The Underworld Gorge was filled with miasma, so thick that sunlight struggled to penetrate. Yet, looking from a distance, the light and miasma blended, creating vibrant colors that were strangely alluring.
In the gorge, after dealing with the people from Ice River Valley and recovering, Little Medical Immortal looked at her old friend, her crimson lips slightly parted, a mix of playful annoyance and happiness in her voice:
"Xiao Yan, you're still as capable as ever, and just as reckless."
Xiao Yan gazed at the fairy-like woman before him, momentarily stunned. The girl who was so green when they first met had truly become like a celestial being.
Coming back to his senses, he touched his nose and explained:
"What recklessness? I had complete confidence. But seriously, what exactly happened?"
To be honest, he didn't think of himself as someone who only helped friends regardless of right or wrong. Yet, he didn't know why he had been so consumed by rage. Only after completely wiping out the Ice River Valley group did he remember that he should probably have found out the reason first. What if he had been too heavy-handed, and it was too easy for the Ice River Valley people to just vanish like that?
Hearing this, Little Medical Immortal rolled her eyes at him, a thousand expressions seemingly contained within the gesture, and began to explain:
"I heard there's an Underworld Poison Flame on the Heavenly Flame Ranking, and I hoped to use a Heavenly Flame to suppress the Body of Misfortune and Poison. While searching, I entered the Ice River Valley's sights, and that old demon targeted me. If nothing unexpected had happened, I would be dead today."
As she spoke, her gaze towards Xiao Yan subtly glowed.
Xiao Yan found it a bit hard to bear and shifted his gaze. Thinking back to the previous battle, although Ice Venerate's Cold Qi didn't affect him much, he could indeed sense a similar poison Qi to Little Medical Immortal's emanating from him. He suddenly understood.
He felt a bit fortunate. It was a good thing he had accepted the Imparting Scriptures mission, and a good thing he had such a powerful bodyguard... Otherwise, if he thought of his old friend in the future, he might never find her again.
Thinking this, he extended an invitation to Little Medical Immortal, saying:
"I once consulted my Teacher about the Body of Misfortune and Poison. There's a Method that can control it, but it has some rather strict conditions, and I don't have any clues right now. For the time being, let's travel together and suppress it temporarily, how about that?"
When he had gone to recover earlier, he had already realized that Little Medical Immortal was currently on the verge of her poison body erupting at any moment.
Little Medical Immortal was taken aback, seemingly not expecting her old friend to care so much about her situation. She said:
"Hmm, I want to try and see if the Underworld Poison Flame has any effect first."
Xiao Yan expressed understanding but wasn't optimistic. He said:
"Heavenly Flames are hard to find. Both it and the Method I mentioned rely on a bit of luck..."
As he spoke, he saw Little Medical Immortal looking at him with a smile, and he reacted, a little surprised:
"You really found a Heavenly Flame?"
He knew that although he had three Heavenly Flames on him, he hadn't found any of them himself. The Green Lotus Core Flame and Fallen Heart Flame were clues provided by Master Yao, and the Nine Nether Wind Flame was discovered by Zhao Li. As for the others, after years of Spreading the Teachings and Spreading the Dao, he had no clues. If Little Medical Immortal could truly find the Underworld Poison Flame, her luck was indeed undeniable.
Little Medical Immortal nodded:
"It's precisely because of the Underworld Poison Flame that I was ambushed here."
Xiao Yan felt a bit envious, but since it concerned Little Medical Immortal, he didn't have any other thoughts. He clenched his fist and said forcefully:
"No rush, you rest and recover first. Once you're healed, we'll go deal with it."
Little Medical Immortal nodded. Since Xiao Yan's arrival, her heart had inexplicably settled down. Even the constant pressure of her Body of Misfortune and Poison erupting seemed less urgent than before.
...
"Such a strange development, but it seems pretty good too. I just wonder how this kid will handle being in an Asura field in the future..."
Time flew by like a fleeting glimpse, and in the blink of an eye, several months had passed. After processing Xiao Yan's latest report, Zhao Li felt his Eight Trigrams soul awaken, wanting to be a spectator enjoying the drama.
Perhaps it was a twist of fate in the unseen world. They avoided the Fallen Heart Flame but couldn't avoid the Underworld Poison Flame. From Xiao Yan's hesitant words, it seemed Little Medical Immortal and Xiao Yan's innocence was gone.
"Matters between young people, they can handle them themselves. I just wonder if the changes in the Thread of Fate will cause some other unforeseen events..."
Since returning from the earth's core, Zhao Li had a deeper understanding of the Will of Heaven on the Dou Qi Continent. The Journey to the West and Imparting Scriptures could be considered in line with the Will of Heaven, but the Will of Heaven had always been difficult to question. He wasn't willing to take the Route of Dao Confluence with his own body, so it was naturally impossible for him to see everything. Moreover, even if he did achieve Dao Confluence, he might not be able to arbitrarily change those important people and important events unless he wanted to destroy the world. Otherwise, the world would simply collapse, and it wouldn't be worth the loss.
Furthermore, Zhao Li vaguely had a feeling that a gaze was watching him. Although that Sudden Impulse only lasted for a moment, he wouldn't ignore it. To deal with that potentially unknown existence, the Dou Qi Continent needed a stronger Foundation...
"I hope I'm overthinking things..."
Zhao Li sighed inwardly. He had been trying his best to minimize his presence these past few years, completing many things through the hands of others, just to gain more Time. But even a Butterfly flapping its wings could cause a hurricane. His Hundred Years of planning had ultimately caused significant changes in Xiao Yan.
On the other side, Xiao Yan and his group set off again. However, compared to before, they now had someone to talk to, though both seemed a little unnatural.
"Xiao Yan, you have important responsibilities. I won't be in any danger for now, you really don't need to..."
Perhaps seeing Xiao Yan's occasional absentmindedness, Little Medical Immortal's gentle voice came through. But before she could finish, she was interrupted by Xiao Yan:
"It doesn't conflict, and having you help me makes the journey much easier. You, ah, when will you start valuing yourself more?"
As he spoke, there was a slight ripple in his tone. Although it was a bit unexpected, that wasn't an excuse to avoid it, and he wouldn't avoid it, he just wasn't used to it yet...
As for the future, they could only take it one step at a time...
In the days that followed, most of the Time was spent on the road. He repeated the cycle of Spreading the Teachings and Spreading the Dao, touching the interests of the local Ruler, fighting, physically persuading, and re-establishing stable rule.
Although he sometimes didn't understand if this almost violent-for-violence behavior truly counted as Spreading the Teachings, seeing the changes before and after, all his doubts vanished.
On the Dou Qi Continent, the common people always needed a guide. If that was the case, why couldn't that guide be the Grandmaster? What he was doing was, after all, better than what others in this era were doing.
And in this cycle that repeated almost endlessly, the forces Xiao Yan came into contact with grew stronger, and the battles he experienced became more frequent...
Starting from ordinary Small Towns where he was like a god, to the large Cities in the Central Plains where various forces were fragmented and his Quantity was crucial, and then to some Regions that had been managed by a single force for hundreds of years, where he was almost unable to move...
But having passed through these places, he found that he was also constantly growing. Looking back, even setting aside the Great Li behind him, he himself was already a strong individual
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