After watching Yao Tianhuo retreat back into the ring like a self-aware lantern trying to hide, Liu Xi sneered inwardly — the old man had definitely stayed just to see him make a fool of himself.
He once again lifted the jade bowl and downed the rest of the mushroom soup in one long gulp.
"Young Master, I'll get you another bowl!"
Seeing that Liu Xi hadn't left a drop, Xiao Yixian's face lit up with joy. She immediately filled his bowl to the brim again.
Twenty minutes later, Liu Xi sat back, clutching his now round and swollen stomach. Each time he finished a bowl, Xiao Yixian would happily refill it — by the end, more than half the cauldron had ended up in his belly.
Hicc.
"It's been a long time since I've eaten this much… Xian'er, when do you plan to break through?"
Loosening his belt, Liu Xi felt his waistline expand a full inch and sighed with satisfaction.
While tidying the dishes, Xiao Yixian looked up at him seriously. "In a bit. The Nine-Death Jade Scale Poison is extremely potent — I'll definitely lose consciousness during the process. Since I won't be able to control the poison's spread, I'll do it outdoors."
Liu Xi nodded. With her body's unique constitution, even if she fainted in the wild, few things could truly threaten her.
"I'll be right here guarding you. Just focus on breaking through."
"Mhm. Sorry to trouble you again, Young Master."
Once Xiao Yixian had cleaned up her tools and the venomous materials, Liu Xi recalled the Ten Thousand Beast Cauldron into his ring. This place wasn't fit for cultivation anyway.
He carried Xiao Yixian toward a sheer cliffside, carving out a hidden cave with his bare hands. Inside, he shaped a stone bed and layered some spare clothes atop it, creating a simple shelter.
Standing by the bed, Xiao Yixian turned back and said softly, "Young Master, I'll start now."
Liu Xi smiled. "Go ahead. I'll be here."
With a gentle smile, Xiao Yixian took out a jade vial. Inside was the Nine-Death Jade Scale Poison — pure emerald liquid that looked more like medicine than toxin.
She uncorked the bottle, raised it to her lips, and drank it all in one motion. The vial slipped from her fingers, shattering against the stone floor as her body went limp and fell back onto the bed.
Seeing this, Liu Xi ignited the Fallen Heart Flame around his body, then lifted Xiao Yixian and laid her flat. Almost immediately, faint streaks of green appeared on her pale skin, spreading toward his own hands.
His face darkened. In a flash, he withdrew several steps and looked down — his palms were already tinted with a poisonous green hue.
"This poison is downright savage!"
With a low growl, he flared his flames. The violent heat burned away every trace of toxin clinging to his hands. When he looked up again, the space around Xiao Yixian was already shrouded in thick emerald mists. The poisonous fog churned like something alive.
At that moment, a white light flashed from the ring, revealing the faint, glowing form of Yao Tianhuo. Hovering beside Liu Xi, the old man sighed.
"This girl… probably the only person on the continent who willingly poisons herself just to advance cultivation. Truly worthy of the Woeful Poison Body."
"With hope in her heart, she'll always be different."
Liu Xi sat cross-legged nearby, retrieving the Five Ring Flame Expelling Technique scroll. "Elder Yao, instead of sighing, why not guide me through this technique?"
"Ha! Gladly!"
Yao Tianhuo's wrinkled face broke into a pleased smile. The Five Ring Flame Expelling Technique was, after all, his signature technique.
The moment Liu Xi began studying it, his eyes widened — the methods detailed within far surpassed any flame control techniques taught at Jia Nan Academy. They could refine power with minimal spiritual consumption, commanding multiple flames as though they were extensions of one's own will.
And with Yao Tianhuo himself guiding him, a single offhand correction often illuminated entire paths of understanding. The more Liu Xi practiced, the deeper his fascination grew.
---
In the Black-Corner Region
Deep beneath the earth lay a vast and hidden palace, blanketed by suffocating black mist. The air was thick with a deathly chill — not the cold of ice-type Dou Qi, but a frost so vile it could freeze the soul itself.
Outside the great hall, shadowy, spectral figures drifted closer, cackling in eerie tones.
"Heh, Protecter Tie, you seem quite pleased. Must've caught a lot of prey lately!"
"Only just met the quota from above. Nothing extra to trade."
"Ha! The Black-Corner Region is a bloodbath right now — thousands dead each day. You expect me to believe you only met the quota? Trying to hog the spoils?"
"Not this time. But… that Han Feng fellow — he's dead. Died in Jia Nan Academy. A pity… a 6th Rank Alchemist's soul wasted."
"Word is, another 6th Rank Alchemist killed him. Anyone daring enough to enter the Inner Academy and fetch two 6th Rank souls, heh… what a prize that'd be."
"That alchemist's name was Liu Xi, wasn't it? A soul like his must be exquisite. The old monsters of Jia Nan Academy are troublesome, but he can't stay there forever…"
Eerie laughter echoed through the darkness, filling the hall with chilling intent.
---
Back in the Inner Academy
Within the secluded cave, Liu Xi's hands weaved intricate seals. Before him, a green flame wriggled, morphing into a wolf-shaped fire spirit. Though small, its heat distorted the air around it.
After only three days under Yao Tianhuo's instruction, Liu Xi's mastery of the Five Ring Flame Expelling Technique had advanced by leaps and bounds — his control over flame now several times sharper than before.
Hovering nearby, Yao Tianhuo nodded approvingly at the sight of the wolf flame. Even with his own guidance, for Liu Xi to condense a fire spirit in just three days was nothing short of astonishing.
Back in his prime, he had combined one Heavenly Flame and four Beast Flames into a formation — the Five Ring Flame Expelling Formation — and ruled his era as the Heavenly Flame Sovereign. Now Liu Xi, who possessed multiple Heavenly Flames, would one day perfect it even further.
Just as Liu Xi immersed himself in practice, a surge of power flared from the stone bed. He turned sharply — the poisonous mist around Xiao Yixian was thinning rapidly.
When the last wisp merged into her body, the deadly poison transformed into pure toxic Dou Qi, exploding within her meridians like a flood breaching a dam.
The bottleneck of the Dou Ling realm shattered.
1-Star Dou Ling.
2-Star Dou Ling.
3-Star Dou Ling!
Only when she reached the peak of 3-Star did the torrent subside. Xiao Yixian's eyes slowly opened — once bright and lively, now tinged faintly with a grayish-purple hue, the mark of her Woeful Poison Body awakening further.
She blinked once, her eyes returning to their soft black glow. Looking at Liu Xi, a triumphant smile bloomed across her face.
"Young Master, I've reached 3-Star Dou Ling."
Liu Xi chuckled. "I can see that. Don't look so smug."
"Now that you've broken through, it's time to head home."
(End of Chapter)
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