Library of Heaven's Path
Chapter 1000-1008

Chapter 1000: My Precious ##

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

In the residence where the hall master resided, Elder Xu was seated by the side with a slight smile on his face.

“You are saying that it is due to a righteous poison master named Sun Qiang who saved you despite the dangers that you are able to return to the Poison Hall?” An old man seated opposite to Elder Xu asked.

With an appearance reminiscent of a person in his sixties or seventies, the old man had an amiable smile on his face. Had one not known better, it would have been impossible to imagine that this old man was actually the head of the Hongyuan Empire Poison Hall, a 7-star poison master!

“That’s right. That Poison Master Sun is a very righteous person, and he possesses both courage and wits. If not for him, I would have died just like Elder Xue…” Elder Xu’s eyes gleamed in admiration and respect as he spoke about Sun Qiang.

To be able to save him from the hands of a Saint 4-dan expert, the courage and wits that were required to do so was something that too few in the world possessed.

“For a Nascent Saint to be able to face an expert of that caliber straight without faltering, he is indeed a rare talent. Alright, I shall approve of the matter. He will be given an opportunity to take the poison master examination to join our Poison Hall!” The old man stroked his beard as he said with a smile.

“Thank you, hall master!” Elder Xu hurriedly stood up and clasped his fist. With a look of confidence, he continued, “Rest assured, you won’t regret the decision you made today. Poison Master Sun is definitely a trustworthy person whom we can leave our backs to!”

“It is rare for you to offer such high compliments to someone. I will be looking forward to meeting Poison Master Sun then…” The hall master nodded.

Halfway through his words, a person suddenly rushed into the room while exclaiming, “Hall master!”

“Elder Feng, what’s wrong?” Turning around, Elder Xu recognized the person to be a fellow elder of the Poison Hall, Feng Ping.

However, the current Elder Feng was vastly different from how he was usually. His nose was crooked, his face was swollen, and his body was filled with many bloodstains. It was as if he had just undergone some kind of life-and-death situation.

“What’s wrong? You still dare to ask me what’s wrong?” Upon seeing Elder Xu, Feng Ping suddenly felt immense rage coursing through his body. Roaring furiously, he charged at Elder Xu, seemingly wanting to tear the other party apart.

Were it not for Xu You bringing that fellow here, would their Poison Hall suffer such tragic casualties today?

“Elder Feng, it is unseemly for an elder like you to make a move on your peers without any warning! Speak, what happened?” the hall master bellowed with a frown.

“Hall master…” Upon hearing the bellow, Elder Feng hesitated for a moment before stopping. Clenching his jaws tightly together, he spoke indignantly, “Fourteen elders of our Poison Hall have just been killed! The only ones surviving are me, Elder Du, and four others. Even Hall Master Ming had his entire arm severed at the shoulder, and he is still in a precarious state at the moment…”

“What? Fourteen elders have just been killed? Hurry up and explain yourself!” Shocked by the news, the hall master abruptly got to his feet and stared at Elder Feng with narrowed eyes.

There were only a total of 22 elders in the Hongyuan Empire Poison Hall. It was just a moment ago which he had just received news of Elder Xue’s death… and in the blink of an eye, another fourteen elders were killed?

These elders should have been in the Poison Hall, and for them to be killed… could it be that they have been invaded by enemies?”

“The culprit is… the guest whom Elder Xu brought in, Sun Qiang!” Elder Feng spat through gritted teeth.

“Sun Qiang? What happened?” Astonished, Elder Xu staggered.

“This is what happened…”

Elder Feng swiftly explained everything that had happened, including how Duan Ren had challenged Sun Qiang, Vice Hall Master Ming flying into a rage, as well as… how they encircled Sun Qiang, only to be killed themselves.

“How could this be…” After hearing the explanation, Elder Xu suddenly felt the vision before him blacking out.

I know that I said that those within the Poison Hall respect the strong, and you don’t have to show any mercy to them. But… you really don’t have to go to the extent of killing fourteen elders of the Poison Hall!

It was just a moment ago that I said that you are a righteous and trustworthy person, and in the next moment, you caused me such a trouble… How do you expect me to face the other party like that?

“Let’s go over and take a look!” Shooting a cold glance at Elder Xu, the hall master flung his sleeves before hurriedly following Elder Feng out.

Naturally, Elder Xu had no choice but to tag along.

Not too long later, they arrived at the accommodation Elder Xu had prepared for Zhang Xuan, and it didn’t take long for them to notice that the ground was filled with corpses.

These men were Saint 1-dan pinnacle experts, masters of poison. Outside, they could easily rival three to four ordinary Saint 1-dan pinnacle cultivators easily, and yet, within just a few moments… they had turned into cold corpses lying on the ground.

Scanning the area, he soon caught sight of the culprit, Sun Qiang. The latter was still seated cross-legged on the ground, cultivating with his eyes tightly shut, as if he had nothing to do with the horror that had just occurred a moment ago.

“Elder Huang, Elder Li, Elder Liu…” Looking at the corpses on the ground, the hall master felt a lump in his throat. Subconsciously, he clenched his trembling hands tightly into fists.

These were the men who had accompanied him for several centuries of his life, and yet, within just a few moments, they were slaughtered clean by that fellow!

More importantly, the culprit was still dared to cultivate fearlessly on the spot… Wasn’t he snubbing their Poison Hall way too much!

“Hall master, you must kill that fellow and avenge our brothers!” Vice Hall Master Ming rushed forward and pleaded desperately.

He had already had his arm bandaged, and he had consumed some recovery medicine to alleviate his condition as well. However, the injury he had sustained was simply too severe that it was impossible for him to make a full recovery. To put it in harsh words, he had been crippled.

“Hall master, that fellow is simply too arrogant. He doesn’t even bother to open his eyes when he fights us. It will be a calamity to the Poison Hall if we were to leave such an imperious fellow lurking amongst us…”

“We must kill him. Otherwise, how can we face our dead brothers? This is a matter regarding the dignity of our Poison Hall!”

…

The other two vice hall masters and elders roared in agreement.

As one of the most feared occupations on the Master Teacher Continent, others would flee in fright whenever they appeared. When had they suffered such grievance such as to have fourteen of their elders killed by a fellow with his eyes closed?

“Don’t worry. No one has ever gotten away scot-free after causing trouble in the Poison Hall!” Waving his hand grandly, the hall master turned to Vice Hall Master Qian and instructed, “Apprehend Xu You and have him imprisoned. After I deal with this fellow, I will interrogate him personally!”

“Yes!” Upon hearing the order, the elders hurriedly encircled Elder Xu to prevent him from escaping.

“Hall master!” Not expecting the situation to unfold in such a manner, Elder Xu exclaimed in panic. Yet, there was nothing he could do in this situation.

There was no way he could explain himself.

Back when Poison Master Sun accompanied him to the Poison Hall, the other party still seemed perfectly normal. Thinking back, the other party even promised him to keep a low profile… Yet, within the short span of time which he went to report something to the hall master, the other party actually killed fourteen elders…

Is this your definition of low profile?

You are clearly not here to take the poison master examination but to wipe our Poison Hall off the face of the world!

But as stifled as he was, Elder Xu knew that he owed his life to Poison Master Sun. After a moment of hesitation, he still couldn’t help but speak up, “Hall master, Poison Master Sun isn’t the type of person to kill the innocent. There might be some kind of misunderstanding here…”

“Seal his mouth!” the hall master roared furiously.

Fourteen elders of the Poison Hall had been killed, and Elder Xu still dared to play this matter off as a misunderstanding. If a misunderstanding could justify this matter, what else in the world couldn’t be justified?

“Yes!” Vice Hall Master Qian nodded before walking up to Elder Xu. With a tap of his finger, he sealed Elder Xu’s ability to speak.

Seeing that Elder Xu had been dealt with, the hall master finally turned his gaze back to the middle-aged man seated before him and spoke menacingly, “Sun Qiang, is it? To dare to venture alone to the Poison Hall to cause trouble, I have to admit that you do have guts. However… regardless of who you are or what you are here for, since you are already here, you need not think about stepping out of here alive!”

Walking up to Zhang Xuan, the hall master tapped his finger lightly, and a row of beetles, roughly around the size of a fingernail each, flew forth. There were exactly nine of them.

An old gold color shell on their back and wings that reflected sunlight off its body, they had a particularly disconcerting appearance.

“Those are our hall master’s Darkgold Venom Beetles!”

“These beetles contain a lethal poison which can kill even a Saint 3-dan expert easily!”

“Indeed. Our hall master had to pay a heavy price in order to nurture these Darkgold Venom Beetles. Just counting the saint herbs by itself, those beetles had already eaten more than a hundred of them… But fortunately, his investment paid off. It was arduous and expensive, but he managed to nurture nine of them!”

“Each of these nine bugs is able to poison a Saint 3-dan expert to death individually. With the nine of them gathered, even a Saint 4-dan expert would have to flee in fear. To release all of them simultaneously… it seems like our hall master is truly enraged!”

“That fellow is done for. Although I don’t know what kind of antidotes he consumed to render all of our poisons ineffective, there is no way that it will be able to neutralize the Darkgold Venom Beetles of our hall master!”

…

Upon seeing the hall master release his Darkgold Venom Beetle, everyone’s eyes lit up.

Every single one of them had nurtured their own poisonous bug or snake at some point in time, but in terms of deadliness, there was none that could come close to comparing up to the hall master’s Darkgold Venom Beetle.

Just a single one was sufficient to poison a Saint 3-dan expert. It was no wonder why it would be an object of fear for many!

Should the hall master intend to start a massacre, these nine Darkgold Venom Beetles could easily bring extinction upon the entire Hongyuan City.

This was the frightening might of a 7-star poison master!

In everyone’s view, regardless of how potent the antidote Sun Qiang had consumed was, the most he could do was to neutralize their poison powder. In face of a poisonous bug as formidable as the Darkgold Venom Beetle, there could only be one outcome—death!

“Wuuuuuuuu!!!”

Forming a stark contrast to everyone look of anticipation, however, was Elder Xu’s panicked muffled shouting. However, with his ability to speak sealed, he wasn’t able to say anything at all, so he could only cry anxiously by the side.

Ignoring the looks of amazement from the crowd, the hall master flicked his finger grimly, and nine droplets of blood flew forth. The nine Darkgold Venom Beetles swallowed a droplet each, and their colors grew even brighter.

“Go!” With a furious bellow, the hall master pointed his finger towards Sun Qiang on the floor with killing intent seething in his eyes.

Weng weng weng!

Upon hearing the command, the nine beetles flew forward, and in the blink of an eye, they were already right before Zhang Xuan.

Seemingly unaware of the dangers lurking around him, Zhang Xuan remained seated in the ground with his eyes tightly shut, not moving in the least.

Hu!

Seeing that the other party had no intentions of dodging, the hall master sneered coldly. He controlled the beetles remotely and had them land all over Zhang Xuan’s body, be it his arm, neck, or legs, anywhere his skin was exposed.

Kacha! Kacha! Kacha!

The beetles bit down firmly, and venomous fluid flowed from the beetle’s mouth into Zhang Xuan’s body.

“They have bitten him!”

“As soon as the Darkgold Venom Beetle bites down on its target, venomous fluid will immediately flow from its mouth into the target’s bloodstream, and within just three breaths, the target will meet his demise!”

“To be bitten by all nine beetles simultaneously, it will be a miracle if he can even survive a single breath…”

…

Everyone thought that the fellow would flee in fright after seeing the Darkgold Venom Beetles, but who would have thought that he would remain seated on the floor, allowing the nine beetles act as they pleased. With all nine of the beetles biting him simultaneously, not even the deities could possibly be able to save him anymore!

Hu! Hu!

RIght after biting Zhang Xuan, the nine Darkgold Venom Beetles flew up once more. However, before they could get far, their heads suddenly slanted to the side, as if intoxicated.

Padah! Padah! Padah!

Following which, they abruptly fell to the grounds. Their legs twitched for a few moments before falling still altogether.

Pu!

The hall master’s face paled, and blood spewed from his mouth. He staggered eight steps back before falling weakly to the ground. Raising his gaze, he looked at his fallen beetles with a look of horror.

“My precious…”

Chapter 1001: How Noisy!

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

He had spent several centuries cultivating these nine Darkgold Venom Beetles, and he had spent an unimaginable wealth and fed it a vast amount of fresh blood before he could nurture them to maturity. In a sense, it was no joke to say that they were even more precious to him than his own son. And yet, in the blink of an eye, they had collapsed to the ground, not moving at all. It took all of the mental resilience he had to not go insane in that moment.

Seeing the hall master and the Darkgold Venomous Beetles’ state, the surrounding crowd glanced at one another in bewilderment.

“Are those Darkgold Venomous Beetles… poisoned to death by Sun Qiang?”

“That fellow actually carries an even more formidable poison than that of the beetles?”

“While attempting to poison that fellow to death, they ended up being poisoned to death instead…”

…

After realizing what was going on, their faces warped in frenzy.

Given their deep comprehension of poison, it didn’t take too long for them to uncover the true reason behind the beetles’ death—they were killed by an even formidable poison than the one they carried!

From the start to the end, the beetles had only landed on Sun Qiang’s body for a brief moment. Given so, no matter how inconceivable it was, there was only one possibility to the situation… The other party carried an even more fearsome poison in him!

The other party had stood still for the beetles to bite him, but it ended up being the beetles who were the ones who died instead…

The spectators couldn’t help but feel frenzied by the sight.

This was the Poison Hall, the ground where all of the top poison users of Hongyuan Empire, or even the entire Qingyuan Conferred Empire, were at. And yet, the precious poisonous beetles of the hall masters ended up being poisoned to death? It was truly a huge irony!

“I will kill you!” the hall master bellowed with utmost rage.

At this moment, the hall master bore no semblance to the elegant and dignified old man he was before. His eyes had turned red in delirium, and it seemed like he would not rest until he ripped the fellow before his eyes apart.

However, that was to be expected.

The Darkgold Venom Beetles were his Lifebound Venomous Bugs, and their deaths didn’t just signify that the staggering amount of resources he had devoted to cultivating them had gone to waste. More importantly, it had caused a huge trauma to his soul, causing his cultivation to plummet. He was a powerful Saint 3-dan pinnacle cultivator before, but at this moment… it would already be a huge blessing if he could exert the might of a Saint 2-dan pinnacle cultivator.

Boom!

Since even the Darkgold Venom Beetles were unable to poison the other party to death, the hall master knew that the other poisons he had in his possession were unlikely to work as well. Roaring furiously, his zhenqi flurried, forming a massive palm in the sky that struck down with imposing momentum.

But before the palm could strike ‘Sun Qiang’, the latter abruptly stood up, and with his eyes still closed, he flicked his wrist and whipped out a spear.

In an instant, his aura changed. It was even more fearsome than Zheng Yang back then. With a spear in his hand, his presence felt as if a majestic dragon amongst the clouds, dominating the world with its fearsome might.

Huala!

He tossed the spear upwards with incredible might, and the two forces clashed with one another in the sky.

A huge shockwave burst forth from the collision, forcing Zhang Xuan to take two steps backward. After which, with a forceful step, he leaped upwards to grab his spear before directing it down towards the enemy.

In this instant, it felt as if the line between spear and man had been thinned. The spear was part of the man, and the man was part of the spear as well—Spear-Man Union. Immense zhenqi was channeled into the spear, and it was further augmented with the incomparably powerful physical strength which Zhang Xuan possessed. Even before his spear could reach the other party, the bluestone pavement on the ground had already burst open. The ground where the hall master stood abruptly collapsed inward, creating a huge depression.

“Damn you!” Bellowing furiously, the hall master charged up furiously to face Zhang Xuan.

Had it been under normal circumstances, as powerful as the other party was, he was confident that he would have been able to subdue of even kill the other party easily with his Saint 3-dan pinnacle cultivation.

However, all nine of his Lifebound Venomous Bugs had just been killed. Both his body and his soul had sustained severe damage, preventing him from even exerting a tenth of his original strength. Clashing directly with the other party, he gradually felt that he was being overwhelmed.

But… the enemy was only a Nascent Saint!

“I don’t believe that I can’t kill you!”

Bellowing furiously once more, the hall master drove his zhenqi to the limits, such that it was beginning to release ‘gulu gulu’ noises, reminiscent of boiling water.

Boom!

As the spear tip and the palm collided with one another, a loud explosion sounded. The sheer force emanated from the collision reduced all building in an area of several hundred meters into dust. The poison masters who had been hanging around the corner to watch the show suddenly felt an immense threat on their life, and they hurriedly retreated in fear, not daring to stand close.

Pu!

The closed eyes ‘Sun Qiang’ seemed to be unable to withstand the full might of the hall master. Spurting a mouthful of blood, he was sent flying before crashing heavily onto the ground.

The cultivation of the Saint Ascension Decipher did granted Zhang Xuan the strength to challenge opponents beyond him, but there was a limit to it… the strength harnessed by the hall master was simply too great. He was no match for it at all.

But of course, if his soul was in his body at this moment, he would have been able to use the Library of Heaven’s Path to peer through the other party’s flaws and design a combat strategy to corner the other party. However… having only his reflexes to rely on at the moment, he could only clash face to face with the other party, and that clearly placed him in a very disadvantageous position.

“Die!” After knocking ‘Sun Qiang’ flying, the hall master rushed forward to pursue him.

From the previous collision, he had gained a rough gauge of the other party’s strength, The other party was indeed formidable for a Nascent Saint, but compared to him, the other party was still lacking a little. As long as he were to push on forcefully, not giving other party an opportunity to catch a breather, he would surely be able to corner the other party and kill him!

Hu!

Sensing danger from the man before him, ‘Sun Qiang’ seemed to have gotten apprehensive. Tossing the spear in his hand out towards the hall master, he hurriedly turned around and fled.

In the blink of an eye, he was already a few hundred meters away.

“Where do you think you are escaping to!” Not expecting the other party to have no principles at all, fighting arrogantly with his eyes closed a moment ago only to be fleeing shamelessly a moment later, the hall master bellowed angrily. He quickly charged forward and sent another palm strike at the other party.

Hong long!

The overwhelming might of the palm smashed a huge depression into the ground. However, the other party was simply too nimble, evading his attack with ease.

“Stop him!” Seeing the other party getting faster and faster, the hall master knew that he wouldn’t be able to keep up with the other party given the severe injuries his body had sustained. Thus, he turned around and commanded.

“Yes!”

Not daring to hesitate, the elders and the vice hall masters hurriedly rushed forward to pursue ‘Sun Qiang’.

With great speed they pursued the other party, but the other party was even faster. On top of that, he was darting around randomly with his eyes closed. As a result of that, he was crashing forcefully into everything in his way, knocking down buildings of all sorts.

In just a few moments, the entire island was cloaked in a massive cloud of dust. Even the ancient buildings which had stood proudly for innumerable years as the heritage of the Poison Hall hadn’t been spared from the destruction.

Looking at how the heritage which the predecessors had entrusted to his hands been devastated by the fellow before him, the hall master felt as if his head was going to split apart. Flicking his wrist, he whipped out a token and infused zhenqi into it. The token gradually rose to the air, and seemingly communicating with some kind of unique power, it emanated a blinding radiance.

“I am the 30th Hall Master of the Poison Hall. I command for the activation of the Great Guardian Formation…”

Hong long long!

As the voice sounded, the light radiated by the token grew brighter and brighter. The massive formation which hid the entire island seemed to have been awakened by some kind of unique power, and it gradually whirred into action.

The formation of the Hongyuan Empire Poison Hall’s founding ancestor was not only able to hide the island, it could also corner and poison to death any invaders of the island easily!

The fellow was willfully causing destruction as he escaped. If he was left to be, the innumerable years of Poison Hall’s heritage could very well be destroyed.

Weng!

As the formation came to live, a powerful might burst towards the escaping Zhang Xuan not too far away.

Hula!

The power of the formation was omnipresent on the island, and it fell at a speed too fast for Zhang Xuan to dodge. In an instant, his movement had been completely sealed, as if a cage had been constructed around him.

“Hmph, let’s see how you can escape from this!”

Noting the tremendous strength of the formation, the eyes of the hall master lit up as he hurriedly made his way over. However, before he could rush up to the other party, the trapped middle-aged man seemed to have suddenly received an epiphany as a look of realization crept onto his face. After which, he took a few steps back within the seal and stomped his feet forcefully.

Kacha!

The seal immediately broke.

After which, the middle-aged man raised his right hand and grasped the air abruptly.

Hu!

Following which, the token before the hall master suddenly seemed to run amok, and it flew straight into the other party’s hand.

“What?” Widened his eyes in shock, the hall master was horrified.

To break the seal and snatch the token from his hands so easily, there could only be one possibility… The other party had a thorough comprehension of the massive formation around the island and was aware of the flaws regarding it. By exploiting its flaws, the other party had stolen the controlling rights over the formation from him!

But… how could this be possible?

Back then, the founding ancestor had spent many years studying the blueprint and the geographical terrain of the island, reworking it again and again, each time bringing it a step closer towards perfection, before he finally set up the formation. There were quite a number of predecessors who were proficient in the Way of Formations as well, but even they were unable to grasp the entirety of the formation… The fellow had been here for less than a day, and he had already made sense of it and found its flaws?

Just how in the world could such a thing happen?

As astonished as the hall master was, he moved swiftly to wrestle control over the token, which served as the key to controlling the formation. However, in the next moment, the middle-aged man, with his eyes still closed, abruptly flicked his wrist.

Huala!

An incredible force assaulted the hall master, causing his body to stiffen all of the sudden…

With the control of the formation in the middle-aged man’s hand, the other party had called upon the power of the formation to seal his movements, returning the favor to him.

“Damn it!” With eyes blazing with fury, the hall master exerted his full strength to struggle free of the formation.

But before he could do so, a foot suddenly arrived right before his face.

Peng!

Cling cling cling!

Under the impact of the kick, several of the hall master’s teeth fell to the ground, and blood trickled down his nose and mouth.

“Sun Qiang, how dare you strike me? I will tear you apart…” the hall master roared furiously.

Yet, before he could finish his words, the other party’s punches and kicks fell in rapid succession on him, effectively silencing him.

Pilipala!

Within just ten breaths, the hall master had already sustained at least forty fists and sixty kicks, leaving his dignified face distorted in an almost comical manner. If thrown out onto the streets, there was no one who would dare believe that he was the amicable hall master.

Under normal circumstances, even if he was unable to kill the other party, the other party wouldn’t be able to harm him easily either.

Who could have known that his decision to draw upon the formation to corner the other party would backfire on him instead? He ended up handing power over to the other party’s hand, giving the other party an opportunity to pummel him viciously. At that moment, the hall master felt so frustrated that he felt like his mind was going to explode.

He was the head of the Poison Hall, the most powerful and authoritative man of the Hongyuan Empire Poison Hall!

Yet, for his formation to be used against him like that, what the heck was this…

Why did it feel like the other party was the hall master instead whereas he was the invader?

“Hall master…”

The elders and vice hall masters who had rushed over to help arrived at this moment. Upon the hall master being on the verge of death from being pummeled by ‘Sun Qiang’, they scratched their heads in bewilderment, not knowing what they should do.

They thought that with the hall master making a move himself, victory would be theirs to clinch. They would be able to get even the other party and vie back their dignity. Yet, who could have thought that their hall master would first have his Lifebound Venomous Bugs being poisoned to death first before being pummeled so pitifully…

“Retract your killing intent towards Sun Qiang! Otherwise, he will kill you…” Noting that the hall master was on the verge of death, an elder suddenly recalled the situation earlier and shouted.

“Retract my killing intent?”

The swollen-faced hall master had no idea how that would aid him in his current plight, but there must be a rationale for that elder to utter such words. Thus, suppressing his rage, he attempted to quench the killing intent he had for the other party.

Right after doing so, ‘Sun Qiang’ indeed came to a halt. He sat down on the ground not too far away and continued to cultivate.

From the start to the end, he had never opened his eyes, not even for an instant. It was as if everything he had done thus far was a product of his sleepwalking.

“This… What is going on? I was actually pummeled by a sleepwalking person?”

The eyes of the hall master reddened in indignance.

As the head of the Poison Hall, it would be one thing for him to be pummeled by an expert, but the other party was just a Nascent Saint, a sleepwalking one at that!

What a farce this was!

…

At this moment, Zhang Xuan’s soul had just finished collecting the books on the third floor of the Compendium Hall.

Sensing a torrent of spiritual energy gathering outside, as if a formation coming into life, Zhang Xuan frowned in displeasure. After which, the deafening ruckus of innumerable buildings being collapsed reverberated relentlessly in the air.

Eventually, Zhang Xuan snapped in annoyance, “How noisy! Can’t they quieten down a little? I am trying to read here!”

Chapter 1002: Irreconcilable

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

Zhang Xuan was seething with anger.

Where was he? The Poison Hall!

A place isolated from the world, filled with countless formidable poison masters… Shouldn’t it be an extremely peaceful place where everyone diligent strove to create the best poison they could?

‘Dang lang!’, ‘hong long!’, ‘boom!’… Just what the heck were those? It was not as if they were some kind of demolition company…

All he wanted was some peace so that he could finish reading all of the books in a single go… But with such noise, how was he supposed to do so?

Seriously, did the poison masters know no civility at all?

That was really too much!

He would really need to talk to Elder Xu about this matter so that he could enforce some order around here.

“Forget it, I will just have to tolerate it for this period of time!” Zhang Xuan shook his head.

In any case, he was just a guest. He would have to leave very soon, so all he had to do was to tolerate the incivility of those poison masters for the time being.

Having collected the books in the first three floors into the Library of Heaven’s Path, Zhang Xuan’s comprehension of poison had reached 3-star pinnacle.

Even though the books were rich in content, there was nothing much regarding the cure for the Innate Poison Body. Most of the books that touched on it only introduced it as an extremely fearsome constitution. It rarely appeared in the world, perhaps not even once in ten thousand years, but the moment it did, a devastating calamity could possibly befall on the world.

According to the records, the founder of the Poison Hall possessed the Innate Poison Body as well. There was an incident where the founder of the Poison Hall had clashed with Kong shi, and even the latter had to tread carefully around it, fearful of its might.

“There is nothing at the moment, but I might be able to replace a solution once I go through the books in the higher floors…” Zhang Xuan sighed deeply as he consoled himself.

However, considering how noisy it was, it was unlikely that he would be able to make much progress. Thus, he decided to leave for the moment and return later on.

Thus, he returned back to the first floor and slipped past the two guards at the entrance, leaving the Compendium Hall. However, just as he was about to return back to his residence, he couldn’t help but freeze at the sight before him.

The dignified and stately buildings four hours ago had been reduced to rubble. Within an area of several dozen kilometers, there was not a person to be seen at all.

“T-this…” Zhang Xuan widened his eyes in shock.

Through his eyes, he could tell that this was caused by a battle between experts.

But shouldn’t the battles be limited to the Sparring Hall? Why would they start fighting in the midst of the city instead?

Look at what they had done to the beautiful city…

“They are indeed uncivil, these buildings have been around for several thousand years! To fight in the middle of the city, don’t they know that these are important heritages that we have to protect?” Zhang Xuan muttered as he shook his head.

The poison masters sure are lacking decorum.

Just look at the master teachers; even to hold a life-and-death duel, they would apply for permission with the headquarter first before deciding on the format of the duel. Yet, this… to start fighting in the middle of the city, reducing so many beautiful buildings into rubble… It is really hard to fathom how a human could be so inconsiderate.

With such thoughts in mind, Zhang Xuan began flying back to his residence. However, before he could get far, he suddenly realized something.

He hadn’t really noticed it due to the formation around the Compendium Hall earlier, but now that he was finally out, he suddenly found that his physical body… had changed locations. It wasn’t in the accommodation which Elder Xu had provided for him anymore.

“What is going on?” A look of wariness slipped into Zhang Xuan’s eyes.

Typically speaking, his physical body should remain in the residence, not moving at all. For it to be somewhere else instead… Did someone make a move on him?

If so, that would be really bad.

His physical body had already acquired the ability of Mind of Void, granting it the ability to act reflexively to avert danger, but… if the enemy was an expert, such as the hall master or vice hall master of the Poison Hall, he would still be in grave danger.

After all, they were 7-star poison masters. In comparison, his Nascent Saint cultivation body was truly too weak.

If he were to return late and replace his physical body completely crippled, it would be too late for tears.

Anxious, he immediately charged in the direction where his physical body was. Before long, he saw his physical body seated on the floor, not moving in the least. Opposite to it stood a disfigured old man, who was currently looking at his physical body with malicious intents in his eyes.

“It’s fortunate that I returned in time…” Seeing that his physical body was safe, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.

As he quickly slipped back into his body, he couldn’t help but realize something.

The area where his physical body was sitting at… wasn’t it the center of the destruction? Could it be that all of the destruction throughout the city was caused by him?

But that shouldn’t be!

His physical body did have the ability to retaliate and flee in face of danger, but it had always been rather reliable. At the very least, he trusted it more than his clone and Vicious, and it had never caused him any trouble before… If he was truly the culprit behind the damage, how was he going to explain this to Elder Xu?

With such thoughts in mind, his soul swiftly harmonized with his body, and his eyes slowly opened.

“He is awake!”

“Un, he really is awake…”

“He is already plenty formidable with his eyes closed. With his eyes open now, there would surely be no one who will be able to stop him… Are we going to meet our doom here?”

…

Seeing the other party open his eyes, a commotion broke out in the surroundings. Many faces paled in fright.

Even with his eyes closed, the other party was able to kill fourteen of their elders and pummel the hell out of their hall master… Now that his eyes were opened, would he massacre their Poison Hall clean?

“Y-you…”

Upon seeing ‘Sun Qiang’ open his eyes, the hall master cowered in fear.

Everything that had happened had dealt a deep trauma to him, causing him to feel innate fear towards the middle-aged man before him.

“Cough cough, where am I? What… what is going on?” Looking at everyone’s frightened look, as if he was a lunatic that had come out from a horror movie, Zhang Xuan felt a little stifled within. With a bewildered look, he gazed at the crowd around him.

All I have done is to leave for a short moment to read some books… What in the world happened in between? For so many of you to be surrounding me, and not to mention, the frightened look on your faces…

“Where am I? What is going on?” Hearing those words, the hall master spurted yet another mouthful of blood.

The heck! The other party really was sleepwalking!

While other Saint 3-dan cultivators were being overwhelmed by Saint 4-dan and 5-dan experts, he was being done in by a sleepwalking Nascent Saint cultivator… Just the thought of him left him feeling suffocated within.

To end up in such a plight despite being the head of the Poison Hall, it sure was embarrassing.

“Calm down, don’t get agitated. I just woke up from my cultivation, so I am not too sure what is going on here. Why don’t you fill me in on the details?” Seeing the disfigured fellow before him spurting blood out of agitation after seeing him waking up, Zhang Xuan hurriedly consoled.

“You… Puu!”

Agitated? Agitated your head!

Not too sure what is going on?

Can you get any more shameless than that?

All of this had been done by you! The reason why I have spurted blood is due to your pummeling!

After taking advantage of us like that, you are going to shirk responsibility just by saying you don’t know what is going on?

Due to the intense fluctuations in his emotion, the hall master spurted yet another mouthful of blood. He felt so furious that it felt like flames could burst forth from his eyes.

“You aren’t too sure what is going on? You have fought with the hall master and came all the way here, destroying countless buildings on the way… You are unaware of all of that?” Seeing that the other party didn’t seem to be feigning ignorance, an elder bucked up his courage and asked carefully.

“I fought with the hall master?” Zhang Xuan blinked his eyes in confusion. “Who is your hall master? I have never met him before, so how could I have fought with him? Could there be a misunderstanding somewhere…”

On the way here, he had heard from Elder Xu that the head of the Hongyuan Empire Poison Hall was a 7-star poison master, a Saint 3-dan pinnacle expert who boasted incredible fighting prowess.

Against ordinary Saint 2-dan experts, his physical body, driven by the Mind of Void, might still be able to achieve victory. However, against a Saint 3-dan expert… his physical body would be crushed instantly!

A completely one-sided fight couldn’t possibly be called a battle, and it couldn’t have lasted so long as to cause such devastating damage to the city.

Before Zhang Xuan could finish his words, the disfigured fellow before him abruptly stood up furiously and hollered, “I am the hall master!”

“You?” Zhang Xuan leaped in horror.

When he saw that disfigured fellow, he thought that the other party was just a random passer-by watching the commotion… Never once had he considered the possibility that the other party might be the strongest expert in the Poison Hall!

“I was the one… who injured you?” Zhang Xuan’s lips twitched.

He actually reduced a Saint 3-dan pinnacle expert to such a tragic state?

Could it be that… the strength of his Mind of Void had been enhanced somehow?

“You…” The hall master was on the verge of erupting.

“I am truly apologetic. I was in a unique cultivation state earlier, and everything I did is only out of my reflexes… I truly have no idea what is going on!” Knowing that it was likely that he would only worsen the conflict if he were to dwell on the matter, Zhang Xuan hurriedly apologized.

He was here to learn, not to make enemies. What he had to do at this moment was to replace out what had happened so as to replace out if there was anything he could do to salvage the situation.

After all, he had promised Elder Xu that he would keep a low profile, and such was his intention as well. As far as it was possible, he hoped to resolve this matter peacefully.

“You… really don’t know?” Seeing the other party emphasize again and again that he was unaware of the happenings, the elders and vice hall masters glanced at one another with a hint of doubt in their eyes.

Thinking back, the other party had never opened his eyes throughout the entire incident. It was as if he was sleepwalking, his body moving on reflex only to retaliate against those who were making a move against him…

Could it be that this really wasn’t an intentional act on his part, but just his reflexive action?

But if that was really the case, it would portray the Poison Hall out to be a clown instead.

The other party hadn’t used his full strength throughout the entire course of the matter, relying solely on his reflexes, and yet, by the end of it, the Poison Hall was already on the verge of collapse… If others were to learn of the matter, their Hongyuan Empire Poison Hall would become a huge laughingstock!

“I really have no idea!” Zhang Xuan shook his head affirmatively.

He was indeed confused by everything that was around him at the moment.

His physical body possessed no consciousness whatsoever while his soul was out, so he was dumbstruck by the abrupt situation he found himself in as well.

“It’s like that. You were in your courtyard cultivating, and Vice Hall Master Ming… who is the teacher of Duan Ren whom you have beaten up earlier, barged into your residence to exact vengeance for his disciple. Yet, who knew that you would disregard his existence entirely… As such, he began making a move on you…” Seeing that Zhang Xuan didn’t seem to be lying, the elder began to fill him in on the matters that had occurred.

“S-so… I was the one who caused all of this?” Zhang Xuan widened his mouth in shock, and his eyeballs nearly bulged out to the ground.

He was only off for a moment to collect some books for Wei Ruyan… Who could have known that his physical body would kill fourteen elders of the Poison Hall, cripple a vice hall master, pummel the hall master, and destroy large swathes of the Poison Hall within that short timeframe…

It seemed like… he was really in deep trouble this time around!

“Indeed, you were the one who did it!” The elder nodded.

“I…” Zhang Xuan scratched his head helplessly.

His original intention was indeed to collect all of the books in the Poison Hall quietly and leave as soon as possible. Who could have thought that his physical body would place him in such deep trouble in a crucial moment like this…

Doomed!

If he had only pummeled the hall master, he could still replace an excuse to put a lid on the matter and resolve the matter peacefully with a shake of the hands and a compensation of a couple of high-tier spirit stones… But he had killed fourteen elders and destroyed innumerable precious heritage buildings of the Poison Hall… Not to mention, he had even ‘poisoned’ the other party’s precious to death…

Even if he were to take out everything he had, there was no way he could compensate for that!

At this point, this could already be deemed as an irreconcilable grudge…

“This won’t do. If I were to leave this matter be, there is no way they will allow me any chance to browse through the books in the remaining four floors… Furthermore, there is no saying that I might require the help of the poison masters to resolve Wei Ruyan’s Innate Poison Body, so I can’t fall out with them now…”

A deep frown emerged on Zhang Xuan’s forehead.

Chapter 1003: I Am Your Founder

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

His goal of coming to the Poison Hall wasn’t to make a name for himself or to battle with the combat masters.

It was to save Wei Ruyan, who was plagued by the Innate Poison Body.

Yet, before he could finish reading their books, his body had already killed fourteen of the other party’s elders and left the hall master in such a state… If Wei Ruyan’s treatment were to be delayed due to this, how could he face her deceased father?

It was not that he didn’t consider letting his clone out to replace his physical body, but his clone was even more unreliable than it. If he were to let it out, there was a good chance that all of the elders, vice hall masters, and even the hall master himself might have been dead by now.

As for letting out the Violetleaf King and the Byzantium Helios Beast… considering that Zhang Xuan had come alone, it would be difficult for him to explain the additional guests. Since the Poison Hall had isolated itself on and island in the midst of the Viridian Cloud Sea, even going to the extent of casting a huge Hidden Formation over the island, it was natural that they didn’t welcome guests.

If it was found that he had brought others in on his own accord, it might strain his ties with those of the Poison Hall.

He had thought that since he was only out to study for a brief moment, considering his identity as Elder Xu’s guest, no one should dare to cause him trouble. That was also the reason why he had chosen to left his body in the room, or else his sudden disappearance would be hard to explain as well.

Who could have thought that his ‘careful considerations’ would end up resulting in this huge conflict?

Looking at the raging poison masters before his eyes, Zhang Xuan felt his hair stand on ends.

If everything were to fail, perhaps he could release the Violetleaf King and the Byzantium Helios Beast to help rid society of this poisonous tumor?

As soon as this dangerous thought popped into Zhang Xuan’s head, he hurriedly shook it off.

He was a master teacher, not a butcher. Even though poison masters were generally snubbed in society, they hadn’t caused any significant damage or harm to others. Not to mention, it would be utterly wrong to stereotype poison masters just by their occupation. Putting aside morals, he wouldn’t be able to even get past his own conscience.

After contemplating for a moment, Zhang Xuan asked, “May I know where Elder Xu is?”

Under such circumstances, he could only rely on a familiar face to speak up on his stead and mediate this situation.

“Elder Xu has brought a threat amongst us, resulting in the death of our elders. For his betrayal of the Poison Hall, I ordered my men to apprehend him. He shall be dealt with shortly later!” Hearing Zhang Xuan’s question, the hall master replied through gritted teeth.

Had it not been for Elder Xu bringing this man of unknown background here, their Poison Hall wouldn’t have suffered such staggering losses. Regardless of how they dealt with ‘Sun Qiang’ eventually, Elder Xu must be punished for his actions!

“Betrayal of the Poison Hall? T-this… Elder Xu’s loyalty to the Poison Hall is clear for all to see! Don’t you think that it’s a little too extreme to make such a decision?” Zhang Xuan stood up in agitation and hurriedly spoke up for Elder Xu’s behalf.

It was one thing for the other party to hold him accountable for this matter; after all, it was a fact that his physical body did cause devastating damage to the Poison Hall. But… Elder Xu had nothing to do with it!

The other party deeply trusted him and even offered him advice out of concern, fearing that he might meet with danger in the Poison Hall. If the other party were to be implicated by his actions, he would be guilt-ridden.

“You are indeed strong, but we can’t the deaths of so many of our elders to go unavenged. Even if our Poison Hall has to fight down to the very last man, we won’t back down!” the hall master roared furiously.

At this point, it didn’t matter whether the other party had done it unintentionally due to his sleepwalk or not anymore. The deaths of the elders had already created an irreconcilable grudge between them, and this was not something that could be resolved without spilling blood!

There was no way the Poison Hall could let the murderer of fourteen of their elders get away scot-free. The other party might be a powerful adversary, but the Poison Hall’s dignity was at stake!

They couldn’t let the reputation of the Poison Hall collapse in their generation, or else they wouldn’t be able to face their predecessors!

“Men, bring Xu You up here. We will first execute him before dealing with this fellow!” Waving his hand, the hall master bellowed.

“Yes!”

The elders hesitated for a moment before two of them flew away. A short moment later, they arrived with Elder Xu locked between them.

Looking at the destruction around the Poison Hall, Elder Xu’s lips quivered as self-reproach crept into his eyes.

In his view, if he hadn’t brought Sun Qiang over, such a matter wouldn’t have happened. At this point, he couldn’t help but wish that the man who had died back then was him and not Elder Xue!

“Do you have anything to say for yourself?” the hall master asked coldly..

“I…” Elder Xu’s body stiffened. A moment later, he sighed deeply and said, “For causing such deep trouble, I am willing to accept any punishment…”

It was due to his inability to discern people properly that resulted in such a situation. Even a thousand deaths wouldn’t absolve him of his sins.

“It’s good that you admit to your crimes!” Turning his face away from Elder Xu, the hall master commanded, “Execute him!”

In truth, he also didn’t want to execute Elder Xu. After all, they had spent centuries together with one another. However, if he didn’t do anything after all that had happened, he could very well lose the hearts of the poison masters.

As the head of the Poison Hall, this was a painful decision that he had no choice but to make.

“Yes!” The other elders nodded before turning their gazes to Zhang Xuan with a look of difficulty.

“There’s no need for you all to make a move. I will do it myself…” As old friends, Elder Xu couldn’t bear to allow his friends to bear the burden of killing him. Thus, gritting his teeth, he began channeling his zhenqi, intending to direct them towards his heart to crush it.

However, before he could do so, ‘Sun Qiang’s’ voice sounded.

“Wait a moment.”

Lifting his gaze, he realized that, at some point, the anxiety on ‘Sun Qiang’s’ face had been replaced with absolute composure. His head was slightly tilted upwards, and his hands were placed behind his back. With an air of majesty around him, he gazed deeply into the sky.

“Since it has gotten down to this, there is no need for me to conceal my identity as further…”

“Identity?”

Everyone frowned in bewilderment…

The hall master also couldn’t help but turn his gaze over, curious to see what that fellow was up to.

“Indeed!” Nodding, Zhang Xuan continued with a calm but powerful voice. “Do you know what kind of constitution the founder of the Poison Hall has?”

“Our founder possesses the Innate Poison Body, fearing no poison in the world. It is due to this that our founder was able to create the Poison Hall and bring it to glory…”

Not knowing what the other party was up to, the hall master replied. He strongly desired to kill the fellow before him, but considering the latter’s strength, he knew that there was no way he could win without careful preparation. Thus, he could only rein in his rage for the time being.

As a poison master, he wasn’t foreign to the matters surrounding their founder.

“Indeed. It is the Innate Poison Body!” Zhang Xuan nodded. “Then, do you know why the poisons you have used against me is completely ineffective?”

“This…”

The crowd fell silent.

In truth, this was also something which they were perplexed about.

To be able to neutralize all of their poisons and even the hall master’s beetles, could there really be such a powerful antidote in the world?

“Could it be… Could it be that you also possess the Innate Poison Body?” The hall master’s body stiffened as he turned his gaze over.

The other party first spoke about the founder of the Poison Hall before pointing out how he didn’t fear poison… Clearly, he was trying to drive at something!

“No, I don’t.” Zhang Xuan shook his head.

“You don’t?” The crowd glanced at one another in astonishment.

If you don’t possess the Innate Poison Body… what the hell are you spouting all of those crap for?

“To be more exact, I am not too sure either. It’s just that whenever I start cultivating, I will fall into a peculiar state. It would be as if another soul has taken over my body, leaving me unable to control my actions. In that state, I will be completely immune to all poisons, similar to that of the Innate Poison Body…” Zhang Xuan said.

“Another soul has taken over your body?”

“Completely immune to all poisons?”

Everyone was dumbfounded.

Are you trying to tell us a horror story here?

“That’s right!” Zhang Xuan shook his head with a bitter smile. “I know that what I am saying might sound ridiculous, and I don’t blame you for not trusting you. However, this is the truth… Previously, when I fought with you all, despite the dangerous situation I as in, I didn’t open my eyes at all, right?”

Hearing those words, the crowd nodded.

Indeed. The other party hadn’t opened his eyes once in the duration of the entire battle, as if he was sleepwalking.

“In truth, it is not that I didn’t want to open my eyes, but that my body was being controlled by another will… And if I am not mistaken, the will is the founder of the Poison Hall!” Zhang Xuan said.

“There is another will inside your body… the founder of the Poison Hall?”

“You must joking!”

Everyone frowned.

The founder of the Poison Hall was a figure who shared the same era with Kong shi, and it had been several dozen thousand years since then. There was no way the other party could still be alive at this point, so how could the other party possibly possess this fellow here?

“I know what I am saying might sound ridiculous, but such is the truth. Since that is the case, why don’t I continue cultivating and allow him to control my body? Perhaps, he could answer the doubts you have!” Shaking his head, a look of difficulty surfaced on Zhang Xuan’s face. After a moment of hesitation, he clenched his jaws in determination and sat cross-legged down on the floor.

Hong long!

As soon as he sat down, everyone immediately felt the formation surrounding the entire island buzzing into life, seemingly driven by someone.

Following which, ‘Sun Qiang’s’ eyes slowly opened, and a heavy and ancient voice came out of his mouth, “Why? Are you doubting my identity?”

The voice was very different from the tone which ‘Sun Qiang’ took earlier. It harnessed domineering authority which exerted immense pressure on one’s soul. While it wasn’t as intense as the killing intent of the Otherworldly Demons, there was no doubt that one’s soul could shatter if placed under such pressure for extended periods of time.

Upon hearing the voice, everyone’s eyes narrowed in astonishment.

Be it the voice or the aura, it was vastly different from the ‘Sun Qiang’ from a moment ago. Without a doubt, they were two completely different people!

Furthermore, the aura emanated felt ancient, reminiscent of someone who had lived through many eras.

“Elder, you said that you are our founder… but do you have any evidence to prove so?” With cold sweat trickling down his forehead, the hall master gritted his teeth and asked respectfully.

“Are you saying that I need to prove myself to you? Who do you think you are?” the seated ‘Sun Qiang’ uttered coldly.

“It’s not that we are doubting elder’s identity, but… our founder has disappeared from the world for more than several dozen years, so it’s really difficult for us to comprehend how you can be sharing a body with this person over here…” the hall master replied hurriedly.

“Hmph, I shall give you the benefit of the doubt and pardon you this once!”‘Sun Qiang’ harrumphed coldly. At this point, he paused for a moment, seemingly reminiscing the sorrows of the past before continuing, “In truth, I am only a remaining soul fragment of my former self. It is out of sheer coincidence that I managed to latch myself onto a Seven Hearts Lotus and survived. It is Sun Qiang over here who found the Seven Hearts Lotus and brought me out of the ancient domain I was in.

“Eventually, I latched myself to his body, but I am only able to appear while he’s cultivating… Otherwise, do you think that a mere Nascent Saint lad will be able to see through this formation, remain impervious to all poison, and defeat you all easily?”‘Sun Qiang’ harrumphed.

The hall master was stunned.

To be honest, even at this point, he still could hardly believe that he had lost to ‘Sun Qiang’.

He could tell that the other party was indeed only as Nascent Saint, so how could a Saint 3-dan pinnacle expert like him lose to the other party?

Even if his Lifebound Venomous Bugs had been killed, resulting in a significant decline in his strength, he was still able to draw forth might comparable to a Saint 2-dan pinnacle!

For a Nascent Saint to be able to stand toe-to-toe with him… Not once in his long life had he ever met such a formidable genius before!

But what was the most frightening of all was that the other party’s zhenqi seemed to be endless. After killing fourteen elders, wounding a vice hall master, and fighting with him for so long, the other party didn’t seem to be weakened in the least… That was completely inconceivable!

And on top of that, the other party was completely immune to poison!

Not only was the other party fine after being bitten by his Darkgold Venom Beetles, the other party even managed to poison his beetles to death instead… There was something clearly very peculiar about this situation.

Not to mention, there was still the matter concerning the formation…

To be able to comprehend and even wrestle control over the formation from him, that was definitely not a feat a Nascent Saint cultivator was capable of.

“Elder, is there any concrete evidence you can provide to prove that you are indeed the soul fragment of our founder?” the hall masters asked doubtfully.

This was a matter concerning their founder, and as the hall master of this Poison Hall branch, he had to deal with this matter prudently.

“Hmph, if it was just me, I would have killed all of you without any hesitation for doubting my words… You are fortunate that Sun Qiang is unwilling to see any more bloodshed and advised against it, so I will overlook this matter!”

‘Sun Qiang’ harrumphed coldly. “The founder of the Poison Hall possesses not only the Innate Poison Body but the Poison Soul Constitution as well… As poison masters yourselves, surely I need not say anything more on how one can verify the Poison Soul Constitution?”

Chapter 1004: Paying Respects to the Founder

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

“Poison Soul Constitution?” The hall master paused for a moment before nodding.

The Poison Soul Constitution, as the name suggested, meant that one’s soul was completely immune to poisons of all kinds. For several dozen millenniums, ever since the passing of the founder of the Poison Hall, there had never been another person in the world with such a constitution. If they could confirm that the fragmented soul did possess such a constitution, they could confirm that the other party was indeed the founder!

Even if that wasn’t the case, an individual who possessed such constitution would surely be bound to advance to unprecedented heights in the future. It was just a matter of time before the other party became a 9-star poison master and made a mark for himself in the world.

With such thoughts in mind, the hall master didn’t hesitate for too long before flicking his wrist to whip out a jade bottle.

This jade bottle was slightly different from the other bottles which he used to store his poisons. It was roughly the size of his palm, and there were bizarre inscriptions carved on its exterior.

The body of the closed eyes ‘Sun Qiang’ stiffened for a brief moment upon seeing the bottle, seemingly noticing something unbelievable. However, this anomaly only surfaced only for an instant. Before anyone could notice it, he had already reverted back to his impassive state.

“This is a poison which can easily exterminate a soul, the [Emerald Serenity Jaundice Poison]! It is concocted out of the killing intent of Otherworldly Demons and many precious herbs. It was left behind by one of the predecessors of the Hongyuan Empire Poison Hall, and it is powerful enough to even eradicate a Saint 4-dan expert’s soul easily. Even with my current proficiency, I am unable to concoct such a medicine.” the hall master explained.

“If you truly possess the Innate Poison Body, you will surely be able to consume the poison without suffering the slightest damage.”

There was only one way to ascertain whether an individual possessed the Poison Soul Constitution or not—the consumption of poison.

As long as the other party was fine after the consuming the lethal poison, it would mean that the other party wasn’t lying.

On the other hand, if the other were to die after consuming the poison, it would mean that they have successfully avenged the deceased elders of the Poison Hall. In a sense, the hall master and the others had nothing to lose from this.

“Very well.”‘Sun Qiang’ nodded. With a hook of his finger, the jade bottle flew into his hands.

Without any hesitation, he uncorked the bottle, and a gush of malicious intent burst forth from it. It pierced right into one’s mind, raising a violent storm in one’s head.

The hall master and the others hurriedly turned their gazes over and noted that ‘Sun Qiang’ didn’t show the slightest hint of weakness under the assault of the poison aura. Not only so, his face was gradually growing redder and redder, as if he had just consumed some extremely nourishing substance.

It was as if what he had been exposed to wasn’t poison but a heavenly tonic instead.

“Legend has it that those who possesses the Innate Poison Body are able to advance their cultivation by consuming poison. As long as there is a sufficient supply of poison, one’s cultivation and fighting prowess can be raised by leaps and bounds within a short period of time… Could the rumors be true?” an elder mumbled in astonishment.

The Innate Poison Body was extremely rare in this world, such that it was considered to be something that only existed in the legends. However, there were some rumors and records regarding it within the books. It was said that those who possessed the Innate Poison Body were able to derive power from coming into contact with lethal poison that could kill others easily, and as such, they were the most suited to become poison masters.

That was also the reason why many poison masters hoped to obtain such a constitution as well.

However, the Innate Poison Body was only effective on one’s body whereas the Emerald Serenity Jaundice Poison was something that assaulted the soul. For the other party’s soul to not be wounded but instead nourished by it, that reflected a lot…

There was little doubt about it at this point, the other party did possess the Poison Soul Constitution!

A person who possessed such a constitution and was capable of peering through the secrets regarding the great protective formation of the Poison Hall with a glance and challenging experts far stronger than him… Even if the fellow before him wasn’t the founder, it was almost certain that there were intricate ties between the both of them.

“Is this enough evidence for you?” Just as the hall master was deep in thoughts, ‘Sun Qiang’s’ voice sounded once more.

“I…” The hall master was still slightly hesitant.

It was certain that the other party possessed the Poison Soul Constitution, but to say that he was the founder of the Poison Hall… this entire matter was still a little too ridiculous for him to believe.

“Why? You still don’t believe me? If not for Sun Qiang begging me earnestly for me to spare you, I would have all of you killed right here and now for your insolence!”

Hong long!

With a furious bellow, an incomparably powerful aura burst forth from ‘Sun Qiang’s’ body. In that instant, the man before them suddenly felt like a divine being, an existence that was inviolable by any mortal.

The divine aura emanated by the other party erased all lingering doubt in the hall master’s mind.

Without any hesitation, he kneeled to the floor and kowtowed, “Hongyuan Empire Poison Hall’s hall master, Ruo Qingyuan, pays respect to the founder!”

In the fight earlier, it was apparent that none of them was a match for the other party… Wielding such overwhelming advantage over them, the other party could have just slaughtered them clean. There was no need for the other party to waste words explaining to them at all…

Perhaps, the founder might have really managed to survive through the ages by hiding a fragment of soul within a Seven Hearts Lotus! Perhaps, the person before them was really their founder!

Having reasoned all of this out, the hall master couldn’t help but tremble in agitation.

For the founder to actually appear here… if the other party were to just offer them a bit of pointers, their fighting prowess would surely be able to soar by leaps and bounds! It wouldn’t be long before the Hongyuan Empire Poison Hall was brought to greatness!

Without a doubt, this was a great opportunity to him.

“Hmph, it seems like there is some hope for you after all!” Seeing that the other party finally admitted his identity, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. Without opening his eyes, he lifted a finger and pointed at himself. With a grim face, he continued, “Sun Qiang over here is my savior. If not for him, my soul could have perished long ago. Thus, all of you here shall obey his words in the future. Take his commands to be those of my own as well. Anyone who dares to disobey him… don’t blame me for not having mercy on you!”

“Yes!” Hall Master Ruo Qingyuan and the other elders hurriedly nodded.

Who would dare to disobey a direct order from the founder?

“Also, I was the one who killed those elders and wounded Vice Hall Master Ming. If you wish to exact vengeance, you are free to come at me!” Zhang Xuan continued.

“I dare not to…” Hall Master Ruo Qingyuan quickly shook his head fearfully. “Vice Hall Master Ming and the others are at fault for offending you, they only have themselves to blame for their own fate. We dare not to exact vengeance for them!”

“Hmph, I doubt you would dare!” Zhang Xuan harrumphed coldly as his voice gradually echoed into silence. A moment later, his eyes slowly opened once more, and his confusion was reflected clearly in his eyes. It was as if he was completely unaware in everything that had happened before, “What just happened? Hall master, I plead with you not to make things difficult for Elder Xu. He is really not to blame for this matter, all he did was to bring me here…”

Noting the look of bewilderment on Zhang Xuan’s faces, everyone immediately realized that the founder’s soul had gone dormant once more. Hall Master Ruo Qingyuan hurriedly clasped his fist and said, “Poison Master Sun, please don’t worry. Our founder has already explained the situation to us. Elder Huang and the others have shown blatant disrespect to our founder, and they deserve the fate that fell upon them. On the other hand, for bringing our founder back to us, not only has Elder Xu not sinned, he is even a meritorious subject of our Poison Hall. Naturally, we will reward him generously! From today onward, he shall replace Ming Zhen as the vice hall master of the Poison Hall…”

“Vice hall master?” Elder Xu was stunned to hear the abrupt news. He hurriedly shook his hand and said in a fluster, “Hall master, I am unqualified to assume such a position!”

He was only a 6-star pinnacle poison master, and the minimum rank one needed to have to become the vice hall master was 7-star. If he were to be promoted haphazardly like that, the others would surely voice their complaints,

“Don’t worry, they won’t dare to do anything with me here. You are more than qualified to assume this role, so don’t turn it down anymore!” Hall Master Ruo Qingyuan waved his hand.

The merit for escorting their founder back to the Poison Hall was immeasurable. Besides, they were still hoping to depend on Elder Xu to speak well of them before the founder on their behalf. Perhaps, their founder might just offer them some pointers on the Way of Poison under Elder Xu’s coaxing…

“Alright then…” Seeing the other party insisting on it, Elder Xu eventually nodded in agreement.

He turned his gaze towards Sun Qiang once more, and this time, his eyes were filled with admiration.

This explained the other party’s inconceivable immunity to and incredibly profound knowledge regarding poison! With just a short lecture, the other party was able to show a veteran poison master like him a whole new perspective towards the interpretation of the Way of Poison… The other party was indeed lucky to have the founder’s fragmented soul in his body. Very few in the world would meet with such fortuitous encounter in their life.

“It seems like I managed to get past them for the time being…” Seeing that he had managed to convince everyone of his new identity, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. He turned his gaze towards the words on the bottle in his hand once more, and his eyebrows shot up once more.

Gesturing for the Hall Master Ruo Qingyuan to come over, he asked, “Hall master, do you know what language are these words in?”

The inscriptions on the jade bottle of the Emerald Serenity Jaundice Poison was extremely familiar. He had seen words identical to them before—the map which Wu Yangzi had left behind!

This was precisely the reason why Zhang Xuan was shocked when he scanned the bottle with his soul earlier. Unable to hold his intrigue back any longer, he asked about it.

“These inscriptions? I have no idea as well… Two thousand years, a hall master of our Poison Hall found an ancient booklet from an ancient domain, and the content of the booklet happens to be written in this very language. Due to our inability to interpret it, we were unable to figure out what it means… However, by a stroke of coincidence, we found that these words are exceptionally effective in sealing malicious intents and that sort. Thus, we began using it as a seal in the Poison Hall…” Hall Master Ruo Qingyuan replied.

“Ancient booklet? Sealing malicious intent?” Zhang Xuan frowned in confusion.

他是在地图上看到这些文字,怎么扯到封印煞气上了?

He had seen the same words on the map Wu Yangzi left for him… Were the purpose of those words to seal malicious intents as well?

“Is that ancient booklet still around? Is it possible for you… to allow me a look?”

After pondering for a while, Zhang Xuan was still unable to make sense of the situation. Thus, he decided to ask for the ancient booklet to take a look at it.

As there was no error in the coordinates and labels on the map, there was no particularly useful flaw reflected in the Library of Heaven’s Path. However, if he could obtain the booklet with the other party spoke about, he just might be do a cross reference between the two and decipher bits of the language.

Furthermore, two thousand years ago… That coincided with the timing which the map of the ancient domain first appeared, according to what the Violetleaf King said. Could there be a connection between the two?

“Ancient booklet… Back then, many elites of the Poison Hall lost their lives to acquire that booklet. The hall master back then felt that the booklet was inauspicious, so he ordered for it to be buried with him upon his death…” Hall Master Ruo Qingyuan shook his head.

“The ancient booklet is buried?” Zhang Xuan frowned. “May I know where it is at the moment?”

“It is in the Mausoleum of Hall Masters…” Hall Master Ruo Qingyuan replied.

“I see.” Hearing that it was located in one of the forbidden grounds of the Poison Hall, Zhang Xuan decided to ask no further.

If he were to ask too much about the matter, he just might incur the other party’s suspicions.

After questioning everything there was to questioned, Hall Master Ruo Qingyuan ordered his men to swiftly prepare a new accommodation for ‘Sun Qiang’.

As for the matter regarding the poison master examination, considering that the other party was able to even poison his Lifebound Venomous Bug to death, there was no longer any purpose to the examination. Thus, he helped the other party apply for the 7-star poison master emblem straight.

“I will be heading to the Compendium Hall to study for a while…”

Considering Zhang Xuan had received his 7-star poison master emblem and his identity as the founder, there was no longer for him to sneak into the Compendium Hall anymore. With the current esteemed standing he had, he could just walk in openly.

“Yes!” Hall Master Ruo Qingyuan and the others didn’t dare to voice any word of objection. They escorted the other party to the entrance of the Compendium Hall, and after seeing the other party entering the premises, they glanced at one another meaningfully.

“Vice Hall Master Xu and the others, follow me to my residence for a while.”

“Un!” The others nodded.

Not too long later, they arrived at a courtyard. Hall Master Ruo Qingyuan activated a formation to isolate their auras before looking deeply at the crowd.

“Everyone, what are your views on the matter today?”

“Since we can confirm that the soul in Sun Qiang’s body does indeed possess the Poison Soul Constitution, we can be certain that there is an intricate link between him and our founder.”

“Indeed, that is the Poison Soul Constitution we are talking about! Other than our founder, there has never been another person in the one known to possess such a constitution!”

The other elders nodded in agreement.

They had a deep trust in ‘Sun Qiang’s’ identity as the founder of the Poison Hall.

“Vice Hall Master Xu, what are your views on this matter? Can you share the details of how you met Poison Master Sun with us so that we can analyze the matter?” Hall Master Ruo Qingyun asked.

Chapter 1005: Envoy From The Poison Hall Headquarters

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

Vice Hall Master Xu You nodded as he went through what he had gone through with Zhang Xuan in detail.

“You are saying that… a Saint 4-dan Otherworldly Demon has appeared in Jingyuan City? He tried to kill you, but it was Poison Master Sun who got you out?”

Everyone was astonished to hear the news.

Otherworldly Demons possessed exceptionally strong fighting prowess, and this was even more so for a Saint 4-dan one. For Sun Qiang to put himself in grave danger to save Xu You… Just this courage itself was something they couldn’t compare with.

“Not only so, Poison Master Sun has also imparted me some foundation to utilizing poison on our way here, but due to its profoundness, I was unable to remember too much of it. However, if I could just internalize the small portion which I have remembered, I would surely be able to make huge progress in the Way of Poison…” Xu You couldn’t help but say.

“Share it with us…” Hearing that their founder had actually imparted some of his teachings to Xu You, looks of envy surfaced on everyone’s faces.

Without hiding a thing, Xu You began reciting everything that he remembered.

By the time he was done reciting, everyone around him had their faces reddened in agitation, their clenched fists trembling uncontrollably beside them.

Just like what Xu You had said, even though the content only touched on the foundation, it was directed straight towards the essence of the Way of Poison. Listening to it had left them with a feeling of enlightenment.

“There’s no doubt about it anymore. That soul is definitely our founder… Other than him, there is no one else can possesses such a deep understanding of poison…” After a moment of discussion, Hall Master Ruo Qingyuan nodded affirmatively.

Even though Zhang Xuan’s argument was convincing, and he had believed most of it, he still couldn’t help but hold some reservations regarding the issue due to the sheer incredulity of it. However, after hearing Vice Hall Master Xu You’s explanation, the final reservations he held were vanquished.

Only the real founder of the Poison Hall could possibly command such deep understanding of the Way of Poison, interpreting the most basic cultivation technique in such a profound yet direct manner.

“Alright, have our men quickly repair the demolished buildings. As for Duan Ren and Ming Zhen, have them executed for daring to provoke our founder!” Having confirmed his doubts, Ruo Qingyuan issued several orders.

“Yes!” The crowd nodded in agreement.

It was one thing for Ming Zhen and Duan Ren to embarrass themselves, but to implicate so many of them into it as well, unforgivable!

“Alright, we will stop right here today. Vice Hall Master Xu, you should wait outside the Compendium Hall. Once Poison Master Sun is done reading, call me over immediately…” Hall Master Ruo Qingyuan instructed.

“Alright!” Xu You replied.

Just as he was about to stand up and get moving, a frown suddenly appeared on Hall Master Ruo Qingyuan’s face. The latter flicked his wrist, and a Communication Jade Token appeared in his hands.

The jade token was emanating a warm glow—someone had just transmitted a message over.

Taking a glance at it, Ruo Qingyuan’s eyes lit up, and he hurriedly got to his feet, “An envoy has arrived from the headquarters!”

“The headquarters have sent an envoy over?”

Everyone was astonished.

“Indeed. According to the information I have just received, they are two 7-star pinnacle poison masters, and they are about to arrive. Let’s head over to welcome them.”

After saying those words, Ruo Qingyuan quickly left his residence. Not daring to hesitate in the least, the others also swiftly followed suit.

Not too long later, at the elevated platform where Vice Hall Master Xu and Zhang Xuan had landed from their aerial saint beast earlier, the crowd saw a gap appearing in the formation momentarily, and a massive saint beast flew over steadily.

Standing proudly on the saint beast were two elders. Even before coming close, they were already emanating a formidable pressure that forced others to lower their heads before them.

7-star pinnacle poison masters, Saint 4-dan experts!

“Poison Master Bai, Poison Master Hai…” Upon seeing the appearance of the duo before him, Hall Master Ruo Qingyuan’s eyebrows shot up, and he hurriedly clasped his fist and greeted.

The Hongyuan Empire Poison Hall was well hidden from the rest of the world, but it still maintained intimate relations with the headquarters above it. Poison Master Bai Ting and Poison Master Hai Mingjin were extremely formidable figures in the headquarters, and considering their fame, it was only natural for Ruo Qingyuan to have heard of them as well.

Poison Master Bai waved his hands as he landed from the saint beast, and after scanning through the crowd, he frowned, “Where is Hall Master Ruo? He isn’t here to welcome us?”

“Cough cough… I am Ruo Jingyuan!” Ruo Jingyuan said awkwardly.

Disfigured from Zhang Xuan’s pummeling, even his wife and parents might not recognize him, let more these two!

“You…” Poison Master Bai glanced at Poison Master Hai, only to see the latter’s mouth twitching uncontrollably as well. With a frown, he asked, “Hall Master Ruo, what happened to you?”

One must know that Ruo Jingyuan was a 7-star poison master like them! Even though the other party’s fighting prowess was slightly below theirs, there would still be very few in Qingyuan Conferred Empire who could match him. For an expert like him to be pummeled to such a state in his own base, just what in the world could have happened?

Astonished, they subconsciously turned their gazes to the elders, and what they saw caused their eyelids to twitched as well.

They had only made a sweeping glance earlier, but taking a closer look, they realized that every single one of them was injured. There was only one amongst them who could be considered to be fine.

“This… It is a long story. Anyway, for the both of you to arrive personally, could it be that the headquarter has orders for us?” Shaking his head with a bitter smile, Ruo Qingyuan turned to the duo and asked.

It was not that he was intended to hide it from the other party, but it was simply too embarrassing!

“Two thousand years ago, did your branch obtain a booklet from the ancient domain in Firesource City?” Seeing that the other party was unwilling to speak too much about it, Poison Master Bai also decided not to pursue the matter, considering that it was likely to be a private matter amongst them. Thus, he got straight to the matter at hand.

“Indeed!” Ruo Qingyuan nodded.

Poison Master Sun had just asked him about the booklet, so naturally, he still remembered it clearly at the moment.

“That’s good. The headquarter has sent us here to retrieve this booklet.” Hearing that the booklet was indeed here, Poison Master Bai heaved a sigh of relief and said.

“Retrieve?” Not expecting the headquarter to go to the extent of dispatching two 7-star pinnacle poison masters over just to obtain a single booklet, Ruo Qingyuan was stunned for a brief moment before he could reply. “The booklet is currently placed in the Mausoleum of Hall Masters. If the both of you aren’t in a hurry, allow me to invite you to take a seat at the main hall first…”

The booklet served no particular purpose here. If the headquarters wanted it, he had no qualms about giving it to them too.

However, right after Ruo Jingyuan said those words, he noticed unnatural looks on the faces of Vice Hall Master Xu and the others. One of the elders hesitated for a moment before sending a zhenqi telepathy over, “Hall master, our main hall has been destroyed…”

The main hall was one of the unfortunate casualties of the devastating destruction earlier as well.

Honestly speaking, the two envoys had really arrived at a bad timing. It was embarrassing that they had nothing seemly to show them after what that had happened.

“Ah…” Upon the elder’s reminder, Ruo Qingyuan suddenly recalled the matter and said, “Allow me to bring the both of you to my residence to rest then…”

“Your residence?” Poison Master Bai and Poison Master Hai frowned.

If they had come here as visiting guests, there would be no problem for them to head to be hosted in Ruo Qingyuan’s residence. However, they had come in the capacity as envoys of the headquarters this time around, and it was only right for them to be treated as esteemed guests. What was the other party thinking to invite them to his residence instead of the main hall?”

“Allow me to apologize for our discourtesy, but there has been some unforeseen circumstances in the Poison Hall that will make it inconvenient for me to invite you to the main hall… ” Noticing the displeased looks on their faces, Ruo Qingyuan shook his head with a bitter smile. “You will understand very soon…”

To be honest, he really had no idea how he should approach the subject.

Flying the way back to the city, it didn’t take long for the two poison masters from the headquarters to notice the heap and heap of rubble laid all around the half-collapsed city. They couldn’t help but exchange dazed glances.

“This…” Poison Master Hai pointed at the devastation before him, not knowing what he could say.

They were in the Poison Hall, and everyone in here should be their own men. How did such a tragic fate befall it?

“Hai, this matter is really the humiliation of our Hongyuan Empire Poison Hall…” Ruo Qingyuan said.

As the hall master of the Poison Hall, it was indeed embarrassing for him to have allowed it to have fallen to such a state.

Had he not been so reckless then and waited for the other party to explain the situation, such a sight wouldn’t have occurred, and he wouldn’t be making a fool of himself before the envoys of the headquarters at this moment.

“What happened?”

Glancing at the bruised elders and hall masters, and turning his gaze to the rubble all around him, Poison Master Bai couldn’t help but ask.

“It’s like that…” Knowing that it was impossible to hide such a huge matter, Ruo Qingyuan hesitated for a moment before revealing everything that had just happened.

“What did you say? Our founder’s soul is deposited on the body of someone named Sun Qiang?”

Upon hearing the question, Poison Master Bai frowned, “That’s impossible! The founder of our Poison Hall, otherwise known as the [Poison Supremacy], was actually a woman. Back in that era, people used to call her the Fairy of Poison, so how could she possibly have a male voice? Besides, her entire soul had dissipated in that tragic battle back then, so it is impossible for her to have left a fragment of her soul in a Seven Hearts Lotus. No doubt about it, he is definitely a fake!”

“Our founder… is a woman?” Ruo Qingyuan was taken aback.

There were indeed many stories regarding the founder of the Poison Hall going around, but honestly speaking… he was indeed unsure whether the other party was a male or a female!

“Indeed. I haven’t really read any books regarding our founder, but I heard it from an 8-star poison master before. It is said that there is also sculpture of her created by her disciple in the headquarters… To possess a male body and speak in a male voice at that, there is no doubt about it. He is definitely a fake!” Poison Master Hai said grimly.

“But… the Emerald Serenity Jaundice Poison was indeed ineffective against him! Furthermore, his body possesses inconceivable immunity towards poison as well…” An elder couldn’t help but exclaim.

“As formidable as the Emerald Serenity Jaundice Poison is, there are still many ways that one can neutralize it! For example, I have a Heavenly Aroma Detoxification Pill here left behind by an 8-star poison master. Once consumed, one will gain perfect immunity to any grade-7 poison and below…” Poison Master Bai replied.

“Besides, there are also many medicinal herbs and plants in nature that possesses the ability to neutralize poison. Putting everything aside, the Bodhi Saint Tree of the Hongyuan Empire royal family can bear a Bodhi Fruit, which when consumed, grants one near perfect immunity to poison of grade-7 and below, and this is including poisons directed to the soul too!”

“This…” Ruo Qingyuan was taken aback.

They were both 7-star poison masters, but the other party were from the headquarters, and their eye of discernment and knowledge were beyond him.

“So… you are saying that he is very likely to be a fraud?” the elder from before asked with a deep frown.

“That is not necessarily so… there are some parts to the story which I am still unable to make sense of. Despite being at Nascent Saint, that fellow already possesses strength which none of you are able to rival. On top of that, for him to be completely fine after being bitten from your Darkgold Venom Beetle and even poison them to death at that… that is a feat beyond my means as well. Most likely… the other party is on par with an 8-star poison master at minimum! But if that is truly the case, there would be no need for the other party to make up such lies…” Poison Master Bai shook his head.

He felt that there was something amiss with that Sun Qiang fellow saying that the founder had possessed his body, but there were still various aspects to the matter which he couldn’t make sense of it to refute the other party’s claim entirely.

What was the most bewildering was that the other party actually had no request whatsoever! If the other party was intending to pull off something, he would have already attempted to use his standing to force the Poison Hall to comply with his commands. It was impossible that he would feign that he was the founder of the Poison Hall just to read some books!

“You said that the Sun Qiang person is still in the Compendium Hall at the moment?” After some contemplation, Poison Master Bai was still unable to make sense of the situation. Thus, after some contemplation, a glint flickered across his eyes, and he said, “Why don’t I help you test his mastery of poison? If he’s truly the founder, he should be fine after it. Otherwise, for feigning the founder, he deserves death!”

“This…” Ruo Qingyuan hesitated for a moment before nodding.

“Alright!”

Chapter 1006: Poison Master Bai Visits

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Walking into the Compendium Hall, Zhang Xuan shook his head helplessly.

It was not that he wanted to disguise himself as the founder of the Poison Hall, but the situation back then had left him with no other choice.

If he hadn’t said that, Elder Xu might very well have lost his life. At the same time, he would have also fallen out completely with the Poison Hall, never to reconcile with one another. While it was wrong for him to have fooled the other party like that, at the very least, he did manage to resolve the problem perfectly. Not only so, he had even been given access to the Compendium Hall as well.

Speaking of disguising as the founder of the Poison Hall, it was really fortunate he had the Violetleaf King’s Button of Disguise with him.

It was due to such an artifact that he had been able to disguise Vicious’ powerful killing intent as the aura of a powerful human, making Ruo Qingyuan and the others not dare to doubt him. Otherwise, everyone would immediately have realized that Vicious was an Otherworldly Demon, and instead of instilling deference into them, he would only have further worsened the conflict.

However, the effects of the Button of Disguise were still rather lacking as compared to that of Kong shi’s writing. It was sufficient to fool a poison master, but it would have been hard to do the same before the discerning eyes of a master teacher.

But still, they will probably figure it out soon enough. I should quickly finish reading through my books first!

While Zhang Xuan did manage to scare the others for the time being, there were many parts of his stories that didn’t make sense if one were to think deeper into it. The urgent matter at hand was for him to quickly finish reading the books. As soon as he found a way to resolve Wei Ruyan’s condition, he would be able to leave the Poison Hall. This way, the matter could be resolved entirely.

With such thoughts in mind, Zhang Xuan proceeded on to the fourth floor without any hesitation.

The books on this floor was clearly fewer than that in the third floor. However, the content harnessed within them was far more profound, reaching the level of a 4-star poison master and beyond.

Scanning his gaze over the rows of bookshelves, Zhang Xuan collected the books into his Library of Heaven’s Path and converted them into his own knowledge. The more books he collected, the deeper his understanding of poison became.

Within less than two hours, he finished reading through everything on that floor. Thus, he moved on to the fifth floor.

The books on the fifth floor was targeted toward 5-star poison masters, and the number of books was significantly smaller than that of the previous floor once more. Within less than an hour, Zhang Xuan had already managed to collect everything in the room.

Still nothing at all?

After scanning through the books on the fifth floor but still replaceing no useful news regarding the Innate Poison Body, Zhang Xuan couldn’t help but panic.

There were only seven floors to the Compendium Hall, and being at the fifth, he had already covered more than half of the knowledge harnessed in there. Yet, there was still no clue whatsoever. Could it be that the solution to the Innate Poison Body couldn’t be found here either?

If that was the case, it would truly be a calamity!

While Wei Ruyan’s condition was still stable at the moment, there was no knowing if she could hold on long enough for Zhang Xuan to take her to a higher ranked Poison Hall.

Knowing that it was pointless to panic, Zhang Xuan rubbed his glabella in distress before moving on. Forget it, I should just continue for now. If there is still nothing after I go through the last two floors, I will just have to think of another solution.

The books on the sixth floor numbered less than ten thousand. Zhang Xuan walked slowly along the bookshelves, taking in everything in sight. Just as he had finally finished taking everything in and was just about to head to the next floor, ‘jiya!’, the door to the room abruptly opened, and a figure walked in.

The other party was an old man who seemed to be in his sixties. He had a snowy white beard and wrinkly face, but his eyes had a sharp glint, reminiscent of an eagle. His clothes were plain and unimpressive, and he didn’t don a poison master emblem on his chest, making it impossible to determine his rank.

Shaking his head, Zhang Xuan paid the other party no heed and headed straight for the stairs toward the seventh floor. At that moment, however, Zhang Xuan abruptly heard Vicious’ voice in his mind.

“Master, that person is even stronger than Ruo Qingyuan. His cultivation has most likely reached Saint 4-dan…”

“Saint 4-dan? A 7-star poison master?” Zhang Xuan was taken aback.

Wasn’t the strongest man in the Hongyuan Empire Poison Hall Ruo Qingyuan? Considering that Ruo Qingyuan was only at Saint 3-dan himself, where in the world did this Saint 4-dan pop out from?

At Saint 4-dan, the other party possessed might that was comparable to the Violetleaf King!

“That’s right. He might have concealed his cultivation well, but there is no way he can fool my eyes!” Vicious said discreetly.

After swallowing the Primordial Spirit of the Waterleaf King, Vicious had recovered yet another portion of his cultivation, allowing him to see through the old man without the other party noticing his presence.

Frowning deeply, Zhang Xuan suddenly felt extremely wary of the old man before him. For a Saint 4-dan to walk in here abruptly… What is he up to?

Zhang Xuan was considering whether or not he should toss the Violetleaf King and Otherworldly Demon puppets out to take the initiative and preemptively subdue the other party when he suddenly thought of something, and he came to a halt.

For an expert of the other party’s caliber to appear here, there was no way the other party was here to read books or to roam around. No doubt about it, the other party was here to replace him.

The reason the other party walked around the area instead of making a move on him directly showed that the other party wasn’t intending on provoking him. Instead, the other party was trying to sound him out, possibly out of doubt of what he had just said!

If the other party was only attempting to sound him out, there would be no need for him to bring the Violetleaf King out. Otherwise, if he created a huge ruckus, he would only undo all the effort he had just put into appeasing the Poison Hall. On top of that, if the books on the seventh floor were to be destroyed in the midst of the fight, he would only be making things even more difficult for himself.

A Saint 4-dan expert has already forged his Primordial Spirit, so it won’t be that easy for me to fool him…

Naturally, it would be best if Zhang Xuan could resolve this issue silently. However, there was no way fooling an expert as powerful as the other party could be an easy task.

His claim that he possessed the Poison Soul Constitution was backed by the fact that he had been able to survive the Emerald Serenity Jaundice Poison, making Ruo Qingyuan and the others unable to doubt him. However, such a trick wouldn’t work on a Primordial Spirit realm expert.

One who possessed a Primordial Spirit could peer into the soul of another directly to assess it. Zhang Xuan had only gained considerable immunity to poison due to the exchange of soul essence with Wei Ruyan; he didn’t possess the real Poison Soul Constitution. Thus, if the other party were to check his soul, it was very possible that he could be exposed!

Thus, the most important matter at hand was for him to prevent the other party from checking his Primordial Soul!

But how could this be done?

…

While Zhang Xuan was in deep thought, the old man was also assessing him with a deep gaze.

The middle-aged man in front of him was indeed only a Nascent Saint cultivator. There was nothing particularly special about him, and his appearance was also so-so, perhaps looking a little repulsive even.

It was truly a wonder to him how Ruo Qingyuan and the others had been fooled so easily, entirely convinced that the other party carried the soul of the founder within him.

Just as the old man was just about to speak, the fellow before him abruptly rushed forward, heading toward a shelf of books.

“Hmm?” The old man frowned.

Could it be that the other party had noticed that he was concealing his cultivation, and feeling threatened, he was trying to escape as far as he could?

If that was the case, it would truly be a disaster!

Furthermore, judging from the speed, if the other party were to really crash into the shelf, the books might just be utterly destroyed under the impact!

Those books were the crystallization of the knowledge of countless preceding poison masters in the Poison Hall, so how could he allow them to be destroyed before his eyes?

With a grim look, the old man drove his cultivation as he rushed forward, preparing to grab the other party to stop him. However, the other party abruptly came to a halt right before the bookshelf. The next moment, he sat down on the floor and began meditating, seemingly going into a state of cultivation.

Cultivation?

The old man was bewildered.

It was just a moment ago that the other party had rushed forward as if a lunatic, seemingly intent on destroying the books before him. Yet, the next moment, he had abruptly sat down to cultivate? How could a person be so fickle-minded?

The old man was Poison Master Bai Ting from the headquarters. After learning that the person who had impersonated the founder was currently in the Compendium Hall, he had ordered Ruo Qingyuan and the others to guard outside while he made his way in alone.

Just as he was thinking about how he should sound the fellow sitting on the floor out, a calm voice suddenly came from the other party.

“What do you see?”

Bewildered by the sudden words, Poison Master Bai glanced either side of him, and after confirming that there was no one else around, he confusedly pointed a finger at himself and asked, “Are you talking to me?”

The middle-aged man before him nodded.

Uncomprehending of what the other party was driving at, Poison Master Bai hesitated for a moment before replying. “Other than books, I don’t think that there is anything else here?”

They were in the Compendium Hall, so naturally, there were only books and bookshelves around them. What other answer was the other party expecting to hear?

The middle-aged man before him sighed woefully, seemingly disappointed by the answer he had received. “I thought that a 7-star pinnacle poison master, a Saint 4-dan cultivator, might have a different view than the others. But from the looks of it… you are no different from them.”

“Y-y-you… You can see through my cultivation?” Poison Master Bai narrowed his eyes in shock, unable to believe what he was hearing.

He had concealed his cultivation, and he hadn’t brought his emblem with him either. On the surface, he was no different from an ordinary 6-star poison master. Yet, the other party was able to see through him despite having his back against him… This was truly a little hard for him to believe.

“Merely Saint 4-dan, what is there not to see through?” Harrumphing coldly, the middle-aged man ‘looked’ at the bookshelves before him with his eyes closed and said meaningfully, “These aren’t books but knowledge. However, it is a pity that the writers have twisted my heritage into something so unseemly.”

“Your heritage?” Poison Master Bai frowned.

“Un.” The middle-aged man nodded lightly before sighing deeply once more. “Do you know why you are unable to achieve a breakthrough despite having remained at 7-star pinnacle for so long? The Starweaving Art is indeed a powerful cultivation technique, but it is a pity that an accident you made in the midst of concocting poison has resulted in the complete sealing of one of the Yuanshen acupoints. As a result, you aren’t able to knock it open no matter how you try. Truly, a pity.”

“Y-you… know that I cultivate the Starweaving Art?” Poison Master Bai’s body stiffened in astonishment.

He had come here to sound the other party out, but, before he could say a word, the other party had already uncovered his secrets. It was no wonder he was horrified.

The Starweaving Art that he cultivated had been created by an 8-star poison master. Back when he was younger, he had obtained it coincidentally during a mission. He had thought that with such a powerful cultivation technique in hand, he would surely be able to advance to become an 8-star poison master very soon; he had never thought that he would end up being trapped at 7-star pinnacle for several centuries.

As for the reason he was unable to make an advancement even after such a long time, it was exactly as the other party had said. A mistake he had made in the midst of concocting poison had ended up harming his foundation, resulting in his Yuanshen acupoint being sealed. No matter how hard he tried to break it open, it simply wouldn’t budge.

It didn’t work even when he was younger, and to date, he was only a hundred years or so away from the end of his lifespan. Most likely, a breakthrough in his lifetime was impossible!

This was something that he had hidden deep within his heart, never sharing it with anyone. Even Poison Master Hai, the other envoy who had accompanied him here, wasn’t aware of it. Yet, the middle-aged man before him was actually able to see through it in an instant.

Such an eye of discernment… Could the other party really be the founder?

After all, not even an 8-star poison master possessed such sharp eyes!

“The core of the Starweaving Art lies in its breathing technique. Breathing reminiscent of weaving, guided by the stars. With the poison serving as the nourishment and the stars as the medium, the intent is to weave one’s zhenqi through one’s body like a thread. Yet, you chose to scatter the thread across your entire body, eventually resulting in the sealing of your Yuanshen acupoint… It will truly be a miracle if you successfully achieve a breakthrough!” Shaking his head in disappointment, the middle-aged man sighed deeply, seemingly lamenting over the mistakes made by a junior who had gone astray.

“I…” With cold sweat trickling down his head, Poison Master Bai was at a loss for words.

To be able to tell the problems in his cultivation with a glance and point out the core of the Starweaving Technique…

This was no longer something that could be explained with just eye of discernment! One had to have an inconceivably deep understanding of the Way of Poison in order to achieve this!

Even the hall master of the branch he was in was incapable of achieving this feat!

Paying no heed to the other party’s shock, the middle-aged man continued. “There is no need to get anxious. Truthfully, despite the failure in the concoction of your poison and your mistaken interpretation of your cultivation technique, your Yuanshen acupoint still shouldn’t have been sealed so tightly. If I am not mistaken, the reason your cultivation has stagnated entirely is due to a betrayal from someone, am I right?”

“You…” In that instant, Poison Master Bai’s eyes nearly plopped onto the ground. Unable to retain his composure and bearings as a 7-star poison master any longer, he stuttered, “H-how did you know?”

StarveCleric

Mwahaha! I, Millman, have returned from my vacation. Pay your respects to Lord Buckethead.

Chapter 1007: Beguiling Poison Master Bai

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Back when Poison Master Bai was younger, he had indeed suffered the betrayal from another.

It was a brother whom he had trusted deeply. Plagued with envy after learning about the existence of the Starweaving Art, the other party had discreetly switched a medicinal herb that he had prepared for the concoction of an extremely difficult pill, resulting in him being severely wounded in the affair. Not only so, the other party had even assaulted him while he was at a crucial stage in his cultivation, and that incident had nearly left him dead!

Even though he had exacted vengeance after he recovered, poisoning that wretched scoundrel to death with his own hands… the damage caused to his body was already irreparable.

It was due to such a wound that he had been trapped at the Primordial Spirit realm for so long, unable to achieve a breakthrough. This matter had become a huge regret in his life.

It was also due to this incident that he had remained guarded toward everyone before him, never daring to let loose before anyone for fear of being betrayed once more… So how did the middle-aged man before him learn of the matter?

“When you made a move against me earlier, your zhenqi stopped right before your Yunmen 1 acupoint. This shows that there is a blockage there that you are unable to pass through. That acupoint isn’t a particularly difficult one to break open, and for a condition like yours to occur, it typically means that one has been injured in the past or that… he is suffering from a mental trauma!”

Without opening his eyes, the middle-aged man continued speaking calmly.

“As for your inability to achieve a breakthrough… While you did conceal your Primordial Spirit well, I can still see it as clear as day. It is extremely powerful, and under normal circumstances, you should have been able to draw it out from your body long ago to soar into the skies. Yet, there isn’t the slightest hint of zhenqi in your Yuanshen acupoint. This suggests that your Yuanshen acupoint is tightly sealed. At the same time, the zhenqi flowing through your body is very distinctive, possessing a thread-like form. Given all that, it wasn’t too difficult for me to deduce the entire story!”

“Just by driving my zhenqi a bit… you were able to tell so much?” Poison Master Bai felt his throat running dry.

As a Saint 4-dan pinnacle expert, he had seen plenty of people who possessed astounding eye of discernment and powerful means that weren’t beneath those of a 7-star master teacher at all.

But… to be able to see through so much in just an instant, that was completely unbelievable. He had never seen something like this before!

More importantly, the other party had never opened his eyes throughout the entire process, keeping his back toward him.

This wasn’t something that could be described as frightening anymore; it was horrifying.

“It doesn’t matter how I see through it; the issue is you. The reason you are unable to achieve a breakthrough is due to your lack of confidence. Without confidence, nothing else will fall in place! How about this? Since you are a 7-star pinnacle poison master, your ability to utilize and discern poison shouldn’t be too bad… Let me give you a test.”

At this point, the middle-aged man chuckled softly, and ‘hu!’, a gourd slowly floated over toward the Poison Master Bai. “Look and see if there is poison in here.”

“In here?”

Perplexed, Poison Master Bai uncorked the gourd, and an aromatic fragrance gushed toward him. He extended his Spiritual Perception into the gourd, and a moment later, he shook his head and said, “It doesn’t have any poison…”

Through checking with his Spiritual Perception, he could tell that even though the wine did contain a higher concentration of spiritual energy, it didn’t contain any poison.

“Do you dare have a sip?” the middle-aged man asked.

“This…” Hearing those words, Poison Master Bai froze.

He could confirm that the wine in the gourd wasn’t poisoned, but he was still fearful to drink it.

“To doubt even your own judgement, how far can you reach with such a state of mind? It seems like… that is all there is to a 7-star pinnacle poison master!” The middle-aged man shook his head in disappointment.

On the other hand, Poison Master Bai’s face reddened in shame.

“You might think that your greatest problem came from your friend’s betrayal, but that isn’t really so. What that is truly limiting you is your inability to trust even yourself! Whenever you saw your Yuanshen acupoint firmly shut even after several attempts to knock it open, you decided for yourself that it is impossible to succeed and chose to give up. Without the confidence to persevere and take the final step, how can you achieve greater heights?” the middle-aged man asked.

“I…” Poison Master Bai was rendered speechless.

The other party was right. Due to that matter, he had become deeply suspicious of others. As time passed, his suspicions deepened, and eventually, he even began to doubt himself.

“Since you have already confirmed that there is no poison, why won’t you drink it? Do you fear that your judgement isn’t accurate, or do you fear death?” the middle-aged man said deeply.

Facing the other party’s questions, Poison Master Bai’s face paled as his body trembled uncontrollably. A moment later, he raised his head and looked at the other party earnestly. “Elder, what should I do?”

Regardless of whether it was the other party’s eye of discernment or understanding of poison, they were far superior to his. Even if the other party wasn’t the founder, there was no doubt that the other party was his senior in the Way of Poison.

Thus, there was nothing wrong with calling the other party ‘elder’.

“You need to break the shackles of doubt in you.” With a high and mighty attitude, the middle-aged man spoke affirmatively. “You need to trust your own judgement and drink this gourd of wine. This is the only way for you to vanquish the doubt you have in yourself!”

Hearing those words, Poison Master Bai hesitated. But a moment later, he clenched his jaws tightly and nodded. “Indeed. If I have deemed the wine in the gourd to be devoid of poison, what do I have to fear?”

Since he had already affirmed it himself, why shouldn’t he drink it?

Even if he were to be poisoned, he still had the Heavenly Aroma Detoxification Pill with him. That should suffice to deal with everything.

With such thoughts in mind, he uncorked the gourd without any hesitation, and ‘Gudong! Gudong!’, he drank several large mouthfuls of wine. In that instant, he felt everything he had suppressed deep in his heart being liberated all of a sudden, and a look of delight surfaced on his face. He couldn’t help but exclaim, “Excellent wine!”

Due to be betrayal he had suffered once, he didn’t trust any outsiders or even himself at that. Such a problem had plagued him for the longest of time, but at this instant… he felt like he had been saved by the other party’s gourd of fine wine.

“Elder, thank you for your advice!” Poison Master Bai bowed deeply.

Regardless of whom the other party was, he was still thankful to the other party for dispelling his inner demons.

“Do you believe that I am your founder now?” the middle-aged man asked.

“I…” Poison Master Bai was immediately sank into an awkward position.

The reason for his arrival there was to investigate the other party’s identity. Yet, he had been exposed from the moment that he stepped through the door, rendering everything he had planned futile.

“Elder, both your eye of discernment and understanding of poisons are things that I am unable to match. However, it is still very difficult for me to believe that the soul of the founder is in you. On top of that, this matter has huge implications as well… If it is convenient for you, can you allow me to use my Primordial Spirit to peer into your soul? Once I confirm that you possess the Poison Soul Constitution, I will kowtow and ask for your forgiveness!” Poison Master Bai hesitated for a moment before saying.

He was already eighty percent convinced that the other party was the founder, but he still needed to verify it directly in order to dispel his doubts.

After all, he knew for a fact that the founder was a lady, and the person before him was indubitably a male.

Instead of responding to his question, the middle-aged man waved his hand and said, “The Innate Poison Body is also known as the Constitution of Disaster. Wherever one went, lethal poison followed. You should have heard of this matter before.”

“Yes!” Poison Master Bai nodded.

As a 7-star pinnacle poison master, he was naturally aware of the various details concerning the Innate Poison Body. The Constitution of Disaster did grant one perfect immunity to poison, but if it wasn’t suppressed properly, lethal poison will leak from one’s body, bringing great disaster upon one’s surroundings.

“I might just be a fragmented soul, but the essence of my constitution remains. Even though Sun Qiang, whom I have deposited my soul in, does possess a strong aptitude toward poison, he is still unable to contain the prowess of my soul. As a result, the moment I entered this room, it became permeated with lethal poison. Naturally, you were also poisoned the moment you stepped in as well,” the middle-aged man said.

Poison Master Bai was taken aback. “Poisoned?”

When he assessed the wine in the gourd using his Spiritual Perception earlier, he had also caught a glimpse of the surroundings. There was clearly no poisonous air or powder in the area!

Besides, if he had really been poisoned, how could he possibly be unaware of the matter? He didn’t feel anything at all, so how could he have been poisoned just like that?

“You don’t believe me?” The middle-aged man chuckled softly.

“It is not that I don’t trust elder, but… I have spent my entire life around poisons, and I don’t think that there is poison in here!” Poison Master Bai assessed the surroundings once more and shook his head.

“You don’t think that there is poison here?” The middle-aged man burst into laughter before eventually sighing. “If the poison aura emanated by the Innate Poison Body could be discovered by another that easily, how could I have become the founder of the Poison Hall, initiating an occupation that even Kong shi was fearful of?”

After saying those words, the middle-aged man snapped his fingers.

Padah!

Right after the sound echoed around the room, Poison Master Bai suddenly felt his entire body stiffening up. It felt as if a lethal poison that had lain dormant in his body all along was coming to life under the other party’s control. His face paled, and a mouthful of blood spurted from his mouth. Horror and fear were reflected in his eyes.

He had been proceeding carefully ever since he entered the room, so how could he have been poisoned?

Could it be that… just as the other party said, those who possessed the Innate Poison Body would cause a calamity wherever they went, and even poison masters were no exception to the rule as well?

After retracting his poison, the middle-aged man asked nonchalantly, “Do you believe me now?”

“I… I believe you!” Poison Master Bai nodded vehemently.

If he’d still had his reservations a moment ago, at this point, he no longer had any doubts.

As a 7-star pinnacle poison master, he actually didn’t even realize it when he was already fatally poisoned. Without a doubt, the other party’s ability to utilize poison was far above his!

More importantly, he could sense that the poison had seeped into even the narrowest of acupoints in his body. Therefore, there was no way he could dispel it, not even with the Heavenly Aroma Detoxification Pill he had in his possession!

To remain unaware despite being fatally poisoned and completely helpless before it after learning of the matter… This was the fearsome power that one of those possessing the Innate Poison Body harnessed!

“7-star Poison Master Bai Ting pays respect to the founder!”

Having confirmed the matter, there was no longer any need for Bai Ting to ascertain the other party’s identity through his Primordial Spirit anymore, and he dared not do so either. He hurriedly kneeled on the ground and paid his respect to the other party.

“Rise.” The middle-aged man waved his hand.

Naturally, the middle-aged man was Zhang Xuan, who was disguised as Sun Qiang at the moment.

Knowing that the fellow before him was a Saint 4-dan pinnacle expert, he knew that it was impossible for him to make the other party submit with just a few words.

Furthermore, if the other party were to still doubt him after he had explained himself and attempt to assault him while he was unguarded, there was a good chance that he might have been killed before he could even bring the Violetleaf King out.

For his own safety, he felt that he had to poison the other party first.

Thus, he intentionally feigned that he was knocking into the bookshelves so as to lure the other party to driving his zhenqi. Through doing so, he could use the Library of Heaven’s Path to determine the other party’s flaws and use his sharp tongue to scare the other party.

In a shocked state, it was inevitable that one would be unable to make the most rational of decisions. Through exploiting the weakness in the other party’s heart, he was able to convince the other party to drink the wine.

As for everything else about the Innate Poison Body he had mentioned earlier, they were all lies.

Even though Wei Ruyan possessed the Innate Poison Body, due to the limitations of her cultivation, it was difficult for her to even kill a Saint realm expert, let alone a Saint 4-dan expert like the other party.

Needless to say, Zhang Xuan didn’t possess such a mystical ability either. The reason the other party had been poisoned was due to the gourd of wine that the other party had drunk earlier.

Of course, until Poison Master Bai had an opportunity to think this matter over, it wasn’t too difficult for Zhang Xuan to mislead the other party into believing that he had been poisoned due to prolonged contact with the Innate Poison Body. As a result of that, the other party would fear him and not dare to pull anything before him.

Seeing that he had managed to win the other party over, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. After a short moment of contemplation, he said, “As a result of the fragmentation of my soul, my strength is far from what it used to be, and I have lost most of my memory as well. I am unable to contain the poison aura within me any longer, and there is a good chance that it might act up very soon. Are you aware of any solutions to resolving this problem?”

1. Yunmen is a point roughly where your left arm connects to your shoulder at the front.

StarveCleric

Millman: Sorry it’s a little late; I was busy reading FMC (^▽^;)

Chapter 1008: Wei Ruyan’s Treatment Method

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

Even after reading to the sixth floor, Zhang Xuan was still unable to replace a solution for Wei Ruyan’s Innate Poison Body. According to the introduction on Poison Master Bai in the Library of Heaven’s Path, it was reflected that the other party was a 7-star pinnacle poison master from the headquarters. Given so, the other party had access to knowledge greater than what was contained in this Hongyuan Empire Poison Hall, so he might know some secrets regarding the matter.

Besides, it was normal for a soul to suffer from memory loss if it were to be fragmented or exist for too long. Putting aside everything else, Vicious was in the same state as well.

This point would serve to bring greater credibility to his argument, making it easier for him to win the trust of the other party.

And as expected, upon hearing those words, Poison Master Bai suddenly had an epiphany. Nodding, he contemplated for a brief moment before saying, “I have heard of those possessing the Innate Poison Body losing control of their strength and bringing calamity on the world before… However, I am not too sure how it can be suppressed either. However, Poison Master Hai has read some related materials, so he might know a thing or two about the matter.”

“Poison Master Hai?” Zhang Xuan was stunned.

Could it be that the other party wasn’t the only envoy from the headquarters?

The Library of Heaven’s Path could only reflect the flaws of the individual which it came into contact with. As Poison Master Hai had never entered the Compendium Hall, Zhang Xuan had no chance to learn of the other party’s existence either.

“Poison Master Hai is my companion who has accompanied here. He is a 7-star pinnacle poison master as well, and he has read many books regarding you. Perhaps, he might have a solution towards this problem!” Poison Master Bai explained.

“How many people from the headquarters have come here with you?” Zhang Xuan couldn’t help but ask.

“It’s just the both of us!” Poison Master Bai dared not lie to the founder of the Poison Hall.

“Just the both of you?” Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief internally.

If it was only the both of them, this matter would still be under his control. He had already beguiled one over, so as long as he were to push a little harder, he should be able to win the trust of the other easily too.

After a moment of hesitation, Zhang Xuan whipped out a gourd of fine wine and passed it over, “Invite him here. Tell him that this gourd of wine is a treat from me!”

“You are treating Poison Master Hai to a drink?” Poison Master Bai was perplexed.

“Indeed. There are some medicinal herbs contained within the medicine which might prove to useful to you all in furthering your cultivation.” Zhang Xuan nodded with an empathetic look, seemingly showing earnest concern for his junior.

“It is useful in furthering one’s cultivation? Then why would I…” Poison Master Bia was taken aback.

“Are you wondering why the wine is ineffective on you even though you have drunk it?” Seemingly seeing through the other party thoughts, Zhang Xuan said.

“This…” Having his thoughts pointed out, Poison Master Bai’s face flushed in embarrassment.

He had already drunk the wine, but he hadn’t felt any boost in his cultivation at all. However, as a junior, he wasn’t in a position to question the other party’s decisions.

“All medicinal herbs only work upon reaching a certain dosage. You have only drunk two mouthfuls, so naturally, the effects on you are minimal. As long as you drink a few more mouthfuls, the effects will become apparent to you.”

Smiling, Zhang Xuan adopted an unfathomable image.

“Drink a few more mouthfuls?” Poison Master Bai was taken aback for a moment before nodding in agreement.

Indeed. Most medicinal herbs only worked their wonders after reaching a certain dosage. Considering that Zhang Xuan had only drunk two mouthfuls, it was inevitable that the effects would be not apparent.

With such thoughts in mind, he raised the wine gourd, which the other party had passed him a moment ago, and lifted it up. ‘Gudong! Gudong!’, the other party drank more than a dozen mouthfuls.

For one of their cultivation realm, as long as they didn’t intend to get drunk, ordinary alcohol were ineffective on them.

After drinking, Poison Master Bai closed his eyes. As expected, a surge of warm energy began flowing out from his abdomen, headed towards his Yuanshen acupoint.

For several centuries, he had used all kinds of methods to attempt to break open his Yuanshen acupoint, only for his efforts to end in futility eventually. At this moment, when he felt the surge of warm energy flowing over, he began drawing the strength within his body towards the Yuanshen acupoint too. With a light knock, ‘jiya’, the seal on his Yuanshen acupoint actually shook.

“This…” Poison Master Bai’s breathing hastened, and he nearly leaped up in agitation.

For someone of his level of cultivation, it was apparent what the shaking meant.

The seal of his Yuanshen acupoint was loosening! In other words, as long as he were to persevere on in the future, there might be a chance that he would be able to knock it open!

To think that a gourd of fine wine would actually achieve what his centuries of effort was unable to do, wasn’t this wine a little too formidable?

“Is it effective?” Chuckling softly, Zhang Xuan spoke in a leisurely yet unfathomable voice.

“Thank you, founder!” Poison Master Bai replied in agitation, awed by what he had just experienced.

After feeling the benefits the fine wine had towards him personally, he harbored no longer any doubts towards the gourd of wine anymore.

“Alright, you can leave now. I will be heading to the seventh floor now. Have Poison Master Hai drink the wine and look for me later on.” Seeing that he had won the other party’s trust, Zhang Xuan waved his hands casually and dismissed the other party.

“Yes!” Hurriedly nodding, Poison Master Bai left excitedly.

To him, this journey had brought him great rewards. Not only was he able to ascertain Sun Qiang’s real identity, he was even able to reignite his confidence and obtain a mystical gourd of wine from the founder which could very well become the key for him to achieve a breakthrough in the future.

After sensing that the other party had left, Zhang Xuan waited for a moment longer before opening his eyes and standing up.

Beguiling a 7-star pinnacle poison master was no easy task, but it was fortunate that everything had gone smoothly.

The reason why he was able to fool the other party wasn’t because the other party was too foolish, but that the effects of the Library of Heaven’s Path and Heaven’s Path zhenqi were simply too inconceivable, and Zhang Xuan had utilized them perfectly to catch the other party off guard.

On top of that, disguise had always been his forte. If he wished to, not even a 7-star master teacher could see through his disguise. Fooling a 7-star poison master wasn’t anything much in comparison!

“Alright, hurry in…”

Knowing that it would take some time before Poison Master Hai arrived, Zhang Xuan decided to head straight for the seventh floor to gather the books first.

The books on the seventh floor were clearly much fewer, consisting of around a few thousand books. With a quick sweep of his gaze through the room, he collected all of them into his head.

After which, he sat onto the floor and began scanning through all of the books he had just collected. Not too long later, he shook his head with disappointment on his face.

There were at least a dozen books which had records on the Innate Poison Body, but they were extremely vague. Most of them only elaborated on how powerful the constitution was, but there was nothing about how one could control the poison aura and prevent it from leaking into the surroundings.

In other words, even after reading all of the books, he still hadn’t found a solution to resolving Wei Ruyan’s present condition.

“It seems like it will be impossible for me to replace a solution directly through the records. I will just have to research it on my own…” Even though Zhang Xuan was disappointed, the didn’t despair.

With all of the books regarding poison in the Library of Heaven’s Path, there was no doubt that his comprehension of poison could reach at least 7-star pinnacle after he studied all of them, putting him on par or even beyond Poison Master Bai.

With such deep mastery in the Way of Poisons, he would be able to deduce plausible treatment methods for Wei Ruyan’s condition.

But of course, to internalize all of the knowledge he had learnt and raise his understanding of poison from 3-star to 7-star, it would take several hours. Before then, he should listen to whatever Poison Master Hai had to say first.

Thus, Zhang Xuan sat down and began to wait. Not too long later, Poison Master Bai returned with an old man following behind him.

The old man was even taller than Poison Master Bai, and the aura around him was overwhelming. He was a powerful Saint 4-dan pinnacle expert as well.

At this moment, the other party was looking at him deferentially, without much of a doubt in his eyes. Most likely, he must have already heard about the matter from Poison Master Bai.

It seemed like the other party had deep trust in Poison Master Bai’s judgement. This was definitely for the best. He would be spared from the effort of putting on another act to convince the other party to submit to him.

Walking up to Zhang Xuan, Poison Master Hai bowed deeply and said, “I have indeed read on a book that those possessing the Innate Poison Body can bring disaster to those around them, and vaguely, I recall seeing the treatment method for the issue on the same book as well!

“The treatment will require the cooperation of many poison masters. A unique formation will be set up to convert the poison aura accumulated within the host’s body into energy which one could utilize to achieve a breakthrough… If the treatment were to succeed, not only would the host be able to resolve the threats of the Innate Poison Body, one would also be able to advance one’s cultivation by leaps and bounds!”

“Unique formation?” Zhang Xuan frowned. “Do you know what kind of formation it is?”

“I am not too sure about it myself either. However, those of the headquarters are bound to have heard of it. Also, if I were to recall correctly, the collaboration of 8-star and even 9-star poison masters would be required in driving the formation!” Poison Master Hai said with a frown on his forehead.

“The collaboration of 8-star and 9-star poison masters…” Zhang Xuan’s complexion darkened as a dark shadow gloomed over his eyes.

Putting aside the fact that he had nowhere to replace such powerful poison masters, even if he were to replace one, there was no way he would be able to beguile the other party into helping him given his current strength!

What founder or that sort, those were all nonsense! It was only through using the information detailed in the Library of Heaven’s Path that he was able to induce Poison Master Bai and Poison Master Hai to believe in him. Such a method wouldn’t work on true experts, no matter how well his acting was!

“Yes!” Poison Master Hai nodded. “Only a poison master of that caliber would be able to gather the poison aura emanated by the Innate Poison Body and complement it with various poisons so as to concoct it into something that could raise the host’s cultivation swiftly. Once the process succeeds, breakthroughs will become as easy as drinking water, and the day that you return to your peak state won’t be too far away as well.”

“Un.” Zhang Xuan nodded.

Even though he hadn’t internalized all of the books in the Library of Heaven’s Path yet, he had already browsed through all of the books regarding the Innate Poison Body amongst them, granting him a deeper understanding of the matter.

With the steady consumption of poison, those possessing the Innate Poison Body would replace it harder and harder to suppress the poison aura within their body. However, if there were poison masters in the area who could gather all of her poison aura together and refine it with various medicinal herbs, it could indeed become a powerful force that would allow one to achieve breakthroughs at an astounding pace.

At this point, Poison Master Hai suddenly looked at Zhang Xuan hesitantly and asked, “Founder… Are you intending on using this body to regain your strength?”

“What’s wrong?” Noticing the peculiar edge in the other party’s tone, Zhang Xuan frowned.

“It’s nothing much, but… founder, aren’t you a female? Why are you using a male body instead…” Poison Master Hai said awkwardly.

“Female?” Zhang Xuan was stunned.

He knew that the founder of the Poison Hall did possess the Innate Poison Body, but thinking back, he had indeed never heard whether the other party was a male or a female… No wonder Poison Master Bai would doubt his identity!

“Wait, if the founder of the Poison Hall is truly a female, this will make things even more convenient for me…” A thought flashed across Zhang Xuan’s mind, and his body began trembling in agitation.

Previously, he had been thinking about how he could bring Wei Ruyan into the picture without incurring the other party’s doubts. However, if the founder was a female, this would make things convenient for him.

With a light chuckle, Zhang Xuan glanced at the duo. Even though his eyes were closed, Poison Master Hai still felt as if there were a sharp pair of eyes gazing on him. “I am indeed a female. It is out of no choice that I ended up depositing my soul on Sun Qiang’s body. However… I have already found a body that complements my soul perfectly. However, due to certain circumstances, I will lose consciousness once I enter the body, thus losing control of the power in my body as well… This is the reason why I came to the Poison Hall in seek of help!”

“You have found a body that complements your soul?” Poison Master Bai and Poison Master Hai glanced at one another, surprised by what they had just heard.

“Indeed. Not only so, my soul is currently very weak. Once I were to possess the body, it is very likely that I will lose all memories. Unless I were to return back to my peak state, otherwise the other party will still be the leading consciousness. As such, I have been hesitating, not daring to make a move easily!” Zhang Xuan sighed.

“This…” The two poison masters frowned deeply.

They had never thought that there would be such extenuating circumstances surrounding this matter.

However, considering how their founder’s soul had suffered the batter of time for several dozen millenniums, it wouldn’t come as a surprise regardless whatever state it was in.

StarveCleric StarveCleric

A little late, this is the chapter for yesterday night. I had an event this morning where I had to make a speech (kind of) so I ended up spending the night memorizing it. Anyway, I will get working on the chapters as soon as I get time.