Antidote

"It was this after all!"

After a long while, Gu Sheng bent down and plucked a small purple flower from among the flowers that the Verdant Python had previously crushed. Slightly green sap splashed onto his hand. It felt sticky and slippery, and rubbing his fingers together revealed a thick, viscous texture, along with a faint foul odor that grew more pronounced under the sun.

"Wherever there is poison within a hundred yards, there must be an antidote." This saying had some truth to it. Plants that could survive near poisonous creatures would inevitably possess some form of resistance, or they would not be able to live there. This was another form of survival of the fittest.

However, the fact that plants possessed resistance did not mean animals could use them directly to detoxify themselves. Antidotes generally required secondary processing before they could be separated from the plants, and very few could be picked and consumed directly to neutralize poison.

This small purple flower was no exception. After being accidentally exposed to the Verdant Python's venom over many years, it had developed immunity to the snake's poison. However, extracting its effective antidotal component was no simple matter. If Gu Sheng had not possessed the system, he might not have discovered how to use it as an antidote.

To turn the purple flowers into an antidote, their stems had to be squeezed for their sap, which was then left beneath the blazing sun for a long time. After drying, it became an extremely viscous medicinal paste. Applying the paste to poisoned wounds could neutralize the venom, and it could also be spread on the body beforehand to prevent venom from splashing onto the skin. It was for external use only and could not be ingested; taking it internally would instead poison a person.

Of course, if the amount of venom was too great, the medicinal paste would not be able to do much. The most terrifying aspect of the Verdant Python's venom was its corrosiveness, similar to that of a strong acid or alkali. The paste could neutralize it, but a small amount of paste could not hold out for long against a large quantity of venom.

Gu Sheng's eyes shifted as he took out a dagger. Bent over like a farmer harvesting wheat, he began cutting the purple flowers. His movements were swift, and before long he had gathered a large bundle. Even as he cut, he carefully watched his surroundings in case danger appeared at any moment.

After cutting a large bundle of purple flowers, Gu Sheng carried it on his back. Just as he was about to leave, a flash of light from the snake trail where the Verdant Python had departed caught his attention.

Gu Sheng walked over slowly. It was a blue-black rock covered in mottled bloodstains and several scattered green scales. Among the scales were a few fiery-red bristles—the fur of an Iron-Arm Ape.

"Looks like it was badly hurt!"

A strange glint flashed through Gu Sheng's eyes. The rock clearly bore marks where something had scraped against it, and there was more than one such spot. There were others farther along the snake trail as well. This meant the Verdant Python had been trying to clean its wounds the entire way. It also showed that the Iron-Arm Ape had injured it severely.

"If that's the case..."

Gu Sheng pondered for a while, and several ideas formed in his mind.

"Still, going over there now would be too risky. I'd better go back and think this through."

Gu Sheng took one last deep look at the distant snake trail before turning and leaving.

With the purple flowers on his back, he moved as swiftly as the wind. Following the mountain path he had taken there, he slid down an old vine and soon descended Iron Arm Ape Mountain. After identifying the route at the foot of the mountain, he headed straight toward a sealed cave dwelling that hung roughly three yards above the ground. This was where Gu Sheng had left Chu Xin.

Gu Sheng took two steps as one and leaped onto the rock wall. He caught himself against the cliff with a specially made grappling hook, then rhythmically knocked on the rock beside the cave entrance with his right hand.

Chu Xin's voice came from inside. "Gu Sheng, you're back!"

"Mm~"

Gu Sheng's voice reached Chu Xin's ears accurately through the cave. A series of sounds came from within as she moved things aside. A while later, Gu Sheng helped shift the thick stone slab blocking the entrance and entered.

Gu Sheng had gone to great lengths to ensure Chu Xin's safety. There was little space to stand around the cave entrance, and many stones had been piled behind the stone slab as well. Without Chu Xin's cooperation from inside, no ordinary Demon Beast could possibly enter the cave.

"How did it go? What did you find? Did you find what you were looking for? What are you looking for, anyway?"

Chu Xin looked intensely curious. Gu Sheng had been acting mysterious all the way there, constantly planning something without telling her clearly. If not for Li Jun's mission giving her an almost blind faith in him, she would never have followed Gu Sheng into such a dangerous place.

"Cinnabar Fruit!"

Gu Sheng looked up at the sun hanging high in the sky. As he spoke, his gaze wandered until he suddenly brightened upon seeing a suspended platform three yards away. He waved toward Chu Xin inside the cave. "Come out and give me a hand!"

"Cinnabar Fruit? Ah!"

Chu Xin tilted her little head, about to ask a question, but Gu Sheng called for her again. Suppressing her doubts, she quietly followed Gu Sheng out of the cave.

Gu Sheng made several quick leaps onto the platform, drew the Jade Chill Blade he carried, circulated his Inner Force, and swung it several times. One corner of the platform was immediately shaved into a smooth, polished surface.

Gu Sheng set down all the purple flower stems he had carried on his back. He squeezed them one by one, letting the sap drip onto the smooth surface, which resembled a shallow groove.

"What's this?"

Chu Xin had only just leaped onto the platform after Gu Sheng when she saw the large pile of purple flower stems on the ground. Her little face was filled with confusion.

In her eyes, Gu Sheng was a very mysterious person. He knew many things and possessed all kinds of strange knowledge. Along the way, this was not the first time she had seen him handling various plants.

"An antidote for the Verdant Python's venom!"

Gu Sheng answered casually. "Come help. Squeeze all the sap into here and let it dry in the sun."

"Oh!"

Chu Xin nodded obediently. She had none of a rich young lady's airs and immediately rolled up her sleeves to help Gu Sheng.

Although she had spent some time as Miss Li in The Nine Cauldrons World, Chu Xin had not been some pampered young lady in the modern world who never lifted a finger. She had often done household chores at home.

With Chu Xin's help, Gu Sheng worked quickly. Before long, a small pool of slightly green, thick sap appeared before them.

Gu Sheng clapped his hands and looked at the sky. It was probably around four in the afternoon. Judging by the time, the medicinal paste should be finished that very evening.

Gu Sheng turned and saw Chu Xin rubbing her hands with some distaste. Her originally fair and tender little hands were covered in pale green, sticky plant sap.

He nudged her sleeve with his elbow and said gently with a smile, "Don't rub them anymore. I found a river on the way back. We can go there to wash our hands and cook.

"It's still early. You can take a bath while we're there. You've had a hard time lately."

"Really?"

A little joy appeared on Chu Xin's face. After spending more than half a month deep in the wilderness, she was actually already miserable. They had been rushing along anxiously, and she had hardly taken a bath at all. She had changed clothes back and forth, but even they had begun to smell.

"Silly girl! Who knows how long these good days will last? This is the Lord God's world, after all!"

Looking at the girl's radiant smile, Gu Sheng felt a pang in his heart. She had originally been nothing more than an ordinary student, but he had now brought her into this perilous wilderness. Really... he had never been able to let go of his worry about the future—not from the moment the Lord God appeared.

"Let's go!"

Chu Xin tugged at Gu Sheng, then ran forward with a bright smile.

"Why think so much?"

Gu Sheng was infected by her cheerfulness as well. He cast the thoughts from his mind and charged toward Chu Xin with a whistling rush of wind.

"Xin'er, don't run! Let Big Brother Gu..."