Xiao Feng nodded slightly and said, "That's true, but you need to break through to a one-star Dou Practitioner first!"
"..."
Upon hearing this, the smile on Xiao Yan's face froze instantly.
"No, Brother Feng. Cousin Xiao Yan might have already awakened a special constitution."
Xiao Xun'er suddenly thought of something and looked at Xiao Yan with a sympathetic expression. "Have you forgotten? It was after he successfully condensed the Dou Qi Vortex that his cultivation started to mysteriously regress."
"No... It can't be, right?"
Xiao Yan's mouth twitched, his face full of disbelief.
"As far as I know, not all special constitutions bring positive effects to the awakeners. Some might even threaten their lives."
Xiao Xun'er explained seriously, "For instance, there's a notorious special constitution known as the Woeful Poison Body on the Dou Qi Continent. Those who awaken the Woeful Poison Body don't need to cultivate Dou Qi for long periods. They only need to keep consuming poisons to grow stronger rapidly. The Woeful Poison Body can automatically convert the poison's potency into a unique Poison Dou Qi. The stronger the poison, the more it enhances their strength."
"With enough poison, they can grow from an ordinary person to a Dou Ancestor or even a Dou Venerate in just a few years. However, as they consume more poison, the Woeful Poison Body will eventually fail to suppress the Poison Dou Qi within them. At that point, they will suffer excruciating pain from the myriad of poisons in their body, ultimately dying in agony. After the owner of the Woeful Poison Body dies, the poison in their body will explode, destroying all life within a thousand-mile radius!"
After hearing Xiao Xun'er's explanation, Xiao Yan's face turned completely dark.
While uncovering the "truth" about his missing Dou Qi should have been a relief, Xiao Yan couldn't bring himself to feel happy.
If it were true that his Dou Qi vanished because of awakening a special constitution, was there any point in continuing to cultivate?
"Xiao Yan, don't overthink it. These are just Xun'er's speculations."
Seeing Xiao Yan on the verge of being influenced by Xiao Xun'er, Xiao Feng quickly patted his shoulder to comfort him. "Even if it's true that you awakened a special constitution, which caused your cultivation to regress mysteriously, it might not be a bad thing. It's possible that your awakened constitution is incredibly powerful, requiring more Dou Qi to fully awaken, so you can't give up on cultivation!"
"Brother, don't worry! I'm not that fragile."
Xiao Yan forced a smile and said, "Since your injury has healed, I won't disturb your time together. I'll be leaving now~"
Watching Xiao Yan's desolate figure, Xiao Feng turned to the culprit responsible for the situation and gave Xiao Xun'er a displeased look.
(*^▽^*)
Feeling guilty, Xiao Xun'er playfully stuck out her tongue, trying to get away with it!
"You~"
After leaving Xiao Feng's courtyard, the troubled Xiao Yan unknowingly found himself in the back mountain.
Sitting on a rock wall, Xiao Yan gazed at the distant Mountain Range of Magical Beasts and couldn't help but shout angrily, "You damned heavens, do you think it's fun to toy with me? Why awaken a constitution that devours my own Dou Qi?!"
"Hehe, little guy, the reason your Dou Qi disappeared isn't because you awakened a special constitution."
Just as Xiao Yan finished speaking, an old voice suddenly sounded.
"What the...!"
Xiao Yan's expression changed dramatically. "Is it really the heavens speaking?"
"Little guy, I'm not the heavens."
In Xiao Yan's surprised gaze, a transparent old figure emerged from the ring on his right hand.
"Who... who are you?!"
Xiao Yan's pupils contracted slightly, full of vigilance. "Why are you in the ring my mother left me?"
"You can call me Yao Lao. I'm an alchemist."
The old man in the white robe stroked his beard and asked with a smile, "Little guy, do you want to become an alchemist?"
"An alchemist?"
Xiao Yan couldn't help but retort, "Who on the Dou Qi Continent doesn't want to become an alchemist? But those harsh conditions... Wait a minute, are you saying I have the qualifications to become an alchemist?"
"Indeed! Your soul power is much stronger than the average person, and your Dou Qi attribute is fire, with a trace of wood, just barely meeting the conditions to become an alchemist."
Yao Lao pretended to be reluctant and said, "If it weren't for the fact that I've accidentally absorbed your Dou Qi over the past three years and awakened from my slumber, I wouldn't have owed you such a big favor. With your barely passable alchemy talent, I wouldn't bother to take you as my disciple."
"You..."
Xiao Yan felt both angry and happy at Yao Lao's words.
He was angry that Yao Lao had messed up his cultivation for three years, but happy that his body had no problem and his cultivation talent was still there.
"Alright, alright, don't be angry. You've suffered a lot in the past three years, but without these experiences, your character wouldn't be as steady as it is now, and you wouldn't know who truly cares for you."
Seeing Xiao Yan about to lose his temper, Yao Lao quickly soothed him, "Moreover, your cultivation base has been regressing, but it's not all bad. Your foundation has become extremely solid through this ordeal, and future cultivation will yield twice the results with half the effort. With a bit of my help, it's easy for you to reach the seventh level of Dou Disciple within a year."
"Master, please accept my bow!"
Hearing this, Xiao Yan couldn't care less about being angry. He immediately knelt down.
As the saying goes: A man's kneeling is as valuable as gold.
Now is the time to put it to use!
"You're a teachable student~"
Seeing Xiao Yan's flexibility, Yao Lao nodded in satisfaction.
...
The next morning
Just after Xiao Feng finished washing up, Xiao Yan came to find him.
"Hey~ The sun must be rising from the west today. Xiao Yan, why are you up so early?"
Since Xiao Yan's Dou Qi mysteriously disappeared, although he still trained for two or three hours daily, he couldn't compare to Xiao Feng, who trained for at least four hours every day.
"Ahem!"
Facing Xiao Feng's teasing, Xiao Yan coughed awkwardly, "Well... Brother, I want to borrow some money from you."
"I knew you wouldn't come without a reason!" Xiao Feng laughed and shook his head. "Tell me! How much do you need?"
"About two thousand gold coins."
"Alright, wait here."
With that, Xiao Feng quickly walked to the corner of his bedroom, opened a hidden compartment in the wall, and took out a gold card.