Chapter 139: Follow My Arrangements

When Jiang Min appeared, Dong Kaiyuan immediately raised his guard. Recognizing her, he relaxed once more and turned back to continue searching for an antidote. The stout cultivator appeared to be a talisman master, but unexpectedly proficient in medicine and poisons as well. Dong Kaiyuan emptied a pile of various bottles and jars from his Qiankun pouch onto the ground, yet not a single one bore any labels, making it exceedingly difficult to distinguish their contents.

Jiang Min glanced at him and, seeing that he could not find the antidote for the time being, observed the poisoning symptoms on Yao Sheng. She thought to herself, "This person cannot die just yet. If we are to deal with the remaining cultivators, Yao Sheng and Dong Kaiyuan must still be relied upon to step in and hold them back."

With this thought in mind, she spoke to Dong Kaiyuan: "There is no time to spare. I have a third-grade antidote pill that can barely neutralize his poison."

Jiang Min raised her hand, producing a bluish pill emanating a rich medicinal fragrance, and sent it flying into Yao Sheng's mouth using telekinesis. She then half-crouched, placing her palm lightly near his wound. With a flick of her fingertips, she drew out all the venom from his body, condensing it into a ball of dark purple, thick liquid, and flicked it away onto the grass.

Having swallowed the antidote and with the venom cleared, the dark purple shade on Yao Sheng's face quickly faded, leaving only a pallor. He slowly regained consciousness, blinking his eyes with a lingering daze. Faint green light flowed visibly across his entire body—the lingering effect of the antidote.

Seeing Jiang Min step in to save a life, Dong Kaiyuan put away the stout cultivator's bottles and jars, walked over to Jiang Min with the Qiankun pouch in hand, and handed it to her with gratitude. "Fellow Daoist Ming, since you executed Wei Yuanhe, the Qiankun pouch is naturally yours. I only searched through it for the antidote; I haven't touched anything else."

On his weak and pale face, genuine gratitude surfaced as he rejoiced, "Had you not intervened in time, once the Ghost-Soul Banner fell into their hands, Brother Yao and I would have had our necks stretched out for slaughter with no hope of survival."

Jiang Min stood up, cast a glance at the Qiankun pouch, and a subtle stir arose in her heart. Taking it directly, she wore an apologetic expression and said, "It was my fault for arriving late. I do not know why I was teleported to another location and plagued by numerous lingering spirits, which delayed me considerably. Fortunately, it is not too late."

"As long as you are here, it does not matter. With you around, Brother Yao and I can rest much easier," Dong Kaiyuan said.

"Mm—"

At this moment, Yao Sheng, lying on the ground, let out a muffled groan, as if his pain had not yet subsided. Dong Kaiyuan quickly half-crouched to examine him, confirming his life was not in danger before letting out a breath of relief. "Brother Yao, I failed to find the antidote in Wei Yuanhe's Qiankun pouch. It was Fellow Daoist Ming's third-grade antidote pill that saved you."

Having just regained consciousness, Yao Sheng was clearly stunned upon hearing this. Afterward, he labored to move his eyeballs toward Jiang Min and said weakly, "Many thanks, Fellow Daoist Ming. Third-grade antidote pills are precious; I shall compensate you doubly."

"Please accept this, Fellow Daoist Ming."

His fingers twitched, and his palm produced a pouch brimming with mid-grade spirit stones. Judging by the quantity, it was more than enough to purchase several more third-grade antidote pills.

At this sight, a trace of imperceptible amusement flashed across the depths of Jiang Min's eyes. Though she did not trust them, on the surface, both men's manners were flawless, leaving no room for fault. She waved her hand to summon the pouch of spirit stones. After examining it unobtrusively, she accepted the entire sum without the slightest hesitation and casually uttered conventional pleasantries: "No need to thank me. I was ordered by Sovereign Guishan to assist you in seizing the treasure, and I shall naturally do my utmost."

"Furthermore, from the moment we stepped foot into this place, our fortunes have been bound together. Helping you is also helping myself."

The therapeutic efficacy of the third-grade antidote pill was truly extraordinary. Within this short span of time, Yao Sheng managed to recover somewhat, laboring to sit up from the ground as he said weakly, "Now—"

Jiang Min immediately interrupted him, saying in an unquestionable, deep voice, "For now, the two of you should focus on healing and recover your condition as quickly as possible."

Her sudden, assertive attitude startled Yao Sheng, who hastily explained, "No, we must rush to the Ancient Spirit Lake immediately... *cough, cough*... We cannot let them arrive a step ahead and obtain the Primordial Infant Spirit Heart."

The Primordial Infant Spirit Heart?

Hearing this, Jiang Min felt a start in her heart. This was the fruit borne by the Primordial Infant Spirit Tree, a legendary supreme treasure capable of aiding a Nascent Soul cultivator in transforming into a Deity Transformation realm.

So this was what Old Man Guishan desired... No wonder three Nascent Soul cultivators had arrived in person, placing utmost importance on it and even bestowing a spirit treasure to ensure their disciples obtained this treasure.

A subtle ripple stirred within Jiang Min's heart. Compared to the Primordial Infant Spirit Heart, which was useless to her, she cared far more about the legendary heavenly spirit object—the Primordial Infant Spirit Tree.

"I have read in ancient texts that heavenly spirit objects like the Primordial Infant Spirit Tree can only sprout atop an Extreme Yang Spirit Vein, growing for five thousand years and bearing fruit for five thousand years... An Extreme Yang Spirit Vein is a rarity in this world!"

An Extreme Yang Spirit Vein was a treasured land supremely advantageous to immortal-path cultivators.

The immortal path was inherently the path of Extreme Yang. Beginning from Foundation Establishment, one must gather the Yang Qi of heaven and earth, taking the Dao foundation as the root, refining and cooking it to forge a Yang Elixir, which was known as the Golden Elixir.

Daoist cultivators forge Yang Elixirs, while ghost cultivators forge Yin Elixirs. Confucian cultivators cultivate the destiny heart, while Buddhist cultivators cultivate the Bodhi.

Ordinary immortal-path cultivators could only begin gathering a trace of heaven and earth Yang Qi starting from the midnight revival of Yang, condensing their Dao foundation, cooking the Yang to temper the Yin, and practicing slowly. However, if one possessed Extreme Yang treasures, such as Heavenly Yang Essence or Extreme Yang Spirit Marrow, one could harvest Yang Qi directly from them and accelerate their cultivation.

The four stages of Foundation Establishment were akin to alchemy, comprising four steps: herb-gathering, fierce fire, gentle fire, and form-condensation, corresponding to the four realms of Foundation Establishment, minor completion, major completion, and perfection.

Her current early Foundation Establishment stage was precisely the time for "herb-gathering." She needed to absorb majestic Yang Qi to accumulate the foundation for her Yang Elixir. If she cultivated step-by-step, it would undoubtedly cost her decades of time.

Yet if she could cultivate within an Extreme Yang Spirit Vein, or acquire more Extreme Yang treasures... it would undoubtedly accelerate her cultivation and allow her to achieve the Golden Elixir Dao all the sooner!

She believed that the other Foundation Establishment cultivators were undoubtedly also interested in the Extreme Yang Spirit Vein. Yet once they met, it would surely be a life-or-death struggle. If she wished to cultivate using the Extreme Yang Spirit Vein, she had to eliminate the other cultivators.

Jiang Min looked at the two men, appraising them with lingering amusement. One was injured, and the other was half-crippled.

"Go over immediately? In your current state, you probably can't even use a spirit treasure; how do you intend to deal with them?"

Hearing this, Yao Sheng propped himself up, attempting to crawl up from the ground with great effort, but the tyrannical and severe poison had already riddled his body with holes. Had the antidote not preserved his life and healed him, he would likely have lost his small life already. Thus, after struggling for a while, he lacked even the strength to stand.

Remorse welled up in Yao Sheng's heart. He closed his eyes in shame and lowered his voice, "I should have cut off my leg at the very beginning. At least then, I would have retained the strength to travel."

Meanwhile, Dong Kaiyuan had only lost his heart-blood and could recover by consuming some pills, though his face remained exceptionally pale. He looked at the heavily injured Yao Sheng, rendered somewhat speechless.

Among the three, the one in the best condition turned out to be Jiang Min.

She narrowed her eyes slightly and asked, "How far is the location of the Primordial Infant Spirit Tree from here, and are there any other dangers?"

"Not far. Roughly a dozen miles from this place, there is an Ancient Spirit Lake. The Primordial Infant Spirit Tree grows within the lake, and a single fruit still remains. As for danger... I have not heard of any," Dong Kaiyuan shook his head.

Hearing this, however, Jiang Min harbored suspicions. She raised an eyebrow and asked, "Since there is no danger, why hasn't the person who leaked the news plucked the Primordial Infant Spirit Heart?"

"Fellow Daoist Ming, the information we possess is also limited. We cannot delay any longer." Dong Kaiyuan smiled bitterly, then helped Yao Sheng, who was struggling to stand, back onto his feet. "Brother Yao, how do you feel?"

"I am much better. Let us go."

With a pale complexion, Yao Sheng looked at Jiang Min, opened his mouth, and finally bit the bullet to speak solemnly, "We ask Fellow Daoist Ming to... assist us."

He made to step forward.

Jiang Min, however, raised her hand and pressed it down upon his shoulder.

Amidst Yao Sheng's look of astonishment, Jiang Min's gaze swept over the two men unhurriedly, and she said earnestly, "If the two of you were uninjured, of course I could assist you, but right now—"

The corners of her lips curled into a faint arc, yet her tone brooked no refusal: "If you truly wish to seize the treasure, from here on out, you had best follow my arrangements."