Ye Wen felt as if his arm no longer belonged to him; touching it with his other hand yielded no sensation, a situation that made him deeply worried. “Am I really going to die here from this serpent's venom?” Thinking of his unfulfilled ambitions being cut short by such rotten luck, Ye Wen could only sigh inwardly, “Has my good fortune finally run out?” He then sat down by the edge of the cold pool, striving to circulate his Quanzhen Xin Fa, directing all his internal energy toward the bitten arm, hoping to force all the poison out. This method of utilizing internal power was, naturally, something learned from many martial arts novels, but every character capable of achieving such a feat was invariably a master of profound internal skill; only then could the poison be completely eradicated.

Ye Wen knew his own internal mastery was, at best, only minor success; relying solely on internal strength to cleanse the toxin completely would likely be insufficient. Thus, while mobilizing his energy to resist the poison and halt its spread, he simultaneously sought a solution. As he pondered, the fruit he had tossed into his mouth moments before was swallowed.

As that small amount of pulp entered his stomach, a wave of coldness surged up from his gut, and Ye Wen felt the air he exhaled was frigid. Furthermore, this coldness did not dissipate but spread throughout his limbs and bones, especially toward the poisoned arm. After the chill reached that area, Ye Wen noticed his arm faintly, subtly regaining a flicker of sensation.

Yet, this feeling was not pronounced, and as that small surge of cold energy was exhausted, the arm reverted to its previous numb state. If Ye Wen had not been concentrating completely on circulating his internal arts, making him acutely aware of his body’s condition, he might never have noticed it at all. “Could this little fruit actually be an antidote?” He recalled the saying: within a hundred paces of a potent poison lies its cure.

The snake that bit him was clearly a descendant of that giant serpent, and Ye Wen had not missed the red circle markings on that creature. This place was the nest of these snakes; therefore, finding an antidote here would not be surprising. With this thought, Ye Wen opened his eyes and glanced around.

The spot where he sat was precisely where he had just picked the fruit, close enough that he didn't even need to move—just an outstretched hand would allow him to pluck a few more. Without hesitation, Ye Wen grabbed two more small fruits and tossed them straight into his mouth. “Life or death rests on this attempt.” If his guess was wrong, he would return to the stalemate he was in with the serpent venom.

Moreover, since he needed complete focus to resist the poison, he wouldn't even have a chance to return to the sect to call for help. The moment he moved, his vital energy would circulate, and the poison would instantly take his life. If he was correct, he still had a chance to survive.

Even if the venom couldn't be expelled immediately, he could salvage his life. As long as he didn't die right then and there, there would eventually be a way to resolve the issue. The bleakest outcome would be bloodletting.

Since Ye Wen had concentrated the poison into one arm, draining the poisoned blood from that limb would theoretically save his life. However, he possessed no life-saving tools currently; merely draining blood arbitrarily, even if the venomous blood were fully expelled, would lead to death from excessive blood loss. Fortunately, Ye Wen was clearly not fated to die.

That small fruit was indeed the bane of the Red-Lined Serpent (a name Ye Wen had hastily assigned it). As soon as the fruit entered his stomach, it transformed into a wave of cold energy, which then traversed his entire body, rushing forward with full force to contend with the serpent venom upon meeting its resistance. However, Ye Wen found this cold energy seemed weak; it contended with the venom for only a short while before being completely consumed and dissipating, while the venom stubbornly held its ground without any sign of retreat.

Discovering this, Ye Wen continuously tossed fruits into his mouth while vigorously circulating his Quanzhen internal arts to cooperate with the cold energy against the venom. The moment he sensed the cold energy nearing depletion, he immediately dropped another fruit in. Thus, Ye Wen sat by the cold pool, locked in a battle of attrition with the serpent venom.

Fortunately, perhaps because this area was the territory of the snake he had killed earlier, nothing else emerged, granting Ye Wen an environment conducive to healing. As for the fruit that could detoxify Ye Wen, it was actually a Small Cold Fruit, a product nurtured when the icy essence of the cold pool was absorbed by the surrounding soil. Given the pool’s temperature, it was inherently difficult for vegetation to sprout in the adjacent soil.

Only this outermost perimeter was different, as the chilling energy had weakened significantly, allowing this shrub-like plant bearing small fruits to grow. The fruit itself was an aggregation of cold energy, an object of extreme Yin and extreme cold. For an ordinary person, eating it would be far more dangerous than jumping into the cold pool itself, because once ingested, the cold energy would disperse directly into the vital organs.

Even with internal energy shielding the body, one would likely suffer a considerable internal setback. Of course, for someone cultivating Yin and cold-attributed internal arts, this substance would be a great tonic. Precisely because this item was harmful rather than beneficial to most people, the old man had not mentioned it on the wooden plank.

Furthermore, he wasn't worried about Xu Xian eating it; noble scions like him presumably wouldn't casually consume random items—the Small Cold Fruit didn't look particularly delicious or tempting either. But Ye Wen had been poisoned. These Red-Lined Serpents were inherently creatures born of Yang Fire; otherwise, the great serpent would not have guarded the supremely Yang Red Fruit so fiercely and refused to leave.

It was because the great serpent instinctively recognized the immense benefit the fruit offered it. Its offspring, naturally, would share its characteristics, possessing venom that was overwhelmingly potent. An ordinary person bitten would immediately suffer a fire toxin attacking the heart and die; even those with profound internal arts would struggle to resist it for long.

Only those with truly transcendental internal mastery would be immune to this venom, which was exceedingly aggressive. If Ye Wen had not inadvertently held a Small Cold Fruit in his mouth, he would have died instantly, let alone managed to calmly contend with the venom. It was the initial Small Cold Fruit held in his mouth that prevented the fire toxin from immediately assaulting his brain and robbing him of consciousness, leaving him only able to helplessly 'watch' the fire poison spread throughout his body, leading to his demise.

The cold energy of the Small Cold Fruit protected Ye Wen's brain. After swallowing it, it immediately surged through his body, cleansing a portion of the fire toxin that had already spread. Coupled with Ye Wen's timely reaction, this kept the fire poison confined to his arm.

Even with the aid of this counteracting substance, it would take Ye Wen considerable time to completely purge the fire toxin. As the process continued, the cold energy generated by the Small Cold Fruits began to affect him as well. Ye Wen now felt profoundly uncomfortable; most of his body was chilled to the bone, yet one arm felt agonizingly hot.

As time wore on, this imbalance worsened. Ye Wen began to suspect he was already dead and currently suffering torment in the netherworld. Opening his eyes again, although Ye Wen felt excruciatingly uncomfortable, he understood that if he wished to live, the Small Cold Fruits were his only lifeline.

But when he reached out, his hand met only weeds and twigs. Ye Wen searched for a while but found no fruit, a realization that filled him with urgent anxiety. He opened his eyes and saw that night had fallen without him realizing it.

All the Small Cold Fruits near him had long been consumed. A jolt went through Ye Wen, and he thought, "Is this the end of my fate?" Just as he was about to sigh deeply, he suddenly noticed a ripple of light before him—he remembered the cold pool was right there! The Small Cold Fruits grew by the pool's edge, their internal energy essence undoubtedly drawn from it.

He needed that cold energy now; to rely solely on the fruits instead of the pool itself—wasn't that abandoning the root for the branches? Having struggled with the fire toxin for so long, he already understood the properties of these two substances. Cursing himself as a "fool," he prepared to plunge into the water.

However, before entering, he remembered the message on the wooden plank, knowing the pool's water possessed extraordinary coldness. If he didn't prepare, before the fire poison was cleared, the cold poison might invade his body. Therefore, Ye Wen first circulated his Quanzhen internal arts to guard his meridians and internal organs before plunging into the water.

The moment he hit the water, he felt an ice-piercing cold attempting to drill into his body. Had he not protected his meridians and organs beforehand, this coldness would have damaged his interior, and even if the pool water cleared the fire poison, he would have been left with chronic ailments. Thinking of the latent ailments caused by cold entering the body, Ye Wen immediately recalled the Purple Silk Dragon King and her husband, both of whom suffered illnesses after their duel in a cold pool.

The Purple Silk Dragon King fared better; her ill-fated old man simply died on the spot. Hoping not to follow that poor wretch's path, Ye Wen cautiously protected himself while using his remaining internal energy to guide the cold entering his body to seek out the noxious fire poison. In reality, Ye Wen didn't need to guide them; the principle that water and fire are incompatible meant that these cold energies sought out the fire toxin immediately upon entry.

Furthermore, since Ye Wen was entirely submerged, the fire toxin was besieged from all directions, no longer appearing indestructible as before. Almost at a speed Ye Wen could perceive, the cold energy forced the fire toxin out of his body. Ye Wen carefully manipulated his true energy, safeguarding the areas where the fire toxin had been cleared, lest the cold poison settle in as soon as the fire toxin was expelled—a tragic scenario.

Seeing that the pool water was indeed effective, Ye Wen was overjoyed, knowing he wouldn't die today. He mustered his spirit to fight the fire toxin. Although he encountered some trouble when only a little fire poison remained, the inexhaustible supply of cold energy became his reliance, and the fire toxin was eventually driven out of his body, slowly dissipating in the water.

With the serpent venom entirely removed, Ye Wen finally let out a breath. However, he did not immediately exit the pool. Instead, he maintained his posture of circulating energy, continuously running his Quanzhen Xin Fa, because he discovered that under the pressure of the cold energy in the water, the rate at which his Quanzhen Xin Fa improved was astonishingly fast.

More importantly, the water, while piercingly cold, kept his spiritual platform perpetually clear, meaning he had no fear of falling into qi deviation from circulating his arts too rapidly. Thus, Ye Wen hoped to use this excellent opportunity to break through to a higher level of cultivation. This cultivation session lasted a full night and day.

When Ye Wen opened his eyes again, it was already dusk the following day. Realizing he had been there too long, Ye Wen immediately leaped out of the pool. He didn't use much force for this jump, yet he found he sprang higher than usual, and the true energy within him surged ceaselessly, its intensity and concentration far surpassing its previous state.

This filled him with immense joy. Ye Wen knew this was a blessing disguised as a misfortune; his internal martial arts cultivation had soared by a large margin because of this ordeal. P.S: Today, I scattered essence wildly, marking all previous comments with a 'featured' tag, tragically depleting the essence points again...

Everyone, remember to vote, or we won't have any essence left for next week.