After casually crushing a few ants, Xiao Xue led Xiao Yi Xian as the two of them traversed through the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
Xiao Yi Xian's face was somewhat pale; the scene of Mu Li's blood being directly drawn from his body had dealt a significant blow to her still-fragile heart.
Even as a physician, she had never seen such a bloody technique.
However, Xiao Yi Xian did not know that Mu Li's miserable death was intentional on Xiao Xue's part.
For one, having lived two lives, Xiao Xue was an expert at reading people and could naturally see Mu Li's filthy intentions.
Mu Li setting his sights on her was already a path to his own destruction.
Secondly, she wanted to use this Opportunity to temper Xiao Yi Xian's Heart-Nature.
Kindness is a good thing, but in this world, some people do not deserve your goodwill.
Furthermore, to survive in this world where the strong are respected, one must grow accustomed to the sight of blood.
"Milord, I know of a hidden valley where we can go to hide."
Xiao Yi Xian adjusted quickly; she could also tell that Xiao Xue harbored no ill will toward her.
However, Mu Li's father was a two-star Dou Master and the leader of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group.
Even if Xiao Xue could easily kill Mu Li, facing the relentless pursuit of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group would likely land her in trouble.
"Don't call me 'Milord'; it makes me feel old." Xiao Xue stretched lazily and asked with a slight smile, "Besides, why should we hide?"
"He's just a mere two-star Dou Master. If he dares to come, I'll make sure he never returns."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yi Xian fell into silence.
Currently, she was only at the Eighth Stage of Dou Qi. In her perspective, Mu Li's father, Mu She, a two-star Dou Master, was already an incredible powerhouse.
Coupled with the numerous mercenaries of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group, the opponent's strength could not be considered weak.
Yet, in the mouth of this Alchemist whose name she didn't even know, the opponent was like an ant.
In Xiao Yi Xian's heart, a yearning for strength rose once again.
"Have you thought about becoming my Disciple?" At this moment, Xiao Xue's lazy voice sounded from the side.
Xiao Yi Xian bit her lip and performed a standard Disciple's salute to Xiao Xue. "Disciple greets Teacher."
"Rise." Xiao Xue's voice remained as calm as water, without a hint of emotion.
However, looking at the [Disciple: 1/3] on the System interface, she told herself not to laugh after succeeding, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but twitch upward frantically!
"Xiao Yi Xian, you will understand in the future that this is your good fortune."
"Remember, my name is Xiao Xue."
"From now on, you are my first Disciple."
"---"
After accepting the Disciple, Xiao Xue traversed through the forest in silence. Xiao Yi Xian didn't know what was happening and could only follow obediently.
A bewildered Xiao Yi Xian was somewhat confused, not understanding why her teacher was grinning frantically one moment and then suddenly became 'emo' the next.
However, since her teacher didn't speak, she didn't dare to ask.
A brooding Xiao Xue was feeling a bit depressed.
It was for no other reason than Xiao Xue realizing that she had just accepted Xiao Yi Xian as her Disciple, but she already couldn't afford to raise her.
With Xiao Yi Xian's talent, becoming a Dou Zun in the future was a certainty; if the Opportunity was sufficient, it wasn't impossible for her to Breakthrough to Dou Sheng.
Therefore, Xiao Xue naturally wanted to give Xiao Yi Xian a better Cultivation Technique first to help her build a foundation.
Although the Calamity Poison Body only required constant consumption of pills—taking pills would cause her cultivation to skyrocket.
In the original work, even Xiao Yan couldn't necessarily keep up with the early-stage pill-consuming Xiao Yi Xian, which sufficiently demonstrated the terrifying growth speed of the Calamity Poison Body.
However, Xiao Xue had her own considerations.
The "Seven-Colored Poison Manual" in the original work was a "poison manual recording how to concoct poisons," not a Cultivation Technique.
Xiao Yi Xian merely used the Seven-Colored Poison Manual to concoct poisons and then relied on daily pill consumption to increase her cultivation.
Thus, Xiao Xue wasn't sure if Xiao Yi Xian had ever practiced any Cultivation Technique.
However, if Xiao Yi Xian were allowed to rely purely on poison to Cultivate, it would definitely do more harm than good.
The outbreak of the Calamity Poison Body occurs because the toxins in the body are too numerous and powerful for the host to suppress, leading to an explosion.
If she relied solely on pill consumption to improve, she would also suffer from the backlash of the toxins as her strength increased.
But after practicing a Cultivation Technique, using Dou Qi to expand and reinforce the body first would make it much easier and safer when the poison Dou Qi entered.
--"If you feel this path is easy, it's because predecessors have already paved the way."
*Cough*... Theoretically speaking, factors such as cultivation level, physical constitution, and Soul Power would all affect the Calamity Poison Body.
Simply put, a Calamity Poison Body that only relies on pills to improve has a higher probability of losing control than one that both Cultivates Dou Qi and consumes pills.
For Xiao Yi Xian, Xiao Xue naturally wouldn't just hand over any random Cultivation Technique; she had to at least get her an Earth-rank Cultivation Method.
As it turned out, due to her recent high-frequency leveling and the time she took to upgrade the "Water Transformation Art" from Yellow Rank Advanced to Xuan-rank Low-Grade, she had consumed quite a lot of experience points.
So now, the experience points she had left were somewhat insufficient to exchange for a suitable Earth-rank Cultivation Method.
After all, the System was no philanthropist, and Earth-rank Cultivation Methods were already considered high-end goods.
Even the Jiama Royal Family might not necessarily possess an Earth-rank Cultivation Method.
An Earth-rank Cultivation Method suitable for Xiao Yi Xian required at least one million experience points, which current Xiao Xue simply couldn't produce.
Xiao Xue could only first give Xiao Yi Xian a storage ring filled with first-grade pills and several second-grade pills. "Xiao Yi Xian, your teacher doesn't have much good stuff on hand. Take these for now and make do with them."
Xiao Yi Xian:???
This is what the hell you call "not much good stuff"?
Xiao Xue also noticed Xiao Yi Xian's strange expression and waved her hand dismissively. "Sigh, these ordinary Medicinal Pills can be refined by your teacher at will. As for the cost of the medicinal herbs, it's just a number."
"Anything that can be bought with gold coins anytime, anywhere, is just cheap, common junk."
"Items that are slightly higher grade, like a high-grade Cultivation Technique that suits you, cannot be bought with money."
"Let me tell you, problems that can be solved with money aren't really problems. The real problem is that you don't have money."
"But your teacher is an Alchemist and doesn't lack money, understand? A few tens of thousands is nothing; I can earn it back by refining a few pills on a whim."
"You are my Disciple now, so from today on, you're also one of those loathsome rich people—you can eat these Medicinal Pills like jellybeans!"
"...Why are you so good to me?" Xiao Yi Xian asked, unable to help herself as she looked at the piles of pills in the storage ring.
When others became Disciples, they had to give their teacher a gift. Yet Xiao Xue not only didn't ask for any benefits but also gave her so many pills, making Xiao Yi Xian feel a bit uneasy.
"It's nothing. I think you're a good prospect worth investing in. These pills are useless to me but useful to you, so I naturally just handed them over."
Xiao Xue explained as she walked. Currently, she and Xiao Yi Xian didn't have a very deep bond yet.
Compared to playing the elusive emotional card, telling the "truth" was more likely to gain Xiao Yi Xian's trust.
In any case, feelings can be nurtured slowly, especially the bond between teacher and Disciple, which has immense potential for development.
It's just that the current Xiao Xue didn't expect that one day in the future, her obedient Disciple would end up riding over her head.
"Is my talent... really that strong?" Xiao Yi Xian looked puzzled.
She had always thought it would be good enough if she could Breakthrough to become a Dou Master in the future; after all, there were only a few Dou Masters in the entire Qingshan Town.
"Yes. You think Dou Zun or Dou Zong are rare? They're actually just so-so."
"As long as there are enough pills and you practice an Earth Rank or Heaven Rank Cultivation Technique, it's actually quite easy to Breakthrough to Dou Zun."
"..."
Xiao Xue, who was brooding just a moment ago, had successfully made Xiao Yi Xian feel depressed.
"Could it be that Qingshan Town is truly too small?"
Xiao Yi Xian fell into deep self-doubt.
At this moment, Xiao Xue didn't notice Xiao Yi Xian's abnormality for no other reason than she had once again heard the familiar System notification:
"[Ding! Hidden Quest triggered: Demon Venerable's Ruins. Do you accept?]"
Xiao Xue's expression didn't change, but her heart was already in an uproar.
"Demon Venerable's Ruins!"
"'Demon Venerable' meant that the person was at least at the Dou Zun level when they were alive!"
"This is... the ruins left behind by a Dou Zun powerhouse!"