The Immortal Clan begins with deductive intelligence.

"ah?!"

Xu Dayou's face instantly turned a deep purplish-red, and he pointed at his own nose: "Me? I said I used fifty catties of Yang Yuan Grass? Clan Chief, if this gets out, how am I supposed to face the market after this?"

"This concerns the survival of the family."

Xu Changqing raised his voice and told Xu Dayou the whole story.

"...So, Uncle, what is this little grievance compared to the livelihood of the hundred or so members of our Xu family?"

Xu Dayou was rendered speechless by that gaze.

He opened his mouth, but could only let out a long sigh, his expression one of resignation: "Fine! For the sake of the family, I'll risk this old face! I'll say it... I want to soak it in alcohol and drink it! I'll drink myself to death!"

Watching Xu Dayou's tragic departure, a hint of a smile flashed in Xu Changqing's eyes, before his expression returned to its usual coldness.

The method of using Yangyuan grass is quite unorthodox; it is not recorded in ordinary detoxification formulas at all.

If it weren't for the Heavenly Mirror's deduction, who would have thought that this aphrodisiac herb could cure fish poison?

Sending Xu Dayou to buy it, and using that as an excuse, was all to keep the mole in the dark.

If that person knew that the Xu family had bought a large quantity of antidote herbs, they would definitely be alert.

But what if you bought a bunch of aphrodisiac herbs...

That person would probably just think that the Xu family patriarch was so angry that he lost his mind and started resorting to some superstitious and unorthodox methods, or that Xu Dayou, that old codger, really had some unspeakable secret.

......

The wind and snow intensified as evening approached.

The back door of the Xu family mansion was ajar. A withered hand reached out from the crack, swayed left and right a couple of times, and seeing that no one was around, suddenly pushed the door open.

Xu Dayou, wrapped in an ill-fitting black cloak with the collar turned up as if it would cover his head, and clutching a bulging burlap sack tightly to his chest, sneaked into the courtyard like a thief.

As soon as he entered, his legs gave way and he almost collapsed on the snow. He was panting heavily, and his old face was red and purple in the dim light, whether from the cold or from embarrassment, it was hard to tell.

Xu Changqing was already waiting under the eaves.

Seeing his uncle's appearance, he hurriedly went to greet him and reached out to take the sack.

"Don't move!"

Xu Dayou's voice was hoarse as he clutched the object in his arms tightly, his eyes wide with shock: "I'll take it myself! Don't let anyone touch it! This... this is my lifelong reputation!"

Xu Changqing suppressed a smile that was about to break out on his lips, his face remaining solemn as he lowered his voice: "Uncle, you've had a hard time. Hope no one's been watching you?"

Xu Dayou slammed the sack on the ground with a thud, then plopped down on the steps, unbuttoning the collar of his cloak to reveal steam rising from inside.

"Targeting me? Who dares to target me?"

Xu Dayou wiped the snow water from his face, looking utterly dejected.

"I went to three pharmacies and bought more than ten kilograms from each one. The way the clerks looked at me, they even asked if I was planning to open a brothel..."

Xu Changqing also knew that this matter had indeed put his uncle in a difficult position.

Fifty catties of Yangyuan grass, let alone using it to make wine, would make a person bleed from all seven orifices even if eaten as a meal.

"Uncle, you've gone to a lot of trouble, but this matter still needs to be done."

Xu Changqing didn't give him much time to catch his breath. He pointed to the sack and said, "While it's dark, move all this grass to the backyard. I want to burn the ashes myself."

Although Xu Dayou complained, he didn't slow down. He picked up the sack and walked to the backyard, muttering, "It's good to burn it to ashes. Once it's burned to ashes, no one will recognize what kind of filth it is, so the younger generation won't laugh at us."

The fire was blazing in the backyard.

An indescribable smell of burning mixed with a strange herbal aroma wafted out through the crack in the door.

Xu Changqing tended the stove, controlling the heat.

This Yangyuan Grass is not a spiritual medicine, nor does it require any alchemy skills; it can simply be burned into pure wood ash.

By midnight, all fifty catties of herbs had turned into three jars of grayish-white fine powder.

Xu Changqing pushed open the door and went out; the snow outside had stopped.

He poured the fine powder into the two large vats of snow water that Jiang Rou and her men had brought over, and stirred it with a wooden stick.

The once clear water turned into a murky gray soup in the blink of an eye, and it didn't look like anything good.

Xu Changqing pointed to the two large vats of ash-like liquid: "Uncle, this is the antidote. Let's go to the fishpond."

Xu Dayou looked at the two vats of dark, murky water and felt uneasy.

Does this work too?

Those fish were already dying; if they were given a bellyful of this ash and mortar, how could they possibly survive?

The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them back.

Let's try anything, even if it seems hopeless.

In any case, the worst outcome would be that everyone would starve.

The group carried large wooden buckets and worked around the fishpond for most of the night.

……

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking.

"They're alive! They're all alive!"

The clansman who was inspecting the fishpond suddenly stumbled into the inner courtyard, his face still wet with tears, but he was crying tears of joy.

"Chief! You must go and see! All those fish that were about to turn belly up have come back to life today!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Changqing paused in his hand, which was brushing his teeth with salt using a willow twig. He then rinsed his mouth, put on his coat, and slowly walked out.

Xu Dayou, on the other hand, rushed out without even putting on his shoes properly, just grabbing his belt.

When Xu Changqing reached the edge of the pond, a crowd had already gathered there.

The water, which was originally covered with dead fish and smelled foul, has now become much clearer.

Underwater, groups of blue spirit fish swung their tails. Although they looked somewhat listless and not as lively as usual, the lifeless, grayish color had faded away.

"Amazing... Absolutely amazing..."

Xu Dayou squatted by the pond, scooped up a handful of water, and smelled it. The faint, sweet, and poisonous smell was indeed gone, leaving only the earthy smell of wood ash.

Xu Changqing stood at the back of the crowd, his gaze sweeping over them discreetly.

Xu Sanshun and Xu Tiezhu were both present.

Xu Sanshun kept his head down, his expression unreadable, but his hands were twisting and turning inside his sleeves.

Xu Tiezhu looked extremely uncomfortable. Although he forced a smile and echoed the cheers around him, his eyes darted around furtively, and he dared not meet Xu Changqing's gaze for even a moment.

Having witnessed the two men's disgraceful behavior, Xu Changqing did not react, but simply turned away indifferently.

Now is not the time to take action; keeping these two alive is still useful.

There is another matter that is more important right now.

Xu Changqing turned and left the noisy crowd, heading towards his study.

As I passed by the side courtyard, I heard the sounds of children playing.

Those were several children, only five or six years old, who were young children of the "hope" generation.

The oldest one, named Xu Xining, was gesturing with a small wooden sword, looking quite professional.

The remaining three little ones followed behind, their faces red from the cold, but they laughed without a care in the world.

Xu Changqing stopped and watched quietly for a while.

The spirit testing conference is in two months.

If these children can be identified as having spiritual roots, they will be the future hope of the Xu family.

According to the rules, when a child's spiritual root is determined, their family must bestow upon them a bottle of "Qi-Inducing Powder" to help them sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and embark on the path to immortality as soon as possible.

Without this medicine, relying solely on one's own comprehension, those with less talent might not be able to successfully sense the Qi even after two or three years.

If you're slow at this step, you'll be slow at every step.

A bottle of Qi-Inducing Powder is worth one hundred low-grade spirit stones on the market.

With seven or eight children, we'd need at least four bottles, which would amount to four hundred spirit stones.

Xu Changqing touched the storage bag in his sleeve. At most, including what he had left over from selling fish, there were less than fifty spirit stones in it.

I'm poor.

Xu Changqing sighed, turned around and went back to his study, closing the doors and windows tightly.

He sat cross-legged on the futon, his mind sinking into the sea of ​​consciousness.

As Xu Changqing poured his thoughts into it, the Tongtian Mirror trembled slightly once again.

Xu Changqing took a deep breath and silently asked himself, "Within a month, where in the three hundred li of water surrounding Cangwu Island can I find a drone worth more than five hundred spirit stones?"