Chapter 388: The Debt of a Lifesaving Favor

"What is that?! A beast?!"

"What divine bird is that? Is it a Heaven Phoenix?"

Suddenly, a sharp chirp rang out—flames rolled across the sky, and in the blink of an eye, a giant bird appeared, slicing through the heavens as it flew!

The giant bird was wrapped entirely in ink-green flames; each of its feathers spewed fire, as if every wisp of flame emanated directly from its body.

As this giant bird flew across the sky, it left behind a long black tailfire, resembling a tail fin—but upon closer inspection, it was not a tail fin at all, but the Space Turbulence torn open by the Netherworld Poison Fire!

"Is that the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan? But it doesn't quite look like them," Xiao Ning said uncertainly, rubbing his eyes and pointing at the giant bird.

"Idiot, how could that possibly be those fools of the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan? It's not even a beast," Zi Yan glanced at the giant bird in the sky and said coolly: "But this thing seems to be a Pill."

Zi Yan was also uncertain, but she was one hundred percent certain this was not one of those snacks from the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan.

"That's a Dan Beast!" Xin Lan, who had grown up in the Dan Domain, spotted something unusual—but she fell silent quickly, for she had never seen such a powerful Dan Beast before!

Aren't Dan Beasts supposed to be cute? This one looks more like a Fierce Beast!

Zizizizi!! Facing the Dan Beast hurtling through the sky, the thundercloud that had already endured eight-color Destroying Fire Lotus explosions and Xiao Yixian's Misfortune Demonic Poison Claw still managed to coalesce into Pill Lightning.

Boom! A deafening roar echoed as a gray Pill Lightning descended from the sky—a thunderbolt as thick as a river, striking the Dan Beast.

Chirp!! The bird cry sounded again as the strange Dan Beast suddenly spread its wings—and only then did its inner ferocity reveal itself!

A thousand eyes opened, glaring with fury!

Its wings were covered with countless eyes, densely packed to the point of being grotesque, sending chills down every spine.

Boom! Boom! Boom!! The heavens and earth trembled as the grotesque giant bird spread its wings and opened its eyes—the light of the entire world began to dim, as if this bird had swallowed the sun whole.

But! The darkness that fell was not the entire world—it was the vision of everyone who stared directly at it!

Poisoned!

Whether the half-step Dou Zun elders Qian and Bai, Elder Su Qian, disciples of the Inner or Outer Court, or even Zi Yan—all now had faint black lines in their eyes, their sclera covered in feather-like patches, beginning to obscure their sight!

A colorless, odorless poison that steals light!

"What happened?!"

"Why did it suddenly go dark?!"

"Kuang, what the hell is this bird?!"

But the blindness passed quickly—after all, Xiao Yixian had not truly targeted everyone in Jia Nan Academy; had she truly intended to, she could have poisoned and blinded every living thing in the academy without them even realizing it.

That is the terror of poison—the victim often doesn't even know when they've been poisoned!

"Huh? What just happened? Why did it suddenly get dark?"

"I don't know."

For a moment, everyone was stunned; though it lasted only a brief instant, sudden darkness still sent fear rippling through the heart.

Only a few sharp-minded individuals trembled inwardly, realizing the truth—it wasn't the world that went dark, but their own vision had failed for an instant!

"Look up at the sky—the thundercloud is melting!"

After only a brief moment of darkness, the thundercloud, already shattered by bombardment, now melted like a melting ice cream—its gray lightning transformed into a strange liquid that splashed onto the ground.

"That's definitely the forbidden Pill Xiao Yan Senior Student crafted?!" Xin Lan could roughly guess what had happened—this was undoubtedly Xiao Yan's doing!

At that moment, inside the Library Pavilion, Xiao Yixian, having easily resolved the Pill Lightning, swallowed the Poison Pill back into her body and turned to walk beside Xiao Yan.

Long after the thundercloud had been fully poisoned, melted, and vanished beyond the horizon, many only slowly came to their senses—even Hidden World Strong Experts who had traveled the world for years turned pale, murmuring: "Even in Zhong Zhou, nothing this bizarre has ever occurred—just who was the one who acted? Could it be a Dou Zun—or even a Sage Emperor?"

Many, recalling the thousand-eyed bird, felt a chill run down their spines—this bird was too outrageous.

"Definitely a Dou Zun. As for which star level, I can't tell," Qian Lao muttered, certain that the woman with the Eternal Calamity Poison body was the one who had acted.

Qian and Bai Lao also deduced that Xiao Yan had crafted the forbidden Pill to resolve the issue of the Eternal Calamity Poison body.

"Xiao Yan doesn't seem to have just resolved the Eternal Calamity Poison body—he's created something incredible," Bai Lao sighed helplessly. This wasn't merely detoxification; the thousand-eyed bird had poisoned even them—just by looking at it. Such a bizarre poison beast, they had never heard of in all their lives.

Half a month of Pill Alchemy, completely resolving the Eternal Calamity Poison body, and summoning such heavenly retribution—Qian and Bai Lao were filled with admiration for Xiao Yan; such a talent for Pill Alchemy was truly unparalleled in the world.

One must admit, Hun Xu Zi's insight was razor-sharp—back then, merely a Soul Body, he had glanced at Xiao Yan and immediately recognized not only his extraordinary innate Soul Force, but also his exceptional Pill Alchemy talent.

For a time, many in the Black Horn Region and Jia Nan Academy began discussing it, most fixated on the mysterious giant bird.

After some time passed, Xiao Yan's eyelids finally twitched slightly, and he struggled awake—when he opened his eyes, he found all his wounds had been bandaged.

Though Xiao Yixian could not refine Pills, she had once been the Doctor Immortal of Qingshan Town—bandaging wounds, applying medicine, resetting bones—she was highly skilled.

"You're awake," came a beautiful, serene face into Xiao Yan's vision, filled with concern and care.

Seeing his wounds bandaged, Xiao Yan noticed his head was resting on Xiao Yixian's jade thigh—and shamelessly stayed lying there, too lazy to move; the softness was too comfortable—he thanked heaven.

Xiao Yixian, seeing his audacity, rolled her eyes—but still sat there, letting Xiao Yan rest his head on her leg, merely gently cradling his skull.

Their movements were so intimate, so tender—like lovers in the throes of passion.

Fortunately, no one else was in the Library Pavilion, and Qian and Bai Lao had not intruded—if Inner Court students had seen this scene, their hearts would have twisted with envy and jealousy.

"Where's the Poison Pill?" Xiao Yan, having learned to lie flat, was finally the one being saved.

Xiao Yixian slowly opened her mouth, and a purple-green Pill floated out—she focused her mind, and a wisp of ink-green poison flame surged from the Pill, transforming into a tiny bird, no larger than a palm, as real as life.

Though Xiao Yan had just passed out, his Spirit Realm Soul Force still perceived everything around him.

Spirit Realm means possessing spirit—Xiao Yan's Soul Force was sentient.

So he knew perfectly well how terrifying this small, unassuming bird was—especially when its thousand eyes opened, melting the thundercloud that even the eight-color Fire Lotus had failed to destroy!

Of course, this didn't mean Xiao Yan's Fire Lotus wasn't strong—it was merely that his Cultivation Realm was too weak.

"This shape resembles Little Lan, but it's not an eagle—if I'm not mistaken, this shape is a Zhen!" Xiao Yan, as a true inheritor of the Pill Sage's legacy, had vast knowledge.

The Zhen bird—a legendary poison bird whose toxin is nearly incurable. Yet it had long vanished, nearly impossible to find even on the Dou Qi Continent.

What form a Dan Beast ultimately takes remains uncertain—some say it depends on the Alchemist's mood, others on the Medicinal Materials, still others claim it's entirely random.

Hearing Xiao Yan's words, the purple-green bird glanced at him, as if surprised: You, a tiny human, know this?

Xiao Yan's heart jolted—this thing's sentience is incredibly high! Newly formed Dan Beasts shouldn't have such high sentience!

"Wait—is this even a Dan Beast? Or should it be called a Spiritual Flame Fusion?" Xiao Yan couldn't decide—calling it a Dan Beast, but who's ever heard of a Dan Beast this monstrous?

But as for the Spiritual Flame Fusion, this guy's true form is indeed an Elixir, even if it's a Poison Pill, it's still an Elixir.

Xiao Yan rested his head on Xiao Yixian's jade thigh, gazing at the beauty so close at hand, at her flawless face, and let out a soft sigh, saying with emotion: "After all these years, I've finally resolved your Eternal Calamity Poison body—now I've lifted a great weight from my heart."

Xiao Yixian, for some reason finding courage, reached out and gently stroked Xiao Yan's cheek, smiling faintly: "Thank you for saving my life. I owe you my life."

Xiao Yan gave Xiao Yixian a look, saying: "I'm not asking for anything in return. I'm not the kind of person who holds a favor over others."

I charge for Spirit Refining, but I'm not some evil man who coerces the innocent—don't ruin my reputation.

Hearing this, Xiao Yixian covered her mouth and giggled, teasing: "But Zi Yan and Master Yao weren't telling me the same thing."

With the Eternal Calamity Poison body resolved and no longer being a walking time bomb, she had clearly become much more cheerful.

"Those guys—I refilled their Elixirs and still talked behind my back? Hmph! Fine, next time I'll slip some laxatives into their Pills to clean out their guts." Xiao Yan instantly grew petty.

Hearing Xiao Yan's grumbling, Xiao Yixian laughed softly, watching him keep talking about how to "get back" at those who spoke ill of him.

Then, after a moment of silence, Xiao Yixian looked down at Xiao Yan lying on her lap, gently lifted her restored jet-black hair with her left hand, and slowly bent down to press a light kiss upon him.

Mao Wu, hiding behind Space, immediately covered his eyes with both paws, wearing a gossiping expression.

"Thank you for saving me."