Chapter 993: The Poison Hall

After questioning him a while longer, the other party knew little about the ruins in Fire Source City, and his knowledge was limited. Seeing that he could not obtain more information from him, Zhang Xuan shook his head.

At this moment, the Ruthless One had also extracted information from the Water Leaf King's primordial spirit. It did not differ much from what the other had said, only providing more detail about the so-called map.

It was said that over two thousand years ago, those ruins had appeared on their own. After much contention, they fell into the hands of the Poison Hall.

However, for some unknown reason, the Poison Hall did not send anyone to search them, and since they had always kept to themselves, over time, many people became unaware of this information.

The Alien Spirit Tribe had also made extensive inquiries before learning of the news. After several twists and turns, they finally seized the opportunity to dispatch two kings. Unexpectedly, these two fell into his hands before they could even find a trace of the Poison Hall.

"What were the goals of the Golden Leaf King and the Green Leaf King?"

Since their goal was the map, the Golden and Green Leaf Kings naturally had their own objectives. But before they could even begin, they were killed by him, and to this day, he did not know what they intended to do.

"Their goal was... to kill influential people in the Hongyuan Empire, such as Yu Shenqing or... the Dean of the Master Teacher Academy, that is... Young Master you, to create chaos so that no one would have time to attend to other matters..." The Purple Leaf King's face reddened as he spoke.

"Kill me?" Zhang Xuan was stunned.

He had been puzzled before, but now it turned out they were after him. It seemed fortunate that he had discovered them in advance and killed them first; otherwise, being ambushed by two Saint Realm Fourth Layer kings might have truly led to his downfall.

It was conceivable that over two hundred Saint-level Alien Spirit Tribe members, along with two Saint Realm Fourth Layer kings, once they appeared in Hongyuan City, would inevitably cause a huge commotion. Even the Qingyuan Enfeoffed Empire's Master Teacher Hall might be drawn in, and perhaps no one would pay attention to the ruins, allowing them to succeed easily.

"Yes..."

Seeing the Young Master's stunned expression, the Purple Leaf King felt helpless.

Perhaps the Golden and Green Leaf Kings were the most aggrieved deaths among the ten kings of Qingtian.

They went to kill someone, but the one they intended to kill killed them without even knowing it. Thinking about it, it was quite tragic.

"Well, they died as they deserved..."

They wanted to kill him but ended up dying at his hands; it was a fitting retribution.

"I have a folded space; you go in first!"

Having asked what he needed, Zhang Xuan said no more. With a wave of his hand, he collected the Purple Leaf King into the Thousand Ant Beehive.

It had been hard enough to make Elder Xu believe he was a poison master. If he kept this fellow by his side, no matter what he said, the other would probably not believe him.

It was better to put him away for now.

Whoosh!

After storing the Purple Leaf King, Zhang Xuan grabbed with his hand and dispelled the Seven Stars Confusion Formation. Hu Yunsheng and the others had not gone far. He arranged for them to take down those guards, wrote a letter, and sent someone to deliver it to the Hongyuan Imperial City and the Master Teacher Hall. Then he walked toward the quiet room.

The matter of the Jingyuan City Lord colluding with the Alien Spirit Tribe could be left for Yu Shenqing to worry about. Whether to replace him or reappoint someone else was none of his concern.

It was predictable that once the letter arrived, this arrogant and domineering city lord would become history.

Returning to the quiet room, he saw that Elder Xu's injuries had mostly healed. His spirit, energy, and demeanor had become more rounded, but his face was still somewhat pale, as if his soul had suffered great damage.

With a thought, a beetle appeared in his palm, and he handed it over: "I just went to the City Lord's Mansion again and quietly retrieved this!"

This beetle had been fed with the other's essence blood. Losing it would have caused great harm. After subduing the Purple Leaf King, he retrieved it.

As for the latter being able to confirm that they were hiding in Ink Cloud Pavilion, it must have been related to this thing. Otherwise, why would they search here of all places in such a large city?

"This..." His eyes lit up, and Elder Xu showed excitement as he quickly took it: "Thank you!"

This was his life-bound beetle. If it died, he would at least be severely weakened, if not killed. He had thought that once it fell into the other's hands, it would be hard to retrieve. Unexpectedly, this young man had risked danger to help him get it back.

This kindness moved him deeply.

"You... are you injured?" Putting away the beetle, Elder Xu looked at him with concern.

He had witnessed the terror of that powerful figure. Retrieving this item from him must have been incredibly difficult.

"Don't worry, I'm fine..." Zhang Xuan gave a slight smile, then suddenly his body swayed, his face turned pale: "Pfft!"

He spat out a mouthful of blood, as if his injuries were too severe to bear, and collapsed to the ground.

"Friend..." Elder Xu was startled and quickly helped him up, his eyes full of worry and gratitude.

To retrieve his beetle for him, disregarding danger—such character was admirable.

Most importantly, with such severe injuries, he said he was not injured to avoid worrying him... This poison master was truly someone worth befriending, a good man worthy of entrusting with one's life!

He hurriedly took some healing poisons from his bosom and fed them to the young man. Seeing his complexion slowly improve, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"We can't stay here any longer. We need to leave as soon as possible!"

After regulating his breathing for a while, Zhang Xuan exhaled.

Elder Xu nodded.

If they had not gone to retrieve the beetle, the other party would have thought they had already fled far away and would search in all directions.

But now... they surely knew they were still in Jingyuan City. Narrowing the search area would make it much easier.

"How are you feeling now? Do you need to rest a while longer?"

After a pause, Elder Xu looked over.

Although escaping was more important, if the other's injuries worsened because of it, he would definitely feel guilty for life.

"It's fine, my injuries are bearable. Let's leave here first. Once we reach the Poison Hall, we can treat them slowly, it won't be too late!"

Holding his chest, Zhang Xuan spoke with a righteous air.

"Alright, let's prepare to set off!"

Having agreed, the two quietly slipped out of the meditation room and sneaked toward the city gates. Before long, they were outside the city.

After walking through the mountain forest outside the city for a while, they came to a col and soon saw a huge sacred beast not far ahead.

"This is our Poison Hall's sacred beast, the one Elder Xue and I rode here..."

At this point, Elder Xu paused, his expression somewhat sorrowful.

The Elder Xue he mentioned was the slightly thin man who, in the city lord's mansion, was killed on the spot by Purple Leaf King while trying to save him.

"Elder Xue died to save you. As long as we return safely to the Poison Hall, we won't have let his efforts go to waste!" Zhang Xuan comforted him.

"Mm."

Understanding his meaning, Elder Xu nodded and said no more.

The two mounted the sacred beast and flew straight toward the direction of Dragon Cang Sea.

Dragon Cang Sea was the largest inland sea of the Hongyuan Empire, covering an area of over a hundred thousand kilometers. The spirit beasts living there were as powerful as the third or fourth level of the Saint Domain, extremely fearsome, and had always been a forbidden zone for cultivators.

The sacred beast they rode was an Iron-Armored Winged Dragon Beast at the mid-first level of the Saint Domain. It was not particularly fast, but its endurance was excellent.

After half a day of flight, they saw a vast ocean appear before them. The azure sky and the slightly green seawater converged in the distance, as if entering a painting where sky and water merged.

Looking at it for a long time would broaden one's mind and stir heroic spirits.

"On the way to the Poison Hall, a total of twenty-seven poison arrays have been set up. Even strong cultivators at the second or third level of the Saint Domain would be easily poisoned to death if they rashly entered."

Standing in the wooden cabin of the flying sacred beast, Elder Xu looked at the seawater before him and said.

"Twenty-seven poison arrays?" Zhang Xuan was astonished.

"Mm. Around the poison arrays are the lairs of sacred beasts at the third level of the Saint Domain. Once you avoid the poison arrays, you'll fall into their attacks... Almost all cultivators who seek the Poison Hall die, with no fewer than several hundred each year."

At this point, Elder Xu shook his head.

"Several hundred... each year?"

Zhang Xuan was startled.

Those daring to seek the Poison Hall were certainly not weak; at the very least, they had reached the Saint Domain. For such figures to die by the hundreds each year, though not directly by the poison masters' hands, was closely related to them.

No wonder this profession inspired such fear and awe; it was indeed terrifying.

"Since the Poison Hall is so hidden, how is its heritage passed on?"

Frowning, Zhang Xuan couldn't help asking.

Every profession needs an influx of younger talents. The Poison Hall was so deeply hidden that many couldn't find it. How could one apprentice, inherit, and continue its legacy?

"Inheritance disciples are mostly sought out by our Poison Hall members. Whenever we see someone with talent, we take them in as students. Of course, some are orphans we adopt, exposing them to potent poisons from a young age. Only those who survive are qualified to become disciples!"

Elder Xu explained.

Zhang Xuan frowned.

This method was somewhat similar to raising gu—putting all the insects together and letting them fight each other, with the victor becoming the king.

For a group of orphans who had never been exposed to poison, sudden contact would inevitably lead to casualties. It seemed that cultivating a poison master required countless lives to be sacrificed.

"You never received the inheritance, so how did you enter the poison master profession?"

After explaining, Elder Xu looked over.

Even those who had received the poison master inheritance might not achieve immunity to all poisons. This man had never been to the Poison Hall, yet he could do so and was no worse than him in using poison. How had he managed it?

"Actually... I have stayed in a Poison Hall before, but not this one. It was a small place under the轩辕 Kingdom, called the Red Lotus Mountain Range... Later, I left there and wandered alone. By chance, I obtained a manual on the way of poison, studied it slowly, and reached my current level..."

Zhang Xuan said casually.

If he claimed to have never been exposed to poison and yet reached this level, no one would believe him. So his words mixed truth and falsehood, making it hard for the other to discern.

"A manual on using poison? For it to bring you to such strength, it must be extraordinary!"

Praising him, Elder Xu couldn't help looking over: "Would it be convenient to lend me that manual for a look? Rest assured, I won't open it; I'm just curious to see which master it came from!"

"This..."

Zhang Xuan's mouth twitched.

He had just made it up on the spot; where was there any manual?

Could it be... that the other had become suspicious of him again?