Chapter 51: Three Months in the Valley

The fire poison within Xian'er is more accurately a special type of fire poison—a strengthened variant of mutated fire poison. By ingesting highly toxic substances, these toxins have integrated into the fire poison Dou Qi within her body, making her fire poison even more potent and of higher quality.

A day later, as the toxic gas ceased to penetrate outward and began to reflux, it proved that Xian'er had successfully broken through to Dou Ling and controlled the leakage of her own toxic gas. She did not immediately emerge from seclusion but took another three days to stabilize and master the power surge caused by the breakthrough before she came out.

Subsequently, the two began their journey of learning to refine second-grade pills. With the breakthrough in her realm, Xian'er naturally had a stronger soul power and increased Dou Qi, which made refining medicine much easier for her. Soon, both successfully produced second-grade pills, advancing smoothly to become second-grade alchemists.

Following this, Wei Yang consumed the highest quality Three-Line Green Spirit Pill. It had been nearly two months since they left Tagor Desert. Over this time, Wei Yang felt that the somewhat hollow Dou Qi arising from his rapid advancement had finally solidified. After successfully refining the Three-Line Green Spirit Pill, Wei Yang managed to leap two stars and became a nine-star Dou Ling.

Afterward, the lives of the two became increasingly regular. Cultivation and alchemy. Time passed by. In the blink of an eye, nearly three months had passed. In this isolated small valley, Wei Yang and Xian'er quietly lived their lives. Whether cultivating or refining medicine, without external disturbances, the peaceful days passed leisurely and fulfillingly.

Sometimes during breaks, they would take books and compare them against plants in the valley, identifying many medicinal herbs there. Familiarizing themselves with their appearances, properties, and pharmacology, they enriched their foundational knowledge. The valley was filled with various rare herbs, even many third-grade herbs, and occasionally, they would find a common fourth-grade herb. For them, as low-level alchemists, this place was indeed a treasure trove.

Morning. As the sun rose, the valley was dampened by morning dew, with crystal-clear dewdrops hanging on leaves. The valley was shrouded in thick fog. The morning glow pierced through the fog, casting colorful rays upon the dewdrops, rendering the entire valley a splendid sight. As the mist curled with the breeze and colorful light lingered, the place looked like a fairyland.

In front of the cave, Wei Yang sat cross-legged on a rock, his eyes slightly closed, chest slightly rising and falling, with his breathing maintaining a certain rhythm. The fiery energy from the surrounding space was drawn in, rushing into his body, being refined through his meridians, and finally converging into his Dantian, merging into the Dou Crystal resembling a dark red sea urchin.

At the same time, thin strands of almost invisible pale gold light were also inhaled into his body through his breathing. From afar, it seemed like his entire body was draped with a veil of pale golden light, adding a touch of sanctity.

These pale golden lights were the rays of the morning sun, known as solar energy in this Dou Qi continent. Some warriors possessed rare, unique attributes. Like one of the Dou Emperor's protectors beside Gu Xun'er, who was sent to secretly protect Xiao Yan in the original work: Ling Ying, who had the rare dark attribute. It's understandable that there might be light, shadow, and ice attributes, which belong to the relatively rare mutated attributes.

After a moment. With a soft exhalation, Wei Yang opened his eyes, the dark red and pale gold glimmering briefly. At this time, the mist in the valley had also thinned significantly with time. Wei Yang gazed towards the distant horizon at the just-risen morning sun, his gaze becoming somewhat dazed. "The ancients in my past life said: When the sun rises, it marks the start of all things, the time of day when the breath of life is the richest."

"The Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic, Plain Questions chapter: Comprehend the world, grasp yin and yang, inhale vitality, stand alone and guard the spirit, muscles as one, thus living parallel to heaven and earth, with no end, this being the way of life!"

What was mentioned in the Plain Questions chapter of ancient times, beings who understood worldly changes, cultivated vitality, and achieved immortality. Initially, Wei Yang found this incredible. But now, having come to this Dou Qi continent and embarked on the path of cultivation, he believed it. Just because you've never seen it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It was just that his previous knowledge was limited.

Wei Yang longed for the horizon's morning sun with admiration. "Daoists said refining the Yin spirit results in pure Yang! Pure Yang, pure Yang..." In his view, if comparing the ancient Daoist system with this Dou Qi continent's cultivation system, undoubtedly, the cultivation system here seemed too crude and simplistic. The Dou Qi continent only focused on accumulating energy, pushing realms, seemingly not touching the essence of the 'Dao.' They didn't emphasize comprehending the heavens or understanding laws. They just trained Dou Qi straightforwardly, pursuing realm levels.

Not until reaching the Dou Zong realm, one naturally grasps a hint of the mysteries of space, allowing them to walk in the air. At the Dou Zun realm, they can break open space for travel. These aren't comprehended but are skills naturally mastered as the realm is reached. This made Wei Yang feel it was somewhat crude. Not to mention techniques, even discussing Dou Skills—combat and sparring involve direct clashes of Dou Skills, pitting them against each other. Whoever has the higher realm, the greater Dou Skill's power, it's purely Dou Qi slugfests without much sophistication. It doesn't delve into true meaning or laws, having not much depth or mystery...

After a while, Wei Yang collected his thoughts, shaking his head with a self-deprecating smile. It was a bit premature to consider these matters now. He was just a mere Dou Ling currently.

His gaze shifted not far away. There, Xian'er, who had gone early to collect herbs, was returning. She loved this environment and enjoyed interacting with the numerous herbs in the valley, volunteering every day to gather herbs. She seemed lost in her enjoyment, treating the valley's herbs as if they were planted fields at home to be meticulously tended to. Her steps were light, carrying a basket with freshly picked herbs still glistening with dew. With the wind blowing, her simple white dress fluttered, a light green scarf tied on her head, and humming a tune, she appeared like a lovely young bride, with two colorful butterflies fluttering around her.

Seeing this scene, Wei Yang couldn't help but smile. Seeing Wei Yang smile, Xian'er also gave him a sweet smile, "Brother Yang, are you hungry? I'll make breakfast right away." 

"Not hungry, we're both Dou Ling now, even if we don't eat for three or five days, it's fine," Wei Yang shook his head with a smile. "Skipping meals is not good," Xian'er wrinkled her little nose, like a small manager. 

She walked over to the stone stove, rolled up her sleeves, and started busying herself. Wei Yang sat on a rock nearby, watching Xian'er humming softly during her busy work, his eyes filled with gentle smiles. A sense of warmth filled the air, as he watched her neatly placing food items for cooking and putting them in the pot one by one.

She was a diligent and skillful girl, certainly a good wife in the future. Of course, this pure beauty who could descend into the kitchen, those jade-like hands were equally formidable and mysterious when it came to wielding poison. Yes, to enemies. Her tenderness was reserved solely for Wei Yang.