53: Yan Qingyao was poisoned

"Wait!"

"Are you saying that your cultivation has reached the Qi Refining Third Layer, and you have successfully drawn a First-Rank Mid-Grade Talisman?"

Lin Tianyue's focus was not on Zhao Deliang's recruitment, but rather he was shocked by the news Liu Xuan had just shared.

The Breakthrough in cultivation was fine; Liu Xuan had mentioned it to him before leaving, as Liu Xuan had already felt the Bottleneck loosening at that time.

But successfully drawing a First-Rank Mid-Grade Talisman was different. Lin Tianyue was also a First-Rank Low-Grade Talisman Master, and he knew deeply how difficult this was!

In the entire Talisman Hall of the Red Pine Sect, there were only thirty-something First-Rank Mid-Grade Talisman Masters, and most were over forty years old.

The status of a First-Rank Mid-Grade Talisman Master was equivalent to a Late-Stage Qi Refining Cultivator; regardless of age, upon promotion, one could become an Inner Sect Disciple!

"I only succeeded by luck a couple of times; I am still far from becoming a First-Rank Mid-Grade Talisman Master," Liu Xuan said modestly.

"Good!"

"Very good!"

Lin Tianyue's face showed excitement, and he clasped his hands together in front of his chest, "After you finish this mission and are promoted to a First-Rank Mid-Grade Talisman Master, I will personally take you to pay respects to the Old Ancestor!"

Liu Xuan's talent for Talismans would definitely catch the Old Ancestor's eye. If Liu Xuan became a Personal Disciple of the Old Ancestor, the status of his own lineage would also rise significantly.

"Thank you, Father-in-law!" Liu Xuan cupped his hands and reminded him, "As for Zhao Deliang's solicitation..."

"It doesn't matter!"

Lin Tianyue waved his hand, "Zhao Deliang is a lone wolf. If he is willing to give it to you, just accept it!"

"He is a Personal Disciple of Elder Zou Ming and the person in charge of Yongning this time. Since you have gained his favor, I can finally rest easy!"

"This son-in-law understands!"

Since Lin Tianyue said so, it seemed Zhao Deliang's reputation was decent, and Liu Xuan felt much more reassured about working under him.

Next, Liu Xuan asked several more questions regarding Yongning. Unfortunately, Lin Tianyue did not know too much either, only telling him to rest assured, as even if something happened, it would have nothing to do with him.

After staying at Lin Tianyue's place for half a day, Liu Xuan and Lin Anqi bid him farewell and returned to the small building of the Talisman shop.

The next day.

Liu Xuan went to the Dual Cultivation Hall to purchase two hundred sets of First-Rank Mid-Grade Talisman Materials.

As for Medicinal Pills, Liu Xuan did not buy any. Most Medicinal Pills could be found in Yongning City, and the prices were similar, so there was no need to buy a large pile to carry around.

On the way back, Liu Xuan did not ride the Golden Feather Eagle this time, but instead rode a type of Pack Ray.

The Water-Travel Pack Ray was also a Middle Stage Qi Refining Yao Beast. Its speed was not fast, but the area on its back was wider, and it was more stable when flying, with almost no shaking felt.

'A flying Spirit Beast is truly convenient. When will I get one myself!'

If he had a flying Spirit Beast, he could leave whenever he wanted, and Liu Xuan could return whenever he pleased.

Although raising a Spirit Beast was very expensive, the Spirit Beast itself possessed combat power and could help the Cultivator in various aspects, so it was not a loss.

However, Liu Xuan was not proficient in the Beast Taming Arts and could not control high-rank Yao Beasts. At most, he could get an Iron Feather Eagle already tamed by the Dual Cultivation Hall to raise.

The Iron Feather Eagles from the Dual Cultivation Hall only reached the Qi Refining Third Layer at their highest, and they had almost no growth potential, so for Liu Xuan, the cost-effectiveness was very low.

While lost in thought, Yongning City arrived!

At the county government office, Liu Xuan was shocked by a piece of news as soon as he returned.

A Law Enforcement Team of several hundred people was attacked by Robber Cultivators, resulting in over two hundred casualties. It was the largest casualty event for the Law Enforcement Team since the chaos in Yongning began.

Zhao Deliang was furious and was currently strictly investigating the identities and whereabouts of these Robber Cultivators.

The Law Enforcement Team was dispatched frequently, and the situation, which had stabilized somewhat due to Zhao Deliang's easing policies, became chaotic again.

"What on earth happened? Xia He, tell me about it."

To be able to cause such heavy losses to a Law Enforcement Team of several hundred people, this was not something ordinary Robber Cultivators could achieve.

In all of Yongning, perhaps only the Lu Family and the Chen Family, the two Foundation Establishment Families, could achieve this.

Other Qi Refining Families simply did not have this rallying power; even if they gathered together, they would just be a loose pile of sand.

"Three days ago, Senior Sister Zhou led a Law Enforcement Team of three hundred people to the Willow Family in the Emerald Bamboo Forest to audit their industries and ordered the Willow Family to send half of their Cultivators to join the Law Enforcement combat team."

"The mission went smoothly, and the Willow Family agreed to all the Law Enforcement Team's requests, but an accident occurred while returning to the county town."

"A group of over five hundred Robber Cultivators ambushed the Law Enforcement Team halfway, and with the Willow Family Cultivators mixed into the Law Enforcement Team turning against them on the spot, the Law Enforcement Team's Formation was shattered, and they could only scatter and flee."

Recalling the miserable state of the Cultivators who had fled back, Xia He said with lingering fear, "Of the three hundred-person team, two hundred were confirmed dead. Half of those who luckily escaped back were seriously injured, and half were lightly injured; almost no one escaped unscathed."

"Even Senior Sister Zhou, who is at the Late Qi Refining Stage, did not escape unscathed and is currently lying in bed recovering from her injuries."

"Senior Sister Zhou?" Liu Xuan suddenly remembered that among the fifteen people at the Late Qi Refining Stage, there seemed to be only one with the surname Zhou.

"Is the Senior Sister Zhou you speak of Zhou Xiaozhu?" Liu Xuan asked.

"Yes!"

"Does Husband know Senior Sister Zhou?"

Liu Xuan nodded, then shook his head, "I have a good friend named Yan Qingyao. She should also have been in Senior Sister Zhou's team. Do you know if anything happened to her?"

"Something happened to her!" Xia He nodded and said with a regretful face, "patrol envoy Yan was not only seriously injured but also poisoned with an incurable poison. I'm afraid her path of cultivation is hopeless from now on!"

Yan Qingyao was one of the fifteen Yongning patrol envoys, an Inner Sect Disciple, and a Genius with a Fourth-Grade Spiritual Root.

She was the person with the second-highest status in this Law Enforcement Team after Zhou Xiaozhu. With her sudden fall, the entire upper echelon of the Law Enforcement Team felt deep regret.

"Incurable poison? What kind of incurable poison?" Liu Xuan asked curiously.

"Spirit-Dispersing Water!" Xia He explained, "Spirit-Dispersing Water itself is a First-Rank High Grade Spirit Medicine. It can be used in some Formations and Alchemy, but Spirit-Dispersing Water cannot touch the Physical Body, otherwise, it will invade the Dantian, Meridians, and Divine Soul, making the Cultivator unable to perceive Spiritual Qi and unable to refine mana to Cultivate."

"Unable to Cultivate! Doesn't that mean the path of cultivation is severed?!"

The path of cultivation severed and unable to Cultivate—for a Genius Cultivator, this was no different from dying directly.

"Is there no antidote for this kind of Spirit-Dispersing Water?" Liu Xuan continued to ask.

"It's not that there isn't one!" Xia He shook her head, "The Meridians and Dantian are easy to handle, but the erosion of the Divine Soul is difficult to treat. One can only slowly nourish it using Spirit Pills and Spirit Medicines that nourish the Divine Soul, and only then is there a chance to recover."

"If that's the case, why is it called an incurable poison?" Liu Xuan was puzzled.

"The Spirit Pills and Spirit Medicines that nourish the Divine Soul are very expensive. To be cured, it would cost at least a thousand Spirit Stones. If one is unlucky, it could even cost several thousand Spirit Stones. For an ordinary early-stage Qi Refining Cultivator, it is no different from an incurable poison."

Liu Xuan nodded in agreement. Although Yan Qingyao's talent was good, she had no background, and she certainly could not come up with several thousand Spirit Stones!

Without Spirit Stones to treat her injuries, Yan Qingyao was not even as good as an Outer Sect Disciple with a Ninth-Grade Spirit Root; it could be said that she had fallen into the mud in an instant.

Several thousand Spirit Stones was too much! Even those Late-Stage Qi Refining Cultivators in the Sect would have to exhaust their entire Family fortune to scrape it together.

Unless a Foundation Establishment Cultivator stepped in, Yan Qingyao's future was basically hopeless!