.
"Battles at your level are almost all close combat," he reminded him. "Are you sure you don't want one?"
Xiao Baichuan did not answer. He turned toward a boulder half a person's height beside him.
He raised his right hand, gathering Dou Qi in his palm.
Suction Palm!
An invisible force tugged at the boulder, sending it hurtling toward Xiao Baichuan.
Xiao Baichuan caught it with his right hand, holding it aloft in one palm, then casually flung it away.
The boulder whistled through the air and slammed into a tree so thick it would take outstretched arms to encircle it.
Boom-!
The tree snapped at the waist. Without losing momentum, the boulder smashed through two smaller trees before finally coming to a stop.
Xiao Baichuan dusted off his hands and looked at Yao Chen.
"That's the best weapon."
Yao Chen looked at the shattered tree and fell silent for a breath, then gave a gratified smile.
He waved a hand, putting all the weapons away.
"All right. You've got your own ideas, kid. I won't force you."
Over the next few days, Xiao Baichuan pressed deeper into the Magical Beast Mountain Range, honing his combinations in actual combat as he traveled.
Until one day, he ventured into an unfamiliar area.
A pungent, sickly-sweet smell filled the air. The soil beneath his feet was dark purple, and murky puddles filled the hollows, their surfaces covered in a layer of slimy green foam.
Poison Pool Swamp.
Xiao Baichuan frowned.
"Why is there poison everywhere here?"
He recalled the map of the Magical Beast Mountain Range. This part of the range should have been ordinary dense forest. He had never heard of any Poison Pool Swamp here.
Yao Chen floated out of the Storage Ring, his expression grave.
"Take a Detoxification Pill right away and leave this area."
"The concentration of Poison Qi here is too high. Stay too long, and even a Da Dou Shi couldn't withstand it."
Xiao Baichuan nodded, took a Detoxification Pill from his Storage Ring, and swallowed it. Then he leaped up and climbed a nearby tree that had been poisoned to death.
Its trunk was black and withered, its bark peeling away, leaving only bare branches.
Standing on a fork in the tree, Xiao Baichuan scanned his surroundings, searching for a way out.
Halfway through his search, he suddenly stopped.
Several hundred meters away, where the poisonous fog was thinner, he could faintly make out a human shape lying on the ground.
Xiao Baichuan narrowed his eyes and called out.
"Old man, look over there. Is that a person?"
Yao Chen followed his gaze, his illusory pupils contracting slightly.
"There is indeed someone there... judging by the figure, it seems to be a woman."
He tried probing with his Soul Force, but the thick poisonous fog blocked it.
"The poisonous fog is too thick. I can't detect her signs of life."
Yao Chen withdrew his Soul Force, a hint of hesitation in his voice.
"Kid, better one less trouble than one more. This woman has been in Poison Pool Swamp for so long, she's probably beyond saving."
"Let's leave."
Xiao Baichuan did not move.
He stared at the indistinct figure, silent for several seconds.
Then he took a Poison-Repelling Pill from his Storage Ring and swallowed it. Pushing off the trunk with his toes, he shot forward.
"Kid! Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
Yao Chen cursed behind him.
Though he was cursing, his illusory figure followed without hesitation.
Xiao Baichuan threaded through the poisonous fog, shielding his mouth and nose with Dou Qi. Using Cloud-Shocking Step, he swept past pools of poison like a phantom.
The closer he got, the thicker the poisonous fog became.
By the final few steps, even breathing had become thick and sticky.
Xiao Baichuan landed in the clearing and saw the person on the ground clearly.
It was a young girl.
She was about fourteen or fifteen. Her white clothes had been corroded black by the poisonous fog, her face was pale, her lips purple, and her eyes tightly shut.
She lay curled on the ground, her breathing so faint it was almost imperceptible.
Wisps of Poison Qi visible to the naked eye seeped endlessly from her skin, like a flowing veil of purple-black mist.
Xiao Baichuan's pupils contracted.
Yao Chen descended after him, his illusory figure wavering slightly in the poisonous fog.
"This... this is..."
They spoke at the same time, their voices carrying the same shock.
"The woeful poison body?!"
Yao Chen recovered first and turned toward Xiao Baichuan, surprise in his voice.
"You're quite knowledgeable, kid. You even know about the woeful poison body?"
Xiao Baichuan came back to his senses and offered an offhand excuse.
"I read about it in an ancient book once."
Then he immediately changed the subject, crouching to examine the girl's condition closely.
"Judging by the situation, her woeful poison body should be in the initial stages of awakening. The toxicity isn't strong."
Yao Chen nodded, his expression grave.
"Fortunately, it's only the initial awakening, and the Poison Qi isn't very potent. Otherwise, with your strength, you would probably have been poisoned to death already."
He floated above the girl, reaching his illusory fingers toward her Dantian before withdrawing them a moment later.
"We need to find a way to stop her awakening. Once the woeful poison body loses control, even an initial awakening would bring disaster upon half the Magical Beast Mountain Range."
Yao Chen looked at Xiao Baichuan, his tone serious.
"Use your Transforming Qi Palm to dissolve the sea of poison gathering in her Dantian. Then use Dou Qi to seal several of her meridians and stop the poison body from awakening further."
"Don't worry. I'll protect you with my Soul Force while you seal them."
Xiao Baichuan nodded and immediately stepped forward, kneeling on one knee beside the girl.
He held his fingers together to form a palm, coated his fingertips in Dou Qi, and pressed them precisely against the girl's Dantian.
The Poison Qi suddenly surged as though provoked, lunging toward his hand.
Xiao Baichuan gave a muffled grunt. Enduring the corrosive Poison Qi, he began using the methods of Transforming Qi Palm to dissolve the sea of poison gathered in her Dantian, bit by bit.
Yao Chen floated beside him, carefully watching the girl's condition and offering guidance from time to time.
"Seal the conception meridian, then the penetrating meridian, and finally the governing meridian."
"Steady! Don't rush, or if that sea of poison strikes back, all three of us will be finished today!"
Before you continue