Toxic Against Toxic

He only remembered Qin Ziyan telling him to run. What happened afterward, he did not know. He headed toward the place where she had fought the giant snake earlier. By now, dawn had broken, and he quickly found Qin Ziyan. She was lying on the ground, neither living nor dead. Her face was pale, and blood still stained the corner of her mouth.

She wasn't dead, was she? Chen Fan reached out to feel her neck and found a faint pulse. But she was at death's door; without treatment, she would soon perish like jade falling and fragrance fading. Only now did Chen Fan get a clear look at her face. She was extraordinarily beautiful, seeming only fifteen or sixteen, already the makings of a beauty. Thick brows, large eyes, a high nose bridge—unlike Ye Wan's cold and haughty beauty, Qin Ziyan had a delicate, touching air about her. And her pale face at this moment carried an added trace of tragic beauty.

Chen Fan hesitated. Should he save her? Could he save her? Could he save her in time? A flood of questions surfaced in his mind, along with all sorts of possible consequences. In the end, he sighed. As the saying went, one must not harbor the heart to harm others, but must have the heart to save them. Huh? Why did that sound a little strange? Whatever. It would be such a pity for such a pretty little girl to die like this. He would find a way to save her. Chen Fan was not some vicious man who would stand by and watch someone die. Besides, if he had not stolen the snake eggs, she would not have been placed in such deadly danger. Even if she dragged him to the inner court after he saved her, so be it.

But how was he supposed to save her? Judging by her condition, the poison had likely already attacked her heart. One wrong move, and he might end up finishing her off instead. Forget it. He could only treat a dead horse as though it were alive. She would die if he did nothing anyway; if he accidentally killed her, it could only count as a medical accident. He could not hesitate any longer. He had to act quickly—delay too long, and even immortals would be unable to save her.

After some thought, Chen Fan recalled a method for concocting antidotes recorded in the Treasure Record. One type of detoxification method was fighting poison with poison. When someone had been deeply poisoned and no antidote was available for the time being, they could be made to endure another kind of poison. The two poisons would then affect and weaken each other, easing the onset of the toxin and buying more time for rescue.

Chen Fan took out several herbs he had gathered earlier. Following the Treasure Record's method for mixing poisons, he placed them together in the proper proportions, then kneaded them continuously between his palms into a paste. At the same time, he circulated Origin Qi throughout his body and into his hands, injecting a trace of heaven-and-earth Origin Qi into the herbs to heat them more effectively.

After kneading them several times, Chen Fan had worked the herbs in his hands into a round object resembling a pill. However, with such limited conditions, it was extremely crude, with bits of stems and leaves still mixed into it. He picked it up and sniffed it. It smelled absolutely vile—not much better than the giant snake's poisonous fumes. Hopefully, this herbal poison could contend against the snake venom.

Once the medicine was ready, he walked to Qin Ziyan's side, helped her up, and said, "Senior Sister, forgive my offense." Then he pressed both palms against her back, slowly circulated his Origin Qi, and sent a small amount into her body, trying to stir some of her own Origin Qi into motion. Since she was unconscious, he could not rashly pour Origin Qi into her. Otherwise, with their cultivation levels being similar, her body would instinctively reject it, making things worse. Chen Fan himself might even suffer a backlash.

As soon as Chen Fan's Origin Qi entered her body, the girl trembled slightly and let out a weak gasp. Then, suddenly, she went "wah" and spat out a large mouthful of blood. Just as Chen Fan had expected, her Internal Qi cultivation was not weak. So long as he could stir even a thread of Origin Qi within her body, it could circulate on its own, protect her heart meridians, and resist the invading poison.

But this would not last long. A great quantity of poison still remained in her body. If her own Origin Qi could not continue circulating, the poison would still attack her heart. If a high-level cultivator had been present, they could have used their powerful Origin Qi to help her expel the poison without interruption until she recovered. But Chen Fan clearly did not possess such cultivation.

After vomiting that mouthful of clotted blood, the girl regained some awareness. She murmured a few barely audible words, then suddenly felt an incomparably foul-smelling lump being forcibly stuffed into her mouth. Just as she was about to resist, Chen Fan's voice sounded beside her ear. "Senior Sister, do not resist. If you wish to live, swallow this pill at once." Qin Ziyan thought, What kind of pill is this? It's practically a lump of that stuff. Yet she knew her situation well enough. Gritting her teeth, she swallowed it.

Then her body went limp, and she fell directly into Chen Fan's arms. At the touch of that warm, soft jade, his body could not help trembling faintly. Looking down, he saw Qin Ziyan's exquisite face, and his thoughts immediately began to wander. Beast! She's already in such a state, and I'm still thinking such things. This is simply heartless and insane! He promptly shook his head to calm himself. Still, at his age, with love only just budding and this being his first contact with a girl, it was inevitable that his heart would itch beyond scratching.

Chen Fan hurriedly sent another thread of Origin Qi into Qin Ziyan's body to help her refine the medicine's effects. Then he retreated to one side and stopped looking at her. He remembered the old monk once warning him that women down the mountain were tigers, and he must hide whenever he saw one. It seemed the women on the mountain were even less simple. Just looking at them could throw one's mind into chaos. Having helped Qin Ziyan, Chen Fan's own Origin Qi had become somewhat disordered, so he hastily sat down to meditate and recover.

He continuously circulated the Golden Wheel Scripture, gradually drawing the lingering poison out of his body. After cultivating for an entire day, he had finally more or less recovered. By then, the sky was gradually darkening again, and the sun was setting beyond the western hills. Looking at Qin Ziyan, he found that she still showed no signs of waking. He was somewhat worried. Should he carry her back to the sect and have someone from Sword-Imperial Pavilion save her? But if he did that, many things would become impossible to explain. And if she died on the way and someone found them, it would be even harder for him to clear himself. Perhaps he should simply leave; he had done all he could, and the rest depended on her own fate. But Chen Fan could not bear to do that either. He was truly at a loss.

Just as he was wavering, a graceful figure slowly awoke. Qin Ziyan murmured, "What happened to me? Where am I?" Amnesia? Wonderful! Chen Fan's heart stirred. He said to Qin Ziyan, "Miss, you were poisoned by a snake earlier. I was just about to find someone to save you, but I did not expect you to recover on your own. Since you're all right, I'll take my leave now." With that, he turned to go.

"Stop!" the girl hurriedly called. Since her body was still extremely weak, she coughed several times before saying feebly, "Did you save me? Have you already killed that snake? What was that thing you gave me to eat earlier?" Her tone was calm, without the slightest hint of blame. On the contrary, she sounded somewhat grateful.

So she had not lost her memory. "That was a pill I made on the spot. It can only temporarily suppress the poison's spread. Senior Sister should quickly circulate her cultivation to heal her injuries." Chen Fan was no longer in a hurry to leave. Since she was awake, he could not possibly silence her forever. It would be better to wait until she recovered and return together. If anyone questioned them, at least there would be a witness. Given her talent, she was surely a key disciple of the sect. Her disappearance for so long would certainly have drawn attention, and perhaps the sect had already sent people to look for her. If he suddenly appeared alone, it would indeed be too suspicious, and he might be seized. Then his entire background would be turned inside out, and the things in his bag would easily arouse suspicion. Especially with the risks involving the Treasure Record, he could not afford the slightest carelessness. If it were discovered, the consequences would be impossible to predict.

Hearing this, Qin Ziyan did not dare be careless. She immediately sat down to cultivate. Chen Fan had no idea what Internal Qi art she practiced, but as she circulated it, faint specks of starlight seemed to gather around her body. Yet they flickered in and out of view, too indistinct to see clearly.

"Senior Sister, heal in peace. I'll stand guard for you." Seeing that she had entered meditation, Chen Fan sat beside her and began cultivating as well, intending to restore himself to peak condition. He could also take the chance to earn some goodwill from her. If they truly encountered an inner court elder, he feared he would not get past this hurdle without her helping to cover for him.

Thus, the two quietly cultivated together. Before they realized it, night had deepened, and the surroundings became exceedingly silent again. Only the wind, accompanied by the chirping of insects and croaking of frogs, could be heard. Other than that, there was no movement.

He truly had not expected to spend three days in these back mountains. At this rate, they would not be able to return until tomorrow at the earliest. Chen Fan had completely recovered after finishing his meditation. He ended his trance, opened his eyes, and looked to the side—then jumped in fright. Mother of—what is that? Qin Ziyan was surrounded by starlight, dazzling beyond compare. It was practically enough to blind him!

"Don't be surprised. The Internal Qi art I cultivate is called the Starforce Formula. Cultivating at night not only makes meditation and recovery several times more effective than during the day, but improving one's Internal Qi realm at night also yields twice the result with half the effort. Starlight will also spread through the surroundings." Qin Ziyan paused her cultivation, looked at Chen Fan with a proud smile, and said, "I'm basically fine now. This time, I owe my life to Junior Brother's rescue. I will surely repay this favor someday!"

"Senior Sister is too courteous. We are fellow disciples; helping one another is only proper." Gazing at that brilliant radiance, Chen Fan could not help marveling that such miraculous cultivation arts existed in the world. It seemed Qin Ziyan had attained such strength at her age precisely because of this art. But how did it compare to the Golden Wheel Scripture he cultivated?

"But just who are you? It would be one thing if your Internal Qi were no weaker than mine, but after being poisoned by that third-rank venomous python, how did you recover so much faster than I did?" Qin Ziyan asked in disbelief. It was said that demon beasts also had realms. Similar to human cultivators, whose arts were divided into the first through ninth levels, demon beasts were divided into nine ranks according to the amount of heaven-and-earth Origin Qi in their bodies. The Origin Qi energy contained in each rank was equivalent to that within each level of a human cultivator's Internal Qi realm. It was said that if a demon beast could develop in obscurity and luckily break through to the ninth rank, it would undergo a transformation, gain astonishing divine abilities, and perhaps even take human form. Like the legends of humans cultivating into immortals, such beasts could be called demon immortals. Of course, all that existed only in legend, stories generally used to fool children.

Furthermore, demon beasts had no concepts like External Force or Soaring. Their combat techniques simply followed their natural gifts and instincts, so their true strength was not easy to judge. Take this third-rank giant snake, for instance. The poisonous gas it spat out was equivalent to an attack from a cultivator at the third level of the Internal Qi realm. Though it lacked the power of a release through External Force, the two of them were only at the second level. Once they accidentally inhaled it, it was difficult to resist and detoxify it with their own cultivation. After this battle, Qin Ziyan could not help regarding Chen Fan in a much higher light.

"This junior's cultivation is shallow. How could I compare with Senior Sister? The reason was that, after being poisoned, Senior Sister fought desperately against the giant snake, causing the venom to spread far too quickly. I, on the other hand, only ambushed it from the side and did not mobilize much Origin Qi. Besides, before entering the sect, I was poisoned once before. Perhaps my body has already adapted to it." In truth, Chen Fan also found it somewhat strange. This poison really did not seem to affect him much. Even after fainting, the poison had not attacked his heart. As for not circulating his Internal Qi, that was merely something he said for Qin Ziyan's benefit. What a joke—he had killed that snake afterward only by exhausting every ounce of his strength.

"That should be the case." Qin Ziyan felt that Chen Fan's explanation matched the circumstances and was perfectly reasonable. "No matter what, I still must thank you this time. After I cultivate for another night and recover, you can return with me tomorrow."

After that, neither of them spoke further, and each continued meditating to recover.

The night passed without incident, and daylight came once more. Qin Ziyan slowly withdrew her cultivation, only to discover that Chen Fan was no longer beside her. Just as she was about to get up and search for him, a figure walked over and held out several wild fruits. "Senior Sister, you've recovered? Have something to eat. You can't go hungry on the road. These fruits aren't poisonous—I've already eaten some, so don't worry."

Qin Ziyan accepted them, only then realizing that she had not eaten for a long time. She had not yet reached the stage where she could completely abstain from food, and her stomach was indeed rumbling with hunger. "Thank you!" Without ceremony, she took one and began biting into it in great mouthfuls, looking exactly like a child who had not eaten for days.

After sharing the wild fruits, the two rose and began their return journey.

At Swordcry Mountain's outer sect, it was the beginning of another month. The outer sect's martial arts arena was already packed shoulder to shoulder. Needless to say, everyone had come to catch a glimpse of Fairy Ye's elegance. Chen Fan had probably forgotten about this matter, but even if he remembered, he would not make it here in time.

Once the lesson officially began, Fairy Ye taught and explained while her gaze repeatedly swept over the crowd, as though searching for someone...