Chapter 43: Poison Master

"Stupid snake, ever heard of the Icy Heart Pill?"

Octane Blast!

Even with a dirt-covered face, the proud smile on Xiao Yan's face couldn't be hidden by the mud.

He swiftly closed the distance with all of his strength gathered in this punch. No matter how hard the scales of the Black Steel Giant Python were, they couldn't protect its scaleless underbelly, nor could it dodge his carefully calculated strike in time.

With a long whistle, he unleashed a lethal blow filled with the unstoppable momentum of Octane Blast.

The punch landed solidly with a loud bang. Finally, his attack sent the giant Black Steel Giant Python flying into the air, and the eight layers of hidden force struck it eight times before it fell from the sky.

With a thud, the Black Steel Giant Python fell heavily to the ground. Blood spurted from its eyes and mouth. All of its bones were shattered by Xiao Yan's Octane Blast, and its internal organs were turned to mush by the dark force.

After twitching a few times, it died unwillingly.

Xiao Yan sat on his butt on the body of the Black Steel Giant Python, took out a cloth from his storage ring to wipe the mud off his body, and changed into a new set of clothes.

'Rank 2 Magical Beasts are indeed tough to deal with; I actually had to use an Icy Heart Pill.'

But there wasn't a rule against using medicinal pills, was there?

The Icy Heart Pill was a 2nd-tier medicinal pill with a rather unique effect. Upon ingestion, it immediately generated a cold current that chilled one to the bone. Not only did it cool the mind and help one calm down, but more importantly, the cold current from the Icy Heart Pill rapidly lowered the temperature of the body's flesh and meridians.

This was one of the alternative medicinal pills that he had prepared for devouring a Heavenly Flame.

To devour a Heavenly Flame, one could not simply swallow it directly; otherwise, one would be burned to death before even beginning to refine the flame.

Xiao Yan discovered from the notes of the previous owner of his storage ring, who had absorbed the Bone Chilling Flame, that three items needed to be prepared in advance in order to increase the success rate of absorbing a Heavenly Flame.

The first item was the 5th-tier medicinal pill, Blood Lotus Essence Pill, which could form a continuous bloody layer to protect the body, allowing him to get closer to the Heavenly Flame. The second item was the Acceptance Soul, which Xiao Yan had been lucky enough to find in the mysterious storage ring. The third item was the Ice Spirit Cold Fountain.

If the Blood Lotus Essence Pill was for protecting the exterior, then the Ice Spirit Cold Fountain served as a guardian for the interior. It could protect one from being incinerated into nothingness by the destructive temperature of the Heavenly Flame during its refinement.

Unfortunately, Xiao Yan was out of luck, because while the Blood Lotus Essence Pill at least had a recipe and could possibly be refined by someone else if necessary, he had never even heard of the Ice Spirit Cold Fountain. Therefore, he refined the lower-tier substitute, the Icy Heart Pill, himself.

If he truly couldn't find the Ice Spirit Cold Fountain and encountered a Heavenly Flame, he planned to use a large quantity of Icy Heart Pills as a replacement.

Unexpectedly, the Icy Heart Pill proved to be remarkably effective today. It lowered his body temperature, making it impossible for the Black Steel Giant Python's heat perception to detect him hiding underground, allowing his sneak attack to succeed.

Xiao Yan did not immediately move on to the next challenge. Instead, he sat down and began to skin and dismember the Black Steel Giant Python.

'Yay! There really is a Monster Core, the Monster Core of a Rank 2 Magical Beast. I've hit the jackpot this time.'

Xiao Yan wiped the Monster Core and tossed it into his storage ring. The materials for his practice pills were obtained just like this. He wasn't in Wu Tan City now, so he couldn't afford to waste a single penny!

He swallowed a 2nd-tier Qi Recovering Pill and applied some healing ointment before slowly circulating the Flame Mantra. He had already used Octane Blast twice. Even though Octane Blast didn't consume much Dou Qi, his body was extremely exhausted.

Xiao Yan was in no hurry. He knew that haste wouldn't lead to success, so he decided to restore his condition first. Fortunately, he had quite a few medicinal pills in his storage ring as a 2nd-tier alchemist.

'Sigh, fighting is indeed the fastest way to improve one's cultivation. My Dou Qi has increased a bit.'

Just as people gorged themselves when they were most hungry, the same principle applied to cultivation.

Xiao Yan stood up and stretched. Making use of what was available, he stewed the Black Steel Giant Python's meat into a soup. Only after being fully satisfied did he head toward the portal.

Although the portal had always been there, Xiao Yan's strong Spiritual Strength told him that its destination was constantly changing.

'I wonder what kind of opponent I will face next.'

Xiao Yan himself hadn't even noticed the slight anticipatory smile on his lips! He had become somewhat excited from being extremely cautious when he first entered. He was looking forward to fighting an opponent of equal strength!

As soon as he entered the portal, a sudden sense of danger swept over him. He heard a whizzing sound as a cloud of poisonous powder was shot toward him.

Having often ventured into the magical beast territories around Wu Tan City and even faced life-and-death situations, Xiao Yan was well accustomed to such sudden attacks and was not afraid.

He circulated his Dou Qi throughout his body and rolled to the side to dodge the sneak attack.

"Huh? You actually dodged my poison dart?" A surprised voice rang out. Xiao Yan looked up to see a pale-faced man watching him with a look of astonishment.

Clearly, the man had not expected Xiao Yan to be able to dodge his sneak attack at all.

"You're a Poison Master?! From the Chu Yun Empire?"

Generally speaking, alchemists could also refine poisons, similar to what Hun Huzi had done before, but that was because Hun Huzi was a high-tier alchemist. Ordinary low-tier alchemists wouldn't normally deal with poisons, and they might not even have the recipes for them.

Only Poison Masters frequently refined poisons.

The profession of Poison Master didn't have a good reputation on the Dou Qi Continent. Many people were somewhat wary of dealing with Poison Masters because of their stealthy and deadly poisoning methods, which could make any opponent or even a friend uneasy.

The Chu Yun Empire, neighboring the Jia Ma Empire, was a nation dominated by Poison Masters. It could even be said that the Chu Yun Empire was a gathering place for them.

Every time there was a war between the two empires, many soldiers from the Jia Ma Empire died at the hands of the Poison Masters' deadly poisons.

"Quite perceptive, I am Zhang Chuan Wu from the Chu Yun Empire. Now that you know my name, you can die in peace," Zhang Chuan Wu said with full confidence and a cold smirk.

Xiao Yan remained unflustered as he listened to Zhang Chuan Wu's self-introduction. He glanced at the latter and said in a leisurely manner, "Xiao Yan, from Wu Tan City in the Jia Ma Empire, a 2nd-tier alchemist."

!!!!

Upon hearing the word 'alchemist,' Zhang Chuan Wu's eyes looked as if they wanted to devour someone, filled with deep resentment and bitterness.

Xiao Yan had deliberately introduced himself in this manner. Ninety percent of Poison Masters became so because they couldn't become alchemists.

Alchemist was a profession that everyone on the Dou Qi Continent aspired to because of its special requirements that deterred most people. Those with the talent for refining medicine but unable to become alchemists often choose to become doctors, healing the sick and saving lives.

Some, however, chose to become Poison Masters out of jealousy and hatred, refining poisons that were the very antithesis of medicinal pills.

As an alchemist, Xiao Yan represented what Zhang Chuan Wu had once aspired to but failed to become. It was as if someone had taken the woman he loved and flaunted their affection in front of him.

"Kekeke. Fine, very fine. I'll let you experience how it feels to have all your limbs lose all sensation, leaving only your head clear while someone slowly cuts the flesh off your body piece by piece!"

Xiao Yan spread his hands with a look of helplessness and said indifferently, "That is just an anesthetic surgery, though it seems you lack an anesthesiologist's license."