This scoundrel is a bit of a swordsman.

The girl's figure ahead was becoming increasingly blurry. The blinding sun made him somewhat fearful. He could have walked in the shade of the trees, but the girl had led him to a deserted mountaintop.

The girl turned around and smiled, then gestured for him to come up quickly.

"Girl, I feel extremely hot all over, like I'm on fire. Do you know why?"

Xiao Xingchen dragged her heavy steps forward until she reached the mountaintop, where the girl finally stopped.

Xiao Xingchen could sense that the girl meant him no harm, but the discomfort he felt made him hesitant. They had only met by chance; this mute girl had no reason to harm him.

But if it weren't for those few blades of grass, how could he be in such a predicament? Now, it felt as if a small mountain was pressing down on him, and every step he took felt like it drained all his strength. The bamboo basket, which was originally light, had bent his back under its weight.

The girl kept urging him to hurry up and catch up, but the small mountain in front of them seemed like the summit of Qingyun Mountain, giving Xiao Xingchen a strong sense of pressure.

After finally reaching the summit, Xiao Xingchen's eyes brightened slightly. Looking down from this angle, he saw three mountain ranges stretching longitudinally across the distant land, resembling the Chinese character "川" (river).

The mountain range meanders like a dragon about to take flight, while three mountain ranges together protect the hill at its feet, forming a "three dragons holding a pearl" formation.

At that very moment, a tremendous force erupted from his body, like a balloon bursting, causing him to let out a scream.

"what!"

At this moment, numerous ancient source runes lit up simultaneously on the three ley lines. Mysterious runes appeared on the earth, then converged towards the hill, and finally climbed onto Xiao Xingchen's body.

In an instant, unidentified source runes began to flash on his limbs, chest, and back.

Xiao Xingchen gritted his teeth, enduring the excruciating pain coursing through his body. Although he didn't know what the girl intended to do to him, he shared the same sentiment as the little tiger. The little tiger seemed to be encouraging him: hold on, just a little longer.

Others might hurt themselves, but the little tiger would never; it's a trust born of blood.

With a loud "bang," he felt as if a star had exploded in his mind. This was the second time he had felt this explosive sensation since the Martial Emperor had drawn his sword from his body.

At the same time, scenes flashed before his eyes, and what exploded in his mind was a lost memory.

What came into view was a chubby, white baby lying on a platform covered in runes. The runes lit up continuously, driving away a gray, wriggling object within his body.

Beneath his skin, a worm was constantly wriggling, vying with these inscriptions.

"To cure this poison of destiny, we must sever all ties between Chen'er and us; only then can he survive."

"But he's my son, how could I let him leave?"

“He must be sent away. The stronger his luck, the more severe the backlash from this luck poison will be. But by stripping away his luck, the luck poison will have nowhere to take effect, and only then can he survive.”

"No, my child cannot die, absolutely cannot die."

“Once this child’s luck is taken away, he will suffer many misfortunes in the future, but as long as he lives on strongly, you will be able to reunite one day.”

This was something from the depths of Xiao Jianren's memory—the poison of destiny. Xiao Xingchen's heart trembled, for beneath his skin, a gray, wriggling creature was crawling all over his body.

The source runes from the three ley lines seemed to be driving it away.

"Keep your mind focused. I will use this ley line to remove the hidden dangers from your body. The process may be very painful; the stripping of your life force will feel like your flesh and blood being torn apart. You must persevere."

"Who?" A female voice rang in his mind. He looked at the girl, who nodded slightly at him.

"Separation of Qi and Yun?"

Xiao Xingchen laughed. Good heavens, so Xiao Jianren has so many stories to tell. He was poisoned by the Qi Destiny Poison when he was just a baby, and to suppress it, his parents sent him to the mortal world.

Then Xiao's family took him in. As for his biological parents, perhaps it was because their luck was too strong that it caused a poisonous eruption, thus necessitating separation from their flesh and blood.

In his previous life, whether he was in the Xiao family or was granted the title of Prince Kao Shan, although he was wealthy and powerful, his luck was extremely low. This prevented the poison of his luck from manifesting.

As he transmigrated here, he could sense that the poison of destiny seemed to have fully awakened. Was it because his own destiny had activated it?

No one would feel good having something alive wriggling under their skin. First the human sword, then the poison of destiny—Xiao Xingchen had to admire this guy's resilience.

A beastly roar interrupted his thoughts. Looking at the girl again, he saw anger on her face.

She had gone to such great lengths to eliminate the threat to the man before her, only to find him distracted, which made her quite angry.

The little tiger seemed quite displeased with his distraction; it was distressed about the herbs he had eaten.

"I know, I know, bring it on, I can handle it."

"Hmph," the girl snorted coldly, pressing her right hand downwards towards the ground. A surge of immense power erupted instantly, as if a true dragon had rushed into her body, directly attacking the poison of destiny.

The chase ensued, the pain spreading from his arms to his chest, and from his chest to his back. Each movement of the golden dragon and the poison of destiny caused flesh to separate. If Xiao Xingchen hadn't already experienced the agony of being torn apart from his sword, he truly would have found it difficult to endure.

It's like a master chef slicing raw tuna, separating the flesh from the bone without shedding a drop of blood. That's his situation now; he has to endure the excruciating pain of his entire body being torn apart while still alive.

However, to his relief, the herbs the girl had given him to swallow beforehand suddenly erupted at this moment, continuously replenishing his life force, making him no less powerful than he had been during the time when he couldn't die even if he wanted to.

Unbeknownst to anyone, a battle for destiny was raging deep within the Cangshan Mountains. He couldn't understand why the girl would do such things; after only a brief encounter, she had set up such a powerful array of earth veins and destiny for him. Moreover, judging from the little tiger's cravings, the herbs he had consumed were also extremely precious.

Furthermore, who exactly is this girl? Her methods are simply too bizarre.

A roar suddenly resounded within his body. In an instant, Xiao Xingchen's body trembled violently, and he pressed himself against the ground in a strange, twisted posture. At that moment, the ancient source patterns from the three major earth veins emitted a dazzling light, and all the light converged towards him, like mercury spilling onto the ground, directly enveloping Xiao Xingchen.