Chapter 823: Ten Deadly Poisons

"What's wrong with these two mountains?" the old man surnamed Lu asked, looking at the two tall mountains. He saw nothing unusual and sounded somewhat puzzled.

"From here, we can approach the Fire Toad Beast's nest by heading towards either mountain until we converge at a single point. However, the left mountain is home to a group of legendary Flying Sky Purple-Striped Scorpions. Though there are only a dozen or so, each one is incredibly fierce. I fear that passing through that mountain will almost certainly disturb them, and if that happens, the trouble will be immense," Marquis Nanlong explained after a long period of hesitation.

"Purple-Striped Scorpions? The same fierce insects that appeared once in the Wangshui Kingdom and wiped out all the cultivators of the Lanhai Sect?" Lu Weiying exclaimed, startled.

Upon hearing the words "Flying Sky Purple-Striped Scorpions," Han Li's expression also changed drastically, and his heart was greatly shaken.

"Exactly. These are those venomous insects. And the flying scorpions here seem to be even more powerful than the one that appeared in the Wangshui Kingdom. They have all lived for tens of thousands of years, and their entire bodies have turned dark purple," Marquis Nanlong sighed and continued.

"Fellow Daoist Nanlong, are you joking? With Purple-Striped Scorpions of this maturity, how can we possibly provoke them? If there were only two or three, perhaps. The three of us, if careful, might be able to handle them. But now there are more than a dozen! Won't we be sending ourselves to our deaths if we go there?" Lu Weiying could no longer hold back. He stared directly at Marquis Nanlong and spoke impolitely.

"From Brother Lu's reaction, it seems you intend to take another path. But that path is even more dangerous. On the way from here to the other mountain peak, there's an area riddled with numerous invisible spatial cracks. Since there are too many cracks, we can't bypass them at all, nor can we identify their exact locations one by one. To risk crossing this area... I believe I don't need to elaborate on the dangers. Both fellow daoists must know something about it," Marquis Nanlong said, his face showing helplessness.

Lu Weiying was momentarily stunned.

Spatial cracks, and invisible ones at that! This certainly wasn't any safer than facing a dozen Purple-Striped Scorpions.

Just as the old man was frozen in thought, Han Li heard about the invisible cracks and glanced into the distance, his eyes flickering.

"It seems Senior Cang Kun took the route with spatial cracks back then. After all, he possessed divine abilities and could sense the presence of invisible cracks," Han Li, who had been silent, said in a deep voice. No emotion, neither joy nor sorrow, could be discerned in his tone.

Marquis Nanlong was slightly startled by this remark, but immediately gave a bitter smile.

"Fellow Daoist Han is right. This is precisely my predicament. We don't possess the divine abilities Senior Cang Kun had to safely avoid these cracks. Comparatively, I still feel that confronting the Purple-Striped Scorpions offers a greater chance of success."

"No, we absolutely cannot provoke the Purple-Striped Scorpions! Your knowledge of what happened in the Wangshui Kingdom back then is merely hearsay. When I was young, I personally represented the Tianji Sect in the encirclement and suppression of Purple-Striped Scorpions. Their terrifying nature far exceeds your imagination. Provoking a dozen at once is absolutely suicidal!" The old man surnamed Lu shook his head like a rattle drum, immediately rejecting the suggestion.

The old man's fear of the Purple-Striped Scorpions was far beyond Marquis Nanlong's expectation.

His initial idea that the three of them could fight these flying scorpions together began to waver, and a hesitant expression appeared on his face.

At this moment, Han Li's brows furrowed deeply as information about the Purple-Striped Scorpions from the 'Strange Insect List' surfaced in his mind.

The Flying Sky Purple-Striped Scorpions were ranked fourteenth on the jade slip. They were ancient strange insects, almost immediately following the Gold Devouring Beetles. They were highly praised by the Spirit Taming Sect cultivator Han Li had killed. If not for their sparse egg-laying, making it difficult for them to gain numerical superiority, their ranking would probably be even higher than the Gold Devouring Beetles.

Although they didn't possess the unique divine ability of the Gold Devouring Beetles to devour everything, their bodies were almost as hard as the Gold Devouring Beetles', making them similarly resistant to damage from swords or magical treasures. Furthermore, they had wings on their backs, allowing them to flee at wind-like speeds, and their bodies contained potent venom. These traits alone were enough to place them so high on the Strange Insect List.

As for the Purple-Striped Scorpions in the mountain ahead, who knew how many tens of thousands of years they had been in the Fallen Demon Valley. They had already advanced to their final, dark-purple mature form. Their terrifying nature could easily be imagined.

However, judging by Marquis Nanlong's tone, he only had a superficial understanding of how powerful these insects were. The old man surnamed Lu, on the other hand, seemed to have suffered greatly at the hands of these scorpions, looking quite terrified just speaking of them.

Watching Marquis Nanlong's solemn face, Han Li inwardly sneered a few times.

Having already arrived here, Marquis Nanlong suddenly brought up the matter of the Purple-Striped Scorpions, probably with no good intentions. It was rather like digging a pit for them to jump into.

After all, having come this far, neither Han Li nor the old man surnamed Lu would risk their lives for nothing and turn back now. They would have to bite the bullet and solve this problem together.

They couldn't fail at the last step!

Considering this, Han Li pondered, recalling everything related to the Purple-Striped Scorpions, looking for anything that could be utilized. After all, taking the other path would expose his divine ability to see through all spatial cracks, which was his greatest reliance in the Fallen Demon Valley. He would absolutely not reveal it to others unless absolutely necessary. As Han Li lowered his head in thought, the old man surnamed Lu stood solemnly in place, a hint of anxiety in his eyes. Meanwhile, Marquis Nanlong gazed at the mountain where the Purple-Striped Scorpions were located, his expression uncertain.

The three of them seemed to be in a stalemate for a moment, unable to advance or retreat.

After an unknown period of silence, Han Li's expression shifted, and he raised his head, a faint smile appearing on his face.

Although Marquis Nanlong and Elder Lu seemed somewhat distracted, they were all secretly paying attention to the others' movements. The moment Han Li made an unusual move, Marquis Nanlong immediately turned his head and blurted out:

"What? Does Brother Han have a good idea?" The Nascent Soul cultivator's voice contained a hint of anticipation.

Lu Weiying, hearing this, also stirred internally and gazed intently at Han Li. Han Li didn't answer immediately. Instead, he reached into his storage bag with one hand, and a small green bottle appeared in his palm.

"I wonder if both fellow daoists have heard of the Ten Ultimate Poisons?" Han Li said calmly.

"Ten Ultimate Poisons? I've heard some things. They are said to be extremely potent and bizarre poisons with incredible toxicity. Even cultivators like us could die immediately if afflicted by them. I heard that Fellow Daoist Wei Wuya, who specializes in poison arts, can utilize the Viper Corpse Poison from the Ten Ultimate Poisons. Other cultivators fighting him never dare to approach within ten *zhang* of him, otherwise they'd die instantly upon contact. As for the other components of the Ten Ultimate Poisons, I've rarely heard of them," the old man surnamed Lu said, somewhat surprised.

"But I heard that besides their potent toxicity, the Ten Ultimate Poisons also have various other marvelous uses. Could what Fellow Daoist holds be one of them?" Marquis Nanlong seemed to have thought of something. He stared at the small bottle in Han Li's hand, his voice becoming somewhat eager.

"It seems I don't need to say it; Brother Nanlong has guessed some of it. This bottle contains Azure Pigeon, one of the Ten Ultimate Poisons. This poison is said to be refined from the saliva of the demonic bird, the Azure-Beaked Pigeon. Not only is it incredibly toxic, but its smell is also extremely pungent and unforgettable. It is the favorite thing of all great venomous insects in the world," Han Li said slowly, holding up the small bottle with one hand.

"Brother Han, you mean..." Lu Weiying seemed to realize something, and a hint of joy appeared on his face.

"Why clash head-on with those Purple-Striped Scorpions? As long as we use this poison to lure them away from the mountain, we can seize the opportunity to pass through," Han Li said cleanly and decisively.

"How to use this poison to lure them away? Haha, I'm so foolish, I forgot that Fellow Daoist is proficient in puppetry. A few puppets coated with this poison would be enough to draw away these venomous scorpions!" At this moment, Marquis Nanlong also broke into a wide smile.

Hearing this, Han Li's expression remained unchanged, but he muttered something inwardly.

"Marquis Nanlong is quite adept with words, shifting all responsibility onto me with just a few sentences. Speaking of luring monsters, it seems his several 'Thousand-Mile Orioles' could also do the job. Last time, when facing that giant ancient python beast, he already destroyed several puppets."

Han Li felt a bit dissatisfied, but on the surface, he calmly nodded in agreement. He wouldn't fall out with the other party over such a minor matter. After all, he still needed the other party to guide him through the latter half of the route. And this bottle of Azure Pigeon poison in his hand was one of the treasures from Senior Cang Kun's box.

Given Han Li's profound knowledge of medicinal arts, he immediately recognized this poison just by smelling it that day. He was startled and promptly put it away.

Thinking about it now, Senior Cang Kun hid this poison in the box. Was it perhaps prepared specifically for these Purple-Striped Scorpions? Otherwise, why would he hide this poison in the box?

But for Senior Cang Kun to meticulously plan every step for later individuals to obtain treasures, something felt off. It seemed he was a bit too enthusiastic.

And recalling the three-headed, six-armed demonic beast statue he saw in the attic at Senior Cang Kun's ruins that day, Han Li faintly felt there was some profound mystery involved.

Marquis Nanlong had also said that Senior Cang Kun was his ancestor. It seemed he should know something more.

However, no matter what tricks were involved, as long as he obtained the Fire Toad Beast's demonic core, it would have nothing to do with him. He wouldn't meddle in anything. He would immediately part ways with these two to avoid getting into any major trouble.

Han Li had made up his mind. But his hand movements never paused for a moment.

He casually patted the storage bag at his waist, and four or five white specks of light immediately flew out, revealing several giant ape puppets.

Han Li immediately took out a few more small jade bottles, dropped a single drop of viscous, emerald-green Azure Pigeon poison into each, and quickly resealed all the bottles. He then handed them to the giant apes, instructing them to tightly grip the small bottles with their large hands.

At this point, Han Li secretly activated his spiritual sense. Guided by Marquis Nanlong, all the giant apes silently headed straight for the left mountain peak.

When they had flown a certain distance, Han Li turned his head and said in a deep voice:

"Let's go too. We can't let too much distance open up between us and the puppets. After all, it's hard to say how far these puppets can lure the flying scorpions. We must pass through this mountain as quickly as possible." Marquis Nanlong and the old man naturally had no objections and immediately followed the trajectory of the giant apes.

As the giant apes flew into the mountain, and Han Li and the others were only a few *li* away from it...

Han Li and the other two immediately cast spells to conceal their aura and presence. At the same time, the giant ape puppets all clenched their hands with force, crushing the small bottles they held into powder.

Instantly, waves of an extremely pungent and peculiar odor spread rapidly near the mountain peak. The giant apes immediately transformed into several streaks of white light and fled in another direction.