Realm of Myths and Legends

869 An Unexpected Roadblock

After seeing Seina's condition firsthand and discovering its source, Izroth was indeed confident in curing her. However, there was one glaring issue at hand.

'Assuming that those great masters who paid a visit are not all working together to deceive the Holy Maiden, whatever unspecified substance was used to poison her is capable of evading their eyes. This type of poison should be scarce and not easy to come by. This means that as long as I can uncover the identity of the substance that was used, I should be able to pinpoint its origins.'

Since the Holy Maiden was a high-ranking Apothecary, even if she were in a weakened state, she should have discovered the presence of an unknown substance on the tea leaves. This is why Izroth leaned away from the fact that those healing experts were working together with someone to deceive her. But, this also revealed the vicious nature behind the poison.

There were not many poisons in the Mortal Realm that was potent enough to affect a legendary realm powerhouse. Therefore, this greatly limited the number of possibilities. Nonetheless, since Izroth's knowledge of high-ranking poisons in RML was severely limited, he would have to take a more unorthodox approach.

"I managed to isolate the source of your illness, but it will take some time to prepare what is required. For now, you should consume this Evil Cleansing Pill. It may only be a grade-three pill; however, it should help to dissipate some of the residual effects of the poison." Izroth said as he removed an Evil Cleansing Pill from his inventory and held it towards Seina.

The moment Izroth removed the pill from his inventory, a strong therapeutic scent filled the room.

Even though she heard the recount of events from her disciples, Seina was still somewhat skeptical. After all, how could a grade-three pill be that impressive?

However, after seeing it firsthand, Seina could not help but be amazed.

"It is indeed a grade-three pill, but... With this level of purity, it is comparable to a grade-four pill. The essence signature also matches him." Seina thought to herself.

Each pill that was crafted contained a unique essence signature that matched its creator. As a high-ranking Apothecary, Seina was able to detect this unique essence. Therefore, if Izroth tried to deceive her by presenting someone else's pills, she was ready to speak up about it. But, who would have thought that, instead, she would be impressed by a simple grade-three pill?

More importantly, Izroth did not make the claim that the grade-three pill would heal her but only get rid of some residual effects. And, based on the quality of the pill he presented, Seina concluded that his words were spot on.

However, Seina could still not wrap her mind around the source being the Hundred Blossoms tea leaves. She personally examined them numerous times and did not find anything amiss.

If it were just her, she could use the excuse of her poor health. But, even the grade eight Apothecary she used a favor to invite did not discover any problems with the tea leaves. Yet, somehow, a young Apothecary managed to do so within a fraction of the time? Naturally, this increased Seina's suspicions.

In the end, when something seemed too good to be true, that's because it usually was the case.

However, when Seina looked at the hopeful gazes contained within the eyes of her two disciples, she set her suspicions aside and released a light sigh as she accepted the pill from Izroth.

"For the sake of my disciples, I shall trust in your judgment, Apothecary Izroth," Seina said before she consumed the Evil Cleansing Pill.

The fact that she referred to Izroth as an Apothecary instead of Honorary Saint meant that Seina was finally willing to regard him in the same manner as the other great masters of healing she invited.

The instant Seina placed the Evil Cleansing Pill in her mouth, it immediately dissolved as she let out a short breath.

To her surprise, more than just eliminating some of the residual effects, a bit of the chilling aura within her body had been forcibly expelled!

Of course, this did not mean that she had been healed. But, her skin was no longer as cold to the touch and had managed to regain some of its warmth.

"What an incredibly pure pill. Grade four? This may even be comparable to some lower grade five pills. Just who is this young man?" Seina thought to herself as she closed her eyes and focused on circulating the mana within her body to aid in the pill's effects.

A few moments later, Seina opened her eyes as the temperature in the room had risen slightly. In addition, her cold pale skin had regained some color to it as her cheeks flushed a light shade of pink. She felt as though a breath of fresh air had washed over her.

"It has always been said that a flawlessly crafted low-grade pill could provide the same benefits as a higher-grade pill; however, the amount of effort and technique required to do so is often seen as not worth it. Today, you have opened my eyes, Apothecary Izroth," Seina said as a light smile formed on her face.

To most Apothecaries, the quality of a pill was secondary to its rank. For example, a grade four Apothecary would find that it was much easier to craft a grade-four pill with decent quality in high quantities rather than a batch of flawless grade-two or grade-three pills. This had to do with the time and effort required to craft flawless pills—even for high-ranking Apothecaries.

However, for someone like Izroth who possessed a frightening crafting speed compared to others, the quality of a pill was just as important as its rank. Or, perhaps even more so.

When Sychia and Sylvia saw their master's complexion become better within the span of a few moments, they were overcome with eagerness.

They tried their best not to get their hopes up too much, but after witnessing the sight before their eyes, the two could no longer contain themselves.

"Whatever it is that you need to help my master recover, I will see to it that our Order of a Thousand Blossoms retrieve it! You just have to say that word!" Sylvia stated.

"As long as our master can recover, we will not allow you to suffer a loss. Even if I have a work a lifetime to do so, I will make sure this debt is paid in full." Sychia commented.

This was incredible news! Even those great masters of healing had not been able to do much to alleviate their master's symptoms!

Seeing as how Izroth was able to do what they could not, Sychia and Sylvia were ready to assist in any way possible if it meant the swift recovery of their master.

"I will see to it that you receive the full support of the Order, Apothecary Izroth. As for the price of your treatment, I shall allow you to decide." Seina said calmly.

'Oh?'

The Order of a Thousand Blossoms was a mid-sized power. However, that was only when taking into account their overall strength. In truth, they were not any weaker than the major powers in the Mortal Realm.

There was a reason why the Fifth Great Clan maintained an amicable relationship with them over the years. Not to mention, they were able to stand up to a powerful organization like the Circle of Six Gods.

This had to do with one thing—strength. To be more precise, it was the Holy Maiden of each generation's strength of a peak legendary realm powerhouse!

This alone allowed the Order of a Thousand Blossoms to have an equal footing with those major powerhouses.

The fact that someone of that caliber was willing to let Izroth set his own price was no small gesture. But, it was not unexpected considering what was on the line.

Still, while the opportunity was certainly one of rarity, Izroth did not lose sight of the bigger picture.

"We can speak of prices after I succeed in curing you. For now-"

BANG!

Suddenly, the doors to the room were knocked open with a heavy force, causing Izroth to halt his words mid-way.

"How dare you bring an outsider to this place without our foreknowledge! Even if you are the direct disciples of the Holy Maiden, your actions are too much!" A voice with hints of vexation sounded as a middle-aged woman stepped into the room.