Chapter 79: What Others See As Poison, I See As Treasure
Whoosh!
Fang Shu’s body shrank back, and he retreated from the cave, crouching again inside the passage.
But even after retreating, the rusty metallic taste in his mouth and nose persisted relentlessly, and he also felt an itch in his lungs, a sensation urging him to cough.
The abnormality in his body shocked Fang Shu even more; he was already an immortal cultivator who had passed the Second Tribulation, long immune to all illnesses—not to mention coughing or itching, not even dry mouth and tongue should occur.
“This is… poisoned?”
He, originating from the Du Gu Guan, possessing both Insect Skill and Lead Skill, having refined Purple Lead Poisonous Blood and White Mercury Poisonous Marrow, an immortal cultivator—actually poisoned!?
Fang Shu pondered this point, his brows involuntarily furrowing; though it grated on his mind, he had to consider this possibility.
But soon, his brows relaxed.
Because memories surged in his mind, and he quickly recalled a toxin capable of poisoning even a body immune to all poisons—Metal and Stone Poison!
This toxin was formless and intangible, colorless and odorless, existing only within metals and stones, and often in extremely minute quantities.
It could kill invisibly, and anyone poisoned by it would inevitably bleed from all over, shed skin and flesh, have intestines pierced and belly rotted, dying in agony as their body melted—arguably the most painful deadly poison in the world.
Even immortal cultivators, even those who had achieved Spiritual Immortal, could easily fall victim to this Metal and Stone Poison if caught off guard.
Fang Shu had once heard in the Du Gu Guan that weapons forged from metals and stones containing Metal and Stone Poison—even mere mortal weapons—could wound Qi Refining Spiritual Immortals protected by true qi when wielded by mortals.
For Human Immortals below Qi Refining, facing such weapons was even more troublesome; even a slight cut would cause the wound to fester, requiring immediate excision of all surrounding flesh.
Otherwise, if delayed even slightly, survival and healing would later require a full body Blood Change.
Thus, this Metal and Stone Poison most effectively damaged qi and blood, ruined cultivation and foundation, making it extremely dreaded by Essence Refining Immortals!
But in Fang Shu’s heart, a different emotion stirred.
Suppressing his shock, he immediately poked his head out again, lingering in the cave emitting eerie blue fluorescence for a few breaths.
Soon, a denser rusty metallic smell assaulted his nose, and even his vision slightly distorted.
Though Metal and Stone Poison itself was formless and intangible, high concentrations could cause physical bleeding and air shimmering, thus revealing its presence.
At the same time, smelling the rusty metallic odor through mouth and nose, or seeing fluorescence and hearing ringing in ears and eyes, meant one was already poisoned, with no low toxin concentration in the surroundings.
“No mistake, the toxin in this cave is Metal and Stone Poison!” Fang Shu judged in his heart.
Immediately, he shrank back in the cave and hastily dug out a stone block from both sides, blocking the one-foot entrance ahead.
Once the entrance was sealed, the symptoms on his body immediately slowed, fading to nothing in a few breaths, and the toxin from the cave no longer spread.
This situation further proved that the eerie toxin ahead was Metal and Stone Poison.
Because this type of toxin, born from metals and stones, was particularly countered by metals and stones, especially lead-bearing ores. And the mine where Fang Shu was located was precisely the largest black lead mine in Mount Lu, even directly named “Qian Shan”; every stone block in the mountain contained lead.
Having confirmed the origin of the toxin in the cave, Fang Shu calmed down, his face showing not worry but joy.
His gaze was bright and spirited, even happier than when he had seen the Purple Lead Mica Milk earlier!
This was because the Dojo Master had mentioned Metal and Stone Poison during a certain lecture, as it was something other immortal cultivators dreaded and avoided.
But for their Witchcraft and Suppression school, it was excellent material for cultivation practice and casting spells.
Obtaining an object containing a certain amount of Metal and Stone Poison—even without doing anything or using any magic power—simply giving it to a thief or placing it in their home could destroy their family.
It was said this was the origin of witchcraft and suppression techniques, achievable even by mortals!
Besides, Metal and Stone Poison could also be used for Gu Refining.
This poison promoted slaughter among gu worms, their metamorphosis, greatly increasing the chance of producing ferocious gu, and extremely saving time in raising gu.
And Fang Shu aspired to become a Gu Master.
Joy filled his heart, and he secretly thought:
“This place is a perilous danger zone for others, but for me, even for the Du Gu Guan, it is a treasure land for Gu Refining.”
In an instant, a thought arose in his heart: to open a cave abode here, turning it into his private cultivation chamber.
He looked around the passage he had dug behind him and no longer felt these days’ work too laborious and dirty.
It was all worth it!
Looking at the opened passage, Fang Shu suddenly realized in his heart, understanding why Cheng Guanzi and the others had to blast this place collapsed.
Most likely, they later realized they were poisoned, panicked in their hearts, couldn’t find the enemy, and could only blast the place to prevent ghosts or monsters from bursting out.
Fang Shu thought darkly: “No wonder that fellow became an immortal cultivator later but never returned here. Most likely, he knew the potency of Metal and Stone Poison and feared coming back even more.”
After some thought, he looked again toward the eerie blue cave, his gaze delighted.
However, Fang Shu did not rashly enter the cave again.
Note that according to the Dojo Master’s explanation, after immortal cultivators discovered Metal and Stone Poison’s promotion for Gu Refining, they applied it to human body cultivation based on this.
Immortal cultivators then found that this poison indeed promoted their cultivation, especially for immortals in the Essence Refining stage.
Medicines made with Metal and Stone Poison were top-tier Entering the Dao drugs in the world, with exceptionally high success rates.
However, such medicines were also top-tier Potent Medicines.
No matter how solid the user’s foundation, once consumed, even after Entering the Dao, they would have shortened lifespan, fatal debilitation, and severed offspring.
Thus, using Metal and Stone Poison to promote cultivation, though extremely fast and efficient, comparable to possessing a spiritual root,
was an evil, lifespan-shortening method; once entered, even if Qi Refining succeeded through it, the lost years could not be compensated, and it would accumulate poison into illness.
The Dojo Master warned Fang Shu and others never to rely on cultivating Poison Cultivation with strong resistance to seek out Metal and Stone Poison for cultivation practice.
Only after becoming a Qi Refining Spiritual Immortal, with true qi in the body, could one truly refine Metal and Stone Poison, turn poison into medicine, and fuse it into true qi, adding some power.
And after entering and exiting the cave just now, Fang Shu calmed his mind and discovered his own qi and blood had inexplicably surged a bit.
The muscles, bones, and skeleton in his body itched, making him exhilarated, with a sense of qi and blood surging automatically.
This was precisely his physical body stimulated by Metal and Stone Poison, with cultivation efficiency slightly increased.
Fang Shu worried that casually entering might lead him to uncontrollably use this poison for cultivation, gaining small advantage but suffering great loss.
After careful thought, he came up with a solution.
He first used cotton cloth soaked in water to cover his mouth and nose; though it couldn’t block the formless Metal and Stone Poison, it could prevent dust carrying the poison from entering his lungs.
Then, Fang Shu cast Long Tongue Sword, cutting lead-bearing ore from the mine vein into blocks, crafting a set of simple stone armor.
Thus prepared, wrapped in Lead Stone Armor, he burrowed into the eerie blue perilous cave.
Indeed, with the cotton cloth and stone helmet and armor blocking, no rusty metallic taste appeared in his mouth and nose, and the abnormal sensations on his body reduced by eighty or ninety percent, with only some itching on the skin in the gaps.
And for Fang Shu, possessing Purple Lead Poisonous Blood and White Mercury Poisonous Marrow, this was bearable; after returning, some medicine would root it out.
Immediately, Fang Shu nimbly moved through the several-zhang-sized cave, seeking ore emitting Metal and Stone Poison.
After circling a few times, Fang Shu surprisingly found that the stalactites and rock walls in this cave all seemed to contain Metal and Stone Poison.
The only thing in the cave without toxicity was the piled Purple Lead Mica Milk; not only non-toxic, it could neutralize and reduce Metal and Stone Poison.
This interplay of mutual generation and restraint amazed Fang Shu:
“Even this metal and stone evil poison has an antidote within seven steps… truly conforming to the principles of cultivating immortality.”
Thus, without ceremony, he took out his carried containers and scraped up the Purple Lead Mica Milk in the cave, not sparing a single drop.
After all, these were for detoxifying himself after treasure hunting.
In the end, Fang Shu collected two full waterskins, a bountiful harvest!
After successfully obtaining the Precious Medicine, he surveyed the strange scene here but restrained his impulse.
This place was difficult to use and excavate; he could retreat first, plan long-term, prepare properly in the marketplace, then return to utilize it.
However, just as Fang Shu moved to leave the cave, his steps suddenly halted.
His gu worms stirred restlessly, the mischievous Follower Bug most active, suddenly burrowing out from the Lead Stone Armor, refusing to leave.
The thing wobbled drunkenly in the cave, then plopped down at the central position, persistently drilling into a stone crevice, as if possessed.
This situation made Fang Shu’s eyebrow twitch.
