“Heh, you want to Cultivate?”
Huang Yuanya heard Sui An’s words without surprise, just looking at Sui An with a mocking expression.
“Yes, Immortal Master. This junior wishes to Cultivate, and humbly requests a chance from Immortal Master.”
“Setting aside that one must have a Spiritual Root to Cultivate, I’ll first ask you: what do you have to bargain with me? Can you cure this poison?”
“No.”
“No?”
Although Huang Yuanya was not a bloodthirsty person, if Sui An couldn’t give him a reasonable explanation, he wouldn’t mind killing a few more Mortals.
“Yes, Immortal Master. This junior dares not deceive you with false words, but this junior knows a set of needle techniques. While it cannot cure the poison, I am somewhat confident in forcing the toxins back a bit and controlling them from spreading further.”
This time it was Sui Ping who was surprised. He had never taught Sui An such a needle technique; in fact, Sui Ping himself didn’t know it. Sui Ping looked at Sui An with some suspicion, but seeing his calm expression, not at all like he was lying, he didn’t say anything.
Huang Yuanya pondered for a moment and didn’t say anything further. He simply extended his arm slightly, signaling Sui An that he could take his pulse.
For Huang Yuanya, as long as Sui An could truly control the toxins from spreading further, he wasn't entirely without options.
Although he extended his arm, Sui An didn't immediately take his pulse. Huang Yuanya smiled slightly: “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t go so far as to play tricks on a Mortal child. If you really have a method, I won’t be stingy.”
Sui An’s heart pounded with joy upon hearing Huang Yuanya’s words. He took a deep breath and was about to take his pulse.
But Huang Yuanya changed the subject and continued: “Let me be clear, among Mortals, those with a Spiritual Root who can Cultivate are not one in ten thousand, but close. You only have this one chance to choose your benefit, so you must think carefully.”
Sui An’s face was flushed, and he answered without hesitation: “Immortal Master, this junior has thought it through.”
“Very well, now let me see your methods.”
As Huang Yuanya spoke, he extended his arm again. This time, Sui An didn’t hesitate and walked straight over. He felt his heart was about to burst from his chest; he finally had a chance to Cultivate. As for the Spiritual Root issue, that was beyond his consideration, something that couldn’t be changed by human effort.
He fetched the medicine box, took out the pulse pillow, and placed his fingers on Huang Yuanya’s wrist, taking several deep breaths to force himself to calm down.
Sui An saw that Huang Yuanya’s entire palm was a faint purplish-black, and he secretly rejoiced. It hadn’t turned completely black, indicating that the toxins had already been forcibly suppressed by Huang Yuanya. He exhaled deeply, closed his eyes, and began to carefully discern the pulse’s beating.
As time passed, Sui An’s brows furrowed more and more, until finally, his forehead was twisted into a knot.
After a while, Sui An removed his hand, but he didn’t speak. With his hands clasped behind his back and his brows tightly furrowed, he paced in circles like a donkey turning a millstone, looking somewhat comical for his young age, like an old man. He was muttering to himself, but his voice was too low for Sui Ping and Huang Yuanya to hear what he was saying.
Huang Yuanya didn’t urge him, simply closing his eyes to rest. As a Cultivator, he possessed that much patience.
Sui Ping, on the other hand, wanted to ask. He had too many questions right now, eager to know if the needle technique Sui An mentioned was real, and where he had learned it. But he saw that Huang Yuanya hadn’t spoken, and he knew now wasn’t the time to ask such things, so he remained silent.
“Immortal Master Huang, this junior dares to ask, how did you get poisoned? This is very important for the subsequent treatment. I remember you didn’t drink the ginseng soup they brought.”
Sui An stopped pacing after a few turns and asked.
Huang Yuanya didn’t say anything, just pointed to his right shoulder.
Sui An looked closely and only then noticed that Huang Yuanya’s shoulder was injured, with bloodstains on his clothes.
“Immortal Master, this junior apologizes for the offense.”
Sui An walked behind Huang Yuanya, speaking as his hands were busy. He tore a large opening in Huang Yuanya’s clothes along the existing rip, exposing most of his shoulder.
His entire shoulder was an eerie purplish-black, with a finger-length wound that had completely turned black. The wound wasn’t deep; it appeared to be a graze from an arrow.
Looking at the wound, Sui An somewhat understood. The sudden attack by those three people last night wasn’t entirely without effect.
When the first arrow shot into the tent, Huang Yuanya probably hadn’t reacted yet, and only afterwards did he activate that blue light shield to protect himself.
Coincidentally, the first arrow hit its target. It was unclear whether Niu Lao Er and the others were incredibly lucky or Huang Yuanya was incredibly unlucky. What was even more frustrating was that Niu Lao Er and his group, just in case, not only poisoned the soup but also laced the arrowheads with a potent poison.
It seemed his estimation of Huang Yuanya’s strength last night was a bit exaggerated. It was indeed possible to succeed against a heavily injured and unprepared Cultivator!
“How is it? Do you have a solution?”
Huang Yuanya spoke when Sui An was a little distracted.
“There’s no way to completely remove it, but I have a set of needle techniques that, with Immortal Master’s cooperation, can compress the toxins for a period.”
Sui An pondered for a moment, stroking his chin as he replied.
“How do I cooperate? How long can it be compressed?”
“Twenty days. This Seven Absolute Needle Technique lasts for seven days when applied, and can compress the toxins for twenty days. During these seven days, you will need to use your magical power to protect your heart meridian and prevent the toxins from continuing to spread.”
As for what would happen after twenty days, Sui An didn’t say, and Huang Yuanya didn’t ask. The three people in the room all knew the consequences: the more severely compressed, the more violently it would erupt!
Huang Yuanya wasn’t disheartened to hear it was only twenty days; instead, he was somewhat pleased.
The poison was so insidious; normally, the remaining magical power could at most suppress it for three to five days. Now, with twenty days, if he was lucky, it wasn't entirely without hope of survival.
Huang Yuanya thought for a moment, then had Sui Ping fetch paper and a brush. He then wrote down a series of medicinal ingredients, handed the list to Sui Ping, and said: “Go find the village chief here and have him send people to search for these medicinal ingredients. You go with him. Give him half a month; he must find every single ingredient, or his head will pay the price!”
Sui Ping took the paper and looked down. Sui An also leaned over to look, and upon seeing it, Sui An was startled.
The text on the paper was ancient. Most importantly, out of the dozen or so medicinal ingredients listed, Sui An had only heard of a small half and never seen them, and two he had never even heard of.
“This is a widely circulated detoxification pill formula in the Cultivation World. If you gather all the ingredients, you will be well rewarded.”
When he discovered he was poisoned last night, Huang Yuanya hadn’t taken Mortal poisons seriously, but he never expected this poison to be so potent, unable to be resolved even with magical power.
In desperation, he thought of this formula. However, the ingredients on it would be quite difficult to gather in the Mortal world, and he didn’t have that much time to wait.
Now, hearing Sui An say he could suppress the poison for twenty days, he was naturally overjoyed and pulled out the formula without hesitation. Although the possibility of gathering all the ingredients was still very low, at least there was some hope, wasn’t there?
Sui Ping looked at the paper in his hand, a bitter smile on his face. Although there were only twelve ingredients, his own pharmacy only had five relatively common ones, and one he had never even heard of. How easy would it be to find them all?
Although he smiled bitterly, he could only go out to discuss with the village chief and try his best to search. He also needed to return to his pharmacy to get medicine, leaving him very little time.
When Huang Yuanya saw Sui An leave, he untied his robe, revealing his entire upper body. The right half of his body was that eerie purplish-black, while the left half was still normal skin tone, looking somewhat terrifying.
Sui An looked at Huang Yuanya’s horrifying body, but instead of being scared, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If his entire body were purplish-black, he would truly have no solution at all. Now, it seemed his needle technique should be effective.
“Immortal Master, this junior’s Seven Absolute Needle Technique is very physically demanding. This junior is a bit lacking in energy right now. To be safe, this junior will eat something and rest for a while, then administer the needles to you at noon. How does that sound?”
“You go and rest. There’s no rush for this moment. I also need to circulate my Qi and meditate.”
Sui An exited the tent. The thick fog outside had dissipated, and he saw a group of people busy at work; the wooden house was already taking shape. A wave of emotion washed over him. Huang Yuanya’s arrival had brought too many changes to this remote mountain village, and he himself now had a glimmer of hope for Cultivation. Thinking of this, a slow smile spread across his face.
