CHAPTER 52: THOUSAND VEIN AMETHYST VENOM

"No," Li Shen replied briefly.

The woman in front of him fell silent, then narrowed her eyes and furrowed her brow. She glanced to the side and looked at Li Xun, who also looked serious. This was quite confusing for her.

"What is your name?

"I am Li Shen, she is Li Xun," replied Li Shen.

"Li? Is there a Li family in the Ming Zhao Kingdom?" the woman asked, looking around.

One of the sect elders stepped forward to approach the woman in black and white. He said clearly that there was no Li family in Zhoguang City, the city where the Mu Ying Sect was located.

"He also mentioned the Qing Yan Kingdom," explained the Nascent Soul man who had accompanied Li Shen and Li Xun.

"Qing Yan? That’s one of the kingdoms on the Qing Continent, which is very far from our sect," replied the woman, startled.

"That’s right, Sect Master," the man said again.

Once more, she looked ahead and stared intently at Li Shen. She didn’t know what the two of them were doing here, but if that information was true, it was even more confusing to her.

From the woman’s eyes, she could see that Li Xun’s cultivation level was at Perfect Nascent Soul. But she couldn’t see anything about Li Shen, as if there was another power covering his cultivation aura.

"They’re both quite mysterious, especially the man named Li Shen," explained the female sect leader.

"It’s better to let them go than to continue intimidating them. They suddenly came here from a very distant place, their backgrounds are too mysterious," she added.

"Very well. You may leave," ordered the woman.

She turned around and stepped back onto her throne. None of the elders questioned her decision. They all agreed with their sect leader that the identities of Li Shen and Li Xun were too mysterious.

The man nodded, stepped back, clasped his hands together, and bowed his head obediently. He left the Peak Hall to escort Li Shen and Li Xun to the front gate of the sect.

When the door opened, the man was shocked to see a man with a long black beard wearing a long black and white robe. He knew who that man was.

"Great Sect Leader," the man greeted him.

The woman heard the man’s words. She looked forward and saw her father had returned from the Mountain Base Temple. He came with two elders whose strength was on par with Li Xun’s.

"Father?" the woman greeted him, stepping closer to her father.

"Ying Ying, who are they?" the man asked his daughter about Li Shen and Li Xun.

"They are wandering cultivators who accidentally crossed paths with our sect," Ying Ying replied.

"Accidentally? Do they think the Mu Ying Sect is a playground?!" the man snapped, glaring at Li Shen.

Li Shen and Li Xun were still standing at the door, not moving an inch due to the arrival of the Great Sect Master. Unlike Ying Ying, the black-bearded man did not seem to want an easy way out of this situation.

"Ying’er, didn’t I tell you to always interrogate anyone who enters our sect without permission?" the man explained.

Surprisingly, he activated magical pressure in the area, causing everyone to bow their heads, even kneeling under the force. Li Xun also felt it, but it was easily neutralized by Li Shen.

"What? He’s not affected by my magical pressure? Who is he?" the man asked, curious.

"Sect Leader Ying Ying has given us permission to leave. If you have no objection, we must return to our place," Li Shen said firmly.

"It’s not that easy, fellow daoist. You have stopped by my sect, how about staying for a while until we can truly set you free?" asked the man, continuing to stare intently to the side.

Li Shen fell silent, still holding Li Xun’s hand. He glanced briefly and met the gaze of the great sect leader. His cultivation level was definitely at least at the Perfect Nascent Soul stage.

With Li Shen’s strength, he could easily defeat all of them, just like when he conquered the Lotus Hill Sect. That would be his last option.

"Cough."

When Li Shen and the great sect leader were fighting, Ying Ying coughed up blood. This caught the attention of the great sect leader, who immediately stopped his magical pressure and walked towards his daughter.

"Ying’er."

Ying Ying fell limply into her father’s arms, her face pale and the veins on her body glowing purple. Something was wrong with Ying Ying’s body.

"Hold on," said her father, starting to channel his spiritual energy into Ying Ying’s body.

Not only him, but all the sect elders did the same. They channeled their spiritual energy into Sect Leader Ying Ying to suppress the spread of poison in the woman’s body.

"What happened to her?" Li Xun asked Li Shen.

"I don’t know."

Purple booms appeared and spread around Ying Ying’s body. Several elders were pushed back and vomited blood, struggling to suppress the poison in Ying Ying’s body.

"Hold on, Ying’er!" her father said firmly, continuing to focus his mind on suppressing the poison.

One by one, the sect elders were pushed back and vomited blood. None of them could help suppress the poison in Ying Ying’s body. This made the sect master panic.

"Call all cultivators at the—"

"AAAAAKKKKH!" Ying Ying screamed, writhing in pain as the fluctuations of the poison’s energy grew stronger.

The woman’s body rose up to the ceiling of the Peak Hall, a purple vortex of energy distinctive of a poison gathered and swirled around Ying Ying. Li Shen felt a tremor beneath his feet, but it wasn’t very strong.

"YING’ER!" shouted the great sect leader.

"Father, can you help her? She looks in pain," said Li Xun. Li Shen remained silent for a moment.

Several Core Formation stage cultivators arrived. There were 76 of them. One by one, they were ordered to transfer their spiritual energy into Sect Leader Ying Ying’s body. Li Shen doubted that it would be enough to suppress the poison in the woman’s body.

If the combined strength of ten Nascent Soul elders couldn’t save Ying Ying, then Core Formation cultivators like them had no chance.

THUMP!

Sure enough! They were thrown backward by the backlash of the poison. All 76 Core Formation cultivators were injured and fainted. This was a dire situation for the great sect leader, not to mention the entire Mu Ying Sect.

"Is there anyone who can help me?" asked the black-bearded man, his face filled with worry and panic.

As time passed, Ying Ying’s condition worsened. All the veins in her body were almost infected with the poison. If they were too late, the woman would die.

"AAAAKKKKH!" Ying Ying screamed, her eyes glowing purple.

Li Shen stepped back and stood beside the great sect leader. He stretched out his hand and emitted his spiritual energy towards Ying Ying.

"You?!" said the man sternly.

"If you want your daughter to live, then let me help you," replied Li Shen. The man beside him nodded in agreement.

Li Shen’s spiritual energy was absorbed into Ying Ying’s body in large amounts and was stronger than a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Slowly, signs that the poison was being suppressed became visible.The veins in Ying Ying’s body returned to normal, the purple light faded and disappeared, and her eyes also returned to their original state.

Ying Ying’s screams were no longer heard, as her father focused on catching his daughter who had fallen from the ceiling of the Peak Hall.

After all her vital signs returned to normal, Ying Ying fell unconscious in the embrace of the great sect leader. The black-bearded man was very grateful that Li Shen was here, where he could stop the poison from spreading.

"Thank you, fellow Daoist. I was wrong about you, " replied the Great Sect Leader.

"You must have spent a lot of spiritual energy just now. You can stay at our sect for a while until you have fully recovered," he pleaded.

"No need. We will leave immediately after this," explained Li Shen.

Li Shen stopped channeling his spiritual energy and returned to Li Xun. However, before arriving there, Li Shen tapped his magic pouch.

He took out a bottle containing six high-grade poison suppressing pills, effective against any poison caused by cultivators below the Immortal Ascension level.

"What is this?" asked the Great Sect Leader, receiving the bottle.

"Mystic-Vein Cleansing Pill. Take one pill once a year. You have six years," replied Li Shen.

"It was Thousand Vein Amethyst Venom, a high-grade poison that can only be cured with cultivation or a 7th grade pill," revealed Li Shen.

"Cultivation?" asked the grand sect leader.

"If Ying Ying manages to reach a cultivation stage higher than the poison’s bearer, then she will be able to remove the poison by herself.

"The rest is up to you—whether you can save her life or not."

"Can you help us refine the pill?" asked the sect leader, laying Ying Ying’s body down and kneeling before Li Shen, resigned.

"That depends."

"What?"

"It depends on how big of a reward you will give me."