Chapter 563: Seeking a Detoxification Medicine

Poisons and antidotes are mutually generative; from the moment they come into existence, they are bitter rivals—where one goes, the other follows.

Just as light and shadow coexist, where there is the Medicine King Sect, a major medical faction near Fucheng, there is also the Ten Thousand Poisons Secret Workshop, a den for those who dabble in toxins.

Every year, the various poison products flowing out of the Ten Thousand Poisons Secret Workshop are conservatively estimated at no less than a hundred tons; correspondingly, the various detoxification products produced by the Medicine King Sect are also hot commodities that never sit in stock.

It may seem like a fair match, but that is not the case! Destruction is always easier than construction; it is easy to kill but difficult to save, and detoxifying is far harder than poisoning.

A single bottle of poison can kill thousands, but a detoxification medicine of the same price can only save less than one in a thousand survivors; therefore, the world is terrified of Du Taiyue, fearing they might provoke the Poison Martial Arts under his command.

Even with heavy bounties offered, many martial artists hesitate, fearing for their lives.

However, the bounties from the Thousand Faces Hall are too generous, releasing a large number of orders at once, each with considerable profit.

Gold and silver as hard currency, shop deeds, passes to mountain sects, and the like—none fail to tempt people.

Even some martial artists fighting in underground black-market rings want to take a gamble and jump out of the arenas that never see the light of day.

If they are to deal with Poison Martial Arts, the first priority is to arm themselves; for poison techniques, armor and steel helmets are of little use.

Poison Martial Arts have distinct characteristics, with most of their offensive power lying in deadly toxins; simply weakening the toxicity is equivalent to crippling a tiger's claws, an eagle's wings, or a poison snake's fangs.

Buy medicine, buy detoxification medicine! To be precise, Secret Medicine targeting poison is divided into three categories: anti-poison, poison-avoidance, and detoxification.

Anti-poison medicine is taken long-term to allow the body to develop a weak resistance, which gradually strengthens over time until, eventually, one can even become immune to a hundred poisons.

The effect of this Secret Medicine is not obvious when taken alone, but when combined with certain unique fist techniques and mental cultivation methods, its power is extraordinary.

Even without fist techniques, the weak resistance acts as an active skill that requires no specific conditions to trigger and can save one's life at a critical moment; poison-avoidance is equivalent to a vaccine, effective for a limited time after consumption, with the advantage of taking effect immediately to block the vast majority of deadly toxins.

This type of Secret Medicine occupies over seventy percent of the market share and is the best-used and most effective medicine verified in actual combat.

In fact, in the recent surge of orders, the majority were for the purchase of poison-avoidance pills.

Finally, there is detoxification medicine; as the name implies, it is the last resort for saving a life. When a deadly toxin enters the body and one is on the verge of death, one must orally consume medicine to combat the toxin.

At this point, the battlefield between medicine and poison is within the body, and even if detoxification is successful, it will cause irreparable damage.

Therefore, unless it is a last resort, martial artists do not wish to use detoxification medicine.

Yet, one cannot afford not to buy it; no one can guarantee they will never be poisoned in their lifetime, so it is important to keep a few pills for self-preservation.

Thus, although the orders for detoxification medicine are not large, it is a necessity that everyone must purchase.

The Medicine King Sect runs a business of steady, long-term growth, dealing in all three types of medicine, mainly producing poison-avoidance pills, with a smaller quota of anti-poison and detoxification medicines.

Zhou You's private research does not have so many constraints.

The Lu Zhigang persona is still in the Ten Thousand Poisons Secret Workshop and will find it hard to escape this storm; he must prepare something for him.

Neither anti-poison nor poison-avoidance is needed; he himself practices Poison Martial Arts and possesses a certain level of immunity.

Therefore, he only needs to prepare detoxification medicine.

Speaking of which, a Poison Martial Arts practitioner paying out of his own pocket to buy detoxification medicine—that sounds a bit ironic, doesn't it!

Isn't there a saying in crosstalk: the more a criminal gang is involved in theft, the more they need to do a good job of anti-theft and confidentiality; it is the same principle.

The Ten Thousand Poisons Secret Workshop is full of wicked and dangerous people, all eyeing him covetously; he has offended Fu Manlun, and Du Taiyue is harboring ill intentions—counting it all up, he is in grave danger.

Now, the Thousand Faces Hall is using heavy financial incentives to lure martial artists from all directions to encircle and suppress the members of the Ten Thousand Poisons Secret Workshop.

It is heard that in the cities under Fucheng, many martial artists are moving at the news, and even victims who have suffered from poison are thinking of taking the opportunity to seek revenge.

For a time, a storm is brewing! The day Lu Zhigang leaves the Desire-Inducing Cauldron is the moment he will face attacks from all sides.

Zhou You originally wanted to refine a Great Medicine grade Detoxification Pill, which would provide a means of survival even when facing Du Taiyue, but the main ingredients are hard to come by.

At the Great Medicine level, any main ingredient is a rare treasure of heaven and earth, something to be encountered by chance but not sought.

The Blood-Dripping Pearls in Zhou You's possession do not meet the requirements for detoxification, so he can only settle for second best and refine Secret Medicine grade detoxification medicine.

"Tsk tsk!"

A few days later, Zhou You pinched a lotus-seed-like pill and clicked his tongue in wonder.

Immaculate Seed, a high-grade detoxification Secret Medicine; it has targeted effects for expelling and healing any deadly toxin that contaminates the body.

If a treasure of heaven and earth called 'Jade Lotus Seed' were used as the main ingredient, it could be upgraded to the Great Medicine known as the Dust-Clearing and Filth-Removing Pill, which looks like a pure and flawless jade lotus seed and can neutralize deadly toxins of the Strong Martial level.

He refined a total of 20 Immaculate Seeds, which look like emerald-green lotus seeds; their use is also simple: oral consumption is best when there is time, but if time is urgent, one can crush them with their fingers, and the powder will seep into the skin and dissolve into the blood to take effect.

Under normal circumstances, as long as he does not go up against Du Taiyue, he can be immune to most Poison Martial Arts by relying on the Immaculate Seeds.

"Distribute 10, no, 5 to him; use them to save his life at a critical moment."

Lu Zhigang practices the Seven Step Poison Sand Palm; under normal circumstances, the deadly toxins in his body are in a state of balance, and taking an Immaculate Seed would be more harmful than beneficial, with the effect equivalent to crippling his cultivation.

But once he is invaded by a stronger Poison Martial Arts practitioner and cannot resist on his own, the Immaculate Seed will come in handy.

Zhou You pinched the Immaculate Seed, feeling a slight pity; it is a shame that he cannot show off such fine craftsmanship to his bedfellow.

At the same time...

At Xingren Tang! Qi Fengzi was pulled by Hua Youxing to do manual labor, working overtime to prepare detoxification medicines, busy until she was dizzy.

Busy medicine boys carried winnowing baskets and bundles of herbs, working in a smooth flow; the surroundings were shrouded in mist and the fragrance of medicine, which occasionally gathered into clouds.

The high temperature of the medicine furnaces, the noise of the fans, and the clamor of people like boiling soup...

"Sister, for my commission for helping this time, please convert it into detoxification medicine and send it to the martial arts hall."

Qi Fengzi was busy; as a herbalist, with the current surge in orders, her appearance fee for doing work was truly not low.

Even if Xingren Tang hired her at a "friendship price," they would still have to pay a hefty commission afterward.

"Don't worry, I have already prepared for this."

Hua Youxing wore a worried expression; she knew about the conflict between the Thousand Faces Hall and Du Taiyue, and the major event happening in Fucheng was clearly about to spread in all directions.

Although this wind had not yet blown to the martial arts circles, the martial arts hall could not stay out of it and had to prepare detoxification supplies in advance.

"If there is any one of the Pure Blood Powder, Immaculate Seed, or Bone-Scraping Pill, Zhou You can handle anything as long as he doesn't encounter Du Taiyue himself."

Qi Fengzi sighed, noting that the three detoxification Secret Medicines she mentioned were all high-grade Secret Medicines capable of neutralizing any deadly toxin below the Strong Martial level.

As everyone knows, while ordinary high-grade Secret Medicines are hard to come by, detoxification types are especially rare and only exist in legends.

"How could it be that easy? The high-grade detoxification Secret Medicines produced by the Medicine King Sect are monopolized by the noble families all year round and do not flow to the outside."

Hua Youxing was just as worried about Zhou You, but even with the Hua Family's connections within the sect, she could not manage to obtain even a single one or half of one.

All she could do now was gather as many detoxification medicines as possible to prepare for the future.

(End of this chapter)