The dark purple veins within the Blue Silver Grass suddenly lit up, as if they had been activated.
A faint suction came from the tip of the vine. Wang Xian could feel something slowly being drawn out along the vine.
It was a cold, viscous energy carrying an aura of corrosion, completely different from the gentle life energy of the Blue Silver Grass.
Poison.
The dark purple veins on the Blue Silver Grass leaves began to writhe slowly, breaking down and transforming the poison that entered the vine bit by bit.
The cold aura within the poison was stripped away and turned into a faint warm current that flowed back along the vine into Wang Xian's body, merging with his Soul Power.
As for the corrosive impurities, they were neutralized and dispersed by the Blue Silver Grass's own life energy, vanishing into nothing.
The vine's color constantly shifted throughout the process, changing from bluish green to dark purple, then slowly fading from dark purple back to bluish green.
The cycle repeated itself, like some silent form of breathing.
Dugu Yan's body trembled slightly.
She felt a coolness spread from her wrist, as though something was being drawn out of her blood vessels.
It was not the bone-piercing chill of ice, but more like taking a drink of well water in the sweltering summer heat, leaving her refreshed from the inside out.
Then, that refreshing sensation began to spread.
From her wrist to her forearm, from her forearm to her shoulder, from her shoulder to her chest.
Wherever it passed, that part of her body seemed to shed an invisible shackle, becoming light and comfortable.
She had never felt her body so relaxed before, as if she had always been wrapped in an invisible film.
That film had made it hard for her to breathe, but now it was being peeled away bit by bit.
Dugu Yan involuntarily closed her eyes, her breathing becoming long and even.
The furrow between her brows completely smoothed out, and the corners of her lips even curved up slightly. She looked as comfortable as though she were soaking in warm water.
Ye Lingling crouched beside the sofa, nervously watching Dugu Yan's face, then Wang Xian's focused profile. Her lips were pressed tightly together, and she did not dare say a word for fear of disturbing him.
After about the time it took to drink half a cup of tea, Wang Xian opened his eyes.
With a thought, the tiny vine detached from Dugu Yan's wrist and retracted into his palm.
Dugu Yan slowly opened her eyes and looked down at her wrist.
There was only a tiny red dot where it had pierced her skin, impossible to notice without looking closely.
She flexed her fingers, then lifted her arm and rotated it. Her expression shifted from confusion to surprise, then from surprise to disbelief.
"I..." She opened her mouth, her voice slightly unsteady. "I feel... so relaxed."
She raised her head to look at Wang Xian. The pale green of her eyes had already faded considerably.
Though they had not completely returned to how they had been before, they were far better than the intense dark green from earlier.
"It feels like something has been taken away." Dugu Yan placed a hand over her chest, feeling her heartbeat. "It always used to feel stuffy here, but now... it's gone."
Her gaze at Wang Xian grew complicated, filled with surprise, confusion, and an indescribable emotion.
Wang Xian withdrew the Blue Silver Grass and looked at her. He did not rush to speak, merely smiling faintly.
Feeling the unprecedented lightness in her body, Dugu Yan was already certain that she had indeed been poisoned.
Though she hated to admit it, the facts before her left her no choice.
"I was really poisoned." Dugu Yan pressed a hand to her chest blankly, her voice so low it sounded like she was talking to herself.
She recalled those rainy nights in the past, when her body would occasionally experience strange symptoms.
Sometimes her chest would feel tight, sometimes her limbs would go weak, and sometimes she would become inexplicably irritable.
She had always thought they were minor issues caused by exhausting cultivation and insufficient rest, never taking them seriously.
Now, it seemed that was not the case at all.
It had merely been the process of poison continuously accumulating.
Day after day, year after year, it had silently piled up within her body. Once it reached a certain point, it would erupt all at once, just as she had suddenly fainted earlier.
If Wang Xian had not been here, if he had not acted in time, she did not know what would have happened to her.
And if it had been any worse, it might not have been as simple as fainting.
At that thought, a wave of lingering fear surged through Dugu Yan's heart, and a layer of cold sweat broke out on her back.
Then she thought of something else and shuddered in alarm.
Her grandfather.
Dugu Bo's eyes were greener than hers, an intense dark green that was almost abnormal, like a pool of stagnant water, bottomless and unfathomable.
If the color of her eyes represented the severity of her poisoning, then did her grandfather's even greener eyes mean that he was poisoned more deeply?
Dugu Yan felt that possibility was extremely likely.
Her poison had accumulated to this point and made her faint. Her grandfather's poison had accumulated for decades—what state must it be in?
She did not dare think any further.
"I need to go home!" Dugu Yan abruptly stood up, her tone urgent and her face pale.
She did not have time to say much more to Wang Xian and Ye Lingling. She turned and headed outside, even the hand pushing open the door trembling slightly.
"Yanzi!" Ye Lingling instinctively stood, wanting to follow her.
Wang Xian reached out and caught her wrist, shaking his head slightly. "Let Yanzi go by herself. This is her family's business. I believe that once she has dealt with it, she'll come find us."
Ye Lingling watched Dugu Yan's figure disappear at the end of the corridor. Her lips moved, but in the end, she merely nodded softly and sat back down on the sofa.
Wang Xian released her hand and stood by the window, watching Dugu Yan hurry through the Soul Fighting Arena's gates below and vanish around a street corner.
He turned and leaned against the windowsill, his gaze falling to the floor as he silently calculated.
Before long, Dugu Bo should come looking for him.
Dugu Yan hurried out of the Soul Fighting Arena, then left Heaven Dou City directly and raced toward Sunset Forest.
She had to find her grandfather and ask him exactly what was going on with the poisoning.
After traveling at full speed for about two hours, she finally reached Sunset Forest outside Heaven Dou City.
Her grandfather lived here year-round, tending to his medicinal garden.
Dugu Yan followed a small path around the areas inhabited by soul beasts and arrived at her grandfather's residence.
The moment she arrived, Dugu Yan stopped and shouted, "Grandfather!"
As soon as her voice fell, a dark green figure flashed past and appeared directly before Dugu Yan.
He was a tall, lean old man who stood perfectly straight, like a spear.
His hair was entirely dark green, and his eyes shone like emeralds.
His entire person gave off an illusory feeling, like a phantom.
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