Chunxi Danzong (I)
On the flying boat back to Xuanxiaomen, Canghe held the alchemy book brought back by his apprentice and frowned slightly.
In the northern border, there stands a Demon Tower, used to imprison the great demons that escaped from the demon world and wreaked havoc on the human world. The tower is nine stories high and is known as the "Nine-story Demon Tower." Outside the Nine-story Demon Tower, the Immortal Alliance has set up numerous formations and sent monks to guard it.
One hundred years ago, the Demon Tower was in turmoil. Hua Fangyi, the fourth elder of Xuanxiao Sect, happened to be in the northern border. He assisted the Immortal Alliance in suppressing the turmoil and killed a snake demon. The snake demon was cunning and bit Hua Fangyi when it was about to die, infecting her with snake venom.
The poison increasingly eroded Hua Fangyi's body and heart. The more she used her spiritual power, the deeper the poison penetrated. Gradually, Hua Fangyi began to have difficulty walking, and eventually, her eyes became numb. Jing Qi built her a wheelchair, which she powered herself, and she lived in Cangling Gorge, gradually fading from the outside world.
A few years ago, Hua Fangyi suffered a bout of poison. By the time she regained consciousness, she had lost all her senses. Chu Xiao said she would suffer from the poison again and again, losing her senses again and again, until the final bout, when she died.
Everyone had tried to find an antidote, but the venom was so treacherous that the medicinal baths, herbs, and pills Hua Fangyi took all had no effect. Finally, Hua Fangyi tried to comfort everyone, saying she had no disciples and her father, the previous head, had long since passed away. The pain from the poison had increased, so death was no longer as terrifying.
The Jiao Palace houses a vast collection of books, including rare copies dating back hundreds of years. This alchemy book contains numerous long-lost recipes for elixirs. The recipe Lin Zhuo showed everyone was effective in curing Yuan Python venom. And it was Yuan Python venom that Hua Fangyi was poisoned with.
Cang He put away the Dan Shu and made the final decision: "Let Chu Xiao take a look." Whether it is true or not, he has to give it a try.
He looked up at his disciples again and waved to Lin Zhuo, "Zhao Zhao, come here."
Lin Zhao sat over, not knowing why, and answered obediently, "Master." Cang He raised his hand and held her wrist.
After a moment's silence, Cang He heaved a sigh of relief. He didn't explain his actions, loosened his hands, and looked at the few young faces.
"Well done." The corners of his lips moved slightly, revealing a hint of a smile, and he did not hold back his praise.
"I didn't care much about you before, but now you're able to protect the people of this area." Cang He sighed with rare emotion. Wan Wuji wouldn't let him take action, but he was worried and felt very uneasy. Finally, he calculated the time and drove the flying boat to pick them up.
He didn't expect that his disciples grew so rapidly in places he had never noticed.
They were stunned for a moment, then smiled at each other. This was the first time Master had been so generous with his praise.
After returning to the sect, everyone had their own things to do.
Canghe took the Danshu to Wensheng Cliff, preparing to let Chu Xiao start developing the antidote; Ling Qingqiu went to find Jing Qi alone, and it was unknown what he was busy with; You Jingjia was taken away by Wan Wuji to clean up the mess she left behind; Lin Zhuo was not busy these days and planned to go to Hua Fangyi to talk to her.
Only Xie Zhitiao seemed a little bewildered as everyone prepared to disperse. No, you all have things to do, so what is he doing?
After hesitating for a long time between going back to the courtyard to sleep and accompanying Lin Zhuo to Cangling Gorge, he walked forward.
"Senior Sister!"
"what?"
"Wait for me, I want to go see Junior Master Uncle too."
"Aren't you going back to rest?"
"I'm alone at Guzhao Peak, and I'm afraid."
"Stop pretending. I didn't see you being scared before."
"That's because Senior Sister loves me..."
The two of them walked further and further apart.
When Lin Zhuo was first brought back to the sect by Canghe, he was raised by several elders, with only rice and milk. It was not until he became a disciple at the age of three that he was handed over to the care of Ling Qingqiu and You Jingjia.
At the time, the elders all had their own things to do, like dealing with sect affairs and disciples, so they took turns caring for her. Hua Fangyi hadn't accepted any disciples, and Wan Wuji rarely assigned her any difficult tasks, so she took care of Lin Zhuo more.
Hua Fangyi's gentle and easygoing nature easily led people to overlook her status as a ruthless master. Lin Zhuo's temperament was very similar to hers, yet he was much more soft-hearted. If Cang He hadn't taken Lin Zhuo in, he would have been Hua Fangyi's only disciple.
After living in Cangling Gorge for a long time, Hua Fangyi did not feel sorry for herself. When she could see again, she lived alone and planted flowers and plants throughout the gorge. After she lost her sight, Wan Wuji hired someone to take care of her, and she would often sit in the garden outside the house, basking in the sun and listening to storybooks.
When Lin Zhuo and Xie Zhitiao arrived, Hua Fangyi was leaning on a wheelchair in the garden, listening to a book. Hearing the noise, she turned her head, revealing her face bound in white silk.
She opened her lips slightly: "Zhao Zhao? A Tiao?" Her voice was very gentle.
Lin Zhuo walked over, squatted beside her, took her hand and touched his face: "It's us, Uncle Master, how are you feeling today?"
Xie Zhitiao also imitated her actions and let Hua Fangyi touch his face.
After losing her sight, her other senses became extraordinarily sharp. Hua Fangyi could remember everyone's footsteps. She touched their faces and smiled faintly, "I feel okay today. I heard from Second Senior Brother that you went out for training?"
Lin Zhuo hummed, then began to tell her about his experiences in Dongyu Town. Xie Zhitiao expertly brought out a small stool from the house and handed one to Lin Zhuo. He then brought out a table and laid out the fruit. After peeling two, he gave one to Lin Zhuo and one to Hua Fangyi, then continued peeling, occasionally interjecting a few words.
After sitting for a while, two more people came. Hua Fangyi patted Lin Zhuo's hand and said, "Are they your master and the third elder?"
Lin Zhuo responded. Cang He and Chu Xiao were already approaching.
"Is Fangyi okay today?" Canghe stood aside and frowned when he saw his junior sister's pale face.
"It's fine." Hua Fangyi smiled, "Zhao Zhao and A Tiao are with me." She raised her hand and rubbed Xie Zhitiao's head.
Chu Xiao and Cang He exchanged a glance, then sat on the stool that Lin Zhuo had moved aside. Taking Hua Fangyi's hand, Chu Xiao said softly, "Fangyi, Zhao Zhao and the others brought back a book of elixirs from Jiao Palace. It contains a recipe for an elixir that cures python poison."
She paused, then turned serious. "We're not sure if the recipe is effective or if it will cause more harm. Fangyi, do you want to try it?"
Cang He wanted Hua Fangyi to try. No matter how many times he was disappointed, he didn't want to give up a glimmer of hope. But Chu Xiao hesitated. She knew all the hardships Hua Fangyi had endured in the past century to detoxify. She was never a timid doctor, but she was facing a junior sister who had been with her for hundreds of years. She didn't dare to gamble with Hua Fangyi's life.
She and Cang He argued endlessly, and finally came to Cang Ling Gorge. Hua Fangyi should make her own decision about her own body.
After Chu Xiao finished speaking, no one spoke for a moment. Hua Fangyi lowered her head slightly, as if thinking.
After a while, she looked up and smiled: "Then give it a try. It's just the difference between dying early and dying late."
"What nonsense!" Wan Wuji, who came hurriedly, scolded, followed by You Jingjia, and Jing Qi and Ling Qingqiu who were half a step behind.
Cang He's face turned cold. He couldn't bear to hear Hua Fangyi say such things.
Chu Xiao was more sentimental, with red eyes: "Don't say discouraging words anymore, how could Senior Sister let you lose your life."
Jing Qi also came closer, with a stern face and very serious: "You have to live well, you haven't paid the spirit stones for this wheelchair yet." He was a stingy tool cultivator, and usually he would grumble about collecting spirit stones after making a tool or something.
Hua Fangyi couldn't help laughing: "That's enough, you know, we sword cultivators are all poor." Jing Qi was not very good at comforting people, and what he said was always so ridiculous.
"Since you're trying to detoxify yourself, why don't you move in with me at Wensheng Cliff? It'll be more convenient." Hua Fangyi agreed to Chu Xiao's suggestion without objection. Several elders surrounded her as they walked out, leaving Lin Zhuo and the others to pack up.
Chu Xiao was very efficient and began researching the prescription that same day. Hua Fangyi had been poisoned for a long time and needed to soak in a medicinal bath for five days to stimulate the toxicity before she could start taking the medicine.
The medicinal bath was easy enough. One of the things Xuanxiao Sect had the most was spirit stones. Wen Shengya could find any herbs he wanted, but if he didn't, he could just buy them. After two days of searching, You Jingjia finally gathered all the herbs for the bath.
Chu Xiao was also not idle, and spent two days in the alchemy room, preparing to try his hand at making pills. When You Jingjia stepped into Wensheng Cliff with a bunch of medicinal herbs, Chu Xiao's alchemy room exploded.
Chu Xiao's furnace had rarely exploded since she entered the Golden Core stage. The last time it did was because of You Jingjia's interference. Black smoke filled the air as she emerged from the alchemy room, casually performing the Chen Chuchen Jue (Chuchen Extermination Technique) and her green clothes returned to their original state.
She raised her hand to tidy up her messy hair, and her face did not look good.
"Uncle Chu, are you... okay?" Lin Zhuo pushed Hua Fangyi closer and asked hesitantly.
Chu Xiao shook his head and sighed: "Zhao Zhao, you may have to make a trip."
The antidote for Yuan Python venom requires a method of fighting poison with poison, using only rare poisonous herbs. The furnace itself also demands high quality and a stable barrier. Chu Xiao's furnace was not of low quality, yet it still exploded. Furthermore, with the pill ruined, she had very few poisonous herbs left.
"I remember you went to Chunxi Danzong last year and were quite familiar with the young master of the Danzong?" Chu Xiao asked.
Lin Zhuo nodded. She and Chen Zhou had known each other since childhood and had a good relationship.
"The Chunxi Alchemy Sect has an alchemy furnace called the Wentian Furnace. It's the best furnace ever created. Go to Chunxi and try to borrow it." Chu Xiao looked a little uneasy, and added, "If Sect Master Shen doesn't want to lend it, you can... just try to persuade him."
"?"
While Lin Zhuo was still confused, Chu Xiao had already taken the herbs brought back by You Jingjia and quickly left the scene.
Hua Fangyi couldn't help but laugh out loud, "When she was a hundred years old, she seized the Spiritual Flame in the secret realm and burned all of Sect Master Shen's hair." There was a hint of mischief in her smile, "Sect Master Shen was only two hundred years old that year, and he declared that he and Senior Sister Chu would never coexist."
Lin Zhuo and You Jingjia couldn't help but laugh now. Burning all the hair in a fire was indeed a big grudge.
After saying something to Canghe, Lin Zhuo stepped on the Tingyun Sword and prepared to leave the sect. When he was only a few meters off the ground, Xie Zhitiao's voice came from below.
"Senior Sister!"
Lin Zhuo stopped, a little confused: "What's wrong?"
Xie Zhitiao looked a little off. The corners of his eyes were red, as if he had been crying. His voice sounded the same, and he was extremely aggrieved. "Are you going to leave the sect again to find a strange man?!"
Lin Zhuo's body swayed and she fell off the sword. Xie Zhitiao hurried over to help her, but she slapped him away. Lin Zhuo blushed, angry. She slapped Xie Zhitiao's hand away and her voice became louder: "Xie Zhitiao!"
Seeing her angry, Xie Zhitiao felt even more aggrieved, tears flashing in his eyes: "Senior Sister, you are still mean to me!"
“…”
Lin Zhuo clenched her fists. She felt that the future of the sect might depend on her.
She took a few deep breaths, unclenched her fists, and forced a smile: "I have something important to do before leaving the sect. Please obey me, okay?"
Xie Zhitiao was in a bad mood. He never lost his composure like this. She thought about it and forgave him for his careless words.
Xie Zhitiao was uneasy. He hadn't gone to Wensheng Cliff to see Hua Fangyi today. Instead, he was meditating in the courtyard with his Heart Sutra. After completing the third level of Heart Sutra and just about to rest, he saw a scene from deep within his memory.
The master stood at the forefront, swinging his sword at the constantly incoming monsters. At his side were his eldest and second senior brothers, who were protecting them from the attacks. He supported Lin Zhuo, his heart aching.
Lin Zhuo's face was frighteningly pale and he kept spitting out blood. It was obvious that his state of mind had plummeted and his cultivation had regressed.
He didn't know why, he only knew that Lin Zhuo had grabbed his hand and squeezed it so hard it hurt. She said she wanted to kill that man to avenge her and the people of the world.
He tugged at Lin Zhuo's sleeve, tears almost pouring out: "Senior Sister, can I go too?"
He choked.
Lin Zhuo's heart softened again. She took out a handkerchief and stuffed it into his hand, then softened her voice and coaxed him, "Okay, okay, let's go together."
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