Chapter 653 - 385: Side Effect Critical Strike
They had plenty of ways to heal those wounds and would soon be back at full fighting capacity.
But Zou Feng was confident that his last move would be enough to deter the two Judges, making them think twice before acting rashly again.
Otherwise, if both of them found him at the same time, it would be a massive pain in the ass.
However, after clashing with Golden Core Realm Cultivators several times, Zou Feng was starting to get a measure of their strength.
With his many Cultivation Skills and other Skills raised to such a high Realm, plus his well-tempered Poison Body, he wasn’t completely helpless even against a Golden Core Realm Cultivator.
But in a direct confrontation, he’d be completely spent after unleashing two or three of his Big Moves.
Meanwhile, the Golden Core Realm Cultivator would either have some of their energy drained or, at worst, sustain injuries that wouldn’t even shake their foundation...
So, in the end, the problem was his own Realm—the Dao Foundation Realm Middle Stage was just too low.
If he could break through to the Dao Foundation Realm Late Stage and gain the initial ability to form a Golden Core, the situation would be completely different.
With this in mind, Zou Feng decided not to flee just yet. Instead, he resumed the Refinement of the Dragon Poison.
To successfully escape back into the signal range of the Celestial Dao Cauldron, increasing his strength as quickly as possible was crucial.
Otherwise, he could fail at the last second, even if he was close to his goal.
He may have deterred the two Judges for now, but the Immortal Officials of the Ninefold Celestial Court were still out for his blood.
The Ninefold Celestial Court didn’t have a way to "mark" him, but there was no guarantee the Immortal Officials didn’t have other methods to track him down.
Time was of the essence. Zou Feng pushed these thoughts aside and focused on continuing the Refinement of the Dragon Poison.
An entire night passed in the blink of an eye.
In the early morning, when Zou Feng opened his eyes again, he saw that the once-lush vegetation around him had been reduced to scorched earth.
The aura that had seeped out merely from the Refinement of the Dragon Poison had transformed the surrounding environment into a veritable Purgatory.
Although there were no negative side effects, just like the wolf poison he’d absorbed before, he couldn’t possibly digest it all in such a short time.
After an entire night’s work, he had only managed to refine a little less than half of it.
Even so, the benefits Zou Feng reaped were quite remarkable.
"Yang-Flint Scripture (Perfection), Progress: 59%"
Zou Feng hadn’t expected the Dragon Poison to increase the progress of his Yang-Flint Scripture by so much.
However, the main purpose of the Yang-Flint Scripture was to suppress evil, and the intimidating pressure created by a dragon’s might was maxed out in that regard. The two truly complemented each other.
"Silent Extinction Poison Flame (Perfection), Progress: 66%"
"Baleful Energy Guiding Art (Perfection), Progress: 47%"
These two Skills also saw significant improvement, especially the Silent Extinction Poison Flame, which had progressed immensely.
The progress of his Silent Extinction Poison Flame wasn’t surprising, since Luo Gang’s Dragon Poison could be transformed into a poison flame to begin with.
"Five Poison Holy Lotus Skill (Unity of Heaven and Man), Progress: 70%"
"Great Universal Hand (Unity of Heaven and Man), Progress: 29%"
The increase for these two Poison Skills wasn’t as great, but that was to be expected. After all, they had both reached the Unity of Heaven and Man Realm, where every single point of progress was incredibly difficult to achieve.
In addition to these gains, Zou Feng had also stored away the side effects from a full night of refining the Dragon Poison.
Although the side effects from the Dragon Poison’s Refinement couldn’t compare to the Tortures of the Eighteen Hells he’d previously endured...
But he figured the effect would still be quite potent. And when facing the coming pursuit, every extra trump card counted.
It was no longer safe to stay here. Zou Feng quickly got to his feet and departed.
The energy he’d gained from the Dragon Poison’s Refinement had completely restored his previous expenditure, leaving him in peak condition.
It was a shame he didn’t dare to linger. Otherwise, he might have tried fusing the remaining Dragon Poison with the wolf poison to create an even more potent Mixed Poison...
Zou Feng had no idea that less than half an hour after he left, a woman in a purple robe, riding a seven-colored auspicious cloud, abruptly materialized in the same spot.
An Immortal Official of the Ninefold Celestial Court, Zi Caiyi.
After the Tribulation Cultivators breached the Celestial Hearing Tower, this woman had shot up the List of Gods, surpassing Zou Feng in the rankings.
Zi Caiyi’s looks weren’t particularly striking, but she possessed a sacred, inviolable aura.
Yet, the more inviolable she seemed, the more she stirred the most primitive desires in any normal man.
The longer one stared, the stronger the urge became to defile her in the most vulgar and unspeakable ways.
Gently descending to the spot where Zou Feng had been meditating, Zi Caiyi took a deep breath.
She wanted to savor the lingering scent of Zou Feng’s aura.
After inhaling, Zi Caiyi’s eyes lit up. Her cheeks flushed as she grew incredibly excited.
It was as if Zou Feng’s scent was the most exquisite aphrodisiac she had ever encountered.
The next moment, Zi Caiyi did her best to contain her excitement, muttering to herself, "It’s been ages since I’ve come across such a high-quality specimen..."
"My little sweetheart, you can’t escape!"
With that, her seven-colored auspicious cloud rose, and Zi Caiyi shot off in pursuit of Zou Feng with feverish impatience.
There was, of course, a reason for her intense interest in Zou Feng.
Of the Nine Immortal Ascension Skills, Zi Caiyi cultivated two.
The Dual Cultivation Dao and the Outer Alchemy Dao.
In essence, both of these Immortal Techniques involved drawing on external sources to strengthen oneself.
Information about Zou Feng had reached the Ninefold Celestial Court long ago, and Zi Caiyi was well aware of it.
But it wasn’t until she broke through the Celestial Hearing Tower and arrived in this region that Zi Caiyi could truly sense just how delicious and delectable a fellow Outer Alchemy Dao Cultivator like Zou Feng truly was.
That’s right. To Cultivators of the Outer Alchemy Dao, each other are living External Pills. Whoever consumes the other gains an immense boost.
And just as Poison Cultivators can sense one another, Fellow Daoists of the Outer Alchemy Dao who are suitable for Refining External Pills—and are thus great supplements for each other—are also mutually attracted.
Thus, the moment Zi Caiyi arrived, she was like a shark smelling blood from miles away, instantly sensing Zou Feng’s general location.
However, she had been delayed. After breaking through the Celestial Hearing Tower, there were many matters to attend to, including coordinating the encirclement of Jiang Wanzhao and Yu Lingxiao.
Once her duties were temporarily concluded, she immediately found an excuse to come and track him down.
Plus, Zi Caiyi also practiced the Dual Cultivation Dao. So once she caught Zou Feng, she would definitely have her way with him first before refining him into an External Pill—truly, one dish prepared two ways.
Meanwhile, the fleeing Zou Feng suddenly frowned and came to a halt.
He, too, had sensed it: something incredibly delicious and delectable, an absolute tonic for his cultivation, was closing in on him.
’An Immortal Official who cultivates the Outer Alchemy Dao?’
Zou Feng quickly assessed the situation and cursed inwardly. ’This is bad.’
He might not fear Golden Core Realm Tribulation Cultivators anymore, but he still hadn’t reached the Dao Foundation Realm Late Stage. A head-on confrontation would be incredibly foolish.
Not to mention, this Immortal Official who practiced the Outer Alchemy Dao wasn’t the only one hunting him.
Tang Ze and Qi Siyun’s names on the List of Gods had regained their luster, a clear sign that their previous injuries had healed.
And since they were healed, there was no guarantee those two wouldn’t resume their pursuit...
In any case, Zou Feng absolutely did not dare to face the Immortal Official head-on right now, even if she represented a great boon for his own cultivation.
If he could actually refine her into an External Pill, it would be a genuine Immortal Pill.
Consuming it might not let him achieve Building the Golden Core instantly, but it would undoubtedly allow him to skip many of the preliminary steps.
But now was not the time for greed.
Zou Feng quickly broke into a run again, continuing his escape.
He hadn’t used his miniature Flying Celestial Ship because it was too large and conspicuous a target in the open sky.
Furthermore, it was difficult to evade long-range attacks in the ship. He was far more agile on his own, able to dodge, weave, and maneuver freely.
Especially now, when his pursuer was tracking him through the mutual induction between their Outer Alchemy Dao practices. Under normal circumstances, shaking Zi Caiyi would be impossible.
Fortunately, he could interfere with this induction by manipulating scents.
Ultimately, this sense was similar to a predator smelling blood. If he could just scramble the scent of himself as an "External Pill," he could at least confuse the Immortal Official’s perception.
So Zou Feng immediately ramped up his poison output, blanketing not just his escape path but an area several miles wide with clouds of toxic smoke.
Spread over such a vast area, the toxicity was naturally much weaker. Strictly speaking, this toxic smoke was more of a "debilitating mist."
Its primary purpose was to affect the mind and interfere with his pursuer’s judgment.