Chapter Ninety-Eight: The Five-Poison Curse

In the inner hall of the South Palace family, at the center of a magnificently adorned council chamber, four figures sat in silence upon the central dais. They made no movement at all, yet an invisible pressure radiated from them and filled the entire hall.

These four were among the eight stewards who formed the decision-making body of Everjoy City. Within Everjoy City, such an institution existed to counterbalance the city lord’s authority. It was ordinarily made up of the strongest experts from the city’s various powers. Entry into this body generally required strength at the Ancient Pill Realm, as well as sponsorship from one of the factions.

As the family of the city lord, the South Palace family held four of those seats. That was the very foundation of their long-standing control over Everjoy City.

Below the four were nine chairs carved from purple-sandalwood. Eight men in golden armor sat in them, while the third seat on the right remained empty.

What was strange was that these towering figures, men whose mere step could stir great upheaval in Everjoy City, all had their gazes fixed on the very center of the council hall. There sat an elderly man with a white beard, his hand resting lightly on his chin. Their eyes held a trace of respect.

“Doctor An, how is my family head’s injury? Can it be treated?” asked one of the four stewards on the dais, an elder in gray robes, the first to speak. His name was South Palace Hao, the oldest and most senior of the four stewards of the South Palace family. His tone carried a note of deference.

The white-bearded elder he addressed as Doctor An was the most prestigious sixth-rank apothecary in Everjoy City. His own cultivation had already reached the peak of the Origin Realm, and his mastery in refining medicines was superb. Although potions could not truly be compared with pills, once an apothecary reached an exceedingly high level, the medicines he refined could rival ordinary medicinal pills.

There had once been a top-tier apothecary who secluded himself in the ancient cave of the Demon Ape Clan and died while attempting to forge a fire body. The medicines he had refined in his day were said to be comparable to third-rank pills and had earned him fame throughout the Southern Sun Prefecture.

As a sixth-rank apothecary, Doctor An could not compare to that reclusive master from the Demon Ape Clan’s cave, but his abilities were still extraordinary. In Everjoy City, he enjoyed an extremely lofty status. After all, a sixth-rank high-level apothecary was exceedingly rare, and many factions sought to bring such a person into their ranks.

“Steward Hao, I am afraid this old man is powerless against the South Palace family head’s injuries,” the elder known as Doctor An said, his wrinkled face heavy with gravity. He then shook his head.

“Doctor An, you are the finest apothecary within tens of thousands of miles of Everjoy City. Surely you must have some way to save our family head. If you need anything, say it without hesitation. As long as my South Palace family can manage it, we will do everything we can to satisfy you,” said a middle-aged steward beside South Palace Hao.

At that, Doctor An’s aged face showed a bitter smile. “I, An, have always promised only to do my utmost. But this time, the South Palace family head’s injuries are far too severe. If my judgment is not mistaken, he should have been struck by a highly toxic poison inherited from ancient times: Five Venoms Dissolving Powder.”

“Five Venoms Dissolving Powder?” Everyone cried out in shock. They had all heard of this lethal poison, and the rumor was always the same: anyone afflicted by it had no hope of survival.

“Which despicable cur set itself against us so viciously, poisoning our family head?” Below on the left, the grand commander in golden armor slammed his hand on the table, scattering tea everywhere, and roared in fury.

“I cannot say for certain who it was. This poison is made by extracting venom from five ancient poisons and blending it with corpse toxin. Once released, it spreads through the air—colorless, odorless, and so subtle that even experts of the Ancient Pill Realm would struggle to detect it. Most people have only heard the name Five Venoms Dissolving Powder; almost no one has ever truly seen it. Even I had to investigate for a long time before I could confirm it,” Doctor An explained.

“Ordinary people struck by this poison would die within half an hour. But the South Palace family head possesses abundant vital force, and his own power has mounted a defense within his body, slowing the poison’s spread considerably. Even so, some of it has already reached his brain, forcing his entire essence, energy, and spirit into a mire. That is why he has fallen into an unending sleep.”

Everyone’s expressions turned ugly.

The current family head of the South Palace family, South Palace Xiong, was the foremost figure in Everjoy City. His cultivation was terrifying and unfathomable, yet even he had failed to guard against such an insidious scheme. One could imagine just how fearsome the Five Venoms Dissolving Powder truly was.

“If it is a strange poison passed down from antiquity, then there must be a way to cure it. May I ask whether Doctor An can tell us more?” South Palace Hao said after a moment’s thought.

“Yes, yes. A poison that has existed since ancient times—after so many thousands of years, surely someone has devised an antidote by now,” said the fair-faced second commander beside the grand commander. He looked much like a pale scholar.

“I have also heard of a medicinal herb called Soul Grass, said to be able to treat those who remain unconscious. According to legend, even if a soul has left the body, one can awaken after taking Soul Grass.”

“I have heard of that supreme herb as well, but it is exceedingly difficult to find. Back then, we searched every major apothecary shop and combed the forests within a thousand miles, yet we never found even a single stalk,” said one of the commanders.

“Yes, Soul Grass does have such effects. The prescription for saving the South Palace family head also requires this top-tier medicinal herb. Unfortunately, I have not seen such a herb for decades,” Doctor An said with a bitter smile. “If there were Soul Grass, I would have a seventy percent chance of waking the South Palace family head.”

“Such a herb is not easy to obtain. The last time something like it appeared, it seems to have been ages ago,” South Palace Hao said, his voice bitter.

Soul Grass was extremely demanding in its growing conditions. It required a place of utter yin and heavy moisture, a hundred years to take root, and another hundred years to bloom. One could imagine how difficult it was to cultivate.

The ancient cave within the Demon Ape Clan’s territory was precisely such a place of extreme yin and dampness. Its master had planted Soul Grass seeds there for a hundred years, and only after another hundred years had the grass finally borne fruit, to the great benefit of South Palace Xue and Ye Cheng.

“Steward Hao, I heard that Miss Xue has already gone out to search for Soul Grass. In a few more days it will be the day of the contest. I sent the third brother to look for her more than twenty days ago. If he found her, she would certainly have rushed back. Perhaps she has already found Soul Grass,” the grand commander said, though his eyes flickered.

“I’m afraid that is unlikely,” South Palace Hao murmured after some thought.

After all, obtaining such a herb was far too difficult. Even if experts of the Ancient Pill Realm went out personally, they would not dare claim they could certainly find such a spiritual treasure.

At his words, everyone nodded in agreement. They all understood clearly that Miss South Palace Xue was, at best, only at the Blood Qi Realm. If even Ancient Pill Realm experts could not find such a thing, they could not imagine how she possibly could.

“Who says it is impossible?”

Suddenly, a clear voice rang out from within the council hall, causing everyone’s expression to freeze.