The Immortal’s Poison

The group walked with quick strides towards their destination. Wen Leyang had planned to carry Fei Fei on his back just like he did when they had first come over but Zhui Zi was reluctant to let Wen Leyang bear any more burdens. She placed the giant pangolin in front of everyone else and it was the giant pangolin who carried the Fei Fei siblings, Zhui Zi, and Wen Leyang on his back without any complains. On the contrary, the head lama Rangjung did not receive such careful treatment. Instead, he carried Old Gu as he trotted behind the giant pangolin.

At this point, Old Gu, Fei Fei, and Xiao Sha’s mission had been accomplished and they were actually hitching a ride back. Since it was the rainy season on the highland, the snowstorm had sealed the mountain pass and roads. The only effective form of transportation were the cultivators…

Tian Yin had disappeared without a trace after he was severely injured but no one has the strength to look for him now. Those with great abilities like Chang Li and Zhui Zi would run the risk of being possessed if they found the true soul while those with weaker abilities would end up dead if they were to find Tian Yin.

Both Zhui Zi and Wen Leyang’s heads hurt each time they thought of how they could deal with Tian Yin. According to Zhui Zi’s personal opinion, even though a master cultivator at the level of Chang Li, Guo Huan or herself was not afraid Tian Yin’s cultivation base, once they truly faced him in battle, they would be forced to retreat out of fear.

In the end, Zhui Zi sighed before she said to Wen Leyang, “I think we ought to figure out a way to look for that… ‘Big flat cake, broken gong, and dog’. These three items are important to Tian Yin and ought to be related to Xiang Liu.” She then laughed desperately, “If we’re lucky, perhaps these three items may even allow us to restrain the true soul!”

No one knows what the ‘big flat cake, broken gong, and dog’ meant and they understood even less about the purpose of the items. However, it was possible that these three items could be similar to the ‘heavenly water spirit’ which was capable of freeing Xiang Liu from his shackles. It was also possible that these three items were related to the crucial point of subduing the true soul and even the nine-headed monster itself. Anyhow, they would need to search for these items more laboriously.

The speed that the group of people spent on their return journey was much faster than when they had first entered the mountain. In less than a few days, they have arrived back in the small town of Tuer. What surprised Wen Leyang the most was the moment they had entered the town, they saw that the dwarf Taoist priest was happily strolling around the town…

Other than the dwarf Taoist priest and the Qilian Immortal Sect’s disciples in the town, there were a dozen Wen Bucao’s disciples as well. Moreover, the leader this time was not one of the family elders or the two brothers Bushuo and Buzuo. Instead, it was the other good hand of the Death Trademark known as Wen Make.

Before they arrived, Wen Make had received the news from the disciples who had been posted outside the town. His joyful expression still showed some fatigue as he welcomed them from afar. He grabbed Wen Leyang’s arm, “I thought that something had happened to you, why has it taken so long for you to come back?”

Wen Leyang chuckled as he shook his head, “I was held up for two months on the snowy mountain…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Wen Make widened his eyes, “Two months? I’ve been in this small town for over three months! If I were to include the time spent when the Qilian disciples had departed to Nine Peaks Mountain and the time taken for the family elders to prepare the medicinal materials, you’ve left the small town for at least four months!”

“What?!” Wen Leyang almost jumped as he squalled. Ever since he had left the dog-headed eagle, he circled around the lake and was delayed for a few days as he entered the mountain. Following that, he spent another few days hiking up the mountain and experienced an adventure there. Finally, he had been held up in the ore cave for two months. When he totaled everything up at this point, the sum does not exceed seventy days. Wen Leyang was halfway through his calculations when Zhui Zi suddenly laughed. She raised her small, charming face as she asked, “Do you still remember that ugly little girl named Hua Xiaoduo? You had asked her how long we were in the ore cave and she told you it was two months.”

Wen Leyang shook his head despite not understanding the situation. He muttered, “That young maiden is actually quite beautiful…”

Zhui Zi pouted her lips but burst into delighted laughter soon after, “Try to think about her expression back then, she had been clenching her teeth anxiously like she was hiding something.”

Wen Leyang still does not understand the situation. Guo Huan too laughed aloud in the jade knife abruptly, “I understand now, I understand now! Those obscure cultivators have not come into contact with other people in thousands of years, how could they be expected to calculate time in such a detailed manner? At most, they could probably tell that a year has passed based on observing the four seasons. Since a year is made up of fourteen or nine months, they would be unable to calculate that!”

The group finally figured out that when Hua Xiaoduo had said ‘two months’ back then, she had given an estimate… Wen Leyang had spent a full three months in the ore cave as he absorbed the Water Poison from the ‘firecrackers’.

Wen Leyang inhaled the cold air as he turned around and peered at the giant pangolin and the head lama Rangjung. The Hua family was an obscure cultivator family, it was still excusable that they could not calculate days and dates but how was it possible that the both of them had not felt that something was amiss?

Po Tu and Rangjung looked at one another. They then rubbed their palms and laughed; during the period of time when Wen Leyang was trapped in the ore cave, the two brothers had slept and woken and slept and woken again. By the time they thought of counting the days, Wen Leyang was almost at the point of leaving the cave… After that, when they had heard that it had only been two months, they felt rather joyous as the urgent matter was not delayed.

Wen Make could not make head or tail of their conversation. He laughed grudgingly as he shook his head and continued to explain, “I was counting the days until it was almost three months from the day you had left the small town. Since you were nowhere to be found, I had acted on my own and brought the medicinal materials to exterminate the bugs for that monster!”

Wen Make was one of the top good hands of the Death Trademark and his status was almost the same as the Bushuo and Buzuo siblings. He was a capable and experienced man with profound poison cultivation. He had learned of the course of events the Immortal Sect disciple who had witnessed it. He then waited for three months but with the deadline approaching and no sign of Wen Leyang, he had taken the medicinal materials for exterminating bugs and headed down with a few other Qilian Immortal Sect’s disciples.

Wen Leyang felt both ashamed and wretched as he pulled Wen Make, who was a decade older than him, along. He does not know what to say and Wen Make misunderstood his intention, Wen Make smiled gently as he procured a carrot from his bag and stuffed the carrot into Wen Leyang’s hand…

The giant pangolin looked slightly incredulous as he glared suspiciously at Wen Make, “Just by depending on your effort, it had been enough to annihilate those iron-mound-like dung beetles?!”

Wen Make laughed, “Those bugs were only slightly larger than usual and the bug’s temperament was exactly the same as an ordinary dung beetle. We had blended the medicinal materials according to Wen Leyang’s recipe back in the mountain. As long as the dosage was adequate, any child from the Wen family could successfully complete the task as well!” Wen Make’s expression was unlike the rest of the Wen Bucao’s arrogance; he appeared humble yet cool but there was a gush of malevolent energy in the depth of his gaze which was as piercing than a knife.

The poison had been specially concocted to deal with those dung beetles. There was utterly no suspense in the extermination process, the biggest problem was to avoid the giant dung beetle’s ambush. Inside the dog-headed eagle’s body, naturally, the monkey Qian Ren was responsible for the issue of safety. It was only then that Wen Make could finally exterminate all the bugs.

The dung beetles were then completely exterminated and the monkey Qian Ren kept its promise as it elatedly released the dwarf Taoist priest.

At this point, Wen Leyang could not help but frown, “What about Qin Zhui?”

At this point, the dwarf Taoist priest had strolled over in a relaxed manner and said to Wen Leyang, “The young lad was taken by the monkey! Heh, what a great creation that was!”

The head lama Rangjung and Gu Xiaojun simultaneously laughed aloud. They then spoke in unison, “Right enough!” During the time after they had left the dog-headed eagle, they had mentioned that the monkey Qian Ren and the ugly youth Qin Zhui were unusually suited to one another. To their surprise, they never expected to hear upon their return that Qin Zhui had stayed behind in the dog-headed eagle’s stomach.

“Ever since all of you have left, Qin Zhui’s treasured weapon had been destroyed and he had been severely injured. He did not dare to act rashly so he had waited earnestly. However, the monkey Qian Ren constantly pointed out his faults in a petty manner. Qin Zhui was bullied until he could no longer endure it so he jumped up and fought the monkey desperately!” The dwarf Taoist priest’s hostility towards Wen Leyang had already diminished without him realizing it. He had not waited for their inquiry as he took the initiative to explain the whole story, “Each time the both of them started to fight, I would offer my assistance. The ugly boy Qin Zhui was albeit not much of anything but I was even more disgusted by the monkey…”

Wen Leyang managed to a dash of admiration in his forced smile; the monkey’s actual power was universally recognized. Since the dwarf Taoist priest had dared to assist Qin Zhui, of course, he spilled the courage of risking his life as well.

The Taoist priest paused for a moment at this point as he laughed shyly, “The moment I stepped forward, I was immediately sealed by the monkey… Qin Zhui was still severely injured and he was not prepared to fight the monkey at all. The monkey too did not attack mercilessly, it only kicked each time Qin Zhui stood up. This happened continuously until the beginning of the fourth day when Qin Zhui stopped moving completely. I pounced forward desperately to take a look and discovered that the muscles and bones of this young lad’s entire body had been totally crushed. The monkey, on the other hand, laughed and said that though Qin Zhui’s approach not too shabby, his foundation establishment was too weak. According to the monkey, it was actually helping him to remold his muscles and bones. It then continued without listening to my protests, using its own life vitality to wash Qin Zhui’s marrow and rebuild his foundation establishment. Finally, it used the Ancient Wood Spell to help him remold his muscles and bones!”

Wen Leyang looked at Zhui Zi in slight surprise but Zhui Zi ignored him completely. Her face was rippling with piteous fear and she only cared about looking at the dwarf Taoist priest. Instead, it was Guo Huan who chuckled as he explained, “Break first, then build. The monkey had destroyed Zhui Zi’s rotten foundation first. It then used a great magical power to help Qin Zhui remold his bones and muscles. This is supposed to be the specialty of the Wood Elemental magical arts!”

It was only at that moment that Qin Zhui and the dwarf Taoist priest realized that the monkey was not filled with the lust to kill. On the contrary, it was being kind and hospitable. Qian Ren’s temperament was eccentric, it has obviously taken fancy to Qin Zhui yet it refused to profess its intentions straightforwardly. Qin Zhui was sincere, honest and clueless in his behavior and he was addicted to the cultivation of martial arts. Still, he does not lack wit and when presented with such a big meat pie which had fallen from the sky, he would definitely open his mouth wide and receive the pie. Moreover, Qin Zhui was indeed feeling injustice on behalf of the monkey Qian Ren from the bottom of his heart.

Guo Huan, Zhui Zi, the monkey Qian Ren, as well as the Taoist priest San Wei in the jade knife, were the four great demon immortals who had joined hands and forged the four great unusual injustices in the cultivation world.

The dwarf Taoist priest had no understanding of this form of profound Wood Elemental magical art. He continued, “When I was released, Qin Zhui wanted me to pass you this message. He says that soon, he would go to the Nine Peaks Mountain and fight you in a battle once again in order to seize back his Nineteen…”

Before the dwarf Taoist priest could finish his sentence, Zhui Zi suddenly trembled. Her gaze was filled with fear as she looked at him and said, “Why have you been looking at me constantly? Do you still… Bear a grudge against me?”

Zhui Zi voice was choked with sobs and Wen Leyang knew that this was how she behaved when she was prepared to fight someone.

The dwarf Taoist priest was startled, he felt injustice but he refused to submit so easily so he clenched his teeth and spoke, “I was not looking at you… I had been looking at Wen Leyang all the while… I really wasn’t looking at you!” It was only when he was speaking to Zhui Zi that his gaze slowly shifted away from Zhui Zi’s face…

According to the monkey Qian Ren, the dog-headed eagle was his flesh armor. In simpler words, it was the outermost layer of his body. Now that the dung beetles and eggs have been completely killed by the Wen family’s marvelous poison, he has sealed the entrance on the dog-headed eagle’s head and started to recuperate his body with a calm mind. He had no plans to greet Wen Leyang and the others at all. All he wanted to do was to wait for the dog-headed eagle’s muscles and bones to grow back to its prior form before he would see the light of day once again.

Qin Zhui had volunteered to stay behind to cultivate with Qian Ren. To him, it was a blessed destiny as great as the heavens. Others could only envy him or feel happy for him.

As Zhui Zi saw that they no longer needed her help here, she then bade farewell to Wen Leyang to return to the snowy mountains by herself. Guo Huan cautiously reminded her from inside the jade knife, “My body…”

Zhui Zi burst into laughter. She then waved her hand and did not even turn around as she spoke, “In another two to three months, whether the seal could be broken or not or if I do manage to recall my past or not, I’ll come to find you! If you still can’t locate your immortal’s cave by then, I will help you to capture a new split body!” She was speaking when she suddenly stopped walking and turned around, looking at the giant pangolin in excitement.

Po Tu fell to the ground but it was Guo Huan who was rather virtuous and sincere. He felt that it was difficult for him to use an acquaintance’s body so he burst out laughing, “The one with a tail, I will never want it!”

Zhui Zi’s gaze shifted in the midst of her gentle laugh as she peered at Wen Leyang deeply. Soon after that, her body swayed once before she completely vanished without a trace.

Po Tu was finally able to exhale a long breath of relief. He then acted courteously for a long while towards Wen Leyang and Guo Huan and even carried the dwarf Taoist priest. Finally, with a series of hissing and howling, he left the place feeling pleased and contented. Now that the Qilian Mountains have lost the Exquisite Ice, the Qilian Immortal Sect’s disciples have also lost their home. They could only wander around without a purpose… Wen Leyang pondered in his heart and thought that once the Black and White Island’s matter has been settled and everyone was still alive, perhaps he could ask Chang Li or Zhui Zi to help him. He still wants to figure out a way to help the Qilian Immortal Sect. This debt of theirs may never be fully compensated but at least they could still receive some compensation!

The head lama Rangjung too said his farewells and left. He had made up his mind that he would help Wen Leyang vanquish Xiang Liu but he had other matters to settle on the highland first. Anyone with good sense could tell that the lama was going to make arrangements for his funeral affairs. He was a heavenly walker on the highland so before he could leave the highland, he would need to locate his successor first.

The important matter on the highland has been concluded, those who had joined the group too began to leave on their own. The three members of Old Gu’s party have a connecting flight in Lhasa before they will return to their unit. Wen Leyang suddenly felt a sense of loneliness after an exciting event had ended but he soon shook his head and laughed. He may be reuniting with some of these people really soon!

Other than Wen Leyang, the others were mostly common people. The number of passengers has suddenly increased sharply but the cultivators have each left on their own accord. Fortunately, the small town of Tuer was not too distant from Lhasa and even though it was already winter, the weather was favorable and there were no more snowstorms which could freeze through a yak’s marrow.

The remaining people were all quite kind. All of them were too embarrassed to let Wen Leyang alone do the heavy lifting. The Wen Bucao’s disciples and Gu Xiaojun’s group wasted no time as they too embarked on their journey.

During the past few months, it was unknown how many snowstorms have swept through the highland. The area was an endless stretch of white. Occasionally, a faint line of some small animals’ footprints could be seen imprinted in an askew manner into the snow. That added a sense of exuberant joy of life into the silver-colored sky and land soundlessly, bringing a sense of warmth to the people who were trudging through the snow. At least everyone could confirm that this stretch of snow-covered highland was truly alive.

Along the way, Wen Leyang wanted to catch up on their family affairs with Wen Make but Wen Make only laughed as he shook his head, “I had been guarding the workshop with the workshop leader for quite some time so I don’t know much about family affairs. Instead of me telling you what I know, which is superficial, you might as well ask the family elders when you get back.”

Wen Make has a high and respected status in the Death Trademark. In addition, he was more than a decade older than Wen Leyang. He refused to disclose about the situation in the family and dismissed Wen Leyang’s inquiry with one sentence.

However, Wen Leyang was tenacious as he continued to ask, “How about Wen Bushuo and Wen Buzuo, are they… In some kind of trouble?” When the Wen family had sent someone to reinforce Wen Leyang, the best candidates were no doubt Wen Bushuo and Wen Buzuo. As long as these two siblings could move, the Wen elders would never have asked Wen Make to take on this mission.

Unexpectedly, when he heard the names Wen Bushuo and Wen Buzuo, Wen Make and the rest of the Wen family disciples immediately sniggered and became elated. Wen Make shook his head as he laughed forcefully, “They are both… Alright. However, this time, they really could not make it… Ahem. It’s best that you don’t ask any more questions. Everything is splendid at home, you will naturally find out the specifics of the situation once you’ve arrived at home!”

Wen Make’s temperament was such that he would refuse to talk about matters which he does not have a thorough understanding of. Just as Wen Leyang was growing restless, he suddenly stopped walking. He pondered for a moment suspiciously before he waved his hand at the others. He then sprinted towards a diagonal crossroad.

Perhaps it was an enemy or perhaps it was a meat-filled steamed bun. Not one person knew what had Wen Leyang had discovered. The Wen Bucao’s disciples whistled to one another and were about to spread out when Wen Make scolded softly, “Confused boys! No one is allowed to spread out, continue to follow behind Wen Leyang!”

They were aware that their powers were far more inferior to Wen Leyang’s. Not only would spreading out be unhelpful to him, it could also distract Wen Leyang even more.

Wen Leyang’s expression was a little puzzled but he did not seem to be too nervous. He brought the crowd along as he sprinted in the direction of the diagonal crossroad for about one to two kilometers before he suddenly came to a stop.

Fei Fei and Old Gu looked into each other’s eyes out of puzzlement. All they could see was the same stretch of boundless white snow before their eyes. They could not tell if there was anything different about their surroundings yet Wen Make suddenly raised his nose and sniffed the air. Soon after, he was slightly shocked as he spoke softly, “Such a strong and vigorous Water Poison!” Wen Leyang too has discovered that familiar scent unintentionally from his telegnosis ability which had been spread out far and wide. He recognized it as the utmost purest Water Poison from the firecrackers. Only then did he rush over to investigate. Ever since he had left the ore cave, his cultivation power has become vastly enhanced and his telegnosis ability was clearer and wider by several times. Even the Hua family disciples could not hide from him now.

Wen Leyang made a ‘fall back’ gesture towards the others. Following that, he growled softly and his body rippled with the Faulty Punch as he dashed into the thick snow in front of him. He resembled a small but dense whirlwind which had suddenly broken through the snowy ground. The snow surged skywards with a thundering loud noise as Wen Leyang’s body spun around ceaselessly.

In the blink of an eye, within the distance of dozens meters’ circumference, the snow was blown away by the tremendous force erupting from Wen Leyang. The frozen ground, covered with shriveled and hideous grass, contained a dozen lama’s corpses which lay about chaotically.

There were many flying swords and treasured weapons scattered around the corpses. Xiao Sha squinted her eyes in a slightly ghastly manner, “Are they all cultivators?”

Fei Fei, on the other hand, asked at the same time, “How did they die?”

Wen Leyang first eradicated the strong poison and then checked whether all the lamas were fully dead. Only then could he feel relieved to let the others examine the corpses as well.

These cultivators had died before it started snowing on the highland but before their bodies could decay, the snowstorm had covered them up and froze their corpses solid. Wen Leyang picked up a half-square remnant cinnabar red-colored dharmamudra from the ground. He was just about to examine it when there was an unexpected sound of a muffled bang. The half-square dharmamudra suddenly shook ferociously and exploded into a black-colored talisman! Wen Leyang squalled as he raised his hand and shielded himself from the supernatural power which suddenly charged towards him.

As Wen Leyang was shielding himself against the talisman, he felt as if he was being electrocuted. One side of his body felt like it was simultaneously being torn apart by two opposing strange forces. He fell onto his back on the ground while the talisman too lost its strength simultaneously and turned into a puff of smoke which dissipated into the air.

After the half-square dharmamudra in his hand has released its final burst of power, it then turned into a stone without any magical properties.

Wen Leyang felt that he had been a bit too boastful earlier as he jumped up from the ground. His actual power right now has exceeded that of the old demon rabbit Bu Le and he was now a matched rival of Po Tu. He had managed to turn his human body into a saint’s body and he has a penchant for fighting at close range yet he was defeated by a half-destroyed and masterless treasured weapon!

The crowd was a little dumbstruck. To them, the most incisive cultivator on the highland should be the Head Lama Rangjung but these corpses’ actual power when they were alive could be no less inferior than that of Master Rangjung’s.

Xiao Sha narrowed his eyes as he inhaled a deep breath and praised emotionally from the bottom of his heart, “On the highland, there are still hidden dragons and crouching tigers — talented people who still remained in concealment!”

Fei Fei frowned. She was at a loss whether to laugh or to cry as she peered at her brother. She then shook her head and said, “Look closely, these people are not lamas! The magic art that they cultivated was not the same as the Tibetan Buddhism Sect’s supernatural power which was cultivated by the lamas!”

Old Gu nodded in agreement as he continued the topic of conversation from the side, “Lamas do not use flying swords, dharmamudras or Taoist banners!”

Remnants of treasured weapons covered the ground but none of the treasured weapons looked like the Tibetan Buddhism Sect’s bone instruments used by Rangjung. On the contrary, these were the treasured weapons frequently used by the cultivators of the central plains. Judging by their attire and appearance, the deceased had the features of men who had lived for a long time on the highland. They were probably not lamas but they had been living on the highland for a long while and had feigned the identity of lamas to carry out activities.

Wen Leyang and Old Gu looked at each other. They had both thought of the same thing – since when had this group of master cultivators, who were completely unfamiliar yet with such shocking powers, appeared in this world?

As they discussed the matter, Wen Make was examining a few corpses with agile movements. He was filled with uncertainty as he spoke to Wen Leyang softly, “Every single one of their bones and muscles had been broken by a tremendous force but their fatal injury was… Water Poison! The utmost purest and utmost strongest Water Poison!”

Xiao Sha pondered for a few seconds before she suddenly squalled. She glared at Wen Leyang as she stuttered, “The person capable, capable of using poison to poison these master cultivators, if it wasn’t you, could it be your family’s Grand… Grand Master who has reappeared in the mortal world?!”

The face of every Wen family disciple under Wen Make revealed a glow of excitement and incredulity. Still, Wen Leyang coughed. He was apparently startled by Xiao Sha’s deduction as he shook his head hastily, “No, there must be someone else who was the assailant!” Upon saying that, he did not wait for the others to refute as he spat out two words in a resolute and decisive manner, “Xiang Liu!”

Xiang Liu’s body had been poisoned by the firecracker’s Water Elemental strong poison. He was severely injured when he had escaped from the snowy peak. Following that, he could have arrived here and had a ferocious battle with these cultivators before he finally forced all the Water Poison in his body into these cultivators’ bodies. Old Gu and Fei Fei looked at each other as they nodded in agreement simultaneously. Wen Leyang’s speculation was apparently more dependable based on the timing and cause of death.

Moreover, Wen Leyang was certain that the strong poison which had killed these cultivators was no different from the firecracker’s Water Poison which had been absorbed into his body.

A short while after, a Wen Bucao’s disciple cautiously picked up a piece of folded hide which had been frozen solid from the chest pocket of one of those corpses. That Wen family disciple did not speak but he stuffed the hide into his chest pocket and used his body heat to melt the ice. Once that was done, he carefully unfolded it and presented it to the crowd.