Chapter 11: Chu Liang! What an Awesome Dude!
Xu Ziqing might have found the ground dirty and preferred not to sit down. Instead, she stood at the side. As the young girl had been walking in the middle of the group all along, being protected by everyone, she wasn't tired and didn't need to catch her breath.
While the others sat down to meditate and activate their qi circulation, she started to feel a bit bored. Her lively eyes roamed around, scanning the scenery in the dense forest.
Suddenly, there was a slight rustling in the leaves up ahead, as if something was moving there. Feeling slightly curious, she took a good look at it.
Then, a series of soft rustling sounds followed, and in a flash, a palm-sized, mottled green toad jumped out from beneath the leaves! With its bulging eyes, it appeared ugly and ferocious.
This creature wasn't a demon, so it hadn't been detected by Fang Ting's divine sense. It had come close to the area where the group was situated.
"Ah!"
However, even though there was no immediate danger, the terrifying appearance of this creature greatly disturbed the young girl. She was so frightened that she stumbled backward several steps.
During this step backward, she unintentionally moved out of the range covered by the lantern's glow.
It was just one step.
Just as everyone's attention was captured by this spectacle, a vine at the edge of the area suddenly shot up with a hiss, revealing a gaping maw filled with sharp teeth!
Swish!
The young girl was caught off guard as the flower demon bit down on her lower leg.
"Junior Sister Ziqing!" Fang Ting exclaimed in shock, swiftly drawing his longsword from behind.
With a series of sharp strikes that resembled a golden dragon dancing through the air, a surge of lightning sword qi gushed out, instantly consuming the flower demon's body. It also left behind a deep trench more than ten yards long, cutting through the vines, giant trees, and a large portion of the dense forest.
Chu Liang had already heard from Lin Bei that the sword on Fang Ting's back was named the Thunderstrike Sword, and the Golden Core he was trying to cultivate was the Heavenly Golden Core of Five Lightning, specializing in lightning sword qi.
Witnessing the tremendous power of this sword, it was indeed awe-inspiring.
However, despite the shockingly immense power of this strike, its trajectory passed right next to Xu Ziqing without grazing a single thread of her clothing. The level of control displayed was truly astonishing.
There was clearly a significant difference between a cultivator at the Golden Core Realm and a cultivator at the Spiritual Awareness Realm.
However severe Fang Ting's retaliation might be, it couldn't change the fact that Xu Ziqing had already been bitten by the flower demon. The young girl stumbled and sat down, quickly employing her cultivation technique to stop the bleeding.
Soon after, she panicked and cried out, "This flower demon is venomous!"
Upon closer inspection, her pale and delicate leg, between the knee and ankle where she had been bitten, was oozing dark, blackish blood. The skin around the wound had been tainted by the dark aura.
"The Green-Vine Flower Demons in this forest are non-toxic. The one earlier…must be a mutated form of the Green-Vine Flower Demon, the Purple-Vine Flower Demon," explained Fang Ting.
"This is bad," Lin Bei said, "The detoxification pills we prepared are meant to counteract the forest's miasma. This Purple-Vine Flower Demon is very rare and we didn't bring any antidotes for this type of flower demon. There's only one solution now."
"What?" Everyone stared at him as they inquired.
Lin Bei wore a determined expression as if he was ready to make a self-sacrifice. He declared, "Junior Sister Ziqing, seal off your blood flow and slow down the spread of the poison. I'll practice qi circulation and suck the blood out for you."
With those words, he bared his teeth and contorted his mouth, appearing ready to act.
"Nonsense!" Fang Ting scolded with a frown, "Your cultivation level is about the same as Junior Sister Ziqing. If you were to suck the blood out, what if you were also poisoned? Hm… My cultivation level is higher. I will do it."
Until this moment, the usually quiet and reserved Lu Ren finally spoke up, "Senior Brother Fang, you have a significant responsibility, and it's not advisable for you to take any risks. Junior Brother Lin's cultivation level is lower, so it's best if he doesn't act recklessly. I think I should be the one to do it.
With this, he licked his lips.
"Ah..." The young girl held her delicate foot, her voice tinged with a whimper. The current situation was something she hadn't anticipated.
While the three of them were arguing, Chu Liang interjected, "Everyone, I..."
Lin Bei raised his head to look at him. "What's the matter? You want a bite too?"
"No," Chu Liang shook his head, "I wanted to say that I have a type of antidote with me, which might be able to counter the flower demon poison in Junior Sister Xu."
"What?" Xu Ziqing's eyes sparkled with hope as though she had caught a lifeline. "Senior Brother Chu, do you really have the antidote?"
"That's right. Although it's not specifically for the flower demon poison, it should have some effect," Chu Liang said as he took out the Hundred-Flower Antidote.
"It's not a dedicated antidote, so there might be some risk," Lin Bei seemed reluctant, glancing at Xu Ziqing. "Junior Sister Xu, you should think..."
"In the current situation, there are only two choices. Do you want to let one of them suck the poison out with their mouth or do you want to take the medicine?"
"I will take the medicine!"
Xu Ziqing said without hesitation.
Chu Liang then handed the Hundred-Flower Antidote to her and said, "Take half of it orally and apply the other half on the wound."
"Alright. Senior Brother Chu, thank you." Xu Ziqing was so grateful that tears welled up in her eyes.
"Ah," Lin Bei sighed, looking guilty. "I feel bad that I am not helping with anything. Since I can't help you suck the poison out, why don't I help you apply the medicine?"
But this question only earned Lin Bei a big roll of the eyes from Xu Ziqing.
Following Chu Liang's instructions, Xu Ziqing divided the Hundred-Flower Antidote into two halves, applying one half to the wound and ingesting the other half with water. Then, she activated her qi circulation and adjusted her breathing.
Within less than the time it would take to brew tea, the black aura around the wound had completely faded away, and the wound, which was as big as a bowl, was visibly healing at an astonishing rate.
The strong vitality inherent in cultivators was further complemented by the significant impact of the Hundred-Flower Antidote, resulting in an even faster healing process.
"Senior Brother Chu, your medicine is so effective!" Xu Ziqing exclaimed with pleasant surprise.
"I am glad it's working," Chu Liang said with a faint smile.
For cultivators, as long as there's no demonic poison involved, minor flesh wounds hardly have any impact. After applying some external wound ointment, Xu Ziqing immediately stood up, appearing as if nothing had happened, and she was full of vitality.
Perhaps it was just her imagination, but she felt that after applying the medicine provided by Chu Liang, her body began to emit a fragrant aroma. This scent appeared to change, starting as a subtle hint of jasmine, shifting into a sweet rose fragrance, and eventually evolving into a strange and rather intense scent that she had never experienced before.
Perhaps it was some sort of floral fragrance.
After regaining her mobility, she gracefully approached Chu Liang and asked in a soft tone, "Senior Brother Chu, how can I ever thank you?"
"No worries." Chu Liang smiled and said, "You gave me the Qi-Gathering Pills, and in return, I gave you the Hundred-Flower Antidote. It's a fair exchange of gifts."
"But…" The young girl tilted her head and continued, "How can the Qi-Gathering Pill compare to your Hundred-Flower Antidote?"
Chu Liang waved his hand, saying, "We're fellow sect members and friends. There's no need to keep such close tabs."
"Are we friends…" Xu Ziqing froze for a moment. Suddenly, a bright smile appeared on her face as she said, "Alright."
At this moment, Lin Bei, who was at the side, asked, "However, Brother Chu, weren't you at the Sword Exchange Pavilion when we invited you? Do you always carry antidotes with you?"
"It's better to be prepared." Chu Liang answered nonchalantly.
Soon, Fang Ting gathered the team to continue the journey. Chu Liang immediately walked to the front, resuming his role in clearing the way.
The group stared at his back this time with a much more gentle gaze. At this moment, the disciples of the Jade Sword Peak all felt that this disciple of the Silver Sword Peak was someone worth having as a friend. When there were demons, he would slay them. If he had medicine, he would give it to them.
Chu Liang! What an awesome dude!
GLTD Alternate Universe's ThoughtsTranslator: GT
LD: In case anyone forgot, the scent of the Hundred-Flower Antidote has base notes of photinia... which is known to have a strong scent similar to that of human semen…
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