The Poison Master

The sunlight warmed Liu Zhi's face. He reached up and gently rubbed his cheek, forcing his eyes open.

He found himself lying on top of the Pyramid, in a spot bathed by the sun. Corpse Soul Naga stood guard beside him, weapon in hand.

"What happened?"

Pressing a hand to his throbbing head, Liu Zhi couldn't help but ask.

Corpse Soul Naga didn't reply. She extended her free main hand forward, and a dried mushroom appeared in it.

"What is this?" Liu Zhi's eyes narrowed. He recognized it immediately.

It was a common poisonous mushroom from the jungle, a Boletus edulis with spores. But these poisonous mushrooms usually only caused poisoning if eaten. He didn't remember eating anything like this.

He took the Boletus edulis from Corpse Soul Naga's hand. The mushroom was incredibly dry, but some spores still scattered from it.

Fingering the spore powder, Liu Zhi fell into thought.

Then, he seemed to remember something. "Corpse Soul Naga, go collect some more of those leaves I've been eating these past few days."

The Corpse Soul Naga glanced at Liu Zhi, then left without a word.

Meanwhile, Liu Zhi reached behind him and pulled out his backpack. He rummaged through some poisons he had obtained from Mr. York, carefully comparing the spores of the Boletus edulis collected by Mr. York with the spores in his hand.

Before long, Corpse Soul Naga returned. She threw the leaves she had gathered in front of Liu Zhi and then stood by, gripping her Longsword, resuming her guard stance.

Liu Zhi found two stones, not bothering if they were clean or not. He placed the leaves Corpse Soul Naga had brought between the stones and squeezed them hard, extracting the juice into a small vial.

Looking at the green liquid, Liu Zhi wondered how he had survived by eating this for the past few days.

While mentally complaining, Liu Zhi poured in the spores of the Boletus edulis.

Even before stirring, Liu Zhi saw a cloud of pale yellow mist rise from the vial. In the sunlight, the mist instantly thinned until it was almost invisible.

[Ding! You have researched a poison formula, Unnamed (Crude, can be refined and upgraded): Main Ingredient: Boletus edulis spores * 10g, Bay leaf juice * 50g, Secondary Ingredients: Undetermined...]
[Poison Effect: Upon inhalation, will cause hallucinations, bringing forth what the heart most desires or fears, and causing one to dance to their death within the hallucination.]
[Detected Sub-Profession Upgrade Standard for Alchemist: Alchemist (Poison Master, Herbalist, Potion Master) - Grand Potion Master (Poison Expert, Herbal Scholar, Grand Potion Master).]
[Detected Sub-Profession - Poison Master Job Standard: Master 10 poison formulas (1/10), Researched 3 poison formulas (1/3), Master 1 extraordinary poison formula (0/1)]

Seeing this, Liu Zhi quickly capped the vial. He now understood why he had been drawn by a bright light and specifically went over there.

At the same time, he understood what he needed to do during this period.

If he couldn't find anything suitable to learn while excavating in Golden City, couldn't he research things himself?

The current situation had pointed Liu Zhi towards a new path.

Perhaps poison could be another path for Liu Zhi to improve himself.

With this thought, Liu Zhi excitedly took out all the poisons collected by Mr. York, comparing them one by one, contemplating how to create new poisons.

However, Liu Zhi soon found himself speechless. He couldn't experiment any further. In just this short time, he had used up all the toxicity from the few poisons Mr. York had collected.

Looking at the situation, Liu Zhi gave an awkward smile. He wasn't a professional mage yet, and his research wasn't thorough enough.

It seemed starting with making poisons was unreasonable. Everything should begin with collecting toxicity.

With this idea, Liu Zhi wandered around the forest. He no longer intended to eat the bay leaves that could fill his stomach but neutralized the Boletus edulis spores. He still had to find edible plants near the trees in Golden City, otherwise, he would starve to death here in a few days.

Carrying his Death Long Staff, Liu Zhi headed towards the northern district of Golden City. That area was originally the slums of Golden City. The people living there must not have had a good life; they would likely eat anything.

Nine times out of ten, the plants growing here would be edible.

He had also found the bay leaves here before. Speaking of which, if they didn't cause poisoning, these sweet-tasting leaves would have been quite a good snack.

Before that, he had eaten several types of leaves here.

At that time, he had chosen leaves that looked plump and felt substantial when eaten.

This time, it would be different. Liu Zhi intended to try all the leaf flavors.

As he thought, Liu Zhi plucked a leaf and put it in his mouth. With his rich Jungle Survival Knowledge and knowledge of toxicity, he had already determined the plant was not poisonous after picking it.

He chewed the leaf carefully, feeling its rough texture while complaining, "Why do I, a dignified mage, have to eat leaves here? This taste is no good, it's a bit sour. If there were fish, it could be used as a seasoning, but eating it directly is quite unpalatable."

After trying several plants that grew in abundance, Liu Zhi's eyes lit up. He discovered a plant in the bushes that had already borne fruit.

Compared to leaves, the fruit attracted Liu Zhi's attention more.

He spat forcefully, spitting out the leaves he was chewing, and quickly ran towards the large tree.

As he ran forward, Liu Zhi recognized the tree. It was a unique fruit tree in the area. The fruit was a subspecies of coffee, but not coffee itself. The fruit contained no water, but the pulp had a high fat content. It tasted like eating slabs of woody chocolate, hard and unappetizing.

However, eating it provided a large amount of energy, enough to sustain a normal person's daily activities.

Although it didn't taste good, it was enough for Liu Zhi. With the fruit from this tree, he could last another ten days or so here.

He quickly climbed the tree and began to pick the fruit rapidly. He threw the picked fruit onto the ground, while also looking around, hoping to find another similar fruit tree.

His efforts were not in vain. Before long, Liu Zhi discovered another identical tree not far away.