5: Pure lotus, poisoned, with turbulent undercurrents.

The five words "Profound Yin Maiden Body," like a chilling wind carrying shards of ice, instantly froze the air around Su Wanzhao. Her knuckles, pressed against the sword hilt, turned pale white from the excessive force. In those eyes, clear and cold as a deep pool, a terrifying storm raged, mixed with unbelievable shock, fury at having her deepest secret exposed, and a trace of fear... that she herself hadn't even noticed.

This secret was a faint tremor deep within her bloodline during midnight dreams, a chilling premonition that flashed across her heart when she occasionally drew upon the world's Yin Qi. She had never spoken of it, nor dared to investigate it! How could this youth—who had just shed his servant status, possessed a False Spirit Root, and was even afflicted by a fatal poison—possibly know?!

Chen Feng gave her no time to breathe or question. His hoarse yet decisive words were like cold iron hammers, brutally smashing the defenses she tried to build. Poisoning, Qian Tong, Demonic Cultivators, Black Wind Cliff, a soul-binding demonic artifact, the hour of midnight ten days later... every piece of information was chillingly precise, especially the assertion of a "certain death trap," which was like a massive stone thrown into the lake of her heart!

"If you want to live, trust me this once! Time... is running out!"

The burning desperation in Chen Feng's eyes, the madness of grasping for a sliver of life at all costs, stabbed deep into Su Wanzhao's vision. That was not the despair and resolution that a lie could feign. She recalled his prophetic actions in the mine, the Spirit Stone that turned to dust, and his recent appearance of being in pain as if he had crawled back from hell... In a flash of lightning, Su Wanzhao made her decision.

She said nothing. The raging storm in her eyes instantly subsided, leaving only a sharpness and cold severity colder than a sword edge. Her figure flickered, like a phantom melting into the night, silently sweeping out the window and vanishing into the deep darkness of the Outer Sect Disciple living quarters. Only a faint, cold scent, like a winter plum blossom just opening, remained in the air.

Chen Feng's taut nerves relaxed slightly, but the waves of weakness emanating from deep within his body, coupled with the cold black Qi lurking at the edge of his heart meridian, immediately dragged him back to the harsh reality. He slumped back onto the bed, panting heavily, cold sweat soaking the green robe of his newly acquired Outer Sect Disciple uniform.

"Corpse Heart Grass Poison... five days left..."

He closed his eyes. The painful memory from the simulation—of ten thousand poisons devouring his heart and meridians breaking apart—clearly resurfaced, making him shiver. But immediately after, the faint realization of surviving near death and using the Poison-Inducing Body Tempering Art at the final moment of the simulation, like a firefly in the darkness, gave him the courage to persevere.

Time flowed by second by second in anxious waiting. Every breath felt like walking on the tip of a scorching hot blade. Chen Feng forced himself to circulate the Azure Cloud Qi Refining Art, attempting to capture the sparse spiritual energy in the air. The obstruction of the False Spirit Root remained heavy as a mountain; every weak entry of spiritual energy felt like being cut by a blunt knife, incredibly difficult. Worse still, as the spiritual power circulated within his body, the wisp of black Qi near his heart meridian seemed disturbed and began to spread thread by thread, bringing waves of needle-like stinging pain and icy numbness.

"Damn it! Did the poison accelerate? Or did the simulation deplete my mental energy and worsen the toxin?"

Chen Feng's heart sank. He hurriedly stopped cultivating, his face growing even paler. He could only clench his fists tightly, his fingernails digging deep into his palms, using physical pain to fight the inner anxiety and the toxin's erosion, his gaze fixed on the direction of the window.

He didn't know how much time had passed; perhaps only the duration of a Stick of Incense, yet it felt as long as a century.

"Swoosh!"

A barely perceptible breeze swept past, and Su Wanzhao's figure reappeared in the room like a phantom. Her white clothes were still spotless, but a few strands of dark hair near her temples were slightly, almost imperceptibly, disheveled, and her cool, clear eyes bore a hint of weariness. In her hands, she carefully held a plant.

The plant was only three inches tall, entirely translucent emerald green, as if carved from the highest quality jadeite. The leaves were slender, edged with natural silver patterns, and the veins were clearly visible, subtly flowing with faint Spiritual Light. At the very top rested a lotus bud, tightly closed, presenting a pure, flawless jade-white color. At the center of the bud, a single, extremely weak point of emerald green light, yet containing vast vitality, pulsed slowly. An intensely fresh, elegant fragrance, seemingly capable of cleansing the filth from the depths of the soul, instantly permeated the entire room, completely dispelling the residual musty smell in the air.

—A heart-clearing lotus Sprout!

Intense light burst forth in Chen Feng's eyes; he almost lunged forward. Su Wanzhao, however, took half a step back, her gaze sharp as a sword: "How do you prove it can truly detoxify? And how do you prove everything you've said?"

Chen Feng took a deep breath. The elegant lotus fragrance entering his body actually caused the black Qi stirring near his heart meridian to pause slightly, and the stinging pain lessened somewhat. He pointed to his chest, his voice weak and hoarse: "Can't you feel it? This fragrance can suppress it! Proof? Senior Sister Su, my life is now tied to yours! I die from poison in five days, and you are refined by the Demonic Cultivator in ten days—that is the best proof! I have neither the time nor the need to deceive a dying person!"

He paused, his eyes showing the resolution of burning his bridges: "If you don't believe me, I can swallow it right now. We will know immediately whether it brings life or death! But if I die, ten days from now, who will warn you about the killing trap at Black Wind Cliff? Who will tell you that the secret of the 'Profound Yin Maiden Body' has been discovered by the Demonic Cultivators?"

Su Wanzhao's eyes flickered intensely a few times. Chen Feng's desperate demeanor, coupled with the subtle, rain-after-a-long-drought comfort that the Profound Yin Power within her own body generated after inhaling the heart-clearing lotus fragrance, made it impossible for her to doubt the authenticity of the Spiritual Medicine any longer.

She silently handed the heart-clearing lotus sprout, which glowed with emerald light, to Chen Feng. Her voice was cold as an icy spring: "How do I use it? If you die, I will first slay Qian Tong, and then level Black Wind Cliff before your poison acts up."

These murderous words sounded like heavenly music to Chen Feng right now. He took the fragile yet infinitely vital sprout without hesitation. It felt slightly cool to the touch, and the vast life essence invigorated his spirit.

"Consume the Lotus Heart juice raw!" Chen Feng didn't hesitate at all. Injecting a trace of weak Spiritual Power into his fingernail, he carefully plucked off the tenderest part of the jade-white bud, revealing a tiny bit of solidified fat-like Lotus Heart glowing with rich emerald light. He immediately put this Lotus Heart into his mouth and chewed vigorously!

Boom!

An indescribable torrent—extremely cool yet containing vast vitality—instantly erupted in his mouth! Like sweet, cold spring water rushing into dry, cracked earth, it flowed straight down his throat! Wherever the coolness passed, the black Qi of the heart-corroding grass raging near his heart meridian seemed to meet its nemesis, emitting silent shrieks as it frantically retreated and dispersed!

The intense pain receded like a tide, replaced by an unprecedented sense of comfort and clarity! A flush quickly rose on Chen Feng's pale face, and his languid aura visibly recovered. He could clearly "Internally See" that the emerald torrent of vitality was coiled around his heart meridian, forming a tough, vibrant protective membrane that firmly suppressed and confined the residual black Qi to a corner of his Dantian. Its rate of erosion was slowed by more than tenfold!

"Hoo..." Chen Feng slowly exhaled a foul breath carrying a faint, sweet, black, fishy smell. He felt as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted; although still weak, the suffocating feeling of near death had vanished. He looked at Su Wanzhao, his eyes full of gratitude and the relief of surviving a disaster: "Thank you, Senior Sister! It's temporarily suppressed! At least... we've bought ten days!"

Su Wanzhao looked at Chen Feng's visibly improved complexion and the faint, heart-corroding grass stench lingering on him, which the heart-clearing lotus's vitality had forcibly expelled. Her last shred of doubt vanished. Her expression was solemn: "heart-corroding grass... Qian Tong... Demonic Cultivators... Why are they targeting me? What exactly is the 'Profound Yin Maiden Body'?" This secret was like a heavy shackle, almost suffocating her.

Chen Feng's expression was equally solemn. Recalling the fleeting words of the shadowy figure in the simulation, he said gravely: "I don't know the exact reason. But that Demonic Cultivator called your constitution the 'Profound Yin Maiden Body,' claiming it is the supreme Cauldron for refining some ultimate Yin demonic artifact or cultivating Evil Arts! They have been plotting for a long time. Kidnapping Outer Sect Disciples was probably just to conceal their true target—you! Midnight ten days from now, at Black Wind Cliff, is the time they believe the Yin Qi will be strongest and most suitable for action. They have prepared the Soul-Binding Demonic Artifact for this, determined to succeed!"

Su Wanzhao's fingertips trembled slightly with anger. A cold, murderous intent that threatened to freeze the air spread from her body. The temperature in the room plummeted, and even the candlelight flickered precariously. Cauldron! This was the greatest insult to a cultivator!

"Black Wind Cliff..." Her eyes radiated cold light, like a peerless, drawn fierce sword. "I will make sure they never return!"

"Don't be reckless!" Chen Feng quickly stopped her. "Since they dare to act, they must have means to deal with Golden Core Cultivators! It's probably no coincidence that Elder Li's nephew, Li Yan, has been pestering you! The Law Enforcement Hall... might not be clean!" He brought up another hidden danger he had noticed in the simulation.

Su Wanzhao's pupils contracted. Li Yan? Elder Li? Law Enforcement Hall? If even the high-level internal structure of the Sect has been infiltrated... this water is deeper and darker than she imagined!

"Then what is your suggestion?" For the first time, Su Wanzhao looked at Chen Feng with a questioning gaze. The mystery surrounding this youth and his unbelievable "foresight" ability forced her to take him seriously.

A sharp light flickered in Chen Feng's eyes. His mind raced, combining his experience from the simulation with the insight gained from the Poison-Inducing Body Tempering Art he had just brought back. The outline of an extremely bold plan gradually formed: "Show weakness to the enemy, lure the snake out of its hole! The heart-clearing lotus can only suppress the fatal poison in my body, not eradicate it. The illusion that I will surely die in ten days can perfectly paralyze them! And Senior Sister, you..."

He looked at Su Wanzhao and said, word by word: "I need you to do me a favor, something crucial that will give us the power to break this situation ten days from now!"

"Speak!"

"I need an absolutely safe place where no one will disturb me!" Chen Feng's eyes became incredibly sharp, carrying the desperation of staking his life. "For the next ten days, I must enter seclusion! I will use this residual poison and that nine-deaths-one-life Poison-Inducing Body Tempering Art to fight for that sliver of life! At the same time, I need you to secretly collect these auxiliary medicinal ingredients..." He quickly listed several auxiliary medicinal ingredients mentioned in the fragmented Poison-Inducing Body Tempering Art from the simulation, most of which were obscure or even slightly toxic items.

Su Wanzhao frowned slightly upon hearing the names of the medicinal ingredients, but she didn't ask further. She looked deeply at Chen Feng, her gaze seeming to pierce his soul: "The place for seclusion, leave it to me. The materials, I will give them to you tomorrow. But Chen Feng..."

Her voice suddenly became incredibly cold, carrying an undeniable warning: "If you fail and die, or if in ten days it turns out you were playing tricks on me... I promise, your fate will be a hundred times more miserable than dying at the hands of the Demonic Cultivators!"

Chen Feng met her icy gaze calmly, a bloody-smelling arc even curving his lips: "If I fail, there's no need for Senior Sister to act; the heart-corroding grass poison and the Body Tempering Demonic Art will annihilate my body and spirit! If I succeed... Senior Sister, ten days from now at Black Wind Cliff, you and I will join forces to send those monsters and demons... to their graves!"

The night was ink-dark. In this ordinary room in the Qingyun Sect Outer Sect Disciple living quarters, two young people, forcibly bound together by fate and conspiracy, established a life-and-death pact. Outside, the cold wind whined, as if foretelling the coming storm of blood and gore. And in the deeper darkness, a pair of greedy eyes watched the direction Su Wanzhao had left from a distant location, a sinister smile spreading across their lips.

"The aura of the Profound Yin Maiden Body... has finally reappeared... heart-clearing lotus? Heh, merely prolonging the inevitable. Ten days from now, at Black Wind Cliff, when the Yin Sha converges, that will be the moment the Divine Pill enters the Cauldron!"