Shi Yu glanced at the poison cultivator and said nothing.
The page went inside to report her arrival, and moments later, Xie Cheng emerged, followed by a majestic old man with snow-white hair and a naturally imposing aura.
Xie Cheng looked toward Shi Yu and nodded with a smile. “Little friend, you’ve arrived.”
Turning to the old man, he bowed slightly and said, “Family Head, this Miss Shi is the one who saved me and the young master back in the Fulong Mountain Range.”
So this was the Xie Clan’s patriarch.
Having stayed in the main city for some time, Shi Yu had heard about him. The Xie Clan Head was named Xie Han, a half-step Golden Core Realm cultivator. It was said he was merely an opportunity away from stepping into the Golden Core Realm.
Upon hearing Xie Cheng’s words, Xie Han walked straight up to Shi Yu, bowed slightly with hands clasped, and said, “Thank you, Miss, for saving my grandson. Xie is endlessly grateful!”
For a figure of his stature to set aside his dignity and bow in gratitude to a young junior showed how deeply he truly doted on Xie Zhixun.
Shi Yu hurriedly returned the courtesy, saying, “Please do not be so polite, Patriarch. It was merely a small effort.”
Hearing that Shi Yu had such a history with the Xie Clan, the others present exchanged strange looks, repeatedly casting their gazes toward her.
Xie Han smiled faintly and looked around at everyone in the hall. “I shall say no more. As long as you can cure Zhixun’s poison, the reward will certainly not disappoint.”
Hearing this, the crowd exchanged glances, none speaking up.
This was not the first time the Xie Clan had gathered them together. However, Xie Zhixun’s poison was exceedingly complex. Even the association president and several elders struggled to find a solution, while ordinary alchemists were completely helpless.
After a long moment, only President Song let out a quiet sigh and spoke up: “We shall naturally do our best.”
As the crowd remained silent, the poison cultivator sneered, swirling the teacup in his hand. “I told you long ago that I have a way to cure your grandson’s poison. Yet when it comes to the reward, Clan Head Xie makes every excuse to refuse. It seems your words carry little sincerity.”
At those words, Xie Cheng barked furiously, “You demand the secret art of our Xie Clan that only the family head is permitted to cultivate! Are you not daydreaming!”
Xie Han’s expression remained unchanged. Raising a hand to stop Xie Cheng from scolding him further, he cast a glance at the poison cultivator before addressing the crowd: “The poison samples will be brought out shortly. Please wait a moment, everyone.”
Amidst the silence, Shi Yu did not wait long before a few maidservants stepped out carrying teacups, distributing one to each person present.
President Song whispered a warning alongside Master Ji: “Girl Yu, this poison is extremely potent. Be careful.”
“Hold a Detoxification Pill in your mouth before opening the cup.”
Seeing how cautious the two were, Shi Yu nodded. She popped a Detoxification Pill into her mouth before opening the cup.
Instantly, a faint bloody scent tinged with a cloying sweetness drifted out.
The so-called poison sample was actually blood drawn from Xie Zhixun.
Shi Yu looked down. A thin layer of red liquid covered the bottom of the cup. The color leaned toward pinkish-red, appearing thin as water one moment and gathering into an exceedingly viscous blob the next, presenting a deeply bizarre sight.
With the odor of the poison lingering in her nose, a subtle sensation of dizziness washed over her after only a brief breath.
Just smelling it causes this? Is the poison that fierce? Simply holding the Detoxification Pill in her mouth was not enough to suppress the toxic aura. Raising an eyebrow, Shi Yu lightly bit down on the pill, and only then did her senses return to normal.
Looking at the others, they clearly harbored great dread for this poison. They had prepared thoroughly before daring to open their cups, yet a couple of unfortunate individuals still succumbed, their bodies swaying unsteadily.
Fortunately, those nearby reacted swiftly, helping stuff a few more Detoxification Pills into their mouths, which allowed them to recover somewhat.
In contrast, the feminine poison cultivator sitting lazily remained completely unaffected. He even lowered his head to inhale a deep breath of the poisonous blood, an intoxicated smile appearing on his face.
Judging by his demeanor, his earlier claim that he could cure Xie Zhixun's poison was likely no empty boast.
By now, everyone had begun busywork, employing everything they had learned in their lives to try and identify which toxins made up the mixture.
To neutralize a poison, one had to identify it first.
The crowd had tried several times before with no success. They knew the chances were slim, but they could hardly sit idly by and do nothing.
Thus, they could only repeat their previous methods, hoping against hope that they might spot some clue this time.
Seeing this, the poison cultivator scoffed once more.
Shi Yu gently swirled her cup, observing the residue the poison left on the inner wall, and asked President Song and Master Ji beside her, “Has anyone managed to identify even one or two of the toxins previously?”
Both smiled bitterly. “Not a single one. We only know it is a mixture of nine different toxins, but we have no idea which nine.”
The poisoner was truly insidious. The nine toxins were fused perfectly, down to the tiniest detail, forming a seamless whole. It was impossible to isolate even one to break down the compound step by step.
If they could not even identify the toxins, how could they talk about a cure?
Shi Yu fell into thought, searching her memory for poison-identification formulas to see if any could be applied here.
“Toxins interact by countering or enhancing one another in pairs...”
“When nine combine, they reach a perfect balance and merge into one, making it difficult to separate and examine them individually...”
After pondering back and forth, a sudden flash of inspiration struck her mind, finally yielding a method.
It was not a detoxification method per se; if anything, it belonged to the realm of artifact refining.
The material needed was called Fanxiao Powder, which possessed a single function: reversing traits. It was occasionally used in artifact refining, added into spiritual materials to drastically alter their properties.
Even among weapon refiners, Fanxiao Powder was considered quite niche, and not all refiners were aware of it—let alone this group of alchemists. That was why not a single person had thought of such an approach.
In this poisonous blood, nine toxins were fused perfectly into an inseparable whole. But if their medicinal properties were inverted, could that balance still hold?
Once the balance of properties was thoroughly shattered, Shi Yu could take the opportunity to isolate all nine toxins one by one. Identifying them would then be a simple matter.
With a strategy in mind, Shi Yu’s expression relaxed slightly.
Sitting to the side waiting, Xie Han possessed remarkably sharp spiritual sense and immediately caught the subtle shift in Shi Yu’s demeanor. He spoke up at once: “Miss Shi, do you have an idea?”
The moment he said this, every gaze in the hall converged upon Shi Yu.
The poison cultivator glanced over, seeing that Shi Yu still looked youthful and inexperienced. He sneered in disdain, “Clan Head Xie, are you so desperate that you’re asking a yellow-haired little brat?”
President Song glared at the poison cultivator before turning to Shi Yu. “Girl Yu, feel free to speak your mind. It does not matter even if you are wrong.”
Shi Yu nodded and stood up. “I wonder if anyone here is familiar with Fanxiao Powder?”
Hearing those three unfamiliar words, everyone exchanged bewildered glances, completely blank.
Unsurprised, Shi Yu immediately explained, “This item is a consumable material occasionally used during artifact refining.”
Upon hearing this, the crowd grew even more bewildered.
Artifact refining? How does curing poison have anything to do with artifact refining?
The poison cultivator watched Shi Yu with cold eyes, his disdain deepening.
Shi Yu smiled faintly and kept them in suspense no longer, directly explaining the effects of Fanxiao Powder.
None of the people present were foolish. Thinking it through, they gradually grasped her intent, some faster than others.
Their eyes shone with strange light, astonished and bewildered that she could come up with such a clever method.
“It truly is feasible.”
“Little Yu’s knowledge is vast indeed. This Fanxiao Powder is something I have never even heard of before.”
President Song and Master Ji exchanged glances. Only a few people knew that Shi Yu was also a Tier-2 weapon refiner. It seemed... learning a secondary craft wasn’t a bad thing after all.
And so, the poison-identification problem that had plagued everyone for days instantly found a breakthrough.
Rate on N.U.
