As Mi Xue wrenched herself free from Zhang Yang's grasp, he failed to hold onto her. For the Zhang Yang of the past, this would have been almost impossible; this situation could only mean his body was currently far too weak.

"Wait for me!" Mi Xue ran downward without looking back. Zhang Yang gave a wry smile and shook his head above; Mi Xue had asked him to wait, but he truly couldn't stay put.

As for why Mi Xue was running down, Zhang Yang didn't need to guess; she was undoubtedly attempting the impossible by going after that Fox-Tailed Sable. He regretted telling her about the antidote; in Zhang Yang's view, she wasn't going for the cure, she was going to her death.

The Fox-Tailed Sable he couldn't handle—a hundred Mi Xues wouldn't be a match for it. Zhang Yang pushed himself up.

Since being poisoned, his internal energy was completely inaccessible, leaving him incredibly weak, even worse off than Mi Xue. He could only stagger slowly down the slope.

He had to chase after Mi Xue and tell her that one death was enough; there was no need for two. This cliff showed no signs of development; perhaps because it was too steep and remote, the Xie family hadn't bothered surveying it.

Zhang Yang called out from behind, but Mi Xue only sped up, moving faster than he could manage now. Unable to call her to a halt, Zhang Yang stopped shouting and simply followed slowly, picking his way cautiously down the terrain.

He didn't want to die from falling off the cliff after somehow surviving the poison. At the very least, he had to catch up to Mi Xue before his end and stop her from doing something foolish.

Still, Mi Xue's reckless rush downward genuinely moved him. She was a girl who truly cared for his well-being.

To have such a girl in his life, even if the duration was short, meant his time hadn't been lived in vain. Having experienced a brush with death once, Zhang Yang’s mentality was far stronger now when faced with another lethal crisis.

The further down he descended, the heavier his head grew. After an unknown amount of time, his arms had completely blackened, and the darkness was still creeping upward.

Zhang Yang understood that when the blackness reached his heart or brain, that would be his absolute end. "Ah!" A sudden shriek echoed from the distance.

Zhang Yang snapped awake, disregarding his severe weakness, and hurried forward. That was Mi Xue's voice.

He didn't know what she had encountered, and that very uncertainty fueled his urgency. Zhang Yang moved quickly, arriving at the spot of Mi Xue’s scream minutes later.

It was a small fissure in the middle of the cliff face, a secluded spot bordered by sheer drops. Normally, no one would ever come to a place like this.

In the moonlight, Zhang Yang saw Mi Xue standing alone, staring blankly ahead, trembling slightly. She made motions to step forward several times, only to stop herself rooted to the spot.

Seeing that Mi Xue was unharmed eased his heart somewhat, but before the relief could fully settle, Mi Xue darted forward toward the edge of the precipice. "Mi Xue!" Anxiety gripped Zhang Yang, and he hastened his pace, though his fastest speed now couldn't match his previous agility.

Mi Xue, having just reached the edge, crouched down, picked up an object, and then turned and ran back. As Zhang Yang moved toward her, he saw what she held in her arms and froze instantly, utterly still.

What Mi Xue carried was a small, fluffy white thing. Zhang Yang was intimately familiar with this creature; he had struggled with it for a long time just moments ago, eventually receiving a bite from it.

The Fox-Tailed Sable—Mi Xue had actually brought the Fox-Tailed Sable with her. Zhang Yang felt a momentary short-circuit in his mind; he even wondered if he was dreaming, if everything that had happened was merely a fabrication of sleep.

But the throbbing pain in the wound and the pervasive numbness throughout his body clearly informed him this was no dream; everything was real. Mi Xue, clutching the Sable, ran swiftly.

She spotted Zhang Yang quickly, and soon reached his side. "Z-Zhang Yang, is it—is it that its saliva can cure your poison?" Holding the Fox-Tailed Sable, Mi Xue seemed incredibly tense.

Her body was still shaking, and her face was contorted by fear. Yet, she persisted, holding onto the creature, because she knew it was the only thing that could save Zhang Yang.

"Let me see it," Zhang Yang sank onto a nearby rock, breathing heavily, and spoke softly. Only then did Mi Xue hand the Fox-Tailed Sable from her embrace to him.

The Sable’s eyes were tightly shut. Its face held a faint yellow tinge, suggesting it was in pain.

"Poisoned?" Zhang Yang was momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected the Fox-Tailed Sable to be poisoned too, considering it was ranked among the top ten most venomous creatures in the world—it didn't even fear cobra venom, consuming snakes like candy.

Whatever could poison it couldn't be something simple. "Mi Xue, was there anything else over there?" Zhang Yang quickly inquired.

The Sable was unconscious from the poison, not dead. As he spoke, he carefully pried open its mouth and extracted some saliva.

The Sable's venom was stored in its fangs; the antidote was solely its saliva. It sounded disgusting, but it was the only way.

Only saliva constantly exposed to the Sable's poison possessed the curative properties. Zhang Yang's question made Mi Xue shudder violently; her face grew paler, and her expression more terrified.

"A spider, there was a very large spider there!" After a moment, Mi Xue managed to speak, clinging tightly to Zhang Yang’s body to lessen her terror as she spoke. Children are naturally terrified of snakes, spiders, and similar creatures; Mi Xue was no exception.

"Help me up. Let me go take a look!" Zhang Yang had already smeared the Sable’s saliva onto his wound, and the blackened skin began to gradually restore itself.

He had essentially neutralized the Sable's venom. This allowed Zhang Yang to breathe a long sigh of relief.

Thank goodness he had followed her; any later, and once the Sable's toxin reached his heart, even the Fox-Tailed Sable's saliva wouldn't have saved him. Zhang Yang had narrowly escaped death, but the situation felt strangely off.

Even though he knew immense danger still loomed, he needed to figure out what had transpired. "No—perhaps we shouldn't?" Mi Xue’s complexion turned alarmingly white again as she spoke in a wavering voice.

That spider was truly terrifying; her shriek had been caused by it. "Listen, you wait here for me.

I'll be right back!" Zhang Yang struggled to stand, sparing a glance for the unconscious Fox-Tailed Sable still in his hand. A hint of hesitation crossed his face.

This very creature had nearly killed him, and its current unconscious state presented the perfect opportunity for revenge. However, the Fox-Tailed Sable was a rare Celestial Beast, exceedingly scarce in the world.

Killing it now would truly be a waste. After a brief internal struggle, Zhang Yang ultimately refrained from striking.

The Sable was deeply poisoned and wouldn't wake soon; he didn't need to worry about immediate retaliation. Carrying the Sable, Zhang Yang slowly walked forward.

Mi Xue remained behind for a long moment before finally running to follow him. Soon, Zhang Yang reached the spot where Mi Xue had stood earlier.

Here, he finally understood why Mi Xue had been so afraid and had stood frozen for so long. At the edge of the cliff, there was a small clearing, barely ten square meters.

In that open space lay a spider—a giant black spider, nearly half a meter long. Seeing this spider, Zhang Yang also sucked in a sharp breath of cold air.

This was a Black Iron Spider, and an adult one at that. The Black Iron Spider was also intensely venomous, ranking among the top ten most toxic creatures.

The top ten had a hierarchy: the Black Iron Spider ranked ninth, while the Fox-Tailed Sable was seventh. At this moment, Zhang Yang finally understood why the Fox-Tailed Sable had been poisoned into unconsciousness; only another spirit beast belonging to the top ten venomous class could have inflicted damage upon it.

"Zhang Yang, no—don't go over there!" Mi Xue somehow managed to reach him, clutching Zhang Yang's arm tightly. Zhang Yang realized she must have seen this spider earlier, causing her to freeze and dare not descend further, ultimately forcing her to go down and retrieve the unconscious Sable to save him.

It was also because of this spider that she dared not follow him closely, yet she still walked over with him now. This proved that, in Mi Xue’s heart, he was the most important thing, surpassing even her own fear.

"Don't be afraid, it's just a big spider. Wait for me right here!" Zhang Yang hugged Mi Xue briefly.

Since the Sable was unconscious, this Black Iron Spider likely wasn't faring much better. Not investigating this situation now would leave Zhang Yang unable to find peace.

Both the Black Iron Spider and the Fox-Tailed Sable were highly venomous creatures. Knowing such deadly beings were nearby, Zhang Yang wouldn't be able to focus on healing Elder Xie or anyone else, even if he stayed put.

In that moment, he remembered the task of treating Elder Xie, having almost died himself moments before. Holding the Fox-Tailed Sable, Zhang Yang asked Mi Xue to wait nearby, and he carefully descended to the massive Black Iron Spider.

Zhang Yang found a dry branch nearby and gently nudged the huge spider. The spider shifted slightly in response to the disturbance but showed no reaction whatsoever.

Only then did Zhang Yang approach to examine the giant spider closely. "Dead?" After a detailed look, Zhang Yang realized the Black Iron Spider was already dead, having succumbed to poison—specifically, the venom of the Fox-Tailed Sable.

Looking at the deceased spider and then at the unconscious Sable in his arms, Zhang Yang felt utterly speechless. This was clearly a battle between two venomous creatures, ending in a mutual near-destruction: one dead, one comatose, allowing Mi Xue to reap the unexpected benefit of bringing back the unconscious Sable.

This, in turn, gave him the opportunity to obtain the antidote and cure his own poison. One could only say Mi Xue's luck was extraordinarily good; she encountered a chance even less likely than one in ten thousand—less likely than one in a million.

Normally, such venomous creatures, even if they met, would avoid a deadly fight, perhaps simply yielding ground to each other. A scenario where they fought to the death was extremely rare.

Just like moments ago, when the Fox-Tailed Sable bit Zhang Yang, it was also struck by him. Although its injury was less severe than Zhang Yang’s, it immediately fled without pausing.

That the Fox-Tailed Sable would engage in a fatal struggle with the Black Iron Spider, and that the spider fought without regard for its own life instead of fleeing, was something Zhang Yang found utterly inexplicable. However, this was ultimately a good turn of events for him.

Without such a battle, he would never have a chance to acquire the Sable’s saliva. He would likely be having paper money burned for him next year, and he himself wouldn't know if his soul could cross over into another body again.

I’ve returned after taking my son to eat. Rushed to pen a chapter; this is the second chapter.

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