Battle Through the Heaven: Purple Heaven

After leaving Xun Er's place, Xiao Bai didn't return to his own courtyard. Instead, he headed straight to Xiao Yan's residence.

"Brother Bai, you're finally here!" Xiao Yan's eyes lit up the moment he saw him, practically lunging forward in excitement.

"Hold it!" Xiao Bai raised a hand to stop him, his tone firm. "If you've got something to say, just say it!"

"Brother Bai, I'm suffering!" Xiao Yan dramatically wiped at his eyes, his voice tinged with mock outrage. "Half a month—half a month, and my cultivation hasn't budged an inch!"

Xiao Bai raised an eyebrow, puzzled. You just broke through to the ninth stage of Dou Zhi Qi half a month ago. What, you expect to leap to Dou Di in one go?

At that moment, a figure emerged from the ring on Xiao Yan's finger. Yao Lao materialized, floating around Xiao Bai in a slow circle. Stroking his beard, he remarked with a sigh, "Not bad, Xiao Bai, my boy! Your cultivation's been soaring like a rocket!"

"Heh, just average," Xiao Bai replied with a modest chuckle. Pointing at Xiao Yan, he turned to Yao Lao. "What's with him?"

Yao Lao shot Xiao Yan a sidelong glance, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Hmph. Someone's gotten hooked on that Foundation Elixir you refined. He's been waiting for you like a lovesick fool staring at the stars and moon!"

Xiao Bai burst into a grin, glancing at Xiao Yan, who was awkwardly rubbing his nose. It all clicked.

"Here, take these. They should be enough to help you break through to Dou Zhe." Xiao Bai pulled a few jade vials from his storage ring and handed them over with a smile.

These were refined from the materials Xiao Yan had provided last time, though the beast core had been ruined. Later, Xiao Bai had acquired some cores from the Snake-People Tribe and casually whipped up the elixirs.

The Foundation Elixir, a second-grade pill, was only effective during the Dou Zhi Qi stage. No one around him needed it—Xun Er's cultivation didn't require his help, and Xian Er had already broken through to Dou Zhe, rendering it useless for her.

The elixirs could be sold for money or traded for resources he needed, but Xiao Bai lacked the time and energy to deal with selling them bit by bit.

Maybe it's time to find a proxy to handle these things, he mused. Ya Fei would be a good choice, though her strength is a bit lacking.

No matter. Once he established his own faction, he'd have strong cultivators to back it up. Ya Fei could focus on managing the business and gathering the resources he required.

"By the way, Yao Lao," Xiao Bai said, snapping out of his thoughts. "Do you remember our last talk about the Calamity Poison Body?"

"The Calamity Poison Body?" Yao Lao's gaze shifted from Xiao Yan, his brow furrowing with suspicion. "Why are you bringing that up again, kid?"

"Well, I have a friend…"

"Don't tell me," Yao Lao interrupted, his hand trembling as he nearly yanked out a tuft of his beard in shock. "You've got a friend with a Calamity Poison Body?!"

He'd dealt with a Calamity Poison Body in the past—even fought one. He knew firsthand how terrifying that constitution was.

Memories of that woman flooded back, and Yao Lao sighed heavily. An entire empire, reduced to a toxic wasteland spanning a thousand miles, with hundreds of thousands dead—all because someone provoked her.

"Exactly," Xiao Bai confirmed. "Last time, you mentioned there's a way to address the Calamity Poison Body. What's the method?"

Yao Lao shook his head, letting out a weary sigh.

"Senior, don't worry," Xiao Bai said earnestly. "You know my character. Whatever conditions you have, just name them. If it's within my power, I won't hesitate!"

"You've got it all wrong, kid!" Yao Lao glared at him, exasperated. "I'm not trying to set conditions. The method to control the Calamity Poison Body is just too demanding. I'm worried you'll be disappointed!"

In Yao Lao's eyes, did Xiao Bai really think he, Yao Chen, was that heartless? Setting aside the treasures Xiao Bai had helped him acquire on this trip, their current relationship alone made the method's value negligible. It was useless in Yao Lao's hands—giving it to Xiao Bai was no loss.

"My apologies," Xiao Bai said, offering Yao Lao a sheepish smile, a pang of guilt in his heart.

"Fine, see for yourself." Yao Lao pulled out a dull, grayish scroll and tossed it over.

Xiao Bai caught it with a flick of his hand, a spark of excitement in his eyes. He carefully unrolled the scroll.

The Calamity Poison Body, a bizarre and rare constitution, is innately poisonous, deadly to the touch. Its bearer must consume poisons to survive, yet the more poison ingested, the denser the toxins within become. When these toxins reach a critical point, they erupt, annihilating all life within a thousand miles. This constitution is exceedingly rare, divided into innate and acquired types, with the innate being far more potent and nearly impossible to counter. However, if one, by some stroke of fortune, fully masters the Poison Body, they can wield its toxic power at will.

The method of control, known as the Poison Pill Method, condenses all accumulated toxins into a single Poison Pill. Once formed, the Calamity Poison Body transforms into a truly fearsome force. Throughout history, no known bearer of the Poison Body has achieved this, for one simple reason: the materials are nearly impossible to obtain.

To refine the Poison Pill, three items are required: first, three Heavenly Flames; second, a seventh-tier Heavenly Poison Scorpion Dragon Beast core; third, Bodhi Transformation Saliva.

The specific method is as follows…

Xiao Bai's eyes scanned the scroll's contents, his brow creasing as he sank into thought.

"Well? Not so easy, is it?" Yao Lao said, stroking his beard with a hint of smugness. "From what's recorded, only the method's creator likely ever succeeded."

Seeing Xiao Bai's furrowed brow, Yao Lao felt a touch of satisfaction. Let the kid think I'm stingy and trying to haggle, huh?

He continued, "You know about Heavenly Flames, so I won't elaborate. The Heavenly Poison Scorpion Dragon Beast is manageable—it's seventh-tier, but not impossible. The Bodhi Transformation Saliva, though, is another story. It's so rare, you'd be lucky to even hear of it."

Xiao Bai wasn't fazed by Yao Lao's words. He knew where to find both the Heavenly Poison Scorpion Dragon Beast and the Bodhi Transformation Saliva. His current frown stemmed from another question: what were the three Heavenly Flames used for, and could his lightning seeds replace them?

"Senior," Xiao Bai said, pointing to the scroll. "According to this, the three Heavenly Flames are only used to force the toxins in the Calamity Poison Body to converge, with the beast core condensing them and the Bodhi Saliva transforming them. If that's their sole purpose, could something else substitute for the Heavenly Flames—like lightning?"

If the scroll was accurate and the Heavenly Flames served only that function, Xiao Bai was ninety percent certain his lightning seeds, like Xiao Yi, could replace them. Still, he wanted Yao Lao's input.

"Substitute?" Yao Lao's eyes widened, then narrowed as realization dawned. He recalled the underground chamber in the desert, where Xiao Bai's lightning seeds had clashed with the Green Lotus Core Flame.

Each seed held power comparable to a Heavenly Flame. Initially, Yao Lao's thinking had been constrained, but Xiao Bai's suggestion sparked a new perspective. This substitute plan might actually work!

"Theoretically, it's feasible," Yao Lao said after a moment's thought, his tone cautious. "But there are a few things to consider. First, lightning is far more volatile than fire, requiring greater control. Second, the method specifies that the three Heavenly Flames must be fused. Can your lightning fuse?"

Yao Lao knew fire inside and out, but Xiao Bai's lightning was less familiar. He'd only witnessed it in action, not studied it closely.