Chapter 1112: A World in Constant Development

"One doesn't have to forsake oneself to ascend..." Jia Xu muttered as he read the intelligence report. Immortality, who wouldn't desire it?

Jia Xu was moved. Unlike the immortality offered by the arts of the immortals, the immortality achieved through martial cultivation was real and tangible. The allure of such immortality was irresistible to someone like Jia Xu, who feared death above all else.

Jia Xu had already fully engaged his deduction abilities. His mental gift was not limited to analyzing battlefield tactics; it was equally adept at uncovering the inner logic of any subject, even more extreme in some cases.

Immortality held an unshakable appeal for someone like Jia Xu, who dreaded death, and ascension had always been the ultimate dream of the Seven Immortals. To Jia Xu, it symbolized long-lasting life. If there were another way to achieve it, he had no qualms about giving it a try.

"I heard that Wen Hou shattered the void and ascended," Zhang Zhongjing remarked while examining Zhou Tai's condition. He addressed Hua Tuo as he spoke.

"It seems so, but that has little to do with us." As Hua Tuo spoke, he continued to administer acupuncture to Zhou Tai. "Have you made any progress recently?"

"Not much progress. I still can't figure out what it is exactly. I need more subjects for experimentation. Are there any more Qi Refining to Steel prisoners? Give me two to try out." Zhang Zhongjing adjusted the light as he observed a new virus being extracted from Zhou Tai's body by some substance. He sounded a bit frustrated.

"There are no more death row prisoners. They’re rare to begin with. Most of the prisoners sent here are those who refuse to labor for their sins. This counts as a form of hard labor," Hua Tuo explained as he glanced at Zhang Zhongjing.

Since his initial restriction upon arrival to confirm his identity, Zhang Zhongjing had been treated like royalty. He received the same privileges as Hua Tuo, meaning corpses, test subjects, microscopes, and other items completely absent in Yangzhou were made available to him.

Initially, Zhang Zhongjing had ethical concerns, but once he got started, he was only slightly less proficient than Hua Tuo in dissections. If not for the fact that he, like Hua Tuo, had likely practiced on corpses, Wang Xiu would have been baffled by his expertise.

At first, Zhang Zhongjing found the open experimentation unsettling, but he quickly accepted it. After receiving access to test subjects and microscopes, he no longer mentioned returning to Yangzhou, preferring to stay and collaborate with Hua Tuo.

"I see..." Zhang Zhongjing smacked his lips in disappointment. He still had many things to experiment on, but now it seemed the death row prisoners had all gone off to labor.

"You frightened them nearly to death with your experiments. Last time, you injected one of those prisoners in the Qi Refining to Steel stage with the toxin for typhoid?" Hua Tuo asked, referring to everything as "toxins" out of habit.

"Normally, Qi Refining to Steel cultivators are rarely susceptible to this sort of thing. I just wanted to test it, but after he contracted it, I discovered the toxicity had intensified when I extracted his blood for analysis," Zhang Zhongjing said, his eyes lighting up.

He pulled out a sealed glass vial. "This is the concentrated typhoid toxin I extracted from his body. I tested it on myself. If this spreads, it could easily wipe out millions."

Qu Qi, who had just finished packing up and was about to ask Hua Tuo when they would leave, overheard Zhang Zhongjing’s words. He felt a chilling sensation, and his courage nearly deserted him.

"Han Mou, is something wrong?" Hua Tuo asked, feeling a bit uneasy himself after hearing Zhang Zhongjing’s revelation, though he had created plenty of such by-products in his experiments as well.

"I think it would be better if I kept my distance from you two," Qu Qi said with a weary expression. He couldn’t help but believe their words.

The reason Qu Qi had been forced to move next door was that Hua Tuo once had hundreds of rats captured, then casually dropped a strange substance in front of Qu Qi. The rats all died within moments...

Worse, the rats showed signs of plague. Qu Qi had nearly cried in fear at the time and immediately relocated. Hua Tuo occupying his house was his dubious honor.

"Relax, relax. I’ve prepared emergency countermeasures. If this vial were to break, I would handle it immediately," Zhang Zhongjing said nonchalantly. "Though, I did have the sudden urge to throw this onto the vast plains."

"..." Both Qu Qi and Hua Tuo's faces darkened instantly.

"I came to inform you that it's time to head to Yecheng. I’ve finished preparing the seeds, so hurry up and deal with those dangerous substances. What’s the status of this big fellow?" Qu Qi changed the subject, glancing at Zhou Tai.

"He’s doing well. His condition has led to a significant breakthrough in our research. We can now address nearly every plague recorded in history. However, the cost is rather high," Hua Tuo said, exchanging a glance with Zhang Zhongjing.

"We’ve extracted a potent anti-toxin from the body of this Internal Qi Leaving the Body expert. Likewise, we’ve also developed a deadly poison that can incapacitate even someone of the same level," Hua Tuo explained, holding up a vial of pale green liquid with a serious expression.

Qu Qi felt a chill run through him. How could such a thing even exist?

"However, it’s still incomplete. Our experiments showed that the effects weren’t as potent as we’d hoped. The afflicted showed symptoms similar to normal typhoid, and it takes three to five days for the poison to fully manifest in an Internal Qi Leaving the Body expert, given their strength," Zhang Zhongjing said, somewhat disappointed.

Incidentally, this toxin was the result of painstaking work by Zhang Zhongjing and Hua Tuo, using Zhou Tai's body to cultivate it.

"You two are healers, not poisoners! Why would you even create something this dangerous—one drop could kill someone! What are you planning to do with it?" Qu Qi exploded in rage, his frustration erupting into a full-blown outburst.

"Don’t worry. This thing only activates when it absorbs Internal Qi, so it’s completely harmless to ordinary people," Hua Tuo said casually, then downed a good portion of the vial that supposedly contained enough poison to kill an Internal Qi Leaving the Body expert. He wiped his mouth and added, "Tastes pretty good too!"

"..." Qu Qi was utterly drained. He had no words left for them. He resolved to keep his distance from these dangerous individuals.

"Of course, it is still toxic to us, and quite deadly at that. But it doesn’t affect us much anymore," Zhang Zhongjing said with a smile.

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