Although his body was extremely weak, it seemed that a significant portion of the impurities accumulated within him had been washed away by the terrifying poison! The walls of his meridians even seemed to have been scorched cleaner and clearer?
Moreover, there seemed to be a slight, noticeable improvement in physical strength. Though faint, it was palpable. Was it a case of fighting poison with poison? Tempering the body?
Li Xuan stared at the remaining wastewater on the ground, his expression incredibly complex. This stuff… truly is a "great tonic"! But it's also deadly!
After surviving the near-death experience of being exposed to the wastewater in the alchemy hall, Li Xuan needed two full days to recover.
The burn marks on the back of my hand left faint red marks, and the feeling of exhaustion lingered for a long time. But in contrast, my body did become "cleaner," my perception of spiritual energy seemed to have become slightly sharper, and my physical strength had also noticeably improved.
The poisonous water that nearly killed him was far more effective than the residual water in the spirit beast garden, and even better than all the well water he had drunk before combined!
"Fortune favors the bold..." Li Xuan looked at the bag of poison in the corner, which he dared not touch again, feeling lingering fear, yet also eager to try it.
Drinking it directly would be suicide; it had to be diluted! He found a large earthenware jar, poured out about one-tenth of the poisonous water from the leather bag, then added a large amount of ordinary well water and stirred it well.
The originally dark gray water turned light gray, and the pungent smell also became much milder. Li Xuan carefully took a small sip.
A distinct burning sensation was still present, but it was now within his tolerable range, accompanied by the familiar process of impurities being expelled.
It works! And it's even more effective than the water in the Spirit Beast Garden! Li Xuan was overjoyed; he had found the right method!
Li Xuan followed the same method with the remaining poisonous water, dividing it into ten portions, each of which was heavily diluted. In this way, he could obtain ten relatively "safe" and effective portions of water for repairing the chain.
Although each dose still caused some pain and discomfort, it was all within a tolerable range. His body seemed to become more resilient with each battle against this mild toxicity.
The bottleneck has finally been broken!
Li Xuan's physical strength began to steadily improve again. He even felt that his muscle and bone density were increasing and his weight seemed to have increased, but his figure was more balanced and restrained, and he did not appear bloated.
As his body grew stronger, Li Xuan became more efficient at earning contribution points through manual labor. He took on several more tasks, such as clearing roads and moving timber, and successfully accumulated fifteen contribution points.
During the month-end inspection, Manager Zhang came again. Li Xuan's spiritual field was still half-dead, with an estimated yield of only 25 jin, slightly more than before. This was thanks to his continued irrigation with well water and more meticulous management.
As usual, Steward Zhang gave him a scolding and withheld his entire monthly allowance. This time, Li Xuan had nothing to give as a gift and could only bow his head and endure the scolding.
Manager Zhang seemed very dissatisfied with his "lack of understanding," and he cursed him with particularly harsh words, threatening to report him for expulsion if he did it again next month.
Li Xuan outwardly appeared obsequious, but inwardly he sneered. If only he had a little more time… He was currently working and completing missions during the day, and at night he alternated between drinking diluted poison and stealing water from the spirit beast garden. This alternation was to prevent his body from adapting to a particular type of water too quickly, allowing his strength to improve steadily and rapidly.
Li Xuan's desire for contribution points grew stronger; thirty points were enough to exchange for the detailed explanation of the "Water Flow Technique"!
On this day, he saw a new task in the miscellaneous tasks hall: assist the disciples of the Spirit Plant Hall in processing a batch of deteriorated spirit herbs (low-grade). The task location is in the warehouse outside the Spirit Plant Hall. It requires strong and quick-handed miscellaneous workers, and the reward is ten contribution points.
The Spirit Plant Hall! There must be more information related to water there, and it might even be close to a water source! Li Xuan accepted the task without hesitation.
The Spirit Plant Hall is located on the east side of the outer gate area of the Bright Moon Sect, and it is much more prosperous than the back mountain miscellaneous area where Li Xuan is located.
The concentration of spiritual energy here is significantly higher. Along the way, one can see large areas of thriving spiritual fields planted with various exotic flowers and herbs that Li Xuan cannot name. The air is filled with a faint fragrance of grass and trees mixed with the scent of spiritual energy.
Li Xuan and several other recruited laborers, led by an outer disciple, arrived at a warehouse on the outskirts of the Spirit Plant Hall.
The warehouse was large, filled with many wilted, even blackened and rotten, spiritual herbs, emitting a putrid smell.
The task was simple: to move the spoiled herbs to a designated processing point for centralized destruction.
The leader of the group was a senior disciple from the outer sect surnamed Wang, who had an arrogant expression and was ordering the servants around: "Hurry up! Although these Heart-Rotting Grasses have spoiled, their roots and stems still have a slight toxicity. Don't touch them directly with your hands! You can't afford to pay for the damage!"
The servants nodded obsequiously, put on the simple, coarse cloth gloves provided by the warehouse, and began their work.
Li Xuan mingled among the crowd, working silently. His strength far surpassed that of others, and he moved huge haystacks with ease and efficiency, quickly attracting the attention of Senior Brother Wang.
"Hey? You, yes, it's you!" Senior Brother Wang pointed at Li Xuan, "You're quite strong. Come here and move these heaviest ones to the innermost pit."
Li Xuan responded and, as instructed, carried the heaviest bundle of rotten spiritual herbs, heading towards the designated processing point deep within the warehouse.
The processing site was a deep pit filled with discarded spiritual plants. Next to it was a shallow, man-made ditch with a slightly murky stream flowing through it, emitting a faint medicinal smell and the stench of decaying vegetation.
"This is... wastewater from the Spirit Plant Hall?" Li Xuan's heart skipped a beat, and he slowed down to observe carefully.
The wastewater was dark green in color and contained a lot of small residues. It didn't smell pungent, but rather had a sour, rotten smell like decaying vegetation. You could vaguely sense that the spiritual energy it contained, although chaotic, seemed to be more concentrated than the wastewater in the spirit beast garden!
Moreover, it appears to be far less toxic than the wastewater from the alchemy hall.
"This is amazing!" Li Xuan's heart pounded. If he could get his hands on this...
Li Xuanqiang suppressed his excitement and calmly completed the move, while silently noting the direction of the wastewater ditch—it led to a grove of trees behind the warehouse.
Throughout the mission, Li Xuan was diligent and hardworking, strong but taciturn. Senior Brother Wang was quite satisfied with his efficiency, and after the mission, he readily awarded each of them ten contribution points.
Holding the twenty-five additional contribution points on his identity token, Li Xuan felt a surge of excitement. He was only five points away from mastering the "Water Flow Technique"!
More importantly, he discovered a new, potentially safer and higher-quality water source – the wastewater from Lingzhitang!
On his way back, he deliberately took a detour to observe the grove of trees from a distance. Sure enough, he discovered that the wastewater ditch eventually flowed into a natural depression in the grove, forming a small pool of sewage.
The location was remote and seemed unguarded. "An opportunity!" Li Xuan clenched his fist.