"Old Zhang, can she still be saved?"
Looking at the young woman with her eyes clamped shut, Yu Xian immediately asked Zhang Shou.
This time, Zhang Shou didn't dare make any guarantees. He gritted his teeth and said, "I don't know, but I'll do my best."
With that, he summoned his Touch of Healing and coiled it around the girl. The moment the Touch of Healing made contact with her, it hissed and sizzled, plumes of white smoke billowing out from it.
"Hiss, what a terrifyingly potent poison! Salty Fish, you'd better back away—all that smoke is toxic." Zhang Shou sucked in a sharp breath of cold air and urgently warned Yu Xian.
Yu Xian nodded and stepped back, then enveloped himself in a bubble for protection.
In the past, whenever Zhang Shou used Touch of Healing, he could effortlessly cure even terminal illnesses. This was the first time Yu Xian had seen his skill produce such an extreme reaction, proving that the poison coursing through the girl was monstrously virulent.
In the end, the Touch of Healing was like ice placed on a red-hot iron plate, dissolving in just a brief moment.
Seeing this, Zhang Shou gritted his teeth and continued channeling Touch of Healing. Another tentacle formed, and without pause, he kept summoning more. In the blink of an eye, the girl's entire body was wrapped in tentacles, presenting a sight that looked somewhat sinister.
*Sizzle, sizzle.*
Smoke rose from the young woman's entire body as the toxin clashed against the Touch of Healing.
Whenever a tentacle dissolved, Zhang Shou immediately activated the skill to replenish it. His physical appearance aged rapidly, transforming into that of a middle-aged man in mere moments.
"This poison is way too terrifying," he said to Yu Xian, watching the virulent green taint gradually fade from the girl's body.
Yu Xian nodded in agreement. If that poison had touched him, his entire body probably would have dissolved into a puddle of liquid in an instant.
Yet that also proved how strong this poisoned girl was. To survive such horrific venom without dying... her physical resilience was unimaginable.
After half a minute, the young woman slowly opened her eyes. The moment she saw the tentacles wrapped around her, her brow furrowed.
"Don't worry, we're members of the Evil-Slaying Squad. We're detoxifying you," Yu Xian said at once, having kept his eyes on her the whole time.
Gong Qian endured the discomfort and asked, "How long was I unconscious?"
"Roughly five minutes or so," Yu Xian answered.
Gong Qian immediately tried to get up, but Zhang Shou spoke up: "The poison in your body hasn't been completely purged yet. Bear with it a little longer."
"I can't. That monster is too strong, and the others won't be able to stop it. I have to get back right away," Gong Qian said through gritted teeth, her voice resolute.
A creature that even she couldn't blow apart with a single punch was definitely not something the remaining three captains could handle; she knew that all too well.
"Um... what about General Zhao Yi?" Zhang Shou couldn't help but ask.
Gong Qian sat up and replied, "General Zhao Yi was teleported over directly by an array formation. He needs to guard an Abyss rift in person, so right after launching his attack, he was teleported back."
"An Abyss rift? Then can't he be teleported back over now?" Zhang Shou activated his skill once more, his appearance growing even more aged.
Gong Qian shook her head helplessly. "The space around an Abyss rift is extremely chaotic. Using a teleportation array takes more than a full day just to prepare. Otherwise, why do you think we delayed launching the operation until noon today? Do you think we didn't want to resolve this sooner?"
"Are there any other Dragon-ranks who can provide backup?" Yu Xian asked thoughtfully.
Gong Qian rolled her eyes at him and retorted, "Dragon-ranks aren't cabbages you can pick up anywhere! The Minister has to guard Yanjing, the other generals have to guard Abyss rifts, and there are also those deterring foreign factions along the borders. Even if reinforcements are available... the earliest they could possibly arrive is tomorrow at noon."
"Are there any Dragon-rank experts among the public?" Yu Xian pressed.
Gong Qian fell silent. Yu Xian hurried to urge her, "This is no time for hesitation. If there are Dragon-rank experts in the civilian sphere, call for help right away. We're still too close to Silver City. If anything goes wrong, the consequences will be catastrophic."
"Fine, I'll submit a request and see."
Thinking of the consequences if Silver City fell, Gong Qian promptly took out her phone—only for it to immediately dissolve in the toxic residue on her palm.
Both she and Yu Xian fell silent. Watching this unfold, Zhang Shou couldn't help asking, "With such terrifying poison, how come your clothes are totally fine?"
"You pervert, are you hoping to see my clothes get dissolved?" Gong Qian's face flushed red as she glared at Zhang Shou.
Zhang Shou might look old now, but at heart he was still an innocent high schooler. An awkward expression crossed his face as he hastily stammered, "I-I-I... I was just curious!"
"My clothes are made from Dragon-rank materials. How could they dissolve that easily?" Gong Qian huffed in annoyance.
With her brute strength, ordinary clothing couldn't withstand her at all; the slightest movement would shred regular fabric to pieces. As a result, Qilin headquarters had expended immense resources to tailor the outfit she was wearing now.
Not only could it perfectly endure her colossal power without tearing when she moved, but it also possessed a variety of resistances. How could a mere toxin dissolve a treasure like this?
"Then what... do we do now?" Yu Xian looked at Gong Qian, still more concerned about calling for reinforcements.
Gong Qian pressed her palm against the tentacles and said, "Don't worry. Since I tend to break things easily, I have several hundred phones. Once the poison is cleared from my palm, I can reach out for backup right away."
She pressed her palms tightly against the tentacles, the sizzling sound ringing out continuously.
"Doesn't that hurt?" Zhang Shou asked curiously.
Gong Qian said calmly, "This poison truly is strange. Even I can barely resist it. But it doesn't hurt; it just makes moving difficult."
"That probably only applies to you," Yu Xian remarked dryly.
Deimos's venom had melted a phone in an instant. How could an infected person not feel pain? If an ordinary person touched it, they would probably melt into liquid amidst agonizing screams.
Finally, with Gong Qian's active cooperation, the poison on her palms was thoroughly purged. After confirming no venom remained, she quickly took out another phone and turned it on.
After making several calls, her face flushed red with rage, and she cursed, "That bastard! Of all times to go to the Abyss, why did he have to go right now? Damn it!"
"What do you mean?" Yu Xian asked.
Gong Qian fumed, "Dragon-ranks are the pinnacle of power, and even the authorities don't want to offend them. Among all the unofficial Dragon-rank experts, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven is the easiest to talk to—as long as you offer enough incentives, you can enlist his aid. But... he's gone into the Abyss!"
"What kind of place is the Abyss?" Zhang Shou, having been curious earlier, seized the chance to ask.
Agitated, Gong Qian replied, "The Abyss is just the Abyss. No one knows how it came to be, but it's confirmed that all Forbidden Fruits come from there. Because the space near Abyss rifts is extremely chaotic, once a Forbidden Fruit appears near a rift, it gets randomly teleported to some corner of the world."
"Then what did the Great Sage Equal to Heaven go to the Abyss for?" Yu Xian asked.
Gong Qian replied, "To look for treasures, of course. The vast majority of Dragon-rank and higher materials come from the Abyss. Once you reach the Eagle rank, you'll be eligible to apply to headquarters for entry into the Abyss."
"Then what do we do now?" Zhang Shou asked.
Both Gong Qian and Yu Xian fell silent. As for the three of them, they were completely out of moves...
Chapter 45