Chapter 616 - 367: Poison of the Resentful Soul
Celestial Hearing Tower, Jiang Wanzhao’s room.
Zou Feng knocked and entered. At this moment, Jiang Wanzhao was in her mature, commanding form, having completed her transformation.
It looked as though she had just come from a great battle; her whole being was still thrumming with excitement.
"Senior Sister Jiang, just now..."
Before Zou Feng could finish, Jiang Wanzhao cut him off, her face a picture of disappointment. "I couldn’t even get a proper fight in! A bunch of cowards!"
Evidently, the enemy attack Jiang Wanzhao had just faced was also all thunder and no lightning.
She had come to defend the Northern Domain, desperate to achieve merit, but the last time the Golden Core Realm Tribulation Cultivators attacked, it was merely a probe.
She had been hoping for a true battle to the death this time, but the handful of Golden Core Realm Tribulation Cultivators just used cheap tricks, hiding in the shadows without daring to engage in a proper fight. In the end, they just slipped away.
Strictly speaking, however, they had achieved their goal of tying down Jiang Wanzhao, Yu Lingxiao, and Luo Gang.
Otherwise, two defensive lines wouldn’t have been breached, allowing so many Tribulation Cultivators to invade.
Still, Zou Feng refused to believe that the Ninefold Celestial Court and the Yama Underworld would go to such great lengths just to sneak a few Tribulation Cultivators inside.
"Luo Gang and Yu Lingxiao are both useless!"
"No wonder those Tribulation Cultivators are so arrogant! They treat the Celestial Hearing Tower like their own backyard, coming and going as they please!" Jiang Wanzhao said, quite displeased.
It wasn’t just the Tribulation Cultivators; she had a huge problem with Luo Gang and Yu Lingxiao as well.
In truth, it was perfectly normal that Luo Gang and Yu Lingxiao were not as strong as Jiang Wanzhao.
As a True Inheritor of the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect, Jiang Wanzhao was never on the same level as an ordinary Golden Core Realm Cultivator.
Besides, Yu Lingxiao had probably realized she couldn’t climb any higher and had likely decided to just coast, unwilling to risk life and limb for so-called "battle merits."
Hearing this, Zou Feng couldn’t help but suggest, "Senior Sister Jiang, the Tribulation Cultivators are running too rampant. Why don’t we... request reinforcements from the Immortal Sect? Have them send another Senior Brother over?"
The last time Zou Feng had accompanied Jiang Wanzhao to attack the insectoid hive-cavern, the other two True Inheritor Senior Brothers had seemed to be on pretty good terms with her.
If they could get help from one of those two, they would be able to handle whatever conspiracy the enemy was brewing with much more ease.
However, when Jiang Wanzhao heard this, she shook her head without hesitation. "Request reinforcements? I might as well just tuck my tail between my legs and run back home!"
"Besides, the situation hasn’t reached the point where we need reinforcements. Even if I made the request, the Immortal Sect might not even approve it!"
Zou Feng had to admit that Jiang Wanzhao had a point. Right now, the idea that the Tribulation Cultivators were brewing some major conspiracy was just speculation; there was no definitive proof.
If this prediction turned out to be wrong, Jiang Wanzhao’s future position would become even more awkward.
"As for the Impermanences and Celestial Generals who snuck in during the chaos, are you confident you can deal with them?" Jiang Wanzhao got to the point.
Zou Feng had been hoping Jiang Wanzhao would assign him this exact type of task. He immediately replied, "No problem!"
Jiang Wanzhao nodded, then changed the subject. "Zhao Feixiong has been badly poisoned. You’re an expert in the Poison Dao; go see if he can still be saved."
"If possible, cure him as soon as you can. I can see he’s quite pleased with the Ninth Princess. This marriage should be settled as soon as possible."
Marrying into the Dragon Race of Yu Long Lake would better bind them to the Celestial Hearing Tower.
Otherwise, in many situations, this bunch of the Demon Race just goes through the motions without putting in any real effort.
Therefore, if Jiang Wanzhao could make this happen, it would also count as a meritorious achievement for her defense of the Northern Domain.
’Zhao Feixiong is badly poisoned?’
Ever since Zhao Feixiong had accurately predicted Zou Feng’s own coming tribulation with his Face Reading Skill, Zou Feng had seen him in a new light.
And Zhao Feixiong, who also had a Celestial Tier Dao Foundation, had already reached the Dao Foundation Realm Middle Stage. His potential and strength were both maxed out.
To be so heavily injured in this attack... Zou Feng was really curious how those Tribulation Cultivators had managed it.
’Could it be that some Celestial General or Impermanence happened to have the appearance of a Celestial Mountain Granny, causing the guy to let his guard down?’
As these thoughts ran through his mind, Zou Feng took his leave.
Outside the door, someone was already there to lead him to Zhao Feixiong’s room.
They arrived quickly. The moment Zou Feng stepped through the door, he felt as if he had been plunged into a cavern of ice.
After he entered the bedroom, the coldness intensified, feeling as if it could seep into his very bones.
As for why it was like this...
Lifting his gaze, he saw Zhao Feixiong sitting cross-legged beside a furnace-cauldron.
Inside the furnace-cauldron, a special flame was burning fiercely.
But even with this furnace fire, it was still not enough to dispel the cold air constantly emanating from Zhao Feixiong’s body.
He had clearly been afflicted with some extremely potent Cold Poison.
And Zhao Feixiong was currently using all his strength to try and force the poison out.
"Brother Zhao!" Zou Feng called out.
Zhao Feixiong opened his eyes. Seeing Zou Feng, a bitter smile touched his lips.
He knew, of course, why Zou Feng was here, so he immediately stopped trying to force the poison out.
The moment Zhao Feixiong stopped, however, the bone-chilling cold suddenly vanished.
’This poison really is something else. When the victim tries to expel it, it can even alter the surrounding environment.’
"I was careless and got ambushed by an Impermanence from the Yama Underworld!"
Zhao Feixiong’s face was full of chagrin. He looked as if his body had been completely hollowed out, weakened to the extreme.
The drain from trying to expel the poison was just too great. It had erased all of Zhao Feixiong’s usual vigor, leaving him looking like a sickly invalid.
"In this wretched state, how can I face the Ninth Princess? How can I... aih!" Zhao Feixiong said, beating his chest and stomping his feet in frustration.
’Uh... is this really the time to be worrying about that?’
’This Zhao Feixiong... he’s hopeless.’
"Brother Zhao, about the Ninth Princess..."
"That’s right! I’ve considered it carefully. For years, Senior Sister Jiang has been indifferent to my affections. Naturally, I shouldn’t be so obsessed as to hang myself from a single tree. The Ninth Princess of the Dragon Race and I fell in love at first sight. She is an equally good match!" Zhao Feixiong said with a solemn expression.