Deadly Poison

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, several days had passed.

Within the picturesque Golden Phoenix Mountain Range, it looked like an immortal realm on the surface, yet danger lurked everywhere. Even Medicine Slave, a powerful Innate Triple Stage cultivator, suffered several serious injuries over the following half month. As for Ye Tong, he nearly lost his life in those deep mountains and ancient forests several times.

Fortunately, Ye Tong still had two healing pills he had refined earlier, and they ultimately preserved their lives. Because of this, neither of them dared venture deeper into the Golden Phoenix Mountain Range. They could only remain at the foot of the Seventeenth Mountain to recuperate.

"Medicine Slave, how are your injuries?"

Ye Tong twisted his body slightly. The dried blood made him feel uncomfortable all over.

Medicine Slave nodded and said, "Though I have not fully recovered, I am seven or eight parts healed. At most, after another day, I will be Restored to my Original State. Young Master, when shall we leave?"

Ye Tong glanced at the pile of materials harvested from Fierce Beast corpses before him and said with some frustration, "We've killed quite a few Fierce Beasts lately, but how are we supposed to bring these materials back? The basket is filled with precious medicinal herbs, and even the packs are stuffed with rare treasures and exotic fruits. We went through so much trouble—surely we can't just leave all these hard-earned materials here?"

Medicine Slave said bitterly, "How about this old servant takes off his clothes and wraps up all these materials?"

Ye Tong said irritably, "Even if you strip yourself bare, you still couldn't wrap up everything. Forget it. This outer garment is uncomfortable anyway. Together with our other two sets of clothes, we'll use them all to carry the materials. But let me make this clear first: if we encounter Fierce Beasts again, we absolutely cannot fight them. The moment we spot one, we run."

"Alright!"

That was precisely what Medicine Slave wanted.

Four days later.

The two of them carried six or seven bundles and wore baskets on their backs, as though they were shouldering two small mountains, when they appeared atop the Thirteenth Mountain.

Over the past four days, they had encountered dozens of Fierce Beasts. Some were merely Level One Fierce Beasts, while the stronger ones were even Level Four Fierce Beasts. Fortunately, neither of them had any will to fight. The instant they discovered one, they fled far away, thus avoiding bloody battles with the Fierce Beasts.

Twelfth Mountain.

More than a dozen cultivators dressed in fitted combat clothes and carried weapons as they advanced toward the depths of the mountain range, observing their surroundings along the way. The middle-aged man leading them was clearly an Innate Realm expert. His aura constantly spread outward, as if he meant to frighten away the nearby Fierce Beasts.

"Captain, is the information from the Tong Family reliable? We've been in here for so long, yet we still haven't found that brat surnamed Ye. According to the information the Tong Family provided, that brat is only at the Qi Refining Third Level. Even if he risked his life, it would be hard for him to reach this place, wouldn't it?" asked the muscular young man with a longbow on his back.

The Innate expert sneered. "The Golden Phoenix Mountain Range is boundless. From the Twelfth Mountain alone to the outside is several hundred kilometers. In such a vast place, finding that brat surnamed Ye is like fishing for a needle in the sea. We only accepted the Tong Family's assignment in passing, so there's no need to take it too seriously. Our main purpose is still to hunt Fierce Beasts and sell them for money."

"Alright!"

The muscular young man nodded helplessly.

Suddenly, as though he had remembered something, he said, "Earlier, we saw the War Tiger Adventurer Team from afar. Do you think they might have also accepted the Tong Family's task to hunt down Ye Tong while they were at it?"

The Innate expert fell silent for a moment before slowly shaking his head. "The War Tiger Adventurer Team generally does not accept such tasks. Their main goal is to hunt Fierce Beasts, gather medicinal herbs and rare ores. They even trade with other cultivators within the Golden Phoenix Mountain Range."

After saying that.

He glanced at the muscular young man and asked with a faint smile, "What? Do you want to join the War Tiger Adventurer Team?"

"How could that be?"

The muscular young man gave an embarrassed smile, though he truly did think how wonderful it would be if he were fortunate enough to join the War Tiger Adventurer Team.

The Innate expert patted the muscular young man's shoulder and said, "As far as I know, the Third Boss of the War Tiger Adventurer Team was bitten by a Level Four Fierce Beast, the Thousand-tailed Snake, and is now suffering from deadly poison. If you can find a Detoxification Pill and save their Third Boss, perhaps you might have a chance to join them."

"The Thousand-tailed Snake?"

The muscular young man's expression changed, revealing fear. He shook his head and said, "A Level Four Fierce Beast, the Thousand-tailed Snake, is an extremely venomous creature. Even an Innate Realm expert bitten and poisoned by it would likely die within a short while, wouldn't they?"

The Innate expert sighed faintly. "The War Tiger Adventurer Team is famously wealthy, so they likely have quite a stockpile of Detoxification Pills. However, each Detoxification Pill is meant for different kinds of poison, and they cannot find one that can cure the Thousand-tailed Snake's venom. At most, they can only use other methods to temporarily keep their Third Boss alive."

Several dozen kilometers away.

Within a lush valley thick with branches and leaves, four enormous tents stood between towering ancient trees. Dozens of muscular men bustled about in perfect order. Beyond a radius of one kilometer, there were only a dozen or so open and hidden sentries, able to detect the slightest stir at once.

Inside one of the tents.

A simple bed was covered in soft, multicolored animal hides. A thin young man with dark circles around his eyes and purple lips lay flat upon it. His breath was as faint as a thread, like a flickering candle flame that could go out at any moment.

His name was Ying Lei.

He was the Third Boss of the War Tiger Adventurer Team and the strategist of the group. Even though he was an expert at the Xiantian Fourth Level, he still could not withstand the Thousand-tailed Snake's deadly venom.

"The boss is back!"

A booming voice came from outside the tent. Immediately afterward, two young men lifted the curtain and watched as a woman with a fiery figure, countless braids in her hair, and wildness radiating from her entire body strode into the tent.

"Boss, did you find it?"

Crazy War Heaven's rough voice carried a note of urgency.

Mou Xing shook her head. "We searched every inch within a hundred kilometers, but we still couldn't find any trace of that Thousand-tailed Snake. Among the several groups of adventurers we encountered, none had a Detoxification Pill that could cure the Thousand-tailed Snake's venom."

Crazy War Heaven paced in circles in panic and shouted impatiently, "Then what do we do? We can't just watch Old Third die here, can we? Where the hell did that damned Thousand-tailed Snake run off to?"

Several high-ranking members of the War Tiger Adventurer Team in the tent remained silent.

After a moment of silence, Mou Xing gritted her teeth, carrying a bow forged from refined steel on her back. "I'll take people out to search again. If we can't find that Thousand-tailed Snake within a hundred kilometers, then we'll turn over everything within a thousand kilometers. We must kill it and take out its snake gallbladder. Only then can we save Old Third."

Crazy War Heaven grabbed Ying Lei's left wrist and said loudly, "There's no time! The poison line is only three inches away from his pulse. At this rate, it will spread to his palm in one day at most. By then, even if we bring back the Thousand-tailed Snake's gallbladder, there'll be no way to save Old Third."

One day. There was only one day left!

Mou Xing clenched her fists, despair flickering in her eyes.

Crazy War Heaven slammed his fist against the bedframe and said regretfully, "If I'd known earlier, I would've tied that kid up and dragged him into our War Tiger Adventurer Team back in Cold Mountain City."

Mou Xing asked, "Who?"

Crazy War Heaven said, "A youth skilled in using poison."

"What good would tying him up do?" Mou Xing shook her head after hearing that, disappointment appearing on her face. She did not believe a youth could cure the Thousand-tailed Snake's venom. After all, this deadly poison ranked among the top fifty in the Hundred Poisons Compendium.

Thirteenth Mountain.

Ye Tong stood atop the mountain peak, gazing at the rolling mountain range in the distance. A surge of bold spirit rose in his chest. He did not possess the lofty ambition to point out the rivers and mountains, but he was filled with hope for life.

"Medicine Slave!"

"This old servant is here."

Ye Tong said, "What do you think? If we built a city here, gave adventurers shelter from wind and rain, then formed a trade market, wouldn't that be a good choice?"

Medicine Slave stood dumbfounded, as though he could not believe his ears. He was utterly speechless at his young master's wild and fanciful idea.

Here?

This was already the Thirteenth Mountain. Within dozens of kilometers, there were at least a hundred Fierce Beasts roaming around. Even farther away, there were more Fierce Beasts still. Who possessed such great ability as to come here and build a city? Who had the skill to transport enormous amounts of construction materials here from outside?

Besides!

What craftsman would dare come here to build a city? Did they want to become food for the Fierce Beasts?

Seeing Medicine Slave's expression, Ye Tong sighed inwardly. Though this world was wonderfully marvelous, he had discovered one problem: it lacked the spirit of pioneering.

The humans of Earth.

They possessed ordinary flesh-and-blood bodies, yet they could split mountains and carve stone, using steel and cement to build enormous cities one after another. Individually, they were extremely weak, yet they could build bridges and lay roads, forming extraordinarily convenient transportation networks. They could also conduct scientific research and explore the vast universe beyond their planet.

But what about the people here?

They possessed formidable strength. True experts were said to be capable of moving mountains and overturning seas, flying through the heavens and burrowing into the earth with ease. Yet what kind of lives did they live? Other than cultivating their own strength, they were practically like the ancient era of Xia Kingdom—old-fashioned in thought, simplistic in ideas, and rarely possessing the spirit to pioneer and innovate.

Two worlds.

Humanity stood at the top of the food chain in both. What did they rely on? Naturally, wisdom. If the crystallization of wisdom in this world merged with the crystallization of human wisdom from Earth, it should bring earthshaking changes to this place, shouldn't it? Even conquering the stars and the sea might not be difficult, it seemed.

After a long while.

Ye Tong finally shook his head and drove those unrealistic thoughts from his mind. Given his current condition, his foremost priority was survival. Only by staying alive could he grow stronger and find a way to solve the problem with his body. Otherwise, even if he could cultivate, the poison would still make his cultivation speed unbearably slow.

"Medicine Slave, tell me, that old bastard has already broken through to the very peak of the Innate Realm, so why couldn't he find a way to solve the Poison Body problem? Since he couldn't find a solution, he turned me into a Poison Body just like his. Isn't that ruining me?" Ye Tong shook his head with a bitter smile, truly filled with sympathy for the original owner of this body's troubled life.

"This..."

Medicine Slave did not know how to answer that question.