Chapter 13: Benefits And Mysteries (Part 1)

The discovery astonished the duo.

The source of this hitherto unidentifiable amount of purified mana had a sheet of potent poison energy covering its flesh, preserving its skin from inevitable decay.

Despite the harmless poison energy pervading the atmosphere, even she couldn't directly touch nor clearly identify his body, his features shrouded by a myriad of fatal toxins.

So who was he?

___________________________________________________________________________________________

[Cultivation level: 6] ~Personal Information~ [Next level: 12%]

[First Name: Aiguo] VITALITY :{100%} [Species : Troll] [Middle Name(s): None] MANA : {100%} [Surname: Xiaosi] [Sex: Male] STAMINA :{100%} [Cultivation status: Conqueror (1) Star] [Height: 6 ft] [Body Weight: 200 lbs] [Skeletal Age: 66 (Born: February 27th 2135)] [Blood Type: O- ] [Bone Frame: 6th Grade] [Epithet/Title: Myriad Venom] ~Status~

Deceased [Former Inner-Court Elder Of The Jiu Tian Sect]

|__________________________________________________________________________________________|

Sh*t! The detection worked, even in this situation! So it was Elder Xiaosi.

But who could've killed him without incurring the sect retribution?

His death clearly didn't exceed a few days…

Or was it… an inside job?

The young queen gasped.

She remembered yesterday's night events, as she scratched her crotch.

Oh sh*t!

What if the sect killed his a*s, since there wasn't any outward action taken by the sect?

After all, if an enemy would've done so, would the country not be abuzz about it?

It seemed to be the case…

Maybe they did him in because he opposed their creepy ritual… or is it something else?

Furthermore, why was he left buried and hidden so far away from the sect?

Did he have something on him his enemies wanted to retrieve, but couldn't because of the mighty poison energy?

Indeed, she inferred that a dozen days would be enough for the excessive mana to disappear, leaving the corpse's belongings for the wind and occasional thieves.

But then again, what proof did she have except educated guesses and ramblings?

Worse even, it wasn't any of her business, especially when she wasn't only their disciple, but a foreign ruler as well.

She might not care for the sect, but the sect was in the Zhònghuà Empire after all, and that mattered a lot.

She couldn't risk the relation between her nations to sour over something as insignificant as that.

She came here with a purpose, and she intended to see it through.

However, this garden of mana would be of use for her cultivation. The mana's purity would be far easier for them to integrate inside their bodies, bypassing the usual mana gathering requiring them to do the purification before it can fortify their flesh.

Why would she not profit of someone else hard work, especially when their kin's nowhere in sight—assuming they would even want that poisoned energy—than allowing it back to heaven and earth?

And she'd already noticed that a chunk of its energy has already been lost, so time was of the essence.

After hearing the Grand Elder, she needed strength.

A plant needed a supply of sun and water to grow, after all…

So how could she miss the opportunity? Kame can profit of it as well, he's surely thought about it…

"Your Royal Highness, who could've done this?" he asked.

Meeting his eyes, she replied, "Honestly, I don't know, and for your sake, you don't care about it. Got it?"

Kame's face froze like a dead twig. He slowly nodded his understanding.

After all, he was just a little fish in a large pond.

He didn't have the capital to swim inside an ocean yet. Better to bathe inside a clear river than probe the murky depths of a sea…

"However, we can take that energy to increase our cultivation levels," she said, returning her gaze to the concentrated mana.

"But, if we do this, Your Royal Highness-" the merman started.

"I know how painful and annoying it would be to me, but it's the only way to purify the poison mana embedded within it, but what choice do we have if we want to take that energy? Well, you'll take most of it, but I'll get something out of it too, so…" she said with a smile.

"Your Royal Highness, you don't need to-"

"I said, I will, so drop it! For once, having a broken core is useful, so let's do this sh*t!" she said, then sat cross-legged before the dugout corpse.

She darted a look to her babies and told them to stay a bit away from her, as the poison residue oozing out of her could affect them. "Kame, sit behind me, but maintain a distance as well, OK?"

"Understood, Your Royal Highness," she heard him reply as he shuffled on the ground shortly afterward.

Lyshisha raised her hands and closed her eyes, her mind brimming with anticipation.

It would be the first time she'll attempt this stunt, as the only information she had about it was gleaned from the net.

After all, she had to know the fate of people like her in the universe.

…and it wasn't great.

Her eyes flashed, as she just remembered something very important she had to disclose…

…even though it would be shameful to say it aloud. "Oh yeah, I must warn you that you're gonna have to endure the epic shit coming out of my a*s, 'kay? Matter of fact…" she said, then sprang back to her feet as she removed her torn qipao, leaving her flesh bare except her booted feet.

On second thought, she decided to kick her shoes and socks away as well, in a bid to even out the heat distribution.

Unaffected by her nudity, the merman tilted his head. "Why's that, Your Royal Highness? Anti-diarrhea pills are commonplace…" he said, visibly confused by her statement.

"Because if I take them, they wouldn't allow me to properly process the energy, thus wasting it, and in this case endangering me since I'll have to detoxify it as well," she said, then returned to her previous position. "I'll direct the pure energy back to you venom-free, so all you'll have to do is to take it. And one last thing, since it's going to take some time, we'll be taking breaks in between for me to recover my senses… and clean myself, got it?"

"Of course, Your Royal Highness. You can take your time, so please don't push yourself too hard," he gently replied with a grateful smile on his face.

"Thanks for your concern, buddy, so now get ready!"

"Mm!"

Hands raised, her meridians began to absorb the poisonous energy.

Her mouth contorted in pain as she began to cycle the energy inside her. She felt like needles pinpricked her lungs as motes of green light seeped away from her, evanescing into gray as they took their rightful places between the soil and sky.

She beamed the rest away towards the mermen who happily devoured the purified energy.

He who could only top about six hours of mana gathering with his average meridians and bone frame before he had to convert and purify it, how lucky was he as his cultivation soared!

Collaborating with her was a wiser choice than he thought, indeed…

Every fish should never underestimate the value of a rough pearl, since it could indeed become a bright treasure thereafter…