Meeting their eager gazes, Little Fairy Doctor lightly brushed a strand of hair from her forehead.
"What, have I changed a lot?"
Her playful remark brought the three of them back to reality.
Zi Yan, unable to contain herself, was the first to ask the question on everyone's mind.
"Sister Xian'er, how strong are you now?"
Hearing this, Little Fairy Doctor chuckled. She felt incredibly good. The Woeful Poison Body, which had troubled her for so many years, was completely under her control the moment the Poison Pill condensed within her.
From now on, she wouldn't have to worry about unintentionally causing casualties due to a poison body outbreak.
The Woeful Poison Body would no longer be a double-edged sword, but truly become a formidable weapon that only she could control!
"After condensing the Poison Pill, I advanced to the Dou Zun rank. I'm currently at the Three-Star Dou Zun realm."
Little Fairy Doctor didn't hide anything from the three of them.
Hearing this, Cao Ying and Zi Yan both couldn't help but gasp.
Compared to before condensing the Poison Pill, Little Fairy Doctor had actually advanced an entire major realm!
Such a rapid increase was truly astonishing.
Chen Xiao was equally amazed. This was the terror of the Woeful Poison Body. With such a rapid improvement, even he, with his own cheats, couldn't keep up.
However, after this improvement, Little Fairy Doctor wouldn't be able to experience such a massive surge again. The next step was for him and Zi Yan to strive to catch up.
"Three-Star Dou Zun. From what I know, several Pavilion Masters of the Four-sided Pavilions are at this level. Xian'er is strong enough to establish her own sect now."
With the Poison Pill condensed, Little Fairy Doctor had escaped her fate and would no longer harm herself or others. However, to truly perfectly control the Woeful Poison Body, one final step remained: to receive the poison body inheritance known to Yao Chen.
Of course, there was no rush for this; it could be done slowly.
After all, Little Fairy Doctor was no longer in mortal danger from this point on. Moreover, with Three-Star Dou Zun strength, as long as she didn't provoke forces like the Soul Hall, as Xiao Yan did, it was more than enough to roam the Central State freely.
Chen Xiao and the others had been busy with this for a while. Now that Little Fairy Doctor's issue was resolved, it was time to focus on their own breakthroughs.
"Chen Xiao, now that Sister Xian'er has condensed the Poison Pill, where should we go? Back to Holy Pill City?"
Hearing Zi Yan's words, Little Fairy Doctor and Cao Ying also looked over.
Especially the latter, she knew Chen Xiao's plans. With Little Fairy Doctor's problem solved, it meant it was almost time to part ways.
Genius was always somewhat lonely, and Cao Ying was no exception.
"We won't go to Holy Pill City. Let's send Ying'er to the Cao Family. Since we're already in the Pill Domain, it wouldn't be right not to visit the Cao Family. By the time we reach the Cao Family, Ying'er should have mostly recovered. After that, we'll deal with the Heavenly Demon Puppet and then leave."
After a moment's thought, Chen Xiao replied.
Cao Xi, the Fourth Elder, had helped Chen Xiao a lot back in the Black-Corner Region. Even Zi Yan's Transformation Pill had been personally escorted by him.
Combined with his current relationship with Cao Ying, it made sense, both emotionally and logically, to make the trip.
Additionally, contacting the Void Ancient Dragon might also be possible through the Cao Family.
Little Fairy Doctor and Zi Yan naturally had no objections. Cao Ying's face flushed slightly, but she didn't refute.
The conditions she and Cao Xi had agreed upon in the Northwest Continent were unknown to outsiders, but the Cao Family itself was very aware.
With that, the four of them made up their minds. They didn't bid farewell to Ye Zhong, but instead soared directly into the sky, leaving without a word.
It wasn't until the four of them vanished into the distant sky that the Ye Family members noticed and went to check on the Sun Fire Ancient Altar.
"Grand Elder, the Sun Fire has really recovered!"
After some attempts, seeing the suddenly appearing Sun Fire, the Ye Family's Second Elder's face was filled with wild joy.
In contrast, Ye Zhong's expression was somewhat lost.
What good was the Sun Fire recovering? In a few years, how could the Ye Family cultivate a genius capable of competing with the younger generation of the other four great families? By then, they would still have to pin their hopes on outsiders.
Moreover, the Black Flame Sect was also a problem.
"Send a message to Xin Lan and have her keep an eye out."
...
Seven days later.
Vast Sea City.
Compared to the other great families, who directly named their cities after their surnames, the Cao Family's base camp was slightly unique.
The reason was simple.
"The Grand Elder said 'Cao City' didn't sound good, so he changed the name."
"The Cao Family is much better off than the Ye Family. My father's name is Cao Yang. His strength is average, only a Two-Star Dou Zong. Plus, he doesn't like to manage affairs, so he serves as a leisurely elder in the Cao Family. My mother is only at the Peak Dou Huang level. Besides my father, the Cao Family has six other Dou Zong powerhouses and one guest Dou Zun. This is all the Cao Family's apparent strength. As for whether there are hidden members, honestly, I don't know. I rarely inquire about these things."
Emerging from the Spatial Wormhole, Cao Ying led the three towards the Cao Family, continuously introducing things to them.
Along the way, Chen Xiao and the others noticed that their group had a 100%回头率.
Part of it was their extremely high attractiveness, but the main reason was that very few people here didn't recognize Cao Ying.
This demoness's status in Vast Sea City was like Xiao Yan's in Wu Tan City when he first condensed his Dou Qi Cyclone.
Listening to Cao Ying's introduction along the way, after about ten minutes, the four of them arrived outside a magnificent manor in the city center.
Outside the manor, the open ground was densely packed with nearly a hundred figures!
Clearly, the Cao Family had already received news of their arrival.
Seeing such a grand display from the Cao Family from afar, it wasn't just Chen Xiao and the two others who were surprised; even Cao Ying herself was stunned speechless.
She had always known that the family placed great importance on Chen Xiao and the others. When she first went to the Northwest Continent, Cao Xi had also instructed her many times, but the current scene still exceeded her expectations.
As they got closer, the four of them could clearly see the group of people waiting.
"The one standing at the very front, dressed in an embroidered black robe, is my Sixth Uncle. He's also the current head of the Cao Family. The four people to his left are the First Elder to the Fourth Elder, respectively. Fourth Uncle, you've met before."
"To the right of the family head, the one in the gray robe is Honored One Kuyi, a One-Star Dou Zun. The couple further to the right are my father and mother."
"The ones behind them are younger family members and some more ordinary elders..."
Cao Ying said in a low voice.
The closer they got, the more Chen Xiao and the two others couldn't help but click their tongues in wonder.
This Cao Family was being a bit too ceremonious.
However, the strength of the Cao Family, compared to the Ye Family, showed an obvious difference at a glance; they were indeed in their prime.
"Hahaha, Chen Xiao, you're finally here! A few days ago, when I heard news from Holy Pill City, I guessed you'd definitely come for a visit. We've been looking forward to it every day."
Upon their arrival, Cao Xi, the most familiar among them, was the first to speak. His enthusiastic demeanor surprised many of the younger Cao Family members.
In their impression, this Fourth Elder had always been strict, with a perpetually cold face, and had never shown such open joy before.
"Fourth Elder."
Chen Xiao cupped his hands slightly in greeting.
He then glanced at the group of people staring intently at him and felt a headache coming on.
"Come, come, let me introduce you..."
"These kids are just here to watch the show, don't mind them."
Soon, Cao Xi introduced all the elders and then waved off the younger Cao Family members.
They had intentionally brought these clan members out to show their faces, with some considerations in mind.
With the Cao Family currently flourishing, it was inevitable that many of the younger generation would become arrogant. If they traveled outside, they could easily cause trouble.
Within the Pill Domain, getting into trouble with outsiders was one thing – the Cao Family could easily resolve it. But they absolutely couldn't cause a misunderstanding with their own people, like "flooding the Dragon King's temple."
Therefore, they used this opportunity to let these clan members recognize faces, so as not to ruin their prospects.
Chen Xiao greeted each elder in turn and was then led to the living room for more casual conversation. It wasn't until over an hour later that he was finally arranged in a quiet and elegant small courtyard.
"Socializing is truly exhausting. I really miss the days when Elder Hai dealt with things for me in the Black-Corner Region."
"When you return to the Northwest in the future, to Sister Cai Lin's Snake-People Race, you'll have to experience it again."
Zi Yan, who had been watching the whole spectacle with schadenfreude, poked at a sore spot.
Little Fairy Doctor also couldn't help but smile. "Before leaving the Black-Corner Region, Cai Lin told me that you have a fiancée in Central State and that you made a Three-Year Agreement with her. I never thought you'd be deceiving her. If Cai Lin found out about this, you'd have a lot of explaining to do."
It was clear that from their previous conversations, Little Fairy Doctor had already deduced the truth.
Chen Xiao, however, wasn't too bothered by it.
The past was the past, and the present was the present.
Now, with Cai Lin, the die was cast. This lie was harmless; at most, he would be teased about it occasionally in the future.
"These are minor matters. In comparison, I'm more looking forward to the result of contacting the Void Ancient Dragon clan through the Spine-Horned Dragon Lizard clan."
Chen Xiao shook his head slightly and replied.
This was also one of the reasons he had come to the Cao Family.
Zi Yan was bound to return to Dragon Island; there was no doubt about that.
Concealing her bloodline was not a long-term solution. Zi Yan couldn't keep her strength restrained forever; that didn't fit her personality.
Moreover, as Zi Yan's strength gradually increased, her senses would become more obvious in the future.
Given this premise, all Chen Xiao could do was to ensure Zi Yan could safely connect with Eastern Dragon Island as much as possible.
During this time, Chen Xiao had thought of many methods.
And using the Cao Family, or more precisely, using the Pill Tower, was a relatively safe method.
The three major races of the Magical Beast world each had many subordinate races. The Nine Serene Deep Ground Python Clan had them, the Heavenly Demon Phoenix clan had them, and the Void Ancient Dragon clan naturally had them too, though they were rarely mentioned in the original work.
When talking with the Cao Family members earlier, Chen Xiao had inquired in detail about this matter and finally learned of a little-known Magical Beast race called the Spine-Horned Dragon Lizard.
This race, like the Heavenly Poison Scorpion Dragon Beast race, also possessed ancient dragon bloodline within them. Through this race, it might be possible to contact the Void Ancient Dragon clan.
However, Chen Xiao couldn't be sure if the connection would be with the Eastern Dragon Island lineage.
Therefore, he asked the Cao Family to help with the liaison.
Behind the Cao Family was the Pill Tower. If the connection turned out to be with Eastern Dragon Island, then everything would naturally be fine.
If he were to contact the other three dragon islands, Chen Xiao could come up with an excuse to put them off and continue to hide Zi Yan. After all, those three islands couldn't do anything to the Pill Tower anyway.
Chen Xiao was quite clear about the Pill Tower's strength. The three visible giants were only a fraction of its power.
The true foundation of the Pill Tower lay within the Small Pill Tower.
And, of course, the Pill Tower Ancestor, whose whereabouts were always a mystery!
"Void Ancient Dragon, the supreme Magical Beast. I never imagined Zi Yan had such a background."
Little Fairy Doctor nodded gently, her gaze filled with surprise as she looked at Zi Yan.
It was only today that Zi Yan learned the name of her clan from Chen Xiao. Although she hadn't truly confirmed it, she had a feeling it was true.
The Void Ancient Dragon clan perfectly met her expectations.
With this thought, the Little Dragon Person became incredibly smug.
"I knew it! My clan must be extraordinary!"
After a moment of smugness, Zi Yan belatedly realized a problem.
"If my clan members come, won't I have to be separated from you all?"
"It won't be that fast. The Spine-Horned Dragon Lizard clan is in the Beast Region. Not to mention whether they can even contact the ancient dragon clan, even if they could, it would be at least several months before the ancient dragon clan sends someone. Besides, even if you go back, you can still come out," Chen Xiao said with a light chuckle, reassuring her.
Upon hearing this, Zi Yan finally relaxed completely.
A few months—not too long, not too short—was enough time for them to explore many of the wonders and scenic spots in Central State.
...
Late at night, the moon was bright and the stars sparse.
Knowing that Chen Xiao had one last thing to do, Cao Ying brought an elder to the small courtyard where Chen Xiao and the two others were staying.
"Elder, Ying'er?"
Seeing the two standing outside the door, Chen Xiao was slightly surprised.
It wasn't strange for Cao Ying to come, but the Cao Family's Grand Elder showing up at this time was a bit perplexing.
Noticing Chen Xiao's confusion, Cao Ying explained with a smile, "Aren't you going to refine a Heavenly Demon Puppet? I've carefully studied the refining method recently, and refining this puppet isn't as simple as condensing a Poison Pill for Sister Xian'er. With my current strength, I might only have a twenty to thirty percent chance of success."
"It wasn't easy for you to gather the materials, and that much certainty is too risky. So, I invited the Grand Elder over, and also to ask for your opinion. If you don't mind, let the Grand Elder refine it on my behalf."
This Grand Elder of the Cao Family was not only a high-level Dou Zong but also a Seventh Grade Alchemist.
If he were to refine the Heavenly Demon Puppet, his chances of success would undoubtedly be higher than Cao Ying's current capabilities.
Chen Xiao understood Cao Ying's meaning. If he let this Grand Elder take action, it would mean that one more person would know the method for refining the Heavenly Demon Puppet.
After a brief consideration, Chen Xiao nodded in agreement and took out the scroll, handing it to the elder.
"Then I'll trouble the Grand Elder. This is the method for refining the Heavenly Demon Puppet. Please take a look first."
Heavenly Demon Puppets were very useful and quite precious.
However, to refine a top-grade puppet, the body, soul, and refining flame were the most crucial elements.
Although this Grand Elder didn't possess a Heavenly Flame, which would result in a slightly inferior puppet, Chen Xiao only intended to use this puppet to repay a debt, and it would have no impact on the Heavenly Demon Puppet he was currently using.
"This is indeed a technique that defies the heavens! Rest assured, without your permission, this old man will not presumptuously teach it to anyone."
The Grand Elder took the scroll, examined it, and then praised it, not forgetting to give his assurance.
Chen Xiao shook his head and chuckled lightly, "The Cao Family can use it if they need to. Ying'er is also an Alchemist, and having a Heavenly Demon Puppet by her side will make it easier to deal with Pill Lightning. Just don't widely spread this refining method."
Verbal guarantees didn't mean much.
Moreover, puppets were ultimately external objects. While Chen Xiao valued them, he didn't value them to the point of considering them forbidden.
The Grand Elder nodded heavily.
Seeing this, Chen Xiao directly took out Old Eagle Mountain Man's body, Mo Tianxing's soul, and a multitude of prepared metal materials, handing them over to the elder.
For the body and soul, Chen Xiao had no other choice. He had originally planned to use Earth Demon Old Ghost's, but unfortunately, he self-destructed.
As for the supplementary metal materials, thanks to the convenience of the Purple Firmament Pavilion, Chen Xiao had collected a massive amount.
"You two go rest. The courtyard is quite spacious; this old man can refine it here."
Chen Xiao nodded slightly and pulled Cao Ying aside.
Then, he took out the letter he had brought for Cao Hui from his Storage Ring and asked her to have someone deliver it.
With the last small matter handled, Chen Xiao let out a long sigh of relief.
Before coming to Central State, he had accumulated a pile of tasks.
The Heaven Soul Blood Fusion Pill needed to be refined, the Heavenly Demon Puppet, the Magical Beast dried corpse, Little Fairy Doctor's Poison Pill condensation, Zi Yan's affairs, and so on.
To deal with these matters, his breakthrough plans had to be postponed.
Finally, all these miscellaneous tasks were sorted out!
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