Chapter 1844: Mango Poison

As soon as this item appeared, the divine bone necklace around He Lingchuan’s neck began to heat up again. Since entering the Inverted Sea, its usual picky nature seemed to have been cured.

Madam Zhu sensed it and said, “The aura of Miaozhantian attached to this lotus lamp is even stronger!”

“It’s not surprising. Miaozhantian used it to integrate his divine arts, countering the laws of the Illusory Realm,” He Lingchuan said, taking the iron lotus lamp. “It’s another treasure imbued with the auras of three parties.” He Lingchuan spread his hand, and the divine bone necklace readily absorbed the iron lotus lamp. Everyone was accustomed to this sight.

They stood there for a while, and Xiao Wencheng didn't pursue them. Had he failed to find them?

Dong Rui chuckled, “I don’t think he wants to pursue us anymore.” When the Heavenly Palace first entered the minor grotto-heaven, it was incredibly arrogant. As the local power, the Illusion Sect had immense resources. Yet, in the end, both fought to a mutual defeat, with casualties ranging from powerful figures to ordinary soldiers. Among the three forces in the Inverted Sea, it was He Lingchuan’s inconspicuous group of a dozen or so people who now seemed to be the strongest faction. Previously, when the iron lotus lamp’s barrier broke, He Lingchuan turned and left, choosing not to continue the conflict with Xiao Wencheng, which showed great restraint. If Xiao Wencheng had pursued relentlessly, he would have had no guaranteed victory. This Sect Master Xiao was not foolish.

He Lingchuan turned to ask Wan Qifeng, “Did you take Ah Ying’s personal effects?” Wan Qifeng immediately took out a wolf tooth pendant and whispered, “This is a necklace his father made for him from the fangs of a wolf he hunted long ago.” Ah Ying, whose full name was Wan Qiying, was the Black Armored Army soldier who had just been killed by the gale from the feather fan. He Lingchuan then transformed into his likeness and killed Elder Ning on the spot.

“He will be honored as a hero, and his family will be generously compensated,” He Lingchuan said seriously. “You must ensure all their family’s requests are met. I remember he has a pair of twin sons who are only two years old. They will enter the Five Principles Academy from age five, with all tuition and fees waived. If they don’t achieve much by age twelve, they can choose to join the guard corps or the merchant association. When they marry, I will provide five carts of betrothal gifts for each.” Wan Qifeng noted each instruction, replying, “Understood.”

The standard of “generous compensation” He Lingchuan described would ensure that Wan Qiying’s family of seven would have ample provisions for two generations, with significant surplus, allowing them to live comfortably as wealthy individuals. Furthermore, Wan Qiying’s sons’ future education and lives would be fully taken care of, ensuring proper arrangements for the rest of their lives, even if they didn’t achieve greatness. None of the Black Armored Army elites who followed He Lingchuan into the Inverted Sea would have any worries about their future.

However, Madam Zhu looked at him and asked, “Why are you still wearing that armor? Are you injured?” Unlike the black armor worn by the others, the Dragon Roar Battle Armor could be donned or removed at will. Yet, He Lingchuan had worn it since the battle ended, only revealing his face. He Lingchuan grunted and put away the Dragon Roar Battle Armor. When everyone saw him, they gasped.

His chest, shoulders, arms… any area that had directly faced Jumang’s impact was red, swollen, and transparent. When He Lingchuan casually poked his skin with a finger, a hole appeared, and blood mixed with yellow pus flowed out. Many areas were already festering, and his flesh came off like rotten leather when pulled. Where there was no swelling, his skin was wrinkled and blackened. Dark golden light shimmered over his wounds, making it look from a distance as if irregular gold foil was stuck all over He Lingchuan. In reality, these “gold foils” were restless, trying to burrow into his wounds. They couldn’t penetrate because his wounds were covered by a dense red glow, which forcefully kept them out.

Dong Rui exclaimed, “Your flesh looks like a corpse that’s been rotting for four or five days! Doesn’t it hurt?”

“When I get the Jumang Sword, I’ll let you try it, then you’ll know if it hurts or not,” He Lingchuan retorted. Of course it hurt! The moment he faced the golden Jumang Sword wasn’t so bad, but the pain had intensified progressively afterward. Even though He Lingchuan’s nerves were like steel, his temple was twitching incessantly. “Do you think the angry strike of a Great Immortal is easy to endure?”

Lingguang squeaked, wanting to jump over and help He Lingchuan heal, but Madam Zhu stopped him: “Don’t touch it. That’s the ‘thorn poison’ from the Jumang Bird; you’ll die if you touch it!” The little monkey’s medical skills were excellent, but its understanding of immortal arts and divine abilities wasn’t deep enough. “Jumang has two types of toxins. One is fire poison, which targets the vital organs, and the other is thorn poison, which is what young He has on him, and it can even spread to others.”

Dong Rui was startled. “There’s fire poison too?”

“Not anymore,” He Lingchuan said calmly. “Fire poison can’t harm me.” With the divine bone necklace, he was immune to fire poison; otherwise, how could he have withstood the divine abilities of an ancient immortal? To him, this so-called thorn poison seemed somewhat like severe radiation damage. Fortunately, he had immediately protected his handsome face earlier, or it would surely be swollen like a pig’s head now, and he might even lose a row of teeth. How could he possibly face Master Sun like that?

Under Madam Zhu’s guidance, Lingguang took ten powerful spirit pills made from Emperor’s Dew, crushed them into powder, and dissolved them in clear water for He Lingchuan to pour over his wounds. When the spirit fluid was poured over his flesh, the sensation was so “pleasant” that He Lingchuan couldn’t help but roll his eyes multiple times. Nevertheless, it was effective; after only a few applications, the flesh stopped festering.

Next, large areas of poultice needed to be applied. Dong Rui, seeing an opportunity, suggested adding divine blood to the medicine for a “fighting fire with fire” effect. Where else would he get such an excellent opportunity and materials for an experiment? He Lingchuan, the “guinea pig,” was speechless.

Amidst Lingguang and Dong Rui’s bickering, the poultice was finally prepared. As for applying the medicine, only He Lingchuan could do it himself; the medical officers couldn’t get close. Meanwhile, the Soul-Capturing Mirror in his arms was also weakly wailing: “Oh, it hurts so much.” The mirror surface had cracked into five pieces. It had absorbed a large amount of damage just now and now had to use its spiritual energy reserves to repair the cracks.

Of course, besides the mirror, the Dragon Roar Battle Armor was the first to directly face Jumang’s power. It had absorbed at least sixty percent of the power. Presently, the heart scale was also repairing the damage to the armor.

“You actually withstood Xiao Wencheng’s powerful divine ability…” Madam Zhu was still somewhat surprised. “Hmm, you did that on purpose, didn’t you?” He Lingchuan understated, “I wanted to conduct an experiment.” How big was the gap between him and an ancient immortal, really? Without experiencing it firsthand, how could he have the most direct understanding? Of course, he had assessed and prepared beforehand; he wasn’t blindly rushing to his death.

Besides the Soul-Capturing Mirror, the Dragon Roar Battle Armor, and the divine bone necklace, he had another major reliance: primal energy. He had always wanted to know how the primal energy of Coiling Dragon City would perform when directly confronting an immortal’s attack.

He Lingchuan looked down at his injuries: “The primal energy is quite effective at resisting immortal arts.” One of primal energy’s main functions was precisely to resist divine abilities. The primal energy in Coiling Dragon City was far denser and more refined than what the Heavenly Palace team brought in by Bai Ziqi could match.