From the beginning of Swordsman, he created a legend in the martial arts world.

Meng Fei straightened up, looked at Aya calmly, and said, "It's alright. I was fortunate enough to receive your help by the stream earlier; this is my way of repaying you. From now on, we're even!"

Upon hearing this, a hint of sadness flashed in Aya's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by gratitude. Although Meng Fei spoke lightly, the life-saving grace was a fact, and she could not easily forget it.

After that, Meng Fei stopped talking and focused his mind on his body, carefully examining his own condition.

However, upon this investigation, his face instantly darkened, as if covered with a layer of frost.

The meridians in his body seemed to have been ravaged by a storm, becoming riddled with holes and extremely fragile, while his dantian was completely empty, unable to gather even a trace of internal energy.

His martial arts skills... are ruined?

The terrible condition inside his body sent a chill down Meng Fei's spine. However... every cloud has a silver lining. Although he had lost all his internal energy, the "Tethering Mechanism" poison that was parasitizing his internal energy had also been reduced to a negligible level.

Aya, who was standing nearby, keenly noticed Meng Fei's unusual behavior. Her heart tightened, and she asked cautiously, "Young Master Meng... what's wrong? Is it your injury...?"

Meng Fei remained silent for a moment. Although he did not want to tell the two of them about his situation, the three of them were currently trapped here, and if they wanted to get out of this predicament, they would probably need to plan together.

He then took a deep breath, suppressing the surging emotions in his heart, and said in a low voice, "My meridians are severely damaged, and my dantian... is temporarily unable to gather internal energy. Simply put, my martial arts... are ruined!"

"What?!"

Upon hearing this, Aya gasped in shock, her face turning deathly pale instantly.

Aya also covered her mouth, her eyes filled with disbelief.

Although they were not very proficient in martial arts, they knew what "losing all martial arts skills" meant for a martial artist, especially a swordsman like Meng Fei with superb swordsmanship!

"It's...it's because you saved me and A-Luo that you..."

Aya's voice trembled, her heart filled with self-blame and guilt.

"This is none of your business!"

Meng Fei interrupted her, his tone calm but with an undeniable coldness.

"It was caused by my own injuries and the backlash from the residual poison. Saving people was just my choice."

Seeing Meng Fei say this, Aya felt even more uneasy, but she knew that now was not the time to blame herself.

She and A Luo exchanged a glance, both understanding that the most important thing right now was to help Meng Fei recover from his injuries.

"Let us see your injuries and... the poison."

Aya's tone became firm, carrying a hint of the persistence unique to herb gatherers.

"There are many medicinal herbs in this valley, perhaps... perhaps there's a way..."

In the following time, Aya and Alu carefully examined Meng Fei's injuries and prepared medicine for him.

To their surprise, they discovered that although the so-called "Qianji" residual poison in Meng Fei's body was extremely weak, its remaining characteristics and the damage to his meridians still made it very difficult for the two of them to deal with.

It was during this time that Meng Fei noticed the peculiarity of this valley.

According to the two people, this valley, because it was uninhabited and had a unique geothermal environment, was able to produce so many medicinal herbs.

As Aya explained, a hint of excitement gleamed in her eyes.

"This is the first time Aya and I have ever seen so many rare herbs. We've only heard my mother-in-law mention them a few times before."

With the help of the rare medicinal herbs in the valley and the increasingly refined skills of Aya and Meng Fei, the remaining poison of "Qianji" in Meng Fei's body was finally slowly removed.

Meanwhile, the damaged meridians in the body stopped deteriorating under the careful treatment of the two, but a full recovery was still a long way off.

Once the remaining poison in Meng Fei's body was completely removed, the biggest problem facing the three of them was how to leave the valley.

The valley was surrounded by cliffs, and apart from the cave they had come from, there was no other way out. Therefore, the three of them began to consider how to escape from the Hundred Poisons Sect and the countless poisonous insects.

Just as the three were frowning in worry, Meng Fei suddenly remembered something and immediately asked, "I heard that the winner of the martial arts competition in the Myriad Poisons Tournament is qualified to enter the Myriad Poisons Cave to comprehend superior martial arts. Do you know where that place for comprehension is?"

Aya and Alu exchanged a glance and gently shook their heads.

"A'Luo and I are just members of the Baicaodong clan. Only the leader of the Five Poisons Sect and a few high-ranking members know the exact location of this core area."

"This Ten Thousand Poison Cave is extremely large. What we broke into before was only the outer area where poisonous insects gathered. The real core area or the place where martial arts manuals are hidden must be even more secretive."

Upon hearing this, a glint of light flashed in Meng Fei's eyes. He was not trying to comprehend martial arts, but rather had thought of a way to restore his internal energy.

If one could find a place where the Five Poisons Sect had hidden martial arts manuals, even just a part of them, as long as one offered them as a sacrifice, one might have a chance to obtain a special elixir that could repair one's meridians, or even a certain martial arts manual.

This... might be my only hope of recovery right now!

"I want to go deep into the Cave of Ten Thousand Poisons!"

Meng Fei's tone was firm and resolute. If he couldn't recover his strength, what good would it do to get out?

Then, he looked at Aya and Alu and asked solemnly, "Can you use the herbs in the valley to concoct a more potent antidote powder, or even... a potion that will keep poisonous insects away for a short period of time?"

Aya pondered for a moment, then nodded: "Some medicinal herbs in the valley have extremely strong detoxifying effects, but they are very difficult to control and also have certain effects on the human body. However... I can try to prepare a formula; give me some time."

"it is good."

Meng Fei nodded.

"Once the medicine is ready, I will enter the Ten Thousand Poisons Cave alone. If I make any discoveries or find another way out, I will come back to help you."

With the plan set, the two Miao girls began to tirelessly research and formulate potent detoxifying powders.

Several days later, a clear cheer suddenly came from the stream.

"Sister Aya, it's done! We really did it!"

Aya took the ceramic bowl, carefully smelled the aroma of the powder, and then rubbed a little on her fingertip—the color was even and just right.

Immediately, the two of them looked at Meng Fei not far away, where he was sitting cross-legged under a tree, seemingly still trying to recover his strength.

"Young Master Meng."

Aya walked to Meng Fei's side, bent down and carefully put the powder into the leather pouch, and whispered, "This powder can only last for half an hour. You must remember—when the time is up, you must come out immediately, otherwise... otherwise you will never be able to come out again."

Thank you.

Meng Fei slowly opened his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the two women's noticeably thinner faces, knowing that they had expended a great deal of effort in the past few days to prepare the detoxification powder.

Seeing this, A'Luo added from the side, "This is an antidote pill made with several other antidote herbs. Although it may not be effective against the poisonous insects in the Ten Thousand Poison Cave, it should be quite good against common insect and snake venoms."

After that, Meng Fei said no more, took the leather bag handed to him by Aya, and turned around to go back into the dark cave.