Skillful Detoxification

Cultivators were human too; as long as they were human, they could fall ill.

Likewise, Demonic Beasts could also fall ill.

However, cultivators and Demonic Beasts generally did not fall sick easily. When they did, it was not from ordinary ailments like colds and fevers.

It was usually due to improper cultivation or invasive toxins, resulting in illnesses unique to cultivators.

The Mu Family's eight Ink Scale Colts had suddenly all collapsed, foaming blood from their mouths. These were clearly typical symptoms of poisoning or illness.

After entering the stable and examining the Ink Scale Colts' pupils, tongues, droppings, and other conditions, Zhou Chun recalled the various beast-taming manuals he had read and immediately thought of several possible causes.

But he did not rush to draw conclusions. Instead, he said to the anxiously waiting Mu Family members, "I have some preliminary guesses, but whether they are correct will depend on asking a few questions first."

"Before that, however, you may give them the pills in this bottle. They will temporarily ease their symptoms and prevent any casualties."

With that, he patted his Storage Bag, took out a medicine bottle, and handed it to Mu Ziying.

Yet Mu Ziying did not act at once after receiving the bottle. Instead, she looked toward Mu Yunshan.

"Do as Fellow Daoist Zhou says."

After a brief moment of consideration, Mu Yunshan nodded and signaled for Mu Ziying to administer the medicine to the Ink Scale Colts.

Sure enough, after swallowing the pills Zhou Chun had provided, the Ink Scale Colts' convulsions greatly lessened, and the bloody foam at the corners of their mouths seeped out far more slowly.

At this sight, the Mu Family cultivators all revealed delighted expressions, and the way they looked at the medicine bottle in Mu Ziying's hand changed.

Still, they understood perfectly well that such specially refined pills were surely the Zhou Family's exclusive secret medicine. They did not expect Zhou Chun to give them the formula, so none of them brought it up.

Mu Yunshan extended a hand and led Zhou Chun a little farther away. Then, with a solemn expression, he said, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, ask whatever you wish to know."

"I wish to know what these Ink Scale Colts have been fed over the past two days. Also, where have they gone outside the mountain gate over the past three days?"

Zhou Chun did not stand on ceremony and immediately raised two questions.

Upon hearing this, Mu Yunshan promptly replied, "Please wait a moment, Fellow Daoist. I will inquire at once."

He then went to speak with several Mu Family cultivators responsible for caring for the Ink Scale Colts.

Before long, he returned with Mu Ziying and a middle-aged Mu Family cultivator.

"We would not dare deceive Fellow Daoist Zhou. Some days ago, cultivators of our Lineage discovered a hidden Snake Cave in a forest on the southern shore of Biyun Lake. They killed several First Rank demon snakes and countless ordinary snakes inside. Over these past two days, the Ink Scale Colts have been eating snake meat, along with some Sweet Leaf Grass that they enjoy."

"Over the past three days, the Ink Scale Colts have not left the mountain gate. They only ran their usual rounds within the mountain gate."

Mu Ziying and the middle-aged Mu Family cultivator answered Zhou Chun's questions one after another.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chun immediately looked at Mu Ziying and asked, "Have you fed snake meat to the Ink Scale Colts before?"

"We have. Ink Scale Colts are not picky about meat or vegetables, and they have few dietary restrictions. We have fed them the meat of all kinds of birds, beasts, insects, and fish before, and nothing has ever happened!"

This time, it was the middle-aged Mu Family man who answered. As he spoke, he stared at Zhou Chun with a startled, doubtful look and asked, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, do you suspect there was something wrong with that snake meat?"

He could not help shaking his head as he continued, "But that snake meat was exceptionally delicious. Many cultivators and mortals of our Mu Family ate it, yet we have not heard of anyone being poisoned or falling ill!"

"Yes, Fellow Daoist Zhou, you ate some too!"

Mu Ziying added.

To their surprise, Zhou Chun immediately nodded after hearing them. "Then it most likely really was a problem with the snake meat!"

Without waiting for them to object, he explained, "The snake meat we humans eat is cleaned and cooked thoroughly, so there is basically no possibility of being poisoned from eating it."

"However, Ink Scale Colts enjoy raw meat with blood still on it. When you fed them, you most likely just threw the snake carcasses directly to them."

"Although the physical constitution of Ink Scale Colts means that even being bitten by ordinary venomous snakes would not amount to much, some highly venomous demon snakes and their offspring can still poison them severely!"

"So the reason these Ink Scale Colts were poisoned and fell ill was most likely because they ate the corpses of demon snakes and their offspring. The snake venom entered through their mouths, producing such a severe poisonous reaction."

His arguments were well-founded and clearly organized, leaving the Mu Family cultivators speechless and unable to refute him.

In the end, Mu Yunshan was the one who asked, "If it truly is snake venom, does Fellow Daoist Zhou have a way to detoxify them?"

"Of course I have a method. But Ink Scale Colts are only first-tier Demonic Beasts. I fear you would be reluctant to use methods that require such great expense."

Zhou Chun glanced at Mu Yunshan, then continued, "So arrange for someone to accompany me to the vicinity of that Snake Cave. Generally speaking, one can find herbs that counter snake venom near a venomous snake nest."

"Then I will have to trouble Fellow Daoist Zhou. I will report the situation to the clan head at once."

After saying this, Mu Yunshan cupped his hands to Zhou Chun and hurriedly left the Beast Garden.

Half an hour later, Zhou Chun left Biyun Mountain accompanied by five Mu Family cultivators, heading for the Snake Cave on the southern shore of Biyun Lake.

On the southern shore of Biyun Mountain stretched a sea of bamboo spanning more than ten miles. The Snake Cave had been discovered deep within it.

When Zhou Chun arrived near the entrance to the Snake Cave under the guidance of the Mu Family cultivators, he could still see many venomous snakes.

"Please look, Fellow Daoist Zhou. The Snake Cave is inside this underground cavern. At the time, there was even a First-grade High-tier Snake King within. We had to expend tremendous effort to kill it!"

In a clearing amid the bamboo grove, one Mu Family cultivator pointed at a pitch-black cave entrance in the ground and quietly explained the situation.

He had personally participated in the battle to clear the Snake Cave several days earlier.

Yet Zhou Chun knew that the Mu Family members were not telling the truth.

Normally, once demon snakes became Demonic Beasts, they would not gather other ordinary snakes and insects to form a snake nest.

If such a situation occurred, it meant there was some treasure in the snake nest that was tremendously beneficial to snake-kind's growth, drawing great numbers of snakes together. Even demon snakes could not monopolize it and could only share it with the snake horde.

But there was no need to say such things aloud. Whatever treasure the Mu Family cultivators had obtained from the Snake Cave was their own stroke of fortune.

Thus, after staring at the pitch-black cave entrance for a few moments, he lightly shook his head. "There is no need to enter the cave. I imagine not even an inch of grass grows inside, so no herbs can be found there. I will search the surrounding area instead."

Then he began wandering through the nearby bamboo grove.

Wherever Zhou Chun passed, the snakes retreated one after another, as if they had encountered their natural enemy.

This was because he had smeared the Zhou Family's specially made Snake-Repelling Salve on his trouser cuffs. Its scent irritated the vast majority of snakes, making them so uncomfortable that they only wanted to flee from its source.

The Mu Family cultivators following behind him found this quite astonishing.

Things such as beast-repelling and snake-repelling medicinal powders were not rare in the Cultivation World. Every general store in the market had them for sale, and they were very cheap.

Yet they had never seen anything as effective as the Snake-Repelling Salve Zhou Chun was using.

For a time, they all considered whether they should visit Zhou Chun afterward to ask for or purchase some, in preparation for unforeseen needs.

After leading the group through the bamboo grove for a while, Zhou Chun indeed found some herbs capable of treating ordinary snake venom. Yet he had little confidence that they would work against demon snake venom, so he could only continue searching.

After pushing through the bamboo grove thick with weeds and vines for another half hour, Zhou Chun's eyes suddenly lit up. He had made a major discovery.

"Do you see those little purple flowers on that vine?"

"They are called Small Leaf Purple Snake Flowers. They are medicinal herbs with an extremely powerful detoxifying effect against snake venom. But for the herb to take effect, it must first be stimulated by irrigating it with snake saliva."

Zhou Chun pointed at the little purple flowers climbing over a cluster of bamboo leaves and began giving Mu Ziying and the others a lesson on the spot.

But when Mu Ziying and the others wanted to step forward and pick the flowers, he stopped them again.

"Do not touch them carelessly yet. These Small Leaf Purple Snake Flowers are very delicate. If you simply pick the flowers, they will be useless by the time you bring them back. You must dig them up with the roots intact and carry them back with the soil still attached."

Upon hearing this, the Mu Family members hurriedly took out their tools, carefully dug up the plant along with its roots, and rushed back to Biyun Mountain.

After returning to the Beast Garden, they followed Zhou Chun's instructions and irrigated the flowers with snake saliva to stimulate them. The blooming little purple flowers closed one after another, and they were then picked and fed individually to the Ink Scale Colts.

The result was exactly as Zhou Chun had said: the medicine struck, and the illness vanished. After only an hour, the Ink Scale Colts that had originally been unable to rise were able to stand again.

This matter quickly spread throughout the Mu Family. Even the Mu Family's several Foundation Establishment cultivators felt immensely fortunate after learning the full sequence of events.

For as Zhou Chun had said, if the cause had not been identified in time and the poison removed within a day, then even if the Ink Scale Colts had not all died, more than half would have suddenly perished.

And if Zhou Chun had not happened to be at the Mu Family, the Mu Family certainly could not have accomplished this within a single day.

For this reason, the Mu Family's clan head specially had Mu Yunshan bring Zhou Chun a treasure as compensation.