The Golden Lotus Pond, similar to the Thunder Pond, only allowed cultivators below the Fourth Stage to enter. Otherwise, it would trigger the prohibition.
The prohibition was connected to the great array of Tianshi Mountain. No matter how powerful a Domain Lord was, they couldn't withstand it, which was why the elder from Wudang Mountain couldn't personally enter the pond to rescue him.
But if the elders from the various Daoist temples across the land couldn't save Lin Qing, and the top geniuses from each temple weren't here, who else could save him?
Let alone saving him, for most people present, even walking to the center of the pond was a difficult task.
At this moment, someone thought of Chen Guo.
Just now, with a casual sword strike, he had killed a group of fish demons that had manifested due to Lin Qing, rescuing Chen Sheng. If he were willing to step into the lotus pond again, saving Lin Qing would undoubtedly be within his capabilities.
But the problem was, why would Chen Guo go in?
The elder from Wudang Mountain also thought of Chen Guo. He quickly flew before Chen Guo and spoke with a powerful aura, "Why aren't you going in to save him quickly!"
Chen Guo glanced at the elder, crossed his arms, and stood calmly in place, showing no inclination.
Seeing this, the elder from Wudang Mountain's aura intensified. He exerted pressure on Chen Guo and the other three, but immediately, he was stopped by an elder from Tianshi Mountain, his momentum abruptly halting.
"Daoist Master Huaiwu, please do not be anxious. There will always be a way to solve things, but you cannot resort to violence here!"
Wudang Mountain's True Person Huaiwu looked at the elder from Tianshi Mountain, his face ugly, and roared loudly:
"Huang Long! My Wudang Mountain's Daoist disciple Lin Qing is dying, and you are still spouting empty words. Hurry up and help me think of a solution!!!"
"If Lin Qing has any accident here, our Wudang Mountain will never let this matter rest!"
True Person Huang Long heard this and said coldly:
"He fell into the pond and was besieged by demons. It's clearly a result of his lack of skill. What does it have to do with me even if he dies?"
"You!" True Person Huaiwu's face was extremely ugly. He desperately wanted to fight this elder from Shengyang Peak with the short black beard, but Lin Qing's situation in the pond was worsening.
His consciousness seemed very blurred, as if he were possessed, flailing wildly based on instinct. The protective energies that appeared on the surface of his body were also automatically emerging from his meridians.
But was this enough to withstand the attacks of a peak Third Stage great demon? Lin Qing was bleeding more and more, his injuries worsening. He would die before long!
"Let's go into the water together!"
Countless disciples friendly with Wudang Mountain spontaneously entered the pond to rescue him. But let alone whether they could pass the test and reach the center of the pond,
even with their speed, Lin Qing would have already died by the time they got there!
Seeing this, True Person Huaiwu gritted his teeth, his emotions extremely agitated. He turned his head to look at Chen Guo and said,
"If you can put aside past grievances and save Lin Qing, I can satisfy any of your conditions, and from now on, Wudang Mountain will protect your Tianxing Sect!"
Chen Guo remained unmoved.
Chen Sheng snorted coldly from the side.
True Person Huaiwu became even more anxious. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
At this moment, True Person Huang Long of Shengyang Peak chuckled, took out a jade pendant from his embrace, and as it shone, the demons in the Golden Lotus Pond instantly dissipated into white mist. Lin Qing was then supported by a water lily and slowly floated towards the edge of the pond.
Seeing this, the other elders and disciples of Shengyang Peak showed no surprise. True Person Huang Long was in charge of the Golden Lotus Pond, and its restrictions did not apply to him. As for why he didn't save him earlier, deliberately letting Lin Qing suffer, it was likely because he couldn't stand his previous arrogance and how cruelly he had humiliated his fellow Daoists.
However, no matter how much he disliked it, True Person Huang Long knew in his heart that Lin Qing couldn't die. If he died, the entire Wudang Mountain would go mad. While their Tianshi Mountain wasn't afraid, they wouldn't wantonly provoke such trouble, so he had to save him.
What was most crucial was that they were all shocked by Lin Qing's sudden fall into the water and hadn't carefully considered the reason for his fall.
Given Lin Qing's strength, how could he have fallen into the water?
There must be something fishy going on. True Person Huang Long was also concerned that the problem might lie with his own side, hence his hasty rescue.
"He's saved!"
True Person Huaiwu of Wudang Mountain, seeing this, excitedly ran to the edge of the pond, carried the unconscious and injured Lin Qing from the water lily to the shore, and then immediately began to examine his internal injuries.
"Phew… thankfully, they are only superficial injuries. The Daoist arts I practiced daily weren't in vain. The automatic protection saved his life!"
True Person Huaiwu thought with great relief, but then, he seemed to sense something amiss, and his expression became extremely grim.
He looked up at True Person Huang Long, veins bulging on his forehead, and roared in fury:
"Lin Qing has been poisoned!"
"Those seven-colored lotus flowers are poisonous!"
Boom!
True Person Huaiwu's words were like a thunderclap, and everyone present froze.
True Person Huang Long frowned and retorted, "Do you know what you are saying?"
"The Golden Lotus Pond is a treasure of my Shengyang Peak. The lotus seeds within were personally planted by the successive Heavenly Masters. Consuming them nourishes the body and cultivates the essence of heaven and earth. How could they be poisonous!"
"Come and see for yourself!" True Person Huaiwu was completely enraged, his eyes turning blood red. His aura surged into Lin Qing's body, temporarily sealing his meridians and acupoints, but it could only slow down the invasion of the toxins.
"He was poisoned as soon as he took that petal! If not that, then what else could it be!"
True Person Huang Long approached, used his abilities to carefully inspect Lin Qing's body, and his expression suddenly changed.
"It's actually poison from the lotus! How is this possible!" True Person Huang Long's mind seemed to stop working. After two seconds, his pupils constricted, and he exclaimed, "It's a poisoning!"
"The two lotus petals Lin Qing ate were deliberately poisoned by someone with malicious intent!"
"A joke! Who has the ability to poison someone in your Tianshi Mountain's Shengyang Peak?" True Person Huaiwu stared fiercely at True Person Huang Long and shrieked, "Only you yourself!"
True Person Huang Long retorted, "I did not!"
True Person Huaiwu shouted, "Then quickly call someone to treat him! I can't cure this poison!"
As soon as he said this, all the elders present with considerable knowledge in Daoist medicine rushed forward, taking turns to feel Lin Qing's pulse.
However, even though most of these elders were skilled physicians and often saved lives, they were helpless against the poison Lin Qing had contracted. Almost everyone took a cursory glance and then concluded that they couldn't cure this poison.
"Reporting to the True Person, this poison is extremely strange and insidious. It originates in the stomach but instantly affects the brain and all the acupoints."
"It spreads rapidly, which is shocking. We truly have no better method."
The elder who spoke was an early-stage Fifth Stage elder from Wudang Mountain, a seasoned pharmacist. However, he was also unable to do anything about Lin Qing's poison at the moment.
True Person Huaiwu had, at the first opportunity, used his abilities to protect Lin Qing's sea of consciousness and acupoints, slowing down the toxin's invasion. This was the limit of what he could think of in terms of treatment; he couldn't do better. He could only feed Lin Qing other pills to resist the erosion of the toxins.
True Person Huang Long's expression was grim, and he said,
"Since none of you can do anything, I won't try either."
"The best pharmacist on Tianshi Mountain is Old Heavenly Master, but he is currently in seclusion. The next best would be Senior Brother Shi Yue from Tianguang Peak."
True Person Huaiwu heard this, his face looking grim, and said,
"Among the five arts of Daoism – medicine, astronomy, divination, fate, and geomancy – Shi Yue's medical skill is on par with mine. It's not certain he can cure this poison."
"The urgent matter now is to find the murderer! This poison was clearly specially concocted by an expert. Unless a supreme figure in the medical arts comes, only the one who administered the poison can cure it!"
True Person Huang Long's expression turned slightly pale, his brows trembling slightly, as he was currently using his abilities to trace back all the events that had occurred in the Golden Lotus Pond in recent days, restoring every minute detail perfectly.
In the span of a breath, he saw everything that had happened in the Golden Lotus Pond over the past seven days, even the detailed account of a dragon-fish spawning.
"Almost, just a little more and I would have seen it…" True Person Huang Long held a bamboo tube in his right hand, filled with bamboo slips inscribed with prophecies. Each stroke was etched by the Great Dao, constantly trembling, as if about to fly out of the tube.
But as time passed, just as True Person Huang Long was about to see the identity of the poisoner clearly in his closed eyes, his right hand suddenly shook, and the slips in the entire tube scattered.
"Pfft!"
True Person Huang Long spat out a mouthful of blood.
He clutched his chest, his eyes widening in horror, and coughed intermittently, saying,
"This… this…"
"The realm and cultivation of the person who administered the poison are higher than mine, and they seem to be burdened by some kind of fated destiny. I cannot see their face, even their silhouette is barely discernible."
"You have to see even if you can't!" True Person Huaiwu stood up, his pure black aura pressing down on True Person Huang Long, making his face even paler.
The others in the vicinity rapidly retreated backward, not daring to resist True Person Huaiwu's domain head-on.
The latter was the Supreme Elder of Wudang Mountain. In terms of strength, he was arguably the second most powerful person in Wudang Mountain. With his fury erupting, no one dared to stand in his way.
"If Lin Qing has any misfortune, I will raze your entire Shengyang Peak!"
"You have a lot of nerve!" True Person Huang Long recovered and also released a thick, earth-yellow domain, resisting the terrifying black mass.
The two looked at each other, and True Person Huang Long said with a grim expression, "Since Lin Qing was poisoned here, we Tianshi Mountain will bear all the consequences. You don't need to throw a tantrum here!"
"Brother Huaiwu, withdraw your domain. Impulsiveness will not solve the problem, and it will only harm Nephew Lin Qing," a Daoist with a thin face and extremely long eyebrows from Baiyun Daoist Temple said.
At the same time, he lightly tapped the space with his finger. A powerful and irresistible Daoist energy emerged, and the domains of the two confronting each other immediately encountered immense resistance, as if they were iron blocks about to be twisted.
Both True Persons Huaiwu and Huang Long were startled. Just as they were about to resist, they recognized the person who had intervened and simultaneously withdrew their domains.
"So it's the Discipline Elder of Baiyun Daoist Temple, Daoist Master Yuantian." True Person Huaiwu stood in place with a grim expression. The Discipline Elder of Baiyun Daoist Temple's strength was likely far superior to his own as the Supreme Elder of Wudang Mountain, as could be seen from that single finger strike.
"Daoist Master Yuantian has intervened, do you have a solution?" True Person Huang Long cupped his hands, bowed to Yuantian, and then asked expectantly.
The thin Daoist shook his head and said,
"My medical skill is ordinary."
"According to what you say, this poison is so strange and difficult to cure that perhaps no one in this world can cure it except the Daoist friends from Medicine King Valley."
True Person Huaiwu heard this and said with an extremely grim expression, "Medicine King Valley is a hundred thousand li away from here. By the time we get there, Qing'er will have long been dead."
"If the murderer cannot be found, then we can only ask the Old Heavenly Master to step in!"
…