Xiao Yi Xian's Breakthrough

With a casual wave, Xiao Xuan set up a Soul Power barrier and flew out.

"Qing Lin, keep an eye on Xiao Yi Xian."

Leaving those words behind, he headed toward the flicker of spectral green.

Nether Poison Flame?

Remarkable! Even Xiao Xuan now felt some admiration for the owner of the Heavenly Poison Scripture. At the very least, he would never have poured so much effort into cultivating a divine treasure of heaven and earth.

Presumably, its creator had not expected that, in the end, the Nether Poison Flame would take such an immense stretch of time to take shape.

But at least his approach had been sound.

A great hand formed from Soul Power reached out and carefully swept over the Nether Poison Flame's origin.

It's still very weak! And without the nourishment of the boundless toxins here, it would probably die out soon after being taken away.

But there would be no problem placing it inside Xiao Yi Xian. After all, the Woeful Poison Body and the Nether Poison Flame were a perfect match, nurturing and blending with each other.

Xiao Xuan even had a faint suspicion that the Nether Poison Flame might originally have been formed from a fully developed Woeful Poison Body.

But after being nurtured for countless years, any traces of the Woeful Poison Body had long since been erased.

It was a little far-fetched, but the possibility did exist. Xiao Xuan wanted to see what would happen when Xiao Yi Xian refined the Nether Poison Flame.

The result ought to surpass imagination.

In his hand, the Nether Poison Flame's origin had already been collected. The power it had accumulated was indeed very limited, even compared with what Xiao Xuan had found earlier.

It was even weaker than the Green Lotus Core Flame that had been born a thousand years ago.

After all, that flame had truly been born and nurtured by heaven and earth, while the Nether Poison Flame before him was more of an artificially cultivated, innately malformed thing. It did possess the basic characteristics of a Nether Poison Flame.

But compared with the Nether Poison Flames that had appeared on the Dou Qi Continent before, it fell far short.

With Xiao Yi Xian's Woeful Poison Body to continue nurturing it, however, it would surely grow quickly.

Xiao Xuan looked around, but apart from this Heavenly Flame, there was nothing else nearby. He shook his head with some regret.

The owner of the Heavenly Poison Scripture had indeed been a genius of extraordinary brilliance, but he had also been genuinely poor.

Or had he felt that nothing apart from poison was worthy of his attention?

Xiao Xuan turned and headed back.

On the main peak of Poison Mountain Marsh, Xiao Xuan looked at Xiao Yi Xian, who had already entered seclusion, and felt a little helpless. "How did this girl get so engrossed just from reading it?"

Qing Lin had been pulling up grass beside her out of sheer boredom. When she saw Xiao Xuan return, she hurriedly stood up.

"Master, senior sister woke up for a moment just now. Then she asked me to tell you and went straight into seclusion." Qing Lin sounded rather aggrieved. She felt she had not done a very good job of carrying out her master's instructions.

"It's all right!"

He patted her little head. It felt different from patting Xiao Yi Xian's.

"This Nether Poison Flame!" Xiao Xuan thought for a moment, then slowly infused it into Xiao Yi Xian's body.

He focused his mind and calmed his breath. Refining a Heavenly Flame was not only an ordeal for the person doing the refining; it also tested the judgment and skill of the person assisting from the side.

Xiao Yi Xian had only just crossed the threshold into Da Dou Shi. Her cultivation was indeed sufficient to refine the feeble Nether Poison Flame, but Xiao Xuan did not know whether the girl could truly withstand it.

"I've found the Nether Poison Flame. Refine it carefully; I'll be watching over you."

He interrupted Xiao Yi Xian's seclusion, though he only briefly halted her refinement of Poison Mountain Marsh's great formation.

Xiao Xuan had not expected her to comprehend such things from the Heavenly Poison Scripture.

The main reason, however, was probably the mysterious nature of her Woeful Poison Body. She was born able to control all kinds of toxins naturally, as long as she could withstand them.

This is a bit risky!

At this point, adding the refinement of the Nether Poison Flame might bring an unexpected reward.

Worry appeared in Xiao Xuan's eyes, but it vanished in a flash.

If it truly proved impossible, he would forcibly sever the connection between Poison Mountain Marsh and the girl. The worst outcome would be letting Poison Mountain Marsh fall into ruin.

Xiao Xuan did not consider such a price worth mentioning.

At worst, he could rebuild it afterward. And the newly rebuilt Poison Mountain Marsh might even be better suited as a base for Xiao Yi Xian in the future.

It would indeed be a pity to let this place fall into ruin. He could have Xiao Yi Xian gather it up, such a rare land of poison, especially one that had been specially prepared by a predecessor.

It would surely shine brilliantly in the future.

"Master!"

Even with a Peak Dou Sheng like Xiao Xuan personally protecting her, the pain of refining a Heavenly Flame could not be avoided.

At that moment, Xiao Yi Xian managed to gather her wits and gave Xiao Xuan a gentle smile.

It was a rare opportunity, and her master had already gone to so much trouble. She would not let him down.

"Mm!"

Xiao Xuan's expression remained unchanged. He had his worries, but if his disciple wanted to grow, hardship was indispensable.

With his assistance, refining a Heavenly Flame was child's play by comparison.

Even Xiao Yan had been able to refine the higher-ranked Green Lotus Core Flame with ease, then come out alive and kicking, his strength rising another step.

Xiao Yi Xian would do no worse.

Time slowly passed, and there was not much Xiao Xuan could do.

When Yao Chen assisted Xiao Yan in refining a Heavenly Flame, he had used medicinal pills to strengthen him. Xiao Xuan, however, had no need for so many fancy tricks.

The marvelous uses of Soul Power surpassed even those of medicinal pills.

With complete awareness of every part of Xiao Yi Xian's body, Xiao Xuan dealt deftly with the various injuries the Heavenly Flame inflicted on her, allowing her to refine it at full strength at all times.

Such treatment was without equal on the continent!

"It's done!"

Sensing that Xiao Yi Xian had gained control of the Nether Poison Flame's origin, Xiao Xuan smiled.

"Keep your mind focused and your breathing calm. Refine the Nether Poison Flame's power."

Xiao Xuan did not let Xiao Yi Xian relax. The process of refining a Heavenly Flame was also a process of increasing one's strength.

Besides, the Nether Poison Flame's power consisted of the primal Qi of heaven and earth, containing all manner of toxins. With Xiao Xuan watching, none of it would be wasted.

But the Dou Qi vortex inside Xiao Yi Xian was not strong enough, and her Woeful Poison Body was even less able to handle the Nether Poison Flame's power after it had undergone two transformations.

After a moment's thought, Xiao Xuan decided to intervene personally.

Mimicking the fluctuations of the Woeful Poison Body, he sent his Soul Power into Xiao Yi Xian's body.

A slight coolness came over her, and Xiao Yi Xian felt a strange sensation throughout her body.

"Guard your mind!"

Xiao Xuan's voice rang through her soul. After a slight tremor, Xiao Yi Xian quickly regained her calm.

With Xiao Yi Xian at the center, the surrounding primal Qi of heaven and earth spun rapidly, whipping up an incomparably violent storm!

Finish it in one go!

Xiao Xuan did not think this was pulling up seedlings to make them grow. Proceeding step by step was an insult to a heaven's chosen. His disciple, Xiao Xuan's disciple, would not be so ordinary.

As Xiao Xuan worked, Xiao Yi Xian's presence grew increasingly chaotic, yet within the chaos there was a measure of order.

His vast Soul Power filtered out every unstable factor.

"Mm-hah!"

After a muffled groan, Xiao Yi Xian felt a stinging heat in her back, and a pair of translucent green wings of light emerged.

Dou Qi wings!

She had become a Dou Wang.

That was about enough. A hint of a smile appeared in Xiao Xuan's eyes; his painstaking efforts had not been in vain.

A Dou Wang was nothing remarkable, but she now had at least some ability to protect herself. When she traveled the continent in the future, she would not be entirely at the mercy of others.

"Master, thank you!"

Xiao Yi Xian opened her eyes, her gratitude utterly sincere.

Faintly, something more was mixed in as well.

Flop author's diary: So why was I in such a rush to send it by express delivery?! There's no one around to update my contract status over the weekend anyway, and I spent another five yuan on postage. Losses: -5 more. It hurts to the very core.