Chapter 875: The Beehive Incident

"Something's wrong..."

Unlike the shock of the others, Zhang Xuan frowned deeply.

Being able to awaken the spirit was naturally not something that could be done by relying on Earth Vein Spiritual Liquid alone, but rather... Heaven's Path True Qi!

Heaven's Path True Qi contained intense vitality and could even neutralize deadly poison. Even if the spirit of this Bodhi Tree had been sleeping, it could be awakened smoothly.

However, what puzzled him was... the slumber of the Bodhi Tree's spirit seemed not simply a matter of damage, but rather... poisoning!

Heaven's Path True Qi was extremely pure, flowing through without obstruction, so he could clearly see the specific condition of the sleeping spirit.

It was not a problem of damage at all.

Ordinary damage would show significant symptoms of severe vitality loss, but at this moment, the spirit was contending with a deadly poison.

Most crucially, this deadly poison...

"It's... Azure Spirit Venom!"

Zhang Xuan's expression turned strange.

Speaking of Azure Spirit Venom, many might not know what it was, and even the various deans of the Master Teacher Academy might not be clear, but if one said it was a deadly poison concocted from [Azure Leaf Heartlink Grass] and [Spiritless Flower]... many would immediately understand!

It was precisely the same deadly poison that You Xu had given him during their life-and-death duel!

Once ingested, this medicine would immediately corrode the heart and spirit, making it difficult even for Saint realm experts to survive. Although the Bodhi Tree was a sacred medicine, it still struggled to withstand such poison... The fact that its spirit had persisted until now without perishing indicated that Elder Zhao and the others, though their treatment direction was wrong, had indeed nourished it with many great tonics.

"Two years ago, that fellow You Xu came here, and then the Bodhi Tree fell ill... Is there a connection?"

He frowned.

This deadly poison was extremely complex to prepare and not commonly seen. You Xu had it, and he had come here... Could it be that he was the one who poisoned it?

But... Yu Shenqing had allowed You Xu to come and take 'branches and buds,' so there certainly couldn't be any conflict between them.

If so... why would he poison it?

"This is something for the Emperor to worry about; it has little to do with me..."

After thinking for a while and coming up with nothing, he shook his head and stopped dwelling on it.

His purpose in treating the Bodhi Tree, even going so far as to spend Earth Vein Spiritual Liquid, was to have it nourish Wei Ruyan. As for who poisoned it and who the Emperor had offended, it had nothing to do with him, and there was no need to investigate deeply.

After emptying the gourd of Earth Vein Spiritual Liquid and infusing several dozen streams of True Qi, the frail Bodhi Tree once again became vibrant, its branches and leaves spreading everywhere.

"It's done..."

Letting out a breath, Zhang Xuan looked over.

"Thank you, Master Zhang..."

Trembling with excitement, Yu Shenqing quickly stepped forward.

The Bodhi Tree was the foundation of the Yu family. If it were destroyed, the Yu family would likely not last long before vanishing into the river of history. Having thought it could never be cured, they never expected that this young man would easily find the cause and completely heal it in less than half a day.

"Master Zhang..."

Elder Zhao and the others were even more flushed, wishing they could crawl into a crack in the ground.

They had said he knew nothing, yet he effortlessly cured the Bodhi Tree, while they, the 'knowledgeable ones,' had persisted for two years but had gone down the wrong path!

Just thinking about it filled them with shame.

"Master Zhang, if you have time, would you be willing to give us a lecture? Our Sun family is willing to offer a hundred peak spiritual medicines and three sacred medicines as compensation!"

An elder stepped forward.

The ailment that so many of them could not identify, he saw at a glance and found a solution. His herb cultivation skills were astonishingly profound.

If they could invite him to teach, it would surely allow their family to advance by leaps and bounds, surpassing other aristocratic families in no time.

"Master Zhang, come to our Chen family. We are willing to offer one hundred and fifty peak spiritual medicines and five sacred medicines!"

Another elder stepped forward.

These people all knew what this Master Zhang meant.

"Master Zhang, come to our Zhao family..."

"Come to our Liu family..."

...

Seeing their old friends rushing forward, Elder Zhao and the others could no longer hold back.

"Thank you for your kindness, but I currently have no plans to give lectures!"

Seeing the crowd surrounding him, no longer arrogant but as respectful as elementary school students, Zhang Xuan shook his head.

It wasn't that he didn't want to teach, but that he knew very little about herb cultivation. Even if he wanted to, he wouldn't know where to start!

The reason he could treat this Bodhi Tree was due to his Eye of Insight and the Library of Heaven's Path, having nothing to do with his herb cultivation knowledge.

If he actually taught, he would surely be exposed.

Seeing that he truly was unwilling, Elder Zhao and the others had no choice but to retreat in disappointment.

"Your Majesty, everyone, I happen to need to use the Bodhi Tree for some private matters, which may involve personal secrets..."

Seeing that the Bodhi Tree had fully recovered, Zhang Xuan looked at the crowd.

"I have troubled you all for the past two years in treating the Bodhi Tree. I will have a banquet prepared immediately. Everyone, please come with me!"

Understanding his intention, Yu Shenqing smiled lightly and looked at the crowd.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"We didn't help much; we are truly ashamed..."

The several elders nodded knowingly and followed Yu Shenqing out.

Soon, only Zhang Xuan remained in the courtyard, with no one else around.

Flying into the air and seeing that Yu Shenqing had even dismissed the surrounding guards and ordered no one to approach, he breathed a sigh of relief. With a thought, the frail Wei Ruyan appeared before him.

As the Thousand Ant Beehive expanded, he had kept her by his side these past few days to facilitate timely treatment. Now that the Bodhi Tree was healed, he could give it a try!

Separating his soul from his body, he summoned Wei Ruyan's soul and, using a special technique, infused it into the Bodhi Tree.

He had observed earlier that this Bodhi Tree had a nourishing effect on souls, and a very significant one at that.

As her soul entered, Zhang Xuan's soul followed and immediately sensed that the former was being nourished, her weak soul slowly recovering.

"Hmm? The recovery speed is so fast..."

Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up: "Unexpectedly, the two years of Azure Spirit Venom invasion have become Wei Ruyan's opportunity!"

With a normal Bodhi Tree, even if its trunk was huge, nourishing a body like Wei Ruyan's Innate Poison Soul would quickly lead to poisoning, and the effect would be minimal, just like with the Ten-Leaf Flower.

But this one, having been invaded by Azure Spirit Venom for two years, had developed a certain resistance to poison. Coupled with the Innate Poison Soul's ability to devour toxins, the residual venom in the Bodhi Tree was a great tonic for her!

In other words, entering the Innate Poison Soul would not only not poison the Bodhi Tree but would also help it devour the remnants of the Azure Spirit Venom!

Thus, Wei Ruyan's soul would receive greater nourishment and recover faster.

"At this rate, within a day at most, she can be awakened..."

His eyes brightened.

He had been wondering where to find so many living sacred medicines to nourish her. This Bodhi Tree, with its massive size, was more than sufficient.

It seemed that treating the Bodhi Tree this time was not a mistake.

Although he had wasted a lot of Earth Vein Spiritual Liquid, as long as he could save Wei Changfeng's daughter, no expense was too great.

Just as his soul returned to his body and he put Wei Ruyan's body back into the Thousand Ant Beehive, a voice sounded in his ear.

"Master, please come in for a moment..."

Hearing this voice, Zhang Xuan frowned.

It was none other than the Thousand Ant Bee Queen.

This creature had devoured the folded space left by Master Teacher Kong and had been expanding the Thousand Ant Beehive. According to her estimate, it would take about two to three months to complete, but now only five days had passed. Why was she calling him?

However, she usually didn't contact him lightly. Since she spoke, there must be something. Without further ado, he focused his mind and entered the beehive.

The beehive was now more than twice as large as last time, with a diameter of over twenty meters, spacious and vast, like two basketball courts put together.

The Violet Sun Beast and the Gold Origin Cauldron stood inside, appearing exceptionally spacious and not interfering with each other.

"What's wrong?"

Marveling at the Thousand Ant Bee Queen's power, Zhang Xuan approached.

"Master... I thought it was too simple before. I thought I could finish repairing this place in two or three months, but now I realize my cultivation is too low. I might... already be unable to control such a large space!"

The Thousand Ant Bee Queen said with an embarrassed expression.

Earlier, she had confidently claimed that she could turn the folded space left by Master Teacher Kong into a portable Thousand Ant Beehive in two or three months, but now it seemed that was not the case.

With her cultivation at the Unity realm, controlling a space over ten meters in diameter was easy, but controlling one over twenty meters was somewhat beyond her ability.

If she continued with this level of strength, the beehive might collapse before it was even built.

"Can't control it?" Zhang Xuan's expression turned serious.

That made sense. Although the Thousand Ant Bee Queen had a special constitution and could manipulate space at the Unity realm, it was not unlimited. If her strength was insufficient, forcibly expanding the space could easily backfire, leading to major trouble.

"Is there a way to solve it?"

He couldn't help asking.

"There is... but it's rather troublesome!" The Thousand Ant Bee Queen shook her head.

"Tell me about it!" Hearing that there was a solution, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.

"Just let me quickly increase my strength. As long as I reach the Saint realm, not only will the expansion speed increase, but my control over space will also be stronger, and there will be no problems..."

The Thousand Ant Bee Queen said.

"Quickly increase strength? That's simple!"

Thinking it would be complicated, Zhang Xuan relaxed upon hearing this. Smiling lightly, he placed his hand on her and immediately sent a surge of pure Heaven's Path True Qi into her.

Heaven's Path True Qi could purify bloodlines, so naturally it could also increase strength.

Crack! Crack!

Nourished by his True Qi, the Thousand Ant Bee Queen's entire body trembled, and her cultivation rose steadily.

Three hours later, supplemented by his True Qi and Earth Vein Spiritual Liquid, the Thousand Ant Bee Queen's strength, like his, reached the initial stage of Void Step realm.

However, his cultivation was only at this level, so he could not let her advance further.

Although the Void Step realm and the peak of Unity realm differed by more than a major level, the progress was significant, but... it was still far from the Saint realm.

"Master, I heard that the Beast Hall has preserved the blood of a Saint realm Thousand Ant Bee Queen. If we can obtain it, I could evolve in a short time..."

After consolidating her cultivation, the Thousand Ant Bee Queen recalled something and said.