The so-called 'Bone-to-Flesh' technique, rumored to be Gongsun Sheng's ability to reanimate the dead from mere bone, suggests a level of medical mastery within the Gongsun family so profound that even if the legends are exaggerated, they attest to its incredible heights…
And Gongsun Xiangyi is the daughter of Gongsun Sheng’s youngest son, Gongsun Mu. Unfortunately, Gongsun Mu harbored an intense fascination with poisons from a young age, specializing in using toxins to treat ailments—a practice that was, to a proud lineage like the Gongsun family, a profound irony. Gongsun Sheng repeatedly urged his youngest son to abandon this path, but though Gongsun Mu outwardly agreed to cease using poison, he secretly continued researching all manner of toxins, eventually experimenting on his own wife. Later, due to prolonged exposure to these noxious substances, Gongsun Mu’s wife gave birth to a daughter, Gongsun Xiangyi, who was born hideously ugly. Under her father’s tutelage, Xiangyi’s obsession with toxins reached a fever pitch…
She took to handling venomous creatures like snakes and scorpions from childhood, gradually developing an immunity to all poisons, and her skill in toxicology proved no lesser than her father's…
By the age of three, she could independently concoct poisons; by five, she understood how to neutralize various snake venoms…
In terms of talent for using toxins, she was the equal of her father. Because of this, Gongsun Xiangyi suffered relentless discrimination from her clan members; even her grandfather disliked her. After all, in a family dedicated to saving the world, who would welcome someone who trafficked in poison?
Not to mention her repulsive appearance. If Gongsun Mu hadn't been there, she likely would have been bullied into the ground by the Gongsun clan long ago. When she was six, her parents died in an accident and never returned. From that moment on, the Gongsun family became her nightmare…
Whether it was the elders or her cousins and siblings, everyone tormented her, beating and verbally abusing her…
Gongsun Xiangyi lived in perpetual fear. Finally, at the age of ten, unable to endure her elder brother’s incessant bullying any longer, she fought back and poisoned Gongsun Sheng’s favorite eldest grandson to death…
Consequently, the Gongsun family could no longer tolerate this evil woman…
Fortunately, Gongsun Xiangyi, aware she had courted disaster, fled the Gongsun estate before the family could react, taking with her Xiao Hua, who was then only a meter long—the colossal King Cobra before them now…
A mere ten-year-old girl fleeing with a cobra that had been nurtured on toxins since birth. Imagine the scene. Ordinary folk would surely be unable to accept it, treating her as a demon to be captured and burned alive…
Thankfully, she was quick-witted. After suffering a few minor setbacks, she and Xiao Hua retreated deep into the jungle…
Whether it was her lifelong interaction with venomous things or Xiao Hua’s inherent toxicity, the wild beasts of the jungle dared not trouble her, and she and Xiao Hua learned to rely solely on each other…
When hungry, they ate wild fruit; when thirsty, they drank dew; when tired, they slept on the cold earth. They lived this way in the jungle, without kin, without friends, possessing only a silent serpent…
She knew neither direction, nor time, nor place, nor the goal of her life…
What a wretched and desolate existence this was…
However, Gongsun Xiangyi’s mastery over toxins reached a level that invited divine envy. She knew every poison and every venomous creature intimately. She brewed poisons to protect herself while feeding countless toxins to Xiao Hua…
Over time, Xiao Hua, already highly venomous, began to evolve, transforming from an ordinary cobra into a Rank Six Savage Beast…
Of course, precisely how many toxins and spiritual elixirs it consumed only Gongsun Xiangyi truly knew…
Over the past decade, perhaps due to constant exposure to poisons or other unknown reasons, Gongsun Xiangyi grew increasingly beautiful and strangely alluring; even her hair turned green. Though she remained secluded, people occasionally entered the jungle for various motives, and some coveted her beauty…
But whether they were mere Martial Apprentices or formidable Grandmasters, all met their end by her poisons…
She also amassed a collection of secret manuals. Though not high-tier, when combined with the elixirs she formulated, these helped her own cultivation break through to the Innate Realm…
Xiao Hua had advanced to Rank Six Savage Beast, but as her understanding deepened, Gongsun Xiangyi realized more about the natural order…
Generally, many Savage Beasts possess little fighting power at birth. As they mature, their strength increases. However, most Savage Beasts never advance in rank, perhaps occasionally benefiting from fortunate encounters with spiritual elixirs…
Naturally, those with special bloodlines like Xiao Taotao or Ni Bo are exceptions…
But for Xiao Hua to evolve from a common cobra into a Rank Six Savage Beast was an absolute miracle—perhaps even more astonishing than a human cultivating to the Martial Saint realm…
Now, Xiao Hua stood merely one step away from the Holy Beast rank, yet this single step felt like an insurmountable chasm preventing its advancement…
After all, it was just an ordinary cobra, incapable of reaching the Holy level as easily as primeval fierce beasts like Xiao Taotao could…
Having been accompanied by Xiao Hua all these years, the serpent had become her closest companion. She naturally sought every possible way to help Xiao Hua break through to the legendary Holy rank, which would grant it profound intelligence, lifting it beyond the status of a mere Savage Beast…
Thus, over the years, Gongsun Xiangyi searched for every spiritual elixir and brewed countless deadly concoctions, including the innumerable smaller snakes—which were, in fact, Xiao Hua’s food…
She finally managed to let Xiao Hua graze that threshold, but through a twist of fate, Gongsun Xiangyi learned that Savage Beasts that advance primarily through external stimuli, like Xiao Hua, would face Heavenly Retribution—a bolt of heavenly lightning—upon attempting to ascend to the Holy rank… And considering the sheer volume of toxic material Xiao Hua had consumed, encountering heavenly lightning would result only in utter annihilation…
At that moment, Gongsun Xiangyi understood the colossal mistake she had made, yet there was no turning back…
The person named Gongsun Mai was actually Gongsun Xiangyi’s designated stand-in; she even chose his name. His ability to command so many venomous snakes stemmed from drinking Xiao Hua’s blood daily. Gongsun Xiangyi naively believed that as long as Xiao Hua’s aura was constantly transmitted onto this man, the heavenly lightning would target him first. After all, humans are the spirits of all things; if the toxic essence needed a host, it should seek the human, shouldn't it?
This was, of course, baseless—purely Gongsun Xiangyi’s wishful thinking. She could not bear to see Xiao Hua perish, but she saw no other way. To ensure Xiao Hua successfully passed the tribulation, the only solution was to find Dragon Blood…
With Dragon Blood, it would cease to be an ordinary Savage Beast, and the power of the Heavenly Tribulation would naturally be greatly diminished…
But dragons are legendary creatures; where in this world could one be found?
Therefore, Gongsun Mai served merely as a tool for her self-deception…
Yet, even within this self-deception, Gongsun Xiangyi considered Gongsun Mai her most cherished possession. So when Ye Jingyu killed him, her outrage was explosive. Her fury was, in essence, Xiao Hua’s fury…
And that was why Ye Jingyu endured that single tail whip…
But upon discovering Xiao Taotao, her heart, which had sunk into despair, sprang back to life…
After all, the Taotie was the most authentic offspring of the Dragon lineage; its blood was true Dragon Blood!
Consequently, in this state of overwhelming elation, Gongsun Xiangyi cast aside all other concerns and immediately knelt before Ye Jingyu…
Looking at Gongsun Xiangyi’s face, etched with sincere emotion, and seeing her eyes brimming with excited tears, Ye Jingyu suddenly found the situation utterly astonishing…
A woman…
A beautiful woman…
A woman who grew up consorting with venomous snakes…
A woman who learned to kill at ten, who should possess a heart of malice and venom, yet was willing to risk her life and sacrifice her dignity for the sake of a snake…
For what reason?
He gazed somewhat bewilderedly at the gigantic King Cobra, which was currently silent, resembling an obedient child…
Then he looked at Gongsun Xiangyi, kneeling on the ground, her forehead already bloodied from repeated kowtows. Ye Jingyu’s heart… unexpectedly throbbed…
Who is without feeling? Who truly possesses it?
In this life, what is this thing called 'Affection'?