Chapter 97

Chapter 97: Poison Emperor’s Background

"Many thanks for the guidance, Senior!"

Yue Ruyi, Ao Bing, Long Tuo, and others bowed deeply, their faces filled with excitement.

A single discourse from him surpassed a thousand years of arduous cultivation.

Ye Xu’s words contained an immense amount of information, concerning their paths to enlightenment.

The master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion lived up to his reputation.

"Then we shall trouble you no further. We take our leave," Ao Bing said with another bow.

"Hmm."

Ye Xu nodded.

Everyone departed from Heaven’s Secret Pavilion.

"Yang Xuanzhan, are you interested in the journey to the Unsurpassed Divine Mountain?" Ye Xu asked.

Yang Xuanzhan was overwhelmed and flattered. "Master means… I, this lowly one, may also go to Unsurpassed Divine Mountain?"

"However, this servant possesses lowly strength and fears it would almost certainly mean my death."

"With them looking out for you, great danger is unlikely," Ye Xu replied lightly. "If you fear death, you may remain at Heaven’s Secret Pavilion."

"This worthless life would have already ended were it not for Master saving me."

Yang Xuanzhan’s voice held neither sorrow nor joy. "This humble servant is willing to enter Unsurpassed Divine Mountain."

"Before that, go to the Celestial Demon Hall," Ye Xu instructed.

Yang Xuanzhan showed a hint of confusion.

"Tell Ning Wudao to come to Heaven’s Secret Pavilion when he has the time," Ye Xu said lightly.

Ning Wudao was someone Ye Xu valued greatly. This piece on the board wasn’t one Ye Xu intended to waste.

One day in the future, he would prove very useful.

"This humble servant obeys."

Yang Xuanzhan exited Heaven’s Secret Pavilion and flew out of Linglong City. Bathed in warm sunlight, he felt a sense of rebirth.

Ye Xu letting him proceed to Unsurpassed Divine Mountain proved he wasn’t viewed merely as a servant.

"Follow Master, and one day, I too might attain the Great Dao and achieve eternal freedom," Yang Xuanzhan felt a surge of lofty sentiment. With a hearty laugh, he flew toward the Celestial Demon Hall.

Two days later.

Nangong Zhandao and Lan Youruo returned from the Da Qian Emperor family and arrived at Heaven’s Secret Pavilion together with the three members of the Red Dust Demon Sect. Ao Bing and Yue Ruyi were already waiting there.

"Royal Father, Senior Yue, allow me to introduce you. This is Senior Lin, founder of the Red Dust Demon Sect. This is Senior Lan, the saintess of the Moon God Clan."

Ao Lie introduced everyone.

"Greetings, Daoist friends."

They bowed courteously to each other.

Lin Qianmo’s gaze swept over Ao Bing, Yue Ruyi, and Long Tuo. Nodding slightly, she smiled. "With the assistance of you three Daoist friends, this journey’s chance of success rises to ninety percent."

The emergence of the Unsurpassed Divine Mountain would undoubtedly cause an enormous commotion, rousing every quasi-emperor in the Yuan Realm to attention. However, before that, we must first resolve another troublesome matter.”

Yue Ruyi’s gaze was clear and cold. “The Poison Emperor of the Poisonous Forest has lived since ancient times, yet nobody knows his roots. He’s a formidable adversary.”

“Could he be a Great Emperor?” Qi Ruyu asked.

“Probably not.”

Ao Bing shook his head. “Yet surviving from ancient times to this day, the Poison Emperor’s power isn’t something to underestimate. In my opinion, we could attempt to cooperate with him.”

Lin Qianmo gently shook her head. “The Poison Emperor is cunning, insidious, and venomous. Cooperating with him would be like trying to skin a tiger alive. We should enter the Unsurpassed Divine Mountain as planned. If he dares to make a move, we should execute him without delay.”

Ao Bing and Yue Ruyi exchanged glances, a hint of astonishment flashing in their eyes.

Before coming, both had investigated the Red Dust Demon Sect. They knew of its treasured manual, the Red Dust Tribulation Sutra, and had glimpsed fragments of its mysteries.

Yet regarding Lin Qianmo’s origins, they remained completely in the dark.

Judging by her tone, Lin Qianmo hardly feared the Poison Emperor at all.

“Father Emperor, if we wish to know the Poison Emperor’s roots, isn’t it rather simple?” Ao Lie turned toward Ye Xu and said, “We could ask the Senior here to investigate it. Everything would be made crystal clear.”

“In all the world, there’s likely nothing that can escape the Senior’s notice.”

“That is one method,” Yue Ruyi smiled gently and asked Ye Xu, “Daring to ask the Senior, if we wish to know the information about the Poison Emperor, how many treasures would we need to offer in exchange?”

Ye Xu’s spirits perked up.

System, to check all the information on the Poison Emperor, how many heavenly secrets points are needed? Ye Xu thought.

[Seventy-six thousand heavenly secrets points.]

Ye Xu frowned. The price was staggeringly high. Could he actually be a Great Emperor?

“Does the Senior find it difficult?” Yue Ruyi noticed Ye Xu’s frown, her heart tightening.

Ye Xu smiled faintly. “One Quasi-Emperor divine weapon, plus two divine weapons of the great sage.”

“Naturally, if you can produce seven or eight divine weapons of the great sage at once, that would also be acceptable for the exchange.”

Hearing the price, everyone was inwardly shocked.

Merely to know the information about the Poison Emperor, the price was so exorbitant—clearly, the Poison Emperor’s background was no small matter.

“This junior will buy it.”

Yue Ruyi produced a divine bow and a quiver of divine arrows. The bow’s frame was crafted from the heartwood of a divine tree, while the string was refined from the sinew of a primordial variant serpent, the Teng Snake.

The quiver of arrows radiated scorching Qi. The moment it appeared, the surrounding air seemed to evaporate, and even the void faintly showed signs of melting.

“Is this a replica of the Sun-Chasing Bow of Heaven?”

Lin Qianmo, broadly knowledgeable, recognized the bow’s origin instantly.

“Daoist friend has discerning eyes. It is indeed a replica,” Yue Ruyi acknowledged. “The original Sun-Chasing Bow of Heaven from ancient times was an artifact of Emperor Venerable level.”

“This replica was something I acquired from an imperial tomb.”

“Senior, trust that this item should suffice to trade for the Poison Emperor’s information?”

"Of course."

Though this was a replica, it was a top-tier Quasi-Emperor divine weapon, second only to imperial weapons, and worth a full one million heavenly secrets points.

"System, investigate the Poison Emperor."

Ding!

[Poison Emperor: Originates from a kidney belonging to a primordial creature, possessing partial immortality within its bloodline and impervious to all poisons.]

[Gender: None.]

[Strength: Infinitely close to Great Emperor.]

[Supernatural Abilities: Myriad Vehicles’ Annihilation, Forbidden Toxic Domain…]

[Whereabouts: Resides year-round in the deepest part of the Poisonous Forest, feeds on toxic gases, impervious to all poisons, and is the ruler of the Poisonous Forest.]

[…]

Within moments, all the information about the Poison Emperor appeared in Ye Xu’s mind.

Only one point made Ye Xu inwardly grumble.

The system only told him the Poison Emperor originated from a primordial creature’s kidney but didn’t reveal that primordial creature’s name.

"The Poison Emperor’s origins are indeed immense," Ye Xu said slowly.

"He transformed from the kidney of a primordial creature, possessing strength comparable to a Great Emperor. His bloodline carries the immortality characteristic, with virtually no weaknesses."

"Primordial creature?"

Yue Ruyi, Lan Youruo, and Ao Bing looked utterly horrified.

Though they knew the Poison Emperor had an extraordinary background, they’d never imagined this ruler who had dominated the Poisonous Forest for millions of years was actually a primordial creature’s transformed kidney.

Moreover, its toxicity was so potent it could even poison a Great Emperor.

Lin Qianmo’s gaze was grave.

"Seems like a troublesome fellow."

The Primordial Epoch referred to the era right after the creation of the heavens.

This universe, developing until today, has traversed six epochs: Innate (Chaos), Primordial, Archaic, Ancient, Great Antiquity, and High Antiquity.

The present is the Zi Wei Epoch.

Primordial creatures were the first batch of postnatal beings born after the creation, naturally endowed with world-shattering, indescribably powerful strength.

These primordial creatures often shared common traits.

Enormous in size, almost immortal.

They wielded no supernatural abilities, cultivated no techniques, typically growing in power by devouring living beings or even their own kind. Any fighting was conducted purely by instinct and innate talent.

Therefore, as the myriad races emerged and gradually developed, the primordial beings were rendered obsolete.

Today, it is incredibly difficult to find traces of primordial creatures throughout all realms.

Only within the Sea of All Realms can traces occasionally be found.

This is because their physical forms were immensely powerful; not even chaotic energy could wear them away.

"Esteemed Senior, is there a way to counter him?" Ao Bing asked nervously.

Ye Xu said, "The Poison Emperor’s toxicity is extreme. The Poisonous Forest of the Western Region itself evolved from the toxins emanating from his power. Dealing with him isn’t the difficult part. The real difficulty lies in killing him."

A single kidney could survive for millions of years and grow into a regional hegemon.

This clearly demonstrated just how tenacious the vitality of primordial creatures was.