That night, thick fog rose from the small mountains and valleys, quickly obscuring the stars in the sky, leaving the entire world a blank expanse.
Although the bonfire still had residual warmth, Sui An's clothes and hair were still damp from the mist. Sui An, however, was completely unaware, curled up and sleeping deeply, as he hadn't slept well for several days.
Outside the tent, Huang Yuanya looked at the curled-up Sui An, wanting to call him into the tent to squeeze in, but after calling several times, he couldn't wake him. He could only sigh and slowly walked back into the tent.
Sleeping and eating were no longer as important for Cultivators. Low-level Cultivators wouldn't starve even if they ate once every few days, and a short period of meditation would leave them more energetic than a full night's sleep.
Huang Yuanya sat cross-legged, about to regulate his Qi when he suddenly stood up, his face frighteningly pale. It turned out that Huang Yuanya discovered a highly Yin Qi spreading from his shoulder. Fortunately, the Spiritual Qi in his body was obstructing it, so the speed wasn't fast, but the rate of Spiritual Qi consumption was very quick. Huang Yuanya dared not delay, immediately sat back down and began to cultivate, intending to force that Yin Qi out of his body. However, that damned Yin Qi was extremely troublesome; after one major circulation, it was only pushed back a little, but a significant amount of Spiritual Qi in his body was consumed.
Huang Yuanya's face grew even uglier now. After cursing a few times, he could only helplessly continue to circulate his Cultivation Technique to expel it.
It wasn't just Huang Yuanya who was cursing; Village Chief Niu Hu was too. Before dawn, someone was banging loudly on Niu Hu's door. Niu Hu, wrapped in his coat, grumbled as he went to open the door.
The door opened, revealing Niu Da.
Before Niu Hu could curse, he heard Niu Da urgently ask, “Village Chief, something might have happened!”
“Damn it, which little brat caused trouble again? I’ll skin him alive! Speak slower, the sky isn’t falling.”
“It’s Niu Er and them. Niu Er, Niu San, and Dashan, those three, were acting suspiciously last night. They even extorted poison from Doctor Sui. They haven’t been seen all night. I’m afraid they’ve caused some trouble. I heard someone say they seemed to have come to your place last night, so I came to ask.”
When Niu Hu heard about those three, his heart skipped a beat. He remembered the conversation they had with him last night and cursed incessantly in his mind.
“Damn it, they really wouldn’t go looking for trouble with Cultivators, would they? And they were even seen coming to my place. If a Cultivator finds out, I’ll be implicated and suffer too!”
While cursing in his heart, his words were different, “They did come last night, but they left quickly. I don’t know where they went. Go check around the village to see if they ran off to some house and got drunk again. It’s not the first time for those few; they only ever take advantage, they never suffer losses.”
If there was anyone who hoped they were safe right now, it was definitely Niu Hu!
The two discussed a few more things, then Niu Da went to look for people elsewhere. Niu Hu felt a chill in his heart; he knew there was a high probability that those three had gone to trouble the Cultivator. What Niu Hu could do now was clean up the mess. If they died, how would he explain it to the Cultivator, and how could he extricate himself? If they succeeded, how should he handle it? All these had to be considered.
Sui An felt like he had just fallen asleep when he heard some noise outside. He struggled to sit up, rubbed his face hard, and forced open his heavy eyelids. In a daze, he saw the sky was a vast expanse of white. Vaguely, he saw Village Chief Niu Hu leading a large group of people kneeling on the ground, begging for forgiveness, saying things like he hadn't managed well and didn't know anything.
It turned out that at dawn, even though the thick fog still enveloped the world, the Village Chief led the people who had built the wooden house yesterday up the mountain.
Who knew that as soon as they reached the mountainside, everyone smelled an extremely strong scent of blood. While everyone was still a bit confused, Niu Hu’s heart instantly sank to the bottom.
As they approached the tent, everyone saw three horribly mangled corpses. A quick identification confirmed they were Niu Er and the others. This led to the scene Sui An had just witnessed.
Sui An looked at the three corpses and quickly understood why the Village Chief and the others were kneeling. He was also filled with emotion. Mortals were too weak before Cultivators, only able to entrust their lives to others and beg for their magnanimity. He was also very fortunate that he hadn't been blinded by desire and acted rashly.
Sui An just sat by the embers of the bonfire, watching the group of people kowtow. A gentle breeze blew by, and he sneezed twice in a row. Only then did he notice that his clothes and hair were damp; he probably wouldn't escape a cold.
After a long while, Huang Yuanya finally emerged from the tent. His icy gaze swept over everyone, making the group even more terrified. They didn't even dare to lift their eyes, only focusing on kowtowing and begging for mercy.
Huang Yuanya didn't make things too difficult for these ordinary people. He simply, in a chilling tone, told everyone to hurry up and build the house. Furthermore, no adult was allowed to step foot on this mountain without permission, or they would be killed!!!
The Village Chief was overjoyed and led the crowd to rise, arranging for people to handle the corpses, and then led the rest to continue building the wooden house. Although the fog had not completely dissipated, everyone worked even harder; no one dared to slack off.
“Sui Ping, you stay for now.”
When Sui An heard Huang Yuanya call out his grandfather’s name, he quickly squinted his eyes and looked down. Vaguely, he saw two figures walking down the mountain, who were Sui Ping and Niu Da.
Hearing the shout, Sui Ping was slightly startled, then turned and walked up. Reaching the front of the tent, he bowed and asked, “Immortal Master Huang, do you have something for this old man to do?”
“Come in.”
Sui An watched his grandfather enter the tent with a bad premonition. He carefully re-examined the incident of the three people attacking last night, checking if he had overlooked anything.
“Sui An, Immortal Master has a command, you come in too.”
Just as Sui An was lost in thought, his grandfather's voice reached his ears. Sui An suddenly snapped back to reality, seeing his grandfather had come out. He was about to open his mouth to ask, but his grandfather stopped him with a shake of his head.
Sui Ping led the way back into the tent, and Sui An could only follow, vaguely feeling that something had changed, yet unable to grasp the core of the matter.
However, as he entered the tent, Sui An no longer needed to guess wildly; Huang Yuanya's face, which had turned purplish-black, explained everything.
Sui An also saw a small puddle of dark black blood on the ground. He sniffed hard and detected a faint, fishy stench.
Sui An’s face turned a bit grim. He could already confirm that Huang Yuanya had been poisoned with Zhen poison, and Sui An believed he was doomed. But if Huang Yuanya died just like that, where would he get the Cultivation Technique he so yearned for? He had no ability to open Huang Yuanya’s Storage Pouch.
Fortunately, Huang Yuanya was still alive, so there was still a chance. He saw that he didn't have much time to plan for himself. If necessary, he might have to take a desperate risk.
Sui An looked at his grandfather, then at the purplish-black faced Huang Yuanya, thinking that fortune favors the bold, and how can one catch a tiger cub without entering the tiger's den? He secretly gritted his teeth and said to Huang Yuanya, “Immortal Master Huang, you seem to have been poisoned with Zhen poison. I wonder if you would allow this junior to take your pulse? It would help confirm it.”
Huang Yuanya, sitting cross-legged, slowly raised his head and opened his eyes. Sui An clearly saw that those eyes were still very agile, which indicated that Huang Yuanya's mind was still extremely clear.
Sui An couldn't help but admire the power of Cultivators. He was extremely clear about the potency of Zhen poison, having conducted many animal experiments to verify its toxicity. If it were a Mortal, they would have long been dead, yet Huang Yuanya, poisoned for so long, could still maintain a clear mind, which was truly incredible.
Huang Yuanya looked at Sui An, somewhat surprised, but didn't agree. He had already confirmed with Sui Ping that the poison he had taken was indeed from Sui Ping. He also learned that the three had obtained this poison by threatening Sui An's life, which was similar to what he had imagined, which was why he hadn't left any survivors. Moreover, Sui Ping had already taken his pulse, and Huang Yuanya didn't feel it was necessary for Sui An, a child, to take his pulse.
Sui An wasn't surprised that Huang Yuanya directly refused. After a brief thought, he spoke again, “Immortal Master, you probably already know that you’ve been poisoned with Zhen poison. Although I don’t know how they got it from my grandfather, this junior dares to say that my research on Zhen poison is definitely no less than my grandfather’s. And although my medical skills are inherited from my grandfather, I also have some unique insights. I hope Immortal Master will grant me a chance.”
Sui An no longer cared about much else. He knew that if he missed this Opportunity, it was uncertain if he would ever have another chance in this life. Moreover, Huang Yuanya didn't seem like someone who would kill innocent people indiscriminately, so he steeled his heart and spoke these words.
Sui An's words truly surprised Huang Yuanya. After pondering for a while, he had mostly guessed his intentions.
“You're so eager to treat my injuries and detoxify me. What benefits do you seek? Speak up.”
Although Sui Ping said there was no antidote, his grandson and he undoubtedly knew the most about Zhen poison. As the saying goes, only the one who tied the bell can untie it. He was already at his wit's end with this vicious poison, letting them try might just offer a glimmer of hope.
When Sui An heard Huang Yuanya say this, he couldn't help but be overjoyed, and immediately said with a firm tone, “Immortal Master, this junior wishes to seek an Opportunity, a chance to cultivate immortality!”
