Chapter 431: Chapter 431: Three Methods
After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Ye Xuan finally released his right hand.
"Master Xuan Ye, Supreme Elder Yuan Zhen, he..." Yuan Fei asked impatiently.
A grave expression appeared on Ye Xuan’s face. He shook his head slightly and said, "This is tricky. The Winged Fire Beast’s fire poison in Elder Yuan Zhen’s body has already reached its final stage. The poison has not only permeated his body but has also spread into his bone marrow and all of his Profound Veins. At this point, no Pill can eradicate the fire poison from his system."
"What?"
"How can this be?"
At these words, Yuan Fei and the others paled. Their hopeful expressions instantly turned ashen.
"Master Xuan Ye, you... is there a basis for this claim? Not even a regular Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill will work?"
Ye Xuan answered without batting an eye, "If this were the early stages of the poisoning, a Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill would indeed be effective. In fact, it could still have been removed even if the poison had reached a later stage. But the mistake was that you used too many of the wrong remedies on Elder Yuan Zhen."
Ye Xuan sighed. "If I’m not mistaken, you first gave Elder Yuan Zhen a Fifth Grade Heat-Dispelling Pill to counteract the fire poison, but the effect was poor. As the poison spread, you tried to suppress it with Cold Attribute energy, giving him things like the Ice Heart Soul, the Cold Heart Pill, and Ice Marrow Liquid... all sorts of pills and materials to inhibit the fire poison in his body."
Ye Xuan listed four or five different Cold Attribute pills and materials one after another.
"I don’t know which idiot Alchemist gave you that advice. It’s true that these Cold Attribute pills and materials can suppress the Winged Fire Beast’s fire poison to some extent. In fact, if this were the poison from an ordinary Tier Seven Fire Element Demon Beast, these materials might have neutralized and removed it. But the Winged Fire Beast’s poison is of the Yin-Metal attribute. The one thing it doesn’t fear is suppression. The more you suppress it, the more violently it erupts."
"Under normal circumstances, no matter how terrifying the Winged Fire Beast’s poison, with Elder Yuan Zhen’s strength as a Tier Seven Martial King, he would have at most suffered severe injuries, with his cultivation dropping to the level of a Tier Six Martial Venerable. But what you did instead was push him into the abyss, aggravating his injuries and causing him to grow weaker by the day until his life was in danger."
After speaking, Ye Xuan sighed again. "Now, the suppressed Winged Fire Beast poison has completely entered every part of Elder Yuan Zhen’s body. It has even fused into his Profound and his Profound Veins, including his bone marrow, heart, and lungs. It is everywhere."
"Under these circumstances, no fire-dispelling Pill can remove this poison anymore."
With every sentence Ye Xuan spoke, the faces of Yuan Fei and the others grew a shade paler.
If it had been anyone else, Yuan Fei and the others would never have believed them so easily. But the pills and materials Ye Xuan had just mentioned were precisely the ones they had given Yuan Zhen after his injury—not a single one was missed, and even the order was exactly the same.
This forced them to believe him.
"How can this be? How can this be? Is this the fate of our Yuan family?" Patriarch Yuan Fei murmured to himself, a bitter taste in his mouth.
"No, that’s impossible! Stop spouting nonsense! You’re just a young man, what do you know?" one of the Yuan family elders said angrily, unable to accept the reality.
"That’s right! Judging by your age, you can’t be more than twenty. What could you possibly know?"
The elders’ expressions were filled with indignation.
A bitter smile appeared on Yuan Zhen’s face. "Enough, everyone. Stop talking. I am well aware of my own injuries. I’m afraid my time is truly short. Life and death are dictated by fate; I came to terms with that long ago."
Although he spoke with bitterness, a trace of detached acceptance could be seen deep in his eyes.
Yuan Fei quickly said, "Supreme Elder Yuan Zhen, don’t say that! I believe there must be a way. The Yuan family still needs you to watch over us."
"That’s right, Grand-Uncle! Just wait, I’ll go back to Gale Light Academy immediately. I’m sure the teachers there will have a way to save you!" Yuan An exclaimed from the side.
Watching this scene, Ye Xuan couldn’t help but rub his nose. He suddenly spoke up, "Everyone, is there really a need for such a heart-wrenching farewell? I only said the fire poison in Elder Yuan Zhen’s body couldn’t be removed. I don’t recall saying he was about to die, did I?"
"What?"
When Ye Xuan said this, the entire room fell silent. Everyone turned to look at him in astonishment.
A sharp light burst from Yuan Fei’s eyes. "Master Xuan Ye, what do you mean by that?" he said excitedly. "Are you saying there’s still hope for Supreme Elder Yuan Zhen’s injuries?"
Ye Xuan smiled faintly. "Of course there’s hope. Patriarch Yuan, if I recall correctly, back at the auction house, I told you I’d take care of your Supreme Elder’s injuries, didn’t I?"
This dramatic turn of events left everyone dumbfounded.
Master Lu Li pursed his lips, speechless. ’This kid just loves to keep people in suspense.’
"Please enlighten me, Master Xuan Ye," Yuan Fei said respectfully, giving a deep bow.
"Let me think about the specific methods." Ye Xuan nodded and fell into contemplation off to the side.
Everyone held their breath, their attention focused. Not one of the Yuan family experts filling the great hall, including the three great Tier Seven Martial Kings—Master Lu Li, Yuan Zhen, and Yuan Fei—dared to make a sound. They all waited quietly around Ye Xuan like well-behaved schoolchildren in front of their teacher.
A moment later, Ye Xuan suddenly looked up.
"How is it? Have you thought of a way?" Yuan Fei was the first to ask with concern.
"With my current strength, there are three methods."
"Three methods?" Yuan Fei and the others exchanged a glance, their eyes revealing ecstatic joy.
"Don’t celebrate too soon," Ye Xuan said, his expression grave. "These three methods are based on my current abilities. While they are all feasible to a degree, they are also extremely difficult, and success is not guaranteed."
Ye Xuan was not being an alarmist. If he were currently a Tier Six Martial Venerable, he wouldn’t need to say all this; he could easily cure Yuan Zhen’s injuries. But he was merely a Tier Five Martial Sect, and many methods were unavailable to him. After much thought, he had only come up with three.
"Please tell us, Master Xuan Ye," said Yuan Fei. "No matter how difficult, our Yuan family must try."
"The first method is to absorb a Heaven and Earth Anomalous Fire. This anomalous fire must be at least at the Earth Fire level. The Winged Fire Beast is a Fire Attribute Demon Beast, and its poison has a Yin-Metal attribute. Now that it has penetrated every cell in Elder Yuan Zhen’s body, simple removal is out of the question."
"Only a supreme Yang item at the Earth Fire level can suppress its toxicity. Once Elder Yuan Zhen refines an Earth Fire, the Winged Fire Beast’s poison will naturally be assimilated into it, becoming part of the Earth Fire’s power. Elder Yuan Zhen’s injuries will then heal on their own."
"This method is called the Assimilation Skill."
"However, there are two extremely difficult parts to this method. First, an Earth Fire is hard to find. A flame of the Earth Fire level is considered a supreme treasure on the Celestial Profound Continent and is rarely discovered. Second, because Elder Yuan Zhen has been eroded by the fire poison for so long, his Profound has been severely damaged. Even if we find an Earth Fire, his chances of successfully absorbing it are less than thirty percent. If he fails, he will die on the spot."
"Of course, with my help, Elder Yuan Zhen’s chance of success could be raised to about fifty percent."
’The Assimilation Skill? Absorbing a Celestial Fire?’
Yuan Fei and Yuan Zhen looked at each other, and Yuan Zhen shook his head with a bitter smile.
The difficulty of this method was simply unimaginable. Never mind finding an Earth Fire; even if they did, he would have a hard time absorbing it with his current strength. Even with Ye Xuan’s help, it was only a fifty percent chance.
"What about the second method?"
"The second method is to cultivate a powerful Fire Element Cultivation Technique," Ye Xuan said seriously. "No matter how strong the Winged Fire Beast’s poison is, it’s still just a form of Fire Attribute power. All you need is to find a Fire Element Cultivation Technique of Celestial Level, High Tier, or above. Furthermore, this technique must lean toward the Yin-Metal attribute. During cultivation, you can completely refine the fire poison and make it a part of your own power."
"At that point, not only will the poison no longer be a detriment, but it will actually become another source of strength for Elder Yuan Zhen."
’Cultivate a Fire Attribute Cultivation Technique?’ This was the first time Yuan Fei and the others had ever heard of such a method.
"Perhaps... that could actually work."
As a Tier Seven Martial King, Yuan Fei was widely experienced. At first, he found it hard to believe, but after careful consideration, it seemed to make perfect sense.
A Celestial Level Fire Element Cultivation Technique contains the supreme mysteries of the Fire Element. Each level of cultivation is, in essence, a transformation of the body.
With some heaven-defying Fire Element cultivation techniques, a cultivator could even attain a body of pure flame by the final stage. The mere poison of a Winged Fire Beast would naturally be of no concern.
"Then the Qin family’s Heaven-Burning Fire Skill..." Yuan Fei suddenly said.
The first thing that came to his mind was the Qin family’s Heaven-Burning Fire Skill. Although the Qin family had already won the manual at auction, Yuan Fei didn’t believe that the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion, having auctioned it, wouldn’t have kept a copy.
Of course, to protect its reputation, the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion would certainly not sell it again in the Dream Realm Plain. But Yuan Fei believed that if he paid a high enough price, he might not be unable to obtain the Heaven-Burning Fire Skill.
But before he could finish his sentence, Ye Xuan shook his head.
"I may not have seen the Qin family’s Heaven-Burning Fire Skill, but first, its grade is only Celestial Level, Mid Tier, which isn’t high enough. Second, its attribute is also wrong. Just from the name, the Heaven-Burning Fire Skill should have a Fierce-Metal attribute."
The excitement on Yuan Fei’s face faltered.
’If the Heaven-Burning Fire Skill won’t work, then what Cultivation Technique will?’
After all, Celestial Level cultivation techniques were few and far between in the entire Sky Empire. Finding one with a Yin-Metal attribute would be even more difficult.
On the surface, this method seemed simpler than the first, but in reality, it was no less difficult.
"Then what about the third method?"
"The third method," Ye Xuan said with great solemnity, "is for me to take action and refine Elder Yuan Zhen as if he were a Pill."
At these words, everyone was stunned. ’Refine Elder Yuan Zhen as if he were a Pill? What does that mean? Is he saying he’s going to put Elder Yuan Zhen into a Pill Furnace and refine him?’
Everyone was dumbfounded.
’Is there really such a treatment method in this world? Is this Xuan Ye sure he’s not joking?’
Comments