The Duanchang Powder slid from Shi Yan's intestines into his stomach. He could only feel a faint pain in his stomach and intestines, as though they were being slowly corroded by a chronic acid, and the pain inside him was gradually increasing.
"The Duanchang Powder is extremely potent, but it doesn't take effect immediately. Instead, it advances slowly. In a normal person, the body will be completely rotted within two days, and after three days, the decay will spread throughout the entire body, leading to death." Karu squinted his eyes, speaking slowly. "Don't rush, let's wait a day and see."
"Alright, by this time tomorrow night, we'll check on him again," Mo Yan Yu nodded, casting a pleased glance at Shi Yan as she walked away with Karu, her mood visibly lifted.
"Heh, kid, your good days are over." Johnson grinned widely and laughed. The thought of Shi Yan slowly decaying and dying made him feel much lighter, as though a stone had dropped from his heart.
Shi Yan lowered his head, his gaze cold.
The effects of the Duanchang Powder had already begun to take effect in his stomach and intestines. He could clearly feel it. It felt as though millions of ants were fighting for territory inside his stomach, gnawing at it.
The faint essence in his lower abdomen began to circulate silently, quickly flowing into his stomach and intestines. The essence moved like a gentle stream, quietly washing away the poison in his stomach under his control. Where the essence flowed, the poison's effect slowed down, and Shi Yan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
The humid breeze blew across, and Shi Yan greedily inhaled a deep breath, not caring about Johnson beside him. He sat down on the spot and focused all his attention on circulating his essence to resist the corrosion of the poison.
The faint essence, which had grown stronger recently, became his lifesaving herb. It flowed through his stomach and intestines, and with each complete circulation, the poison's corrosion slowed down. The speed at which the poison eroded his stomach remained constant, never speeding up.
At this moment, Shi Yan realized the marvelous effect of essence and became even more determined to cultivate his essence and become a mighty warrior.
But if essence could be this beneficial, how powerful must the "Martial Soul" be, which was revered as a divine gift? If he could possess a "Martial Soul," wouldn't he become even stronger and suffer much less?
Shi Yan suddenly resented the original owner of this body for not inheriting the Shi family's "Stone Martial Soul." If he had, perhaps he could have fought back against Mo Yan Yu's "Lightning Martial Soul" just now, using the "Stone Martial Soul" to resist her attack and escape, avoiding having to swallow this deadly Duanchang Powder.
Time passed quickly, and the moon grew cooler. Soon, it was deep into the night. The martial artists in the distance, having traveled all day, were now quiet, each finding a comfortable place to cultivate their essence, striving to break through their physical limits and reach higher realms to gain more power.
The drug slaves, staring at the sky, were more prone to miss their distant family members and feel fearful in the quiet night. Every time they thought that perhaps tomorrow they would become test subjects and die as new corpses, despair filled their bodies, and they felt the cold seep into their bones.
Under the moonlight, Shi Yan sat cross-legged on the ground, his calm face gradually taking on a more serious expression.
Five hours of circulating his essence had controlled the rapid spread of the Duanchang Powder inside his body. However, without realizing it, he noticed that a third of his essence had been consumed, and it was still depleting!
But the poison from the Duanchang Powder in his stomach showed no sign of diminishing. On the contrary, it seemed to have an unyielding vitality.
The Duanchang Powder appeared to be waiting for an opportunity, waiting for the moment when his essence ran out, to strike back suddenly!
Shi Yan suddenly felt a cold chill all over his body.
Once his essence was exhausted, he would have no defense. By that time, there would be no way out, and his body would begin to decay from his stomach and intestines, eventually spreading throughout his body.
He had no other way to counter this.
In this situation, he couldn't even rely on his cultivation to gather more essence because if he neglected the poison's effect on his stomach, the Duanchang Powder would only become stronger, accelerating his death.
Thus, knowing this path would ultimately lead to death, he could only continue.
Two more hours passed.
The poison from the Duanchang Powder not only didn't slow down but gradually grew stronger. The rate at which his essence was being consumed accelerated, and he could clearly feel it!
It was as if he was drawing closer to death with each passing moment…
Once his essence was depleted, his stomach and intestines would rot. At that point, he wouldn't die immediately. The decay would spread to his internal organs, and in five to six days, like other drug slaves, he would eventually die as his entire body rotted away.
Shi Yan's face grew grim, and his eyes gleamed with coldness as they fixed on Mo Yan Yu, sitting on the large tree in the distance.
Under the bright moonlight, Mo Yan Yu sat gracefully on the thick tree trunk, her skin like frost and her delicate face serene. Her long hair swayed gently in the wind, like a spirit of the night. She didn't notice the cold gaze from Shi Yan, as she silently cultivated, nourishing the spiritual veins of the "Lightning Martial Soul" inside her.
Karu, at the back of the group, had his left hand hidden in the loose sleeve of his robe, leaning against another ancient tree while reading a poisonous text with great interest.
From time to time, Karu glanced in Shi Yan's direction, a cold, malicious smile on his lips.
This situation couldn't continue. Shi Yan furrowed his brow, continuing to circulate his essence to resist the poison's invasion, while rapidly thinking of a solution.
At this rate, his essence would be exhausted before dawn. Once his essence was depleted, he would be certain to die! With the poison in his body, even if he tried to escape, it wouldn't change anything. The only solution was Karu!
Since Karu was capable of crafting Duanchang Powder, he must also have the antidote in his possession. Only by obtaining the antidote from Karu could he avoid the inevitable fate of his body being corroded. However, Karu was not only an alchemist but also a warrior at the innate realm. Trying to take the antidote from him was almost like suicide.
Shi Yan secretly observed Karu, noticing that although Karu appeared to be reading his poison book, he frequently glanced toward Shi Yan's position. It was clear that Karu was not entirely unprepared. He might have already guessed what Shi Yan intended to do, waiting for him to fall into his trap.
Thoughts flashed through Shi Yan's mind. He understood that, although the chance of success was nearly nonexistent, he had no choice but to strike at Karu. He had to act quickly; otherwise, once his essence was completely exhausted, his chance of survival would be even smaller.
Shi Yan silently adjusted his breathing, temporarily disregarding the poison in his stomach, pulling all his essence back, preparing for a desperate fight.
As expected, once his essence was withdrawn, the Duanchang Powder's effects suddenly intensified, and the poison spread faster. The pain in his body naturally surged as well.
Just as Shi Yan was about to act, the decayed portion of his stomach suddenly changed!
The decaying part of his stomach suddenly became active, and a faint, weak force wrapped around the decayed area. It was as though an invisible hand was stitching up the damaged part of his stomach, and the decayed area slowly began to heal…
Shi Yan froze in surprise.
What was supposed to be his last desperate move now paused as he calmed down immediately, focusing all his mental energy on observing the strange changes happening inside his body!
The cells became incredibly active, as if they suddenly came to life. The decayed flesh subtly wriggled, and the damaged areas gradually healed. Within half an hour, the decayed parts were restored, and he felt no more pain.
A current seemed to flow through his body. Shi Yan felt an intense surge of joy, but he didn't show it on his face. He remained as calm as water, as if lost in deep sleep.
Any extraordinary gift that didn't require the circulation of essence was bound to be a special "Martial Soul!"
A sentence about the characteristics of a "Martial Soul" suddenly flashed in Shi Yan's mind. After thinking about it for a moment, he immediately realized that the change in his body was due to a special "Martial Soul" at work.
Self-healing of the body was a unique talent, seemingly an unexplored and miraculous "Martial Soul!"
The poison from the Duanchang Powder began to take effect again, attacking his stomach. Without the essence to resist it, his stomach quickly started decaying again.
Miraculously, as the cells became active, the decayed portion of his stomach healed once again, as if the self-healing "Martial Soul" was repairing the damage before the poison could act again.
"Martial Souls" grow stronger as a warrior's cultivation increases and can even undergo special transformations. The higher a warrior's realm, the stronger the special talents that the "Martial Soul" will exhibit.
Another sentence about the characteristics of a "Martial Soul" flashed in Shi Yan's mind, and he was filled with immense joy. From the self-healing talent of this "Martial Soul," it seemed that as his realm increased, his body could rapidly heal even if it was damaged. If he reached realms like the Celestial or Divine, this self-healing "Martial Soul" might even allow him to regenerate broken limbs.
If he could reach that level, even if someone stabbed him in the heart, wouldn't he be able to use this "Martial Soul" to recover and avoid death?
If that were the case, once he reached the true divine realm, wouldn't he be invincible, never dying?
A series of thoughts flashed through Shi Yan's mind. After careful consideration, he silently named this "Martial Soul" the "Immortal Martial Soul."
After quietly feeling for a while and confirming that the "Immortal Martial Soul" could resist the poison from Duanchang Powder, Shi Yan finally relaxed, abandoning the desperate thought