The Fragment Map's Use

The Fragment Map's Use

After briefly looking it over, Chen Xiao nodded in satisfaction.

"Roar of the Mad Lion," true to its name, condensed the Dou Qi within the body into the phantom image of a mad lion, then launched an assault on the enemy.

Judging by the description alone, this was a very standard Mystic High-Rank Dou Skill. Though it lacked some distinctive features, it was definitely above average.

"I'll take it for now and practice it when I have time after going back."

Moving the stone box aside, Chen Xiao placed the scroll into his bundle.

To save space in the bundle, there was no need to bring back a box that was heavy, useless, and took up room.

His gaze turned to the second stone box. Very soon, the item inside was revealed: it was unmistakably a Black Scroll.

"Eagle Wings?"

Before he even picked it up, Chen Xiao already had a guess.

Of the three stone boxes in this cave, in the original course of events, two had fallen into the hands of Xiao Yi Xian and Xiao Yan, and both had played roles that could not be ignored in the early stages, making their presence extremely strong.

Only that "Roar of the Mad Lion" had been seized by the Wolf Head Mercenary Group and had never gained much fame.

Reaching out, Chen Xiao took the Black Scroll from the box and carefully flipped through it, before his gaze finally stopped on the small words at the side of the scroll.

"Mystic High-Rank Flight Dou Skill: Eagle Wings!"

As expected!

Chen Xiao smiled, forcibly suppressing the urge to open it and start practicing immediately, and tucked it close to his body.

Both were Mystic High-Rank Dou Skills, but the value of these Eagle Wings far surpassed "Roar of the Mad Lion."

Because a Flight Dou Skill was, in essence, a rather strange secret art. This secret art could allow the cultivator to extend two tiny branch channels from the meridians on their back. As long as these two branch channels extended out, then even if the person's strength had not reached the Dou Wang level, they could still condense a pair of wings and fly through the air!

This point alone was enough to move any cultivator below Dou Wang.

In the original course of events, because of these Eagle Wings, Xiao Yan had also often been mistaken for a Dou Wang expert when he appeared, letting him show off a little several times.

"Yan Return Strike lets me strike the strong from a weak position, 'Roar of the Mad Lion' lets me bully the weak from a strong position, and if I still can't win, I'll use Eagle Wings to run!"

After imagining it in his mind for a while, Chen Xiao's mood immediately grew even more cheerful.

With today's gains, he could finally arm himself more comprehensively. His methods were no longer one-dimensional, which was a major improvement.

"The last stone box."

He opened it cleanly and decisively. Lying quietly inside was an Ancient Scroll in vivid colors.

Seven-Colored Poison Manual!

Chen Xiao briefly flipped through it. Inside were records of the preparation methods for many Poisonous Medicines, as well as some related anecdotes.

For example, in the final volume, it gave a detailed description of the terrifying constitution known as the Woeful Poison Body.

Woeful Poison Body: a peculiar poison constitution capable of rapidly increasing strength by devouring Poisonous Medicine.

Method of identification: at the lower abdomen, there would be a tiny, hidden, seven-colored line. This line would grow along with the concentration of poison power contained within the body. When the seven-colored line extended to the heart, that would be the strongest moment of the Woeful Poison Body. At the same time, the person bearing the poison body would also suffer the pain of ten thousand poisons devouring their body.

Born of misfortune, dying of misfortune.

This was the fate that trapped every Woeful Poison Body!

Apart from these introductions, the poison manual also listed in great detail what sort of destruction the Woeful Poison Body would cause.

In short, it was this:

All reason lost, unable to distinguish between humans and beasts, reduced to a machine that knew only slaughter.

Looking at this description, Chen Xiao naturally thought of the White Dress Girl at Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion who liked to stand on a wooden box while seeing patients.

Who could have imagined that such a gentle, kind girl would one day become the infamous Heavenly Poison Woman?

"My strength is still meager, but I firmly believe there is no unchanging fate. You can break your fate, and I think that I, with even more advantages, can do it too!"

Thinking of that girl's future, Chen Xiao was deeply encouraged, and the drive in his heart grew even stronger.

Without continuing to leaf through the Seven-Colored Poison Manual, Chen Xiao came back to himself and put it into his bundle.

Alchemists would not care for such a thing, but Chen Xiao, who did not have the qualifications to become an alchemist, was very interested.

If he prepared the many Poisonous Medicines within, using them for self-defense would also count as a method.

Having taken all the collections in the three stone boxes, Chen Xiao turned and came before the withered bones.

Crouching down, he observed them carefully. Very soon, in the gap between the bone arms, he saw a small scroll.

"Forgive me."

After apologizing, Chen Xiao carefully removed the bone arm, took out that Ancient Scroll, then once again put the withered bone arm back in its original place.

He sized up this palm-sized Fragment Map. If Chen Xiao had not read the script, he would never have been able to tell what the scribbles on it represented.

"Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame... what a tempting thing. Unfortunately, it's useless to me... hmm, but I could use it to... go fishing!"

Playing with the Fragment Map, the rough shape of a slightly wicked plan instantly sprang into Chen Xiao's mind.

Following normal logic, if Xiao Yan and his teacher obtained a Fragment Map in the future, they would certainly be able to identify that it concerned the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame, third on the Heavenly Flame Ranking.

Then, as a matter of course, they would take it seriously—and desire would follow.

In that case, as long as he got his hands on the Fragment Map in advance, wouldn't he be able to "hold the emperor hostage to command the lords"?

If he ever ran into something inconvenient to handle himself, or wanted certain medicinal pills and so on, all he had to do was throw out a piece of the Fragment Map. This master-and-disciple pair would definitely be more proactive than anyone else!

As for the number of Fragment Maps...

Ordinary methods couldn't split it apart, but that Divine Clarity Celestial Lord in the desert had the ability.

Don't ask how he did it. All you needed to know was that he really could do it!

If he could split one Fragment Map into two, then he could split two into four, four into eight...

Just one final Fragment Map short of completing the set.

It really was the final one.

Imagining Xiao Yan working in a "Pinduoduo" style to complete the Fragment Map, Chen Xiao couldn't help revealing the kind of smile only a capitalist would have.

"Once I get the next Fragment Map, I'll find an opportunity to give you one."

With a teasing smile, Chen Xiao tucked the Fragment Map close to his body.

As long as he made proper use of it, the value of this Fragment Map was immeasurable!

With the most precious item already obtained, Chen Xiao turned his gaze back to Small Flower Bed.

He then took several lightweight wooden boxes he had prepared in advance, along with a small shovel, out of his pack and began digging them up together with the soil and roots.

Because the number of wooden boxes was limited, Chen Xiao could only selectively dig up some of the medicinal herbs that looked extraordinary at first glance.

For instance, that Ice Spirit Flame Grass.

This herb's leaves were split into white and red. The white stem was covered in specks of ice-crystal-like objects, while atop the fiery-red grass crown, it looked as though a ball of flame was burning and rising. Two completely opposite colors and attributes had strangely grown upon a single plant. It could be called utterly miraculous.

Around it, faint mist coiled, making it look as if it was set among clouds and rosy vapors. One could tell at a glance that it was no ordinary thing.

Another example was a plant whose branches bore several pure-white fruits, making people swallow involuntarily.

After filling several wooden boxes, the medicinal herbs in Small Flower Bed had decreased by about one-third.

"Wait for me. Next time, I'll definitely take you all home."

Stuffing the wooden boxes into his pack, Chen Xiao came before a pile of gold coins and packed as many as he could, stopping only when his pack had grown bulging, and even then he was still reluctant to leave.

Carrying the enormous pack, he left the Stone Chamber. Chen Cang tested the mechanism.

With a rumble, the stone door crashed down.

Arriving at the platform outside, Chen Xiao carefully inspected the rope fixed at the side. Only after confirming there were no problems did he tug on it and climb upward.

"Although this place is hidden and almost no one comes here normally, I'd better cover it up a little."

After climbing onto the cliff, Chen Xiao pondered briefly, set down his pack, and spent another quarter of an hour gathering some branches and broken stones, roughly restoring the area around the cave to its original appearance.

After checking it over in satisfaction, Chen Xiao lingered no longer. He hoisted his pack and returned along the way he had come.

On the road, he encountered a few more blind Magical Beasts. Although they failed to bring Chen Xiao any danger, they greatly delayed his return to Green Mountain Town.

By the time he entered the small town, night had already completely fallen, and the sky was dotted with stars.

Taking an unfrequented side path back to the inn, Chen Xiao hid his pack, and immediately afterward stepped into Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion for the third time.

The girl, who was just preparing to pack up and end today's consultations, saw the familiar figure walk in, and a trace of helplessness flashed across her lovely face.

"Where are you hurt this time?"

"I'm not hurt. I came today because I want to buy a set of tools for handling medicinal herbs," Chen Xiao replied with a shake of his head.

"Roar of the Mad Lion" and Eagle Wings had to be put to proper use, and the Seven-Colored Poison Manual was the same.

As the saying went, to do a job well, one must first sharpen one's tools.

If he wanted to learn how to prepare poisonous medicine, a set of tools was indispensable.

And Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion happened to have business in that area.

"Then I'll have to go up to the second floor and get one. If you don't mind, you can also take this set."

"These will do. No need to go to all that trouble."

"All right. Same old price: two gold coins. Thank you for your patronage."

"Let's change the payment method today. I suddenly remembered a few methods for preparing medicines. You should be interested."

Chen Xiao smiled and picked up the paper and brush on the table.

He still had a use for the Seven-Colored Poison Manual, and besides, it wasn't suitable to let Xiao Yi Xian learn about the Woeful Poison Body so early.