Dual Cultivation

After inspecting Xie Xingfang's condition for a few minutes, Su Yang finally realized what it was that bothered him.

"You… did you follow the cultivation technique properly?" he asked her with a frown on his face, causing an ominous feeling to appear in the room.

"I-I did…" Xie Xingfang nodded stiffly.

"Is there something wrong with my Heavenly Constitution?" she couldn't help but feel worried after seeing his frown. However, she was certain that she had successfully cultivated her Hundred Poisons Body into the Imperial-grade Thousand Poisons Body.

"In order to cultivate the Hundred Poisons Body into the Thousands Poisons Body, you have to bath in 1,000 different types of poison in a specific order. I can see that you'd achieved the Thousand Poisons Body. However… you had actually poisoned yourself during the process…"

"What?!" Xie Xingfang expressed shock upon hearing that her body is currently poisoned.

"A-Are you sure about that?" she asked him, feeling doubtful.

As much as she wanted to believe his words, it was extremely hard to believe that her body is poisoned when she has a body that is immune to poison. Not to mention she doesn't feel sick or anything that would indicate her body being poisoned.

"This kind of poison is a special kind that is unlike any other poison. In fact, some people do not even recognize it as a type of poison but something else entirely. This isn't possible if you'd truly followed the cultivation technique. Try to recall your cultivation. The type and amount of poison you bathed in must follow the technique exactly."

"W-What are you talking about? Thousand Poisons Body? Poisoned?" Senior Zhong interrupted with a puzzled face, but alas, he was completely ignored by them.

Xie Xingfang closed her eyes to ponder. A few moments later, she said, "That's right! Because I have never even heard of some of the poisons required, I replaced them with other poisons that have identical effects, such as using the Blue Dragon Head Herb instead of the Purple Dragon Head Flower. Could that have been the cause?"

"..."

When Su Yang heard her words, he nearly facepalmed. "I have overlooked the fact that some of the poison required for her cultivation could not exist in this infant world that is only 2,000 years old, as they require tens of thousands of years to grow…" he sighed inwardly.

"I'm sorry, I should've known better," he shook his head. "This is all due to my negligence. I shouldn't have given you the technique in the first place..."

Su Yang had intended on helping her with the Immortal-grade technique out of pure generosity, but alas, such intentions had caused her harm instead.

"N-Nonsense!" Xie Xingfang quickly said. "This is not your fault. I shouldn't have acted with such impatience. If I had followed the cultivation technique properly, this would've never happened…"

"By the way, what is going to happen to me now? How come I feel perfectly healthy, too?" she then asked.

"The poison appeared in your body only recently, so you won't experience its symptoms for a few more months. However, once the poison starts acting, it will slowly corrode your body from the insides… until your entire body disappears from this world. If you let the poison remain in your body, you will disappear within five years."

"N...No way…"

Deep despair that she never experienced before quickly filled Xie Xingfang's heart, her expression filled with dread.

"What rubbish are you spewing to the Young Lady?! How could she be poisoned when she has the Hundred Poisons Body that is immune to all poison in this world?! Clearly, you are just trying to scare her!"

Although he did not know the situation, Senior Zhong yelled at Su Yang for causing Xie Xingfang's reaction.

"Senior Zhong, please be quiet for a minute!" Xie Xingfang looked at him with a serious expression.

She then returned to Su Yang and asked, "Is… Is there a way to cure this poison in my body?"

Su Yang did not immediately respond and pondered for a moment before speaking, "Yes, there is a way to cure you. It's also as simple as bathing you in some poison, just like how you cultivated the Thousand Poisons Body. However, whether or not the herbs required exist in this world is still a question."

"Get me a piece of paper and something to write on," he then said.

Xie Xingfang did not dare dawdle and immediately went to grab some paper and ink.

Once he has the ability to write, Su Yang scribbled a few names on the piece of paper and handed it to Xie Xingfang. "Can you get these?"

Xie Xingfang looked at the paper.

A moment later, she frowned.

"Eight out of the nine herbs listed here exist, albeit extremely rare and expensive. However, as for this Devil Blood Ginseng… I have never heard of this type of poisonous herb before," said Xie Xingfang, who could be considered one of if not the most experienced in the field of poison in this entire continent.

"That is troublesome…" Su Yang began pondering again.

Sometime later, he said, "We can talk about the Devil Blood Ginseng after we have the other eight herbs."

Xie Xingfang nodded with a worried feeling. "I will speak to my father about this…"

"Can you explain to me the situation already?" Senior Zhong finally spoke. " What is going on? Is the Young Lady really poisoned? How did it happen?"

Although he understood a few things from their conversation, it was not enough for him to fully follow them.

Xie Xingfang turned to look at Su Yang. 

"There's no use keeping it a secret now," said Su Yang.

Xie Xingfang nodded and began explaining the situation to Senior Zhong.

"Before Su Yang left the carriage on that day, he parted with me an Immortal-grade cultivation technique — one that allowed me to cultivate my Heavenly Constitution to the next grade…"

"What?!?!" Senior Zhong screamed out loud, feeling shocked to the core.

An Immortal-grade cultivation technique is something that even his Divine Sword Sect would kill to covet, much less one that could cultivate one's Heavenly Constitution!

"I cultivated in secret for the past year by tempering my body in 1,000 different types of poison, and I had managed to successfully transform my Hundred Poisons Body into the superior Thousand Poisons Body just very recently."

After a slight pause, she continued, "But alas, despite achieving the Thousand Poisons Body, because I cultivated improperly, I am now poisoned… and if not cured, I will be dead within five years…"

"I-Impossible…" Senior Zhong dropped to his knees when he heard Xie Xingfang's last words. How will Lord Xie react to this news?

"You bastard! Did you purposefully give her the Immortal-grade technique knowing that this would happen?!" Senior Zhong began blaming Su Yang for the situation, his gaze radiating with killing intent.

When Xie Xingfang noticed Senior Zhong reaching for his sword, she immediately jumped in front of Su Yang and shouted, "What are you doing, Senior Zhong?! If he really wants to harm me, he could've remained silent about the poison and let me die without ever knowing the truth!"

Senior Zhong immediately froze with a perplexed expression.

If Su Yang truly wanted to harm Xie Xingfang, why would he let her know about the poison in her body, even reveal the way to cure it, which is the exact opposite of such intentions?

After a moment of internal struggle, Senior Zhong released his grasp on the sword and said, "We are going to your father right now!"