Chapter 333: Black Death Prison

Everything was chaotic. Cao Yun was in pain so he didn't really pay attention to anything around him. Even now, he was trying to stabilize his Bai Hui. On the way, the physicians had examined him but they were at a loss. The Drop of Wrath had done something to his Bai Hui. Since Cao Yun had triggered it unconsciously, the Drop of Wrath had tried to heal the acupoint so that his breakthrough could happen without any problem. However, the Drop of Wrath belonged to Axiu Qian who was not human. As such, it didn't know how to repair Cao Yun's Bai Hui.

Even with Cao Yun's unconscious effort, it had done a job that was close to what the acupoint was supposed to be, but not close enough. So, first, the physicians would have to get rid of those alterations. But they had to find a way to do so without destroying Cao Yun's Bai Hui and his Upper Dantian. Indeed, his Upper Dantian had also partook in the attempt. Right now, his Gate of the Hundred Convergences was a complete mess. It was a miracle it had not collapsed yet. And it was only thanks to the powerful vitality in Cao Yun's blood.

At any moment though, Cao Yun's Bai Hui could collapse. If it did, it would affect both his cultivation but also his mind.

Although Dian Mo was happy to see Cao Yun suffer, he needed his body to be in a suitable condition. Indeed, he still wanted to take it over. And if such a wound were to plague Cao Yun, even he wasn't sure what would happen. In fact, the Bai Hui could even take down parts of his Upper Dantian and Dian Mo could suffer from it right away.

Finally, the group reached the physician pavilion through the chaos. The scene there was reminiscent of what Cao Yun had seen in Baziyun City. Many physicians and even instructors without much medical knowledge were helping several wounded disciples. Cao Yun did not recognize everyone. The chaos and the fights had not been contained to the outer sect, even the inner sect had been sent into turmoil. In fact, the inner sect had also been plagued with traitors.

While walking in the corridors, Cao Yun recognized a plump man he had done business with, Brother Lü. He had been the first one to buy his pills. Since then, he had broken through and was a Mortal warrior. But today, he was dead. Only one of his friends was here because he was still too weak to join the fights. And he was still holding his lifeless hand.

The physician pavilion was sadly full of such tragedies. Several cultivators had also lost limbs or organs. Most of the wounds had been caused not by the fights but when Luoming Tian had summoned Da Mo's arm. The buildings it had destroyed had created a lot of pain and suffering.

As soon as the group was safe, the physicians who had been accompanying them split up and went to help everyone they could. Meanwhile, Cao Yun and his friends were climbing to the top of the physician pavilion where Chief Elder Suxian was being treated.

When they reached the door, Cao Yun felt a powerful vitality and recognized the Qi right away. After they had opened the door, he had confirmation. With Chief Elder Qinghe, Instructor Meng was present. He had finally come out of seclusion while Cao Yun had been in the Palace of Supreme Wisdom. Indeed, he was now a 1st-grade Spirit Warrior. And he had been officially given the title of Elder.

Just as Cao Yun had recognized his familiar aura, so did Elder Meng. However, he had also felt the wound inflicted on Cao Yun's Bai Hui. Unfortunately, he was now in the process of helping Chief Elder Qinghe treat Chief Elder Suxian. So he had no time to spare for his student.

"Chief Elder Qinghe, Instructor Meng, this humble one dares suggest something to you."

Chief Elder Qinghe's first impulse was to get irritated and angry. But he also knew that Sun Liao would not do anything to distract him while he was helping his own master. Thus, he deigned give them some time.

"Chief Elder, although I do not know much about medicine, I happened to find a technique that could allow me to control and even purify Evil Qi in some cases. After hearing about the symptoms, I thought that I might assist you."

"What did you just say?!"

Chief Elder Qinghe was the best physician in the Hongchen Kingdom, and he was currently the oldest living man as well. As such, he could boast about his vast experience. Yet, he had never heard about such a technique. Apart from a Spirit Warrior, no one could purify Evil Qi. And even then, only a powerful Spirit Warrior who had a great mind cultivation could do so through brute force. In fact, Chief Elder Qinghe could only think of a handful of people who could perform such a feat, him included.

After many attempts though, the Evil Qi that was plaguing Chief Elder Suxian was just too powerful. That was why he had called Elder Meng. With his alchemy, he might be able to do something. After all, he had been very close with Xiao Xuefeng and was extremely talented. And although it was rarely mentioned, Chief Elder Qinghe remembered his past with poisons.

At first, Chief Elder Qinghe almost threw Cao Yun out but he remembered that Elder Meng had been his instructor. Elder Meng had taken no one else but him, and only because Xiao Xuefeng had forced him to accept him. Maybe Xiao Xuefeng had such a technique which she had taught the young man, but then her direct disciple should also have been able to perform it. Anyway, he had nothing much to lose. Right now, Chief Elder Suxian was dying. There was no reason not to try something else. However, Cao Yun might injure himself while doing it...

"Chief Elder, I vouch for my student. If he says there is a possibility, there is one. He is not reckless or rash."

"Fine. But I'll be supervising everything. If you seem to be in danger or nothing happens, I'll get you out of there. Begin."

Cao Yun bowed down and then got closer to Chief Elder Suxian. He looked back and saw Sun Liao's eyes. Even without words, he was pleading his friend to save his master.

Avoiding the use of his Bai Hui, Cao Yun let a tiny portion of Qi out. With it, he mixed in the intent of the Drop of Wrath. As soon as it got close to Chief Elder Suxian, Cao Yun could feel how desperate the situation was. His entire body had been consumed by Evil Qi. All his organs had been contaminated. There was not an ounce of life left in his body. However, Cao Yun was still able to feel some form of vibrancy in his Upper Dantian. Although he was not a Spirit Warrior, Cao Yun could feel what this was, this was Chief Elder Suxian's Soul Embryo.

It was completely trapped in his own body. Usually Evil Qi was created by the resentment at the time of death. But this poison had turned Chief Elder Suxian's Qi into Evil Qi while consuming his living flesh. At the same time, this Evil Qi had blocked all of his acupoints. In fact, even Chief Elder Qinghe had trouble sensing what was happening within because he had to go through a layer of Evil Qi just to inject his intent. On the other hand, Cao Yun had no such problem thanks to his Drop of Wrath. For him, Evil Qi was no different from pure Qi. Even then, the Evil Qi in Chief Elder Suxian was actively trying to obstruct Cao Yun.

With his damaged Bai Hui, it was difficult to proceed. But he had to try something or Chief Elder Suxian's Soul Embryo, and then his very soul, would be consumed as well.

"So you've finally realized how serious his condition is?"

In his sea of consciousness, Cao Yun heard a voice. Dian Mo was speaking to him.

"Leave me alone, demon."

"Come on. You should have realized by now that you will never be able to help this poor man. But you are lucky to have me by your side."

"You know this poison?!"

"Of course I do. It's called the Black Death Prison because of the way it acts. It turns the victim's Qi into Evil Qi and then traps their soul to slowly consume it. This is meant as an extreme form of torture. But you are very lucky indeed, for, whoever made it, made it poorly. It's supposed to reach the rank of 1-star Spirit poison. If it had, even you and your strange blood could do nothing. But because it's only a 5-star Heaven poison, there is hope yet."

"And you'll help me out of the goodness of your heart?"

"Of course not. But for now, I won't ask for much. We both know you intend to have one of your masters take my spirit out of your sea of consciousness so they can search my memories and kill me afterward. But if I help you save the soul of your friend's master, I ask that you promise not to have me killed. This is fair, isn't it? A life for a life..."

Cao Yun knew that he couldn't trust that spirit, but he had clearly detected that he would never be able to save Chief Elder Suxian. Even with the Drop of Wrath, the Evil Qi within his body was completely hostile toward him. He and his own Qi could travel through Chief Elder Suxian's body but he would never be able to protect his Soul Embryo while taking it out. First of all, he wasn't even sure how to move his Soul Embryo. Chief Elder Qinghe might help him with that. But there were many other obstacles.

Fully aware of the impossible task ahead of him, Cao Yun saw Sun Liao's eyes once again. Although Chief Elder Suxian was not his blood, he was his master. In fact, the relationship between disciple and master was sometimes stronger than the one between child and parent. In the Hongchen Kingdom, a teacher or a master was often called a second parent. In Sun Liao's eyes, there was not a trace of arrogance anymore. Cao Yun had seen something he was familiar with though, he had seen despair. It was the same look in his own eyes when his young sister was being taken from him.

Unwilling, Cao Yun still decided to make a deal with Dian Mo.

"Spirit, if you dare lie to me, I swear that your death will be the most miserable possible. But if you truly help me saving his Soul Embryo, I swear that no harm will come to you, so long as you cooperate with us."

Dian Mo thought for a while. He wasn't really happy with this kind of agreement. Even if Cao Yun swore something, his masters might not be so inclined to respect that. However, he had other cards up his sleeve. And for now, he could live with this deal. His goal right now was to open the door to future negotiations not to gain anything of great importance.

"Fine, I'll help you out. The Black Death Prison is forged through the blood and souls of many mortals and cultivators. The most painful both physically and emotionally their death is, the better the poison gets. In fact, there is a set number of ways to kill them in order to enhance the poison. Then, several herbs rich in Yin are used to bond all those souls together while the blood becomes a substrate for it to act in the physical realm.

"Right now, the chaos you feel in the Evil Qi is due to this poison. It contains thousands upon thousands of souls screaming in agony. In fact, the victim should already been hearing their screams and sharing their pain. Before he can die, his soul will be driven insane. In order to calm the Evil Qi and be able to get rid of it, you first need to separate those dead souls. For that, I know exactly which ingredients to use.

"I will give you the list of ingredients and how to prepare them. I am sure this Elder Meng can get them and prepare them. You'll only need to act after the Evil Qi will be calm. As long as you can control a fraction of the Evil Qi, you'll be able to open some sort of exit for the Soul Embryo trapped within. Then, he'll get out by himself.

"But I have one more demand. If you tell about my existence to the people around you, they'll immediately try to destroy me. For now, I will only help you if you promise to keep my existence a secret until the current crisis is over."

Cao Yun thought about every word. What Dian Mo had said made sense according to what he had perceived in Chief Elder Suxian's body. And unfortunately, the last part made sense as well. They were in the middle of a fratricide war. If he just told them he had the Palace Spirit created by Demon God Da Mo in him, not only would Dian Mo be attacked, Cao Yun would even be suspected of something. The only one he could trust fully was Xiao Xuefeng. Besides, she was the one he trusted to get Dian Mo out of his sea of consciousness without causing any problem.

"Fine, I accept. Tell me the ingredients. But they'd better be obtainable."

"Do not worry. As I said, you're lucky this poison has been botched. Otherwise, the ingredients would be almost impossible to gather. Just repeat my list to your elders, they'll know what to do."

"Elder Meng, I'll need your help."

Cao Yun repeated the explanation from Dian Mo. Everyone in the room was shocked by how detailed his understanding of the poison was. If they had not known better, they would have thought he had been the one who had poisoned Chief Elder Suxian.

Thankfully, the ingredients were all present in the physician pavilion. Chief Elder Qinghe sent Elder Meng fetch them all. Although he had never heard about a Black Death Prison poison, the list made sense to him. The boy in front of him was definitely not normal. But for now, Chief Elder Qinghe kept his doubts for himself. Cao Yun was very close with Xiao Xuefeng and he was certain that he was not a demonic cultivator. In fact, even Sect Leader Xuan was interested in the boy. He was special and Chief Elder Qinghe knew better than to meddle in it. He would leave Sect Leader Xuan decide what to do after reporting everything to him.

In less than the time to drink a cup of tea, Elder Meng had come back with all the ingredients and they began to treat Chief Elder Suxian. It didn't take long for signs of appeasement to be seen. Sun Liao's face regained a lot of colors. And he looked at his brother with new eyes.

Then came the most difficult part, Cao Yun had to push away Evil Qi to create a path for Chief Elder Suxian's Soul Embryo to leave his dead body. Although his body was dead, as a 7th-grade Spirit Warrior, Chief Elder Suxian could live at least a couple of centuries as a disembodied soul.