Gu Yao naturally couldn't hand over the giant kelp, and for now, he didn't want to expose himself to Changxianmen. After considering back and forth, he felt it would be best to leave this matter to the Shangmeng to resolve.
While he was thinking about how to contact Qí Guanshi, Qí Guanshi and his men came to the door. Before Chi Changye could suspect anything, Qí Guanshi explained, "Shangmeng is in need of people, especially alchemists. If Lu Danshi is interested, Shangmeng welcomes him." The steward from the Lord's Mansion who accompanied Qí Guanshi felt very resentful. They had come all this way, only to see Shangmeng shamelessly poaching alchemists in their territory. Where did that leave their Lord's Mansion? But they couldn't drive Shangmeng away either, as they had fearlessly provided substantial support at this critical juncture. They couldn't repay kindness with enmity.
"Please come inside for a detailed discussion," Chi Changye made an eager expression. Qí Guanshi glanced to the side, and naturally, someone kept the people from the Lord's Mansion outside. He and his men followed Chi Changye inside for a detailed discussion.
"Chí Dao You?" Qí Guanshi asked as Chi Changye activated a formation.
Chi Changye smiled calmly, "That's right, it's me. Xiao Yao and I were just thinking of discussing matters with Qí Guanshi, and here you are."
Qí Yì burst into laughter. His visit actually had two purposes: to find out who Gu Yao was pretending to be, and to genuinely recruit alchemists to join Shangmeng. It seemed that several alchemists they had visited before were quite interested, after all, the conditions offered by Shangmeng were very appealing to them."I wonder what Senior Yao is looking for me for? The Guild Master has instructed that whatever it is, I should fully cooperate with Senior Yao."
As soon as Qi Yi finished speaking, Gu Yao walked out from inside. It was Chi Changye who had informed him through a voice transmission that Qi Yi had arrived.
After the initial success of the previous experiment, Gu Yao and Xu Chen worked together again to finalize the alchemy method. These days, they were still busy with alchemy in the alchemy room, so now he also carried a scent of alchemical fire when he came out.
"Guanshi Qi," Gu Yao greeted Qi Yi with a smile. Upon his arrival, Qi Yi immediately recognized him. Recalling the scene at the Alchemist Hall that day, he couldn't help but secretly laugh at Gu Yao's previous low-key behavior. Now, he had revealed his true nature. This smile was just like Senior Yao's.
"Senior Yao managed to deceive me as well. Is Senior Yao here because there is still a shortage of materials, or is it..." Qi Yi couldn't help but make a bold guess. Could it be that Gu Yao had already developed an antidote? Because his attitude was too calm and composed, showing no signs of impatience. As far as he knew, even the people around Han Chi were starting to get anxious.
Gu Yao asked Qi Guanshi to sit down and said, "There are some clues, but we still need a cultivator to personally test it, or even a demon beast would do. But we are all unable to act, and we don't want to expose our identities."
Qi Yi immediately understood and became very excited. If they really managed to produce an antidote, no one could deny Gu Yao's alchemy skills. In his opinion, Gu Yao was definitely a genius among geniuses, and his talent in alchemy was unmatched.
What was there to hesitate about at this moment? Gu Yao entrusted them, so he would definitely cooperate fully: "Senior Yao, you can leave this matter to us. If you don't want it to be revealed, we will have better ways to handle it."
Qi Yi talked with them for almost two quarters of an hour. Outside, the people from the Lord's Mansion were getting impatient. They finally saw Qi Yi coming out from inside, followed by Gu Yao, both looking somewhat excited. Qi Yi also had a very satisfied expression. The people from the Lord's Mansion could easily understand the situation: this alchemist from the Land of Dans was lured away by Shangmeng, another alchemist tempted by a hefty sum.Qi Yi, although having several bottles of elixirs in his storage ring, suppressed the urge to verify them immediately. Instead, he continued to visit other alchemists, presenting generous gifts to demonstrate the Merchant Alliance's respect for them. Of course, some alchemists remained unmoved and rejected the people from the Merchant Alliance.
The commotion naturally caught the attention of the Lord's Mansion, and Ning Hui was informed as well. After listening for a while, Ning Hui did not feel that Qi Yi was particularly favoring any alchemist. He couldn't help but feel confused for a moment. Could it be that he had overthought it? Did the alchemist called Gu Yao not appear here at all? Ning Hui believed that this was an excellent opportunity to make a name for himself. He thought, how could an alchemist like Gu Yao, who rose from obscurity without the support of a sect or power, miss such an opportunity? Otherwise, how could such an alchemist gain recognition? Wasn't the auction of top-grade elixirs a gimmick created by Gu Yao?
Of course, Ning Hui also admitted that Gu Yao indeed had the ability to gain recognition, so he felt that Gu Yao would not miss this opportunity.
Ten days later, Liu, an alchemist, came to find Ning Hui: "Senior Brother, I don't know if I should mention something."
Impatiently, Ning Hui urged, "Just say it if you have something."
Liu said, "There's news from the Alchemist Hall. A certain alchemist surnamed Lu left the city without saying a word. No one knows when they left. Another alchemist surnamed Yan went to look for them and found only a message left by Yan saying they had to leave early."
"What? They left? When did this happen?" Ning Hui suddenly stood up, staring at Liu.
Liu didn't take it seriously, but he also knew that Ning Hui had asked him to keep an eye on the alchemists at the Alchemist Hall. So, even though he didn't think it was a big deal for a small alchemist to leave, he still came to inform him: "About five or six days ago? Maybe seven or eight?"
"Damn it!" Ning Hui cursed, and Liu didn't know whom Ning Hui was cursing at.
Ning Hui was furious. Now that he was being informed, even if he wanted to verify it, it was too late. There was enough time for that alchemist named Lu to run far away. Where could he go to chase after him? He had been keeping an eye on him all this time, but he still managed to slip away right under his nose.Who is this surnamed Lu? He dares to say that this surnamed Lu is the same as surnamed Yao, which is Gu Yao himself.
Suddenly, he stopped and ordered, "Go out and see if there are any unusual events happening recently!"
If this surnamed Lu is really Gu Yao, why would he choose to leave at this time? Although Ning Hui couldn't believe it, he had a kind of intuition that he must have achieved his goal before leaving quietly.
Even before the master could come up with an effective detoxification method, how could a seventh-grade alchemist like Gu Yao possibly do it?
Seeing Junior Brother Liu running out, Ning Hui felt anxious. He couldn't even focus on analyzing the venom, so he decided to go out. Not far from the door, Junior Brother Liu ran back with an incredulous look on his face. Before he even got close, he called out, "Senior Brother Ning, there's a message from the Lord's Mansion saying that someone has brought the antidote. The Lord's Mansion wants us and Alchemist Han to go over and verify it together." Ning Hui's mind buzzed as if someone had struck it with a big hammer. Sure enough! His premonition had come true! That surnamed Lu must be Gu Yao himself!
Ning Hui followed Junior Brother Liu in a daze to the Lord's Mansion. The Lord was in a small square, talking to Zhang Qianfeng. Behind Zhang Qianfeng stood the steward of the Merchant Alliance, Qi, who had been representing them in secret. Sure enough, in a place where he couldn't see, the steward had already met with Gu Yao. Ning Hui clearly remembered that Gu Yao and Chi Changye had stayed in Baihe City for a while and had a superficial relationship with the Lord's Mansion of Baihe City.
Han Chishi arrived late, and the Lord, who was chatting happily with Zhang Qianfeng, looked slightly displeased when he saw Han Chishi. However, he wouldn't offend a sixth-grade alchemist for no reason, after all, strength spoke for itself.
But Han Chishi didn't care about this. He asked coldly, "The Lord said someone brought the antidote? Who brought out the antidote? And who made this antidote? I wonder if I can have a look?"
Faced with such questioning, the Lord felt a hint of displeasure, but also knew that he couldn't afford to offend the Changxian Sect. However, the Changxian Sect was too arrogant. Even now, rumors were still circulating outside that the witch alchemist was the mastermind behind the poisoned elixirs.
The Lord said calmly, "The antidote was provided by the Merchant Alliance. I'm also curious about who researched it, but the alchemist himself is unwilling to reveal his identity, and I can't force him."
Zhang Qianfeng added, "That's right. When the alchemist was traveling through here by chance, he was deeply saddened by the situation here. So he wanted to contribute his efforts. This alchemist has always had an excellent relationship with the Merchant Alliance, so he entrusted the researched antidote to the Merchant Alliance for full handling. After learning about this, I rushed over without delay. Alchemist Han, I wonder if you can verify the effectiveness of the elixir now?"
What Alchemist Han did not know was that before Zhang arrived in the city, this elixir had already been tested on a poisoned monster beast. Unfortunately, the antidote was not perfect and would leave some aftereffects. After being detoxified, both cultivators and monster beasts would suffer some damage to their cultivation and soul, so they would need other elixirs for assistance or rely on cultivation to make up for it."One more thing to note is that this antidote itself is also a poison, using the method of using poison to counteract poison. Therefore, it needs to be used with caution. If someone who has not been poisoned by this type of poison uses it, they will only end up being poisoned by another type of toxin."
As soon as Zhang Qianfeng finished speaking, the small square buzzed with activity. Alchemists from the Alchemist Hall all rushed over. Some had expended a lot of effort on this matter, while others had considered using the method of using poison to counteract poison, but it wasn't so easy to accomplish. They had not expected the alchemist behind the Merchant Alliance to actually achieve it!
"Who do you think this alchemist could be?""It's said to be the Merchant Alliance, but it's actually related to Qianfeng Pavilion in Baihe City. Don't you know that the master of Qianfeng Pavilion is Senior Zhang? Think about which alchemist has a good relationship with Senior Zhang and Lord Liu."
"No way, are you saying it's that alchemist Yao? Then why isn't he showing himself?"
While the alchemists and other cultivators were discussing, Zhang Qianfeng took out a pill. The pill had a dark red color, looked somewhat eerie, and didn't have the pleasant fragrance of other pills. Instead, it had a bit of a foul smell. Seeing this pill, some cultivators couldn't help but subconsciously take a few steps back. It was said to be an antidote, but it was also a poison, and its toxicity must be strong.
"Wait!" Han Chi said with a serious face, "If after taking this pill, not only does it not cure the poison, but it also worsens the condition and leads to death, what should be done? How about I test it first?"
"No—I'm willing to let my brother test the pill! We will bear the consequences ourselves, and we don't need Senior Zhang or that alchemist to take responsibility!"
A cultivator shouted loudly in the small square and walked out with several others. The cultivators behind them were carrying a stretcher, on which a person was bound and struggling, occasionally making the sound of chains clashing.
"We're also willing to test the pill. There's no time to wait any longer. Lord Liu, Senior Zhang, we're willing to test the pill!" Several other cultivators in the crowd shouted. The longer the poisoning lasted, the harder it was to maintain consciousness, and the situation worsened.
Han Chi's expression became even colder, and his gaze toward Lord Liu was also somewhat unfriendly. If it weren't for Lord Liu attracting so many cultivators by setting up the location here, how could such a situation have arisen? It left him with no room for negotiation.He shook his sleeves and said, "Then let's try it. Life and death are your own responsibility!"
The people around Zhang Qianfeng immediately brought the pill to the first cultivator who stepped forward to volunteer for the test. They first inquired in detail about the condition of the poisoned individual, assessed the severity of the poisoning, and then took a pill from a jade bottle and fed it to the severely poisoned person.
After the pill was fed to the cultivator, he struggled even more intensely, screaming repeatedly. Shortly after, his face turned black, and his breath seemed to weaken. Onlookers were worried and suspicious, fearing that the situation might have worsened instead of being cured.
The man's face showed signs of pain. After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he tilted his head and spat out black blood with a "wow." The black blood corroded the ground, leaving pits, and the man fell silent.
Medical cultivators immediately stepped forward to examine him. After a careful examination, they showed joy, "As expected, the poison in his body has been cleared. However, his body is very weak and has suffered significant damage. He needs proper recuperation."
The person who administered the antidote immediately poured out a few more pills and stuffed them into the unconscious cultivator's mouth. Originally, the cultivator's face had turned black, but after spitting out the poison, the black color visibly receded, leaving him extremely pale and weak-looking. After taking the pills, his breath gradually lengthened. However, as the man said, there were significant aftereffects, requiring time to recuperate. Whether he could return to his original state depended on his own strength and whether he could afford the required pills. After all, pills for repairing the soul were not common.
"Thank you, thank you Senior Zhang and the Merchant Alliance, thank you..." The cultivator who volunteered to be the first test subject was so excited that his voice choked up. Even if his cultivation regressed, it was still better than becoming a monster.
"Wow, the poison has really been cured! It's true!"
"Which alchemist is so talented that they could cure such a difficult poison?"
"Someone said it was Alchemist Yao, but isn't Alchemist Yao only a seventh-grade alchemist?"
"That's why they're called a genius. As far as I know, although there are sixth-grade alchemists in the Merchant Alliance, they have not left the alliance and would not conceal their identity."Lord Guan was equally excited and immediately arranged for more poisoned individuals to receive the antidote. The distribution of the antidote was controlled by the Merchant Alliance, as the pills were divided into three levels: for those lightly poisoned, those with varying degrees of poisoning, and those deeply poisoned, each requiring different pills tailored to their condition.
Lord Guan was also very cautious, as using the wrong pill could turn someone from a poisoned individual into a severely poisoned one.