Chapter 2473: Firecloud Cave Chapter 2473: Firecloud Cave “There’s something strange about the poison inflicted by the Aurora Poison Dragon. None of the Ocean races’ doctors know how to treat it,” the Peacock Princess said. She had gotten close to several people from the Ocean races in the past few days, allowing her to obtain information from them. One of the Ocean race elders affirmed those words. “I have some fame as a doctor in the Ocean races, but there is indeed something strange about the poison. It acts very fast, the symptoms are aggressive, and it spreads widely. It only took days for everyone living in the Dragon Palace’s vicinity to be afflicted with it. I've never seen anything like it before. It doesn’t conform to the usual rules of poison.” The Mermaid Queen telepathically introduced the elder to Zu An. He was the Dragon Palace’s chief doctor, and others often called him the ‘Divine Physician’. His inability to deal with the poison showed how extraordinary it was. This made the Mermaid Queen feel a hint of despair. “The poison is formidable, but our first priority should be to destroy his poison formation. Otherwise, even a deity won’t be able to turn things around,” Zu An said. “We did look into it, but the Dragon Palace is too big, and we don’t have much manpower left. We weren’t able to find much,” the elder replied worriedly. Zu An stepped out of the cave and looked at the Dragon Palace. “The poison formation constructed by the Aurora Poison Dragon is made up of 108 plague umbrellas planted in the Dragon Palace and the nearby areas. We have to destroy those umbrellas first.” The Four Dragon Kings were impressed. “To be able to see through that vile dragon’s formation with a glance, your knowledge is impressive. May we ask you to tell us the locations of the plague umbrellas? We’ll remove them right away.” They wouldn’t dare trouble Zu An with such miscellaneous tasks. They were planning to make a move despite their weakened bodies. Zu An smiled. “You should rest, since you’re still recovering. I’ll handle it. Those plague umbrellas aren’t that easy to deal with; ordinary people would be afflicted with poison just by approaching those umbrellas.” The Ocean races didn’t have many people to rely on now. Since he was already helping them, he thought that he might as well go all the way. The Ocean races’ experts were moved to tears. They kneeled and kowtowed. “You are our Ocean races’ savior. We have no way of repaying such a huge debt to you. Please accept our three kowtows.” Zu An supported the crowd to their feet with a casual wave of his hand. “You’re too polite. I have deep ties with the Ocean races, so I can’t turn a blind eye to your plight.” Those words prompted the crowd to look at the Mermaid Queen with deep smiles. Some even regretted being jealous of his relationship with the Mermaid Queen. Now, they would rather the Ocean races had more Mermaid Queens for him to choose from. It was a pity the Mermaid Queen was one of a kind. The Dragon Kings even considered picking their most beautiful ladies to present them to him. But will the Mermaid Queen be jealous? Surely not, right? I mean, she’s also a member of the Ocean races. The Mermaid Queen’s smile looked bitter. Others thought Zu An was doing this because of her, but she knew that the person Zu An truly cared about was his mermaid lover in the future. Zu An was unaware of the Mermaid Queen’s thoughts. He brought the two ladies back to the Dragon Palace to remove the plague umbrellas. The others remained on standby in the cave to await further orders from the Dragon Kings to stabilize the situation. Soon, Zu An found a plague umbrella at the fake mountain in the Dragon Palace’s garden. It wasn’t as big as he had imagined; it was only around the size of his palm. It was small and planted amid the bushes. It would have been hard to find unless one was looking closely. There were strange, disconcerting drawings on the plague umbrella. Skull-like accessories dangled along its edge. “It’s fortunate we have you here. Otherwise, we probably wouldn’t have noticed these things even if we conducted a thorough search of the Dragon Palace,” the Mermaid Queen said. “Indeed. Even if we saw these umbrellas, we would have probably just shrugged them off as decorative ornaments,” the Peacock Princess added. “These umbrellas follow the transformations of the 36 Heavenly Spirits and 72 Earthly Fiends, so there is a pattern to them...” Zu An was going to reveal that he'd arrested the Aurora Poison Dragon’s soul and questioned him, but seeing the admiring looks of the two beautiful ladies, he suddenly thought there was no need to explain everything. It was only at times like this that he could feel as if his foundation was still the same. Being in a high position for too long had made him deal with things differently from how he previously would. Thanks to the company of the two beautiful ladies, this miscellaneous task wasn’t too boring. Soon, they removed all the plague umbrellas in the Dragon Palace. “Does this mean those who were poisoned have been saved?” the Mermaid Queen asked nervously as she witnessed the destruction of the last plague umbrella. Zu An shook his head. “It only prevents the poison from further spreading and the worsening of existing symptoms, but those who are already poisoned will need the antidote to recover.” “You previously mentioned something about the Firecloud Cave. Can the antidote be found there?” the Mermaid Queen asked. “Mmhm. Do you know where the Firecloud Cave is?” Zu An had looked through the Aurora Poison Dragon’s memories. The Firecloud Cave was rumored to be where Shennong’s successor resided, and the people there were known for their medical skills. However, he didn’t know where the Firecloud Cave was. The Mermaid Queen shook her head. It was her first time hearing about that place. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞 “The Firecloud Cave?” The Peacock Princess fell into contemplation. “I think I know...” “Oh?” Zu An and the Mermaid Queen turned to the Peacock Princess. “Back when I was younger, I accompanied a clan elder to the Firecloud Cave to visit an old acquaintance of his,” the Peacock Princess replied. Zu An was overjoyed. “May I know who that old acquaintance was? Does he have a name or any unique traits?” The Peacock Princess smiled sheepishly. “I don’t remember. I was young and playful then. I found the conversation between elders boring, so I chose to play with other kids outside the cave instead. The only thing I remember is that the place was very hot. There were a lot of flames.” Zu An and the Mermaid Queen were stunned. It felt terrible to be presented with a ray of hope, only to have it extinguished like that. The Peacock Princess quickly added, “But I remember the rough direction. I should be able to find it once we’re there.” Zu An breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s wonderful. Princess, I’ll be troubling you to lead the way.” The Peacock Princess’ eyes lit up. She could finally get some alone time with Zu An. But the Mermaid Queen suddenly spoke up, saying,, “I’ll follow you.” The Peacock Princess’ smile froze, but she couldn’t complain because she owed her life to the Mermaid Queen. Nevertheless, she still tried to put up a fight. “Everyone in the Ocean races has been poisoned. Big sis queen, aren’t you needed here more than ever?” The Mermaid Queen blushed. She had blurted those words out because she feared this could be an eternal farewell. Now that Zu An and the Peacock Princess were staring at her, she suddenly felt flustered. Fortunately, she reacted quickly. “It should be fine now that the Four Dragon Kings have been saved. If I tag along, I can deliver the antidote to the Ocean races.” She turned to Zu An and added, “You’re planning to visit the Fiend races' side, right? If I come along, you won’t have to make another trip back to the Ocean races' side when the time comes.” The Peacock Princess’ eyes lit up. At least I’ll get some private time with big brother on the way to the Fiend races' side!