A Transformation Spirit cultivator must determine their future path of cultivation.
If one is a sword cultivator with a Lifebound Flying Sword, they must focus on refining their Lifebound Flying Sword.
Replacing the original Nascent Soul with a sword core, then fusing it with their body through internal flame tempering.
They may even need to abandon other magical artifacts to achieve ultimate sword intent breakthrough.
But Li Xuanxiao knew his own path.
His path couldn't be just one.
Because following a single path would easily get him blocked by that damn Heavenly Dao.
Therefore, Li Xuanxiao also planned to open his Heavenly Acupoints to form an "Innate Body" and condense an Innate Embryo to store primal energy.
Tempering his physical body!
Currently, Li Xuanxiao's secluded cultivation site was located within a secret realm.Using the special spiritual energy of the secret realm to repair his soul damage and enhance his consciousness sea's stability.
Half a year passed in the blink of an eye.
Now, this secret realm could no longer meet Li Xuanxiao's needs.
He planned to search for an ancient battlefield ruin.
Such ruins retained the resentment and killing intent of deceased cultivators...
At the convergence points of earth veins, special spiritual energy vortices formed that could help repair soul damage.
The only side effect was enduring the burning of one's spiritual consciousness.
Just as Li Xuanxiao had chosen a location and was preparing to depart,
Zhang Tianxin urgently found him.
Di Nü Feng was in trouble.
"......"
Tian Sha Hall.
Di Nü Feng lay restlessly on her bed.
Her originally fair, jade-like complexion now appeared abnormally pale, as if drained of all blood.
Her lips trembled slightly, as if suppressing some pain.
The tightly clenched lips had turned white from excessive force.
"Hall Master, Hall Master." Zhang Tianxin's voice came from outside the hall.
"Hmm? Didn't I say not to disturb me?" Di Nü Feng said impatiently. "Get out!"
She had already given orders that no one was allowed near her bedchamber.
Zhang Tianxin said, "Hall Master, it's Fellow Daoist Li—Li Xuanxiao has ended his seclusion."
"I don't want to see him."
Di Nü Feng turned over.
Footsteps approached as Li Xuanxiao walked straight in.
Zhang Tianxin hesitated but didn't follow.
After all, the relationship between Fellow Daoist Li and the Hall Master wasn't something ordinary people could compare to.
What Li Xuanxiao could do wasn't necessarily permissible for others.
A single misstep could mean certain death.
Li Xuanxiao lifted the gauze curtain.
His eyes met Di Nü Feng's beautiful gaze.
She immediately turned her head away. "Go away, get out!"
"What's wrong?"
Li Xuanxiao detected a strange odor.
Di Nü Feng waved her hand. "Out, out! Don't look at me, don't come near."
Li Xuanxiao grabbed her arm.
Her arm was now covered with bluish-purple veins, and an odd smell came from the wounds.
Di Nü Feng flailed wildly. "Let go, let go! Get away!"
Li Xuanxiao frowned.
Logically speaking, with Di Nü Feng's cultivation level, even if injured, she shouldn't be like this.
Moreover, Li Xuanxiao could clearly sense her weakening life force.
Di Nü Feng wrapped herself tightly in her blanket and rolled to the other side of the bed, away from Li Xuanxiao.
"Stop messing around!" Li Xuanxiao said sternly.
Di Nü Feng stopped rolling.
Li Xuanxiao pulled her arm back for closer inspection of the spreading poison.
A poison that could weaken a Tribulation Transcension peak expert?
Li Xuanxiao frowned deeply.
"Can't this poison be dispersed?"
"No, I've tried. It hurts too much."
Di Nü Feng said pitifully.
"When did it start?"
As soon as he asked, Li Xuanxiao realized.
The Ancient Snake God.
After that great battle, Di Nü Feng had seemed perfectly normal.
But looking back now, she had been deliberately avoiding him since then, her expression somewhat off.
At that time, having just entered the Transformation Spirit realm and being pursued by Mozi, he hadn't paid much attention.
He thought she was just exhausted from battling both the Ancient Snake God and Mozi.
Never imagined she'd been poisoned so severely.
Ignoring Di Nü Feng's resistance, Li Xuanxiao thoroughly examined her.
Only then did he discover that despite her tough talk insisting she was fine,
Di Nü Feng's injuries were extremely severe, even affecting her life essence.
The poison left by the Ancient Snake God was no ordinary matter.
Li Xuanxiao searched through his complete poison manual, hoping to find clues.
But the Ancient Snake God's poison wasn't something easily countered.
Seeing Di Nü Feng in this state, Li Xuanxiao temporarily halted his closed-door cultivation to focus on finding an antidote.
After half a month of searching, he finally identified the poison in Di Nü Feng's body.
The Ancient Snake God's lifebound serpent venom.
Once this toxin enters a human body, it quickly condenses into serpent seeds that occupy nine vital acupoints including the Purple Mansion, Danzhong, and Qihai.
These serpent seeds become inseparably linked to the nine acupoints, as if sharing life and death.
This meant removing the poison would require destroying all nine vital acupoints—virtually impossible.
Moreover, once parasitic in a human body, the toxin continuously consumes the host's lifespan whenever they circulate their energy.
Meaning as the poisoned person's cultivation deepens, the poison grows stronger.
Eventually capable of converting even the vast spiritual power of a Tribulation Transcension cultivator into nourishment for the toxin.
And by the time victims realize they're poisoned, their internal organs would have already rotted away hundreds of times over in the outside world's time!
The concealment and lethality of this poison were truly terrifying.
No wonder the Snake God had survived since ancient times.
Truly ruthless methods.
However, this poison also had significant side effects.
After use, the Snake God would enter a weakened state, and condensing such venom required tens of thousands of years.
Clearly, they had truly pushed the Snake God to desperation back then.
Di Nü Feng hadn't sought an antidote, simply enduring the pain.
Li Xuanxiao taught her coping methods that, while not curing the poison, could significantly alleviate its effects.
Li Xuanxiao researched antidote formulas.
Drawing on his understanding of poisons and the complete poison manual,
He locked himself in his room day and night.
Finally, he found the antidote.
Yet the worry on Li Xuanxiao's face didn't diminish much.
Finding the antidote didn't mean it would be easy to prepare.
The ingredients required were numerous.
While items like Blood Spirit Crystals and Molting Fruits were rare but obtainable,
Two ingredients were exceptionally scarce.
One didn't even grow within Zhongzhou—it couldn't be found there at all.
Li Xuanxiao sighed lightly.
"Li Xuanxiao, am I going to die?" Di Nü Feng rolled over and said weakly.
After a moment's silence, Li Xuanxiao said firmly:
"...No. Not while I'm here."
"Mmm..."