The night was thick, the forest alive with the relentless roars of beasts echoing through the darkness.
After their meal, inside a small tent, Xiao Yi Xian retrieved a vibrant, multicolored pill from her storage ring. She popped it into her rosy mouth and settled onto a small bed nearby.
This was a poison pill crafted by Xiao Bai, following a recipe from the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture. Refined by an alchemist, the pill's properties were purer, absorbed faster, and could incorporate high-grade toxins. With an alchemist's precise control over the medicinal potency, its effects far surpassed her own concoctions.
Moments later, faint purple patterns traced across her delicate, fair face. A shimmering haze of colored mist enveloped her, filling the tent with a dazzling, seven-hued fog. If a Dou Shi were to enter and inhale this mist, they'd collapse instantly, succumbing to a slow death.
Outside by the campfire, Xiao Bai sat quietly, his senses attuned to everything unfolding within the tent. He'd wanted to stay by her side, but the girl adamantly refused to let him enter while she consumed the poison, even knowing he'd be unaffected.
She's worried I'll see her looking unsightly. Despite knowing his powerful soul force could perceive every detail inside, she pretended he didn't, as long as he wasn't physically present.
Amused by her ostrich-like mentality, Xiao Bai relented after her persistent pleas, agreeing to stay out. But while he wouldn't enter, he'd still keep a close watch.
Initially, Xiao Yi Xian had forbidden him from using his soul force to "peek," but this time, Xiao Bai was firm. No amount of coquettish pleading or feigned anger swayed him, and she eventually conceded.
So, Xiao Bai sat cross-legged outside, cultivating while diverting a sliver of his attention to monitor Xiao Yi Xian's condition. The night passed slowly.
As dawn broke, the sky tinged with faint light.
Inside the tent, the colored poison mist seemed summoned, surging toward the small of Xiao Yi Xian's abdomen. The dense fog gradually dissipated.
The purple patterns on her face faded, and her long lashes fluttered. Her bright eyes opened, a fleeting glint of strange, multicolored light passing through them.
"Fainted again, huh?" The haze in her eyes cleared, and she tapped her head lightly with a jade-like hand, exasperated.
"Awake? Then get out here. Why're you still lazing in bed?"
A voice, edged with cool indifference, rang from outside, making Xiao Yi Xian itch to march out and smack the speaker.
This jerk! The moment dawn breaks, he turns into a different person! She pursed her lips in dissatisfaction. The gentle, caring Xiao Bai from last night was gone, replaced by the tyrant Xiao Bai!
"One day, I'll poison you!" She clenched her small fist, shaking it with a huff before hopping off the bed with graceful ease and stepping outside.
"Poison me? With your measly four-star Dou Shi cultivation?" Xiao Bai glanced at her dismissively. "I could stand here and let you try. You'd exhaust your poison Dou Qi before it did a thing."
His smug expression and sharp tongue, though clearly an act, drove her up the wall. Give me back the gentle Xiao Bai! When he was kind, he made her feel cherished beyond measure. When he was infuriating, she wanted to bash his head in.
"Given your recent performance, I've prepared a special treat today—two second-tier magical beasts at once. Surprised?" Xiao Bai teased with a playful smirk.
"Surprised, my foot!" Xiao Yi Xian shot him a withering glare. She stomped over to the prepared breakfast, grabbed a piece, and bit into it savagely, her eyes boring into him as if she were chewing on him.
Xiao Bai pretended not to notice, chalking it up to morning grumpiness. Normal enough.
It wasn't about making things hard for her—hardly a challenge with him around to ensure no mishaps.
Over the past weeks of training, she'd mastered an array of creative poisoning techniques. Combined with the movement Dou Technique Xiao Xun'er had given her, which she'd nearly perfected, her combat style was unrecognizable from her earlier days.
Xiao Bai dubbed her style the "Kite Flow." She'd start by dosing the beast with poison, then dance around it, continuously administering more. Even the toughest, thick-skinned magical beasts couldn't withstand her relentless poisoning, eventually collapsing mid-charge.
It was time to raise the difficulty. Facing two beasts would hone her combat experience and accelerate her absorption of the poison pill, boosting her cultivation rapidly.
As for whether this would hasten the outbreak of her Calamity Poison Body, Xiao Bai wasn't concerned. Her current cultivation was still low, and he'd previously succeeded in using a seal to suppress her poison body. As long as his cultivation outpaced hers, he could keep it under control, preventing her growth from spiraling into a catastrophic eruption.
Ideally, they'd fully control the poison body with a poison pill method, but the materials were either unavailable or beyond his current capabilities. For now, they'd wait.
If push came to shove, Xiao Xun'er was a fallback option.
Wonder how that girl's doing. Xiao Bai shook his head, thinking of Xiao Xun'er. He'd planned to bring both girls on this training trip, but after a meeting, Xiao Xun'er announced she'd be entering seclusion.
Knowing her status as the Gu Clan's young miss, Xiao Bai trusted she had her own methods for rapid progress. He didn't worry, bringing only Xian'er along.
"Let's go, you jerk!" Xiao Yi Xian finished packing and brushed past him without a glance.
Xiao Bai chuckled at her dramatic, almost tragic stride. He was strict, sure, but he wasn't torturing her. Did she have to act like she was marching to her doom?
___
In the Magical Beast Forest, a group of uninvited guests intruded.
"Fairy Xue, it's just a second-tier beast. Relax. Once we find it, we'll beat it half-dead, and you can claim the task proof. Done and done!" A tall, burly man thumped his chest confidently.
"Exactly, Fairy Xue! As long as we don't kill it, you can finish it off. The academy won't care, and you'll get the full contribution points!" Another young man chimed in, his tone fawning.
At the center of their escort was a woman in a snow-fox fur skirt, strikingly beautiful with a melon-seed face and a sweet, serene smile. But a closer look revealed a glimmer of pride and vanity in her eyes.
"Thank you, senior brothers," she said softly, her voice calm and mildly distant.
The two men, oblivious to her aloofness, responded eagerly. "No need to thank us! Just put in a good word with Leader Liu when we reach the Inner Academy!"
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