Fighting: Practice makes it real, start with a poisonous body.

Chapter 173 Goodbye Zi Yan
In a corner of Danyu, a quiet courtyard is enclosed by green tiles and white walls.

On the bed, Xiao Yan slowly opened his eyes. The white bandage wrapped around his chest exuded a faint medicinal fragrance. He looked at the unfamiliar carved bed ceiling, a trace of confusion flashing in his eyes.

Xiao Yan murmured softly, "Where...is this?"

"you're awake."

A clear voice rang out, and Xiao Yan turned his head in the direction of the sound. Sitting by the window at the table was Su Yun, who was gently holding a teacup between his fingertips. The rising steam blurred half of his face.

"Ancestor! You saved me!"

Upon seeing Su Yun, Xiao Yan's eyes lit up with joy. He struggled to sit up, but the movement aggravated his chest wound, causing him to groan involuntarily.

He looked around and then realized that, besides Su Yun and the smiling and nodding Venerable Tianhuo, there was a small figure clutching the hem of his clothes, his eyes red-rimmed.

"Zi Yan? What are you doing here?"

Xiao Yan was stunned, his tone full of surprise.

Zi Yan cried and sobbed, "Xiao Yan, you're finally awake! I thought you were going to die!"

Xiao Yan said helplessly, "Alright, stop crying. I'm very tough. It's not that easy for me to get into trouble."

"Tough luck?"

Su Yun gently placed the teacup on the table, her clear gaze sweeping over them, and said coldly, "Yes, you can still live even if your heart is ripped out, so it would be unnecessary for me to save you."

Although the words sounded stern, Xiao Yan could hear the concern in them. He scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly and said, "I'm sorry to have troubled you, Ancestor."

Seeing his appearance, the coldness in Su Yun's eyes subtly dissipated, and her voice softened, carrying a hint of barely perceptible melancholy.

“My Xiao clan doesn’t have many members left, you can’t fall so easily.”

This time, he was truly determined to kill, otherwise he wouldn't have so openly and brazenly beheaded Yao Tian in front of everyone.

Su Yun has always adopted a hands-off approach to Xiao Yan, and will not help him grow unless necessary, but he will never let Xiao Yan die.

"Actually, it's not so bad. Yao Tian didn't kill me because he was investigating the origin of the Pregnancy Spirit Powder. My injuries only look scary."

This silly, optimistic attitude left Su Yun speechless for a moment.

Xiao Yan endured the tearing pain in his chest, slowly sat up by supporting himself on the edge of the bed, and then sat cross-legged. Without the slightest hesitation, he raised his hand and ripped off the blood-soaked, scabbed white cloth stuck to his chest.

The moment the fabric tore, a hideous wound was suddenly exposed to the air. The skin and flesh at the edges of the wound were rolled back, and beneath the dark red scab, one could still faintly see the beating heart.

This horrifying sight caused Zi Yan, who was standing nearby, to gasp in surprise and cover her eyes with her hands in fright.

Xiao Yan didn't think anything of it; life-or-death battles and being on the verge of death were perfectly normal.

For someone like him, facing opponents like the six ancient races, surviving even one more day is a bonus.

Xiao Yan slightly spread his five fingers, and a ball of black and white flames rose from his palm.

"boom!"

The black flames were as black as ink, carrying a chilling aura of destruction; the white flames were as white as snow, surrounded by a warm, vibrant halo. The two completely opposite energies intertwined and swirled in the flames, yet achieved a strange balance.

Xiao Yan focused his mind and calmed himself, then a thought occurred to him.

The black flame that symbolized destruction quickly faded away, and in an instant, only pure white flame remained in the palm of the hand. Soft white light spread out, and a calming warmth filled the air.

His gaze fell on the not-yet-fully-healed wound on his chest, and without the slightest hesitation, he slowly placed his hand, covered in snow-white flames, over it.
"Buzz, buzz, buzz!"

Amidst the subtle tremors, white flames seeped into the wound as if they were alive, and the once gruesome wound healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The torn flesh slowly flattened, and the dark red scabs peeled off layer by layer, revealing new pale pink skin. In the blink of an eye, the potentially fatal wound disappeared without a trace, leaving only a few faint marks.

Xiao Yan lowered his hand, a relaxed smile appearing on his face. He patted his chest forcefully, making a dull thud.

"See, it's not a big deal at all!"

Su Yun nodded: "Yin Yang Twin Flames, ranked twenty-first on the Strange Flame List. Its characteristics combine the powers of life and death: the white yang flame contains vitality and can heal injuries; the black yin flame is destructive, turning anyone who touches it to ashes instantly."

"You've had some good fortune. It hasn't been long since we parted, and you've already subdued another kind of strange fire, which has also significantly increased your cultivation. You're already a Seven-Star Dou Zong now... that's not much slower than mine."

At this point, Su Yun's lips twitched; it was as if heaven was rushing to feed him.

Moreover, he also sensed that Xiao Yan had a powerful Dou Qi sealed within him, which was equivalent to the peak of the ninth level Dou Zun.

Before becoming a half-saint, Xiao Yan had no obstacles to overcome.

Su Yun had reason to suspect that even if he didn't intervene, Xiao Yan would escape this time for other reasons.

"It's just a fluke."

Xiao Yan said, "Speaking of which, how come Ancestor and Zi Yan are also in the Pill Domain?"

Zi Yan pouted and said, "After we were scattered in the spatial passage, we arrived in Zhongzhou with our void talent and were quickly taken back to Dragon Island by the elders of our clan."

But it was so boring there, so I thought I'd run away to play. I heard you say back in the Northwest Continent that you were going to the Pill Tower to find your teacher's friend for protection, so I came here.

"You, a Dou Zong, really managed to sneak out of Dragon Island?"

Xiao Yan looked suspicious. If that were true, the strength of the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan would be highly questionable.

"Of course not possible."

At this moment, a rough voice came from outside. The door was pushed open, and a tall, burly man cupped his hands to the crowd. When he faced Su Yun, he paused for a moment, and a look of fear flashed across his face.

Xiao Yan was startled. Although this person's aura was not as strong as Yao Tian's, it was as deep as an abyss. He was probably also a Dou Zun powerhouse!

"Let me introduce you."

Su Yun said calmly, "This person is named Hei Qing. He is a powerful figure sent by the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan to secretly protect Zi Yan."

While I was tracking down the whereabouts of the Dragon-Phoenix Child, I traveled all the way from the Northern Region to the Pill Region, and just then I discovered his aura.

Thankfully, Zi Yan helped explain, otherwise, I almost wouldn't have been able to stop myself when we first met.

"...It's all a misunderstanding."

Hei Qing gave a slightly embarrassed smile.

"I see."

Xiao Yan suddenly realized, and felt a sense of relief for this tall man.

Given the ancestor's style, if he suddenly discovered a powerful and furtive beastman in the heart of the human territory, he would undoubtedly eliminate the threat to the human race with swift and decisive action.

"There's something I haven't asked you yet."

Su Yun glanced at Zi Yan and Hei Qing, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

"I wonder what the Ancient Dragon Clan of the Void thinks about the alliance I made with Zi Yan back then?"

"The elders naturally agree. My reason for coming to Zhongzhou with Ziyan is to make contact with you."

"So good."

Su Yun smiled.

"but……"

Hei Qing took a deep breath, suppressing his anxiety, and said, "However, the elders hope that if we can finally obtain the Dragon-Phoenix Origin Fruit, you can give it to us."

"Oh?"

The smile on Su Yun's face gradually disappeared, and her eyes became as calm as a cold pool.

The harmonious atmosphere in the room suddenly became tense after Hei Qing uttered a single sentence.

(End of this chapter)