Chapter Ninety-Two: Detoxification

Li Sibai hurried over to support the Clan Chief Zhang, reaching out to press several points on his body to seal off the major acupoints and prevent the poison from spreading to his internal organs.

Clan Chief Zhang’s face had turned black, froth spilled from his mouth, and he had already lost consciousness. It seemed the venom had gone deep.

Li Sibai quickly took out several antidote pills from the Xuantian Sword Sect and fed them to him. Only then did Zhang’s complexion improve slightly, though the poison was still clearly there.

Those pills could only delay the poison’s spread through his body; they could not cure it completely.

Li Sibai was also full of anxiety, but seeing the flames from the torches around him growing stronger by the moment, he had no time to spare for Clan Chief Zhang. He set him down hastily and rushed to put out the fire. This was a bamboo grove; if they let the blaze continue unchecked, there would be no need to wait for the poison to kill them. The entire bamboo forest would be reduced to ashes, and they would be roasted first.

When he had heard that rustling sound just now, he had known something was wrong, but by the time he reacted, it was already half a beat too late.

He had watched helplessly as a small green snake bit Clan Chief Zhang, yet the nearest aid was as useless as water far from a burning cart. There had been nothing he could do.

He sent true qi into Clan Chief Zhang’s body, and with the help of the pills he had just taken, Zhang slowly opened his eyes.

“Young Hero Li, this is the green bamboo viper. Its whole body is green, hidden within this bamboo forest, making it hard to detect. They say that if one is poisoned and not treated within the time it takes an incense stick to burn, death is certain. I imagine many of my people died beneath its fangs. I never expected such a venomous creature to be here. It seems I am doomed.”

Clan Chief Zhang’s face was deathly pale, as if he were about to breathe his last.

“Oh? So this is the green bamboo viper?” Li Sibai seemed to recall something at his words. This kind of snake was not long and was very slender, so it was indeed difficult to spot among the bamboo. It was famous for its venom, and if there was no antidote, it would indeed be troublesome.

Seeing his hesitation, Clan Chief Zhang said, “Young Hero Li need not trouble himself over me any further. I know full well that I will not live long after taking this poison. You should hurry and look for clues to find your friend. If by good fortune you do find your friend, I beg you to keep your promise and help my people escape this place. Then I can die in peace.”

Li Sibai shook his head, signaling him not to say any more.

“Clan Chief Zhang, your people have shown me kindness. I will not let you die. Do not think nonsense. Circulate your power to resist the poison and slow its spread. Let me think of a way.”

Though Li Sibai had been eager to search for clues about Caiyao moments ago, he had already broken through to the Zither Heart Realm. His state of mind was far steadier than before, and after a brief panic he had quickly regained his composure, finding the best way to deal with the matter.

Clan Chief Zhang understood what Li Sibai meant and quickly steadied his mind before sitting down to cultivate and circulate his power.

After all, though Zhang had indeed been poisoned, if his mind became unstable and he lost the will to live, then death would be certain. But if he could remain resolute, he might still buy Li Sibai some time.

Li Sibai also calmed himself and carefully retraced everything that had just happened.

The antidote pills he carried on him had no effect. If he wanted to save Clan Chief Zhang, he would need a new antidote. Yet he knew very little about the green bamboo viper, and he was not skilled in antidotes. What could he do?

If the poison was not cured, Clan Chief Zhang would not live much longer. They had shown him kindness. He had to find a way to neutralize it.

“What can cure poison... what can possibly cure poison?”

“Hm?!”

Li Sibai suddenly remembered the rustling sound he had heard earlier. It had clearly come from his direction. Why had that green bamboo viper bitten Clan Chief Zhang instead of him?

Was it because he was handsome?

No, that was not right. Clan Chief Zhang was not ugly either.

Could it be that the snake only attacked members of their tribe? Was it more friendly toward outsiders like him?

Suddenly, Li Sibai’s eyes lit up as he grasped something. Perhaps it had to do with that after all.

Seeing Li Sibai’s expression, Clan Chief Zhang knew he might have found a way. After his earlier cultivation, although he had not managed to force the poison out, his entire state of mind had clearly relaxed. Having set life and death aside, he could now face things with composure.

“Have you found a way, Young Hero Li?”

“Yes. I have a theory, but I need your cooperation to verify it.”

“All right. Since I’m already poisoned, you might as well treat it as a desperate attempt. What do you need me to do?”

“It’s simple. Just wait.”

With that, Li Sibai took a dagger from his storage bracelet and made a light cut on his own arm. Blood began to flow steadily.

He took a bowl, filled it with some of his blood, and handed it to Clan Chief Zhang.

“Hurry and drink it. It should cure the poison!”

“This?” Clan Chief Zhang stared at Li Sibai in disbelief.

“Young Hero Li, you’re not serious, are you? Your blood can cure poison?”

Li Sibai scratched his head and smiled awkwardly.

“I’m not sure either. Try it first. If that doesn’t work, I still have a second method.”

“Try it? Very well. Since I’m dead anyway, I may as well try it! I can’t think of any better option. You’re from the great Xuantian Sword Sect, after all. You’ve seen far more of the world than I have.”

Without further hesitation, Clan Chief Zhang gulped down the bowl of blood in one go.

“How do you feel now? Has the poison in your body been suppressed?” Li Sibai asked anxiously.

Clan Chief Zhang let out a belch and opened his mouth as if to speak, but the metallic taste of blood surged up his throat.

“I...”

Before he could finish, he tipped over and fainted again.

Li Sibai stared blankly. I’m trying to save you here—why did you pass out? Are you squeamish about blood? If that’s the case, you should have said so earlier. I’ve never seen such a troublesome man.

He hurried over to check on him, only to find that Clan Chief Zhang’s previously pale face had turned dark again. After probing his internal breath, Li Sibai’s brow furrowed tightly.

“That’s not right. He’s been poisoned again. It seems my blood caused poison to build up in him. I can only use the second method now.”

Li Sibai was filled with guilt. He had meant to save Clan Chief Zhang, but instead he had made him suffer poison a second time. What kind of mess was this?

The innate battle qi within his body began to circulate, and a thread of cool energy spread throughout him before flowing from his fingertips into Clan Chief Zhang’s body.

“This should work, right?”

After holding on for a while, he finally saw Clan Chief Zhang’s face turn from black to white. The once pitch-black face gradually regained some color. Though he was still unconscious, Li Sibai knew the poison inside him had been dispersed.

“So it does work.”

Li Sibai let out a quiet breath and finally relaxed.

Back on Cloud Pearl Peak, Li Sibai had once been poisoned by a wolf spider. Later, when he mentioned it to the old tree spirit, the spirit told him the spider venom was still in his body, only suppressed by his innate battle qi, which had allowed him to develop an immunity to poison.

That was why he had thought of using his innate battle qi to treat Clan Chief Zhang. But his battle qi was too unusual, carrying a heavy aura of slaughter; if he simply transferred it into Zhang’s body, it would inevitably cause misunderstanding. Thinking that his own blood had been nourished by poison and should have a similar effect, he had decided to try that first.

As it turned out, his blood could not cure the poison at all. Instead, it had caused Clan Chief Zhang to be poisoned by spider venom again. If not for the pills he had taken earlier and the stabilization through cultivation, the two poisons combined would have killed him on the spot.

Fortunately, Li Sibai had treated him in time. Once the innate battle qi entered his body, it had actually dispelled the poison.