The two sides stood outside the cave entrance, watching each other warily. Long Qianming broke the deadlock first and said,
"I can let you in, but I have one condition. If you can't meet it, leave now. I don't want to add needlessly to my tally of killings."
Su Qing'er looked at Dugu Xin, who was barely breathing, the poison already deep in his organs. He had no more than ten minutes to live. Only by entering the cave quickly, where it was quiet, could she concentrate on saving the man who filled her thoughts.
If she truly could not save him, she could only trade her life for his by using her family's secret art-the Soul Power Blood Exchange Technique. She asked urgently,
"What condition?"
"Very simple. To ensure my safety, please release your Martial Soul first."
A cold, fierce glint flashed through Su Qing'er's eyes. Then the phantom of a green snake gradually appeared behind her.
"That's a Jade Snake. Good."
When Long Qianming saw Su Qing'er's Jade Snake Martial Soul, his tension abruptly vanished. No wonder this woman did not dare attack him.
So it was because of her Martial Soul! The Jade Snake was different from the Nine-Section Jade Snake. The former was a relatively mediocre Soul Beast, with low attack power and no natural venom, possessing only a little healing ability. The corresponding Jade Snake Martial Soul was the same.
A Soul Master like this posed no threat to him, however high her cultivation might be, let alone one who had only just broken through to Soul Elder!
"Please come in!"
"Thank you-"
Su Qing'er struggled to support Dugu Xin as she slowly walked inside. Long Qianming had no intention of helping. After all, until he knew whether they were friends or foes, he could not act too warmly, even if he had guessed they belonged to the Dugu Family.
If they had some hidden trump card and turned the tables on him, that would be disastrous.
Once inside, the woman looked around and froze. She had never imagined there would be another person in the dim cave, and that person was absorbing a Soul Ring. Judging by her condition, she had already reached the final stage and could wake at any moment.
Cold sweat poured from her, and her limbs began trembling. Fortunately, with her supporting Dugu Xin and the cave being rather dim, no one noticed her discomfiture.
Had she known, she should never have entered the cave. But without coming inside, how could she remove the Martial Soul poison from Brother Xin's body while ensuring her own safety? Still, judging by the man's behavior so far, he seemed decent enough.
"Third Soul Skill, Jade Healing."
This was the Soul Skill she had only just obtained. Her Third Soul Skill also had the strongest healing effect of all her skills. As she cast it, her Jade Snake Martial Soul coiled around Dugu Xin.
The many withered, yellowing plants inside the cave began sprouting tender shoots one after another. In that instant, the cave became a scene brimming with life, breathtakingly beautiful.
At that moment, Bibi Dong slowly opened her eyes and saw the withered wood springing back to life. She rose and walked toward Long Qianming.
Long Qianming was so absorbed in watching that he did not notice Bibi Dong approaching. Even when she reached his side, he still showed no reaction.
His behavior thoroughly angered Bibi Dong. A fierce look appeared on her face as she asked coldly,
"Is that healing-type Soul Master pretty?"
"Pretty."
Long Qianming, who was admiring the art of healing, answered without much hesitation.
But less than three seconds later, he realized something was wrong. That relatively gentle voice was all too familiar. He turned his head.
"No, Dong'er, you've misunderstood. I was admiring this healing Soul Master bringing withered wood back to life."
Long Qianming hurried to explain, but no matter how he explained, Bibi Dong kept her arms folded across her chest and stared into the distance, puffing with anger and turning a deaf ear.
Beads of sweat dripped from Su Qing'er's forehead. Her face was deathly pale, and her Soul Power was exhausted, yet she had only slowed the poison's spread, unable to stop it effectively.
"No, Brother Xin, nothing can happen to you. I'll heal you. I'll definitely heal you."
Watching Su Qing'er devote herself wholly to saving the person she loved, Bibi Dong felt sympathy well up within her and hurried over.
As Su Qing'er was about to topple over from overtaxing her Soul Power, Bibi Dong caught her and said confidently,
"Don't be afraid. We won't hurt you. Qianming is the most famous physician in Gengxin City. Perhaps he can save the person you love."
Hearing this, Su Qing'er looked at Bibi Dong before her, then at Long Qianming in the distance, utterly shocked.
"What did you say? The man who treated me like that just now is actually Gengxin City's famous Kidney Deficiency Physician!"
She did know something about the physician who had recently gained a little fame in Gengxin City. Their original plan had been to head straight to the clinic in Gengxin City after obtaining her Third Soul Ring and find out whether that physician had a way to slow the poison's spread.
She had never expected to encounter the somewhat renowned divine doctor here. In that case, perhaps there was hope for Brother Xin.
With her frail body, Su Qing'er knelt before Long Qianming. Her voice trembled slightly as she pleaded urgently,
"Little Divine Doctor of Kidney Deficiency, please save Brother Xin. He's almost gone. If you can wake him, I can give you my life. Whatever you ask me to do, I'll do it."
Long Qianming was speechless. Could she not leave out the words "kidney deficiency"? She was making him rather embarrassed!
"Please, get up. I saved you before, and for Dong'er's sake, there's no harm in saving you again."
Long Qianming quickly walked over to Dugu Xin and rolled up his sleeve, revealing a hand covered in green poison spots. He took his pulse with the utmost care, then examined his eyes and the changes throughout his body.
"Dong'er, I don't have enough Soul Power right now to suppress his poison. I need your help."
"All right."
After patting Su Qing'er twice to reassure her, Bibi Dong hurried over.
"What should I do?"
"It's very simple. As soon as I insert a needle, inject a little Soul Power into its surface to block or slow the flow of Qi and blood."
Bibi Dong nodded slightly. After spending these four months together, she could already grasp Long Qianming's meaning precisely.
Long Qianming inserted eight silver needles forged from mithril into Dugu Xin's critical acupoints, one after another. Following the surfaces of the needles, Bibi Dong injected Soul Power into the acupoints within his body, forcibly slowing the flow of his Qi and blood.
Three minutes later, when Dugu Xin's face had grown even paler and he looked about to die, Long Qianming made ten cuts of varying depths at the tips of his ten fingers.
With the circulation blocked, small amounts of green, poisonous blood gradually flowed out through the ten cuts. In moments, the green spots on Dugu Xin stopped spreading, and a healthy flush slowly returned to his face.
Just as Su Qing'er was rejoicing and thanking them repeatedly, Long Qianming supported Bibi Dong, who had somewhat overtaxed her Soul Power, and said solemnly,
"I've temporarily checked the poison in his body. His poison is Martial Soul poison. I can only alleviate it, not suppress it."
"What? Martial Soul poison? You can only alleviate it?"
Su Qing'er stared at the two of them in surprise. The Martial Soul poison was the Dugu Family's most deeply hidden secret. She herself had only learned of it two years after meeting Brother Xin.
A physician who had not even summoned his Martial Soul had uncovered the secret of Dugu Xin's Martial Soul through a little observation and touch. Wasn't that far too miraculous?
But on second thought, the little divine doctor had saved Brother Xin, after all. If she remained so guarded against them, she would truly be far too petty.