Annie's poison was extremely troublesome, and the only way to purge the toxins from her body was to use Spiritual Fire, but this required a level of fire control that was exceedingly exquisite. Any slight carelessness could lead to self-immolation, not only failing to save the person but also turning them into charred remains.

Although the dangers were immense, if Lin Chen did not take action, then Annie might die. So, it was better to go all out and fight for a glimmer of hope.

Lin Chen gently propped up Annie on the bed, and from her facial features alone, it was clear that she must have been a beautiful girl before the incident. But now, tormented by the virus, she no longer resembled a human being, her eye sockets were deeply sunken, and her appearance was even somewhat terrifying.

Stabilizing his mind, Lin Chen placed his hand on Annie's shoulder, and a flash of light flickered in his palm.

The clothes on Annie's body instantly turned to ash.

Lin Chen had already informed Miao Shan of the treatment method. Although it was a taboo in the Miao family for a young girl to have her body seen by a strange man, it was, after all, to save a life, and besides Miao Shan and Lin Chen, no one else would know. Ultimately, what good are taboos if a person is not alive to uphold them!

Looking at Annie's body, which was as thin as skin and bones, Lin Chen frowned.

"How could such a pretty girl be tormented by poison to this extent? What kind of poison has Annie contracted?"

The green wood element continuously repaired Annie's injured areas, while the golden flames incessantly scorched the toxins inside her body.

Although Lin Chen had lowered the flame's temperature to the lowest possible, Annie's face still displayed an expression of pain.

With the help of his penetrating vision, Lin Chen could clearly see that Annie's bones had turned black and even her veins were covered with the black toxin.

Lin Chen cautiously brought the Purple Flame Golden Fire close to the bones and veins that had been tainted by the poison.

In order to purge the toxins, Lin Chen had no choice but to keep raising the temperature of the flames, and at the same time, the pain on Annie's face grew more and more intense.

"Ah!"

Accompanied by a cry of agony, Annie's eyes, which had been tightly shut, suddenly flew open, and she clenched her fists so hard that she even let out a sound of pain.

Outside the door, listening to Annie's pained cries, many people trembled in their hearts, and a few young members of the Miao family even wanted to rush into the room.

"All of you, be quiet and do not disturb Mr. Lin in treating her," Miao Shan said coldly, puffing on his smoking pipe.

Though Miao Shan had not seen it with his own eyes, he had already felt that the vitality within Annie was growing stronger, meaning that Lin Chen's treatment was having an effect.

Annie opened her eyes and was shocked to see herself naked.

"Don't move, steady your mind. I'm in the process of expelling the poison from your body," Lin Chen said earnestly.

Hearing the voice behind her, Annie's face turned red, and she nodded lightly.

Lin Chen was drenched in sweat; such treatment consumed a vast amount of Spiritual Energy and was extremely taxing mentally.

That's because Lin Chen had to be wholly immersed in the treatment, controlling the flames, and any slight misstep could result in Annie being burned to a crisp.

What surprised Lin Chen was that Annie was indeed a strong girl. The pain from the flame's sear was even more unbearable than bone scraping therapy, yet she managed to endure it all along.

By now, Annie's face was soaked in sweat, and her hands had even torn through the sheets.

Sweat also beaded on Lin Chen's face as he tirelessly worked the Purple Flame Golden Fire to drive out the poison from Annie.

Strands of black, viscous poison oozed out slowly from Annie's pores under the roasting of Lin Chen's flames.

An unpleasant, foul odor filled the room.

As time passed, color slowly returned to Annie's face, and the toxins inside her began to disappear bit by bit.

However, at this moment Annie's body was completely drenched in sweat, and she had reached her limit.

At last, Lin Chen had cleared the last wisp of poison and finally took a deep breath.

The green energy element continually nourished Ani's body.

At that moment, Ani's originally shriveled skin had surprisingly become elastic again, and her complexion turned rosy as well.

Lin Chen finally withdrew his palm, now completely drenched as well.

It must be understood that during these three hours, Lin Chen had been controlling the Spiritual Fire to expel the poison, his spiritual power constantly on the brink. If it weren't for his recent breakthrough, his former cultivation level would have been insufficient to withstand the strain.

Lin Chen stood up and placed a cover over Ani, "Wait here for a moment, I'll have someone come in to clean you up."

As Lin Chen left the room and opened the door, Miao Shan hurriedly came to greet him.

"Mr. Lin, how is Ani?"

Lin Chen smiled and nodded, "I've managed to fulfill my duty! However, Ani's body is covered with residual venom that needs to be washed off immediately."

"Good, good!" Miao Shan nodded and hurriedly ordered someone to wash Ani's body.

Miao Shan ushered Lin Chen to a seat and presented him with a cup of fine medicinal tea, saying with a smile, "Mr. Lin, I never expected someone of your young age to be so capable; it truly is admirable."

Lin Chen smiled, "Elder Miao is too kind; I only happened to know of a method that could treat Ani's condition. But Elder Miao, what kind of snake bit Ani? This poison was incredibly potent?"

Miao Shan shook his head, "When we found Ani, she was already unconscious, but there were traces of a snake bite on her calf."

Lin Chen frowned and said, "Elder Miao, Ani might not have been bitten by a snake; the venom in her body isn't from any snake, but it seems like someone poisoned her."

"What?" Miao Shan's face changed abruptly upon hearing Lin Chen's words.

At that moment, Ani walked into the room.

"Ani!" Seeing Ani, Mu Ling excitedly ran over and hugged her tightly.

"I'm so glad you're okay. I'm not going anywhere this time, I don't care about the position of Family Head or anything to do with the Mu family; I just want you," Mu Ling said affectionately.

Ani's cheeks flushed red, "You scoundrel, with so many people here, you're embarrassing me."

Seeing their happy expressions, Miao Shan also let out a sigh of relief.

The Gu poison in Mu Ling's body had been cured by Miao Shan while waiting outside just now; after all, Ani had already forgiven him, it was Ani's last request, and Miao Shan couldn't possibly refuse.

"I'm so relieved you're okay, Ani," said Miao Shan excitedly.

Ani threw herself into Miao Shan's arms, "Grandfather, it's all my fault for making you use your essence blood to cure me."

"What!" upon hearing Ani's words, Lin Chen's expression changed.

"Elder Miao, have you been using your essence blood to treat Ani all this time?" Lin Chen asked anxiously.

Miao Shan nodded, "I'm just old bones, not much time left for me anyway; using my essence blood to save my granddaughter's life is worth it."

Indeed, giving one's essence blood to another can save their life, but the damage to oneself is extremely severe.

Lin Chen could already sense that the long duration of expending essence blood had caused Miao Shan's strength to drop several levels; that is to say, Miao Shan was now merely at the Innate Realm.

"Elder Miao, the target might not be Ani but you. They were probably after you," Lin Chen said, his eyes narrowing as he spoke coldly.