Chapter 58: Raising the Crimson Serpent, Mastery of the Secret Venom Technique!

"If you let the snake bite the mouth of this porcelain bottle, it will be just like biting into prey—it will secrete venom, which can then be collected." Bai Xuan was exceedingly cautious. The sea serpent’s fangs were dangerously sharp, enough to pierce even through exotic demon-fish. Though he possessed copper-like skin, he had no desire to be bitten by this creature even once.

Yet, when the crimson serpent bit down on the bottle’s rim, it didn’t move in the slightest. Its fangs pressed against the porcelain, but it showed no sign of secreting venom. Its cold eyes stared directly at Bai Xuan.

"This crimson serpent actually senses that I'm trying to make it secrete venom?" Bai Xuan realized with surprise. Not every exotic creature possessed intelligence—most were dull and witless. But some, exceedingly rare, did possess a certain level of thought.

This crimson serpent, it seemed, was one of those rare exceptions. It realized Bai Xuan’s intention and simply refused to comply, stubbornly clamping its jaws on the bottle but refusing to release any venom.

"Let’s try another method." Bai Xuan considered, then loosened his grip.

In a flash, the serpent transformed into a streak of red, darting away with terrifying speed, like lightning itself! Without the slightest hesitation, it made for the cabin door, determined to escape.

In the next instant, a pale hand opened, fingers spread, and caught the snake, gripping its thick, round head.

“Hiss, hiss!” The crimson serpent hissed twice, then dangled its head, its cold eyes now somewhat bewildered.

It seemed escape was impossible.

“If I could catch you in the water, how could you possibly escape on land?” Bai Xuan released his grip once more. This time, the serpent no longer struggled. Instead, it curled itself into a coil atop the bed, resting its head on its own tail.

It chose to sleep.

“Tch.” Bai Xuan was left speechless.

He wound the serpent around his right arm, his palm gently pressing down on its head to prevent it from harming anyone. Then he stepped out to fetch a pound of roasted deep-sea giant squid.

Drawing a short dagger inlaid with jade, he sliced the roasted squid into small pieces.

The crimson serpent poked its head out from Bai Xuan’s hand.

“Let’s try this,” Bai Xuan said, offering a piece of squid to the serpent’s mouth.

The serpent sniffed at the morsel, flicking its tongue in and out.

In a flash, it swallowed the piece whole, without even chewing.

It could taste the deliciousness of the squid, so different from the tough, hard-to-swallow flesh of a live squid. Most importantly, the blood essence within was suitable for its consumption.

Giant deep-sea squid could be used as feed—even pigs that ate it could be cultivated into exotic beast-meat.

The crimson serpent gulped down the entire pound of squid in one go, its belly rounding out.

Bai Xuan set it once more at the mouth of the porcelain bottle.

This time, the serpent lazily bit onto the bottle, applying a bit of force. Its sharp fangs sank halfway into the hard ceramic, and a thin stream of venom began to flow.

Sss…

Even the porcelain began to smoke; the toxin was so virulent that the mere scent of it could kill an ordinary person.

“Even a martial arts master wouldn’t survive this poison—a half-step grandmaster would likely perish as well.” Bai Xuan felt a chill at the thought.

He carefully stowed away the porcelain bottle, preparing to concoct the secret medicine. The bottle likely couldn’t hold the venom for long—the base would corrode away given time.

"This snake…" Bai Xuan hesitated. If he left it on the ship, it might bite another sailor—and that would mean instant death, without the slightest delay.

Of course, his copper-like skin was nearly impervious—even the serpent’s fangs had trouble with porcelain, so they would never pierce him.

Still, he needed the serpent’s venom. Should he fail in his upcoming breakthrough, he would need more in the future.

“I’ll keep it for now,” Bai Xuan decided.

A short while later, he fetched a water jar, filled it with seawater, and placed the crimson serpent inside. The snake sank to the bottom and immediately fell into a deep sleep, satiated and unwilling to move.

“And now, it’s time to refine the medicine!”

Bai Xuan knew nothing of alchemy. He could manage a fish stew, but to concoct a true secret elixir? At his skill level, he’d likely ruin the batch on the spot.

"Alchemy is a craft in itself—perhaps a future Path, but for now, breaking through my current limits takes priority," Bai Xuan reasoned.

A hundred-year-old ginseng cost more than a hundred taels of silver. Could he afford to waste precious martial elixirs?

Fortunately, the ship had a physician whose skill at blending medicines was just passable.

“A hundred-year ginseng?” The ship’s physician drew in a sharp breath. The ingredients alone were worth hundreds of taels of silver.

“No problem. The prescription isn’t complicated. I’ll prepare it for the boatswain at once.”

Bai Xuan only gave him the formula without the snake venom. To the untrained eye, it looked ordinary enough—ginseng, deer antler, and other rare ingredients to replenish blood and energy. It was a normal supplement for martial artists; what else could it be?

How could the physician know this was a life-saving medicine for breaking through the Gate of Life and Death?

…

Night fell beautifully upon the sea.

On deck, sailors lounged in the cool air, laughter and chatter echoing. Lanterns hung from the masts as five ships of the Bai family cut through the waves, moving steadily forward under the night sky.

In two more days, they would reach the Sword-Forging Manor.

Their journey had been untroubled by enemies. With the destination so close, many sailors were in high spirits, resting and wandering the deck.

Bai Xuan, stepping onto the deck, spotted the old sailor—his nose bruised and face swollen—enjoying the breeze.

“Why are you out here again?” Bai Xuan frowned. Lost another bet?

“Sigh, I was telling the sailors in the cabin a… well, a tale. The continuation wasn’t quite satisfactory, and there was some criticism,” Old Xu replied, trying to look cheerful.

He’d made up a story in the cabin—after Bai Xuan caught the sea serpent, who knew what happened? He fabricated wildly, but the sailors grew more and more suspicious.

In the end, Old Xu hastily wrapped up the tale, only to be mobbed by the dissatisfied sailors.

He’d collected several hundred copper coins, but the abrupt ending earned him a thorough beating.

Bai Xuan was momentarily speechless.

“Perhaps you all have too much free time,” he remarked. He couldn’t be bothered to discipline them as long as they did their work during the day—too tight a rein would only do harm.

…

Half an hour passed quickly.

“All done!” The ship’s physician hurried over, carrying a pot of pitch-black liquid.

Bai Xuan caught the scent and felt his blood and energy settle, as if a powerful medicinal force—strongly detoxifying—radiated from the brew.

“The crucial moment has come.”

Returning to his cabin, Bai Xuan carefully took the corroding porcelain bottle and dripped the venom into the pot.

Sss!

The moment the serpent venom touched the concoction, a greenish vapor rose up. The herbs began to churn and boil violently.

Moments later, the mixture gradually solidified. Most of the ingredients had vanished, corroded away by the venom, leaving behind only a bit of essence—a deep, dark red with a faint, luminous glow.

“The Crimson Serpent’s Secret Venom—success!” Bai Xuan, treasuring it dearly, scraped out the precious essence.

These ingredients, worth hundreds of taels, had been used to neutralize the rare serpent’s toxin—so its power could be harnessed without killing the one who ingested it.

His blood and energy were at their peak, the secret venom in hand—his breakthrough was within reach.

“In two days, I’ll arrive at Sword-Forging Manor. Once I reclaim my weapon, it will be time for the breakthrough!”