Time rewound to the moment when Hao Yan Zūnzhě received Xiang Sizi's message talisman. After reading it, she sighed and sent a transmission, instructing Yunxi to come see her.
At that time, Yunxi was studying the competitor dossiers her master had collected. She happened to be reviewing the files on Kunmo Sect's Yuányīng Zhēnjūn when Hao Yan Zūnzhě's voice sounded at her ear, asking her to come up to the peak.
Yunxi's eyelid twitched. She told Cong Shan to remain in the cave residence and keep watching Wei Yunqing, then scooped up Dian Dian and headed for the peak.
"Honored Zūnzhě, do you have instructions for your disciple?"
Hao Yan Zūnzhě was playing go with Hao Qing Zūnzhě. She set down a stone and, without looking up, said, "Ran Xi, Xiang Sizi just transmitted a message asking you to go to Kunmo Sect's station."
Yunxi immediately understood that the poison afflicting Kunmo Sect's disciples was tricky. Even so, she asked, "Honored Zūnzhě, with Senior Xiang Sizi's skill, detoxification should not be difficult. Why do I still need to go? If, and I mean if, someone plays dirty during the process, would I not end up taking the blame again?"
Hao Qing Zūnzhě chuckled. "That possibility does exist. In that case, I will accompany you. Let us see who has such a death wish."
Hao Yan Zūnzhě arched a brow. "Xiang Sizi said that in the path of poison she is second to none. But detoxification (解毒, jiě dú) hinges on '解,' which requires medical principles. You are the orthodox heir of Yixian Gate, so you had best go.
Besides, the mastermind is aiming at you and using an open scheme. This time Xiang Sizi is standing in front to shield you. If the detox fails, Kunmo Sect cannot pin it on you. But you cannot hide behind us old folks forever."
Drawing a deep breath, Yunxi grasped the meaning behind Hao Yan Zūnzhě's words and nodded her assent.
Hao Qing Zūnzhě tossed his stone back into the bowl with a grin. "Then let us go and return quickly."
They sped straight to the Southern Region's Kunmo Sect station, which led to the scene from earlier.
Back to the present, Yunxi followed Xiang Sizi into the pill room again.
Once the formation fell, Xiang Sizi sat cross-legged on the cushion and let out a cold laugh. "Those evil cultivators never give up. To force your hand, they poisoned the disciples a second time. Truly painstaking."
Yunxi replied helplessly, "They have always coveted Yixian Gate's long-lost 'Yinxi Potion' formula. I am Yixian Gate's sole heir, so of course they rack their brains to make me err and turn me into the target of all. Only then can they strike at me."
Xiang Sizi nodded. The recipe rumored to have caused Yixian Gate's decline might be ordinary to righteous cultivators, yet it was extremely useful to evil cultivators.
That was why they kept stirring up trouble for Ran Xi. Yunxi's rapid advancement had given her the means to protect herself. Otherwise, the outcome would be hard to imagine.
Schemes disgusted Xiang Sizi most of all. Why could people not cultivate properly? Even so, she had her bottom line. She pressed down her anger and said, "Anyone with eyes can see what is happening. Let us solve the problem in front of us first. What is the neutralizing agent you mentioned?"
Knowing the small talk was over, Yunxi waved her sleeve and released Fei Xia. "Honored Zūnzhě, this is my contracted spirit pet, a Flying Mist Butterfly named Fei Xia. It differs slightly from ordinary Flying Mist Butterflies. The powder on its wings is an excellent neutralizer. Because Fei Xia is a variant, the wing powder's neutralizing effect is even stronger."
One sweep of spiritual sense told Xiang Sizi that the tiny creature perched on Yunxi's fingertip was a third-rank Flying Mist Butterfly. Due to mutation, its wings were not rosy clouds but radiant mother-of-pearl, dazzling to the eye. "If this neutralizer is truly as effective as you say, let us try it."
"Yes, Honored Zūnzhě."
Yunxi answered at once.
She took out the Ziyu Panlong Cauldron. Under Xiang Sizi's frankly envious gaze fixed on the furnace, Yunxi began refining the neutralizing agent.
Outside the pill room, everyone waited with patience. Within his sleeve, Ye Chengbi's fingers rubbed restlessly. He was eager to see what the heir of Yixian Gate could do.
It had been Medicine King Valley's negligence to miss Yixian Gate's inheritance. Most disappointing of all was Ye Yirui. She had entered the old grounds of Yixian Gate and still failed the trial. He was furious, though he could not show it. At least she had brought back a few volumes of the Medical Canon, which was better than nothing.
As Ye Yirui's cultivation rose, she grew harder to control. Only matters concerning Ye Yuchen could stir her heart. Everything else she handled with a cool head. Ye Chengbi also knew she was secretly investigating the truth behind Ye Yuchen's injuries. He feared the day her trail led back to him.
He did not want to admit it, but in alchemy, pharmaceutics, and cultivation, he was a shade inferior to his younger brother, Ye Chengzong. In the end, his brother had become valley master. That, he accepted.
But after his brother's death, he was clearly the most suitable to be the new valley master. The clan, however, would rather support Ye Yuchen, not yet fifteen, as young valley master than choose him.
In that moment, his rage peaked. He could not outmatch a youth with an innate Dao body, yet he refused to accept it. When jealousy drove him mad, someone approached him.
They dangled bait and offered a method to replace Ye Yuchen, a way for him not only to become valley master but to possess an innate Dao body as well. The temptation was irresistible, and he began moving in secret.
First he leaked that Ye Yuchen possessed an innate Dao body, luring the covetous attention of many old monsters. Then he used Ye Yirui's life to threaten Ye Yuchen, demanding he surrender his flesh body.
He sent men to abduct Ye Yirui to force Ye Yuchen's hand. Unexpectedly, Ye Yuchen used a bloodline secret art to appear beside her and block a fatal blow, but his spirit and dantian were both damaged.
Rescuers from Medicine King Valley took Ye Yirui away. His scheme collapsed. A damaged-dantian innate Dao body had lost its value for possession.
Fortunately, he had never revealed his true face when threatening Ye Yuchen. Even after the rescue, nothing could be proven, and Ye Yuchen fell into a deep sleep from his injuries.
Guilt toward her brother drove Ye Yirui to study alchemy tirelessly. Through her efforts, his soul recovered, but his dantian could not be repaired. Unable to cultivate, Ye Yuchen was eventually sealed in ice.
Now the heir of Yixian Gate had appeared. Ye Chengbi was unsure whether Wei Yunxi of Haoran Sect truly had the ability to restore Ye Yuchen's dantian. So he made a move to stall Ye Yirui, then came in advance under the banner of Yixian Gate to pay respects to Wei Yunxi, with a convenient excuse ready at hand.
Upon meeting Wei Yunxi, however, he found that although she was young, she was not as easy to mislead as he had imagined. Then the poisoning incident among Kunmo Sect cultivators erupted, and he seized the chance to insert himself. The second round of poisoning was merely something done in passing, meant to test whether Wei Yunxi possessed real skill.
Sometimes, human malice surpasses imagination.
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解毒 (jiě dú - detoxify)
毒 (dú) means "poison." This represents the problem.
解 (jiě) is the action and the methodology. This represents the solution.
The Deeper Meaning of '解' (jiě)
Here, '解' does not just mean "to solve." It carries a richer, more specific connotation:
-To Untie / To Unravel / To Dissolve: This is the core meaning. It implies that a poison acts by "tying up" or "knotting" the body's systems. The healer's job is to methodically untie these knots, dissolve the toxic bonds, and restore the body's natural flow (e.g., of Qi, blood, or humors). It's a process of careful disentanglement.
-To Analyze / To Understand: Before you can "untie" a knot, you must analyze it—understand its structure, how it was tied, and what the best way to loosen it is. This is where medical principles (医理, yī lǐ) come in.
-To Counteract / To Neutralize: This is the ultimate goal: to use medical knowledge to apply a specific antidote or treatment that will dissolve and neutralize the poison's effects.
Creating Poison (毒 dú) is about destruction. It requires deep knowledge of toxic substances and their effects. Xiang Sizi excels here.
Healing / Detoxifying (解 jiě) is about restoration. It requires deep knowledge of the body's principles (医理, yī lǐ) to reverse the damage and re-establish balance.