by Zhuang Bifan
Those who did not know elves well could not figure out clearly if they were really elites, but Lin Li could sense that the power of those elves was much stronger than that of those he met in the campground. Most of them were level-18 and level-19.
However, what caught Lin Li's attention was not their strength, but their injuries. Given the abilities of the elves, most ordinary wounds would be no big deal, and injuries wouldn't affect their power even without treatment.
However, Lin Li could sense a curse-like aura that was coming from them. He frowned and carefully scrutinized the elves, after which he found something fishy.
Lin Li stroked his chin and decided to stop looking at them. Instead, he turned around and returned to the tent together with Norfeller. According to the characteristics of the wounds of the elves, Lin Li already guessed something. He reckoned that they might have been poisoned by something.
Lin Li was reminded of a kind of poison that belonged to the prehistoric viper. The viper's poison was the most deadly of all. Besides, it was a combination of a curse and toxins.
However, he could tell that the poison that the elves were infected with was not that serious as that of an actual prehistoric viper. Perhaps it was a mix between prehistoric magical beast and the prehistoric viper; hence, the genetics would be already different.
Of all toxins, the viper's poison could be said to be the most difficult to overcome or understand. However, as a pharmacist, Lin Li did not abandon his research of viper's poison—not because he had nothing to do, but because he remembered the promise that he had made.
During the presidential inauguration ceremony back then, all of the various forces came forth to congratulate Lin Li and send him some gifts. The Summoning Lamp in which the Lord of Nightmares was sealed had been gifted to Lin Li by Englos from the Brilliance Shrine. However, it was an extremely precious gift that was not given away for nothing. When the Summoning Lamp was given to Lin Li, he had to promise that he would help the Pope of the Brilliance Shrine and remove the viper's poison in his body once he was powerful enough to do so.
The viper's poison in the Pope's body was pure, concentrated, and much deadlier than that in the elves' bodies. Although Lin Li had already become a pharmaceutics Guru back then, formulating a Guru-level potion required more than just skill and technique. The understanding of the nomological power was equally important. Back then, Lin Li had been just an Archmage, and he could only give Englos a verbal promise.
If Englos had demanded that Lin Li helped the Pope get rid of the poison before he gave him the Summoning Lamp back then, Lin Li probably would have rather turned him down than make a promise that he couldn't keep, no matter how precious the Summoning Lamp might be.
However, Englos had told him that the Summoning Lamp only required the right opportunity, and that Lin Li could fulfill his promise whenever he had the confidence to do so. If he still didn't have the confidence by the time the poison overwhelmed the Pope, Englos wouldn't blame him, and the Summoning Lamp would still be his to keep. Hence, Lin Li verbally promised Englos to get rid of the poison within the Pope's body as long as he had the ability to.
Although it was only a verbal promise, Lin Li was a man of his word, and he would never go back on it. Ever since he made the informal verbal promise, Lin Li had been keeping the matter in mind, and searching for ways to remove the viper's poison from human bodies.
Lin Li was now already a level-21 Legendary-mage. In addition to reading the Book of Eternity, his understanding of the nomological power had become deeper. Many techniques of pharmaceutics Gurus could be now used by him; hence, he finally got some clues about getting rid of the viper's poison.
With Lin Li's current abilities, there might be a gap for him to close before he could really remove the viper's poison, but the toxin in the elves' bodies had been diluted; hence, he had a way to remove it. Although he could not eradicate the toxin immediately, he was still about 70-80% confident.
However, being sure didn't mean that he had to take a shot. Lin Li was indeed very generous to his own people, and he would never hesitate to deplete his resources in order to help those who were related to him. However, he could be selfish too, especially when facing those who were irrelevant to him. He would never bat an eyelid even if an outsider died in front of him. The elves might be poisoned by a viper, but what did that have to do with him?
To Lin Li, it was just an interesting show for him to watch and get over after he was done. Once he was done watching the show, he would go back to doing what he had to.
The Haiga Mountain Range treasure quest did not mean that much to Lin Li in the first place. It would be great if he could find any treasures, but if not, he would just go back to the Tower of Dusk. It was no big deal to him at all. Anyway, he and Norfeller were the only ones from the Tower of Dusk here on this journey. With Legendary-realm power, it should be no problem for them to leave safely.
With such a mindset, Lin Li did not value the cooperation with the elves as much as Cheyenne and Borg did. Hence, upon returning to his own tent, he immediately forgot about the matter and continued to immerse himself in studying the Book of Eternity.
Lin Li did not attract any attention at all when he left, for everyone was focused on the injured elves who were soon brought to the large tent in the center. The elven elders brought the high-level elves to look at the injured ones.
After checking the injuries of the elves, the faces of the elven elders grew increasingly sullen. Before the elders even spoke, the high-level elves knew that things were awry.
When the last injured elf was checked, the elder stood up and pondered with a frown, after which he said to the elves, "You guys, go out first. I'm going to use natural rejuvenation. I hope it'll help with healing their injuries."
Upon hearing his words, the hearts of the elves wrenched up, though they did not say anything. Natural rejuvenation was not an ordinary healing magic, but a legendary divine magic of Druids. Even a dying person would be able to quickly recover with the help of natural rejuvenation. Everything could be cured using natural rejuvenation, including physical trauma and disabilities.
However, the power of the Natural Rejuvenation was the very reason the high-level elves seemed extremely worried. It was the first time that they had ever heard their elders saying that even Natural Rejuvenation might not be able to heal the injured elves. That meant that there wasn't another way to save their lives.
The high-level elves walked out of the tent worriedly, while the elders frowned. One of them then whipped out a magic staff that was similar to a withered tree branch, and performed Natural Rejuvenation, the legendary magic of Druids.
After a long period of time, a strong aura of life radiated from the tent, thus waking up even the elves who were waiting outside. They seemed to have experienced a rebirth. However, no one rejoiced, and they all entered the tent immediately after the aura dissipated in a bid to see the results of using the Natural Rejuvenation instead.
The wounds on the bodies of the few wounded elves in the tent had completely healed. However, the elves were still lying there and exuding an aura of death, which made them seem like Undead creatures.
Upon sight of that, the hearts of the elves instantly sank to rock bottom. One of the high-level elves walked towards the elders, and asked, "Elders, when… can they wake up?"
However, the elven elder shook his head. In an aged voice, he said, "They've sustained more than just abrasions and external injuries. They've also encountered a peculiar force that is constantly eating away at their vitality. Natural Rejuvenation can only slow down the process, but it can't drive the force away."
"Well… did they get poisoned with something? Why don't you try using an antidote…" Actually, the high-level elf was already at his wits' end, because there hadn't been a poison that Natural Rejuvenation could not get rid of.
The atmosphere in the tent suddenly became much tenser, and the high-level elves were at a complete loss for what to do because t
he wounded were not ordinary elven warriors. One of them was the most important and prestigious elf, Princess Elune, the daughter of the elven queen.
If Princess Elune were to die there, it would be a disaster for the entire Elven Kingdom. The Queldana Family would probably be at a loss for an explanation even if they were in-laws with the queen. Moreover, the other elves also had extraordinary identities, and the death of any one of them was not something the Queldana Family could tolerate.
"Elders, how much time do we have left?" one of the senior elves asked with agony.
The elven elder sighed, and answered, "10 days. The Natural Rejuvenation can suppress it for 10 days. After 10 days, the force will flow to their hearts, and even Goddess Monferra will be powerless by then."
In the eyes of the elves who lived long lives, the time period of 10 days was simply insignificant. However, the time limit seemed like a time bomb that was heavily pressed against the c.h.e.s.ts of the elves. If they couldn't find a solution to save the wounded elves, it would mean that Princess Elune only had only 10 days left to live, and the Queldana Family would cease to exist after that.
If Princess Elune and several other elves really died in the campground, the Queldana Family would be the ultimate sinners of the entire Elven Kingdom. Even if they were descendants of Druids and their patriarch was the queen's husband, they would be eradicated from the Elven Kingdom, despite holding two seats in the Emerald Council.
Most importantly, no one knew what poison the elves were infected with, not even the elven elders. Even though they wanted to find a way to save the wounded, there was nothing they could do but watch and wait for the elves to die and their family to end.
In spite of this news, the elders ordered for the information to be kept secret; hence, no one except a few high-level elves knew about it. However, when the other elves saw their injured peers, they could sense that something was amiss. Everyone knew how much Princess Elune meant to the elves; she was the key to their survival.
Chapter 617 - Antidote
On the following day, the elves suddenly sunk into low spirits. Although they had no idea what exactly had happened, no one dared to stir up trouble with the humans. The day was surprisingly really calm for human adventurers, and it even made them doubt if the elves were planning to take revenge.
Even Cheyenne and Borg had acutely sensed that something was amiss, but they did not get any answers from the high-level elves they had consulted. After several guesses, they still did not have a clue, and the two parties had no choice but to continue restricting their subordinates and get ready to deal with the changes that might appear anytime.
The entire campground was suddenly shrouded in a depressing atmosphere, and even the bright sun could not dispel the gloom within their hearts. Both elves and humans seemed to have lost their vitality, and were waiting for something.
The only person in the campground who was not affected was none other than Lin Li, who never got himself involved in the business of others. He read the Book of Eternity and carefully tried to understand the meaning within it. However, enlightenment could not be obtained just by brainstorming. Lin Li stretched his body and looked out at the shining sun outside the tent. He walked out of the tent and slowly advanced towards the campground while experiencing the feelings mentioned in the book.
After some time, Lin Li suddenly snapped out of his trance because of an abrupt cry. At this moment, Lin Li finally discovered that he had already arrived in the Malfa Family's campground, and was in a certain spot of the elven camp. The sound he heard just now was actually from the Moonsaber Panther that was lying on its back, not too far away from where they were.
Although the Moonsaber Panther was a rare find, Lin Li still knew some things about it. It was said that it was born with level-20 strength and was proficient in nature magic. When under the moonlight, its strength would be greatly improved, thus giving it the name of Moonsaber.
It was a Moonsaber Panther that had just matured, and was supposed to be at the peak of its vitality. However, it seemed to be in a bit of trouble at this moment. It had scars all over its body and looked extremely disheveled. Lin Li could tell at a glance that just like the elves, Moonsaber Panther had been infected with Viper's poison, which was now killing the Moonsaber's vitality. Even with the strength of the Moonsaber Panther, it had no choice but to lie down and wait for its death.
Lin Li's eyes glistened when he saw the dying Moonsaber Panther. Although he thought that he was confident enough to create an antidote for Viper's poison that was derived from theoretical knowledge, he had yet to perform any experiments. Hence, he thought that it would be a good idea to conduct an experiment on the Moonsaber Panther since it was already dying anyway.
Lin Li approached the Moonsaber Panther, squatted down, and took out two potions. The Moonsaber Panther seemed to have lost all of its energy, and was too powerless to react to the stranger in front of it.
That was great for Lin Li, for he needed not waste any energy on feeding it with medicine. Lin Li opened a bottle of potion, and the instant that the cork was removed, an overbearing stench filled the air. Even the Moonsaber Panther painstakingly c.o.c.ked its head to the side.
That odor was definitely familiar to adventurers who frequented dangerous places, because every adventurer would definitely carry such potions with them wherever they went to deal with toxins. The nauseating potion known as the Detoxification Antidote could be regarded as a low-level one, but it did have a good cleansing effect on many kinds of toxins. Since it was low-level, it naturally wasn't expensive, and could definitely be described as a necessity for adventure.
Of course, it was not enough to count on a low-level antidote to eliminate the Viper's poison in the body of the Moonsaber Panther, even though the toxins were diluted. Hence, Lin Li's other potion was still the key in removing the poisoning of the Moonsaber Panther.
That potion was not a low-level product, but was a real Master-level potion. The preciousness of this potential Life-awakening Potion lay not only in the mastery skills required, but also in several precious herbs that were hard to find.
Pharmacists had never racked their brains to come up with a fancy name for their potions. Hence, the effects of every potion could be deduced just by looking at their respective names. Just like its name suggested, this bottle of Life-awakening Potion helped to stimulate vitality. Even if it was taken by a dying person, it could instantly rejuvenate his life, almost achieving the effect of resurrection.
However, despite having such a potent effect, the potion remained only at the Master-level because its effects were not perfect. Although the effects of this medicine were not as big, the side effects were still serious. After the effects of the potion wore off, the user would remain weakened for a long time, and might even experience a decrease in level. However, the advantages outweighed the shortcomings. If one were to lose his life, he would never be a high-level master, either.
The two potions were actually not that rare, especially the Detoxification Antidote that was sold for a relatively cheap price. However, when the two potions were mixed together, the effects would be extraordinary, though Lin Li would be the only one who knew that. They would become a magical potion that was sufficient to dispel the viper's poison.
Actually, the viper's poison was not the most toxic of all, and while its toxicity alone might be fatal to ordinary people, it was far from lethal for powerful people. In this world, there were many more poisons that were more toxic than Viper's poison. Some toxins would make the poisoned person turn into blood, while some would destroy the poisoned person's soul immediately.
However, why did the Pope of the Brilliance Shrine get infected by Viper's poison and was unable to expel it? It was precisely because the other intractable characteristic of Viper's poison was its low detectability. Regardless of whether it was repelled or removed, the toxin had to be found before it could be dealt with. If the toxin couldn't be found, even the best antidote wouldn't have a
n effect on it. It was so obscure that even the powerful Pope of the Brilliance Shrine could only let the poison eat away at his body.
Therefore, the first step to removing the Viper's poison would be to find it, not detoxify it. The toxicity of the Viper's poison was very simple, and it would just devour the vitality of the poisoned victim until he died. Under normal circ.u.mstances, this process of engulfing would be obscure, but with the effects of the Life-awakening Potion, the vitality of the poisoned person would suddenly increase explosively, yet the poison would continue to devour the victim's vitality, thus exposing itself instantly. When the viper's poison was exposed, it could be removed easily with an ordinary Detoxification Antidote.
Of course, so far, this was just a theory developed by Lin Li. After all, the viper's poison could not be located that easily, and he hadn't had an opportunity to experiment, either. Now that the Moonsaber Panther had sent itself to Lin Li, he decided to take the chance to put his theory and conjecture to test.
Lin Li pulled the head of the Moonsaber Panther and pried its mouth open forcefully, ignoring its pitiful gaze. He then forced the potion down its throat. The poor, powerless Moonsaber Panther had no choice but to stare at Lin Li, too weak to even make a sound.
At this moment, a high-level elf walked towards him worriedly, and happened to see Lin Li forcing the potion down Moonsaber Panther's throat. The elf panicked because the Moonsaber Panther was special to elves, though humans only deemed it a magical beast. In the elven race, the Moonsaber Panther, like a unicorn, was a sacred animal that was the purest form of transport for the elves. That Moonsaber Panther belonged to Princess Elune.
This high-level elf was not out for a casual stroll. At this juncture, he was no longer in the mood to take care of anything other than guarding the several poisoned elves. However, Princess Elune who had been unconscious suddenly woke up just now, and said that her Moonlight was back.
