Chapter 11: Chu Liang! What an Awesome Dude!
Xu Ziqing might have found the ground dirty and preferred not to sit down. Instead, she stood at the side. As the young girl had been walking in the middle of the group all along, being protected by everyone, she wasn't tired and didn't need to catch her breath.
While the others sat down to meditate and activate their qi circulation, she started to feel a bit bored. Her lively eyes roamed around, scanning the scenery in the dense forest.
Suddenly, there was a slight rustling in the leaves up ahead, as if something was moving there. Feeling slightly curious, she took a good look at it.
Then, a series of soft rustling sounds followed, and in a flash, a palm-sized, mottled green toad jumped out from beneath the leaves! With its bulging eyes, it appeared ugly and ferocious.
This creature wasn't a demon, so it hadn't been detected by Fang Ting's divine sense. It had come close to the area where the group was situated.
"Ah!"
However, even though there was no immediate danger, the terrifying appearance of this creature greatly disturbed the young girl. She was so frightened that she stumbled backward several steps.
During this step backward, she unintentionally moved out of the range covered by the lantern's glow.
It was just one step.
Just as everyone's attention was captured by this spectacle, a vine at the edge of the area suddenly shot up with a hiss, revealing a gaping maw filled with sharp teeth!
Swish!
The young girl was caught off guard as the flower demon bit down on her lower leg.
"Junior Sister Ziqing!" Fang Ting exclaimed in shock, swiftly drawing his longsword from behind.
With a series of sharp strikes that resembled a golden dragon dancing through the air, a surge of lightning sword qi gushed out, instantly consuming the flower demon's body. It also left behind a deep trench more than ten yards long, cutting through the vines, giant trees, and a large portion of the dense forest.
Chu Liang had already heard from Lin Bei that the sword on Fang Ting's back was named the Thunderstrike Sword, and the Golden Core he was trying to cultivate was the Heavenly Golden Core of Five Lightning, specializing in lightning sword qi.
Witnessing the tremendous power of this sword, it was indeed awe-inspiring.
However, despite the shockingly immense power of this strike, its trajectory passed right next to Xu Ziqing without grazing a single thread of her clothing. The level of control displayed was truly astonishing.
There was clearly a significant difference between a cultivator at the Golden Core Realm and a cultivator at the Spiritual Awareness Realm.
However severe Fang Ting's retaliation might be, it couldn't change the fact that Xu Ziqing had already been bitten by the flower demon. The young girl stumbled and sat down, quickly employing her cultivation technique to stop the bleeding.
Soon after, she panicked and cried out, "This flower demon is venomous!"
"Ah," Lin Bei sighed, looking guilty. "I feel bad that I am not helping with anything. Since I can't help you suck the poison out, why don't I help you apply the medicine?"
But this question only earned Lin Bei a big roll of the eyes from Xu Ziqing.
Following Chu Liang's instructions, Xu Ziqing divided the Hundred-Flower Antidote into two halves, applying one half to the wound and ingesting the other half with water. Then, she activated her qi circulation and adjusted her breathing.
Within less than the time it would take to brew tea, the black aura around the wound had completely faded away, and the wound, which was as big as a bowl, was visibly healing at an astonishing rate.
The strong vitality inherent in cultivators was further complemented by the significant impact of the Hundred-Flower Antidote, resulting in an even faster healing process.
"Senior Brother Chu, your medicine is so effective!" Xu Ziqing exclaimed with pleasant surprise.
"I am glad it's working," Chu Liang said with a faint smile.
For cultivators, as long as there's no demonic poison involved, minor flesh wounds hardly have any impact. After applying some external wound ointment, Xu Ziqing immediately stood up, appearing as if nothing had happened, and she was full of vitality.
Perhaps it was just her imagination, but she felt that after applying the medicine provided by Chu Liang, her body began to emit a fragrant aroma. This scent appeared to change, starting as a subtle hint of jasmine, shifting into a sweet rose fragrance, and eventually evolving into a strange and rather intense scent that she had never experienced before.
Perhaps it was some sort of floral fragrance.
After regaining her mobility, she gracefully approached Chu Liang and asked in a soft tone, "Senior Brother Chu, how can I ever thank you?"
"No worries." Chu Liang smiled and said, "You gave me the Qi-Gathering Pills, and in return, I gave you the Hundred-Flower Antidote. It's a fair exchange of gifts."
"But..." The young girl tilted her head and continued, "How can the Qi-Gathering Pill compare to your Hundred-Flower Antidote?"
Chu Liang waved his hand, saying, "We're fellow sect members and friends. There's no need to keep such close tabs."
"Are we friends..." Xu Ziqing froze for a moment. Suddenly, a bright smile appeared on her face as she said, "Alright."
At this moment, Lin Bei, who was at the side, asked, "However, Brother Chu, weren't you at the Sword Exchange Pavilion when we invited you? Do you always carry antidotes with you?"
"It's better to be prepared." Chu Liang answered nonchalantly.
Soon, Fang Ting gathered the team to continue the journey. Chu Liang immediately walked to the front, resuming his role in clearing the way.
The group stared at his back this time with a much more gentle gaze. At this moment, the disciples of the Jade Sword Peak all felt that this disciple of the Silver Sword Peak was someone worth having as a friend. When there were demons, he would slay them. If he had medicine, he would give it to them.
Chu Liang! What an awesome dude!