Chapter 753: Poison Sect, so that’s how it is (1/2)
Undying humans?
Long Feiye had naturally heard and even seen one, but Han Yunxi only knew them from rumors. Supposedly, these people were Poison Gu humans, originally used to raise poisons within their bodies. They were zombies that resembled normal humans, but they couldn’t die or age.
“Was it because of the Poison Gu humans?” Han Yunxi asked.
The sword sect master nodded and began to expound on the history of the medical academy and the Poison Sect. The academy had existed on the continent even before the time of the Great Qin Empires. It built its own city and exercised autonomy over its rule while creating a Medical Science Association with order and clauses to control all the doctors in the world. Because the academy held the beginnings of Cloud Realm’s medical community as the Medical City, an overwhelming number of doctors learned from their ranks. Thus, it gained nearly unanimous support from those physicians as soon as the association was established without much obstruction. After all, all doctors yearned for the association’s shelter and protection. By relying on their strength, they strove to advance in the medical arts and their own professional skills.
The Medical Science Association protected its doctors while simultaneously keeping them in check. In fact, it even controlled and manipulated them. Once the guild-like group grew to a certain point, unaffiliated doctors couldn’t compete with them at all. If they tried, they’d face rejection for their skills no matter where they went, checked and contained until they had no more means to continue.
There were plenty of South Ning doctors dissatisfied with the medical academy’s sanctions, but most of them were too afraid to express their anger.
“So, it’s better for the imperial court to exercise control over the military, agriculture, medicine, and waterworks. Things like that determine the livelihoods of the people. Otherwise,people from those trades will place pressure on the court.” She had long understood such principles, but she voiced them now for Long Feiye’s benefit. Cloud Realm Continent had a thriving commerce community, but its various nations only held power over its lands while treating such trades and industries lightly.
Long Feiye looked at her before nodding pensively.
The sword sect master only admired Han Yunxi all the more as he sighed internally. How great it would be if she wasn’t a daughter of the Poison Sect! He drank a cup of tea and continued to talk.
The Poison Sect used to be an important component of the medical academy, a specially created independent branch of poisons doctors with a long history of their own. The medical academy’s Poison Sect was known across Cloud Realm Continent as “the leader of ten thousand poisons.” Jun Yixie’s Hundred Poisons Sect, the Tang Clan’s poison branch, and other powers within the poison community all had poison skills that originated from this sect. Before its creation, Cloud Realm Continent’s sole understanding of “poison” stopped at snake venom. Ordinary treatment was used to deal with bites. But as medicine and poisons were of one family, and because more and more of the medical academy doctors were discovering cases of fatal poisoning by toxic plants, they began to study these toxic flora in earnest. Thus, the concept of “poisonous medicine” came into play.
Gradually, doctors discovered that many medicinal ingredients contained certain traces of toxins as well. If used unwisely or paired with the wrong ingredients, they could poison their patients or even take their lives. Besides that, other unknown plants with no medical properties were found to contain hypertoxic poisons; many animals were found to be poisonous too besides snakes. Thus, the medical academy specifically started up a separate branch of study called the Poison Sect. A group of doctors were assembled to dedicate their lives to study of poisons. After all, the medical academy was split between the two major factions of poisons and medicine. Any skills that couldn’t be used to save people, could kill people.
If doctors were the world’s scariest assassins, poison doctors were even more so. The Poison Sect’s poison arts began with creating antidotes to other poisons and curing poison victims. It had a strict prohibition on poisoning anything unless it was for the sake of creating an antidote. Still, even the strictest bans didn’t deter the rulebreakers. As the study of poisons progressed, its records filled the books. Gradually, outside forces worked their way in to win over the poisons doctors by various means to purchase poisons and poison prescriptions.
People died from greed, just as birds died from feed. Even the tightest regulations had no way to block every single person. Less than a decade after the Poison Sect was found, causes of death by poisoning skyrocketed across the continent. Because of this, the Poison Sect began to carefully monitor any information leaks from its ranks. Many poison doctors were exposed and subjected to death by torture as way to warn the monkey by killing the chicken. The Medical Sect began to dread the Poison Sect’s massive power and seized this chance to slander them left and right. In less than five years, the Medical and Poison Sects were as incompatible as fire and water. Since the Medical Sect controlled most of the authority within the academy, the Poison Sect began to secretly cultivate poison nurturers as an act of self defense.
At this point, Han Yunxi interjected, “Is it the same poison nurturers we have in the present?”
“Exactly so. Many poison experts know the craft, but it originated from the Poison Sect,” the sword sect master nodded. “Poison nurturers consist of the three levels of Poison Humans, Poison Corpses, and Poison Gu. 1 Poison Humans are the most common of the lot and no different from ordinary humans. Their lifespans are limited, but they have immunity against low-level poisons. Poison Corpses are like suicide soldiers, but with immunity against mid-level poisons. As for Poison Gu…”
Han Yunxi felt excited as the sword sect master trailed off. She had studied Poison Humans and Poison Corpses extensively from ancient books, but couldn’t find any mention of the Poison Gu. It seemed that the people of the past had deleted the information on purpose, leaving nothing but minor details behind.
“From what I understand, there are low, mid, and high-tier Poison Gu. Low level Gu come from plants, mid-level from bugs, and high-level from humans,” Han Yunxi said.
“Precisely,” the sword sect master smiled as he nodded. “You lass, you’ve even studied up the art of Poison Gu. Just how much have you mastered?”
“I know nothing about it. I just found out I was a Poison Sect descendant last year,” Han Yunxi glanced at Long Feiye to get his go ahead before going on to explain about her birth origins and connection with Medicine City’s Mu Clan.
“In other words, you don’t know who your father is?” the sword sect master was astonished. He thought that Long Feiye had allied with all the remnants of the Poison Sect already. Han Yunxi didn’t want to stay on this topic, being more interested in the Poison Gu.
“If I don’t study the poison nurturers, how am I supposed to cure poison gu in others?”