Chapter 18: Mules and Horses are More Useful Than People

Upon hearing these words, Meng Shan froze.

He immediately looked toward the Bloodbath Alliance disciples holding torches in the valley.

Then, he saw a man not far away begin to cough slightly.

The man even shouted a few complaints, grumbling that the deep mountains were too cold at night, that they had arrived in too much of a hurry, and that he hadn't worn enough layers...

Soon, people nearby began to cough sporadically as well. At first, no one paid much attention, thinking it was just a common chill.

But as someone suddenly vomited blood, their skin becoming unbearably itchy and eventually progressing to ulceration and suppuration, the crowd finally realized the gravity of the situation.

"Not good! This valley has been infested with miasma! Retreat immediately!"

The middle-aged man in black robes let out a heavy shout. He immediately held his breath and circulated his true qi, condensing a palm print in an attempt to disperse the toxic gas in the valley.

But clearly, it was already too late. The surrounding Alliance disciples were deeply poisoned; even though they heard his command and wanted to flee the valley, they were physically unable to do so.

The uncontrollable itching and the piercing pain brought on by the gradual rotting of their flesh meant they could no longer care about escaping.

One by one, they reached out and scratched at themselves desperately. Even as strips of skin were scraped from their faces and bodies, exposing raw, bright red flesh, they felt nothing.

For a moment, the entire valley was filled with rising, shrill screams and wails. People rolled on the ground, drenched in blood, as if the place had become a living hell.

Seeing this scene, the middle-aged man in black robes wore an expression of immense agony. He exchanged a glance with two other elders, and they immediately retreated toward the exit of the valley.

At that moment, the masked woman stood up from the bluestone.

She surveyed the current state of the valley, an undisguised, joyful smile appearing in her eyes.

"You think escaping the valley will help? I have spread my colorless and odorless 'Falling Goose Devouring Poison Powder' within a three-mile radius. Even the wild geese flying overhead would die from poisoning. Do you really think you can escape?"

She raised her hand in a grasping motion. The cyan-black mist that had been swirling within a three-foot radius around the four of them began to converge toward her palm, flowing like rivers into the sea.

Within a few breaths, she integrated the mist into her true qi, absorbing it all into her body.

The three men standing beside the woman, including Meng Shan, remained silent. They didn't seem to dare speak, nor did they dare look at the wretched state of the Bloodbath Alliance disciples around them.

It was as if they feared that a single wrong word might displease the masked woman, leading to a silent death and a fate just like those disciples.

"You stay here. Those three won't get far in their poisoned state. I'll go deal with them first!"

The masked woman cast a meaningful glance at the three of them, then immediately gave chase in the direction the middle-aged man had retreated. Her eyes burned with murderous intent

"As long as I kill those three Martial Dao Grandmasters, my 'Blood Aspect Poisonous Claw Technique' will reach a new level."

...

Meanwhile, outside the valley, Yu Changlu, who was hiding behind a rock, had unsurprisingly also been hit by the Falling Goose Devouring Poison Powder.

Like Cang Yin月, he had been observing the situation in the valley from the shadows, thinking of how to find an opportunity to call for help from the Bloodbath Alliance.

He hadn't expected that shortly after, he would witness the horrific sight of the poisoned disciples in the valley.

Just as he was reeling from the horror and secretly feeling relieved that he hadn't rushed in to seek help, he realized that he too had been poisoned, following in their footsteps.

At this moment, Yu Changlu had scratched his face to a gruesome state. The bone-deep itching and pain caused him to roll incessantly on the ground.

"Help... help me!"

Suddenly, when he saw Li Musheng, who looked as if nothing was wrong, he grabbed at him like a drowning man reaching for a straw, desperately and with great difficulty extending a hand for help.

"Sorry, I'm really not good with things like poison."

Li Musheng spread his hands, indicating his helplessness.

Beside him, Cang Yin月 pulled a porcelain bottle from her robes, poured out an antidote pill, and swallowed it.

She gave Li Musheng a serious look but did not waste an antidote on him, instead tucking the bottle back into her robes.

As for Yu Changlu, she didn't even glance at him from beginning to end, having no intention of saving him.

Then, Cang Yin月 sat cross-legged on the ground, circulating her true qi to use the medicinal power to purge the toxins from her body.

"Why aren't you poisoned?"

Cang Yin月 asked suddenly, her gaze fixed straight ahead.

"Among the martial arts I created, there is one called the 'Indestructible Golden Body.' I don't know much about poison, but mastering that thing makes me immune to all toxins."

Li Musheng explained casually. He crouched down, his eyes falling on the two mules that had suddenly collapsed, foaming at the mouth.

Hearing this, Cang Yin月 merely glanced at him but asked nothing more.

Li Musheng stared at the poisoned mules for a moment, then shook his head and said

"These horses can't die. There's still a long way to go, and I don't want to walk to Shangyang City on two legs."

He then reached out toward the mules' backs and patted them gently.

In an instant, the mules that had been foaming at the mouth and convulsing suddenly shuddered. They stood up, full of life, looking as if nothing had happened at all.

Then, Li Musheng repeated the process, saving Cang Yin月's horse as well.

From the side, Yu Changlu, who was in excruciating pain, nearly had his eyes pop out of his head at the sight.

Just now, when he begged Li Musheng for help, the man said he wasn't good at it and was helpless.

He thought it was true and believed him, blaming only his own fate.

Yet in the blink of an eye, he saw that when a mule worth next to nothing was dying of poison, Li Musheng acted without a word and brought it back to life in two moves.

The treatment between him and a mule was as different as heaven and earth!

But a work mule was only worth a few coins; it seemed his life wasn't even worth as much as a horse.

"Help... help me..."

Yu Changlu immediately endured the pain on his body and struggled to crawl toward Li Musheng.

In his view, if Li Musheng could even save a horse, saving him would surely be no problem.

At the same time, Cang Yin月's phoenix eyes widened as she stared fixedly at Li Musheng, her expression filled with disbelief.

She had naturally seen what just happened.

She didn't know how Li Musheng had achieved it, but she knew that to save a mule in such a short time without using an antidote, one would have to rely on immense true qi to disperse the toxins within the animal's body.

However, she had not detected any fluctuation of true qi from Li Musheng just now.

"How exactly did he do it?"

Cang Yin月 couldn't figure it out. She didn't quite believe his claim of having created his own martial arts.

She only felt that the man held significant secrets, and those secrets were certainly related to his opportunities.

Seeing Li Musheng walking toward Yu Changlu, she could only suppress her doubts and say

"You don't need to save him. This man has committed many atrocities within the Bloodbath Alliance; he deserves to die."

(End of Chapter)