Mysterious Heaven Skill

"Ah!"

Perhaps it was thanks to the intense pain shooting through his left arm, or perhaps because most of the venom had been expelled.

Stimulated by this, Qian Bing, who had been barely conscious, let out a miserable cry and instantly woke up.

Seeing him cry out in pain, Tang San's grave expression instead showed a trace of joy. His ability to remain conscious clearly meant the Snake Venom had been temporarily contained.

That was a good thing.

He looked at Qian Bing with concern.

"Boss, you're awake? That's great. Hang in there—I'll definitely help you detoxify!"

"Xiao San, hurry... absorb the Soul... Soul Ring."

Tang San had not expected that, at a time like this, Qian Bing would not be concerned about his own injuries but would instead remind him to absorb the Soul Ring.

His eyes immediately heated up, turning slightly red. Yet for the first time, his voice carried an angry, scolding edge.

"Boss, your life is hanging by a thread, and you're still worried about some Soul Ring? Cut it out! Listen to me. In a moment, I'll send my Soul Power into your body. Do your best to use your consciousness to restrain the Soul Power inside you and cooperate with me as I circulate it."

After saying that, Tang San propped Qian Bing up into a meditative posture on the ground. He then sat cross-legged behind him, using his left hand to support Qian Bing's body and keep him seated.

Afterward, Tang San sealed his lips and held his breath, guiding a thread of Soul Power—true qi—from his Dantian upward along both sides of his ribs and into his palm.

Suddenly, his right hand struck Qian Bing's back like the wind.

In a daze, Qian Bing felt a cool current continuously flow into his body. It passed from his spine through to the center of his chest, then sank from his chest into his Dantian.

It then drew along the small amount of Soul Power remaining in his Dantian, rising from his tailbone to his spine before finally ascending to the space between his brows...

After that, it continued along this route again and again, cycle after cycle.

Qian Bing felt that with every inch Tang San's cool current advanced, his Soul Power recovered a little. He was deeply amazed.

So this was the circulation method of the Mysterious Heaven Skill?!

Hurry and memorize it!

Although the area on Qian Bing's arm that had been corroded by the Mandala Snake's venom had been promptly cut away by Tang San, that was not enough to completely eliminate the poison from his body.

At that moment, his entire left arm, from the shoulder down, had taken on a faint reddish-purple hue.

However, Qian Bing could feel that after Tang San guided his Soul Power through two full cycles along the Mysterious Heaven Skill's route—

His newly regenerated Soul Power seemed to have gained a touch of spirituality, as well as a certain upright and peaceful quality.

It was actually able to independently block the toxins at his shoulder that were trying to spread throughout his body, temporarily removing the threat to his life.

Tang San continued guiding Qian Bing's Soul Power through several more cycles along a simplified version of the Mysterious Heaven Skill before taking a deep breath, severing his connection with the strand of Mysterious Heaven Skill true qi inside Qian Bing, and slowly finishing.

Tang San immediately stood and moved in front of Qian Bing. Seeing that his paper-pale face had regained a trace of color, the worry on Tang San's face gradually faded.

He spoke softly to Qian Bing.

"Boss, I left behind a special strand of Soul Power in your body. It comes from a special inherited technique of my family, and it can increase the speed at which Soul Power recovers and condenses. It is also very effective at resisting toxins. Relax your mind now, and let the Soul Power in your body continue circulating along with the Soul Power I left behind."

Qian Bing nodded. After confirming from Tang San that this was indeed the circulation route of the Mysterious Heaven Skill, he was overjoyed and immediately devoted all his focus to memorizing it. At the same time, he weakly said, "Xiao San, thank you for saving me. If it weren't for..."

Before Qian Bing could finish, Tang San interrupted him, saying in embarrassed anger, "Boss, stop it. If you keep talking like that, I'm going to want to dig a hole and crawl into it. You were injured trying to save me, so if anyone should be thanking someone, it should be me. Besides, now isn't the time for empty pleasantries. This Snake Venom isn't simple. My Soul Power may not be able to suppress it for long. So we have to find an antidote as soon as possible and completely cure you of the Mandala Snake's venom."

Hearing that the Snake Venom in his body had not actually been resolved, Qian Bing panicked as well.

This isn't how the plot was supposed to go. Yu Xiaogang was also poisoned by Snake Venom in the novel, but Tang San successfully saved him. Why hasn't the poison in my body been completely removed?

Could Tang San have malicious intentions toward me? Does he want to use the Snake Venom to get rid of me?

Qian Bing's heart trembled.

But when he raised his eyes and saw the anxiety on Tang San's face, he immediately dismissed the thought.

That shouldn't be it. If Tang San wanted to kill me, he wouldn't have circulated his power to block the Snake Venom for me just now. It's probably because he still hasn't absorbed a Soul Ring, so his Soul Master rank hasn't advanced, leaving the Mysterious Heaven Skill stuck at the first level. That's why it isn't enough to clear the Snake Venom from my body.

Thinking of this, Qian Bing suddenly came to his senses and remembered that the purpose of their trip was to find a Soul Ring for Tang San.

He hurriedly turned to look into the distance and discovered that the battlefield between Pidgeotto and the Mandala Snake had already fallen silent.

At some unknown point, the Mandala Snake's body had gone stiff, lying quietly on the ground.

A pale yellow ring had condensed above the Mandala Snake's body.

The ring shone brilliantly, almost tangible.

Even without touching it, Qian Bing could clearly sense the enormous energy contained within.

It was a Soul Ring produced by the Mandala Snake, one with nearly four hundred years of Soul Power.

Meanwhile, Pidgeotto seemed to have completed its mission. The yellow light around its body began to break away in tiny motes.

The light fragments gathered together, forming a Hundred-Year Soul Ring far dimmer than before, which swiftly flew back into Qian Bing's body.

At that moment, Pidgeotto, whose body was gradually enlarging after separating from the Soul Ring, did not wait for its transformation to finish. Its body likewise turned into a streak of red light and shot toward Qian Bing.

The Spirit Ball Spirit in his right hand flew directly from his palm and recalled Pidgeotto.

Once the Spirit Ball Spirit returned, Qian Bing felt as though he were holding a burning coal in his palm. It rapidly heated up, and he could not help letting out a miserable cry.

"Damn, it's hot!"

"Boss, what's wrong?"

"Water! Pour water on my hand, quick!"

Hearing Qian Bing's cry of pain, Tang San immediately pulled a waterskin from his pack. He opened the cap and poured it over Qian Bing's outstretched right palm.

The coolness of the water slightly eased the unbearable heat. Qian Bing's little face, which had flushed bright red from holding it in, gradually calmed considerably.

Only then did he have the presence of mind to sense the changes that had suddenly occurred in his palm.

He felt surges of intense heat rapidly pouring from the Spirit Ball Spirit. Part of it joined the strand of Soul Power Tang San had left in his body, quickly circulating through its cycles.

Most of it, however, gathered in his palm and continuously washed over the Spirit Ball Spirit, causing the Pidgeotto image beneath it, which had originally dimmed somewhat, to become vivid again.

It seemed that this was precisely why his palm had become so scorching hot.

Qian Bing was delighted and thought to himself, Huh? What's going on? Why is my Soul Power recovering so quickly? In just this short while, it's already recovered to one-fifth of my peak state!