Chapter 828: Zhang Xuan's Poison

"He just drank it?"

"I finished mine, you're free to do as you please? As if this were fine wine!"

"Drinking such a deadly poison so casually... That's incredible!"

"Indeed. Whether he's a freshman or arrogant, I'm impressed by that attitude alone!"

Seeing Zhang Xuan on stage, without a word, pour the poison into his mouth, the audience erupted in an uproar.

He had removed the stopper earlier, and everyone had felt the overwhelming, river-like aura of deadly poison emanating from the jade bottle.

Even a poison master, let alone a physician, would likely find such a poison hard to swallow. Yet, the man before them drank it as if it were a fine wine, enjoying it thoroughly, even smacking his lips afterward. This left everyone in awe. Even many of the older students who had previously held prejudices against him were now utterly convinced and filled with admiration.

Drinking poison with such nonchalance... The Master Teacher Academy wouldn't find a second person like him!

"You..."

You Xu's lips twitched uncontrollably, having never expected this fellow to just drink it without giving him a chance to react.

What did he mean, "I finished mine, you're free to do as you please"?

Damn it, this entire gourd held at least four or five catties, and the smell was so pungent... How was he supposed to drink it?

"I've already drunk your deadly poison. Are you still refusing to drink mine? If you won't, then so be it. The rules were set by you. If you don't comply, I'll immediately report it to the guild and revoke your physician qualification!" Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

"You..."

His face turned ashen, You Xu felt as though he might explode at any moment. He had heard rumors that this fellow was eccentric but had never taken them seriously. Now he realized they were true!

Zhang Xuan had turned the Physician Tower into such a mess, forcing him into this battle, and now... he was making him drink holy beast urine...

If he didn't drink, he would lose and be at Zhang Xuan's mercy. If he did, his lifetime's reputation would be ruined. It was a dilemma. He couldn't drink, and he couldn't not drink.

He had thought that proposing a detoxification contest was a brilliant move, but now it seemed like utter rubbish—no, it stank to high heaven!

"Forget it. Although the Azure Spirit Fluid is urine, it is indeed a medicinal ingredient..." Compared to his reputation, his life was more important.

"I'll drink it then!"

Gritting his teeth, a fierce look in his eyes, You Xu pinched his nose with one hand and picked up the gourd with the other, tilting his head back and guzzling it down. The ancestors who founded the physician profession had indeed recorded the urine of various holy beasts, leaving behind recipes for treating illnesses. If he thought about it that way, it wasn't such a big deal.

Gulp, gulp!

The pungent smell of the Azure Spirit Fluid made his lips twitch and tears stream down his face. Elder Mi's gourd was large, holding at least four or five catties of urine. You Xu drank until his face was flushed, a process that lasted more than three minutes before he finally finished it all. Holy beast urine was far more acrid and foul-smelling than human urine. Regardless of whether it contained poison, the smell alone made him nauseous, on the verge of vomiting.

"Done!"

Exhaling a smelly breath, You Xu glared. He was about to check if the guy opposite him had been poisoned when he saw Zhang Xuan raise a finger, looking at him with admiration. "You drank it all? Impressive. I said you were free to do as you please, and what I meant was simple: you didn't need to drink it all. For this poison of mine, one sip would have been enough. I didn't expect Deputy Head You to have such unique taste, unable to stop once you started... I'm impressed!"

The purpose of the Azure Spirit Fluid was merely to conceal the special nature of the Heaven's Path zhenqi. As long as he drank one sip, the zhenqi could enter his body; whether he drank more or not was irrelevant. He hadn't expected this fellow to be so ruthless, drinking such a large gourd. That was quite something.

"You..."

You Xu swayed, spitting out an orange-yellow liquid, his mouth filled with the foul odor. *One sip would have been enough? You bastard!*

"Consider yourself ruthless! But I hope you'll be smiling at the end! If you don't detoxify yourself within half an hour, you lose..." Knowing that arguing with the other party was futile, You Xu didn't bother to prolong it, gritting his teeth and huffing.

"Half an hour? No need, I've already detoxified myself..." Zhang Xuan looked at him, full of exasperation.

The opponent's poison was formidable. In the past, even with Heaven's Path zhenqi, it would have taken a lot of effort to completely neutralize it. However, now his soul had merged with Wei Ruyan's Innate Poison Soul Body. His entire physique, even if not a true Innate Poison Body, was quite close. Despite its potency, the opponent's deadly poison was like a beverage to him, having no effect whatsoever. On the contrary, the numerous spiritual properties from the medicine entered his body, further solidifying his cultivation. Especially his巫魂 (Witchcraft Soul), which absorbed almost all the poisonous liquid, increasing in size from ten meters. How much it increased, he couldn't tell without it leaving his body, but its power had certainly become much denser. In other words, drinking this poison not only caused him no harm but also aided his cultivation.

"Detoxified?"

You Xu stumbled, nearly falling off the stage.

Really? This poison was his greatest reliance. Even someone with higher cultivation than him could be easily poisoned to death by it... Yet this guy, after drinking it right in front of him, without taking any antidote or doing anything else, had somehow detoxified it?

"Yes. If I'm not mistaken, your poison is primarily compounded from Green Leaf Heart-Joining Grass and Godless Flower, with forty-nine other herbs added. Normally, a Saint Realm cultivator who takes even a drop would have their heart and spirit easily corroded, resulting in immediate death."

"Not only that, this substance also has a numbing effect on the spirit. In small doses, it can make people obedient to commands, making it difficult for even Saint Realm experts to escape. It's quite overbearing!"

Zhang Xuan smiled faintly. "The poison is indeed formidable, but for me, it's nothing. I just happen to be able to detoxify it! As for the antidote, it's simple: three qian of Green Bamboo Seeds, two qian of Silver Leaf Grass, four qian of White Angelica Root... These twenty-three herbs, ground into a powder, don't even need refining to act as an antidote."

"You, you..."

With every word Zhang Xuan spoke, You Xu's pupils constricted. By the time he finished, You Xu looked as if he had seen a ghost. He naturally had the antidote to his own poison, and it was exactly as Zhang Xuan had described, down to the last detail, both the poison and the antidote! This meant that Zhang Xuan had drunk the poison and not only was unharmed, but had instantly detoxified it...

Was he even human? How did he do it? It was like he was eating a meal, not taking poison!

"Was I correct?" Zhang Xuan looked over. When he had held the jade bottle, he had used the Library of Heaven's Path to examine it, knowing its components and antidote. What Saint Realm poison? Child's play!

"You... you were right about everything! However, even if you've resolved it, it doesn't count as a win... I can also detoxify your poison! Be broken!" Gritting his teeth, You Xu's zhenqi surged within his body.

Boom!

Numerous acupuncture points opened directly, and countless streams of energy spewed outward, making him resemble a giant steaming furnace.

"This is... Zhou Tian Furnace Cauldron Detoxification?" Zhong Dingchun's pupils contracted.

Hearing such a convoluted name, Zhao Bingxu, Dean Mi, and others looked over with confusion.

"This is a method created two thousand years ago by Buyou, a six-star peak physician, which allows for detoxification without taking an antidote."

"Being poisoned, though seemingly mysterious, is simply when substances incompatible with the human body invade the meridians and acupuncture points. This Zhou Tian Furnace Cauldron Detoxification utilizes precisely this principle, using the body as a furnace and zhenqi as the catalyst. It expels poisonous substances from the body in the form of steam!"

"Although one activation depletes one's foundation, making it difficult to restore, it is unfailingly effective for detoxification. Unless it's an instant, blood-sealing poison, it can resolve it. However, this method was lost thousands of years ago... When did You Xu learn it?" Zhong Dingchun explained, then frowned.

The Zhou Tian Furnace Cauldron Detoxification, while infinitely profound in its detoxifying capabilities, was also intricate and difficult to master, and the cultivation method was rumored to be lost. You Xu was his deputy head; when had he learned it without Zhong Dingchun knowing?

Moreover, the most crucial point was that the poison You Xu had just produced was something even Zhong Dingchun had never heard of. This confusion intensified after Zhang Xuan revealed the ingredients. The primary components, Green Leaf Heart-Joining Grass and Godless Flower, had been extinct for hundreds of years, impossible to find... Where had this fellow compounded such a poison? A poison capable of killing Saint Realm experts was very difficult for a physician to create alone, unless a poison master was involved! But... poison masters and physicians were traditionally antagonistic, never getting along. Did this fellow have connections?

"Once this matter is over, I must ask him personally..." Zhong Dingchun's face darkened, secretly making a decision.

"So that's why he had such confidence. No wonder he dared to compete with Zhang Shi in detoxification!" While Zhong Dingchun pondered, Dean Mi, Zhao Bingxu, Wei Ranxue, and the others suddenly understood.

A dignified physician not competing in healing and saving lives, but instead in detoxification—they had been confused before, wondering what confidence he held. So, he had this method. Carrying a deadly poison that others couldn't resolve, and having his own detoxification method... Given that he had no chance of winning in other types of contests, they would undoubtedly have made the same choice.

Boom!

As the crowd conversed, Deputy Head You's body surface steamed even more intensely, making him resemble a moving steam furnace.

"So smelly!"

"It's so foul..."

"Indeed, quickly block your six senses, otherwise, you'll be suffocated to death..."

"Even blocking your six senses is useless; this stench will seep in through your acupuncture points..."

As the steam grew denser, everyone below frowned. Holy beast urine already had a strong odor, and now, undergoing purification and decomposition by the Zhou Tian Furnace Cauldron Detoxification, the intensity of the smell was nauseating. Even Saints like Zhao Bingxu couldn't help but surge their zhenqi to block the stench. Otherwise, they probably wouldn't have been able to bear it and would have fainted.

After an unknown period, the steam around You Xu dissipated. His face was pale, seemingly quite affected by the stench. However, his eyes gleamed with excitement, and he couldn't help but let out a long hiss, flicking his sleeve. "I've detoxified your poison!" Although his detoxification took longer than the other party's, he had also consumed the "poison" later and in a much larger quantity. At worst, it was a draw, certainly not a win for the other side!

"Detoxified mine?"

Seeing You Xu steaming, roaring, and confidently declaring he had detoxified the poison, Zhang Xuan shook his head, looking at him with pity. "Do you even know what kind of poison I used, to claim you've detoxified it?"

"No matter what kind of poison you used, my Zhou Tian Furnace Cauldron Detoxification can easily neutralize it..." You Xu snorted, but before he finished speaking, he suddenly felt a violent pain in his chest. "Wah!" He spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, his body trembling uncontrollably, and his face instantly turned black.

"Your poison..." You Xu's pupils constricted, his body rigid.

"...wasn't detoxified?"