Chapter 1788: What Is This?
"It’s fortunate that it’s just the Heavenly Realm Late Stage; otherwise, it would be quite troublesome for the Second Elder to deal with him!"
After a brief moment of shock, the Great Elder of the Emperor Palace, Ruan Buwei, wore a look of reflection on his face, and his words resonated deeply with the other cultivators of the Emperor Palace.
Although Yun Xiao displayed his cultivation at the Heavenly Realm Late Stage, astonishing everyone, the Second Elder, Yue Qizhai, was a formidable powerhouse at the Peak of the Heavenly Realm.
Even though Yue Qizhai had not long broken through to the Peak of the Heavenly Realm, on this continent, there are very few who can fight across levels in the Heavenly Realm tier.
Thus, in the minds of these cultivators from the Emperor Palace, there was no doubt that the young man could not be a match for Yue Qizhai, let alone the fact that the latter was a genuine Heavenly Rank Advanced Poison Vein Master whose battle prowess was immensely formidable.
"It really gave me a fright!"
In contrast to the onlookers, as the party concerned, when Yue Qizhai sensed the opponent’s true cultivation, his heart tightened momentarily, but then swiftly turned into a cold smile.
As a Heavenly Rank Advanced Poison Vein Master, Yue Qizhai had poisoned countless ordinary cultivators at the Heavenly Realm Late Stage, let alone now when he had already broken through to the Peak of the Heavenly Realm.
Generally, when the cultivators of the Emperor Palace face ordinary cultivators of the same level, they often have a sense of superiority, which has indeed been the case in past battles.
Therefore, in Yue Qizhai’s view, today’s battle would be no exception, and even if the kid had reached the Heavenly Realm Late Stage at a young age, he could never be a match for him within a few exchanges.
Unfortunately, the Fourth Elder Yuan Dayou also thought this way at that time, and now he is on the Huangquan Road. The current self-assured thoughts of Yue Qizhai might indicate that his end would not be any better than Yuan Dayou’s.
Bang!
Two streams of Heavenly Realm Meridian Qi intertwined and after a brief stalemate, they finally exploded with a thunderous sound, and as the energy overflowed, an unusual gleam flickered in Yue Qizhai’s eyes.
"Kid, if you have the guts, don’t dodge!"
Yue Qizhai didn’t voice this thought, but his eyes were fixed on the rough-clothed young man carrying the Wooden Sword, sensing the Meridian Qi energy from the explosion drawing closer to the youth.
Because although this explosive Meridian Qi energy could no longer harm a cultivator at the Heavenly Realm Late Stage, Yue Qizhai was confident that if the youth were to touch even a trace, the battle would be over.
This was Yue Qizhai’s ace poison, which he believed could trouble even an experienced powerhouse at the Peak of the Heavenly Realm like the Great Elder over there, let alone this youthful late-stage cultivator.
What Yue Qizhai didn’t see was that while an unusual light gleamed in his eyes, a hint of playful intent also flashed in the eyes of the rough-clothed youth, seemingly strategizing the same way.
What Yue Qizhai didn’t know was that the youth facing him was not merely a simple Heavenly Realm Late Stage genius; his skill in Poison Meridian Art could even be described as unrivaled at the same rank.
Not to mention Yun Xiao’s Power of Soul had reached the Half-step Holy Rank, as a Heavenly Rank Advanced Meridian Refiner himself, he would not fear any poison.
On the other hand, the poison hidden within Yun Xiao’s meridian, if it were truly to strike, even the Half-step Saint Emperor Palace’s Lord Supervisor, Tan Qigong would be left with much to handle.
Poo! Poo! Poo!
A series of soft sounds was heard, followed by an intensely gratifying smile blossoming on Yue Qizhai’s face, as he clearly saw a streak of poisonous energy striking Yun Xiao’s right back of the hand.
The deadly poison refined by Yue Qizhai over many years would be excruciating if it merely touched one’s robe, let alone direct contact with the skin.
Seeing this scene, Yue Qizhai was convinced the outcome was decided, and the next step would be dealing with the youth.
What he didn’t notice was when his poison struck Yun Xiao, his own right back of the hand was also inadvertently hit by a strand of energy.
During the previous collision of meridian energies, the energy burst in all directions, while Yue Qizhai was solely focused on whether his poisonous Meridian Qi hit Yun Xiao, overlooking his own position entirely.
Yue Qizhai further couldn’t fathom that apart from appearing young, the opponent, simultaneously cultivating his Meridian Qi to the Heavenly Realm Late Stage, was also a Heavenly Rank Advanced Meridian Refiner, proficient in Medical and Poison Cultivation.
It was precisely this asymmetry of information that led to Yue Qizhai’s current ignorance as he watched the rough-clothed youth intently, eagerly anticipating a look of pain on the other’s face.
Not far away, Tan Qigong, Ruan Buwei, and others held similar expectations, perhaps having a deeper understanding of Yue Qizhai’s poison compared to outsiders.
Since the youth was already poisoned, he wouldn’t endure longer than a short moment, and soon they anticipated seeing this seemingly arrogant boy writhing in pain on the ground, reduced to begging for mercy.
"Hmm?"
Who would have thought that after more than ten breaths, the young man was still standing there nonchalantly, as if nothing had happened, without the slightest sign of poisoning?
"Could it be that the young man really has some treasure for avoiding poison?"
Seeing this scene, Tan Qigong, the Chief of the Emperor Palace, recalled the earlier incident when the young man’s right hand touched the lake water but was not poisoned, and he couldn’t help but ponder.
Thinking of this, Tan Qigong suddenly had another idea: if he could acquire that treasure for avoiding poison, perhaps he wouldn’t need to take the Detoxification Elixir refined by Yue Qizhai anymore.
𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎
This cautious Chief of the Murong City Emperor Palace was ninety percent sure that Yue Qizhai wouldn’t dare to play any tricks, but he always remained vigilant, wondering if there was really something fishy in those Detoxification Pills?
Over the years, Tan Qigong had seen quite a few conspiracies and tricks. How could he know that Yue Qizhai wouldn’t secretly prepare some backup plan to threaten him in the future? He always had doubts about these Poison Vein Masters.
With these thoughts swirling in his mind, Tan Qigong’s suspicion grew, while Yue Qizhai had no idea that the Lord Supervisor had such thoughts. Yun Xiao’s calm demeanor, devoid of any signs of poisoning, unsettled him instantly.
"No! Impossible! How could you be unharmed?"
Like talking to himself or a low growl, the voice came from Yue Qizhai’s mouth.
He couldn’t understand it. That was a genuine Heavenly Rank Advanced Poison. Even some Heavenly Realm Peak or Half-step Holy Rank cultivators would find it troublesome to deal with such a potent toxin.
Yet here this potent toxin was applied to a late-stage Heavenly Realm teenage boy, and it even stained his skin without having any effect. To Yue Qizhai, this was simply incomprehensible.
Perhaps in Yue Qizhai’s heart, apart from his Meridian Qi Cultivation reaching the Heavenly Realm Peak, what he was most proud of was his Heavenly Rank Advanced Poison Meridian Skill.
This formidable Poison Meridian Skill allowed him to accomplish tasks with half the effort, making even the toughest opponents succumb like meek sheep under his toxic assault.
Just now, Yue Qizhai had been waiting for the coarse-clothed boy to beg for mercy but never expected this result, making it hard for him to accept for a moment.
"Did you think that this mere Heavenly Rank Advanced Poison could make me surrender?"
Just as Yue Qizhai was puzzling over it, the coarse-clothed boy across from him spoke leisurely. Upon hearing this, not only Yue Qizhai but also many onlooking cultivators felt a sense of oddity.
"Mere... Heavenly Rank Advanced Poison?"
Especially the adjective Yun Xiao used made many people’s minds baffled. That was a Heavenly Rank Advanced Poison. How could it be described as "mere"?
But regardless of their thoughts, the fact lay before them that the young man showed no signs of poisoning, or else he wouldn’t be so composed.
"Since yours doesn’t work, then try mine!"
Yun Xiao didn’t bother with the thoughts of the onlookers. Upon hearing him speak again, Tan Qigong and others felt a stir in their hearts, while Yue Qizhai, the one directly involved, had a drastic change of expression.
"What is this?"
Yue Qizhai’s reaction was swift. As soon as Yun Xiao finished speaking, he sensed something amiss, raised his right hand, and looked at the abnormality on the back of his hand, exclaiming in terror.
On the back of Yue Qizhai’s right hand, a tiny black dot had appeared at some point. Even as he sensed with his powerful Heavenly Rank Advanced Soul, the small black dot was growing over time.
"Get out of me!"
In his desperation, the Heavenly Rank Advanced Poison Vein Master roared fiercely, gathering his Meridian Qi on the back of his right hand recklessly.
Yue Qizhai had great faith in his Poison Meridian Skill. His achievements stemmed from constantly experimenting with various toxins, developing a highly potent resistance to poison.
He believed that with his Meridian Qi and Poison Meridian Skill working together, the unseen poison that had stained him would be expelled, after which he could deal with the arrogant coarse-clothed boy.
"Hmm? Still ineffective?"
However, moments later, Yue Qizhai’s expression turned exceptionally grim. He found that his supposedly unrivaled detoxification method had no effect on the black dot.
Instead, after more than ten breaths, the black dot, originally the size of a soybean, had grown to the size of a copper coin, emanating a special and peculiar aura.
The spread of the deadly poison was urgent and couldn’t be delayed!