Chapter 41 Poisoned

"Ruyan!"

Suddenly, Li Ergou stepped forward, his voice cutting off Ruyan's movements.

Ruyan started and stood up in astonishment.

However, the turbulent fire of desire raging within Chen Xuan's heart did not subside; instead, his urges grew increasingly intense.

Was it not a charm technique?

Then what could it be?

Chen Xuan was utterly baffled.

"Ergou?"

Seeing Li Ergou, Ruyan was immensely surprised. "Why are you here?"

"The Sect Master brought me here. I have already joined the Xuandan Sect," Li Ergou replied.

"Joined the Xuandan Sect?"

Ruyan furrowed her brows.

"Ruyan, why would you do this? We clearly have a betrothal," Li Ergou said, deeply disappointed. He had assumed Ruyan was being coerced.

Yet moments ago, Ruyan had claimed she was never betrothed.

She had even offered herself willingly to Chen Xuan.

"Brother Ergou,"

Ruyan's expression grew deeply complicated. "I know your feelings, but I've told you before—my affection for you is merely that of a younger sister toward an older brother. There is no possibility between us. Please stop harboring illusions about me."

Li Ergou felt as though he had been struck by lightning.

"Even so, you cannot join the Hehuan Sect and debase yourself," Li Ergou protested, unwilling to accept it.

"Everyone has the right to choose a path to grow stronger. The Hehuan Sect can grant me power, so naturally, I joined them."

"But you could join another sect instead,"

Li Ergou seemed to catch a glimmer of hope. "You could join the Xuandan Sect. The Xuandan Sect can also make you powerful."

"The Xuandan Sect?"

Ruyan shook her head. "The Xuandan Sect is indeed formidable, but it is still not enough to resolve my difficulties."

"Moreover,"

Ruyan took a deep breath and continued, "Brother Ergou, I do not wish to deceive you. Your Sect Master has already been poisoned with Hehuan Spiritual Liquid. It is brewed from the Lustrous Aphrodisiac Flower, something even an Immortal Ascension expert cannot resist. Unless he takes the antidote, if he does not couple with someone possessing the Ice-Veined Saintly Body within twenty-four hours, he will burn to death from his own raging desires."

"What?!"

Li Ergou turned pale with shock. "Ruyan, you actually poisoned the Sect Master!"

Chen Xuan suddenly understood.

No wonder his heart felt like it was burning; he had been poisoned by the Hehuan Spiritual Liquid.

Yet he could not fathom how he had offended Ruyan to warrant her inflicting such a vicious poison upon him.

"Why would you do this?"

"I was merely following orders. It was the Holy Son of Lingxiao who wanted you poisoned."

"Su Yu!"

Chen Xuan's expression shifted.

Last time, he had intended to eliminate Su Yu to silence him, but Su Yu possessed a life-saving secret technique and managed to escape. Chen Xuan had expected him to bring people from the Lingxiao Holy Land to seek revenge.

He never imagined that Su Yu would instead enlist the Hehuan Sect to poison him.

"Ruyan, quickly give the Sect Master the antidote!" Hearing of the terrifying potency of the Hehuan Spiritual Liquid, Li Ergou said anxiously.

Chen Xuan had come here for his sake.

Yet it had ended up with Chen Xuan getting poisoned.

"The Hehuan Spiritual Liquid is brewed from the Lustrous Aphrodisiac Flower. Only the pistil of the Lustrous Aphrodisiac Flower can neutralize the poison, but the flower is already extinct, so there is no antidote," Ruyan shook her head.

"The Lustrous Aphrodisiac Flower?"

Chen Xuan's heart stirred. In his own medicinal garden, he cultivated a mystic flower called the Orchid of Wonder, the sovereign of all flora, which naturally caused other flowers to grow in its vicinity.

Perhaps a Lustrous Aphrodisiac Flower had sprouted among them.

"What does the Lustrous Aphrodisiac Flower look like?" Chen Xuan hurriedly asked.

"I saw it in the Scripture Pavilion of the Hehuan Sect. The Lustrous Aphrodisiac Flower is entirely vermilion, resembling the Crimson Flame Lily, except one has a yellow pistil while the other has a red one," Ruyan recalled.

"Thank you."

Chen Xuan nodded, preparing to take Li Ergou and leave.

His entire body was burning with heat, and he felt as though he could barely suppress his inner desires. If he remained here any longer and continued to gaze upon Ruyan, who possessed a natural alluring physique, there was no telling what he might end up doing.

"Ruyan, come with us,"

Li Ergou quickly urged her.

"Brother Ergou,"

Ruyan shook her head. "I know your good intentions, but I cannot leave this place just yet. Furthermore, becoming entangled with me will only bring you endless misfortune. From this day forward, let our betrothal be annulled."

Chen Xuan cast a scrutinizing glance at Ruyan.

From her gaze, he could tell she bore no malice toward Li Ergou; she simply wished to prevent him from becoming too deeply involved with her.

Endless misfortune?

Chen Xuan suddenly recalled that both of them possessed supreme physiques, yet both carried white destiny auras. Could there be a connection between these two facts?

However, Chen Xuan had no time to ponder the matter further.

The fire of desire in his heart was becoming unbearable; he had to hurry back to the sect to search for the Lustrous Aphrodisiac Flower.

Chen Xuan patted Li Ergou on the shoulder, signaling him to leave first.

The two departed.

After standing still for a moment, Ruyan turned around and headed back toward Su Yu's dwelling.

Su Yu and Hong Qingtong stepped out of the cave dwelling together. The two had just finished their cultivation session inside, and Hong Qingtong's complexion was slightly pale, evidently having had a significant amount of her spiritual energy drained by Su Yu.

"Is the task done?" Su Yu asked.

"Chen Xuan has been poisoned, but I could not make him stay," Ruyan said in a calm tone.

"Weren't you told to keep Chen Xuan here?" Hong Qingtong rebuked.

Su Yu chuckled and waved his hand. "No matter. She is merely at the Qi Refining stage; failing to make Chen Xuan, with his peak Soul Formation cultivation, stay is entirely expected. As long as your Hehuan Spiritual Liquid is truly as miraculous as you claim, Chen Xuan is a dead man."

"Rest assured, Holy Son, the spiritual liquid cannot fail,"

Hong Qingtong giggled.

Su Yu then cast his gaze upon Ruyan. Her figure was enchanting; although she had already been deflowered by that scoundrel Chen Xuan, she remained a rare stunner in this world. "Since the task is complete, come inside and accompany this Holy Son in his cultivation."

"Holy Son, the poison within me has not yet dissipated. Let us leave it for next time,"

Ruyan excused herself with a pretext.

Displeasure flashed across Su Yu's face, but recalling the formidable potency of the Hehuan Spiritual Liquid, he had no choice but to relent.

...

Xuandan Sect.

Myriad-Mile Medicinal Garden.

A fairy dressed in white sat cross-legged on the ground, channeling her energy to heal her injuries. Bright red blood stained the corners of her vermilion lips.

"Damn it, the Heaven-Devouring Demonic Palm is truly overbearing. Even my羽化 realm (Epitomization realm) cultivation cannot suppress it."

Yun Zhiqui had originally been investigating demonic cultivators.

Instead, she had been ambushed by a Soul Formation demonic cultivator disguised as a beggar, accidentally falling victim to his Heaven-Devouring Demonic Palm.

Although she managed to kill her attacker in return just in time, demonic energy had still invaded her body.

The demonic energy was fierce and tyrannical.

Even with her Epitomization realm cultivation, she could not suppress the rampaging demonic energy.

If this continued, the spiritual energy within her body would likely become increasingly chaotic, posing a severe risk of a drop in her cultivation realm.

"I must find a medicinal herb of extreme yang essence."

Demonic energy is inherently malevolent; only by pairing it with a medicinal herb of extreme yang essence could the demonic energy within her body be completely suppressed. However, this place was too far from her sect, and rushing back now would likely be too late.

"This place appears to be a medicinal garden. I wonder if there are any herbs of extreme yang essence inside." Yun Zhiqui scanned her surroundings with her beautiful eyes, noticing numerous spiritual herbs growing nearby, clearly indicating the garden belonged to some sect.

"I shall simply borrow one of their spiritual herbs and repay them a hundredfold later."

Yun Zhiqui began her search.

Before long, she indeed found a spiritual herb.

"This should be a Crimson Flame Lily, perfectly suited as a substance of extreme yang." Yun Zhiqui inspected the spiritual herb in her hand; it was entirely crimson red with a yellow pistil.

Without hesitation, she ingested it.