Zhou Chen glanced at Junior Sister Chen, whom Li Yan held in his arms.
Her face was delicate and well behaved, her figure tall and outstanding.
Her exquisite features were slightly furrowed as she slept peacefully.
He then looked at Li Yan and nodded silently.
"Junior Brother Li, if you have something to say, speak freely."
Junior Brother Li possessed decent talent with dual spiritual roots and was considered diligent, often venturing out on expeditions.
Most importantly, he was extremely cautious and never greedy.
In the cultivation world, the first to die are usually those cultivators who are overly confident in their own strength.
Zhou Chen valued his talent and had befriended him long ago.
Li Yan gritted his teeth and spoke with a face full of remorse.
"Senior Brother Zhou, Junior Sister Chen has been poisoned by the Fire Toad Beast. I must go into the secret realm to find Thousand Year Ice Spirit Liquid to cure her. If I do not return, for the sake of our past friendship, I ask Senior Brother Zhou to look after Junior Sister Chen for me. If I truly do not return and Junior Sister Chen cannot survive, could Senior Brother please bury her for me?"
The Fire Toad Beast is a second level, Foundation Establishment Stage demon beast.
The poison it spews is incredibly potent, capable of burning the spiritual power within a cultivator’s body.
In recent days, Chen Tingwan has been tormented by the fire poison, suffering a living death.
Li Yan’s heart felt as if sliced by a knife. He could not bear to watch his dao companion suffer.
Even if the secret realm offered only a one in ten chance of survival, he had to risk it and make a desperate attempt.
Seeing the sincerity in Li Yan’s eyes, Zhou Chen sighed and said, "Alright. Go with peace of mind. I will take care of your wife."
At most, it was a matter of burying a corpse, and it could also help him build some goodwill.
If Li Yan truly succeeded and returned alive, this favor would be of considerable use in the future.
Li Yan gazed at Chen Tingwan with deep reluctance, then turned resolutely and strode away.
"Senior Brother Zhou, here are twelve spirit stones. Please do not disdain them."
Recently, to purchase pills to suppress the fire poison, he had nearly exhausted his savings.
This was the last reward he could offer.
After all, one cannot ask for help without offering something in return.
Seeing his dejected expression, Zhou Chen pushed the spirit stones back.
"Forget it. There is no need for formalities between fellow disciples. Use these spirit stones to buy some healing pills or life saving talismans. They might give you a slightly better chance of survival in the secret realm."
Upon hearing this, Li Yan was deeply moved. After several more rounds of polite refusal, seeing that Zhou Chen was adamant about not keeping the spirit stones, he could only bow deeply to him.
"This great kindness, if your junior brother returns alive, I will surely repay you in the future."
He had no way to cure the Fire Toad Beast’s poison.
Even ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators could not resolve it. It required at least a third rank Thousand Year Profound Ice Pill.
This item was truly difficult to find, hence the necessity of risking the secret realm.
Even knowing the odds were nine deaths to one life, for the woman he loved, he had to stake his life and try once.
Zhou Chen sighed, his eyes filled with helplessness.
"The Xue Jin Secret Realm. It truly is a dangerous place. I can only wish him good luck."
The Foundation Establishment Pill is a second rank pill, not inherently high in grade.
But it is extremely difficult to find, essentially only sold by major sects.
A significant reason for this is that several of the ingredients required to refine the Foundation Establishment Pill can only be found within the Xue Jin Secret Realm.
And within the Xue Jin Secret Realm, Foundation Establishment cultivators cannot enter.
Therefore, every twenty years, when the secret realm opens, the various major sects send their Qi Refining Stage disciples to explore.
If they can return alive, they receive substantial rewards from their sect.
Moreover, if the medicinal ingredients they bring back are plentiful enough, the sect will directly bestow Foundation Establishment Pills as a reward.
Even though the reward is a low grade Foundation Establishment Pill, it is still a rare fated opportunity for ordinary cultivators.
"Forget it. This place has no connection to me."
He had experienced the opening of the Xue Jin Secret Realm several times but never chose to enter.
In his youth, he had the courage, thinking to fight for a path to the heavens for himself.
But at that time, his cultivation was only at the second layer of Qi Refining.
That would not have been a nine deaths one life gamble. It would have been a certain death suicide mission.
Later, as he gradually aged, he long lost the novelty of those early days.
Zhou Chen settled Chen Tingwan in a side room.
Then, after closing the door securely, he walked out.
When Li Yan appeared, he had received a prompt from the system.
[Name: Chen Tingwan]
[Age: Twenty eight]
[Spiritual Roots: Three Spiritual Roots] (Water, Phoenix, Earth)
[Cultivation Method: Yin Yang Art]
[Cultivation: Eighth layer of Qi Refining]
[Charm: 88]
[Favorability: 20]
[Comprehensive Evaluation: Eighty five]
However, the situation arose so suddenly that Zhou Chen had not had time to pay attention to it.
Besides, Junior Brother Li was not Tang San. He had not planned on doing anything.
Currently, the few women he had were enough to supply him. Any more and his body could not handle it.
It was not until evening.
Chen Tingwan opened her eyes in confusion, finding herself in an unfamiliar room.
At first, she felt somewhat unsettled, but after looking around a bit more, she recognized it as Zhou Chen’s small courtyard and immediately felt at ease.
As one of the rare good natured people among the outer sect disciples, Senior Brother Zhou would not harm her.
Zhou Chen pushed the door open and, seeing the awakened Chen Tingwan, spoke gently.
"Junior Sister Chen, Junior Brother Li has decided to participate in this secret realm training. For these days, you should stay here at Senior Brother’s place first."
Chen Tingwan’s eyes instantly reddened, her expression cracking with emotion.
Among the cultivators who participate in the Xue Jin Secret Realm, fewer than one in ten survives.
The secret realm is dangerous, but even more dangerous are the people.
The vast majority of cultivators die not in the mouths of demon beasts, but from the backstabs of cultivators from other sects.
But she did not say much more, knowing Li Yan’s resolve to go was firm.
"Thank you, Senior Brother Zhou. You truly are a good person."
This body was too frail, ravaged by the fire toad poison, unable to even control its spiritual power.
Moreover, the Yin Yang Art she cultivated inherently had the wonderful effect of yin and yang fusion to enhance cultivation.
But now she was a dying person, and it was hard to guarantee that someone would not see her as a plaything.
The sect would not care about the life or death of someone whose path to immortality was severed.
If she had to choose someone to rely on, Zhou Chen was the most suitable candidate.
And so, Chen Tingwan temporarily settled down in the small courtyard.
The medicinal garden was originally planted with vast quantities of spirit herbs, making the concentration of spiritual qi here about thirty percent stronger than in the caves where outer sect disciples lived.
However, because Chen Tingwan was poisoned, she endured the burning of the fire poison every moment.
Her fair, delicate face always bore an abnormal flush.
Nan Qiao initially wanted to advise her, but Zhou Chen stopped her.
"Do not go near her. She carries fire poison. Your body cannot resist it."
Even the emanating toxicity was not something an ordinary person could come into contact with.
Zhou Chen patted his storage pouch, and a deep blue medicinal vial appeared in his palm.
He walked slowly to Chen Tingwan’s front and handed the vial to her.
"This bottle of Profound Ice Pills can temporarily suppress the fire poison."
These were first rank pills he had coincidentally refined not long ago when he had spare time and purchased some medicinal ingredients.
Although they were first rank healing pills, he thought they should still have some effect.
Chen Tingwan was tormented by the fire poison to the point of delirium.
She only vaguely remembered that she was staying in Zhou Chen’s small courtyard.
Seeing a hand vaguely reaching towards her in her daze, she swallowed it without thinking.
Zhou Chen, quick eyed and swift handed, hurriedly pulled his hand back.
Even with his extremely fast reaction, he was still a step too slow.
When Chen Tingwan swallowed the pill, she bit down too hard, clamping fiercely onto his index finger.
With her seventh layer of Qi Refining cultivation, if Zhou Chen had not dodged quickly, his finger would have been bitten to a bloody pulp.
But his index finger was still left with a bite mark, neither deep nor shallow.
His fingertip was surrounded by a scorching sensation and a faint, delicate fragrance.
After taking the pill, Chen Tingwan’s complexion visibly improved significantly.
Although she still felt somewhat drowsy, she could barely control her body now.
She hurriedly circulated her cultivation method, mobilizing her spiritual power to flow through her meridians.
The Fire Toad Beast’s poison was too potent.
Even after taking three Profound Ice Pills, it merely suppressed the toxicity, with the risk of a relapse at any moment.