Chapter Seventy-six: Saving a Life with Acupuncture

Lin Xiaobao flicked his left hand, and countless streams of gray mist poured out from a jade bottle. With a swift motion of his right hand, his longsword released a dragon’s cry. Instantly, the gray mist in midair was drawn onto the blade, transforming into radiant sword light. The spider silk that met the sword was instantly incinerated into rising blue flames.

In the unwilling gaze of the demon spider, Lin Xiaobao’s sword had already pierced through its body. Yet, at the same moment the blade entered the demon spider, Lin Xiaobao’s spiritual power coursed through the sword into the spider, sealing all its vital energy channels. Thus, though impaled, the demon spider did not shed a single drop of blood.

The Emerald-Eyed Demon Spider was a precious ingredient for alchemy; nearly every part of its body, including its blood, could be used for refining pills. How could Lin Xiaobao bear to waste such a prize?

At that moment, a muffled thud sounded behind him. Turning back, Lin Xiaobao saw Simeng Ling collapsed on the ground, a pool of pitch-black poisonous blood spreading across her chest.

The chest again... Lin Xiaobao sighed as he saw Simeng Ling’s condition, then flew to her side in an instant.

“You really don’t trust me at all!” After propping her up, Lin Xiaobao noticed the jade bottle in her hand hadn’t even been opened. He quickly snatched it and began pouring the medicinal powder into her mouth.

He pressed his right hand to her back, channeling his energy to activate the medicine’s efficacy...

Lin Xiaobao’s knowledge of the Emerald-Eyed Demon Spider was profound, gleaned from the “Compendium of Spiritual Beasts.” He was intimately familiar with its venom, and, being cautious by nature, had specially prepared antidotes for every poison he knew. Even for those legendary toxins that were little more than myth in this world, Lin Xiaobao had concocted counteragents.

Though the elders scoffed at his obsession, Lin Xiaobao called it a way to improve his alchemy.

Evidently, the jade bottle he had thrown to Simeng Ling contained an antidote specifically for the Emerald-Eyed Demon Spider. As Lin Xiaobao continued to channel his spiritual power, the toxins within Simeng Ling were nearly eradicated. With a sudden surge of energy from him, she gave a muffled groan, and a jet of emerald blood shot from her chest, piercing through three towering trees before finally stopping.

Those three tall, lush trees instantly withered, their leaves turning yellow. As a gentle breeze swept past, they dissolved into countless motes of dust drifting away.

“What a potent venom!” Simeng Ling, now conscious, looked at the scene before her and then turned her gaze to Xu Youyi, who lay on the ground, his fate uncertain.

“Hurry, help... help my senior brothers!” Though the poison was purged, pain from her wound made her words falter. Still, anxious for her brothers’ safety, she had no time to ask Lin Xiaobao how he had suddenly become so formidable or how he had so easily dispelled the Emerald-Eyed Demon Spider’s poison.

“I won’t! I barely know them,” Lin Xiaobao refused flatly. Those antidotes seemed simple, but they had cost him no small amount of contribution points.

“You—” Simeng Ling hadn’t expected such a blunt answer. “Please, I beg you, help them!”

She was about to lose her temper, but realized that, apart from pleading with Lin Xiaobao, she had no other recourse. Judging by his earlier display of power, even uninjured, she might not be his match.

“Fine, but only if you promise me one thing,” Lin Xiaobao replied without hesitation.

“What is it?” Simeng Ling’s gaze turned wary, and her right hand crept toward her sword on the ground. If this brat dared suggest anything untoward, she would not hesitate to fight him with all her might.

“Find a suitable time and listen to a story I have to tell,” Lin Xiaobao said earnestly—so earnestly, in fact, that it was the first time Simeng Ling had seen such seriousness from him.

“That’s all?” Simeng Ling asked, puzzled.

“That’s all,” Lin Xiaobao confirmed, fixing his eyes on her as he awaited her answer.

“Alright, I promise,” Simeng Ling agreed without hesitation. She had no idea what kind of story he wanted to tell, but to her, listening to a story was a trivial matter.

“Recover your strength, then apply this powder to your wound,” Lin Xiaobao said, producing another jade bottle. “You wouldn’t want a scar marring your skin in the future, would you?”

With that, Lin Xiaobao walked over to Xu Youyi. Though Le Hongcai’s injuries appeared more severe, Xu Youyi had been poisoned by the Emerald-Eyed Demon Spider. While he had taken some antidote pills, they were evidently the wrong prescription—otherwise, he wouldn’t be unconscious. If this dragged on, the boy might never wake again.

Grasping Xu Youyi’s wrist, Lin Xiaobao’s brows knitted tightly. The poison had already spread throughout Xu Youyi’s body. If not for his high cultivation keeping his heart protected even in unconsciousness, not even the gods could save him.

More troubling still, Xu Youyi was in deep coma; even if Lin Xiaobao poured medicine into his mouth, he wouldn’t be able to swallow. If it had been Simeng Ling, Lin Xiaobao wouldn’t have minded lending her a hand himself, but the idea of mouth-to-mouth with another man was simply too much for him.

After a moment’s thought, Lin Xiaobao produced several fine needles, which in the blink of an eye were inserted into several acupoints on Xu Youyi’s head.

“What are you doing?” Simeng Ling almost shouted at the sight.

Acupuncture was unheard of in this world. Lin Xiaobao had picked it up through Old Mo’s teachings and his own experimentation, with Old Mo often offering invaluable suggestions thanks to his broad knowledge. By now, Lin Xiaobao’s acupuncture technique would have been unmatched, even back on Earth.

“If you don’t want him to die, save your questions,” Lin Xiaobao said impatiently. He pressed both hands together and began rhythmically compressing Xu Youyi’s chest.

It wasn’t stinginess with his spiritual power that held Lin Xiaobao back, but rather the fact that in Xu Youyi’s unconscious state, any foreign spiritual power would be attacked by the latter’s own energy. Lin Xiaobao could easily overpower Xu Youyi, but if he suppressed Xu Youyi’s energy, the Emerald-Eyed Demon Spider’s poison would seize the opportunity to invade his heart, and not even Lin Xiaobao could save him. At least, not with his current cultivation and resources.

As Lin Xiaobao rhythmically pressed on his chest, Xu Youyi gradually began to show faint signs of breathing.