Poisoned by Love (Part 1)

“So it is an immortal from the Tianyuan Sect gracing us with her presence! Forgive this old man for my earlier neglect. My deepest apologies!”

The Drunken Immortal clasped his hands in a salute, his posture extremely humble.

“Please, let us move to the Grand Altar Hall to discuss matters in detail.”

“Very well,” Xuan Mo nodded in agreement.

The Drunken Immortal gave his sleeve a light wave, and the surrounding space rippled and twisted like water.

Without moving their feet, the scene before everyone’s eyes changed in an instant—the magnificent and solemn Grand Altar Hall, filled with the rich, aged aroma of spiritual wine, was now beneath them.

“Immortal, please, be seated. Dispense with the formalities.”

The Drunken Immortal personally poured a cup of spiritual tea, pushing the white jade cup across the table toward Xuan Mo, his face wreathed in an unprecedentedly warm smile.

“Senior Immortal,” Xuan Mo, however, did not accept the tea, cutting straight to the chase, “This junior is a straightforward person, so I will speak directly.”

“Good! How refreshing!” A sharp glint flashed in the Drunken Immortal’s eyes as he clapped his hands in praise.

“Then this old man will not beat around the bush either. May I ask the Immortal—” he leaned forward slightly, his speech steady but tinged with an imperceptible urgency, “This… divine ambrosia, how much can the Tianyuan Sect supply each month? And what… price is required in exchange?”

Xuan Mo’s heart skipped a beat!

‘Production quantity? How would I know? I didn’t ask before.’

But seeing the sky-rending sword qi that Elder Yuan had just unleashed after a single bowl… this stuff definitely wasn’t some mass-produced, common good!

Her mind raced, but her expression remained as still as a mountain.

She slowly extended a single finger.

“…One spirit stone?” The Drunken Immortal’s thick brows furrowed slightly as he asked tentatively.

‘Could the production be astonishingly high?’

Xuan Mo shook her head, quickly calculating in her mind: ‘Little Qiancha said the cost is five mid-grade spirit stones… I should be fine selling it for ten mid-grade spirit stones, right? Hehe, double the profit.’

Xuan Mo gleefully cursed herself for being so mercenary.

“Ten?” The Drunken Immortal pondered for a moment, the scorching gazes from all around almost piercing through the air.

Finally, amidst the hall’s suppressed anticipation, he stroked his beard and nodded, “The price is not low… but it is worth it! Ten high-grade spirit stones per bottle—this old man accepts. By the end of next month, please have your esteemed sect prepare thirty bottles!”

With that, a plain, unremarkable storage pouch had already floated before Xuan Mo.

“Inside this pouch are thirty high-grade spirit stones, as a deposit. Once the immortal brew is delivered in full, the remaining balance will be paid immediately.”

“Inside is a deposit of thirty high-grade spirit stones. Once we receive the wine, our sect will pay the remaining amount.”

The Drunken Immortal said.

Xuan Mo: “…?”

‘T-ten high-grade?! Not ten mid-grade?!’

She dazedly accepted the small pouch that felt as light as a feather yet as heavy as a mountain, her fingertips even a little numb.

One high-grade spirit stone could be exchanged for one hundred mid-grade ones!

This price was… a full two hundred times Little Qiancha’s cost.

This Raging Waves Sect was truly extravagant!

“Of… of course!”

Xuan Mo forcefully suppressed the heartbeat that was about to leap out of her throat, trying to keep her voice from trembling as she gave a crisp nod to seal the deal.

Just as she was about to take her leave, a familiar figure blocked her way—

“Little Mo!”

The newly invigorated Elder Yuan was glowing.

His usually stern face was piled high with an undisguised, sincere smile.

“My successful breakthrough today is all thanks to this fortunate encounter. A humble banquet has been prepared in the hall. Please, you must grace us with your presence and allow this old man to express his gratitude!”

Faced with such a fiery and sincere invitation, how could Xuan Mo refuse?

She could only brace herself and accept, becoming the unexpected guest of honor at a boisterous feast thrown in celebration of the “divine brew.”

As night fell, Xun Xue rushed here and there, finally finishing all the various procedures and successfully obtaining residency rights for Tianquan Peak.

She pushed open the familiar wooden door—

“?!”

The scene before her nailed Xun Xue’s feet to the spot, her blue eyes instantly filled with four or five layers of giant, overlapping question marks.

She saw her very own Little Qiancha standing on the bed like a bristling cat.

Her small face was as red as a sunset cloud, her azure eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

She was biting the corner of her pink lip, her sharp little fangs pressing tightly against it.

From her high vantage point, she stared down with an extremely complicated expression at—Gan Tang, who was kneeling on the cold floor with her head bowed, shrinking like a guilty little quail!

“What… is going on here?!!” Xun Xue’s voice was filled with shock and confusion.

………………..

Rewind to two hours earlier.

In the evening, after finishing a day of cultivation, Lu Qiancha took out the two storage pouches she had obtained in Beiju Luzhou.

She sorted the spirit stones, spiritual herbs, and magical artifacts from within into her own storage pouch.

Just as she was taking inventory of Qiong Gong’s storage pouch, a small medicine bottle caught her attention.

‘Aphrodisiac poison? Good stuff.’

Lu Qiancha saw the label at the bottom of the bottle, and her mind immediately started churning.

This could be used on rare spiritual beasts to promote breeding, or on the battlefield against enemies to break their will.

With this thought, she carefully uncorked the bottle, intending to pour out a small sample to analyze its components…

Pop—!

The soft sound of the cork being opened was like a clap of thunder.

A large cloud of sickeningly sweet pink dust erupted from the mouth of the bottle, instantly filling the entire small hut.

“Damn it!”

Lu Qiancha quickly swallowed an antidote pill while simultaneously surging her spiritual power to blast open the window.

A strong current of air rushed in, clearing the aphrodisiac powder from the room.

After performing this remedial action, she immediately slumped to the floor, focused her mind, and circulated her energy with all her might, mobilizing all the spiritual power in her body to build a dam against the poison she had inhaled.

An unknown amount of time passed.

A fine layer of sweat beaded on Lu Qiancha’s forehead, and her small mouth was slightly open, panting.

‘Almost… just a little more, and I can expel this aphrodisiac poison from my body!’

And just then, the unexpected happened.

“Senior Brother! I’ve finished chopping down all the trees on the back mountain!”

An energetic voice, tinged with a plea for praise, exploded from outside the door.

‘Gan Tang?’

That momentary lapse in concentration caused a fine crack to appear in the dam of spiritual power.

The poison, seizing this fleeting opportunity, violently broke through her spiritual defenses.

“Ugh…!”

Lu Qiancha let out a muffled grunt.

Her previously clear blue eyes were instantly veiled by a pink mist, the tower of her reason crumbling…

“Senior Brother? Senior Brother?” Gan Tang knocked a few more times in confusion, muttering to herself, “Why isn’t she answering? Is she really fast asleep?”

She pouted.

“Hmph! So eager when you want me to do work, but now that it’s your turn to reward me, you play deaf? Mean Senior Brother!”

The more she thought about it, the angrier she got, and her little mischievous streak began to surface.

‘Since she’s sleeping, I’ll find a way to prank her. Serves her right for always scheming against a sweet and cute junior sister like me.’

“Senior Brother! I’m coming in!” she called out deliberately in a loud voice.

After waiting a moment and hearing only dead silence from within, she proceeded.

Creak—, Gan Tang pushed open the door.

“Eek!”

The moment she stepped inside, Gan Tang was startled by a little girl who leaped into her arms, letting out an involuntary cry of surprise.

“Senior Brother? What are you doing?”

Gan Tang was flustered by this sudden embrace, looking down at the little blue head buried tightly in her chest, her mind full of question marks.

Hearing Gan Tang’s voice, Lu Qiancha’s movements paused for an instant.

She clung to Gan Tang’s chest, her soft voice laced with a coquettish tone, “I missed you.”

“????”

A direct hit.

An completely unguarded direct hit.

Gan Tang was struck squarely by this sudden confession, her mind instantly going blank.

Then, a wave of immense ecstasy drowned her reason.

“S-Senior Brother? You’re saying… you missed me??” Gan Tang’s voice changed pitch, trembling with disbelief as she eagerly sought confirmation.

Her mind was screaming: ‘By the Three Pure Ones, by the Dao Ancestor, please don’t let this be a joke!’

Lu Qiancha tried her best to nod her little head.

As if mustering up all her courage, she lifted her face again to look into those pink eyes, which were wide with shock.

This time, her lips trembled slightly as she uttered words that made Gan Tang’s heart stop, “…Mm… L-like… Gan Tang.”

“L-like?!!”

A massive roar exploded in Gan Tang’s head.

The blush on her face instantly spread to the tips of her ears.

She subconsciously lowered her head, her voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz, filled with an unprecedented shyness and bewilderment, “S-Senior Brother… This is too… too sudden… I… I’m… not ready yet…”