Chapter 322: Chapter 322

"Yan An, my cousin, is actually Chris Yan? My goodness, Chris is very famous; she was even nominated for the Nobel Prize previously! She’s a true master!"

Yan An smiled modestly.

「A month later, New Year’s arrived.」

Yan An’s parents came to Luocheng as promised.

The family home buzzed with activity again.

An Yan, as the youngest daughter of the An Family and the child who most resembled her mother, was showered with love from her maternal uncle and aunt. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ NoveI[F]ire.net

Her older cousins, too, gave her New Year’s money, and their combined gifts easily surpassed one hundred million.

An Yan didn’t hesitate, immediately investing the money into her company’s operations.

Another family member who enjoyed everyone’s affection was Little Squirrel.

Over the New Year, it gained nearly a kilogram!

The entire squirrel became significantly rounder.

An Yan’s pockets could no longer contain its chubby body.

「After the New Year, Grandfather Luo Zi’ang said his goodbyes.」

He said to An Yan, "Girl, Grandpa never understood why he was so obsessed with finding the secret realm until he saw Li Tianyao! You chose him, and he’s afflicted with this strange illness; medicine from the Mortal World definitely won’t cure him. So, Grandpa thinks the mission to find the secret realm is actually about finding the medicine within it to save Li Tianyao!"

An Yan, feeling reluctant, held onto his hand. "I’ve told you, once I illuminate the jade ring, it will guide me to the secret realm. Can’t you just wait at home?"

"Silly girl, it’s always better to have two plans. You work on illuminating your ring, and I’ll continue my search. Besides, Grandpa loves to travel and explore! If you make me stay cooped up at home, I’ll get sick from boredom."

"Alright then. Just be more careful this time; don’t get kidnapped again."

"You little rascal! Every time I leave, you have to jinx me, don’t you?"

"It’s a reminder!" An Yan retorted.

She checked his luggage one more time before opening the car door for him. "Grandpa, be careful!"

The old man waved at her with his back turned, then stooped to get into the car.

This time, he brought the Ancient Tomes that Li Tianyao had collected. During his convalescence, he had pored over them daily and finally made some discoveries.

「The first year after Li Tianyao left.」

An Yan’s team worked on developing an Antidote for the Golden Thread Worm Poison while also innovating new products and technologies.

In less than a year, they launched dozens of new specialized drugs, rescuing thousands of patients from the grip of their ailments.

Xinyan Hospital became one of the top ten most famous hospitals in the country.

An Yan herself was honored as one of the nation’s top ten outstanding youths.

Li Tianyao’s approach was correct; the patients her drugs saved also contributed to her merits, and the tree from Bai Wu produced more and more Yezi.

The Clairvoyance Technique was finally perfected to last a full twenty-four hours.

She could activate it anytime she needed.

As she saved more and more people, the tree in An Yan’s mind grew stronger and healthier.

The Jade Mine sent a batch of high-quality Jade every month.

An Yan used it all to nourish the great tree and Little Squirrel.

The amount of Spiritual Energy she could harness also increased significantly as the tree’s own Spiritual Energy grew.

Drawing ten Talismans at once was no longer an issue.

Unfortunately, her understanding of the Talisman Technique was still based on rote memorization. She tried to discern the underlying principles, but something always seemed to be missing.

This persisted until the Clairvoyance Technique was fully unlocked, and Bai Wu produced a new branch. Upon it were four words: Talisman Technique.

In an instant, a wealth of knowledge about talismans flooded An Yan’s mind.

The missing piece was suddenly filled.

The glow on the jade ring grew increasingly bright, but it still hadn’t reached the level where An Yan could sense the secret realm.

The only regret was that An Yan still hadn’t found Li Yanluo’s whereabouts.

「The second year after Li Tianyao left.」

The Golden Crow died!

But the jade ring didn’t vanish with him.

This surprised An Yan. Perhaps the more I illuminate the ring, the stronger its connection to me becomes, she guessed.

It seems Gu Shifang won’t be able to take the jade ring away anymore.

However, it was unknown whether Gu Shifang, without the ring, could undergo Memory Rebirth again.

「That same year, in September.」

After An Yan and her team analyzed the DNA in the Golden Thread Worm Poison, they discovered that the Golden Thread Worm itself wasn’t poisonous.

This meant that even if you chopped it up, juiced it, and drank it, it wouldn’t endanger your life.

The reason An Yan had been poisoned by a non-poisonous Golden Thread Worm was that her DNA sample had been added during its cultivation.

Every living organism possesses exclusivity, also known as a self-healing property. When a foreign body invades, it naturally mounts resistance.

The Golden Thread Worm was no exception.

The detoxification method was surprisingly simple: extract the minute foreign particles—those not belonging to the Golden Thread Worm—from the venom.

Then, the Golden Thread Worm would cease to secrete venom.

But the problem is this venom... An Yan mused.

"Does that mean the Golden Thread Worm secretes venom to expel foreign elements from its system?"

"So, when this venom enters a human body, it perceives every component of that body as foreign. It then divides desperately until its mass is sufficient, at which point it attacks the human body, attempting to eliminate all human cells?"

"And when this toxin is transmitted to a subsequent host, its power intensifies. It views the new host as its greatest threat and directly attacks their central nervous system, causing splitting headaches!"

"Then, is there any way to make it realize that *it* is the invader?" An Yan asked.

Yan An was speechless. Seriously, cousin, do you even hear yourself? That’s a cell! Does it have an IQ? Can it understand? Can it *recognize* anything?

An Yan began to draw a Talisman.

All things possess an energy field, she thought. Since this venom perceives others as invaders, why can’t it be made to realize that it’s the actual intruder?

With a ’let’s just try it and see’ attitude, An Yan pressed the Talisman onto the experimental subject, a small white mouse.

Yan An’s eyes widened in shock!

The restless small white mouse had calmed down, and its brain activity was clearly normalizing.

This means it no longer feels pain! No, the pain has actually disappeared!

Yan An was dumbfounded.

She silently watched An Yan, a single thought echoing in her mind: Cousin, are you even human?

There was no Antidote, but it could be cured!

An Yan, tears of joy streaming down her face, rushed out the door. "Luolie! I’ve found a way to cure the Golden Thread Worm Poison! Notify Lu Feng and the others immediately! I don’t care what methods you use—find Li Tianyao!"

No matter his current condition, whether he’s lost his mind or is gravely ill, I just want to get to him quickly and cure this Golden Thread Worm Poison first! she thought desperately.

Luolie shook his head. "Miss, he can’t be found unless Tianyao chooses to appear himself!"

An Yan was furious. "Must we wait for him to appear on his own? You told me six months! But now, more than a year has passed—it’s almost two! Aren’t you genuinely afraid something will happen to him?"

Luolie hung his head, remaining silent.

Wen Ya and Wen Ge adopted the same solemn posture.

Yan An grabbed An Yan’s arm, while Mu Enyu rushed out from an adjacent laboratory and hugged her. "Sister Yan!"

She knew Sister Yan was missing her brother-in-law.

"Sister Yan, Brother-in-law is incredibly powerful; he’s capable of anything! If he hasn’t returned, it must be because his mission isn’t complete yet! Please, try to relax a little, Sister Yan."

"Yes, Sister Yan," Su Siming also hurried out. "You have to have faith in Brother-in-law."