Although this poison would eventually corrode spiritual power and break through its blockade to enter the human body, the content of the competition was who could last longer. Therefore, continuously using spiritual power to resist the spread of the poison was the ultimate goal.
After swallowing Liang An's poison, Zi Linling knew she had overestimated Liang An. Although the poison was potent, its toxicity was at least thirty percent weaker than Zi Linling had estimated. Thus, she faced little pressure in enduring it.
Of course, the moment the poison entered her body, the Nine Extremes Qiankun Cauldron stirred, preparing to refine it. But Zi Linling stopped it. She intended to use this poison to cultivate the Myriad Poisons Body.
The Myriad Poisons Body rendered one immune to all poisons. It was a state achieved by constantly strengthening one's physical body with poisons, reaching a point of immunity, and ultimately being able to transform any toxin into spiritual energy, thus making everything usable by oneself.
Cultivating the Myriad Poisons Body was an extremely difficult endeavor, but for Zi Linling, who possessed the "Human Emperor's Medical Codex," it was a piece of cake.
Zi Linling closed her eyes, silently guiding the poison to gradually integrate into every part of her body. Her blood, flesh, bones, and tendons slowly turned black, then gradually returned to a pure white.
Zi Linling was cultivating with ease, while Liang An was in utter misery. Although he had immediately enveloped the poison with his spiritual power the moment he swallowed it, he had underestimated the potency of the poison refined by Zi Linling. The poison ignored his spiritual energy barrier and rampaged within his body. Everywhere the poison passed, it rapidly turned black.
Soon, black blood seeped from Liang An's seven orifices.
"Ah!" he cried out in agony, rolling on the ground, trying to alleviate the pain. "How could this happen? They were made from the exact same medicinal ingredients, so why is the toxicity so different?"
A cascade of questions flooded Liang An's mind, but there was no one to answer him. He felt his thoughts slowing down, and the meridians within his body began to rapidly atrophy.
Within moments, his body became like a leaky bellows, spiritual energy rapidly leaking out. He finally became afraid. Enduring the sensation of his bones being ground to dust, he desperately pleaded with Zhao Yunfei, "Guild Leader, save me!"
Zhao Yunfei was startled by his appearance and was about to intervene when he felt a sharp killing intent. He sensed that if he dared to make the slightest inappropriate move, his head would immediately fall. Thus, he dared not move and could only watch helplessly, saying, "How could this be? She used the exact same medicinal ingredients as you, so why is the toxicity so potent?"
Liang An wanted to speak, but the pain of his shattering bones prevented him from forming a complete sentence.
"Roar, roar, roar..." He began to frantically tear at his clothes, leaving streaks of blood on his body from his own scratching.
Zhao Yunfei noticed that Liang An's entire body had turned black. Black blood was now seeping from every pore.
A few more moments passed, and Liang An could no longer even let out a scream. If Zhao Yunfei had pried open his throat, he would have discovered that it had completely rotted.
A few more moments after that, Liang An stopped rolling. He curled up on the ground, his body twitching, breathing in more than he breathed out. His entire body had turned a dark blue-black, even the whites of his eyes were covered in this hue. He had also become incredibly foul-smelling, like a latrine that hadn't been cleaned in ten years.
Half an hour later, Liang An finally breathed his last. Beneath his corpse lay a large puddle of foul-smelling liquid.
Coincidentally, Zi Linling had also finished refining all the poison in her body, but her Myriad Poisons Body had shown no signs of development. She opened her eyes, looking at the shocked Zhao Yunfei with a half-smile and asked, "Guild Leader Zhao, has my intermediate poison master assessment passed?"
Zhao Yunfei finally snapped back to reality. Seeing Zi Linling unharmed, with no trace of poisoning whatsoever, a flicker of fear appeared in his eyes.
"Passed, it passed!" Zhao Yunfei said, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
Zi Linling chuckled, "So, that means I'm an intermediate poison master now?"
Zhao Yunfei quickly nodded, "Yes, yes, yes!"
"Oh?" Zi Linling paused. "If that's the case, let's continue!" She then proceeded further inside.
"Lin'er, are you alright?" Ye Lingyuan's voice transmitted with concern.
"I'm fine, not a single issue!" Zi Linling replied with a smile through telepathic communication. Her smile towards Ye Lingyuan was exceptionally gentle.
This smile, in Zhao Yunfei's eyes, brought a strange sense of relief. So, the smile of a devil and the smile of an angel were merely a matter of her will!
"Good, as long as you're alright!" Ye Lingyuan sighed in relief and then fell silent again. He knew Zi Linling had a series of plans, and he didn't want to interfere with her performance.
While they were communicating telepathically, Zi Linling had already entered the territory of the advanced poison masters.
"I am an advanced poison master, Rong Guang!" A handsome man dressed like a scholar blocked her path, speaking politely.
"Zi Linling, intermediate poison master!" As the saying goes, one shouldn't strike a smiling face, so Zi Linling naturally wouldn't embarrass him.
"Hello, Miss Zi! Are you here to be assessed as an advanced poison master?" Rong Guang asked with a sweet smile, appearing like a younger brother next door, very polite.
Zi Linling's eyes flickered with a moment of distraction. Rong Guang's smile reminded her of a name she was close to forgetting – Shen Liuxing. Her former friend Shen Liuxing had also been like a younger brother next door, always gently calling her Sister Zi. A sliver of coldness dissipated from Zi Linling's eyes. She raised an eyebrow and said, "That's right! I'm here to be assessed as an advanced poison master."
Rong Guang bowed and asked, "Why would such a beautiful woman like you choose to be a poison master?"
Zi Linling retorted, "Why would such a polite scholar like you choose to be a poison master?"
Rong Guang was not offended and chuckled, "Miss Zi, if I were to say that I chose to be a poison master to save people, would you believe me?"
Zi Linling nodded and said, "I believe..."
"Just kidding!" Rong Guang laughed. Just as he was about to speak, he heard the last two words from Zi Linling. Rong Guang blinked in surprise and said, "Miss Zi is very humorous, but you have shamed me."
Zi Linling smiled, "Can we begin the assessment?"
Rong Guang bowed again and said, "No rush! Miss Zi, I have one more question I'd like to ask!"
Zi Linling frowned, "Let's just begin the assessment!" She could sense a hint of jealousy emanating from Ye Lingyuan.
Rong Guang insisted, "Miss Zi, please allow me to ask this question, can you?" Zi Linling understood now; if she didn't let Rong Guang ask, he might stubbornly persist.