Xiao Yan's words indeed made Xiao Li and Su Qian slightly怔, yet their faces showed no surprise—indeed, they had already sensed, even if only vaguely, the purpose of Xiao Yan's journey. "Do you also have an interest in that thing?" Su Qian pondered for a moment, lightly tapping the table with her finger before speaking slowly. "My friend needs that thing to save his life..." Xiao Yan sighed. Upon hearing this, Su Qian and Xiao Li were both momentarily taken aback, then turned to the young physician beside them, furrowing their brows. "Could you please explain what's going on?" Xiao Yan hesitated slightly, glanced at the young physician, and upon seeing her nod, began to recount the matter—without omitting the details about the perilous toxic constitution. "The perilous toxic constitution?" Hearing the name that emerged from Xiao Yan's lips, Xiao Li was relatively composed, but Su Qian took a sharp breath, his eyes filled with astonishment as he gazed at the young physician, her lips slightly bitten, her complexion flushed. He had heard of this exceptionally rare and unique constitution before and knew well how formidable it was. On the Dragon Qi Continent, there had once been instances of such a calamitous toxic constitution—those individuals invariably brought about significant disasters. In those cases, entire regions would become utterly barren, with neither humans nor beasts surviving, a scene that had long remained etched in the memories of countless books as a haunting nightmare. "It's no wonder she has become a Cultivator of the Supreme Rank at such a young age—she possesses the Hardship-Toxin Body..." After a while, the astonishment in Su Qian's eyes gradually faded, and he murmured softly. From the beginning, he had been quite surprised by Xiao Yi's age, as a Supreme Rank Cultivator of such youth was something he had never seen before. If she truly relied on her innate talent, it would indeed be astonishing—far surpassing even Xiao Yan. "The Hardship-Toxin Body grows more intense as one's cultivation strength increases, and the point of its full eruption approaches steadily. Currently, Xiao Yi has less than two years before the toxin body fully erupts. If no measures are taken to control it, a new tragedy will unfold." Xiao Yan said slowly. "Could the Bodhi Body-Saliva help her?" asked Xiao Li, frowning. "Yes. As long as we obtain the Bodhi Body-Saliva, I will be able to fully control her Hardship-Toxin Body," said Xiao Yan, nodding firmly. Hearing this, Su Qian glanced at Xiao Yan with a slight sense of surprise, saying, "The Dragon Qi Continent has previously seen cases of the Catastrophic Toxic Body. However, in those cases, everyone ultimately perished during an outbreak—no one successfully controlled the condition. In fact, the stronger a person's power, the more intense the toxicity within their body, and thus the more devastating the outbreak became." "Su Qian shook his head, furrowing his brows, "But to seize the Bodhi-Transforming Saliva from that old master of Ersi Mountain isn't an easy task at all. That man is one of the senior powerhouses of HeiJiao Domain, with an exceptionally strong prowess. Even I might fall short of him. Moreover, he's a ruthless strategist—during his reign of dominance in HeiJiao Domain, countless factions were extinguished under his hands. It's no exaggeration to say he's owed blood debts to nearly every one of them." "If we team up with this young healer, we might be able to capture the Elder of Yingshan Mountain. Yet the matter is not that simple. Even if we seize the Bodhi-Body Saliva from his hands first, how shall we face the numerous rivals watching from the sidelines?" Su Qian said solemnly. "Especially the Mag-Flame Valley—this time, they've sent quite a number of strong contenders. Fang Yan himself is a powerful cultivator on the verge of reaching the Douzong stage, and his strength is formidable. Combined with several well-coordinated Douhuang elders, even against Douzong-level opponents, they can at least stall for a while. Moreover, you might have noticed something—within the Mag-Flame Valley's ranks, there's a mysterious gray-robed figure whose origins remain unknown. That man is undoubtedly a Douzong cultivator!" "No, the master of Mo-Yan Valley is currently in seclusion, and the aura of this elder is entirely different from that of the gray-robed figure. Therefore, it can't possibly be the same person." Su Qian shook his head, directly dismissing Xiao Yan's speculation. "Then, where did this powerful guest from Mo-Yan Valley come from? Even if a Daoist Conclave-level master is exceptionally reserved, there would still be some word of his presence within Black Angle Domain." Xiao Yan murmured, expressing his own confusion. Su Qian and Xiao Li also shook their heads in bewilderment. The latter furrowed his brows, saying, "We've previously fought against Mo-Yan Valley, and this gray-robed figure had never appeared before. It must be only recently that he's come into contact with them." Xiao Yan nodded slightly, then clenched his hands tightly, speaking softly, "Regardless of where this person comes from, we must secure the Bodhi Body Fluid this time. Otherwise, once the old eagle mountain master heads deep into the mountains with his supplies, he'll vanish again—then where will we go to find another supply of Bodhi Body Fluid?" "If you truly intend to make a move against Bodhi's Body-Saliva, I'd suggest you don't be the first to act. Right now, Bodhi's Body-Saliva is a hot commodity—whenever anyone takes it, countless eyes will be turned upon them with greed." Su Qian spoke slowly. "It's like the mantis catching the cicada, with the oriole behind, and beyond that, there's even a hunter. The more chaotic the scramble for it, the more disadvantaged those who act first become." "Xiao Li smiled and said, 'Over the next few days, you may rest here. We'll notify you as soon as anything happens.' Xiao Yan nodded—with the help of Xiao Clan's staff, they would naturally be able to avoid many complications. As the formal matters were settled and the atmosphere in the hall grew a bit more relaxed, Xiao Li instructed the attendant to serve tea. While chatting, he suddenly changed the subject, 'By the way, how's the Kingdom of Jima going? Last time I received a message from my elder brother, he reported that the Three Imperial States and the Three Great Sects had jointly launched an attack on the Yan Alliance. At that time, we were still engaged in a fierce battle against the Magi-Yan Valley, so we couldn't spare enough manpower. Later, when the situation improved somewhat, we received news that the Kingdom of Jima had remained unscathed.' Hearing this sudden question from Xiao Li, Xiao Yan's face slightly stiffened. The delicate hand of the young physician, who had been holding her teacup, trembled slightly, spilling a few drops of tea. She lowered her eyes slightly, her cheeks feeling a bit awkward. "Hehe, we're all good now..." Setting down his teacup, Xiao Yan fixed a stern gaze on Zi Yan, who had been pouting slightly beside him, then casually waved off the concern with a smile before quickly adding, "Brother, could you please help us arrange a place to stay? We haven't had a proper night's rest in the past few days." "Then, you two go rest well tonight. If there's any news tomorrow, I'll send someone to inform you." Relieved that everything was settled, Xiao Li nodded with a smile, then called for a maid and escorted Xiao Yan to a room at the back of the courtyard. ... As they walked along the quiet courtyard corridors, Xiao Yan glanced at the slightly pale face of the young physician beside him and softly said, "Don't worry—everything's fine. This isn't really your fault." "The young physician nodded slightly, then smiled wistfully. If only she had known earlier that Xiao Yan was the chief of the Inflame Alliance, the year-long war would have been avoided. Now that the situation has come to pass, she can only be grateful that no members of Xiao Yan's family had suffered casualties during the conflict—otherwise, she would have no face to remain by his side, watching him tirelessly struggle with his toxic condition." "Rest now," Xiao Yan said, smiling gently as he saw the attendant pause before a room. "We can discuss anything tomorrow." "Alright, you too rest well," the young physician replied, nodding as the sky grew late. With a soft voice, she said it, then gracefully moved toward her room. Watching the young physician enter, Xiao Yan sighed lightly and then turned down a corridor, walking swiftly toward his own room. The night seemed like a black curtain, enveloping the entire city of Hehuang. A gentle, cool moonlight filtered through the clouds and finally fell upon the room, illuminating the young man in black robes who was closing his eyes to meditate. A tangible energy hovered just above Xiao Yan's nose, eventually being drawn into his body and refined through several stages until it became a fine, pure qi, seamlessly integrating into his very being. As his tightly closed eyes slowly opened, he smiled faintly, listening to the lively, almost whispering sounds emanating from the cells within his body, now brimming with renewed vitality. With a simple gesture of his hand, a massive, squat creature materialized instantly within the spacious room. The creature was substantial, occupying nearly half of the room at its arrival. Its two bone wings, resembling jade, glowed softly under the gentle lighting, casting a delicate luminescence and appearing remarkably unusual. This creature, naturally, was the dried remains of a beast that Xiao Yan had obtained at considerable cost from the Hehuang Sect.