“This is indeed a very unique and potent blood poison.”
The person speaking was Qiao Hua, the first teacher to think of Si Nan’s notebook.
There were thousands of teachers who were wood elementalists in the Induction Ground and they were divided into different sections. The sections varied greatly in terms of standards. Of the top 10 wood element teachers in the Induction ground, Qiao Hua was the youngest.
His achievements at such a young age led many to consider him as someone who could be well on track to match up to Dai Gang.
Qiao Hua had bright eyes and a confident demeanor. He gave off a vibe of being capable and experienced, but he was not pedantic like the average teacher. He did things decisively and never procrastinated.
Many problems that others could not solve were often solved perfectly by him.
Over time, he won the trust of everyone around him.
Qiao Hua had immediately sought out Si Nan’s notes when they came to mind. He found many corresponding theories within these notes, then quickly started forming a group of recognized wood elementalists. The group’s aim was to comb through Si Nan’s notes, find all the relevant theories, and devise ways to counteract the poison.
The Induction Ground responded promptly, gathering the most outstanding wood element teachers to help him.
In addition, the Induction Ground had specially dispatched extra manpower to capture some poisoned animals. Their combined efforts helped Qiao Hua live up to his expectations, and he soon found what he needed.
“This particular blood poison is very fragile in its initial stage, making it the most vulnerable at that time. However, we have obviously already missed this opportune period. First, it takes about ten days to infect a plant. Then, it begins to spread at an impressive speed via plant pollen and spores. The climate is partly responsible for the massive outbreak this time, as the flowering season further increased the rate at which the virus spread.”
Qiao Hua explained confidently to the elders of the Induction Ground. His speech was convincing and assuring.
“It is also capable of infecting the moisture within the soil, which is why the ground appears blood red when dug up. As of now, we have not found evidence of deeper penetration. If the groundwater deep underground becomes infected, then we’re finished. Fortunately, the worst scenario has yet to happen.”
Qiao Hua’s voice reverberated throughout the conference room, enthralling everyone within.
“The most formidable aspect of this poison is its unique ability to mutate. After infecting a plant, the blood poison becomes much more toxic. Once the infected plant is ingested by herbivores, such as rabbits, the poison changes again, becoming several times more potent. If the infected rabbit is then eaten by a wolf, the toxicity of the blood poison once again multiplies. Every round of infection sees its toxicity multiplied even further, making the poison very frightening.”
A commotion began to stir among the elders, their faces revealing feelings of surprise and fright. They had never heard of such a strange and terrifying blood poison before.
Teacher Qiao Hua starting speaking in a graver tone, “If only the terrors of this blood poison stopped here, but the truth of the matter is that we have found something even worse about it. Research on the injured student has revealed that elemental energy is even better than flesh in encouraging the poison’s mutation. Elemental energy appears to be the blood poison’s preferred nutrient. A small amount of elemental energy is enough to alter the nature of the poison. Because it devours elemental energy frantically, any elementalist who is infected will quickly lose all of his elemental energy to the poison. The greater the toxicity of the poison, the more efficiently it spreads throughout the body. After the body has been drained of elemental energy, the elementalist will ultimately become just a blood human.”
The conference room went quiet for a moment before abruptly exploding with noise.
“Has this been proven? How can such a blood poison possibly exist?”
“Are you exaggerating?”
“This is impossible!”
Unable to accept this answer, the elders were extremely agitated.
Qiao Hua calmly watched the agitated elders without uttering a single word. The elders gradually quieted under Qiao Hua’s unperturbed gaze.
The conference room became silent again.
Qiao Hua slowly opened his mouth to speak, “The truth may be hard to accept, but it has indeed been experimentally verified. We brought a vial of the blood poison to a prison that houses death row inmates and came to this conclusion only after infecting three of them with it.”
“Did all three of them die?”
“None of them did,” Qiao Hua replied, shaking his head. “This type of blood poison isn’t fatal, so it won’t kill you. All it does is frantically absorb and devour every last drop of elemental energy within your body as it grows stronger. The most despairing thing is that the process is irreversible. In other words, anyone who is poisoned will inevitably end up as a blood human, someone who is unable to develop or utilize elemental energy. It is my duty here to highlight that if it cannot be kept under control, this blood poison will be the downfall of the Avalon of Five Elements and the system of five residences and eight palaces, in a vein similar to the collapse of the cultivators’ system. The only difference being that the Cultivation Era ended due to the disintegration of spiritual force.”
A deathly silence washed over the frightened elders.
After a long pause, one of the elders anxiously muttered, “How can such a vile blood poison exist? Is this heaven’s will?”
Several other elders revealed expressions of realization for they too had the same thoughts.
“This is not heaven’s will!” Qiao Hua exclaimed firmly, his gaze so sharp that nobody dared to look at him directly. “If this is heaven’s will, then heaven has also given us the key to destroying it in the form of Si Nan’s notes. We have sorted out everything from his notes and, based on his theories, have found the ingredients required to eliminate the blood poison. We won’t be able to treat and cure someone who has already been infected, but we can can eliminate the blood poison itself.”
Everyone’s spirits were uplifted. The elders raised their heads and looked at Qiao Hua.
Qiao Hua continued confidently, “We have already made the medicine for counteracting the blood poison. If we can find the tree that produces this blood poison, we’ll be able to kill it using this medicine. From there, the medicine will enter the blood poison’s system, working to destroy its fundamental structure from within. Drawing inspiration from the blood poison, we have formulated the medicine such that it spreads just like the blood poison. The difference is that the medicine’s best growth medium is the blood poison, so it should not theoretically cause any harm to us elementalists.”
Qiao Hua’s words rang out loud and clear as the elders gave him an enthusiastic round of applause.