Fire Poison?
Xu Yi’s eyes narrowed. What a vicious method.
There were generally two ways to extract fire poison: first, by refining it from fire-attributed spiritual herbs; second, by grinding fire crystals from extremely fiery regions into powder and then processing it.
Fire poison could be a minor or major issue. For alchemists, contracting fire poison was common. Even Xu Yi had been afflicted by it before.
Sometimes, when alchemy failed, fire poison would spill out from the furnace the moment it was opened.
However, the fire poison of that degree could be expelled by circulating spiritual energy for a few cycles.
But fire poison that could make a person’s body burn and their consciousness hazy was difficult to remove from the body.
Moreover, as time passed, the fire poison would accumulate more and more within the body, eventually merging completely with it, making it impossible to remove.
And the poisoned person would feel as if their body were inside a furnace, constantly experiencing the pain of being burned by raging flames.
Upon learning that the three had contracted fire poison, Xu Yi did not hesitate. She hurried forward and began examining Long Haotian, who was the most severely injured.
Lifting his robe, Xu Yi discovered that the wounds on Long Haotian’s body were not inflicted by an outsider but were self-inflicted with the short knife he held.
Xu Yi immediately realized that Long Haotian must have discovered he was poisoned and, fearing he would lose control of his senses, had chosen to use pain to remind himself.
However, as the fire poison became deeper, he ultimately could not resist its onslaught.
Furthermore, Long Haotian’s body temperature was so high that his wounds appeared an abnormal pinkish-white.
Xu Yi found a Clear Fire Pill she had refined previously from her storage ring, then forcibly pried open Long Haotian’s mouth and stuffed it in.
Qu Xiaoxiao, who had witnessed the entire process, suddenly froze, her cries ceasing.
“Here, feed these two to Wang Yi’an and the others.”
Seeing Qu Xiaoxiao still in a daze, Xu Yi simply tossed two spirit pills to her.
Qu Xiaoxiao fumbled to catch them, blinked, and then, belatedly looking at the flushed face of Long Haotian, mumbled, “Senior Brother Long isn’t dead?”
“He’s not dead, but if you hesitate any longer, Wang Yi’an and Chen Tao might not be so lucky.”
Xu Yi’s words made Qu Xiaoxiao shiver violently. Without asking further, she quickly stuffed the two life-saving pills into the mouths of her two senior brothers.
It was only then that she noticed how incredibly hot Wang Yi’an and the others were.
“Senior Sister Xu, what’s wrong with Senior Brother Long and the others?”
Qu Xiaoxiao’s face was streaked with tears, but her spirits were much better than before. At least she knew her three senior brothers were not dead, which allowed her to finally breathe a sigh of relief.
“They’ve been poisoned, and it’s a bit troublesome.”
Xu Yi replied absentmindedly as she considered the spiritual herbs in her hand.
She indeed found it rather tricky.
The Clear Fire Pill was an excellent medicine for expelling fire poison, but its efficacy was limited. It could only stop the fire poison in the three from spreading but could not completely eliminate it.
To fully remove the fire poison, she would need to refine other pills with stronger medicinal effects.
“Senior Sister Xu, my senior brothers are all like this because of me. I beg you, you must save them.”
Upon hearing that the three were poisoned, Qu Xiaoxiao’s mind flashed with the image of the female cultivator’s sinister smile.
Although she knew who the culprit was, she was powerless. She could only place her hope of saving the three in Xu Yi’s hands.
“The three of them are my friends. I will find a way to save them. But before that, tell me your identity and what exactly you experienced.”
Since the three were not in mortal danger, Xu Yi could now spare some time to understand the cause and effect of the situation.
She already had a guess about the girl’s identity and only needed to confirm it.
“My name is Qu Xiaoxiao. I am the daughter of Elder Qu of the Xuanqing Sect. This is my first time venturing out…”
Qu Xiaoxiao glanced at the three lying on the ground, honestly stated her identity, and began to recount what had happened earlier.
“You mean Jin Biao and Hong Shengyi were also nearby?”
Only then did Xu Yi realize that the Senior Brother Jin and Senior Sister Hong whom Qu Xiaoxiao had called out earlier were actually Jin Biao and Hong Shengyi, whom she also knew.
“Yes, Senior Brother Jin and Senior Sister Hong said they were going ahead to scout. I followed their direction, but I couldn’t find them. They still haven’t returned. I suspect they also…”
Qu Xiaoxiao could not continue.
She had been worried about the lives of Long Haotian and the other two earlier. Now that she knew they were not in immediate danger, she began to worry about the missing Jin Biao and Hong Shengyi.
Jin Biao and Hong Shengyi were people with a strong sense of responsibility. They knew Long Haotian and the others had weaker cultivation, so they wouldn’t have gone too far from them.
But they had not returned yet, which meant they must have encountered trouble.
Qu Xiaoxiao’s guilt, which had just lessened, surged back with renewed intensity.
Xu Yi looked at Ji Buwang. Ji Buwang subtly shook his head, indicating he hadn’t detected any trace of the two in the vicinity either.
Xu Yi knew something was wrong.
Jin Biao and Hong Shengyi’s tacit understanding was no less than that between her and Ji Buwang, coupled with their cultivation. If they had encountered danger, they wouldn’t have failed to leave any signs of a struggle.
Yet, along the way, they hadn’t found the slightest clue. This meant that either the two had left voluntarily or they had no chance to fight back at all.
Xu Yi leaned towards the latter.
The two had been forcibly abducted, and the outcome was likely not pleasant.
Even though Xu Yi’s acquaintance with the two was superficial, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of sadness.
Qu Xiaoxiao’s lips parted, then she hesitantly closed them, saying nothing.
Senior Brother Jin and Senior Sister Hong were already missing. She couldn’t let Senior Brother Long and the other three fall into danger again.
“You stay and take care of Long Haotian and the others. I need to find some seniors to consult with,” Xu Yi said.
“Okay, I’ll take good care of Senior Brother Long and the others.”
Qu Xiaoxiao was afraid to leave even for a moment now, lest another accident occur.
After a few casual words with Ji Buwang, Xu Yi walked to a secluded spot, took out her communication disk, and sent a spiritual spell upwards.
“Xu Yi? You finally remembered this old fogey,”
The playful voice of Teacher Lian floated out from the communication disk.
Xu Yi repeatedly apologized, feeling ashamed.
After leaving Kunlun Academy, she had rarely contacted her teachers. Now that she encountered a problem and sought their help, she felt guilty.
Fortunately, Teacher Lian did not mind. After a few playful remarks, he asked about Xu Yi’s purpose, clearly understanding her “unusual” behavior.
In a few words, Xu Yi described the difficulty she had encountered and asked Teacher Lian if there was a safe and harmless method to remove the poison.
“It’s fire poison? There are very few cultivators who use this poison nowadays.”
On the other end, Teacher Lian also showed surprise upon hearing about the poison.
“As you said, I’ve racked my brain but haven’t found a perfect solution. I thought that if anyone on the Kyushu Continent knew how to remove fire poison, it would be you, and no one else. That’s why I’ve come to consult you.”
Xu Yi’s flattery made Teacher Lian beam.
“You have a silver tongue. You’re actually right; I do have a way.”