Chapter 275: Entering the Poison Hall

Woo-woo-woo-woo!

The gale in the Red Lotus Mountain Range was like a blade, stinging the skin. The monotonous, pale red scenery, after too much looking, made one's eyes ache and feel unusually weary.

From time to time, a finger-sized worm crawled past, damp and stinking, nauseating.

"These are the damp worms unique to the Red Lotus Mountain Range. They feed on medicinal herbs and are the natural enemies of medicine. However, strangely enough, their corpses are a great tonic for medicinal herbs. When used as fertilizer, the plants grown are brimming with spiritual energy and dazzlingly bright. Many herbs that are difficult to cultivate can be easily grown with these worms, and they thrive. That's why Red Lotus City has become the largest medicinal herb trading hub for the thirteen surrounding kingdoms!"

Deep within the lotus-shaped mountain range, two figures trudged forward. One of them, looking at the ground crawling with worms, explained.

"No wonder. I've been wondering how Red Lotus City, in such a remote place with little vegetation, could become a center for medicinal herbs. So that's it."

The second figure nodded, took a few steps forward, looked up at the mist blocking the sun, and then asked, "Is this the poisonous miasma you mentioned?"

The two were none other than Zhang Xuan and the Great Medicine King, who had left Red Lotus City for the Poison Hall.

Because going to the Poison Hall was too dangerous, they hadn't brought Mo Yu along and had let her return to Tianwu Royal City on her own.

The Great Medicine King had struggled for a while but ultimately decided to bring him along.

This life was a gift; since he had already agreed to the other party, he couldn't refuse.

They had been traveling for five full days.

"Yes! Beneath the Red Lotus Mountain Range lies a large volcano. The surface is scorching hot, so nothing grows, and even the rocks are fiery red. Under the heat, the poisonous miasma floats dozens of meters above the ground, hundreds of meters thick. You can fly over it on a flying beast, but getting down is difficult. Once you pass through this layer of poison gas, you'll be injured. Even a Zongshi-level flying beast can't last a quarter-hour before dying with blood oozing from its seven orifices!"

The Great Medicine King explained.

"So, this stretch can only be traveled on foot, not by flying beast. That's also why the Poison Hall has been able to stand here in the Red Lotus Mountains for so many years without being wiped out by those so-called righteous warriors."

The Poison Hall, which concocted and sold poisons, was eerie and terrifying, and its defenses were hard to guard against. It had offended many people, yet it had stood for thousands of years. The support of a powerful headquarters was only part of the reason; more important were these poisonous miasmas and its hidden location.

Hard to find, and even if found, impossible to approach by flying beast for a direct assault, thus posing no threat.

"Indeed, formidable." Zhang Xuan nodded.

No wonder many people couldn't find the Poison Hall, or had never even heard of it. With these poisonous miasmas as cover, even if one knew of it, it would be nearly impossible to enter.

These things weren't just floating in the sky; some were tightly connected to the ground. If not for the Great Medicine King knowing the path and avoiding them in advance, the two would have already been severely poisoned.

In other words, without a guide, finding it was almost impossible.

He had heard before that those who sought the Poison Hall alone almost never returned. Now it seemed that was indeed the case.

Fortunately, Mo Yu had led him to the Great Medicine King; he hadn't come on his own.

Otherwise, even though his Heavenly Dao true qi could dispel some poison gas, too much exposure would still be troublesome.

"How much farther to the Poison Hall?"

Looking ahead, the mountain range still undulated endlessly with no end in sight, not even a shadow of a building. Zhang Xuan couldn't help asking.

They had already walked for five days and still hadn't arrived. Wasn't this Poison Hall too far?

"Almost there, just ahead!" The Great Medicine King pointed forward.

"Ahead?" Zhang Xuan was puzzled.

Ahead, there was nothing but bare rocks. Where was the Poison Hall?

"Follow me!"

Smiling, the Great Medicine King walked forward. After rounding a huge rock and a small hill, a valley appeared before them.

Looking down into the valley, Zhang Xuan's face was full of surprise.

A massive city stood there.

The city was built according to the terrain, with ancient architecture somewhat similar to Red Lotus City, clearly showing it had existed for who knows how many years.

"This is the Poison Hall?"

This town of the Poison Hall was no weaker than the Beast Hall he had seen before. Pale blue buildings rose and fell, embedded in the crimson mountain range, like a beautiful painting.

"It's said that when the Poison Hall was built, they specially invited a formation master to set up a concealment formation using the mountain range as formation flags. Without knowing the path, even standing right in front of it, you wouldn't see it."

The Great Medicine King said.

Zhang Xuan nodded.

Indeed.

He had stood there looking for a long time, seeing only the continuous mountain range, not a ghost. But after rounding a few rocks and a small hill, such a huge city appeared before him. If there wasn't a formation hiding it, he wouldn't believe it.

"Physician Bai, ahead is the Poison Hall. Are we just going to walk straight in?"

The Great Medicine King asked again.

Recalling the other party's plan, he felt his heart race with fear.

To be honest, no one had ever seen the Poison Hall's special envoy, but... if they were discovered to be impostors, they wouldn't even know how they died.

"Hmm, my current identity is a physician. Maybe someone has seen me... I need to change!"

Zhang Xuan's current appearance was still Bai Chan. Many poison masters from the Poison Hall traveled around and might have seen him. Better to be cautious.

With a thought, he used his disguise technique. His muscles and bones creaked, and his entire appearance, including height, changed. Now he looked like a middle-aged man around forty.

He changed into a gray-blue robe he had prepared earlier. Zhang Xuan now seemed like a different person, with no resemblance to Bai Chan or his original self. Even the Great Medicine King, or Zhao Ya and the others if they came, would never guess that this person was their teacher.

Disguising oneself as someone who had been seen was difficult, but disguising as someone who had never existed was simple.

"Is this... the disguise technique?"

The Great Medicine King's body trembled.

He hadn't expected Zhang Xuan to pull off such a feat.

No wonder this Physician Bai dared to impersonate the special envoy; he had such a backing.

But... you disguise yourself so no one recognizes you or can find you. What about me?

I am the Great Medicine King of Red Lotus City. The monk may run away, but the temple can't.

Bringing a fake special envoy here, once discovered, even if I escape, I'll be caught back, dismembered, and chopped into meat paste on the spot.

Originally, he thought they would advance or retreat together. Now he realized the other party hadn't even shown his true face. Even if they investigated, they wouldn't find out...

In any case, it was himself who was being set up.

Understanding this, the Great Medicine King's face twisted, and he felt like crying but had no tears.

“Don’t worry. Once we get to the Poison Hall later, you can declare in advance that I found you and claimed to be an envoy, and you brought me along without being sure. That way, it won’t have anything to do with you. As for the contract Gu on you, you can say I dealt with it to make you lead the way.”

Seeing through his thoughts, Zhang Xuan said.

“This…”

The Great Medicine King’s face flushed.

He hadn’t expected the other party to have already thought of a way out for him. How laughable that he had been measuring the gentleman’s heart with his own mean measure!

It had to be said, this suggestion was indeed the best excuse.

He wasn’t a member of the Poison Hall, so it was normal that he couldn’t recognize an envoy. If you people also had poor eyesight and couldn’t recognize him, even if you wanted to blame him later, you couldn’t.

Moreover, although the matter of the Great Medicine King signing a contract Gu with the Hall Master was confidential, some people inside the Poison Hall still knew about it. Now that the Hall Master was dead and he was still alive and kicking, without an explanation, anyone would be suspicious.

With one sentence, it resolved his hidden danger and kept others from suspecting him or daring to touch him—truly killing three birds with one stone.

Only…

“If I say that, they will definitely become suspicious of you…” The Great Medicine King hesitated for a moment, then asked, “May I ask, Physician Bai, how much do you know about poison masters?”

Saying it this way would keep him safe, but this Physician Bai would fall into an even more dangerous situation.

The people of the Poison Hall would surely find ways to test him. If he knew a lot about poison masters, it would be fine, but if there was the slightest slip, it would be easy to expose him.

“I only heard about this profession half a month ago; I’ve never heard of it before!” Zhang Xuan said.

“Half a month ago… only heard about it?”

The Great Medicine King’s eyelids flipped up, and he nearly spat blood.

Brother, are you messing with me?

You only heard about it half a month ago, don’t even know what a poison master is, yet you dare to impersonate an envoy…

“That’s right!”

“Impersonating an envoy without even a badge representing your identity or an identity token from headquarters—if you want to gain their trust, you’ll definitely have to demonstrate your poison skills. But you don’t know anything, don’t understand anything…”

Seeing the other party agree as if it were only natural, without any fear, the Great Medicine King felt a mouthful of blood stuck in his chest, ready to spurt out at any moment.

If you had an identity token from headquarters or a high-level poison master badge, impersonating an envoy would make others believe you!

Without these, having solid poison skills could also convince people…

Having only heard about poison masters half a month ago, not knowing or understanding anything, yet daring to impersonate—was he being reckless, or did he not understand the danger?

This isn’t a game of house; if they find out you’re a fake, they really will kill you!

“It’s fine. We’ll play it by ear when the time comes!”

Knowing what the other was worried about, Zhang Xuan waved his hand: “Alright, since we’re here, thinking too much is useless. Let’s go down!”

Although he didn’t know much about poison masters, with the Library of Heaven’s Path, he had even managed to impersonate a master teacher. Pretending to be a formidable poison master shouldn’t be a problem.

“……”

Seeing the other party's indifferent expression, the Great Pharmacist was utterly dejected; the confidence he had just mustered dissipated once again.

He really had no idea where this guy in front of him got his confidence.

However, since things had come to this, there was no way out; he could only take it one step at a time.

Following the path through the valley, they soon arrived at the city gates.

“Who goes there? How dare you trespass on the Poison Hall?”

Before they could enter the city, a loud shout rang out, and several middle-aged men in black robes darted out, their eyes cold and sharp like hawks or owls.

“Poison Master Zhou, Poison Master Liu, everyone, it's me!”

Stepping forward, the Great Pharmacist quickly said.

“Oh? The Great Pharmacist? Why aren't you staying in Red Lotus City? What are you doing here?” said the middle-aged man called Poison Master Zhou, narrowing his eyes.

“In the current situation, others are avoiding this place, yet you rush in yourself. Are you tired of living?” Poison Master Liu also snorted.

With the turmoil in the Poison Hall, everyone was on edge; coming here now was simply asking for death.

These two had known the Great Pharmacist before and had often accepted gifts from him, so naturally they spoke up for him.

“I've come to see the three Deputy Hall Masters…”

Knowing they meant well, the Great Pharmacist was about to explain his purpose when he saw a poison master approach Zhang Xuan.

“Who is this man? Don't you know that bringing an unauthorized person here is a capital offense?”

Looking at Zhang Xuan, this poison master's eyes blazed with murderous intent. “Outsider, blame your bad luck. But dying from my newly developed poison is an honor!”

“Wait, this is…”

Seeing him about to act, the Great Pharmacist's face changed. He was about to reveal that Zhang Xuan was an envoy when the “Doctor Bai” before him lifted his foot and kicked.

Bang!

The poison master who wanted to kill him didn't even react before he was sent flying, crashing heavily into the city wall, spitting a mouthful of blood, his neck twisted, and he passed out.

“What?”

“How dare you!”

Not expecting this trespasser to dare attack them, Poison Master Zhou, Poison Master Liu, and the others were stunned for a moment, then erupted, surrounding the two of them with murderous auras.

“It's over…”

Without an identity badge and not being a poison master, the Great Pharmacist had thought it best to keep a low profile, gain their trust, and then think of other ways.

But this guy, as soon as he arrived, started hitting people…

Brother, are you really afraid we won't die fast enough?

Seeing this scene, the Great Pharmacist swayed, feeling his tears could no longer be held back.

Damn it, others have godlike teammates.

Mine… is a pit that kills without compensation!