Chapter 192: Fighting Poison with Poison

In just a few breaths, the battle was over.

Five corpses lay haphazardly in the thick mist, unable to even make a sound.

Zhang Jun swiftly searched the bodies and soon pulled from the little leader's chest a crudely drawn map on specially treated animal hide.

The map, marked with variously colored mineral powders, showed strange symbols and lines—apparently the patrol routes and distribution of several key sites inside Wan Yao Gu.

Lin Xue leaned in for a look; her attention was quickly drawn to an area in the map's lower‑right corner highlighted with red pigment.

There a dense plant pattern was drawn, beside which a peculiar tadpole‑like script labeled two characters: "Jin Yao Pu."

Lin Xue whispered the name again, and the passage about the Hundred Herbs Classic on the beast‑skin fragment in her mind instantly became clear.

Shouyi Zhenren had left a sliver of hope; the method to break the formation might be in the fragment of the Hundred Herbs Classic.

Could this Jin Yao Pu be related to the Hundred Herbs Classic?

"Zhang Jun, look here!" Lin Xue pointed at the mark on the map and quickly told him her speculation.

Zhang Jun's expression grew grave after hearing her.

If we could really find a clue to the Hundred Herbs Classic in this godforsaken place, the significance of this trip would be far from trivial.

No longer delaying, they matched the map with the jade pendant's faint guidance, carefully avoiding the areas marked as traps, and felt their way toward Jin Yao Pu.

The closer they got to Jin Yao Pu, the stranger the mist's color became—shifting from pale green to a deep, unsettling dark green that made the heart race.

The stinging smell of mixed medicinal stone and rotting plants grew stronger, making their heads swell.

When they finally, behind a jagged mass of strange rocks, caught a distant outline of Jin Yao Pu, both of their faces twitched slightly.

That so‑called medicinal garden covered several mu, surrounded by a black wooden fence taller than a person; inside the fence the mist roiled, presenting a viscous, dark‑green hue.

A strange and overpowering deadly miasma seeped from the garden, almost condensing into substance.

Even from a distance they could feel the terrifying toxicity within the miasma; inhaling just a whiff made their heads swim and their qi and blood churn.

Worse still, their Hidden Breath Jade Talismans, though still emitting a faint energy trying to block the miasma, were far less effective; a few stubborn threads of icy, bone‑chilling poison seeped through, making their skins ache faintly.

"The poisonous mist inside this garden is far worse than outside!" Zhang Jun said in a low voice.

Lin Xue nodded: "The Hidden Breath Jade Talismans won't hold much longer; we need a way in while guarding against this poison."

"Is there anything in the Medicine Sect's ancient prescriptions that can counter this miasma?" Zhang Jun asked, while circulating his pure yang vital energy to form a barrier— to little effect.

Lin Xue's eyes lit up as she pulled out a few beast‑skin fragments from her bosom: "Yes, this notes a folk remedy specifically for miasma poison. I've brought the herbs."

She swiftly produced from her waist pouch several items: two dark‑purple leaves, a short, hair‑thin whitish root stalk, and a few black fruits with a distinctive scent.

"Keep watch for me; I need to prepare the medicine on the spot."

Zhang Jun nodded, his pure yang vital energy circulating as he vigilantly watched the surroundings, hoping to at least slightly block the all‑penetrating miasma.

Lin Xue took out the small mortar she carried, placed the odd‑looking herbs inside in the order noted on the fragment, and infused a thread of profound yin vital energy to aid grinding; the herbs quickly turned into a sticky, dark‑green paste under the energy's impetus.

"Done!" Lin Xue divided the paste into two portions, rolled each into a bean‑sized pill, and handed one to Zhang Jun: "Take this; it should ease things for a while."

They hastily swallowed the pills. As they entered the stomach, a piercing coolness spread instantly, like countless tiny ice‑needles stabbing the miasma that had already invaded their bodies.

"Feeling better," Zhang Jun said, his voice still a little hoarse.

Lin Xue frowned: "The effect isn't enough; this miasma is too strong—the medicine will last at most half an hour."

At that moment they both noticed their jade pendants glowing faintly. Zhang Jun's yang jade in his palm flashed a pale gold light, while Lin Xue's yin jade on her chest emitted a soft blue glow.

"Look!" Lin Xue pointed at the two jades: "They seem to be competing with the miasma!"

Zhang Jun's heart stirred; he tried to draw his pure yang vital energy into the yang jade. Something strange happened—the jade's light flared much brighter, and the dark‑green miasma that had penetrated his body was forcibly expelled by the golden light, turning into wisps of blue smoke that vanished into the air.

"Lin Xue, try it too—draw your profound yin vital energy into the yin jade!"

Lin Xue closed her eyes, focused her breath, and let her profound yin vital energy flow like a trickle into the yin jade. The blue light intensified likewise, driving the miasma from her body.

"It works—but," Lin Xue said, her face paling, "it drains too much true qi, and… it hurts a lot."

Zhang Jun also felt the burning‑like pain; each thread of miasma expelled felt like countless tiny needles pricking his whole body. Yet oddly, after the pain subsided, his internal pure yang vital energy had become slightly more refined than before.

"You feel it too?" Zhang Jun looked at Lin Xue, eyes bright: "My vital energy seems purer now!"

Lin Xue stared for a moment, then sensed carefully and realized the same: her profound yin vital energy had become more refined in this ordeal, and even her spirit seemed a bit stronger.

"This poisonous mist is actually for us to train with!" Lin Xue lowered her voice, a flash of realization crossing her face: "Could this be the trial spoken of in the Medicine Sect's inheritance?"

Zhang Jun glanced at the distant Jin Yao Pu, shrouded in thick miasma: "It seems Wan Yao Gu is indeed closely linked to the Medicine Sect. This layout might be intended to test the sect's successors……"

"I wonder if this is the 'sliver of life' left by Guardian One True Person?" Lin Xue whispered, "Using poison to counter poison, turning danger into safety."

Relying on the pills they'd just taken and the light of their jade pendants, they steadied themselves for a moment, but venturing deeper into Jin Yao Pu would clearly require more than these measures.

"Xue'er, I have an idea." Zhang Jun looked at Lin Xue: "Back when we were at the Qin family, we used the yin‑yang jade pendant to create a shield that blocked the attacks of the Ink‑Raven Envoy. Perhaps here we could do the same, forming a temporary yin‑yang barrier?"

Lin Xue's eyes lit up: "We can try! But last time we had the Divine Farmer's Cauldron to help; this time we can rely only on our own true qi."