Chapter Thirty-Eight: Taking the Medicine

"You healed him?" Shang Luo was stunned by the scene before him. Everything had been restored to its previous state; the alchemical pills even retained their original shapes.

"You seem surprised," Phaethon looked at him with a faint, enigmatic smile. "Though, perhaps not as surprised as I imagined. Is it because Apollo demonstrated similar power?"

"Yes, but yours is different. Why?"

"Have you heard the ancient legends? It is said that in the distant past, there were ten suns in the sky, and the ancient emperors named their reigns after the sun. Heaven and earth, symbol and reality, language and behavior, yin and yang—they are inherently contradictory yet unified. The radiance of the ten suns manifests on earth in different ways."

"So that’s why there is the legend of Hou Yi shooting down the suns..."

"You are quite right. In this regard, my father and Apollonia are in agreement, as is that 'Dao Ancestor' of your Zhidan—the one formally honored as the 'Sun Palace Great Cinnabar Fiery Radiance Profound Brightness Solar Emperor.' We only differ in the arrangements made prior to the shooting of the suns. The 'Dao Ancestor' seems to believe this is a fleeting opportunity of heavenly destiny, and he helps everyone seize it. We remain noncommittal on that, but we try our best to solve the problems right in front of us."

"So, you delay acting because you can't defeat the Dao Ancestor?"

"..."

Shang Luo sneered: "I knew it."

"She talks too much. She can speak of such things? Is that even proper?"

[When you pointed your guns at me, there was no talk of propriety. And let me be blunt: no one can defeat the Dao Ancestor. He was born long before the creation of the Divine Machinery. He is but a single step away from transcending into holiness; he only remains in the mortal realm due to certain obsessions. Phaethon, do not think that those who ambush the Dao Ancestor here can walk away unscathed.]

"Of course, I am aware of that. But if I can glimpse the heavenly secrets he has laid out, it would be worth it even if I were to perish in the Great Styx here. Next!" She pointed the tip of her spear at another bald man: "Antigonus, take the medicine!"

"Understood!" The bald man in the middle stepped forward, scooped up the "pill dregs," and swallowed them in one gulp.

The moment he took the medicine, the man's eyes went black—the whites of his eyes turning pitch black as well. His jet-black gaze scanned the room, devoid of any trace of humanity.

Its gaze rested on Phaethon. To be precise, it rested on the golden spear.

There was no roar, no growl. The humanoid creature with pitch-black eyes opened its jaw and emitted a low, muffled vibration. It was no longer a human voice; it did not even belong to a beast, but to something unknown.

"Foundation Establishment stage... this is at least the power of the Foundation Establishment stage. There is spiritual energy leaking out, but it is as chaotic as a burst levee." Wen Yuan slowly set down his cup; the monster standing just a few steps away from him had already made him feel threatened.

"What exactly have you concocted!" Even Phaethon could no longer remain calm. The creature before her clearly lacked any humanity, and she thrust her spear forward.

The black-eyed monster reached out and gripped the shaft of the spear. Yet, Phaethon’s momentum did not stop—she used both hands. Both hands gripped the Spear of the Sun, pushing forward with force.

The shaft slipped from the monster's mindless grasp, and the tip pierced directly into the chest that had once belonged to a man.

No roar, no anger. The monster dropped its hands silently. A scorching golden light erupted once more, and black vapor surged out from its seven orifices, returning into the furnace, where it coalesced back into a mass of dark red.

The bald man named Antigonus regained his senses. He touched his chest; there were cut marks on his clothes from the spear tip, but his body was completely unharmed, as if he hadn't been stabbed at all.

"Lady Phaethon! My apologies, that was not—"

"I know it wasn't you." Phaethon panted, leaning on her spear to stand. She had only taken one step, but the monster was clearly not something one could deal with "casually."

Instinctively, Phaethon rotated the spear half a turn with one hand...

"It's become lighter," Shang Luo whispered. "Did you notice? Her spear has become lighter. The sound is different; it's significantly lighter than before."

"Indeed..." Wen Yuan nodded. "It's completely different from the beginning. At first, that spear was terrifyingly heavy, like the Monkey King’s staff; a mere brush would kill, a graze would wound. It looks much lighter now, yet it is still not a weapon meant for mortals. If it were any lighter, one might try to steal it."

"Next!" Phaethon was somewhat fatigued, but she had no intention of ending the experiment. This was an opportunity hard-won. She had risked the wrath of the "Dao Ancestor" to come here in person; she could not end the operation so easily.

A third bald man stepped forward. Phaethon glanced at the spear: "Not you. My power is insufficient... We need to control the variables; we cannot have too many control groups. Thales, it's you again! Take it once more and see if the effect varies by person or if it is truly unpredictable."

She called for Thales, who had taken the medicine first.

The first two doses had dealt a heavy blow to Phaethon; she had not obtained the results she desperately needed.

The first time, volunteer A was nearly poisoned to death.

The second time, volunteer B alienated into a black-eyed monster.

If volunteer A, Thales, were to suffer from the poison again, it would at least prove that the effects of these pills were "subjective." In other words, it would be due to differences in constitution—which would mean success.

Thales’s constitution was such that he would be poisoned to death upon taking the pills.

Antigonus’s constitution was such that he would alienate upon taking them. And he had alienated into a clearly inhuman monster, devoid of any human aura. One might even call it a "demon."

However, although neither had successfully reached "Foundation Establishment," that was not important. As long as it could be proven that the medicinal effects were stable, the next step would simply be to find the right people to take these Foundation Establishment pills. Once the right person was found, these pills would exert their intended effects.

But if a repeated test yielded a completely different result, then there would be real trouble.

Phaethon weighed the spear in her hand. Judging by the grip, it felt nearly half as light as before.

"Is this the power of the 'Foundation Establishment stage'... The Dao Ancestor’s own power is truly unfathomable. Only half the phlogiston remains."

She looked at Thales, who was already in position.

Thales’s gaze remained firm and resolute, and with the experience of the first time, he was less afraid. It was merely bleeding from the seven orifices; although painful, as long as he held the spear, he would be restored by the power of the "Oath." The power of Helios would protect him.