Duan Xianxing was currently in a far from ideal state. He was covered in dust, and the bone spurs from Suisui that had dragged him earlier had left a bright red mark across his neck where his collar had choked him, making him look incredibly wretched.
But the most lethal thing of all was that pervasive, unbearable itch!
He could only struggle to hold his breath, using every ounce of his strength to tremulously raise a hand and grab the ankle of Li Nanzhu, who was crouching beside him, preparing to check on his condition.
"Eek!" Li Nanzhu was startled by the sudden cold sensation, and her reflexes almost sent her kicking him away!
Fortunately, she realized it was Duan Xianxing just in time and forced herself to stop.
"Senior Brother Seven? How are you?" Li Nanzhu looked at Duan Xianxing’s pale face and his expression, which was twisted from the effort of suppressing the itch, feeling a pang of guilt.
She was well aware of the power of this spring breeze.
"The... the antidote..." Duan Xianxing looked up, his eyes rimmed with red, his voice hoarse and sobbing. "Quick... give it to me... I really... can't take it anymore..."
Li Nanzhu’s expression froze instantly as she watched his miserable state. Her eyes darted around guiltily, and she stammered, "Uh, about that... Senior Brother Seven..."
Duan Xianxing felt an extremely ominous premonition well up in his heart!
Li Nanzhu’s reaction was not right!
Sure enough, in the next second, he heard an answer that sounded like a devil's whisper.
"Well... Senior Brother Seven..." Li Nanzhu scratched her head, looking embarrassed and sheepish. "Actually... there is no antidote..."
"No... no antidote?!"
Duan Xianxing’s eyes widened to the size of saucers, his pupils vibrating as if he had heard the most terrifying words in existence. A chill surged from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head!
No antidote?!
Did that mean he was going to keep itching forever?
What if it lasted until the end of the competition? This was more painful than being killed!
Seeing Duan Xianxing’s face instantly turn ashen with despair, Li Nanzhu quickly cleared her throat and explained, "Cough, cough... Senior Brother Seven, listen to me! This spring breeze is a new formula I just improved recently. The effect is a bit strong... but at the time, I was only thinking about how to make the enemy more miserable, making the effect last longer and harder to dispel. I didn't... I didn't think about researching an antidote!"
"Besides, it was originally meant for enemies. It's not even technically a poison; it's not fatal, just a bit itchy... Who would have thought it would be used on one of our own..."
Her voice grew smaller and smaller, until it was barely a whisper at the end.
Just a bit itchy?
Duan Xianxing heard this and nearly passed out from the shock!
You call this just a bit itchy? This was more agonizing than being sliced a thousand times!
"Senior Brother Seven," Li Nanzhu cautiously poked Duan Xianxing, "you just have to endure it! Yes, it'll be fine once you wait it out!"
"Wait... wait it out?" Duan Xianxing’s voice was shaking. "How... how long?!"
"Uh... that..." Li Nanzhu counted on her fingers, saying uncertainly, "According to the results of my previous experiments... it should... it should stop after about a quarter-hour..."
"A quarter-hour?!" Duan Xianxing’s vision went dark, feeling as though his life had lost all light.
Just then, Liu Qingyang, who had finished tallying the loot nearby, happened to overhear their conversation.
Seeing Duan Xianxing’s miserable state and hearing Li Nanzhu say there was no complete antidote and he had to endure it, his eyes rolled as he put on a look of realization.
"Oh, Junior Sister Nanzhu, really! Since there's no specific antidote, we can try other medicines! Maybe fighting poison with poison, or using a cleansing heart and detoxing medicine will work!"
As he spoke, Liu Qingyang moved with lightning speed, pulling several small jade bottles from his storage bag. Without even looking, he poured out a few fragrant pills—precisely common cleansing heart pills and detox pills—and prepared to stuff them into Duan Xianxing’s mouth!
"Wait! Liu Qingyang..." Seeing this, Li Nanzhu’s face changed drastically, and she hurriedly called out to stop him, but it was too late!
Liu Qingyang was too fast, or perhaps his desire to help was too urgent. He didn't notice Li Nanzhu’s sudden change in expression or her outstretched hand. The pills were accurately stuffed into Duan Xianxing’s mouth, which was slightly agape in pain!
The pills melted instantly, and a cool medicinal power slid down his throat.
Duan Xianxing first felt a chill spread, seemingly offering a sliver of relief from the burning, searing itch.
Liu Qingyang clapped his hands triumphantly after finishing, looking at Duan Xianxing with an expression that practically begged for praise. "Duan Xianxing! How is it? Feeling better? You’ll have to thank me properly this time! I, Liu Qingyang, am generous enough to ignore our past grievances..."
Outside the secret realm, atop the high platform.
Seeing Liu Qingyang take the initiative to give Duan Xianxing medicine, an elder from the Water Moon Sect stroked his beard and nodded, saying to Liu Changhe, whose face had slightly cleared, "Sect Leader Liu, although your son is usually flighty, he can repay grievance with kindness at critical moments and help a fellow cultivator. Such a temperament is truly rare."
Liu Changhe heard his son being praised, and his face, which had been dark all evening, finally softened.
"Hehe, Sect Leader Liu, your son is indeed... benevolent." The speaker was Elder Mu of the Wuji Sect, a faint, mocking smile hanging on his lips. "To think he would extend a helping hand even to a competitor of the sect. Such a magnanimous heart to repay grievance with kindness, tsk tsk, it really makes us feel ashamed."
His words seemed like praise, but every word was laced with thorns.
The subtext was: Is your son stupid? Being soft-hearted toward an enemy in a competition? Is this kindness or stupidity?
The atmosphere on the high platform instantly became subtle due to these passive-aggressive comments.
However, just as the elders of other sects were either mocking or watching the drama, the situation within the secret realm changed once again.
Duan Xianxing, who had merely been miserable but somewhat in control, was now acting like a shrimp dropped into a boiling pot of oil.
His current state was several times worse than before.
Li Nanzhu’s outstretched hand froze in mid-air, and she painfully closed her eyes, murmuring, "It's over..."
Liu Qingyang was startled by Duan Xianxing’s sudden, violent reaction. He froze on the spot, still holding the empty medicine bottle, and stammered, "Wh... what's going on? What... what happened to him? Aren't cleansing heart pills and detox pills supposed to neutralize poison?"
Li Nanzhu finally opened her eyes slowly, looking at Liu Qingyang with a sympathetic gaze usually reserved for fools, as she spoke with difficulty.
"I was just about to tell you..."
"The medicinal properties of spring breeze are very special... When it encounters medicinal powers that are neutralizing in nature, like cleansing heart or detoxing medicines, it won't neutralize them. Instead, it acts like a catalyst, making the effects explode instantly and significantly extending the duration..."
Liu Qingyang felt as though he had been struck by a bolt from the blue, his voice becoming even more stammering.
"Ex... extended? Then... then how long will it itch now?"
Li Nanzhu looked at Duan Xianxing, who was already losing consciousness from the itch on the ground, her eyes filled with sympathy. She sighed and said, "Originally... it was about a quarter-hour. Given the dosage and properties of the medicine you just fed him... I'm afraid... it will be at least half a shichen..."
"Heaven as my witness! I... I didn't do it on purpose!" Liu Qingyang was so scared that he scrambled to hide behind Jiang Yifan and Ling Suxin, not daring to look at Duan Xianxing again. He pressed his palms together and began chanting nonsense.
"Amitabha, Amitabha... Brother Duan, hang in there... I really didn't know..."
And at this moment, within his endless torment, Duan Xianxing’s remaining sanity allowed him to hear the conversation between Liu Qingyang and Li Nanzhu.
"Liu... Qing... Yang!"
A roar containing overwhelming fury burst from Duan Xianxing’s throat, nearly echoing through the entire stone forest area!
"I... will... kill... you! You... just... you wait!"
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