Chapter 51 The Effects of the Strange Poison, the Consequences of Poisoning, and the Secret Recipe for Antidote...
This was definitely Xiao Huaiyuan's most ruthless moment.
Pain alone is manageable; Zuo Youfuming has excellent pain tolerance and can endure it. But if his weakness is exploited, it's a different story—he can neither escape nor hide.
To make matters worse, his mouth was covered, leaving him no room for even words of advice. In broad daylight, under the open sky, how was he any different from a beast?
According to Fu Ming's recollection, that kind of sinister poison was a creation from ancient times, rarely seen in the present world, and only occupied one page in the book. But with Xiao Huaiyuan's interference, his already muddled mind was completely unable to function.
Fu Ming had only one thought in his mind: I hope no one else can see this.
It's unclear whether Xiao Huaiyuan, after being poisoned, remembered to open the grand formation of the sect leader's peak. If he didn't, some of the cleaning disciples might have accidentally wandered in. Given the urgency of the disappearance of the elders and disciples of the Tianyan Sect, it's possible that one of the elders might fly in on their sword and land here.
Then you'll be able to see it with your own eyes...
Never mind, a true man can bend and stretch.
Fu Ming gritted his teeth and pleaded with his shameless junior brother: "Enough, Xiao Huaiyuan! At least don't do it here. Can we go back? You can do whatever you want then."
“But now I can do whatever I want, senior brother, why should I obey you?” Xiao Huaiyuan grabbed Fu Ming’s nape again.
Upon hearing this, an ominous black aura immediately enveloped Fu Ming's head and lingered for a long time.
As expected, Xiao Huaiyuan kept his word and took him on a journey around the sect leader's peak, from the vast Sword Testing Platform, the cobblestone Bamboo Path, the cool and clear Jade Stream, to the lush peach orchard, where a pure white sapling stood, not even as tall as Fu Ming's thigh.
Looking at the familiar saplings of the Pearl Tree, Fu Ming always felt a sense of guilt, as if he were letting his guard down in front of his friends.
Xiao Huaiyuan then turned Fu Ming's head to face Zhu Gan, and asked an extra question: "Were you so close to Zhu Gan back then because you had ulterior motives?"
He's been wronged! The reason he and Zhu Gan were close was because Zhu Gan disguised herself as Xiao Huaiyuan to trick him. How can it be said that he actively seduced her?
Xiao Huaiyuan then recited them in detail as if they were his own treasures: "Oh, I'm afraid you don't remember, because there are still Young Master Gu, Senior Sister Lin, Senior Brother Jiang, Senior Brother Li, and Uncle Xu waiting for you one by one, so naturally you won't miss me."
Does Xu Yan know that you've dragged him into this mess because of your reckless drinking and jealousy?
"Junior brother, what exactly are you thinking about all day long..." Fu Ming wished he could close his eyes and faint completely, but he couldn't.
After the dual cultivation technique circulated within his body, it absorbed his own essence and transformed it into spiritual energy to continuously repair the damage, which at least prevented Fu Ming from experiencing sudden blackouts again.
Fu Ming, whose body was covered in wounds from Xiao Huaiyuan's boundless energy, finally found a chance to rest.
Downstream from Qingyu Creek, near the foot of the mountain, there is an extremely clear and cool apricot blossom pool. Fu Ming took advantage of the proximity and simply washed away the dirt and dust there.
He sat on the flat rock by the bank, bent down, scooped up a handful of cool water, and splashed it at Xiao Huaiyuan: "Are you awake yet?"
Xiao Huaiyuan, a tall and imposing man standing beside the stone, was splashed directly, just as he rarely guarded against sneak attacks when he went into the arena before. He blinked slowly a few times, his gaze sometimes chaotic and sometimes clear, appearing quite dazed.
He said, "Senior brother, is there something else you want to do...?"
Xiao Huaiyuan is quite unusual today.
He was always a man of few words, carefully considering his words before speaking. But clearly, today he was saying whatever came to mind, uttering all his childish and absurd innermost thoughts.
This actually calmed Fu Ming down considerably. He still preferred his stubborn and naive junior brother to the cunning and calculating Tianyan Sect leader, Xiao Huaiyuan.
Note: It's not that kind of liking.
"Come here, I'm not trying to hurt you by telling you to stop."
Fu Ming sighed, and with his hands still wet, he pulled Xiao Huaiyuan by the collar and pressed his forehead against Xiao Huaiyuan's.
The process of invading his soul went exceptionally smoothly. Not only was the other party completely unprepared, but there was also a subtle attraction that drew him over.
Xiao Huaiyuan's soul was unfathomable and unable to move an inch, like a swamp in the underworld.
There are not many healing methods for the soul in the immortal realm, and most of them involve both medicine and poison. Only this long-lost secret method of dual cultivation of the fox clan has few side effects.
There are also entry barriers...
But by some twist of fate, the conditions for those few lines of concealment were also met during this period.
Fu Ming's spiritual power, taken from the people and used for the people, was like a spring flowing into a dry swamp, finally nourishing Xiao Huaiyuan's nearly withered consciousness.
He remembered that the ancient poison was called Qianji, but it was not the deadly poison made from strychnine seeds. Instead, it was a slow-acting poison that seeped into the soul, pulling the poisoned person's soul into threads like a loom, and then binding it around.
At first, it only arouses delusions, but later it can even cause a person's soul to collapse, and even if the physical body can be rebuilt, it is beyond redemption.
In ancient times, cultivators didn't attend morning classes and had little to no cultural literacy. When choosing names, they often tried to forcibly associate them with well-known things, resulting in a very high rate of duplication. That book, less than a hundred pages long, recorded ten names for "Gnaphalium affine" and five for "Hooked Horse," and this was the third one.
The poisoner was quite knowledgeable and intelligent.
Fu Ming withdrew his divine sense, only to find Xiao Huaiyuan staring at him motionless, his violent gaze returning to calm, like a deep, pale green pool when the water has dried up.
He must be awake now.
Xiao Huaiyuan took a moment to process his memories: "I was poisoned?"
Taking the opportunity to vent his personal anger, Fu Ming pinched Xiao Huaiyuan's neck hard. After calming down, he laughed and said, "That's right, your poison couldn't have developed in just a few days. You must have been poisoned long ago. Tell me, junior brother, what happened to you these past few days?"
After eating and drinking his fill, Xiao Huaiyuan became much more docile and finally began to reflect on his excessive behavior: "Is Senior Brother feeling any better?"
It was like bringing up a sore spot. Fu Ming pushed him across the chest, deliberately moved away, and changed the subject, saying, "Answer my question first."
"Seven days ago, I took a teleportation array to Luocheng in Zhongzhou and found the mark left by the missing elder. I followed the clues and traveled downstream along the Luo River for three or four days. The villages along the way were abandoned and the fields were overgrown, but I accidentally entered a strange place."
"The valley was warm as spring, with flowers in full bloom. People who claimed to be refugees gathered in thatched huts. After I asked them, I was introduced to the village's snake keeper. He said he had only seen a few young disciples and had never seen the older ones. His snake had golden eyes and a red body, and looked quite similar to you."
After a long pause, Fu Ming prompted him to continue: "And then?"
"I always had this thought in my mind that I should come back to you, so I came back."
"So you've returned?"
Xiao Huaiyuan's eyes became empty again, until Fu Ming's five fingers slowly unfolded in front of him, like a small firework.
He said, "Yes, I really miss you."
"You're thinking about coming back, aren't you?" Fu Ming sneered inwardly, automatically completing the second half of his sentence.
Fu Ming continued, "What a coincidence that you were poisoned as soon as you followed the signal. I'm afraid there might be a spy in your Tianyan Sect, and they're trying to send you back to prevent you from ruining their plans. There's another strange thing: has your soul always been covered in cracks like this?"
Even someone who separated a part of their soul to create an incarnation has a much more complete soul than him. Perhaps it's a flaw of that strange poison.
...
Okay, Xiao Huaiyuan's thoughts have wandered off again.
Why was this person staring at his collarbone? Fu Ming couldn't help but tighten his collar.
"Senior brother, would you like to come with me to Zhongzhou? I can't refuse, but I'm afraid I'll lose my mind." Xiao Huaiyuan, who had temporarily suppressed the poison, became more and more like a clingy big dog, carrying Fu Ming all the way back to his room.
Given the difference in their physical strength, Fu Ming could hardly resist: "If it were my original body, I could support you. But now I'm a cripple who has lost all my cultivation. What use would it be for me to go with you? You might as well let me go sooner."
“Dual cultivation,” Xiao Huaiyuan suddenly said. “Senior brother has already tried it, hasn’t he?”
Once on the bed, Xiao Huaiyuan buried his head in Fu Ming's neck, greedily absorbing his life force.
"As for the main body, I know that you are eager to advance, but now is not the time to advance... Many things are going astray, but that one thing will not change."
Why?
How did he know he was about to be promoted? Fu Ming wondered. His battle with Xiao Huaiyuan in the Demon Palace ruins was at most a training exercise. He hadn't even used a third of his true strength, and he had only told his subordinates that he was in seclusion for cultivation. How did Xiao Huaiyuan find out?
He always felt that Xiao Huaiyuan was at most awkward before, but now he was cold as a ghost.
The room is always pleasantly warm because of the hot spring, enough to melt the millennia-old ice crystals and to make weary travelers forget their troubles.
In the middle of the night, Fu Ming lifted a corner of the thin blanket, removed the stubborn tentacles that were wrapped around his waist, and tiptoed out of bed.
Xiao Huaiyuan, who was standing to the side, had already fallen asleep. Even a Nascent Soul cultivator would need sleep when he was weak, especially at this critical moment when the residual poison had not been cleared and he had spent the entire night cultivating and circulating his energy.
But Fu Ming was pretending to be asleep.
He will listen to Xiao Huaiyuan's words, but he won't do them entirely.
He carries too many secrets: time travel, a bloodbath, and that inexplicably bound system. Even the remnant soul of a True Immortal can only see that something resides within his consciousness, but cannot discern the true nature of the system.
Only by becoming stronger can we unravel these intricate and complex mysteries.
Furthermore, despite the deep-seated grudge between him and his junior brother, he still wanted to find a way to cure his junior brother of the strange poison. Otherwise, let alone ascending to immortality, his cultivation would probably be difficult to improve in the future.
Fu Ming sat on the futon he used when he was Xiao Huaiyuan's disciple, and looked inward at himself. The crystal-clear core of the immortal palace in his sea of consciousness was still unresponsive, but a faint light flowed from the tattered book.
"System, are you there? I'll count to three once I receive a reply."
"two."
System: "Log in!! Reboot successful! Long time no see, dear host ovo"
The tattered book, like a giant moth, fluttered its wings and flew towards the phantom image that Fu Ming had solidified in his sea of consciousness.
Fu Ming steadily accepted it, but then the system suddenly said, "Huh, how come you have so many on you, host..."
Oh no, did he forget to empty his bowels again?
"...Wow, that's a great achievement!" came the joyful mechanical voice broadcast.
Fortunately, he managed to preserve some of the family's pride. Fu Ming remained calm on the surface, but breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. He casually flipped through the tattered book, which happened to be the mission progress page.
The notebook was filled with densely written records, all of which he had completed during the Grand Competition Secret Realm.
It restored the ecological environment, protected rare species, and even reconciled the feud between the Wood Clan and the Fox Clan.
Fu Ming closed the book and asked a question.
"system."
"If I want to skip the Nascent Soul stage and directly break through to the Mahayana stage, what other requirements do I need to meet?"
-----------------------
Author's Note: I'm saddened to discover that my work has been pirated. I was wondering if everyone should implement a 30% anti-piracy measure? [Chin resting on hand]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com