19: Chapter 19 Soul Palace's Secret Plot, Poisonous Body's Mutation

The icy stream water soaked the hems of their pants, and the jagged rocks made faint clicking sounds underfoot. Lin Yan pulled Xiao Yi Xian along, rushing through the complex terrain deep within Luoying Ravine without stopping for a moment. The system's warning about the "Bone Chilling Flame mark" being indirectly stimulated was like a sword hanging over his head, making him not dare to be careless in the slightest.

The two of them ran several miles in one breath, not stopping until they could no longer hear any sound from the direction of the stream valley, halting in front of a crevice in the rock wall concealed by giant ferns. The crevice was deep and only wide enough for one person to squeeze through sideways. It wound inward, leading to who knows where, but it had the advantage of being well-hidden.

"It should... be safe here for now." Lin Yan listened intently for a moment, then used his soul perception to carefully scan the surroundings. Confirming there were no pursuers or abnormal energy fluctuations, he breathed a small sigh of relief. He looked at Xiao Yi Xian and found her face terribly pale, her breathing rapid, her forehead covered in fine beads of cold sweat, and her body even trembling slightly.

"How are you?" Lin Yan supported her arm. It felt freezing cold to the touch, and he could even feel the grayish-white poison patterns beneath her skin twitching uncontrollably.

"I... I don't know..." Xiao Yi Xian's voice trembled, her emerald eyes filled with pain and confusion. "Just now... in my haste, I used a type of 'Numbing Powder' recorded in the poison manual... It seems... it seems to have triggered something inside my body... It... it's become very active... I'm losing control of it..."

She tried her best to stand up straight but stumbled and almost fell. Lin Yan quickly helped her lean against the rock wall. He could clearly feel a cold, metallic, and strangely attractive aura drifting uncontrollably from her body in wisps. Several nearby ferns began to turn yellow and wither at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The Calamity Poison Body was showing signs of losing control due to her first active use of poison power, combined with her nervous state and physical exhaustion!

"Calm down, take deep breaths, and follow the poison manual's method to guide the poison power. Take it slow!" Lin Yan said in a deep voice, his tone carrying an unquestionable stabilizing force. At the same time, his thoughts raced, "System, is there a way to temporarily suppress or guide the unstable riot of the Calamity Poison Body?"

[Slight riot detected in the origin of target 'Xiao Yi Xian's' Calamity Poison Body. Suggested solutions:]

1. Provide pure life energy to neutralize and guide it (the host's 'Living Spirit Flame' seed flame possesses this characteristic, but extreme caution must be exercised during control to avoid stimulating the poison body or exposing the essence of the Heavenly Flame). Success Rate: Moderate. Risk: May trigger poison body rejection or temporarily worsen instability.

2. Exchange system points for a 'Soul-Calming Serenity Talisman' (Low-grade) to stabilize the target's soul and emotions, assisting in self-control. Cost: 80 points. Success Rate: Relatively high. Risk: Relatively low.

3. Find specific yin-attribute or neutralizing medicinal herbs to temporarily suppress it (requires time and luck). Success Rate: Indeterminate.

Lin Yan glanced at his remaining points. Having previously consumed 100 points to analyze the black ring and then continuously fighting using Dou Techniques, his points were now under 80. Exchanging for the talisman was not an option. Finding medicinal herbs was even more out of the question.

He could only take a risk and try!

"Xiao Yi Xian, trust me. Don't resist." Lin Yan squatted down, stretched out his right hand, and gently pressed it against the back of Xiao Yi Xian's cold hand. He carefully peeled away a wisp of life energy, thinner than a strand of hair and extremely gentle, from the tiny spark of emerald-green "Living Spirit Flame" in his dantian, slowly transferring it into Xiao Yi Xian's meridians like the gentlest spring breeze.

This energy was pure and full of vitality, completely different in nature from the cold and violent poison energy of the Calamity Poison Body, and even faintly counteracted it. The moment it entered, Xiao Yi Xian's body trembled violently. The grayish-white poison patterns under her skin twisted frantically like a startled nest of snakes, and the escaping poison gas suddenly intensified!

"Ngh!" Xiao Yi Xian let out a muffled groan, a look of pain appearing on her face.

Lin Yan's heart tightened, but he did not withdraw the energy. Instead, he controlled this wisp of life energy with even greater precision. Rather than forcibly clashing with or suppressing the rampaging poison energy, he acted like a lubricant and guide, slowly soothing her restless meridians. At the same time, using its pure life aura, he nourished Xiao Yi Xian's body tissues that had been damaged by the impact of the poison energy, faintly tracing the outline of the basic guidance route of the "Seven-Colored Poison Manual" within her body.

"Follow its guidance... Imagine it as another force within your body... peaceful, stable..." Lin Yan's voice was low and clear, as if carrying a rhythm that soothed the soul.

Xiao Yi Xian gritted her teeth, forcing herself to ignore the pain of the poison energy's backlash. Her entire mind was focused on that warm and peaceful wisp of energy. She worked hard to mobilize the superficial control she had just comprehended, attempting to cooperate with this external energy to sort out the rampaging poison energy within her body.

This was an extremely difficult and dangerous process. Two energies of completely opposite natures coexisted, tested, and rubbed against each other in Xiao Yi Xian's fragile meridians. Her body became a battlefield; cold sweat had long since soaked her clothes, and her lips were bitten until they bled.

Time seemed to stretch. Lin Yan was fully focused, consuming a massive amount of soul power, and sweat seeped from his temples. He could feel that under the gentle intervention of the Living Spirit Flame's energy and the guidance of her own will, the rampaging poison energy inside Xiao Yi Xian's body began to transition from chaotic collisions to gradually becoming slow and hesitant, starting to try to gather slowly along a certain unfamiliar path...

After an unknown amount of time, the cold poison gas escaping from Xiao Yi Xian's body finally began to weaken, and the wildly dancing grayish-white patterns under her skin gradually calmed down, their color fading. Her breathing gradually stabilized. Although she was still weak, the signs of losing control had been barely suppressed.

She slowly opened her eyes, her gaze carrying deep exhaustion, but even more so the relief of surviving a disaster and gratitude toward Lin Yan. "Th-thank you... You saved me again." Her voice was hoarse and weak.

Lin Yan withdrew that wisp of Living Spirit Flame energy, feeling a wave of exhaustion himself. "You controlled it yourself. My power was only an assist." He took out an improved energy accumulation pill, swallowed half of it himself, and handed the other half to Xiao Yi Xian. "This can replenish physical strength and Dou Qi. It should be of some help to you too."

Xiao Yi Xian did not hesitate and took it. As the gentle medicinal power dissolved, a hint of color returned to her pale face.

With the crisis temporarily averted, Lin Yan finally had time to process the system's information. Leaning his back against the rock wall, he closed his eyes and sank his consciousness inward.

[Key information from the memory fragments has been organized:]

1. Source Confirmation: The original owner of the black ring, code-named 'Three-star Dou Ling You Gu', was an outer deacon of the Hall of Souls (Three-star Dou Ling) in life, belonging to the Jia Ma Empire branch, specializing in 'capturing and assessing special constitutions and high-quality souls.'

2. Hunting Plan: 'Three-star Dou Ling You Gu' was ordered to lurk in the southeastern outskirts of the Magical Beast Mountain Range (Qingshan Town area) for a long time. His mission targets included but were not limited to: suspected carriers of the Calamity Poison Body (Xiao Yi Xian), those with high-purity fire attributes or special flame talents (suspected to refer to Lin Yan), and other high-quality souls or constitutions discovered by chance. Core of the plan: Capture them alive and transport them to the branch for 'Soul Seed' implantation or direct sacrifice, used to nourish the souls of the Hall of Souls' experts or for some kind of 'vessel' experiment.

3. Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade Clues: Only a fragment of blurry information remains in the memory fragments—"The secret of the ancient jade is not exclusive to the Eight Clans. The northwestern remnant map may point the way. Flames burn for ten thousand years, the spirit naturally returns to truth." This is suspected to point toward the remnant map of the Purification Lotus Demon Flame or other clues related to the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor existing in the northwest direction (or specifically referring to the northwestern region of the Magical Beast Mountain Range?), and is related to the legend of flames purifying the soul.

4. Bone Chilling Flame Mark: This ring served as 'Three-star Dou Ling You Gu's' token of identity and mission communication, containing a wisp of Bone Chilling Flame seed flame aura processed by special methods, used to periodically report his location to the branch and for emergency rescue. Once the mark is activated, if there is no specific method to screen it or if the distance is too great, it may be sensed by higher-ranking members of the Hall of Souls.

A massive amount of information! Stormy waves surged in Lin Yan's heart. The tentacles of the Hall of Souls had actually reached a place like Qingshan Town, and with a clear target! Xiao Yi Xian's Calamity Poison Body and his own "abnormally pure fire attribute" (actually the Heavenly Flame's seed flame) were both on their hunting list! This also explained why Mu Li had the cold aura of the Hall of Souls on him; he was highly likely an associate or collaborator developed by "Three-star Dou Ling You Gu".

As for the clues about the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade, although vague, the "northwestern remnant map" was highly likely referring to the remnant map of the Purification Lotus Demon Flame (Fake) obtained in the cave! That remnant map might not be completely fake, but rather pointed to the location of some true clue related to the Purification Lotus Demon Flame or the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor's inheritance, and its position was likely in the northwest direction!

As for the trouble of the Bone Chilling Flame mark... Lin Yan looked at the ring shrouded in the system's white light in his inventory. The mark was temporarily isolated, but his previous use of the Green Lotus Core Flame to simulate the aura seemed to have caused a faint resonance with the residual mark, increasing the risk. He had to find a way to completely block or resolve this hidden danger as soon as possible; otherwise, like a firefly in the dark night, he could attract even more terrifying predators at any moment.

He opened his eyes, looked at Xiao Yi Xian beside him, who had already recovered some of her strength and was silently regulating her breathing while hugging her knees, and then looked at the old, yellowed "remnant map of the Purification Lotus Demon Flame (Fake)" obtained from the cave in his hand.

"Xiao Yi Xian," Lin Yan spoke, his voice sounding exceptionally clear in the silent rock crevice, "I'm afraid we are in big trouble. The Wolf Head Mercenary Group is just a pawn. Behind them is an extremely massive and dark organization called the 'Hall of Souls'. Their target is highly likely you... and me."

Xiao Yi Xian raised her head, shock and confusion appearing in her eyes.

Lin Yan did not explain the terror of the Hall of Souls in detail, but simply summarized the portion of the memory fragments regarding the "hunting plan" and his speculation of Mu Li's collusion with the Hall of Souls in a way she could understand.

Xiao Yi Xian's face turned pale once again, but this time, her eyes held more of a cold determination. "So, they want to capture me because of my constitution?"

"Yes. The Calamity Poison Body is a highly valuable 'material' to them." Lin Yan nodded, his tone serious. "Qingshan Town, and even the outskirts of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, are no longer safe for us. We must leave and go to a place further away and more hidden."

"Where to?" Xiao Yi Xian asked. Having gone through so much, she had already built up a considerable amount of trust in Lin Yan.

Lin Yan unfolded the remnant map, combining it with the information "The northwestern remnant map may point the way" from the memory fragments, as well as the northwestern direction of the Magical Beast Mountain Range shown on the map—which was an even more vast, dangerous, and sparsely populated deep mountain region.

"To the northwest." Lin Yan's finger traced across the shadowed area on the map representing the unknown and danger. "There might be what we need there, and we can also temporarily avoid the search of the Hall of Souls and the Wolf Head Mercenary Group. However, the journey is long and fraught with danger, and your body..."

"I can endure." Xiao Yi Xian interrupted him, her gaze firm. "I don't want to be coveted and hunted like cargo anymore. If this is my fate, then I will find the power to control it myself, even if it means going to the most dangerous places." She paused, looked at Lin Yan, and her voice softened, "Besides... I trust you."

Looking at the resolute light flashing in her eyes, Lin Yan's heart stirred slightly, and he nodded. "Alright. Then we'll rest for a bit and set off at dawn. But before that..."

He looked at the system interface again, his gaze falling on the contained black ring. The hidden danger of the mark had to be dealt with as soon as possible.

[System, is there a way to permanently block or tamper with the 'Bone Chilling Flame mark' without completely dismantling the ring?]

[Retrieving solutions... Feasible solution retrieved: Utilizing the devouring and simulating characteristics of the 'Seed Flame of Void Devouring Flame', you can attempt to devour the Bone Chilling Flame aura within the mark, and simulate its fluctuations to perform reverse interference or forge an illusion of dormancy. However, this requires the host's control over the Seed Flame of Void Devouring Flame to reach the 'Initial Guidance' level, and will consume a large amount of soul power and points to assist in stabilization. Risk: Relatively high (may trigger violent resistance from the mark or expose the existence of the Void Swallowing Flame).]

Void Swallowing Flame! Lin Yan's gaze narrowed. This Heavenly Flame, ranked second, possessed the ability to devour all things and even simulate the aura of other Heavenly Flames! If he used its seed flame to deal with the Bone Chilling Flame's mark...

Although the risk was high, it was worth a try! It was better than running away with a tracker that could explode at any moment.

"Xiao Yi Xian, I need to enter closed-door cultivation for a while to deal with something. Help me guard, and wake me up immediately if there's any abnormality." Lin Yan said solemnly.

Although Xiao Yi Xian did not know what he was going to do, she nodded without hesitation. "Alright."

Lin Yan sat cross-legged, his mind sinking completely into his body, communicating with that pitch-black wisp of the "Void Swallowing Flame (Seed Flame)" that lay dormant in the deepest part of the system's inventory, emitting an endless intent to devour.

Outside the rock crevice, the night was pitch-black, and the mountain wind was biting cold. Meanwhile, in the deepest depths of the endless darkness, within a certain eerie hall, a soul lamp flickering with a pale, cold flame suddenly swayed extremely faintly. The guarding Black Robed Man seemed to sense something, looking up toward the direction of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, a trace of doubt flashing in his eyes.