Chapter 1004: Paying Homage to the Ancestor

"Innate Poison Soul Body?"

Pausing for a moment, the hall master nodded.

Innate Poison Soul Body, as the name implies, meant the soul had no fear of poison and was immune to all toxins. This special constitution had not appeared or been heard of in tens of thousands of years, except for the founder of the Poison Hall. If it could be confirmed that the remnant soul had this constitution, it would almost prove that the other party was the founding patriarch!

Even if not, possessing such a special ability, as long as one continued to study poison, they would inevitably go further and further, becoming famous throughout the world, and reaching the level of a Nine-Star Poison Master would be effortless.

Thinking of this, the hall master did not ponder for long. With a flick of his wrist, a jade bottle appeared in his palm.

Unlike other medicine bottles, it was the size of a palm, with strange seals carved on its surface using special characters.

The closed-eyed "Sun Qiang" stiffened, as if discovering something unbelievable, then quickly resumed an expression as calm as still water.

"This is something that can poison and kill souls—[Qingchan Sha Du]! Refined from the baleful aura of the Heterogeneous Spirit Clan, combined with countless rare medicinal herbs, it was left by an ancestor of the Hongyuan Poison Hall. It can easily poison and kill the soul of a Saint Domain Fourth Layer expert! Even I cannot concoct it now."

The hall master explained, looking over: "If you truly are an Innate Poison Soul Body, you will surely be able to withstand it without harm."

There was no other way to test for the Innate Poison Soul Body—only one... testing with poison.

If nothing happened, it meant he wasn't lying.

If he died, it would also count as avenging the many elders.

"Alright?"

"Sun Qiang" nodded, and with a flick of his finger, the jade bottle slowly flew over.

Without any hesitation, he directly pulled off the lid. Instantly, a special baleful aura surged out, piercing into the mind like raging winds and towering waves.

The hall master and others hurriedly looked over and saw that under the attack of the poison gas in the bottle, the "Sun Qiang" before them did not show signs of weakness; instead, his complexion grew rosier, as if he had consumed some great tonic.

It was as if that was not poison but some kind of supplement.

"Legend says that the Innate Poison Body can consume poison to advance. As long as there is enough poison, cultivation and power can increase rapidly. Could it be... true?"

An elder murmured to himself.

The Innate Poison Body existed only in legends; none of them had seen it. It was said that those with this constitution were most suited to the profession of poison master. Others would be killed by swallowing poison, but such a person could transform this life-extinguishing substance into power, thereby greatly increasing their cultivation.

Because of this ability, they were envied and resented by countless poison masters.

Qingchan Sha Du was a medicine that primarily attacked the soul, having no effect on the physical body. The fact that the other party devoured it and not only was the soul unharmed but even greatly benefited, was enough to illustrate the point...

It was probably truly... the Innate Poison Soul Body!

Possessing this constitution, being able to see through the mysteries of the Poison Hall's grand formation at a glance, and having the ability to challenge higher levels, even if this person was not the founding patriarch, he must be closely related to him.

"Can you confirm now?"

As he was pondering, Sun Qiang's voice sounded again.

"I..."

The hall master hesitated.

Although he had confirmed that the other party was an Innate Poison Soul Body, saying he was the founding patriarch of the Poison Hall still felt somewhat absurd.

"What? Still don't believe me? If it weren't for Sun Qiang's earnest plea not to kill, I would have slaughtered all of you just for this doubt!"

Boom!

With a roar of anger, an extremely powerful aura burst forth from the "Sun Qiang" nearby, as if the figure before them was a deity descending from the nine heavens, bearing an unassailable majesty.

"Ruo Qingyuan, Hall Master of Hongyuan Poison Hall, pays homage to the Patriarch!"

Feeling this aura, the hall master no longer doubted and knelt directly to the ground.

The other party was unafraid of deadly poison, controlled the entire Poison Hall's grand formation, came and went freely, and possessed boundless power, making none of them a match... Under such advantages, he could have slaughtered them all without needing to waste words explaining.

Perhaps the Poison Hall's patriarch really had hidden within the Hell Seven-Heart Lotus, surviving as a wisp of remnant soul!

Realizing this, he was filled with both awe and excitement.

The founding patriarch appearing here—even if he only gave a little guidance, it would ensure their strength greatly increased, and the power of the entire Hongyuan Poison Hall would rise significantly in the foreseeable future!

It could be said that for him, this was an enormous opportunity.

"You have some discernment! The reason I survived is all thanks to this Sun Qiang!"

Seeing the other party acknowledge him, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, pointed a finger at himself, still keeping his eyes closed but his expression turning serious: "He is my savior. Without him, I would have long since vanished and died completely! Therefore, from now on, you must obey his every word. His orders are my will. Anyone who dares to defy... don't blame me for showing no mercy!"

"Yes!"

Ruo Qingyuan, the hall master, and the remaining elders nodded simultaneously.

How could they dare not follow the patriarch's instructions?

"Also, those elders and Vice Hall Master Ming were killed by me, and have nothing to do with him. If you want revenge, come to me..." Zhang Xuan continued.

"We dare not..."

Ruo Qingyuan quickly nodded: "Vice Hall Master Ming and the others offended the patriarch; being killed or injured was their just deserts. We juniors dare not seek revenge!"

"Mm."

Zhang Xuan nodded, his voice fading away, then slowly opened his eyes, looking confused and innocent, as if knowing nothing of what had happened: "What just happened? Hall Master... please don't make things difficult for Elder Xu; he really is innocent..."

Seeing his bewildered expression, knowing that the "patriarch's" soul had sunk back again, Ruo Qingyuan quickly cupped his hands: "Master Sun is joking. The patriarch has already explained to us. Elder Huang and the others got what they deserved. Elder Xu is not only innocent but has made outstanding contributions and deserves a reward. From today, he will replace Ming Zhen as Vice Hall Master of the Poison Hall..."

"Become Vice Hall Master?"

Elder Xu was stunned: "Hall Master, my qualifications are still insufficient..."

He was only at the peak of Six Stars; to become Vice Hall Master, he would need at least to reach the Seven-Star level. A hasty promotion would surely invite gossip from others.

"I said you're qualified, so you're qualified. No need to decline!"

Ruo Qingyuan waved his hand.

Having invited the patriarch, the merit was immeasurable. In the future, he hoped the other party would put in a good word so that the patriarch would give them more lectures.

"Alright..."

Seeing no way to decline, Elder Xu had to nod. He looked again at Sun Qiang nearby, his eyes full of admiration.

No wonder he was immune to all poisons and had such a profound understanding of toxins; listening to him for a while had even enlightened him... So the patriarch's remnant soul had entered his body. Such an opportunity was not something everyone could enjoy!

"Looks like I've fooled them..."

Seeing that everyone was convinced of his new identity, Zhang Xuan finally relaxed. He looked again at the characters on the bottle in his hand, raised an eyebrow, and couldn't help but glance at the hall master.

"Hall Master, I'd like to ask, what characters are these... do you know?"

The characters sealing the Qingchan Sha Du on the jade bottle—he had seen them before... identical to those on the map left by Wu Yangzi!

That was why he had been so excited when his spiritual sense swept over them. Now, he couldn't hold back and asked.

"This? I don't know either... Two thousand years ago, a hall master of our Poison Hall obtained an ancient book from a relic, written in these characters. Since we couldn't recognize them, we didn't study them much. However, by chance, we discovered that these characters had a special effect on sealing baleful auras, so... we copied them onto this bottle."

After thinking carefully, Ruo Qingyuan said.

"Ancient book? Sealing baleful auras?" Zhang Xuan frowned.

He had seen these characters on the map; how did they relate to sealing baleful auras?

"Is that ancient book... still around? Could I... borrow it to have a look?"

Thinking it over, not understanding what was going on, Zhang Xuan asked.

The map marked ordinary place names without errors, and the library couldn't analyze anything. But if there was a complete book, he could fully deduce the meaning of the characters.

Moreover, two thousand years ago... seemed to coincide with the time the Purple Leaf King said the map appeared. Could there be a connection?

"The ancient book... At the time, many elites of the Poison Hall died for it. That hall master considered it unlucky and had it buried with him before he died..."

Ruo Qingyuan shook his head.

"Buried?"

Zhang Xuan frowned: "Do you know where it was buried?"

"In the Hall Master's Mausoleum..."

Ruo Qingyuan said.

"Oh."

Hearing this, Zhang Xuan asked no more.

The Hall Master's Mausoleum was a forbidden area; no one but the hall master could enter. Asking too much would surely arouse suspicion.

Having confirmed the identity of the "Sun Qiang" before him, Ruo Qingyuan dared not say more and arranged new accommodations.

As for the poison master assessment, since the other party could even kill his poison insects, continuing the assessment was meaningless. He directly applied for a Seven-Star level badge.

"I'll go to the Library Hall to read some books..."

With the Seven-Star badge and the "patriarch" identity, Zhang Xuan no longer needed to sneak into the Library Hall to read; he could do so openly.

"Yes!"

Ruo Qingyuan and the others said no more. They escorted him to the entrance of the Library Hall and, seeing him enter, exchanged glances.

"Vice Hall Master Xu, everyone, come to my residence!"

"Mm."

Everyone nodded and followed the hall master back. Before long, they arrived at his courtyard. After activating the formation to isolate their auras, Ruo Qingyuan looked at the others again.

"Everyone, what do you think of today's events?"

"Since it's confirmed that the soul inside Sun Qiang is an Innate Poison Soul Body, it can be affirmed that he has an extremely close relationship with the founding patriarch!"

"Indeed! The Innate Poison Soul Body... besides the patriarch back then, we've never heard of anyone else having it!"

Several elders nodded simultaneously.

They were now fully convinced of "Sun Qiang's" identity as the patriarch.

"Vice Hall Master Xu, what about you? Could you tell us in detail about your meeting with this 'Master Sun'?"

Ruo Qingyuan looked over.