Huh? Isn't this an adventure kingdom building game?!-Chapter 739 - 718: A Burst of Anger
Swallowing that fragrant and warming elixir could completely rid oneself of the pain brought by the cold poison, but what lay ahead would undoubtedly be even more terrifying.
For a fleeting moment, Pang Sanli harbored a sinister thought—fight desperately!
Since the cold poison was caused by the parasitic insect demon within his body, and they were apprehensive because of it, maybe a desperate last stand could instead carve out a path to survival;
Even if he were to die by a single strike, he would at least give them a headache!
He was never a person of good character. Knowing that escaping could likely lead him to freeze to death like Fan Lu, he would also let the insect demon escape and infect more people with the cold poison. Yet Pang Sanli's sly heart was still persistent with malevolence, thinking, why should I be left in such a state for kindly helping a friend?
Why should you all be so cold-blooded and unaffected by this? Even if I die, I'd better drag some down with me!
Thinking this, his mind heated up, and he felt like resisting.
But what hadn't Ming Qingyan, the old bear demon seen in his long life?
With one movement, he could tell Pang Sanli didn't mean well and immediately swatted at him with a bear paw, using his much larger size to pin him down, "Mr. Jiang, I'll feed him the elixir. Is there anything I should be cautious of?"
The cave was narrow, and Pang Sanli reverted to his true form curled up in the deepest part, trying to rely on the hot cave walls to withstand the severe cold.
For Ming Qingyan to capture him, he also had to reveal his true form; the two giant bears, each more robust than the other, couldn't make room for a third person.
Jiang Yuan had to hand over the Star Flame Antitoxic Pill.
He also took out a small capture net that had been prepared in advance from the storage bag, advising, "After swallowing the elixir, he will be in unbearable pain. It's crucial to hold him down and prevent him from struggling.
Once he spits out a mouthful of black blood, the Silver-footed Snow Underworld Insect will be expelled. Be sure to catch it with this net, or it will be troublesome to capture it again."
"Alright, leave it to me." Ming Qingyan's fiery temper had long been ignited by the fool's antics. The reason for holding back his anger was out of respect for Mr. Jiang.
She thought to herself, this troublesome fool still wants to run? He must be made to suffer the fate of seeking life but unable to find death, to set an example!
With determination in her heart, Ming Qingyan shoved the elixir into his mouth, holding his scruff while forcing his jaw to ensure it went down, then held him down firmly, waiting for the elixir to take effect.
Pang Sanli, in a fit of anger, could only manage to get angry briefly—the cold poison was so severe that it froze the spiritual power within him, leaving him unable to mobilize; on top of that, the highest-ranked Lord City Lord was personally acting, so forget about escaping or fighting desperately, he couldn't even move. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖
"Ugh!"
The moment the elixir entered, a searing heat surged from the tip of his tongue to his stomach, making him emit a painful whimper, wanting to struggle but unable to move as if a mountain pinned him down.
His body, which had been shivering from the cold, suddenly became so hot he twitched, immediately sweating from inside out, melting the ice crust stuck to his fur.
"Hiss! This elixir is incredibly domineering and takes effect quickly!"
"As expected from the pill formula of the Ancient Ten Great Sects' Black Tortoise Pavilion, truly extraordinary!"
"Indeed, indeed, our Sand Hill City is saved!"
"This miracle drug must be extremely expensive, Mr. Jiang, in his great benevolence, has given it for free to save the city's people. How can such a great kindness be repaid?"
......
Even though the bear demons were not skilled in medicine, the immediate results, aligning exactly with Leng Yutang's description, gave them relief.
"Wow!" Pang Sanli let out several cries of pain, vomiting black blood. Ming Qingyan, with quick reflexes, snapped the capture net open with her left hand, forcefully pressing the large bear's mouth into it with her right.
"Ugh! Help me!" The extreme pain from the clash of cold and hot made him scream through his teeth, as a fist-sized chunk of light blue ice flew out of his mouth the moment he opened it!
The instant the ice chunk fell, the capture net closed on its own.
Everyone watched as the ice in the net shattered, a misty white fog crashing around like a trapped beast, yet unable to escape, allowing their tense hearts to finally ease as they softly discussed that it was just such a small thing causing chaos.
The crucial part was that the mature Silver-footed Snow Underworld Insect, once expelled, emitted no coldness at all. This trait made it undetectable, and its tiny size made it easy to hide; the small cluster of white fog was all spores that, if dispersed by the wind and inhaled, who could detect it?
"Phew~" After a brief period of extreme pain, Pang Sanli suddenly felt relief through his whole body, letting out a long breath and squinting to savor the long-lost health and comfort.
The thawed spiritual power began to flow slowly within him; the melted frost sizzled and evaporated due to the high temperature in the cave, lifting a steam cloud, akin to a sauna, clearing body and mind.
He hadn't felt comfortable for but a few seconds before a sharp pain in the back of his neck woke him abruptly. The stark difference in size and power made Pang Sanli suddenly clear-headed and start trembling all over, continuously begging for mercy.
"You realize your mistake? Go and tell those innocent clanspeople you harmed to death yourself!" Ming Qingyan's hand exerted force, a surge of spiritual power destroyed the opponent's Elixir Field Spirit Root instantly, causing them to scream in extreme agony.
She casually picked him up and tossed him outside, and a subordinate caught him adeptly, "Please rest assured, Lord City Lord, leave it to me. I will ensure he wishes for life rather than death. It will also serve as a warning to all the people of Sand Hill City that the outcome of harming the entire clan for one's selfish desires is far more terrifying than a cold poison with no cure!"
Ming Qingyan nodded, and the person immediately dragged the shrieking and wailing Pang Sanli out of the cave.
"Thank you, Mr. Jiang, for your miraculous hands! For the next treatment process, I want the people to witness it so they can believe that there is a cure for cold poison, and it will completely dispel their fear of it. Let everyone know that even if they suffer from cold poison in the future, they won't be exiled and can be cured, so there won't be another Fan Lu or Pang Sanli."
Handing a small net bag to Jiang Yuan, she eagerly discussed, hoping for support.
[Silver-footed Snow Underworld Insect +1]
Jiang Yuan reached out to take it and stored it in the Storage Bag, turning the small creature into a material usable by the system. Done!
"Actions speak louder than words, and indeed, it's more effective than debating. Lord City Lord's suggestion is excellent, but we must negotiate with the patient who will be used as an example, so as to avoid making matters worse." He agreed without hesitation.
After thinking for a moment, Jiang Yuan spoke honestly, "Having reached the Sky Pit and seen the firestones, understanding the situation here and the patients' conditions, I can now determine the root cause of the cold poison outbreak."
"Are you saying that you've found the source of the spores released by the parasitic Insect Demon?" Leng Yutang's hands trembled slightly with excitement. Ever since being affected by the cold poison, he couldn't fathom how he, having always been honest and loyal, could get infected without having come into contact with suspicious people or objects.
"That's right, just now when the wind blew from the valley, I knew." Jiang Yuan explained according to the system details: "The firestones you are mining are actually formed from the corpses of the Insect Demons, which were burned to death by Celestial Fire during the Divine and Demon War era.
The Insect Demons caused a desolate wasteland where even the land turned into yellow sand. The gods from the Celestial Realm descended the Celestial Fire to burn them to death, and the insect demons' bones, burned by Celestial Fire, formed the firestones. In other words, we are now standing on top of the remnants of Insect Demons."
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other, except for Ming Qingyan, whose pupils suddenly contracted in shock, "The ancient texts were indeed true!"
He didn't know what ancient texts she was referring to, only that the system described it this way, so he continued explaining, "Although the Insect Demons' bodies are dead, their demonic nature hasn't completely perished. The wind in the valley is actually the wailing of the remnant demonic nature of the Insect Demons. It bursts from the immense, unimaginable, and deeply buried remnant bones underneath, carrying with it a large number of spores.
Most of these spores have died, and only a few remain viable, but after being incinerated by Celestial Fire, they have lost most of the Insect Demons' power, retaining only the basic instincts to survive and reproduce, degenerating into the Silver-footed Snow Underworld Insect Demon.
Upon parasitism, the insect demon roots and grows inside the host, absorbing their spiritual power and vitality. Without effective suppression measures, it quickly freezes the host to death and bursts out.
I suspect that Fan Lu died so quickly because he secretly hid in the nursery. As Daoist Leng had introduced, the nursery houses many newborn cubs, who cannot adapt to overly hot environments, so a cooling array was specifically set up.
Without external high temperatures to assist, nor elixirs to suppress insect demon growth, naturally, his survival couldn't compare to patients who, after onset, stayed deep in the Sky Pit, using residual Celestial Fire energy to help suppress it and lived longer.
So the current situation facing all of Sand Hill City has this advantage: without relocating, you can still make a living by mining the firestones in the Sky Pit. According to my estimation of the size of the insect demon bodies, it can ensure a continuous supply of firestones for the Furious Fire Bear Race for tens of thousands of years;
And after being infected by the cold poison, there's no need to consume excessive elixirs or seek external aids, just stay deep in the Sky Pit with Celestial Fire remnants to suppress it until the Silver-footed Snow Underworld Insect inside matures and can be expelled by medicine; the whole process won't be too painful.
Of course, if you don't want to delay as long, stay on the upper levels to endure more pain, and you can expedite its maturity and expulsion.
The downside is: the wails of the Insect Demons won't disappear and will become more frequent the deeper you dig. This means that some Bear Demon will inevitably fall victim, and the risk of being parasitized increases the deeper you go.
I can provide the Star Flame Antitoxic Pill free of charge to force out the insect demon and safely dispose of the Silver-footed Snow Underworld Insect. Whether to continue mining at a reasonable price or relocate the entire clan away from the Sky Pit is a decision left up to you all."
After explaining clearly, the generals were still in a fog and looked bewildered at the City Lord. It seemed obvious that she knew some secrets when she had said something earlier.
"So that's it! It truly is like this!" Ming Qingyan was enlightened upon hearing this, and seeing her subordinates looking at her, she smiled wryly: "At that time, I hadn't yet taken on the role of City Lord. The former City Lord chose me as a successor and specifically trained me by her side. She allowed me to browse freely in the ancient book pavilion.
Everyone knows that although our Sand Hill City is remote and resource-poor, it became completely stable after our ancestors relocated here and built Sand Hill City near the Sky Pit. There has been no war or external threat for nearly thirty thousand years.
This stability means a vast number of ancient texts have been preserved intact, thus the ancient book pavilion houses countless books.
It was during that time that I happened to read a travelogue. It recorded the sights, scenery, customs, and legends our ancestors encountered while migrating here, including a story related to the Earth Fire.
It said that during the Divine and Demon War, the Insect Demons wreaked havoc, making people's lives unsustainable. A god killed the demon controlling the Insect Demons and descended the Celestial Fire to kill the Insect Demons. To escape the Celestial Fire, the Insect Demons delved underground but still couldn't evade a fiery death. Their massive bodies burned for an unknown number of years, gradually forming Earth Fire.
Among so many ancient texts, only this one narrated as a myth. Other ancient records were more realistic, suggesting that the firestone's abundant deposits formed the Earth Fire. This was also the ancestral tradition passed down, so I regarded it as a story and did not take it seriously.
Listening to Mr. Jiang today, it completely matches the contents of the travelogue! Moreover, the scorching Earth Fire environment, the surreptitious cold poison infections among clanspeople, the sudden onsets, the expulsion of living creatures by Pang Sanli earlier... all these signs indicate that Mr. Jiang has helped us unravel the greatest unsolved mystery of Sand Hill City from ancient times to the present!"
Having gained initial recognition from the City Lord, the subsequent matters became simpler.
They went to find the next patient suffering a severe onset of cold poison, and Ming Qingyan and many subordinates personally inspected the transformation before and after the expulsion of the insect demon, confirming that expelling the insect demon ensured instant recovery, dispelling the final worry.
Sand Hill City is truly saved!
