Bones arrived quickly, rummaged around inside for a while, then came out and shook his head at them: "He just caught a whiff of Demonroot Grass—that stuff is the very source of magic power. The Demonic Poison was triggered instantly, and it flared up so fiercely that even I can't suppress it."
Azure Flame frowned.
"Are you saying Baxa-brother can't be saved?" Nine Li grabbed Bones.
Bones shook his hand off. "Who are you?"
Nine Li: "I'm Nine Li. I'm Lily Bai's junior! Is Baxa-brother really beyond saving?"
"He won't die right away," Bones said. "But... if the Demonic Poison can't be suppressed, he'll gradually become demonized."
"It's all my fault!" Nine Li looked devastated. "It must've been when Leo Li and his people caught him last time—they must've gone completely mad and poisoned Baxa-brother! They're just the worst!"
"Actually, it wasn't that time," Azure Flame said. "He was poisoned even earlier, but he's been holding it back all along."
"Is there no cure for Demonic Poison?" Lily Bai asked.
"There's only one thing in this world that can cure Demonic Poison," Bones said.
"What is it?" Nine Li asked urgently.
"Fiendbloom. It's formed from the blood of the Demon King before any mutations happened."
"The Demon King's blood... But the fiend-spirits vanished from this world two hundred thousand years ago! That's basically the same as having no antidote at all..." Lily Bai frowned.
"You're wrong," Bones said. "There really is some left! And it's in the hands of Quentin Lian, Grandmaster of the Spirit Alliance."
"He actually has it?" Lily's heart skipped a beat.
"He does! There might not be much left, but it's definitely enough to detox Baxa," Bones said. "If one of you goes and begs for a little, he'll be saved."
"Grandmaster of the Spirit Alliance..." Nine Li looked at Lily. "Senior Sister, don't you know him?"
"I do know him..."
But Fiendbloom must be insanely precious.
And the patient is Baxa...
"Lily Bai." At that moment, Shenxiao called out.
"Hm?"
"Could you please go ask him for a little?" He actually lowered himself to beg her.
"Of course, of course! My Senior Sister is the most generous person ever—she would never just stand by and watch someone die!" Nine Li basically didn't give Lily a chance to speak. "Besides, Baxa is my lifesaving big brother!"
...Lily Bai facepalmed.
"So, can you?" Shenxiao looked at her.
"Wasn't Bones a healer in the Spirit Alliance too?" Lily asked. "And you've lived for half a million years, you're basically a living legend there—can't you go ask for some yourself?"
"Ahem! Actually, I'm kind of a wanted criminal," Bones said. "I accidentally drained Quentin Lian's dad's spiritual power, and, well, that kind of got him killed! Quentin sees me, he'll just set me on fire!"
"Huh? Seriously..." Lily looked at Shenxiao. Against her better judgment, she agreed: "Fine, I'll give it a shot, but no promises."
Bones insisted, "Anyone else might fail, but if you ask, you'll definitely get it!"
"Why me?" Lily was confused.
"Because... aren't you close friends with his daughter, Luna Lian?"
"You know, it's not just the Demon Emperor who knows everything about me—even Bones the healer is up to date on all my secrets!"
"Everyone in the higher realms has a copy of the Twelve Heaven-Bestowed Demon Slayer Albums. We all know you pretty well," Bones said.
Lily Bai: Haha!
...
Shenxiao set out with Lily Bai and Azure Flame, ready to head for the Spirit Alliance.
Nine Li insisted on tagging along.
He even said he had a relative in the Spirit Alliance.
If Lily's approach didn't work, there'd still be someone else to try.
So Shenxiao brought him along too.