When the sound of coughing first echoed through the Royal Palace, Emperor Jing paid it no mind.
He simply uttered a single command, “Accelerate the search. Apprehend Yiqin’s associates as quickly as possible.”
It was a busy day. The Pill Sects were working tirelessly to refine Throat-Clearing Pills, as the market price for these pills had already skyrocketed by several hundred times.
Meanwhile, the soldiers of the Great Sima Nation coughed as they knocked on the doors of every civilian residence.
Warmth was delivered to every home, and infection was shared with everyone.
The efficiency of a great nation’s soldiers was truly high. By the morning of the second day, the soldiers had successfully completed their screening across the entire country.
Unfortunately, they had failed to find the culprit behind the continuous poisoning. Aside from the coughing becoming more severe than the day before, they had gained virtually nothing.
“Continue the search!” Emperor Jing ordered.
Tomorrow was the day of the Shenzhou Cup Finals.
He hoped to resolve this issue quickly; otherwise, it would spoil the atmosphere. *Cough, cough, cough.* It was affecting his mood.
For Alchemist Saint Liu Jinting, last night had been sleepless.
He had spent the entire night trying to save the Sect Leader of The Golden Stone Sect, but the situation had not improved in the slightest.
He had never seen anything like this. He had never encountered such a stubborn Toxin.
It was as if it possessed a life of its own.
His Dan Medicine could not even alleviate the secondary symptoms caused by the Toxin, let alone sustain the man’s life.
In the past, when dealing with any toxin, he only needed to use this method to preserve the patient’s life. As time passed and the toxin was diluted, the victim’s symptoms would gradually improve.
But this time, after consuming countless rare Dan Medicines, the Toxin had not been diluted.
Instead, it seemed to have absorbed the nutrients of the medicine, growing vigorously and doubling in strength. It then turned around to launch an even more ferocious attack!
By the time the sun rose, the Sect Leader of The Golden Stone Sect had finally stopped breathing.
“When did his physical symptoms start? What were they?” Liu Jinting walked out of the room and asked the new Sect Leader of The Golden Stone Sect with an expressionless face.
“Coughing. At first, it was just a very ordinary cough,” the new Sect Leader said.
“As for the timing, it was probably around the day you last visited… I remember you came to check his meridians that day, and he started coughing shortly after you left.”
A cough?
An ominous premonition rose in Liu Jinting’s heart.
The number of Cultivators currently coughing across Shenzhou was far more than just one or two. If they were all infected with this Toxin…
Reason told him it would be best to discuss this matter with Emperor Jing.
If this truly was a new type of incurable poison that did not weaken over time but instead gradually worsened, then perhaps…
He shuddered violently, nearly fainting from terror.
However, only three days ago, he had told Emperor Jing that it was ‘nothing to worry about.’ To go back now—would that not be slapping his own face?
As he struggled with his decision, a dense swarm of light-based messages suddenly rushed toward him!
**[War Wilderness Sect Leader in critical condition! Assistance needed immediately!]**
**[Our Sect Leader’s illness relapsed yesterday! Alchemist Saint, please come for a consultation at once!]**
**[Eighteen Elders, the Sect Leader, and 175 disciples of the Heavenly Gate Sect have suddenly collapsed from poisoning and are unconscious! Alchemist Saint, please return to the Sect immediately! The Heavenly Gate Sect is in imminent danger!]**
Liu Jinting was stunned.
They had clearly taken the Dan Medicine yesterday and were fine. Why had they relapsed today?
Furthermore, why had his own home suddenly exploded? And in such a massive way?!
Something was wrong. Something had gone terribly wrong this time.
What kind of poison was this? Who had administered it? What was the culprit’s objective? All of this remained unknown.
Even more terrifying, he suddenly realized that he, the esteemed Alchemist Saint, found his lifelong learning utterly useless against this strange poison!
If those eighteen Elders and 175 disciples of the Heavenly Gate Sect were afflicted by the same poison as the Sect Leader of The Golden Stone Sect, then this would truly be an extinction-level disaster for the Heavenly Gate Sect!
If the coughing Cultivators in the outside world were also infected with this poison…
He dared not imagine it.
Without a word, Liu Jinting summoned his Cloud Boat. Ignoring the resentful gazes of the people from The Golden Stone Sect, who had just lost their leader, he rushed back in a frantic state.
However, halfway through his journey, his vision suddenly went dark.
It was over. This was the true disaster.
Before losing consciousness, Liu Jinting used the last of his strength to send out his medical records from the previous night to Alchemy God Li Zhuanming.
Alchemy God Li Zhuanming was currently in a state of mind no less frantic than Liu Jinting’s.
He had also received distress signals falling like raindrops.
Moreover, he was currently sitting inside the Nine Palaces Chamber of Commerce Auction House in Jiangdu City, participating in an auction.
He watched with his own eyes as the auctioneer on the stage suddenly coughed twice.
A bolt of bloody mist sprayed from the man’s throat, and then his skin began to ulcerate. He collapsed to the floor, oozing pus and blood.
The Nine Palaces Chamber of Commerce urgently replaced him with a new auctioneer, but before long, the new one also collapsed. Then, the guests in the seats followed.
Li Zhuanming immediately realized something was wrong and personally stepped forward to perform an examination.
He discovered that the Dan Medicine he usually used with unfailing success could only temporarily alleviate the symptoms.
It could not expel the root Toxin that was killing them!
Coincidentally, Yellow Coward was nearby. Like him, the man had exhausted all his skills but failed to produce any results, forced to watch as the situation deteriorated.
Through this treatment, both Alchemy God Li Zhuanming and Alchemy Immortal Yellow Coward discovered one thing—this Toxin could not be diluted. It multiplied out of thin air!
Neither of them could understand this unheard-of, bizarre situation.
Yellow Coward watched as more and more black particles sprayed from the mouths of the poisoned victims.
There was no external source of poison; it was inexplicably increasing on its own. He suddenly remembered the anxious face of Yiqin from yesterday.
‘Could it… really not be her who released the poison?’
Yellow Coward was stunned. If it truly wasn’t Yiqin’s subordinates poisoning people from the shadows, and the Toxin possessed the ability to self-replicate…
He didn’t even dare to contemplate the implications behind that.
“We have to see Emperor Jing,” Yellow Coward and Li Zhuanming said, exchanging a look and gritting their teeth.
The two immediately rushed out of the Auction House. Once they reached the street, they realized the situation was far more serious than they had imagined.
It was as if all the ailments had reached a critical threshold and suddenly erupted.
Pedestrians walking along the street suddenly convulsed and collapsed.
Stall owners fell into sudden comas, and others swarmed forward to loot their goods.
The most tragic were those Cultivators currently flying on swords.
They suddenly rolled their eyes and lost consciousness, plummeting straight to the ground from an altitude of 10,000 meters.
Near several flight paths, Cultivators were falling like flies.
There were even Cloud Boats crashing because their pilots had died unexpectedly.
Everything was in chaos. It was as if a scene from the apocalypse had been presented to the world, and no one knew the cause.
Yellow Coward and Li Zhuanming stumbled into the Royal Palace.
Emperor Jing seemed entirely unaware of the situation outside. The palace still maintained an atmosphere of peace and serenity.
“Cough, cough, cough. What is it?”
Emperor Jing coughed a few times before looking at Yellow Coward and Li Zhuanming, asking his question.