Chapter 2375: Calculations

Mogard immediately breathed a sigh of relief. The other party was the master of a world, and he seemed to possess good character. Since he had given his word, Mogard believed it. He had never imagined he would survive. "It seems the young lady and I are truly fated," he thought, "and even heaven has pity on us."

A complex emotion flashed in Salamei's eyes. "Alright," she said, "have her come over."

Zu An hesitated for a moment, then waved Ji Xiaoxi over.

Jiang Luofu gently guided her to Salamei.

Salamei then took out a green bead. "This is an anti-poison pearl I acquired years ago," she explained. "It can suppress the toxic constitution within her, preventing it from flaring up for a short time."

Zu An took the green bead. It was the size of a pigeon's egg, crystal clear like jade, and emitted a gentle aura.

He examined it thoroughly but detected nothing unusual about the bead.

He also wondered if this beautiful bead could truly suppress the legendary Innate Cursed Toxic Body.

Jiang Luofu took the bead as well. Confirming it was harmless, she quickly asked Salamei, "How should this bead be used?"

"Keep it on you at all times," Salamei replied, "don't even take it off when you sleep."

Jiang Luofu then wrapped the anti-poison pearl in a sachet and tucked it into Ji Xiaoxi's bosom. "Xiaoxi," she said, "when I have time, I'll make you a necklace so you can carry this bead with you always."

Ji Xiaoxi nodded subconsciously. She was in a daze, especially after learning about the Innate Cursed Toxic Body.

The thought of having to leave her father, her aunt, and... him, to live a lonely, helpless life, sent shivers down her spine.

Seeing that Ji Xiaoxi had put it away without any issue, Zu An breathed a sigh of relief and told Salamei, "You may leave now."

Mogard was overjoyed and moved to help Salamei. "Young lady," he urged, "let's go quickly."

He feared the man might change his mind.

To his surprise, Salamei pushed his hand away. "Uncle Mo," she said, "you go ahead. I want to stay here a little longer."

Mogard was stunned. "What else do you need to do here, young lady?" he asked.

"Don't worry about me, just go!" Salamei said, pursing her lips, her voice laced with urgency.

But Mogard couldn't bear to leave her.

Zu An couldn't be bothered to watch them perform their master-servant devotion. He had already turned his attention to the remaining elders of the True Demon Clan.

Whether they were completely disheartened or something else, they hadn't fled like Salamei's subordinates. Meeting Zu An's gaze, the Grand Elder raised his head. "If you want to kill us, then kill us," he declared, "Our True Demon Clan is finished anyway."

Zu An hesitated. When he had posed as Donall, the Grand Elder had treated him quite well and even revealed many secrets to him.

But simply letting them go wasn't an option. After all, he had killed the real Donall, and the True Demon Clan must despise him to the bone by now.

Now, with the safety of an entire world's living beings at stake...

He made up his mind, and just as he was about to act, the Chronicler of Ages suddenly stopped him. "Your Excellency," he said, "the True Demon Clan seems to be connected to a great secret. Take them to that sealed world; they might be useful someday."

Salamei shot the Chronicler of Ages a resentful look. Just when she was about to face disaster, this fellow hadn't said a word to help her, yet now that a few elders of the True Demon Clan were about to be killed, he came out to assist.

Could it be that she, a dignified young lady, was less important than these old men?

Zu An then recalled the Heavenly Court that the Grand Elder had mentioned earlier and was suddenly inspired. It seemed that killing them now was indeed not a good idea.

However, letting them enter that sealed world together was still too risky.

A thought suddenly struck him. He looked at Ji Xiaoxi: "Xiaoxi, didn't you refine some pills that could control demons back in the underground city?"

Ji Xiaoxi, who had been distraught, heard Zu An's voice and subconsciously took out a bottle of pills. "Yes," she replied, "this medicine is called the Life-Death Pill. An antidote must be taken once a year, or its effects will manifest, leaving one unable to live or die."

Originally, she had no qualms about refining such pills to deal with the demons, believing them to be vicious creatures who had killed countless beings.

But now, having learned about the Innate Cursed Toxic Body, she couldn't help but feel dispirited and sad. "I am indeed a vicious woman to the core..." she thought.

At this thought, tears like pearls slid down her cheeks.

Zu An tightly held her hand and gently wiped the tears from her cheeks with his fingers. "Xiaoxi," he said, "don't worry about those things. No matter what happens, I will not leave your side."

Hearing his words, Ji Xiaoxi, who had felt as though she was adrift in a storm, suddenly found a small boat and immediately felt much more at ease. "Mm, Brother Zu!" she murmured.

"What did Brother Zu mean just now?" she wondered. "Am I overthinking it...?"

Her pale face gradually took on a blush as various thoughts flooded her mind. For a moment, she even forgot to worry about her unique constitution.

Pei Mianman and Yun Yuqing exchanged glances. What Zu An had just said sounded like a confession.

However, they found that they weren't jealous at all. Firstly, everyone had long accepted Xiaoxi as a sweet younger sister. Secondly, having just learned about her special constitution, they were too filled with pity to harbor any ill feelings towards her.

Zu An then inverted the medicine bottle, and a pill floated before each True Demon elder. "Please help yourselves, gentlemen," he said, "unless you'd prefer I force-feed you."

The True Demon elders exchanged glances. Although they desperately wanted to refuse, after weighing their respective combat strengths, they could only resignedly swallow their pills. Soon, an intense itching sensation spread throughout their bodies. All of them writhed in agony on the ground, desperately scratching themselves all over.

Large patches of various herpes-like lesions visibly appeared on their skin, multiplying with every frantic scratch.

Even the Chronicler of Ages was startled. These True Demon elders were considered powerful individuals with strong endurance, yet in an instant, they were reduced to this state. It seemed the Life-Death Pill was indeed formidable.

Salamei and Mogard watched, their eyelids twitching, and subconsciously retreated, afraid that they too would be forced to take such a poisonous medicine.

Ji Xiaoxi felt a pang of pity. She quickly took out another porcelain bottle. "Quickly take the antidote!" she urged.

The True Demon elders didn't care about anything else; one by one, they awkwardly grabbed the pills and shoved them into their mouths.

The soul-deep pain and itching gradually subsided. One by one, they stood up, their hair disheveled, and bowed to her with lingering fear. "Thank you, Miss Ji, for the antidote," they said.

Ji Xiaoxi looked a little embarrassed. "That wasn't really an antidote," she clarified, "it only lasts for a year. If you don't get another antidote after a year, you'll still experience that same pain."

The True Demon elders stared blankly.

This girl looked like an innocent, sweet simpleton, but unexpectedly, she was so devious and malicious.

"As expected of the Innate Cursed Toxic Body," they thought, "truly wicked to the core."

"Why isn't this toxic body acting up yet?" they fumed internally. "It should just poison everyone around her to death!"

The demons cursed incessantly in their hearts but dared not show it on their faces.

Zu An, however, was overjoyed. With this item's help, he wouldn't have to worry about these guys betraying them.

He subconsciously glanced at the Chronicler of Ages, wondering if he should make him take some too.

The Chronicler of Ages felt his hairs stand on end under Zu An's gaze. Just as he was pondering how to dispel this dangerous idea, Ji Xiaoxi suddenly screamed and collapsed to the ground. "Xiaoxi, what's wrong?" Jiang Luofu was startled and rushed to help her.

"Wait!" Zu An stopped her and the other women who were gathering around.

Under their confused gazes, Zu An said gravely, "Her entire body is now filled with potent poison."

The women followed his gaze and saw Ji Xiaoxi enveloped in black qi. The surrounding green grass had already withered.