Chapter 989: A Contest of Poison

His current strength was only at the Saint level. Although he might not be a match for even a Second Layer Saint Realm cultivator by relying on various means, he was still far too weak when facing a Primordial Spirit Realm powerhouse.

Rushing in recklessly would most likely result in being killed on the spot.

Unless... he could let the Heavenly Dao True Qi invade the opponent's body and poison them.

However, judging by the current state of this Purple Leaf King, it was impossible to achieve.

"My goal is to rescue people, not necessarily to kill the Purple Leaf King. That makes it much easier. As long as I can gain his trust like I did with the Golden Leaf King and the others, and get close enough..."

He pondered in his mind.

His current goal was to save Elder Xu without arousing the other's suspicion... otherwise, he could simply throw out the puppet and beat this Purple Leaf King to death.

But... making the other believe—how could that be easy!

The previous three succeeded because they caught them off guard, taking them by surprise. Now that this one was on guard, it would be difficult to do the same again.

"Right, I can start with the Water Leaf King..."

A flash of inspiration struck him, and he thought of a reason.

The Water Leaf King and the Purple Leaf King were both among the ten kings of Qingtian, appearing together in Jingyuan City, which suggested they might have come for a common purpose.

In other words, it was possible that they were all searching for the Poison Hall. For this very reason, Water Leaf King had gone to the auction house, hoping to obtain the Earthly Burial Flower... only to be killed by me.

"Let's do it!"

Lowering his head for a glance, he saw that Elder Xu was about to be slain by the opponent at any moment. Knowing that time would not allow him to think further, he gently stirred and slowly descended from the tree.

The surrounding formation had already been activated. With his understanding of formations, he could approach completely unnoticed.

Soon, he retreated outside the formation. His bones and muscles writhed, and he transformed into the likeness of one of the two guards beside Water Leaf King.

After doing this, he clasped his hands and spoke loudly toward the courtyard.

"City Lord, it's terrible... The senior you ordered us to guard was killed in the auction house. The killer is a Seven-Star Master, and he's already heading this way..."

"Water Leaf King was killed? The perpetrator is a Seven-Star Master?"

As the voice faded, the formation before him vanished, and a figure abruptly appeared before Zhang Xuan.

It was none other than Purple Leaf King.

He still held the beetle in his hand. Not far away, Elder Xu had been subdued, lying flat on the ground, weak and feeble, apparently severely injured.

"Yes!" Zhang Xuan put on a terrified expression and quickly nodded.

"What exactly happened? Give me the details!"

His face darkened, and Purple Leaf King spoke.

He and Water Leaf King arrived together at Jingyuan City, and he knew that the jade token representing the other's aura had shattered. For this very reason, he had hurried back to the city lord's mansion.

Now, seeing the guard who had been following the other approach, he couldn't help but ask.

"That senior earlier wanted to enter the auction house but was stopped by someone claiming to be an old friend who wanted to drink together. They wouldn't let us follow. I don't know the specifics, only that after a while, when he was found, he was already dead. According to witnesses, it was a Seven-Star Master who did it..."

Zhang Xuan's words were a mix of truth and falsehood, plausible yet vague, ensuring the other party couldn't distinguish truth from falsehood in a short time.

And what he needed was exactly this time gap.

As long as he could temporarily make the other believe in his identity, he could easily rescue Elder Xu not far away and escape without a trace.

"Seven-Star Master? How could there be a Seven-Star Master here?"

Seeing that the other's words were flawless, Purple Leaf King frowned.

This was Jingyuan City, such a remote place—how could a Seven-Star Master appear?

And why would they target Water Leaf King?

He had enough confidence that no one could see through his disguise, not even a master of that level.

But... if it wasn't a Seven-Star Master who did it, given Water Leaf King's strength, he truly didn't believe there was anyone else in Jingyuan City capable of killing him.

"I don't know!" Zhang Xuan said. "I only found his corpse and brought it here..."

As he spoke, he flipped his palm, and Water Leaf King's withered body fell to the ground.

"This is burning the primordial spirit to forcibly leave the body?"

Purple Leaf King's pupils contracted.

As a fellow king of the alien race, he knew what this body represented—it was a secret technique to forcibly detach the primordial spirit. Once used, death was certain... What kind of powerful enemy had he encountered to make him resort to this, staking everything?

Could it really be a Seven-Star Master?

If so, it was bad!

Being targeted by a master of that level, even he would find it hard to escape.

"No, I must immediately interrogate the exact location of the Poison Hall!"

On alert, Purple Leaf King dared not linger and quickly looked toward Elder Xu not far away, frowning. "What are you doing?"

He saw that the guard who had just reported to him had somehow come to Elder Xu's side, seemingly intending to help him up.

"Nothing much, I just thought his injuries were severe..."

Zhang Xuan gave an awkward smile.

"You are not needed here. Withdraw!"

Seeing a guard dare to act on his own, Purple Leaf King's face darkened.

"Yes!" Nodding, Zhang Xuan pulled Elder Xu back two steps, then suddenly stamped his foot on the ground. The formation, which had already stopped, instantly activated, and mist enveloped the entire courtyard.

"Hmm?"

His face darkening, Ziye Wang rushed forward, but the formation before him seemed to have been altered in structure. Even he could not immediately locate the other party's figure.

Only then did he realize that the other must have some ulterior motive.

"How infuriating!"

His face twisted with ferocity, the murderous aura on him unable to be restrained. In the blink of an eye, he reverted to the form of an alien tribesman. Grabbing with his hand, he attacked the formation before him.

He intended to break the formation by force.

With his strength at the Fourth Layer of the Saint Domain, cracking a peak six-star formation would only take one or two moves.

"Elder Xu, are you all right?"

Seeing that the formation could collapse at any moment, Zhang Xuan looked at the already dispirited old man before him.

"Who are you?" Elder Xu looked over in confusion.

"I am a poison master, but now is not the time to explain. Hurry and flee, or we might all die here!"

The formation shook twice, on the verge of collapse at any moment. Zhang Xuan was filled with urgency.

"Poison master?" Frowning, Elder Xu still nodded: "Indeed, now is not the time for details. Let's escape first!"

"Mm!"

Zhang Xuan said: "I've been in this city lord's mansion for a long time and am very familiar with the formations here. I'll trouble Elder Xu to follow behind me..."

Without further explanation, he hurried forward.

Taking a pill from his bosom and swallowing it, Elder Xu's complexion recovered somewhat. He stood up and followed closely behind.

Although he still didn't quite believe that the other was a poison master, he had no better choice at the moment.

Following behind, they wove through the courtyards of the city lord's mansion.

This fellow not far ahead was not only thoroughly familiar with the terrain but also had a terrifying grasp of the formations. With a light touch, he activated many dormant formations, blocking the pursuing Purple Leaf King behind them.

Before long, they left the city lord's mansion and flew forward close to the surfaces of buildings.

Flying this way made it harder to be detected and was safer.

After flying for about twenty breaths, they stopped at a spacious building.

"This is... Moyun Pavilion?"

Elder Xu was startled.

He knew of the famous Moyun Pavilion in Jingyuan City and had even visited it a few times. Being pursued, why didn't they hurry to escape but come here instead?

"The other side has taken control of the City Lord's Mansion. If we flee now, no matter which direction we fly, we'll be discovered before long. Once surrounded, we won't be able to escape. Instead of that, it's better to find a place to hide first and recover from our injuries!"

Seeing his confusion, Zhang Xuan said.

"Not bad!"

Hearing the explanation, Elder Xu couldn't help nodding.

What the other said was correct. If they fled now, they would inevitably leave traces. Once pursued, they would easily be discovered. At that time, in the air, without the cover of various buildings, it would be difficult to escape again.

It seemed this fellow not only knew a lot about terrain and formations but also had a meticulous mind.

Lost in thought, he followed the other, turned a few corners, and arrived at a quiet room.

This place had a formation that could isolate all auras.

"This should be able to hide for a while!"

Entering the room, Zhang Xuan said.

It was the same quiet room where he had taught Hu Yunsheng a lesson earlier, very quiet, just right for the current situation.

"Hmm!" Elder Xu nodded, but instead of immediately starting to heal, he looked at Zhang Xuan before him, his eyes shooting sharp light: "You said you are a poison master. Do you have a rank badge representing your identity?"

The other was a Saint Realm Fourth Layer powerhouse, while this one was merely a Saint, yet he had easily rescued him. It was impossible not to be suspicious.

It was very likely a trap deliberately set by the other party, aiming to have him lead the way into the Poison Hall.

"No!"

Zhang Xuan shook his head: "I am self-taught. So far, I haven't taken the assessment..."

"Not taken the assessment?"

A flicker passed through his eyes, and Elder Xu's face turned gloomy: "A poison master can be self-taught? You might fool those who don't understand with such talk, but telling me this, do you think I would believe it?"

Learning to be a poison master requires careful study of various poisons. A slight mistake can lead to instant death by poisoning. Even with a master's guidance, deaths often occur. Self-taught? What a joke!

"I know you don't believe it..."

Seeing the other's expression, Zhang Xuan understood his thoughts and shook his head with a bitter smile: "If you don't believe I'm a poison master, there's no helping it. How about this... Do you dare to compete with me in using poison? If you can beat me, no need to think twice, I will surely die at your hands... If I win, I hope you can take me to the Poison Hall to assess my true poison master rank!"

"Compete with me?"

Eyes narrowing, Elder Xu looked at the young man before him.

A rank badge did not necessarily represent identity, after all, he didn't even know who this person was. If the other had killed a poison master and taken the badge, he wouldn't be able to tell.

There was only one way to truly confirm identity, and that was... using poison!

If the other truly knew how to use poison... then he was a real poison master. This couldn't be faked.

"Alright!"

Elder Xu nodded.