Sweat beaded at Xiao Baichuan's temples. His fingers tapped several times over the girl's dantian, each touch precisely injecting a thread of Dou Qi to seal the channels through which the Poison Qi flowed in her meridians.
The purplish-black color on the girl's face gradually faded, and her rapid breathing slowly steadied.
Poison Qi no longer seeped out, and the poisonous mist hanging over the marsh began to dissipate slowly.
Xiao Baichuan withdrew his hand and let out a long breath. Only then did he lower his head to take a closer look at the girl's face.
She had delicate brows and eyes and finely sculpted features. Though her face was still somewhat pale, a normal flush had returned.
A Woeful Poison Body, pure and lovely features, and her age-if I'm not mistaken, she must be Xiao Yi Xian.
He had never expected that coming to the Magical Beast Mountain Range ahead of time would lead him to stumble upon the awakening of Xiao Yi Xian's Woeful Poison Body.
Fortunately, it was only in its nascent stage, which was why Xiao Baichuan had been able to approach and temporarily seal it.
Only after seeing Xiao Baichuan successfully seal the poison body did Yao Chen breathe a sigh of relief. His illusory figure floated over to Xiao Baichuan's shoulder.
"You brat, your luck is incredible."
"If this Woeful Poison Body had fully awakened, I'm afraid you and I, master and disciple, would have slept here forever today."
Xiao Baichuan stood and wiped the sweat from his temples.
"What do we do next?"
Yao Chen glanced at the unconscious girl on the ground.
"Take her away from here first. Don't let her come into contact with anything poisonous for now."
"Then we'll find a way to deal with this ticking poison body once and for all."
Xiao Baichuan nodded. He slipped his left arm around her shoulders and his right beneath her knees, lifted Xiao Yi Xian into his arms, and leaped out of the poisonous marsh.
He found a secluded valley in the mountain range. There was a stream and a cave, the air was fresh, and no poisonous creatures roamed there.
Xiao Baichuan laid Xiao Yi Xian on a flat slab of bluestone inside the cave, then took an outer robe from his Storage Ring and draped it over her.
After settling Xiao Yi Xian in, he left the cave and continued cultivating outside while waiting for her to wake.
Yao Chen floated nearby, watching Xiao Baichuan practice his punches, then suddenly spoke.
"Your cultivation is still far too low."
"If you want to absorb Heavenly Flames, you must first improve your cultivation and your physique."
"Otherwise, even with treasures to help you, successfully devouring them will be difficult."
Xiao Baichuan drew back his fists and caught his breath.
"There happens to be a sixth-rank Amethyst Winged Lion King in the Magical Beast Mountain Range."
"If I can get its Companion Amethyst Essence, I might be able to get a Beast Flame and greatly improve my strength."
Yao Chen rolled his eyes.
He looked at him as though he were an idiot and said, "You certainly dream big."
"Where would you find the luck to get your hands on that?"
"Never mind the Companion Amethyst Essence-you couldn't even enter a sixth-rank magical beast's territory."
Xiao Baichuan remained unconvinced.
"What if I get lucky?"
Yao Chen gave a dry chuckle.
"Stop dreaming. Think of something practical."
"Like breaking through to Three-Star Dou Zhe first."
He waved a hand, and several bottles of medicinal liquid floated out of the Storage Ring and landed before Xiao Baichuan.
"This is the breakthrough medicine I've prepared for you over the past few days. Hurry up and drink it to stabilize your Qi sea."
Xiao Baichuan took the medicine, tipped back his head, and gulped it down.
Once in his stomach, the medicine turned into a warm current that surged into his dantian.
He sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and circulated his Dou Qi, beginning his assault on the bottleneck to Three-Star Dou Zhe.
A day passed...
Xiao Baichuan opened his eyes, a sharp gleam flashing through them.
The Dou Qi in his Qi sea had grown considerably denser, settling firmly at the Three-Star Dou Zhe level.
Just then, Yao Chen suddenly spoke.
"That girl is awake."
Xiao Baichuan reined in his presence, rose, and headed toward the cave.
Inside the cave.
Xiao Yi Xian slowly opened her eyes to the sight of an unfamiliar stone wall.
She abruptly sat up, her first action to lower her head and inspect her clothes.
Her clothing was intact, an outer robe covered her, and there were no strange marks.
She breathed a sigh of relief and looked around curiously.
The cave was small. Light filtered through its entrance, and she could faintly hear the stream.
"How did I get here?"
She remembered searching for medicinal herbs in a marsh. Then the poison had flared up, and after that, she remembered nothing.
Footsteps came from outside the cave.
Xiao Yi Xian instantly grew wary. She shrank back slightly, reaching for the medicine pouch at her waist.
Then a man walked in.
Xiao Yi Xian looked up and froze.
He was a young man who looked sixteen or seventeen, with swordlike brows and star-bright eyes. His pretty face was extraordinarily beautiful, even somewhat... bewitching?
Morning light slanted through the cave entrance and fell across his face, giving his skin a warm, lustrous sheen.
She had never seen anyone so beautiful.
Xiao Baichuan looked at her and spoke gently.
"You're awake. How do you feel? Is anything still bothering you?"
Xiao Yi Xian was dazed for a moment before coming back to her senses, her voice still somewhat weak.
"Were you... the one who saved me?"
Xiao Baichuan nodded.
"I stumbled into a marsh and found you unconscious there, so I brought you back."
Xiao Yi Xian immediately spoke.
"Thank you."
Xiao Baichuan looked at her. His lips moved as though he wanted to say something, but he hesitated.
Noticing his unusual behavior, Xiao Yi Xian asked.
"What's wrong? Is something the matter?"
Xiao Baichuan was asking Yao Chen inwardly.
"Should I tell her about the Woeful Poison Body?"
Yao Chen thought for a moment.
"Find out whether she knows about her condition first, then decide whether to tell her."
Xiao Baichuan shook his head and said it was nothing before beginning to ask her questions.
"What's your name?"
"Why were you out here in these wild mountains and forests?"
Xiao Yi Xian did not conceal anything.
"My name is Xiao Yi Xian. I'm a physician."
"I came into these wild mountains to find herbs to cure my poisoning."
Yao Chen's voice rang out in Xiao Baichuan's mind.
"This girl seems to know something is wrong with her body, but she doesn't understand the cause. She thinks she's merely been poisoned."
Xiao Baichuan fell silent for a breath, then spoke.
"It won't work."
Xiao Yi Xian froze and looked at him in confusion.
"What?"
Xiao Baichuan looked at her, his tone calm.
"Even high-grade pills can't cure the poison in your body."
At his words, Xiao Yi Xian's expression changed drastically.
She abruptly lowered her head to look at her hands, then sensed the state of her body.
There was none of that familiar, excruciating pain, nor the burning sensation of Poison Qi seeping out.
Something seemed to be suppressing the poison inside her.
She raised her head and looked at Xiao Baichuan, confusion and a trace of hope in her eyes.
"You know... what poison I've been afflicted with?"
"Were you the one who helped suppress it?"
Xiao Baichuan nodded.
"I know a little about it."
"But I've only suppressed it temporarily."
Xiao Baichuan sat down opposite Xiao Yi Xian, gathered his words again, and told her everything about the Woeful Poison Body.
From the deadly poison she had carried within her since birth, to how the poison body would gradually awaken as she grew older, to how the poisonous marsh earlier had been created by the Poison Qi spilling out during her awakening.
As Xiao Yi Xian listened, her face grew deathly pale, little by little.
She lowered her head and looked at her hands, her fingertips trembling slightly.
"So... I haven't been poisoned."
"I myself... am poison."
Before you continue