Chapter 146 - 144: Poison Technique
Among the Eight Great Noble Families, the Huangfu Family was the most peculiar.
To be precise, the Huangfu Family was exceedingly unique throughout the entire Jianghu.
This was because the source of their power was not the Martial Dao, but their Inheritance Divine Artifact, the Divine Mask.
While other Sects and Families also had Divine Artifact Demon Soldiers, their own Martial Dao had to be strong enough to keep up.
But the Huangfu Family’s Divine Mask was exceptionally unique; it could create a Divine Artifact Incarnation at an extremely low cost.
All one needed to do was casually carve a mask from wood, then use their Qi Blood to draw out the Divine Mask’s power, which would manifest as paint to be applied to the mask. This would create a Divine Artifact Incarnation, and the Qi Blood consumed was minimal.
It was said that the Divine Mask contained the power of countless Ancient Divine Demons. By wearing a Divine Artifact Incarnation of the Divine Mask, one could invoke the Power of God and Demon to possess their body.
Moreover, this possession wasn’t just in terms of power, but also of will.
After using the Divine Mask, one’s own will would even be influenced by this Power of God and Demon.
This was why the previously meek, timid, and shy Huangfu Yi would become incomparably fierce and berserk the moment he put on a mask.
The strength of a Huangfu Family Martial Artist was not primarily determined by their Cultivation, but by the degree of their compatibility with the Power of God and Demon within the Divine Mask.
Legend had it that an supremely powerful Ancient Demon God slumbered within the Divine Mask. If one could invoke its power for possession, the resulting might could even surpass the limits of the Martial Dao.
Of course, this was only a rumor. Most people believed it was a story fabricated by the Huangfu Family to add to the intimidating presence of their Divine Artifact Incarnations.
However, in the rankings of Divine Artifact Demon Soldiers, the Huangfu Family’s Divine Mask was indeed ranked extremely high, far surpassing the likes of the Murong Family’s Star Shifting and the Shangguan Family’s Celestial Ice Treasure Mirror.
After Huangfu Yi, Lu Chuanshan was drawn to enter the arena.
His opponent was not some prodigy of the younger generation, but an unremarkable young man dressed in black.
The man was not from any Major Sect either, but from the South Sea Pavilion, a partner of Medicine King Valley.
Because Medicine King Valley required a wide variety of Spiritual Medicines from all over, they collaborated with several factions that specialized in selling them.
This South Sea Pavilion was one such faction from Overseas that dealt in Spiritual Medicines, responsible for supplying Medicine King Valley with rare Spiritual Medicines from abroad.
Many factions like this, who collaborated with Medicine King Valley, had come. There were more than a dozen of them in the stands.
Lu Chuanshan didn’t take his opponent seriously. After stepping onto the Martial Arts Arena, he directly condensed his True Qi and threw a punch.
He cultivated the Sea-Covering Fist Scripture, a technique passed down by the Jianghai Alliance’s Alliance Leader, the ’Sea-covering Divine Monarch’ Chen Longbi. The Fist Technique was heavy and powerful, its might immeasurable. As this punch descended, the sound of a sonic boom instantly echoed throughout the Martial Arts Arena.
However, Lu Chuanshan held back with this punch, making it easier to retract his power in time should his opponent yell to surrender.
But at that moment, an extremely strange, dark red light flared up around the black-clothed youth.
The youth met the attack with a single palm. The impact sent him flying, and he stumbled back several steps.
Lu Chuanshan was slightly surprised. ’His opponent’s strength isn’t weak. He actually took my punch head-on.’
But in the next moment, Lu Chuanshan was horrified to discover that the dark red power had actually traveled along his True Qi and entered his body, continuously corrupting his True Qi and Qi Blood.
’What the hell is this stuff!’
Lu Chuanshan’s expression changed instantly. He frantically circulated his True Qi, trying to expel it from his body.
But the more he circulated his True Qi, the more ferociously the strange power corroded it, spreading like a rampant plague.
Even burning his Qi Blood was useless. The power spread madly like a cancer clinging to his bones, impossible to shake off no matter what he did.
At this point, the black-clothed Martial Artist sneered and began to attack Lu Chuanshan relentlessly.
His Martial Arts were actually quite average. From Chen Yuan’s perspective, most of his Martial Techniques were around Profound Level or Earth Level, and his Cultivation Technique wasn’t very advanced either. However, his power was abundant, more like strength obtained through some external object.
But at this moment, Lu Chuanshan was affected by that bizarre power, unable to exert even thirty percent of his full combat strength.
And the more fiercely he unleashed his power, the deeper that other power would corrode him.
The problem was, the Sea-Covering Fist Scripture was inherently a majestic and powerful Fist Technique. If he had to be cautious even when unleashing his power, how could he possibly fight?
Thus, after several dozen exchanges, Lu Chuanshan found himself completely suppressed, unable to fight back at all. In the end, he was even beaten to the point of vomiting blood.
Everyone present was also stunned.
With so many young prodigies at the Alchemy Furnace Assembly, it was normal for a dark horse to emerge occasionally.
But this scene was far too bizarre.
Lu Chuanshan, the personal disciple of Jianghai Alliance’s Alliance Leader Chen Longbi and ranked fortieth on the Hidden Dragon Rankings, was actually being beaten to the point of vomiting blood by a nameless nobody. The scene couldn’t have been more incongruous.
"We can’t let Lu Chuanshan keep fighting," Chen Yuan said with a frown.
"His condition is very poor right now. If he continues, that power will corrode his Meridians and he’ll be severely injured."
Cui Xuanye’s expression also grew solemn. He nodded, stood up, and declared, "Lu Chuanshan loses this match! There’s no need to fight anymore!"
Lu Chuanshan spat out a mouthful of black blood, still struggling. "I haven’t lost!"
Although he wasn’t the arrogant type, he still had his own pride.
He could accept losing to other prodigies on the Hidden Dragon Rankings, or to his friends Cui Xuanye and Chen Yuan, but he absolutely could not accept losing to a nameless nobody.
Cui Xuanye leaped up and landed at the edge of the Martial Arts Arena, shouting angrily, "Don’t be stubborn! Do you want to be left with a permanent injury?"
Chen Yuan and the others also gathered around, urging Lu Chuanshan to concede and not be stubborn.
The referee, Chen Guinong, sighed and directly intervened to separate the two. He announced in a deep voice, "This match goes to Yan Jiuyi of the South Sea Pavilion."
Tempers could flare during the Alchemy Furnace Assembly, but Medicine King Valley had to ensure the safety of the disciples from the various major factions.
Otherwise, if the disciples from the major factions were all either injured or crippled after an Alchemy Furnace Assembly, how could Medicine King Valley answer to them?
Yan Jiuyi of the South Sea Pavilion gave Lu Chuanshan a slight smile. "I was fortunate."
Seeing his expression, Lu Chuanshan felt so angry he could have coughed up blood.
Cui Xuanye pulled Lu Chuanshan back and fed him an Elixir, trying to help him expel the power from his body. But he discovered that the power was extremely sinister; it could even corrode his own True Qi.
The more True Qi he channeled in, the stronger that strange power became.
Cui Xuanye frowned and looked at Yan Jiuyi. "Brother Lu, what’s happening to him? Why can’t this power be expelled?"
Yan Jiuyi sneered. "What, you expect me to heal him? I’ve never heard of a rule at this Alchemy Furnace Assembly where the winner has to heal the loser.
Does this mean from now on, everyone has to be careful not to injure you precious disciples from the Major Sects?
You disciples from the Noble Sects are all wealthy. Don’t tell me you can’t afford a few Healing Elixirs? When we Independent Martial Artists from humble backgrounds get injured, we have to recover slowly. We’re not as delicate as you."
He seemed to harbor extreme hostility towards Martial Artists from Noble Families. His sarcastic words made even the good-natured Cui Xuanye glare at him in anger.
"Let me see."
Chen Yuan walked over and placed his hand on Lu Chuanshan’s wrist, sending his True Qi in to investigate.
On the surface, Chen Yuan was using his True Qi to probe, but in reality, he was using the power of the Blood Spirit Scripture, supplemented by the Inner Vision God Observation Method, to investigate the situation inside Lu Chuanshan’s body.
The Blood Spirit Scripture’s control over Qi Blood was extremely minute and pervasive. After a moment, Chen Yuan’s brows furrowed slightly as he looked toward Yan Jiuyi.
"What a vicious poison! May I ask the seniors from Medicine King Valley, is poison permitted in the Alchemy Furnace Assembly?"
Yan Jiuyi’s gaze toward Chen Yuan changed instantly.
He hadn’t expected Chen Yuan to see through his methods so quickly.
Chen Guinong’s expression also changed slightly.
Medicine King Valley specialized in pharmacology, but since every medicine has a bit of poison in it, every Alchemy Master from Medicine King Valley could, in fact, easily become a Poison Master.
But even with his keen eyes, he hadn’t been able to tell that the power Yan Jiuyi used was poison.
Chen Guinong frowned slightly and subconsciously glanced toward the stands, in the direction of South Sea Pavilion’s Pavilion Master, Yan Yuanming.
Yan Yuanming appeared to be a kind-faced, benevolent old man in his sixties or seventies. Who would have thought he had someone who practiced such a vicious Poison Technique under his command?
Yan Jiuyi sneered, "So what if it’s poison? Is a Poison Technique not part of the Martial Dao? I seem to recall people from the Divine Strategy Pavilion participating in the Alchemy Furnace Assembly with Hidden Weapons!"
Chen Guinong sighed and said, "Poison Techniques are indeed not against the rules. We’ve had Poison Masters from Xiangxi and Miaojiang Gu Masters participate in the Alchemy Furnace Assembly before, and they were all permitted."
Gu Lichuan wanted to ask Yan Jiuyi for the Antitoxic Medicine but was stopped by Chen Yuan.
Yan Jiuyi had a perverse personality and seemed to despise Martial Artists from Noble Sects. Even if Gu Lichuan asked for the antidote, he wouldn’t give it.
Chen Yuan ignited a Starfire within his Dantian and Reincarnation Sea. In an instant, the supremely tyrannical Celestial Fire began to boil and burn.
Chen Yuan carefully channeled this power into Lu Chuanshan’s body. Under the Celestial Fire’s Power, the strange toxins were unable to corrode the tyrannical Celestial Fire Power and were all incinerated.
A moment later, Chen Yuan slapped Lu Chuanshan on the back. The remnants of the poison, mixed with a mouthful of scorching hot black blood, were spat out by Lu Chuanshan, instantly corroding a large pit into the ground.
Lu Chuanshan’s complexion instantly turned from pale to ruddy. He gasped for breath and thanked Chen Yuan, "Many thanks for your help, Brother Chen."
"We’re brothers. No need for thanks."
Cui Xuanye and the others were all rather surprised. ’Brother Chen’s foundation seems to be even stronger than we knew.’
They were completely helpless against this strange Poison Technique, yet Chen Yuan had resolved it so quickly.
Seeing Chen Yuan neutralize his Poison Technique, Yan Jiuyi’s expression twisted slightly.
He shot Chen Yuan a resentful glare before turning and walking off the Martial Arts Arena.
After helping Lu Chuanshan back to his seat, Chen Yuan frowned and looked toward the stands.
Just now, when he had used the Celestial Fire Secret Manual to help Lu Chuanshan expel the Poison Technique, he had clearly felt someone in the stands staring at him, right at the instant he ignited the Starfire.
The problem was, he had ignited the Starfire inside his body; it was absolutely impossible for an outsider to have noticed.
Even Lu Chuanshan himself could only perceive that a scorching, tyrannical Inner Strength had helped him expel the poison.
’Could it be a coincidence?’
Chen Yuan stared intently at the stands. The tables of the guests who had come to observe all had name plaques, and Chen Yuan silently committed them all to memory.