Chapter 633 - 375: Soul-Snatching Blood Pupil (2)
It was just like when I was only tainted by a trace of the Wraith Soul Poison before—not enough to take for my own use.
’I would have had to perform Refinement on White Impermanence Kong Xia directly to truly control the Wraith Soul Poison.’
’It’s the same with this Wolf Poison. A tiny bit like this is useless.’
Jiang Wanzhao was clearly the one most deeply poisoned. If he could help draw it out, Zou Feng would jump at the chance.
Unfortunately, as a True Disciple of the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect, Jiang Wanzhao was supposed to dominate this mission and effortlessly eliminate a traitor...
Instead, a moment of carelessness had allowed Xia Jingrui to self-destruct her Golden Core, and she herself had been left with significant injuries.
If word of this got out, it would be an utter humiliation for Jiang Wanzhao.
And if she then needed a subordinate in the Dao Foundation Realm like Zou Feng to help her detoxify...
Jiang Wanzhao would never be able to live it down.
"Unnecessary. Do you think I can’t neutralize this poison myself?" Jiang Wanzhao shot Zou Feng a look of displeasure. "Besides, don’t think so highly of yourself. This is Wolf Poison from the Golden Core Realm. Even a Poison Cultivator like you might not be able to withstand it!"
"Er, that’s not what I meant..." Zou Feng laughed awkwardly and fell silent.
In truth, Jiang Wanzhao’s refusal wasn’t entirely about saving face.
She had a point. Under normal circumstances, why would a Poison Cultivator at the Dao Foundation Realm like Zou Feng dare to court death by helping to neutralize a poison from the Golden Core Realm?
It was nothing short of a death wish...
After firmly rejecting Zou Feng’s "suicidal" offer, Jiang Wanzhao proceeded to act as if nothing was amiss, beginning her inspection of the ruins left behind after Wind Singing Manor’s destruction.
In truth, what was left of Wind Singing Manor couldn’t even be called ruins; it was just a massive crater that had been recently blasted into the earth.
The original plan was to search Wind Singing Manor thoroughly after dealing with Xia Jingrui, hoping to find clues about other traitors.
Now, it seemed there was no longer any need...
The other disciples, who had scattered when Xia Jingrui’s Golden Core self-destructed, now began to regroup.
After all, they were elites of the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect at the Dao Foundation Realm. Everyone had used their Divine Skills to weather the explosion, and no one had died.
Only one person was severely injured; the rest suffered only minor wounds.
Moreover, their minor injuries were mostly due to the poison.
Seeing that all his fellow sect members were poisoned, Zou Feng immediately volunteered, stepping forward to help them detoxify.
"Detoxifying" was just a nice way of saying he was transferring the Wolf Poison from their bodies into his own.
Unfortunately, even after absorbing the Wolf Poison from all his fellow sect members, it still wasn’t nearly enough for Zou Feng to comprehend the poison.
It was better than nothing, he supposed.
The one disciple who was severely injured, however, was a surprise to Zou Feng. It was actually Su Qingyu.
He went to ask and learned that when Su Qingyu had realized Xia Jingrui was about to self-destruct her Golden Core, her first reaction wasn’t to flee. Instead, she wanted to use the opportunity to absorb more of the toxins spilling from the Poison Pill.
That’s right, her madness had flared up again. She was willing to risk her life just to absorb more Wolf Poison...
"Palace Master, why must you suffer like this?" Zou Feng caught Su Qingyu, who was about to collapse.
But Su Qingyu paid it no mind, even sounding excited. "Fortune is sought in peril! It’s worth it. I can feel this poison... It’s absolutely worth it!"
"Quick, let’s exchange!"
As she spoke, she tried to push Zou Feng down to the ground...
Her deranged state was certainly due in part to her usual madness, but it was also because the Wolf Poison was affecting her mind. She was already becoming delirious.
If they were to perform an "exchange" between Poison Cultivators in her state, she would probably die before they were even halfway done.
Seeing this, Zou Feng quickly used the Great Universal Hand to soothe her. Only then did Su Qingyu calm down, collapsing into his arms and falling into a deep sleep.
While Su Qingyu was asleep, Zou Feng set about drawing the Wolf Poison out of her body.
No matter how good her poison resistance was, she couldn’t continue to bear such a potent Wolf Poison with her body so severely injured.
Once Zou Feng had absorbed the Wolf Poison from Su Qingyu, her near-death pallor finally faded.
Color swiftly returned to her face, and she looked much more peaceful in her sleep.
The other disciples whom Zou Feng had cured, Zhao Feixiong included, came forward and showered him with compliments, praising his incredible skills.
Not far away, Jiang Wanzhao couldn’t resist glancing in their direction.
’That’s Wolf Poison from the Golden Core Realm. Did he really help that many people get rid of it so easily?!’
’Although I know the quantity and quality of the Wolf Poison affecting my other subordinates can’t compare to mine, it’s still poison from the Golden Core Realm...’
Her curiosity piqued, and seeing that Zou Feng was completely fine after detoxifying one person after another, Jiang Wanzhao would be deceiving herself to say she didn’t regret her earlier refusal.
After all, while she seemed to have her injuries and the poison under control, the toxins were actually tormenting her relentlessly, leaving her in extreme discomfort.
’But I’ve already refused him. I can’t go back on my word in front of so many of my subordinates, can I?’
’Whatever. I’ll just endure it a little longer...’
Since Wind Singing Manor was completely obliterated, there was naturally nothing left to investigate.
Thus, Jiang Wanzhao waved her hand, ordering everyone to return to the sect.
Judging by her haste, she was clearly eager to get back to the Celestial Hearing Tower to heal and purge the poison in peace...
「Evening. The Celestial Hearing Tower.」
On the bed in Zou Feng’s room, Su Qingyu finally regained consciousness.
After sitting up, she stared blankly for a moment, then looked at Zou Feng in confusion. "The Wolf Poison? Did you absorb all of it?"
"Palace Master, it was Wolf Poison from the Golden Core Realm. Are you certain you’d be unharmed right now if I hadn’t absorbed it?"
Su Qingyu was silent for a moment, finally forced to nod. "True... That Wolf Poison was certainly potent. It actually... brought back the sickness I thought I had cured."
’Huh? So she’s actually sick!?’
"And you? Can you withstand the Wolf Poison?" Su Qingyu turned to Zou Feng, asking curiously.
"Just luck," Zou Feng lied. "I obtained an Exotic Poison a while back that just so happens to counteract this Wolf Poison."
Su Qingyu found this perfectly understandable. After all, fighting poison with poison was a highly effective method of detoxification.
"But it’s only enough to neutralize the poison. If I want to truly comprehend its subtleties, the dose is still insufficient!" Zou Feng shook his head helplessly.
Su Qingyu immediately interjected, "Insufficient dose? Jiang Zhenchuan should have plenty. It’s not like she needs the poison anyway, so why don’t you..."
Before she could finish, Su Qingyu had already figured out what must have happened.
’There’s no way Zou Feng wouldn’t have thought of that. The fact that he hasn’t done it must mean Jiang Wanzhao didn’t agree.’
’That’s perfectly normal. As a True Disciple, even if Zou Feng is her most capable subordinate, it would be difficult for Jiang Wanzhao to accept him putting his hands all over her...’
"Tch, so it was all for nothing again!" Su Qingyu said with vexation.
Zou Feng got up and walked to her side, a smile on his face. "It wasn’t entirely for nothing. The dose of Wolf Poison may be insufficient, but it’s still enough for us to have a little ’exchange’..."
Immediately, the sound of fists hitting flesh echoed through the room.
Failing to obtain a sufficient dose of Wolf Poison was certainly regrettable, but Zou Feng’s efforts had by no means been in vain.
Stimulated by the bit of Wolf Poison, just a moment ago, the Yama Underworld Evil Art that Zou Feng had purchased through underground channels—with the Wraith Soul Poison as the primary component and the Wolf Poison as the secondary—had finally been successfully fused into an Evil Art entirely his own.
The name displayed for the Skill was: Soul-Snatching Blood Pupil.
As the name implied, it was an ocular skill.
It could be cast with a single glance, poisoning an enemy without a trace.
After reaching a certain level of Cultivation, it could manifest the most potent trait of the Wraith Soul Poison, instantly plunging a target into a terrifying Illusion Realm.
Even if a victim managed to break free of the Illusion Realm temporarily, unless they could completely neutralize the poison, they would be forever haunted by a vicious ghost, tortured to the point of wishing for death.
Moreover, the enemy would be precisely located by Zou Feng.
Zou Feng was certain the Yama Underworld must have originally had a very powerful ocular skill. His Soul-Snatching Blood Pupil was basically a modified version he’d created by messing around and practicing blindly.
Having this Skill not only increased his offensive options, but it also came with a huge benefit: from now on, Cultivators from the Yama Underworld, even if they weren’t Poison Cultivators, could become targets for his Refinement!