Chapter 84: Overbearing Vengeful Dragon Poison

Zhou Yuan's expression remained unchanged as he looked at Qi Hao's ferocious smile. If he hadn't yet opened his Qi Mansion and broken through to the Qi Cultivation Realm, he probably wouldn't have been a match for this guy. But unfortunately, before entering the ruins, he had already officially entered the Qi Cultivation Realm, and he had even opened up a blood-red Qi Mansion.

"Just with your big talk, you're certainly living up to your name, 'Qi Ritian'," Zhou Yuan said with a smile.

Qi Hao's face darkened, his eyes blazing with murderous intent. Gritting his teeth, he snarled, "You little bastard, once you're in my hands, I'll cut out your tongue!"

"The last person who said that was your brother, Qi Yue," Zhou Yuan said, raising an eyebrow. "He's now missing a hand, chopped off by me, and is hiding in the Qi Royal Manor, too scared to show his face."

"Heh." Qi Hao laughed, furious. With murderous intent swirling in his eyes, he stopped speaking, clenching his five fingers. Source Qi began to surge from within his body, covering his form.

The Source Qi around Qi Hao was golden, fierce, and dominant. It was the Qi Royal Manor's strongest Source Qi, the Fourth-Rank Golden Stone Primordial Qi. Clearly, despite how annoying Qi Hao was, his inherent strength was formidable. With this Golden Stone Primordial Qi, he was considered an outstanding practitioner even among those in the Qi Cultivation Realm.

With a thought, Zhou Yuan also summoned the Source Qi from his Qi Mansion, which began to surge out, coiling and swirling around him. His Source Qi was transparent, though faint streaks of blood could be vaguely seen coursing through it.

On the high slope outside the valley, all eyes were fixed on the two figures confronting each other in the deep valley. Whispers broke out as they observed the two distinct types of Source Qi.

"'That Qi Hao must be in the late Qi Cultivation Realm, right? And he's cultivated the Qi Royal Manor's top-tier 'Golden Stone Primordial Qi.' His combat strength is quite formidable.'"

"'Has that Prince Zhou Yuan's Source Qi not even been cultivated with a technique yet?'"

"'It's truly a case of a newborn calf not fearing a tiger, but calves that challenge lions and tigers rarely end well.'"

"'Heh heh, if this prince dies here, then Great Zhou will surely descend into chaos.'"

"'It's better if it's chaotic; then we in Black Abyss will have an opportunity to plunder Great Zhou.'"

As these conversations unfolded, many gazes directed at Zhou Yuan's figure were mixed with schadenfreude and pity. Clearly, facing Qi Hao, who was far stronger than him, they had already written him off as dead.

"'So you've already entered the Qi Cultivation Realm. No wonder you dared to face me alone,' Qi Hao sneered from the deep valley, slightly surprised to see the Source Qi surging around Zhou Yuan. However, even if Zhou Yuan had entered the Qi Cultivation Realm, he was only in the early stage, while Qi Hao himself was already in the late stage. 'And... your Source Qi, have you not even cultivated a technique for it?' Qi Hao cackled sinisterly. Zhou Yuan's Source Qi was still its most primitive transparent color, indicating it had no attributes or special effects, and its power was extremely weak."

"'You'll find out if you try,' Zhou Yuan replied, his voice calm."

"'Playing mysterious won't save you!' Qi Hao smirked chillingly, a sharp glint in his eyes. He tapped his foot, cracking the ground, and then shot towards Zhou Yuan like a streak of golden light. He was attacking."

The golden, flashing figure rapidly grew larger in Zhou Yuan's eyes. Facing the aggressive Qi Hao, his gaze flickered, but he chose not to dodge. Instead, he stood his ground, and the Source Qi around him churned even more violently.

"'Idiot, you're looking for death!' Seeing Zhou Yuan remain motionless, a cold light flashed in Qi Hao's eyes. He was in the late Qi Cultivation Realm and cultivated Fourth-Rank Source Qi, almost completely overwhelming Zhou Yuan. For the latter to dare to clash head-on with him was simply suicidal."

Qi Hao threw a punch, its force like thunder, and the golden Source Qi vibrated, sounding like metal clashing against stone. It was incredibly fierce and potent; even a massive boulder would be pulverized by such a blow.

The sharp, powerful punch, carrying its golden Source Qi, whistled towards him. Zhou Yuan took a deep breath, a cold glint in his eyes, and clenched his fist, suddenly launching his own punch. He wanted to test the true strength of his Source Qi, which had been tainted by the Resentful Dragon Poison.

Their fists met squarely, instantly unleashing a surge of Qi that scattered the dirt beneath their feet. However, their clash only lasted for a few breaths before Zhou Yuan was sent staggering backward. He dug his feet into the ground for dozens of steps before finally stabilizing himself, his internal energy surging violently.

"'A late Qi Cultivation Realm practitioner who has cultivated Fourth-Rank Source Qi is indeed formidable,'."

Zhou Yuan slowly uncurled his fingers; his entire arm throbbed with a dull ache, a clear sign of injury from the impact. Evidently, he had still underestimated Qi Hao's formidable strength. Zhou Yuan looked up at Qi Hao, who stood dozens of steps away. The latter shouldn't be feeling well either, because in the instant their fists met, a wisp of blood-colored thread from Zhou Yuan's Source Qi had seized the opportunity to infiltrate Qi Hao's body.

"'He truly doesn't know what's coming to him.' Outside the valley, many onlookers shook their heads, seeing an early Qi Cultivation Realm practitioner clash head-on with a late Qi Cultivation Realm one. This Zhou Yuan really had no idea what 'death' meant. 'But why isn't Qi Hao pressing his attack?' someone suddenly wondered aloud, noticing that Qi Hao remained motionless in his spot, making no move to pursue. 'Could the previous clash have injured him as well?' someone suggested. 'How could that be?' a bystander immediately scoffed. 'Qi Hao is in the late Qi Cultivation Realm and cultivates Fourth-Rank Source Qi. For that Zhou Yuan not to be killed by a single punch means he's already incredibly lucky.'"

Amidst the numerous discussions, in the depths of the valley, Qi Hao's body began to tremble slightly. Golden light and streaks of red continuously flickered across his face. Dozens of breaths later, his body suddenly convulsed, and he abruptly spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

Pst! As the blood landed, even the ground began to corrode.

His act of spitting blood, observed by the many eyes fixed on the valley's unfolding situation, immediately caused an uproar. Everyone was dumbfounded. This was supposed to be an overwhelming victory for Qi Hao, so how had he suddenly spat out blood?! What exactly had happened?

Qi Hao wiped the blood from his mouth, his expression incredibly grim. He glared at Zhou Yuan, gritting his teeth. "Your Source Qi is poisonous?!" And it was a terrifyingly potent poison that made his heart pound. Their previous contact had been brief; Zhou Yuan's Source Qi had indeed been powerfully repelled by him. Yet, as it was repelled, a wisp of strange, blood-red toxic Qi had invaded Qi Hao's body. The moment the blood-red toxic Qi entered his body, it began frantically devouring his vital blood, terrifying Qi Hao. He desperately suppressed it, eventually managing to expel the toxic Qi from his body.

Zhou Yuan glanced at Qi Hao, whose Source Qi seemed a little chaotic, and his eyes brightened slightly. Clearly, the Source Qi mixed with the Resentful Dragon Poison was even more potent than he had imagined. Before, it had only been a wisp. If there had been more, Zhou Yuan likely wouldn't even have needed to act; Qi Hao would have been directly killed by the Resentful Dragon Poison.

"'Don't you like to clash head-on? Come on, let's do it again,' Zhou Yuan said with a smile."

A deep apprehension flashed in Qi Hao's eyes. Zhou Yuan's Source Qi itself wasn't a threat, but the terrifying trace of toxic Qi contained within it was extremely dreadful. Qi Hao took a deep breath, suppressing the frustration in his heart. He clenched his hand, and a golden long spear appeared in his grip, shimmering with light; it was clearly a high-grade Origin Weapon. Having learned his lesson from the previous exchange, he clearly no longer dared to easily clash with Zhou Yuan using only his physical body, to avoid that terrifying toxic Qi invading his body again.

Holding the golden spear, Qi Hao's gaze turned extremely cold and sharp. He slowly pointed the tip of his spear at Zhou Yuan. Seeing Qi Hao become cautious, Zhou Yuan's expression also grew solemn. He knew that to obtain the Fire Spirit Spikes today, a fierce battle was inevitable.

Since that's the case, let's see who will emerge victorious!