The Snow Monkey's Fortunate Opportunity

These Poison Pills had come from Golden Light Daoist. Xu Yan had kept them in his Storage Bag all this time, not daring to tamper with them. He did not know their properties, and if he were poisoned by one, he would likely pay a heavy price.

However, ever since learning that the Green Pearl could devour deadly poisons, he no longer considered these Poison Pills quite so dangerous.

The Poison Pill before him was grayish-black all over and gave off a pungent odor.

The Green Pearl slowly drew closer, and a devouring force quietly emerged, enveloping the Poison Pill.

Under the control of Xu Yan's Divine Sense, this devouring force was extremely faint. He feared that one careless move would cause it to swallow the entire Poison Pill.

As the devouring force emerged, wisps of grayish-black mist seeped from the Poison Pill and entered the Green Pearl.

"Not good. The spiritual energy is being swallowed into the Green Pearl too."

Xu Yan muttered to himself. He could sense wisps of spiritual energy mingling with the grayish-black mist and entering the Green Pearl as well.

Seeing this, he immediately tried to make the Green Pearl devour only the poison within the Poison Pill.

Soon, under his control, the spiritual energy contained within the Poison Pill was separated out, leaving only the wisps of grayish-black mist to be devoured by the Green Pearl.

The process lasted the time it took an incense stick to burn. By the time the Green Pearl had devoured all the toxins within the Poison Pill, Xu Yan's forehead was covered in sweat. Controlling the Green Pearl with such precision placed a heavy burden on his Divine Sense, yet delight appeared on his face.

Just as he had envisioned, the Green Pearl had devoured all the poison within the Poison Pill while preserving its spiritual energy.

The formerly grayish-black Poison Pill had now shrunk considerably. It was pale green all over, and faint traces of medicinal fragrance wafted from it.

Xu Yan picked up the pill between two fingers and held it before his eyes for a careful inspection.

Perhaps because its toxins had been devoured, the pill was no longer so round and smooth. It looked more oval now, but when he enveloped it with his Divine Sense, he could sense the spiritual energy inside.

"For now, I can control the Green Pearl to devour only the toxins, just as I imagined. But I still need to verify whether it can remove them completely."

Muttering to himself, Xu Yan circulated his magic power to move aside the boulder blocking the cave entrance, then slowly walked outside.

He intended to catch an animal to test his idea.

Before long, he caught a monkey sheltering from the heavy snow in a rocky cave. It was a Snow Monkey unique to Horse Mountain, white all over with plum-blossom spots on its back. When Xu Yan entered the cave, it bared its teeth at him. But he quickly knocked it unconscious with a burst of magic power and carried it back in one hand.

After returning to his cave abode, Xu Yan moved the boulder back and sealed the entrance completely.

Once that was done, he set down the Snow Monkey in his hand.

It was a male Snow Monkey, roughly two feet long. Judging by its teeth, it was about a year old and still far smaller than an adult.

Xu Yan extended a finger and lightly flicked the Snow Monkey's head three times.

Stirred by the external stimulus, the Snow Monkey slowly regained consciousness.

"Eek, eek!"

Once the Snow Monkey saw its surroundings clearly, it immediately cried out. Rage filled its face, and it poised itself to pounce.

Seeing this, Xu Yan snorted coldly and pointed a finger at the Snow Monkey.

"Eek, eek!"

At the sight of Xu Yan extending his finger, fear appeared in the Snow Monkey's eyes, and it immediately scrambled backward. It remembered how, back in the rocky cave, the person before it had extended a finger just like that, after which it had lost consciousness.

Having cowed the Snow Monkey, Xu Yan patted his Storage Bag and took out the Poison Pill whose toxins had been devoured.

Then Xu Yan flicked his finger, sending the Poison Pill landing before the Snow Monkey.

At Xu Yan's movement, the Snow Monkey instinctively dodged to the side. Only when it saw that what he had flicked over was a pill did confusion fill its face.

The Snow Monkey stared at the pill with wide eyes. Seeing nothing unusual, it raised its head to glance at Xu Yan. Its eyes darted about rapidly, making it look remarkably intelligent.

After tossing the pill to the Snow Monkey, Xu Yan sat down cross-legged. He did not believe it could resist the temptation of that medicinal fragrance.

Sure enough, events unfolded just as he expected.

The Snow Monkey stayed where it was for a few minutes. Once it saw there was no danger, the pill's fragrance drew it in. Its two forepaws scratched repeatedly in front of its body, betraying its intense excitement.

Yet the Snow Monkey kept its gaze fixed on Xu Yan. Though greed filled its eyes, it did not dare move an inch. It had already begun to sense that the human before it posed a lethal threat.

"Eek, eek!"

Something seemed to occur to the Snow Monkey. Its large eyes rolled, and it bowed to the human before it.

Xu Yan watched this with a look of realization. He finally understood why every street performer he had encountered in Inkstone City had led a monkey around. These beasts were truly clever; they could even read the situation and act accordingly.

Xu Yan nodded. Naturally, he had caught this Snow Monkey to test his idea and see whether the Poison Pill remained toxic after the Green Pearl had devoured its poison.

Seeing the man before it nod, the Snow Monkey immediately let out an excited howl. Then it leaped over to the Poison Pill, opened its mouth, and swallowed it.

After swallowing the Poison Pill, the Snow Monkey glanced at Xu Yan again. Seeing that he did not punish it, it immediately scratched its ears and cheeks in excitement, leaping rapidly about the room.

Xu Yan now kept his gaze fixed on the Snow Monkey, watching its reaction after swallowing the Poison Pill.

At first, the Snow Monkey seemed delighted after swallowing the Poison Pill. But soon, as its medicinal power took effect, it began to howl.

The spiritual energy contained within the Poison Pill was far more than a monkey could endure. The Snow Monkey felt as though its body was about to burst.

Watching the Snow Monkey's behavior, Xu Yan realized that the spiritual energy was to blame.

From the looks of it, the Snow Monkey would certainly die unless he intervened. Then he would have no way of determining whether it had died because the toxins had not been completely removed or because it could not withstand the spiritual energy.

With that thought, Xu Yan strode forward and reached out to restrain the frantically struggling Snow Monkey.

He released a strand of magic power, suppressing the violent spiritual energy produced by the Poison Pill and slowly guiding it into the Snow Monkey's flesh and blood.

Then he withdrew his hand and continued observing the changes in the Snow Monkey.

The Snow Monkey spent two full days absorbing the spiritual energy from the Poison Pill.

Over those two days, the changes in the Snow Monkey were striking. Its body, originally about two feet long, grew by more than half a foot. Its snow-white fur became glossier, and it radiated a more powerful presence. The greatest change, however, was the increased intelligence in its eyes. When it looked at Xu Yan, its gaze held greed and a pleading appeal.

It seemed to want another pill like that.

Xu Yan witnessed all these changes, and the result naturally delighted him. By controlling the Green Pearl, he could devour the toxins within the Poison Pill while preserving its original spiritual energy.

Still, to be safe, he took out another Poison Pill to continue testing.

The moment he brought out the Poison Pill, the Snow Monkey's face filled with a fawning expression, and it leaped quickly toward Xu Yan. But a finger awaited it. Only after knocking the Snow Monkey unconscious did Xu Yan take out the Green Pearl.

This time, he knew the road well. Under the control of his Divine Sense, the toxins within the Poison Pill were soon completely devoured. At the same time, a distinct flash of light passed over the Green Pearl, and an immense surge of energy flowed from it, rushing into every limb and bone in Xu Yan's body.

This energy was extremely gentle, and Xu Yan's Dantian soon converted it into magic power.

A powerful aura rose from his body.

"The energy the Green Pearl returned this time actually brought me to the peak of the Third Layer of Qi Refining!"

This startled him. He guessed that the various energies the Green Pearl had devoured recently were now being fed back to him.

After setting those thoughts aside, he woke the Snow Monkey again and stuffed the pill directly into its mouth.

By now, the Snow Monkey could not have cared less about Xu Yan's rough treatment. Its face was filled with flattery.

This time, the Snow Monkey took only one day to absorb all the spiritual energy within the Poison Pill, without the slightest abnormality.

Seeing that the toxins had been completely removed from both Poison Pills filled Xu Yan with joy.

For this concerned a plan he intended to carry out next.