"Hehe, if this old man says no to the exchange, will you curse me in your heart?"
Yao Lao shook his head, suddenly speaking in a somewhat undignified manner.
Yan Qingshan merely glanced indifferently at Xiao Yan, then calmly said, "Yao Lao's unwillingness to exchange is his own will, and of course, I won't take issue with it. It's just that this storage ring is, after all, your dwelling place. If it were to fall into a magical beast's droppings and be tainted with filth, wouldn't that be rather unpleasant? I imagine it's normal for little brother Xiao Yan to feel a bit impulsive after enduring so many hardships these past three years!"
As Yan Qingshan spoke, Xiao Yan, who was holding the storage ring, suddenly felt his right arm move uncontrollably. His palm flipped, and the storage ring pointed in a certain direction, by chance, directly below a pile of bird droppings.
Yao Lao's soul body swayed, perhaps from anger. "Kid, is it not going too far to use such methods when you can't achieve your goal?"
Yan Qingshan calmly replied, "Isn't this you making a move and me countering it? If you want the item, then speak properly. Isn't it tiring to keep beating around the bush like this, or is it that old age makes one prefer using childish tricks to gain attention?"
"You mischievous brat, who are you calling childish?"
Yao Lao puffed up his beard and glared, appearing extremely enraged, but Yan Qingshan paid him no mind. He had figured out this old fellow's temperament; essentially, he was an old man who enjoyed a good laugh, and was quite undignified. If you spoke to him properly, he'd still manage to twist things.
"Do you want the item or not?"
Yan Qingshan spoke again, and Xiao Yan's arm lowered even further. Yao Lao felt a surge of grief and indignation. To think, he, the venerable Medicine Saint, had never been treated like this before.
Yet, he couldn't just outright refuse. Although his soul had only just awakened, after possessing Xiao Yan, he still had combat power surpassing an ordinary Dou Emperor. Even a Dou Ancestor could contend with him for a time. He wasn't afraid of fighting Yan Qingshan, but to fight now would be humiliating!
If news of this were to spread later, saying that he, the Medicine Saint, couldn't take a joke and immediately turned hostile just because someone used a small trick, it would be a matter of his reputation. He was an elder, and he valued his good name greatly.
"This old man was just speaking casually just now, of course, I want it, hand it over!"
Yao Lao grumbled with a flushed old face, looking extremely uncomfortable but not breaking out into a fit. Refining the Soul Cultivating Saliva wasn't difficult for him, but the key was that the materials were hard to come by, and he truly needed it now. With this item, he could recover a portion of his strength.
Yan Qingshan was right; with this, he could restore his origin, and his soul body could achieve Dou Ancestor level strength. And once he possessed Dou Ancestor level cultivation and strength, coupled with his experience, he would basically be able to move unhindered across the Northwestern Continent.
"Kid, this is what you wanted, but what do you want it for? The Woeful Poison Body is a very dangerous thing. I advise you not to play with fire."
Perhaps it was old age making him talkative, or maybe he hadn't spoken to anyone for many years, but this Yao Lao was surprisingly garrulous. However, Yan Qingshan never responded, simply taking the scroll from his hand with an indifferent expression.
The Woeful Poison Body is one of the top-tier physiques in the world. It can grow rapidly with enough poison, but it also presents a problem: due to overly rapid growth, the user cannot fully control their power, and eventually, the accumulation of excessive toxins will plunge the poison body into extreme pain.
As the poison body owner's cultivation deepens, this pain becomes more intense. Finally, one day, when the poison body owner can no longer bear it, the Woeful Poison Body erupts. During the eruption, all life within a thousand miles radius is utterly destroyed.
Several disasters caused by the Woeful Poison Body had occurred on the Dou Qi Continent. Because the Northwestern Continent was too remote, not many people knew about these events. In the Central Plains, once a Woeful Poison Body was discovered, its owner would be hunted by countless people, as they all wished to prevent a poison body eruption.
Xiao Yi Xian possessed the Woeful Poison Body, so Yan Qingshan naturally needed to plan early. In truth, he had long wanted to obtain the Poison Pill Method from Yao Lao, but his strength was insufficient before, so he hadn't had much confidence. He had dragged it on until now to exchange for it.
There is no method to completely resolve the Woeful Poison Body, but if one has enough fortuitous encounters, there is hope of completely controlling the poison body, allowing the Woeful Poison Body owner to freely control the poison power within their body.
This control method is called the Poison Pill Method, which involves condensing all the accumulated toxins within the body, ultimately forming a Poison Pill internally.
If the Poison Pill is formed, the Woeful Poison Body will become a truly terrifying physique, free from constraints. Refining the Poison Pill requires three things: first, three different Heavenly Flames; second, a Monster Core from at least a Rank 7 Sky Poison Scorpion-Dragon Beast; and third, Bodhisattva Body Transformation Saliva.
The materials required for this Poison Pill Method were too difficult to find. However, Yan Qingshan had already considered the latter two items, and he had already obtained the Bodhisattva Body Transformation Saliva. Now, he only needed to consider the three Heavenly Flames.
Yan Qingshan looked at Yao Chen and asked, "Are the conditions for these three Heavenly Flames necessary? What's the principle behind it? Is there a way to bypass or substitute them?"
"As for this matter, it's not without a solution."
Yao Lao looked at Yan Qingshan, and seeing his eyebrow twitch, his heart skipped a beat. He stopped keeping him in suspense and directly said, "This refining method requires three different Heavenly Flames, or more accurately, it requires the convergence of the power of three types of creation rules for cyclical cleansing.
A single one is too powerful and unrestrained, making it easy for things to go wrong. The solution is also simple: you just need two other Heavenly Flames to separate enough sub-flame power to assist in the process. However, the refiner definitely needs one Heavenly Flame to succeed."
After hearing Yao Lao explain the method, Yan Qingshan understood. This dishonest old fellow indeed had plans early on.
At least three Heavenly Flames could not only be used to help the Woeful Poison Body condense a Poison Pill but also for refining a body to revive someone. In the original work, Xiao Yan's Flame Mantra could indeed absorb many Heavenly Flames, which was naturally not an issue.
But the key was, with the cunning personality of an old fox like the Medicine Saint, was he truly 100% certain that the Flame Mantra was effective? It was impossible for such a cautious and sly old fellow to not have any backup plans!
Once the Flame Mantra couldn't use Heavenly Flames to evolve, he would still make Xiao Yan collect Heavenly Flames, but this time the primary purpose would be for his own revival, using the method he had just described.
As for why Yao Lao later sacrificed himself for Xiao Yan, it could only be said that hearts are made of flesh. Xiao Yan had feelings for Yao Lao, and how could Yao Lao not cherish this disciple?
"Medicine Saint, do you know that the Xiao family you are in is quite dangerous?"
Yan Qingshan spoke again after receiving the Poison Pill Method. This time, however, Yao Lao revealed an expression that said "I've known for a long time."
"Hehe, kid, don't even think about using the same trick you used to scare that brat on me. A Dou Ancestor might indeed be a problem for the Xiao family, but for this old man, it's just a small issue."
Yan Qingshan smiled and continued, "It's not the Misty Cloud Sect. Aren't you curious why this small Xiao family would have someone as extraordinarily graceful as Miss Xun'er?"
Yao Lao's expression stiffened. He had indeed long been curious why Xun'er was in the Xiao family. Although he didn't know Xun'er's specific identity, he could sense her clan's origin. For such an illustrious background to be in this small Xiao family, it seemed abnormal no matter how he looked at it.
"Xun'er? Is there something wrong with Xun'er?"
Xiao Yan panicked as soon as the matter involved Xiao Xun'er. This was his childhood sweetheart; even after his genius had fallen, she hadn't estranged herself from him. Her significance in his heart was extraordinary, and of course, he didn't want anything to be wrong with Xun'er.
"Kid, don't keep us in suspense!"
Yao Lao stared at Yan Qingshan for a long while before speaking again. He had come to understand Yan Qingshan's cunning. This person clearly had a thousand thoughts but wouldn't express them directly; he would only slowly reveal them bit by bit when you asked, clearly trying to pique one's curiosity!
"Miss Xun'er comes from the Gu Clan, one of the ancient clans. A Dou Di once appeared within their clan, and her reason for coming to the Xiao family in the Jia Ma Empire, of course, involves some other matters. I'm not clear on the specifics, but I generally know the origin of the Xiao family."
Yan Qingshan smiled mysteriously and then continued, "In this world, there are many racial powers. Among them, those at the pinnacle are undoubtedly the ancient clans with ancient inheritances, from which Dou Dis once emerged.
Long eons of time have led to the disappearance of many imperial clans, and over a thousand years ago, a great battle caused one imperial clan to decline. Over a thousand years ago, the eight ancient clans stood in parallel on the Dou Qi Continent: the Hun, Gu, Ling, Yao, Shi, Yan, Lei, and finally, the Xiao. The Xiao of the Xiao Clan, the Xiao of the Xiao family."
"What?!"
Both Yao Lao and Xiao Yan were stunned. Yao Lao was surprised why he would so strangely encounter someone from an ancient clan in this remote corner of the Jia Ma Empire, while Xiao Yan was even more shocked that his Xiao family's ancestors had produced a Dou Di.
"A thousand years ago, the Xiao Clan faced a crisis of survival. The Xiao Clan Chief, Xiao Xuan, was besieged and killed by the Hun Clan, and the Xiao Clan's Xuan Realm was destroyed under the Hun Clan's assault.
The remnants of the clan were only able to retreat to the Northwestern Continent under the protection of the Gu Clan, and after more than a thousand years, they became the current Xiao family."
Yan Qingshan noticed their shock and continued, "The Gu Clan and the Xiao Clan were allies at that time. Their support arrived too late; by the time they arrived, Xiao Xuan was already dead, so they could only protect the remaining members of the Xiao Clan and withdraw.
Over these past thousand years, the Xiao family has gradually declined to its current state, not even having a single Dou Spirit. Logically, they should be insignificant. As for why Miss Xun'er still visits, I'm not sure.
But... there is another branch of an ancient clan within the Jia Ma Empire, and they are a threat to the Xiao family. I believe Yao Lao should not be unfamiliar with the Soul Hall!"
"The Soul Hall? You're saying there are people from those guys, the Soul Hall, in the Jia Ma Empire?"
Yao Lao immediately became agitated. How could he not be familiar with the Soul Hall? It was Han Feng, that scoundrel who colluded with the Soul Hall, who caused his death. How could he not remember them vividly?
"Yun Shan, the old sect master of the Cloud Mist Sect, was able to break through to Dou Ancestor because of his connection with the Soul Hall, and the Soul Hall is an external force affiliated with the Hun Clan."
Yan Qingshan continued to explain, "Although the current Xiao family has declined, Miss Xun'er's identity is extremely unusual. Her visit might attract the attention of the Soul Hall and even the Hun Clan. The Hun Clan and the Xiao Clan had a blood feud in the past. If they harbor any ill intentions, how could the small Xiao family resist?"