Chapter 352: Cured
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric
To be able to activate the formation instantly, this could only mean one thing... That fellow had found the core of the formation!
During that conversation, Grandmaster Lin Tao could tell that the other party didn't even know what a formation core was. Yet, right after that, the other party immediately found the formation core and even made use of it...
Is this for real?
Grandmaster Lin Tao's body shuddered, and he felt as though he was about to faint.
The location of the formation core would change along with a change in one’s surroundings. Even for a 3-star primary stage formation master like the clan head, without a compass and careful observation, it was impossible to find it. Yet, without using any tools at all, this fellow simply pranced about and... with a single kick, the formation immediately activated!
Even though he was seeing it with his own eyes, he couldn't help but doubt if he was dreaming...
He thought that he had a huge leverage as a formation grandmaster against the Tongxuan realm lad... But after seeing this sight, tears threatened to flow down from his eyes.
Guild Master Liu, are you the formation grandmaster, or am I the formation grandmaster?
Why do I feel like nothing but a fool before you?
Roar! Roar! Roar!
With the activation of the formation, Mo Tianxue and the others couldn't see the situation inside anymore. However, they could hear the infuriated roaring of the Gold-tailed Lion, as though there was something happening within which sent it into a frenzy.
Dozens of breaths later, all sound from within disappeared.
"Let's go over and take a look!"
Anxious, Mo Tianxue and the others hurried forward.
They weren't too far away from Guild Master Liu and the Gold-tailed Lion, and with Lin Tao leading the way, they were able to walk past the mist without triggering the formation on them. Soon, when they reached their destination, the sight before them left their eyebrows twitching furiously, and for a moment, they thought that they would go insane.
The Gold-tailed Lion, whom the young man was supposed to save, had pierced pikes all over its body, be it its nose, ears, end of the alimentary canal...
Fresh blood flowed furiously down each of the thirty-six pikes, dyeing the entire ground crimson. The imposing Gold-tailed Lion which was roaring non-stop a moment ago was so drained at this moment that it couldn't even open its eyes, and its breathing was nearly imperceptible.
"Guild Leader Liu..."
Mo Tianxue felt his veins popping out, and he nearly vomited a mouthful of blood.
The reason why I invited you over is to treat the guardian beast, not to kill it…
Isn't it just your first meeting with it?
Yet, you threw so many pikes toward it that it looked no different from a feather duster at this point. More importantly, every single one of these pikes was laced with lethal poison... You must be truly adamant to kill it!
What grudge do you have with it for you to kill it so mercilessly?
Rage bubbled in Mo Tianxue's chest, and he clenched his fist tightly in anger. If he didn't give his all to hold himself back, he would have surely rushed forward to crush that fellow with his fist.
Even though the guardian beast didn't have long to live and it had hurt some people when it went on a rampage previously, it had protected Tianwu Kingdom from harm for past several centuries. Mo Tianxue carried deep respect for it.
Treating the guardian beast like that was as good as an insult to him!
With a steeled face, he looked at the young man. The other party's face was slightly pale, and he seemed to be slightly sapped of energy.
Upon seeing the trio, the young man heaved a sigh of relief. He weakly sat onto the floor and said, "Its illness is extremely hard to treat, but fortunately, I managed to accomplish what that was asked of me..."
"Accomplish what that was asked of you?"
Seeing the other party's confident smile, Mo Tianxue was taken aback.
Did he misunderstand him?
Was he really treating the Gold-tailed Lion?
As this thought slowly surfaced in his head, he subconsciously turned to look at the guardian beast. However, with this glance, his rage surged once more.
The Gold-tailed Lion which was still roaring furiously a moment ago had its eyes tightly shut as it laid limply on the floor. Even its breathing seemed to have disappeared altogether.
"The Gold-tailed Lion... is dead?"
Mo Yu and Grandmaster Lin Tao also realized that something was amiss, and turning their heads to take a look, their eyeballs nearly popped out from their sockets.
You were brought here to treat the guardian beast, not to kill it...
Accomplish what that was asked of you... Accomplish your head!
You mean that you came here with the intention to kill it?"
"Guild Leader Liu, what do you mean by this?"
Suppressing his fury forcefully, Mo Tianxue glared fixedly at the fellow before him.
He had sincerely invited the other party over in hopes that the other party could create a miracle and allow the guardian beast to live a little longer. Never in his dreams did he expect that not only did the other party fail to cure it, he even went on to kill it...
If not for the considerations he held for the other party's identity, he would have ordered his men to tear this fellow into innumerable pieces already.
"What do you mean by those words? I have completed my treatment..." Seemingly oblivious to the other party's rage, Zhang Xuan answered calmly. "It's fortunate that my treatment went well!"
"Went well?"
Mo Tianxue's eyebrows twitched.
Killing your patient is a sign that things went well?
You aren't a physician but... a murderer!
"Cough cough! Guild Leader Liu, why isn't the Gold-tailed Lion... breathing? Is it dead?"
Seeing that her father was about to erupt at any moment, Mo Yu hurriedly stepped forward and intervened.
"Dead?" Only at this moment did Zhang Xuan realize why everyone had such a grim expression on their faces. Shaking his head, he said, "I'm here, how can it possibly die so easily..."
Saying so, he walked toward the Gold-tailed Lion and kicked it.
"Stop feigning death. Hurry up and get up..."
Roar!
Being kicked on its face, the seemingly dead Gold-tailed Lion seemed to be shocked into action.
With a furious roar, its golden fur trembled.
Sou sou sou sou!
All of the pikes stabbed into its body flew out, dropping onto the ground.
"Drink these pails of blood..."
Zhang Xuan casually pointed.
He had asked for Mo Tianxue to prepare the fresh blood of cows and goats beforehand, and they were stored in the wooden pails placed not too far away. The Gold-tailed Lion hurried forward and gulped them down.
Soon, after consuming the blood in those pails, the Gold-tailed Lion seemed to have recovered considerably. Compared to its withered look from before, it looked extremely spirited at the moment.
"This..."
Seeing this sight, Mo Tianxue and the others felt as though they were dreaming. For a moment, they were completely dumbfounded.
Despite having thirty-six pikes laced with lethal poison impaling it, not only did the Gold-tailed Lion manage to survive, it was even revitalized...
What in the world was going on?
Furthermore, didn't its breathing clearly stop just now?
Why did it suddenly come to life after a kick?
This Guild Leader Liu had dashed a total of three kicks. The first one, he stopped the formation. The second one, he activated the formation. And the third one... the Gold-tailed Lion came to life...
It felt as though every single one of his kicks possessed mystical powers, astonishing everyone with its fearsome might every single time.
"Guild Leader Liu..."
Seeing that the vitality of the Gold-tailed Lion had recovered significantly, Mo Tianxue couldn't help but utter with a doubtful tone.
"Are you curious about what is going on?"
Zhang Xuan chuckled, "Actually... The Gold-tailed Lion wasn’t afflicted with any illness... it was poisoned!"
"Poisoned?"
Mo Tianxue was taken aback while Grandmaster Lin Tao's face distorted in terror.
Someone actually dared to poison the guardian beast of Tianwu Kingdom? Who is it?
And how did the person do it?
"Under normal circumstances, the tail of the Gold-tailed Lion should be golden. However, there are slight traces of white at the tip previously. This shows that it isn't just an ordinary illness!"
Zhang Xuan explained.
Hearing these words, Mo Tianxue and the others suddenly recalled seeing traces of white at the end of the Gold-tailed Lion's tiger.
"You said that it went on a rampage... But if it truly went on a rampage, how could it possibly stop right after eating a few eunuchs and maids? This contradicts the very idea of a rampage. Clearly, it still possesses rationality!"
Zhang Xuan continued, "Given these two factors, I deduced that it must have fallen prey to some lethal poison, and in an attempt to cope with it, it forced the poison to the tip of its tail, thus inducing the traces of white!"
"This..."
The crowd was taken aback.
That's right.
If it had truly gone on a complete rampage, it would surely attack everyone it saw. It was illogical for it to stop at just a few insignificant eunuchs and maids.
"Could it be that these maids and eunuchs were the ones who poisoned it, that's why it killed them out of anger..." A thought suddenly appeared in Mo Yu's mind.
Given the guardian beast’s Half-Zhizun realm cultivation, there was no one in Tianwu Kingdom who could force poison on it. The only viable method was to spike its food.
And the most plausible culprits for it were the eunuchs and maids who served it.
"That's right!"
Zhang Xuan nodded. "Without any contractee, it is unable to express its thoughts. As such, it killed these eunuchs and maids to exact vengeance, as well as to tell you that these people are suspicious... Yet, you thought that it had gone insane and even used a formation to confine it..."
Mo Tianxue's face flushed.
When the guardian beast ate those eunuchs and maids, he was horrified, thinking that the latter had gone insane. It happened that Guild Leader Lin was beside him then, so he immediately requested for the latter to set up a formation to confine it without giving it much thought.
He didn't expect that... the other party was actually trying to express such intent.
"Even though the poison it was afflicted with was potent, it is still a powerful Half-Zhizun realm savage beast possessing centuries of lifespan. This was what that allowed it to hold on all this while. However, just like what Physician Mu Hong and the others had said, it wouldn't survive past three months at this rate!"
"It wouldn't be difficult to treat this poison in its earlier stages, but in the Gold-tailed Lion's case, the poison had already permeated through the meridians across its entire body, making treatment difficult!"
"After hesitating for a moment, I decided to counteract the poison with another poison!"
"That's why I got you to prepare all of those poisonous substances and used a pike to insert the venom into the locations where the poison was gathered.
"It is fortunate that I managed to accomplish what you asked of me and saved it..."
Zhang Xuan smiled.
After placing his hand on the other party's body, he immediately found out what poison the Gold-tailed Lion was suffering from.
He had seen this poison in the books of the Poison Hall before, and he knew that to treat it, he would have to counteract its poison with another one.
Knowing all of these, the rest was simple. He just had to neutralize the poison spread across the other party’s body by inserting venom of his own.
But of course, if it was anyone else, such a feat would have been impossible.
The poison had already spread across its entire body, accumulating in many different meridians. It would be impossible to even identify the locations where the poison had settled down in, thus making it even more impossible to solve the problem.
After all, if the venom were to be injected into the wrong locations, not only would it fail to neutralize the poison in the Gold-tailed Lion's body, it would even poison it to death.
However, possessing the Library of Heaven's Path, Zhang Xuan could clearly see all thirty-six of the locations where the poison was accumulated. All he had to do was to aim the pike accurately at the right location.
As for the cow and goat blood, it was for the Gold-tailed Lion to regain its vitality after suffering such a massive loss of blood.
After hearing the explanation, Mo Tianxue and the others widened their eyes in shock. At this moment, they felt nothing but admiration for the young man before them.
It was no wonder why he could solve all of the problems on the Wall of Dilemma and become the new guild leader of the Physician Guild. His medical skill was simply too formidable!
It was hard to believe that anyone could possess such capability even though they were seeing one right before them.
"Even though I have neutralized the lethal poison it is suffering from, it is true that its lifespan is reaching its end. While it is still fine for the time being, it won't live beyond a year, unless..."
Zhang Xuan hesitated for a moment before saying, "... it achieves a breakthrough into Zhizun realm!"
"Achieves a breakthrough in Zhizun realm?"
Mo Tianxue's breathing suddenly hastened, "Does Guild Leader Liu have a solution to that?"