Chapter 430: The Bones Were Almost Melted

The palm wind was already upon him; Cao Cixiu hadn't even gotten a clear look at the attacker before he kept dodging and striking back with fast, fierce palms—his techniques were uncanny.

In the midst of dodging, he finally saw clearly who the attacker was.

"Xiao Yichen?!"

"Didn't Gu Rongjin say Xiao Yichen was on his last breath, tightly bound and covered with several talismans?!"

"How did he recover to his original state in the blink of an eye?"

Cao Cixiu had no time to be surprised; Xiao Yichen's assault was fierce, and he needed his full concentration to oppose it.

"Heh, indeed you have some skill; looks like coming over to settle you first is the right coffin board!" Xiao Yichen curled his lips in a strange smile.

From the vicious continuity of his attacks, he doesn't look at all like someone who's suffered heavy injuries.

Cao Cixiu flashed back several meters, patting the dust off himself in rare embarrassment: "Interesting. What exactly are you? Even the talismans can't suppress you."

He was deliberately probing Xiao Yichen's words.

"A few broken talismans can only delay me a little." Xiao Yichen said dismissively.

It seems the talismans still work?

Just what kind of monster is this person?

Cao Cixiu pulled out the hide pouch hidden at his waist and opened it; inside, the viscous liquid emitted a nauseating smell that even he found somewhat repulsive.

"I haven't used it in ages, and I don't know if it's expired—perfect for an experiment." He curled his lips and smiled.

Xiao Yichen opposite him looked intrigued: "What is this thing now?"

"It's good stuff; you'll know once you try it."

Cao Cixiu suddenly leapt forward and lunged at Xiao Yichen!

He violently flung the liquid from the hide pouch toward Xiao Yichen!

Although Xiao Yichen had some guard, he couldn't dodge in time and took a good amount; the liquid splashed onto his arm and half of his forearm, instantly melting his clothing and rapidly rotting his flesh, so that bone was soon visible.

He was already shocked, gave Cao Cixiu a fierce glare, then fled in a flustered manner.

Cao Cixiu looked somewhat regretfully at the hide pouch in his hand: "I actually wasted so much of it… this is really precious…"

The foul smell in the air lingered; Cao Cixiu decided to go back first to inform them about Xiao Yichen, otherwise if they were caught off guard it would be troublesome.

At this moment, on Mu Yuanzhi's side, she saw the Dead Sea suddenly surge with a wave, and a large fish's corpse was washed ashore.

She rose and went over; Gu Rongjin immediately noticed: "Little Yuanzhi, what are you up to?"

"I want to dissect this fish corpse to have a look."

"I'll pick it up, I'll pick it up! Don't get close, it's dangerous."

Gu Rongjin immediately darted over, wearing Mu Yuanzhi's specially made poison‑proof gloves, and picked up the dead fish.

He turned it over and saw the fish spewing black water, looking as if it had been poisoned.

Of course, he's a coroner, so he certainly wouldn't perform an autopsy on a dead fish; better leave it to the professionals.

Mu Yuanzhi isn't a coroner either, and she wouldn't do an autopsy; she merely has a fair amount of experimental experience.

She also put on her own specially made poison‑proof gloves to examine the dead fish Gu Rongjin had brought back; her gear had been ransacked by Xiao Yichen, even her needle was gone.

Fortunately, there was still a pair of tiny needles on her hair ornament.

Perhaps Xiao Yichen thought such tiny needles couldn't possibly be used as weapons, which is why he didn't confiscate them.

Without tools, examining this dead fish is a bit difficult, but studying it is still better than sitting here doing nothing.

Gu Rongjin sat nearby watching Mu Yuanzhi dissect the dead fish, propping his chin and helping with his eyes.

"Small knife."

Mu Yuanzhi reached out without raising her head.

"Here."

Gu Rongjin pulled out the small knife he carried and handed it to her.

"Handkerchief."

"Here."

Mu Yuanzhi took the handkerchief, held it in her hand, then couldn't help but look up at Gu Rongjin's smiling face, speechless: "You know I need to dissect, yet you didn't volunteer to hand it over."

"This back‑and‑forth shows how closely we cooperate." Gu Rongjin laughed.

"I don't have time to fool around." Mu Yuanzhi gave Gu Rongjin an annoyed glance, then buried herself in continuing to work on the dead fish in her hands.

Gu Rongjin didn't disturb her, quietly watching from the side.

Mu Yuanzhi examined the large fish as carefully as a coroner dissecting a human corpse, but her tools were limited, making her work much slower than usual.

"Did you find anything?"

After about a quarter of an hour, Gu Rongjin couldn't help but ask.

Mu Yuanzhi tossed the blood‑stained glove and said to Gu Rongjin: "There might be a highly toxic plant beneath the Dead Sea, but after all these years, why is its poison only showing up now? Could it be a new mutation?"

"Never mind that; do you have any leads on this toxin? Can we handle it, or else we can't get through."

The Dead Sea is too vast; it's hard for them to fly across, and a moment's inattention could send them falling to their doom.

"I..."

"No testing poison on yourself!" Gu Rongjin immediately interrupted Mu Yuanzhi, sternly.

Mu Yuanzhi chuckled: "I'm not stupid; there are no medical facilities here, how could I do that."

"Even if there were, it's still not allowed! You promised me!" Gu Rongjin remained earnest.

Mu Yuanzhi also grew serious, grabbing his arm and promising: "Yeah, I promised, I won't go back on my word."

"That's about enough. All right, what were you about to say?"

"I've never seen this toxin either and don't know what to use against it, but if the Qilin's ear‑mouse were present, it could cure all poisons." Mu Yuanzhi said regretfully.

"That mouse has already been used in medicine by him." Gu Rongjin said, "Any other methods?"

"According to the method of the Classic of Mountains and Seas, cinnabar wood and sour grass can cure all poisons; the problem is whether this Back Mountain has them?" Mu Yuanzhi looked around, feeling hope slim.

"If this were the Black Sea, we might still be able to search a bit, but this is only Juechen Valley; would there be such legendary divine medicines?"

"Let's look; it's better than sitting here idly waiting for Young Master Cao."

"'A Ci is back.' Pei Si said abruptly."

"Hearing this, Gu Rongjin and Mu Yuanzhi both looked up; Cao Cixiu appeared not far away, he didn't look like he had found a solution."

"'A Xiu, have you found a way?' Pei Si asked with a smile."

"Cao Cixiu was momentarily embarrassed, but it passed quickly; he said, 'Xiao Yichen just came.'"

"'What did you say?!' Gu Rongjin was shocked."

"Pei Si frowned and asked, 'What's going on?'"

"'Isn't he about to die?' Mu Yuanzhi thought, this person is too tenacious, like a cockroach that won't die."

"Cao Cixiu looked at them and said, 'He looks more energetic than all of us; he said those few talismans can at most buy a little time, but he probably wouldn't act rashly for now, because he's been afflicted by this.'"

"Saying this, he took out the goatskin bag from earlier and laughed, 'Even the bones almost got dissolved.'"