Jiang Chen's expression was extremely grave. He picked up a few more of the ape's quill-like hairs, feeling them carefully. After a moment of intense focus, he nodded in absolute certainty. "It's definitely poisonous. Look at these quills—they're a stark, bone-white color, clearly indicating they contain a potent toxin. Fortunately, you're at the Spirit Realm. If you were only at the True Qi Realm, I'd say you'd be a corpse by now."
Even though Consort Dan was usually calm in the face of trouble, she was still a woman at heart. Hearing that the poison was lethal made her pretty face turn deathly pale, and a look of absolute terror, one she never normally showed, flashed in her beautiful eyes.
"Jiang Chen, I... am I going to die?" Consort Dan bit her thin lip lightly, her voice tinged with sorrow.
Jiang Chen wanted to comfort her, but this had happened so suddenly, he couldn't yet be sure if Consort Dan could be saved.
"Don't talk. Sit cross-legged and meditate. Calm your mind and settle your spirit. Remember, do not circulate your spiritual energy. Putting any strain on your Spirit Sea is forbidden. If the toxin breaks through to your Spirit Sea, death is certain."
Jiang Chen issued this stern warning.
Consort Dan, at this moment, was like a meek and obedient little wife, nodding with a aggrieved expression. Her beautiful eyes no longer held their usual strong-woman glint; instead, they reflected the shock and grievance of a wounded lamb.
In his previous life, Jiang Chen had been a grandmaster of alchemy, and his research into the ways of poison ran deep.
He took out a small alchemy furnace, placed the ape's quills inside, and began his examination. After several rounds, he stood up, walked to the ape's carcass, and used his knife to slice open its flesh. He then took samples of the flesh and placed them in the furnace as well.
Working with swift efficiency, he finished everything in a short time. Jiang Chen rose to his feet, his gaze returning to Consort Dan.
Although the time had been brief, for Consort Dan, it felt like decades of agonizing wait. A look of intense hope shone in her eyes, but it was mixed with a thread of anxiety, clearly showing her fear that Jiang Chen might reach a pessimistic conclusion.
"Huh? Didn't I tell you to meditate? Why are you still standing?" Jiang Chen's face was full of questioning.
"I..." Consort Dan's lovely face flushed red, the color spreading to her neck and ears. "I... I can't sit down comfortably."
Jiang Chen was stunned for a second, then remembered that Consort Dan's backside had likely been hit by the quills too. He felt a tickle of laughter but knew this was hardly the moment for it.
"Alright, then stay standing. Don't let your mind wander."
Seeing Jiang Chen's reaction, Consort Dan knew he understood her predicament, which made her even more embarrassed and annoyed. Finally, she couldn't help but ask, "Jiang Chen, this poison... can it be cured or not?"
"This poison only affects the surface of the skin and body. The ape's own flesh and blood are not toxic. That's the good news. But it's also the bad news."
"What do you mean, both good and bad?" Consort Dan grew anxious. "Jiang Chen, what exactly is going on? Can you just tell me straight? Am I really going to die..."
Her eyes reddened. No matter how elegant or detached a woman might be, when faced with the specter of death in her twenties, she still revealed that vulnerable, feminine side.
"The good news is, since it's not a blood-and-flesh toxin, it should work its way through slower. But the bad news is, since it's not in the flesh and blood, we can't use those parts for a 'counter-poison' remedy. The surface toxin is extremely bizarre. To neutralize it, we must find the specific antidote. That is the truly troublesome part."
If he could find the corresponding antidote, Jiang Chen was very confident he could purge the poison. But in this vast, dark labyrinthine world, finding such a specific thing would be incredibly difficult.
"So... there really is no hope?" Consort Dan's voice trembled with impending tears, a boundless sadness filling her eyes. Suddenly, however, her expression shifted to one of sudden clarity and resolve. "Jiang Chen, if I die, cremate me and bring my ashes back to the old man. And... these spirit beast cubs, you absolutely must bring them back to the old man for me, alright?"
Was this her dying wish?
Jiang Chen sighed softly in his heart and comforted her. "Don't be so pessimistic. This surface toxin won't progress that quickly. I'll keep looking. Perhaps we can find the corresponding antidote."
"Heh." Consort Dan gave a faint, resigned smile. The fear and panic from before had vanished completely after her moment of clarity. "Jiang Chen, you don't need to console me. I, Consort Dan, was orphaned from birth. The old man raised me. You probably wonder why I care so much about these spirit beast cubs, thinking I must be foolish. But... you don't understand the depth of the old man's kindness to me..."
"Never mind. It's pointless to discuss this now. You rest here. I'll go look around. This ape lived in this area. Its surface toxin couldn't have formed in a vacuum—it must be related to its environment. Perhaps I really can find the specific antidote."
Consort Dan paused abruptly. "Jiang Chen, what do you mean, 'the specific antidote'?"
"All things in the world operate on principles of mutual generation and overcoming. This ape's surface toxin likely formed from something in its immediate surroundings. If there's something that creates this surface toxin, then there must be something that counters it. Otherwise, the poison would have breached its balance and invaded the ape's flesh and blood long ago. How could it possibly remain confined only to the surface?" Jiang Chen reasoned.
Consort Dan suddenly thought of something, a gleam of light flashing in her beautiful eyes. "Jiang Chen, I just remembered. Inside the ape's cave, there were many spiritual herbs and medicines. I was in a hurry back then and didn't have time to gather any. Could it be..."
"What did you say?" Jiang Chen's eyes lit up. "In the cave? There are many spiritual herbs and medicines?"
"Yes!" Consort Dan was also excited now. In Jiang Chen's eyes, she seemed to read a glimmer of hope for survival.
"Stay here. Don't move. I'll go check. Remember, do not stimulate your Spirit Sea. Even if you encounter an enemy, wait until I get back and try to stall for time!"
Fortunately, the cave wasn't too far away. Jiang Chen gathered the arrows and the flying knife from the ground and dashed off along the path they had come.
Along the way, he passed their battleground and recovered more arrows. These arrows were the companion pieces for the Dayu Bow, forged from a hundred refined steels. Even though the ape's fists had knocked them off course, the arrows themselves were undamaged, so naturally, he retrieved them.
Soon, Jiang Chen arrived at the cave.
The interior was cold and desolate. He slipped inside, and what greeted his eyes, just as Consort Dan had described, was a floor covered with various spiritual herbs and medicines, along with several Spirit Grade trees.
"Huh? There's actually so much?" His gaze quickly settled on a cluster of bewitchingly purple flowers. "This... this is the Ziyue Yaoxing?"