42: Fighting poison with poison: a wise strategy to win in a dangerous situation (Part 1)

The pandemic in the Blackstone Territory was finally brought under preliminary control thanks to the large-scale application of the [Plague Clearing Soul Stabilization Powder (Simplified Edition)] and the strict epidemic prevention measures organized by Elwin. New infection cases plummeted; most mild cases began to recover, moderate cases stabilized, and only the severely infected continued to struggle on the line between life and death, requiring more powerful healing or... leaving it to fate.

The oppressive and panicked atmosphere within Furnace Fortress eased slightly, but everyone knew that as long as the root cause remained, the crisis was far from over. The death-gray mist continuously spreading from the Valley of the Dead was like a sword hanging overhead, constantly reminding people of the threat's existence.

Within the Divine Power Realm, inside the Imperial Hospital, Bronzebeard's recovery was progressing well. Under the influence of the World Tree's life Origin, the heart of the earth, and the continuous medicinal effects, over ninety percent of the death rules in his body had been converted or purged. His health points had recovered to 800/1500, and his horrific wounds began to heal slowly under the nourishment of life energy. Although he remained weak and required long-term rest, his life was no longer in danger, his strength's Foundation was preserved, and he even found a blessing in disguise as his [heart of the earth] talent became more condensed.

【Hero Unit】: Bronzebeard Stonehammer

【Rank】: LV 28 (Experience locked, unlocks after recovery)

【Status】: Severe injury recovery period, light Soul pollution (residual)

【Health Points】: 812/1500 (Recovering slowly)

【Divine Power/Energy】: Earth Power (Stable, growing slowly)

【Talent】: 【heart of the earth (Elementary)】 (Effect stabilized, recovery speed +50%)

【Evaluation】: Potential increased; expected to strike for a higher Realm after recovery.

Bronzebeard's rescue greatly boosted the confidence of the Divine Power Realm's followers, making their faith in Lin Zhou even more devout. The daily peak of Power Of Faith even surpassed 1.5 million points at one point, and Lin Zhou's Divine Power reserves took this opportunity to slowly climb back to 3200 points.

However, Lin Zhou's mood did not relax. Through the continuous analysis of the undead moss samples by the Imperial Hospital and the reports sent back from the Blackstone Territory front lines by Elwin, he reached a pessimistic conclusion: the source of the plague in the Valley of the Dead was accelerating its activation!

According to detections, the concentration of Death Qi in the valley had increased by 15% over the past day, and the frequency and intensity of undead activity were also rising. Even more unsettling, a reconnaissance team dispatched by Elwin (equipped with the latest improved anti-corrosion Mech Armor) discovered signs that large undead creatures seemed to be "incubating" deep within the valley. That LV35 Undead Warrior was likely not the valley's strongest guardian.

“We must take the initiative to attack and destroy the plague source!” Lin Zhou stood high in the Divine Power Realm, his gaze piercing through the Void Realm to land on the valley shrouded in death. Passive defense would only lead to being worn down by the ever-growing sea of undead and the increasingly thick plague rules. Bronzebeard's encounter had proven that infiltration and collection missions by small elite units had a very low success rate and came at a heavy cost when the opponent had powerful guardians.

Thus, only one choice seemed to remain: assemble superior forces and launch a frontal assault to crush everything in the Valley of the Dead with the force of a thunderbolt!

But the risks of this plan were equally massive. Fighting on the enemy's home turf against dense death rules and a plague-ridden environment would greatly suppress his followers' strength, while the undead would receive constant reinforcements. Even if they ultimately won, it would surely be a pyrrhic victory; the Blackstone Territory's newly recovered Origin Qi would be exhausted once more, potentially even shaking his ruling Foundation in this astral Realm.

Just as Lin Zhou was weighing the pros and cons, unable to decide, a brilliant emerald green light point representing the School of Medicine's ideology in the Temple of Civilization suddenly transmitted an obscure but wisdom-filled stream of information. This information did not come from the basic knowledge he had already unlocked; rather, it seemed to have triggered a hidden advanced theory.

【Ding! Detected that the host is facing a 'Rule-level Plague Crisis' and the School of Medicine comprehension has reached 10%. Conditions met, triggering hidden advanced theory—Deep-level Application Analysis of [Fighting Poison with Poison]!】

【Fighting Poison with Poison (Strategic Application)】:

Core Profound Truth: All things in the world have mutual generation and inhibition. Even the most poisonous substances, when used correctly, can become a fine medicine to overcome the enemy. This technique can be used not only for healing but also applied to warfare.

Application Direction: Aimed at specific enemies (such as undead, demons, elemental life, etc.), develop highly targeted "strategic toxins" that can significantly weaken or directly destroy enemy units.

Current Deductible Project: [Undead Disintegration Potion] (Targeted at undead creatures)

Deduction Requirements: 800 civilization points; must provide a target sample (undead moss mother spore).

Deduction Effect: Deduces a potion recipe that can act on undead creatures on a large scale. The potion may have destructive effects on the structural stability, Soul fire, and death rule connections of undead creatures.

Warning: This deduction has high uncertainty; the result could be positive (high-efficiency potion), neutral (ineffective recipe), or negative (production of harmful byproducts). The deduction process is irreversible.

“Fighting Poison with Poison... a strategic application?!” Lin Zhou's heart jolted, followed by a surge of wild joy!

This was exactly what he needed!

If he could develop a "poison" specifically for undead creatures, it would be like having a powerful area-of-effect weapon when attacking the Valley of the Dead! One could imagine the scene when this potion was dropped into the sea of undead, with rows upon rows of them falling like harvested wheat. This would not only significantly reduce his own casualties but fundamentally dismantle the undead's numerical advantage!

Although there were risks in the deduction, compared to the heavy price a frontal assault might extract, the risk of 800 civilization points was entirely worth taking!

“Deduce the [Undead Disintegration Potion] immediately!” Lin Zhou paid the 800 civilization points without hesitation.

【civilization points deducted: 800 points. Remaining: 6550 points.】

【'Fighting Poison with Poison' Strategic Application deduction initiated...】

【Inputting sample: undead moss mother spore...】

【Deep intervention of the intent of the medical sages... Combining with 'Fighting Poison with Poison' theory... Starting simulation of billions of medicinal property combinations and rule collisions...】

In the Temple of Civilization, the emerald green light point suddenly became dazzlingly bright, with countless tiny runes appearing, combining, and disintegrating within. To the outside world, the entire deduction process lasted only a moment, but under the time flow within the Sanctuary, it felt as if long ages had passed.

Lin Zhou waited for the result with bated breath.

Finally, the emerald light slowly receded, and an incredibly complex stream of information flooded into Lin Zhou's consciousness.

【Deduction complete!】

【Deduction result: Success! (High-efficiency recipe obtained)】

【Obtained Recipe】: 【nether-skeleton dissipation powder】 (Strategic-grade potion)

【Grade】: Epic (Specialized against undead)

【Effects】:

【Soul Fire Annihilation】: The potion's energy can act directly on an undead unit's Soul fire, causing violent tremors or even annihilation. Effect is halved for incorporeal ghost-type undead.

【Death Rule Interference】: The emitted medicinal energy field can briefly interfere with the stability of death rules within a certain area, reducing all attributes of undead creatures (-10% to -30%) and delaying their regeneration and summoning speeds.

【Structural Disintegration】: Extremely effective against undead that rely on negative energy and necromancy to maintain their structure (such as skeletons, zombies, and abominations), accelerating the decay and disintegration of their bones and remains.

【Contagiousness (Against Undead)】: The potion's effects can spread to a limited extent through negative energy connections within dense undead groups, forming a small-scale chain reaction of collapse.

【Usage Methods】:

Disperse as powder to form a sustained area of contamination.

Apply to weapons to grant attacks the [Nether-Skeleton Dissipation] effect.

Formulate into "poison gas bombs" for long-range projection.

【Main Ingredients】: undead moss mother spore essence (as the toxic core and rule trigger), corpse soul grass (to strengthen Soul attacks), disintegration stone powder (to accelerate physical structural destruction)

【Auxiliary Ingredients】: Sunlight Flower powder (to provide a positive energy shock and catalyze the reaction), Chaos Crystal Shards (to interfere with energy stability), and various catalysts.

【Crafting Requirements】: Must be crafted in an environment rich in negative energy or use a specific magic circle to balance the medicinal properties. The crafting process requires precise control; otherwise, it is prone to failure or the production of toxic byproducts.

“Success! And it's an Epic-grade potion!” Lin Zhou was overjoyed. The effects of this [nether-skeleton dissipation powder] far exceeded his expectations! It was practically a custom-made nemesis for the Undead Scourge!

Especially that [Contagiousness] effect; in a sea of undead, it could create a snowballing collapse!

Now that he had the recipe, the next step was to gather the Materials and begin crafting.

He quickly browsed the Materials required by the recipe.

undead moss mother spore essence? He had existing samples that could be refined.

corpse soul grass, disintegration stone, Sunlight Flower, Chaos Crystal Shards... these Materials did not sound like common items. His Divine Power Realm was newly established with limited resource types, and none of these were in his inventory.

“Elwin.” Lin Zhou contacted the Blackstone Territory again. “Immediately search the Blackrock Mountain Range for the following Materials...” He transmitted the information for the various main and auxiliary ingredients of the [nether-skeleton dissipation powder]. “Prioritize finding corpse soul grass, disintegration stone, and Sunlight Flower. Be aware that these Materials may grow or exist in dangerous areas.”

“I obey your divine oracle!” Elwin acted immediately upon receiving the command. Knowing this matter concerned the survival of the entire Blackstone Territory, she personally led a team of elite Elf Ranger and Blackrock Clan hunters familiar with the terrain to search the uninhabited, energy-turbulent danger zones of the Blackrock Mountain Range based on Lin Zhou's descriptions.

At the same time, Lin Zhou began looking through the exchange list in the Temple of Civilization. In case they couldn't be found in the Blackrock Mountain Range, he would have to exchange civilization points for them.

【corpse soul grass】 (Rare): 300 points/unit.

【disintegration stone】 (Rare): 250 points/unit.

【Sunlight Flower】 (Excellent): 80 points/unit.

【Chaos Crystal Shards】 (Excellent): 50 points/unit.

The prices were not cheap. If he relied entirely on exchanges, the material cost alone for a standard dose of [nether-skeleton dissipation powder] would be nearly 800 civilization points, not counting the crafting consumption.

Time passed in anxious waiting.

Half a day later in Divine Power Realm time, Elwin sent back news.

“My Lord, the Sunlight Flower has been found near a volcanic crater on the sunny side of the mountains in fair quantities. Chaos Crystal Shards have been discovered in several abandoned, energy-unstable mine tunnels and are being collected. But... the search teams for corpse soul grass and disintegration stone have run into trouble.”

“Speak!”

“According to the characteristics you provided, corpse soul grass should grow in an extremely Yin land and is often guarded by powerful undead or ghosts. We found suspected traces in a place called 'Ghost Ravine,' but it is occupied by a group of LV20+ [Wraiths] (incorporeal undead, immune to physical attacks). A Blackrock Clan hero leading the team was accidentally heavily injured by their mental attacks. We are currently unable to break through.”

“disintegration stone likely exists in the crustal activity zones deep in the mountains. A reconnaissance team found signs of a disintegration stone vein in 'Tremor Canyon,' but large numbers of [Underground Drillers] (LV18-22, active in swarms, skilled in burrowing and acid spray) are active there. They have turned the disintegration stone vein into their nest, and their numbers are so vast that the team cannot approach.”

Troubles were coming one after another. The two key main ingredients were both occupied by powerful local biological tribes.

Lin Zhou's brow furrowed. A frontal attack? Setting aside whether they could win, even a victory would surely result in significant losses and would alert the hidden presence in the Valley of the Dead, causing them to be on guard.

Just as he was considering his options, the Temple of Civilization issued another prompt.

【Ding! Detected that the host possesses a special unit 'Chen Hai (Ratman Divine Realm),' whose talent [Information Theft] shares a point of synergy with the current dilemma. Do you wish to deploy this unit to attempt a 'Secret Gathering' mission?】

Chen Hai! Only then did Lin Zhou remember his only friend from high school; his Divine Power Realm specialized in Ratmen who were experts in stealth and intelligence! Previously, because their combat power was not strong and their style was vastly different from the Sanctuary, he had let Chen Hai develop on his own at the edge of the Realm, mainly responsible for some internal sentry and support work.

His Ratmen might be able to bypass those powerful guardians and quietly steal the needed Materials!

“Contact Chen Hai immediately!”