Chapter 193: Too Much Nonsense

He had less than one ten-thousandth of a percent of confidence in the liquid medicine prepared by Master Yang. However, as Master Yang himself had pointed out, if no other solution could be found, the old ancestor likely wouldn't survive for even three minutes.

Since death was inevitable, he might as well take a chance!

After all, Master Yang had successfully cured Ling Tianyu's wife and Du Miaoxuan, among others. Even if his actions that day seemed completely unreliable and perplexing, he remained their only hope.

After a dozen breaths, he gritted his teeth and declared, "All right, I'll try!"

It was a last resort; he had nothing left to lose.

There were truly no other viable options at that moment.

Having made his decision, Emperor Shen Zhui gritted his teeth, picked up the jade bottle from the table, and quickly approached the old ancestor.

"Old Ancestor, forgive me..."

He found a spoon, pried open the ancestor's mouth, and poured the medicine in.

"Mmmph..."

Although Old Ancestor Shen Hong was on the verge of death, he still retained some consciousness. Feeling the medicine being forcibly poured down his throat, he nearly wept.

He had witnessed most of the preceding events and was well aware of the decision to bring in Master Yang, a move that filled him with utter dismay.

He was the esteemed Old Ancestor of the Heavenly Profound Kingdom, an immensely powerful figure whose status surpassed even that of the Emperor. Yet, he was being given an untested poison—forced to be a guinea pig for a substance that, if incorrect, would instantly kill him.

"Why is my life so wretched?" he thought. "It's hard enough to live peacefully, but I can't even die in peace..."

Moments later, Emperor Shen Zhui forcibly poured the entire jade bottle of liquid medicine into Old Ancestor Shen Hong's mouth.

Cough, cough, cough!

Shen Hong's eyes rolled back, his body twitched a couple of times, and then he fell completely still.

"Old Ancestor..."

Emperor Shen Zhui's face turned ashen. He staggered back a few steps, then burst into heartbroken sobs.

Had it failed?

The Old Ancestor was not only the cornerstone of the Heavenly Profound Kingdom, but more importantly, he was a source of profound kindness and an unbreakable blood relative to the Emperor.

The title "Old Ancestor" referred to Shen Hong as the Emperor of the two previous generations, his own biological grandfather.

His own grandfather had just died before his eyes, suffocated by the very medicine he had administered. The grief welling up in his heart was immeasurable.

"If liquid medicine were so easy to formulate, poison masters wouldn't be so highly valued..."

Liu Ling shook his head and looked at Zhang Xuan, who was not far away. "Master Yang," he said, "although Shen Hong would have died even without taking the medicine, he undeniably died from your liquid medicine. Wouldn't you consider this murder?"

"Murder?"

"Precisely. You formulated the medicine, and you ordered it to be administered. Now that he's dead, if it's not your responsibility, then whose is it?" Liu Ling's gaze was piercing.

"Master Yang, weren't you highly confident in this medicine?" Emperor Shen Zhui also looked at him, his gaze full of accusation.

I only gave it to the Old Ancestor because I listened to you. And look what happened—he died the moment it went down...

"My responsibility?"

"Indeed. Shen Hong was the cornerstone of the Heavenly Profound Kingdom. Now that he has died from your medicine, why don't you take his place and guard this kingdom as compensation?" Liu Ling proposed.

In truth, he knew Shen Hong would have died regardless of the medicine. He deliberately said this to achieve his actual goal.

Shen Hong's primary role was to serve as the kingdom's guardian, deterring numerous hostile forces. Now that he was gone, if Master Yang agreed to remain, his presence would undoubtedly be even more impactful than Shen Hong's ever was.

The Heavenly Profound Kingdom might even ascend to become a second-tier or even first-tier kingdom.

"Guard here?"

Zhang Xuan shook his head. "Impossible!"

He intended to leave as soon as Emperor Shen Zhui found all the secret manuals for the Profound Cultivation Realm. Guarding this place? That was out of the question!

What a joke!

"Impossible? Master Yang, are you saying you feel no regret or shame, even though your intervention not only failed to save Shen Hong but arguably killed him?" Liu Ling raised an eyebrow.

"Killed him? You're overthinking it. I thought this was something serious!" Zhang Xuan smiled faintly. "Don't worry, with me around, dying isn't that simple!"

With that, he took two steps to the prostrate Old Ancestor Shen Hong, raised his hand, and delivered a crisp slap.

The sound was sharp and clear.

Cough, cough, cough!

Immediately afterward, coughing erupted again. Shen Hong, who had been utterly still, spat out a mouthful of liquid and slowly opened his eyes.

"What...?"

Everyone present was dumbfounded.

Liu Ling, Zheng Fei, and the others, who had been about to speak, stared wide-eyed, as if their eyeballs might pop out, fearing they had misseen.

"Old Ancestor, you're...?"

Emperor Shen Zhui approached, his face etched with disbelief, utterly unable to process what he was seeing.

"You unfilial brute! Are you trying to choke me to death? Cough, cough..."

Shen Hong's beard bristled, and he no longer appeared to be frail and on the verge of death.

"Master Yang, what in the world happened...?"

Emperor Shen Zhui quickly turned his gaze to Master Yang.

He had clearly seen the Old Ancestor cease all movement, so how had he suddenly woken up and regained his speech?

What exactly had happened?

It wasn't just him; Liu Ling, Zhuang Xian, and Zheng Fei all felt their understanding of reality on the verge of collapse.

A dead man brought back to life?

This couldn't be real, could it?

"Shen Hong's body was weak and nearing death. I instructed you to *feed* him the liquid medicine, but you simply *poured* it down. The viscous liquid blocked his windpipe, making him appear dead. As for why he regained his spirit, it's quite simple: my medicine was successfully formulated, and it worked!"

Zhang Xuan's expression remained calm.

What seemed bizarre was, in fact, quite simple to explain.

The perfect medicine he had formulated had been verified by the library; its efficacy was beyond doubt. Even though Shen Hong was on the brink of death, the medicine took effect, and he rapidly recovered his vitality and spirit.

Originally, just a small amount would have been sufficient, but Emperor Shen Zhui poured the entire bottle down. With so much medicine blocking his throat, it was a miracle he hadn't choked to death immediately.

Realizing this, he had delivered the slap to dislodge the medicine blocking the ancestor's throat, allowing him to regain consciousness.

"This..."

After hearing the explanation, Emperor Shen Zhui and the three master teachers were utterly bewildered.

Something prepared so haphazardly... actually worked?

Other poison masters meticulously prepared their concoctions with various instruments, fearing the slightest error, yet this man simply poured ingredients with both hands and still succeeded.

"Heavens, are you playing a trick on me?" they seemed to think.

This, however, was not what truly astonished them. The most crucial detail was that Master Yang, who seemed to have no knowledge of this medicine a moment before, had formulated it in the next.

"Heaven and Earth, can anyone tell me what's going on here?"

Was it truly as he claimed, that he learned it on the spot?

Simply standing in place with his eyes closed for a moment constituted "learning"?

And he even mastered the profession of a poison master...

All four felt as if they were caught in a dream.

"Thank you, Master Yang, for saving my life..."

Before the others' astonishment could subside, Old Ancestor Shen Hong struggled to climb out of bed and clasped his hands in a gesture of respect.

The perfect medicine, no matter how close one was to death, could induce a brief revival, allowing the person to live like a normal individual for a period.

Although he lacked his former strength, getting out of bed was remarkably easy.

"Enough with the formalities. Now, perform a set of punches for me."

Too impatient for pleasantries, Zhang Xuan waved his hand dismissively.

The entire point of formulating the medicine was to enable him to move. Now that he was standing, it was time to proceed quickly.

"Perform punches? My body is still weak; I can't even muster a trace of true qi. It would be pointless... I'd rather not make a fool of myself!"

Shen Hong shook his head. "After experiencing life and death, I've come to a realization. If the kingdom can be preserved, then so be it. If not, it's merely fate, and there's no need to desperately cling to it..."

Zhang Xuan remained silent.

"I want you to perform punches so the library can generate a book, allowing me to understand your condition," Zhang Xuan thought. "Why are you giving me a philosophical treatise?"

He's even spouting philosophy...

Before Zhang Xuan could respond, Liu Ling, standing nearby, nodded in satisfaction, his eyes full of praise.

"Indeed," Old Ancestor Shen Hong sighed, "it's a pity I realized it so late!" Then he looked at Zhang Xuan again. "Even so, I am profoundly grateful for Master Yang's assistance in restoring my consciousness. Even if I lack strength, I am immensely pleased..."

Just as Old Ancestor Shen Hong was about to continue speaking, he saw Master Yang's face turn dark and unpleasant. Then, a slap landed forcefully on the back of his head.

*Thwack!*

His words were cut short as Old Ancestor Shen Hong's vision went black, and he immediately collapsed onto the floor, unconscious.

"I told you to perform punches, so just do it. Stop with the damn chatter..."

Zhang Xuan clapped his hands, then let out a disgruntled grunt.

He turned around to find Emperor Shen Zhui and the three master teachers staring at him, utterly dumbfounded.