Chapter 593 - 355: Celestial General Invasion (2)
As they drew near, Su Qingyu asked curiously.
Zou Feng shrugged. "It’s hard to say. And that guy, Zhang Chi, was right. We just haven’t faced any truly formidable enemies yet."
"Unlike us Dao Foundation Realm Cultivators from the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect, who fought our way up from billions of disciples, the Yama Underworld and the Ninefold Celestial Court are different. I’ve heard they have many Evil Skills. Once they reach a certain level of Cultivation, they have a good chance of forcibly establishing a Yellow Tier Dao Foundation."
"This leads to them having what seems like a large number of Dao Foundation Realm Cultivators, but they’re basically all for show and no substance—pewter spearheads polished to look like silver."
"Of all those people just now, only the Poison Cultivator we ambushed was any good. It’s a shame his mind was clouded by the Palace Master’s foot odor. He didn’t even get to use his skills before..."
Su Qingyu retorted angrily, "I told you, it’s poison gas, not foot odor!"
"Tell me, whose foot odor could possibly have such a refreshingly fragrant scent?"
Seeing that Su Qingyu was genuinely angry, Zou Feng quickly corrected himself. "A slip of the tongue, a slip of the tongue. It was indeed a fragrant scent..."
With a cough, Zou Feng forcibly changed the subject. "Palace Master, you don’t need to sell yourself short. If you had really fought those two Dao Foundation Realm Tribulation Cultivators just now, I’m certain you would have been the one to win in the end!"
Su Qingyu sighed softly. "I could have won, but it would have been far from easy. I might have even gotten injured. It’s a completely different story from you slaughtering those two as if they were chickens and sheep..."
Seeing this, Zou Feng grew genuinely worried that Su Qingyu’s confidence had taken a blow, which could affect her state of mind.
So, he wrapped his arm around Su Qingyu’s legs, which were floating in mid-air, and smiled. "The only reason I could cultivate my Poison Technique to this level is because of your immense help, Palace Master. Your contribution was indispensable!"
This was actually the truth. He had indeed "borrowed" quite a few incredibly potent toxins from Su Qingyu before.
Hearing this, Su Qingyu finally felt a little better.
"Have you finished the Refinement of that Poison Pill from before?"
Zou Feng shook his head. "I’ve only just absorbed it. That guy’s poison is quite complex. It’s better to wait until I have some free time to slowly refine it."
Su Qingyu quite agreed. Although she had already started the Refinement process, she had only managed a little before being interrupted by the enemy attack and forced to stop.
At this point, the two decided not to continue "hunting in the wild" and also gave up the idea of reinforcing the various defensive lines.
After all, the enemy had already achieved their objective for this raid and had mostly withdrawn by now.
Looking up at the sky, even the black cloud that had come to test Jiang Wanzhao’s mettle had disappeared.
In short, this enemy raid was all thunder and no rain.
The only real consequence was that a few "Celestial Generals" from the Ninefold Celestial Court had taken advantage of the chaos to tear an opening in one of the defensive lines and slip through.
It was just unknown whether these Celestial Generals would now lie low in the market city near the Celestial Hearing Tower, or if they would continue south to burn, kill, and plunder...
Don’t ever think that just because these Cultivators from the Ninefold Celestial Court operate under the name of the Celestial Court, they aren’t chaotic Evil Cultivators.
In fact, they’re even more insane than the Cultivators from the Yama Underworld.
Every one of them stopped seeing themselves as human long ago, instead regarding themselves as "Immortals."
Ordinary people, and even other Cultivators, are nothing but consumables in their eyes, meant to sacrifice everything for the sake of the Immortals.
There’s a rumor that the current ruler of the Ninefold Celestial Court, the "Queen Mother of the Western Heaven," is not of the Human Race, but a Great Demon who can’t go a single meal without eating human flesh.
Before long, the two returned to the Celestial Hearing Tower and learned that after Jiang Wanzhao had gone out to fight, the entity within the black cloud couldn’t hold on for long and had fled with great speed.
Of course, it was also possible that its objective of probing her strength had been achieved, and it couldn’t be bothered to tangle with Jiang Wanzhao any longer.
But Jiang Wanzhao was naturally unwilling to let this beast go. After all, the chance to slay a Golden Core Realm enemy Cultivator was an immense temptation for someone like her, who had come here specifically to earn battle honors.
Unfortunately, the enemy was well-prepared and even had experts providing backup, leaving Jiang Wanzhao no choice but to return in failure.
But upon her return, Jiang Wanzhao’s attitude showed clear dissatisfaction with the Celestial Hearing Tower’s Tower Master, Yu Lingxiao.
Jiang Wanzhao believed that Yu Lingxiao was too conservative, insisting that she had to guard the Celestial Hearing Tower and refusing to join the battle. This, in Jiang Wanzhao’s view, caused them to miss a perfect opportunity to kill the enemy’s Golden Core Realm Cultivator, and was utterly pedantic!
In response, Yu Lingxiao simply offered placating smiles the entire time and didn’t argue with Jiang Wanzhao.
After learning about the situation, Zou Feng had no desire to get on Jiang Wanzhao’s bad side while she was angry, so he went straight back to the room prepared for him in the Celestial Hearing Tower.
Although Su Qingyu had also been assigned a room, she followed Zou Feng into his as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
This wasn’t because she was suddenly in the mood for something else; rather, she planned to work with Zou Feng on the Refinement of the Poison Pill they’d acquired from their "hunt."
After all, while she and Zou Feng had already refined numerous Exotic Poisons, the Poison Cultivators of the Northern Domain were a new breed to them, full of unknowns.
By staying together to refine this poison, they could discuss it at any time and research it together.
And so, Su Qingyu and Zou Feng spent the night discussing and refining the Poison Pill.
By the next morning, although Zou Feng had figured out the poison’s properties and had mostly finished its Refinement, he found himself in a difficult spot.
The poison itself was of excellent quality, but it didn’t align with his current Cultivation Skill or other Skills.
In particular, it couldn’t be used to enhance his Five Poison Holy Lotus Skill or his Great Universal Hand, which was a real pain in the ass for Zou Feng.
’After all that risk and effort, the payoff isn’t nearly as big as I expected...’
As a Poison Cultivator who could control Corpse Puppets, his poison’s primary characteristic was naturally Corpse Poison.
Moreover, it was an extremely sophisticated type of Corpse Poison that Zou Feng had never encountered before.
This made Zou Feng regret having fused away the Corpse Luo Heart Scripture back then.
If he hadn’t, it would be incredibly useful right now.
But on second thought, Zou Feng realized the Corpse Luo Heart Scripture was long since outdated for his current level. Forcing himself to keep it wouldn’t have been very meaningful. It would be better to... cultivate a new, sufficiently powerful Poison Technique.
For example, a corresponding Poison Technique from the Yama Underworld!
While the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect had a respectable collection of Poison Techniques, it was still far inferior to what the Yama Underworld and the Ninefold Celestial Court had to offer.
Of course, this was also because the Poison Techniques of the Yama Underworld were too risky and had powerful side effects, which was why the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect deliberately chose not to include them in its collection.
Thinking of this, Zou Feng decided to temporarily give up on completely refining and absorbing the Poison Pill. Instead, he would save it until he had obtained a suitable Poison Technique to truly unleash its effects.
’Looks like it’s time to head to the market city and try my Luck.’
’And with Xiaolv, my little insectoid detector, I might even get a pleasant surprise.’
’For example... I could try to find those Celestial Generals from the Ninefold Celestial Court who snuck in during the chaos.’
"Haaaah... That feels good!"
Su Qingyu let out a long breath, her face full of pleasure.
Compared to Zou Feng, her Calamity Poison Body was like a vast ocean that accepts a hundred rivers; it could much more easily convert this poison into the nourishment she needed.
Although this wasn’t the most optimal way to use it, Su Qingyu didn’t dare to be like Zou Feng, who never considered the side effects when practicing his Cultivation. So, for her, this was already a good outcome.
However, because the Corpse Poison had such a strong kick, Su Qingyu’s current complexion and other features made her look not much different from a freshly reanimated corpse.
"Palace Master, since we’re already here, want to go check out the market city later?"
The market cities of the Northern Domain were full of unknowns for both of them, so it was impossible for Su Qingyu not to be interested.
Besides, Su Qingyu could tell at a glance that Zou Feng was clearly salivating over the thought of the Celestial Generals who had snuck in earlier.
"Are you sure that Gu Insect can find the Celestial Generals? They might not have any Poison Cultivators among them," Su Qingyu reminded him.
Zou Feng said, "It’s worth a try. Finding the Celestial Generals is really just a matter of Luck. The main goal is to see if there’s anything good for sale in the market city."
"No matter how good the things here are, can they really compare to what’s sold within the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect?"
"The best things are the ones that suit you best. The Northern Domain has more Poison Cultivators, so isn’t this the perfect place for people like you?"
"That makes sense. But before that, let me blow off some steam first!"
Before the words had even left her lips, Su Qingyu’s legs coiled around him like a pair of snakes.
Next came another session of exchanging poisons, a time to "help each other out in troubled times."
After a full hour of this, the two finally emerged from the room, refreshed and invigorated.
And not far from the room, Zou Feng immediately spotted Qin Fengwu, who was standing there looking lost and anxious.