Chapter 1012: Going to the Poison Hall

After questioning for a while, Zhang Xuan realized the other party knew little about the ruins in Huoyuan City. Seeing that he couldn't get more information from him, Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Meanwhile, the ruthless one had also extracted information from King Shuiye's primordial spirit. The details were largely consistent with what the other person had revealed, but they offered a more comprehensive understanding of the so-called map.

It was said that over two thousand years ago, the ruins had appeared spontaneously. Various factions vied for control, and they ultimately fell into the hands of the Poison Hall. However, for unknown reasons, the Poison Hall never dispatched anyone to search them. Coupled with their habitual isolation, over time, this information faded from public knowledge.

The Spirit-Devourer tribe, after extensive inquiries, finally learned about the ruins. After several attempts, they seized the opportunity to dispatch two powerful kings. Unexpectedly, these two were defeated by Zhang Xuan before they could even locate the Poison Hall.

"What was the objective of King Jinye and King Qingye?"

Since the map was the objective, King Jinye and King Qingye must have had their own goals. However, he had killed them before they could even start, so he still didn't know what they were trying to accomplish.

"Their objective was... to assassinate the Master Teacher Academy Dean, which is... you, Young Master," King Ziye said, his face flushing. "They intended to create chaos, ensuring others would be too preoccupied to notice anything else."

"Kill me?" Zhang Xuan was stunned.

He had been wondering about their motives. It was unexpected that their target was him. It seemed fortunate that he had discovered and eliminated them beforehand; otherwise, an ambush by two Saint 4-realm kings could have truly led to his demise. One could imagine that if over two hundred Saint-realm Spirit-Devourers, assisted by two Saint 4-realm kings, were to appear in Hongyuan City, they would undoubtedly cause immense chaos. The Master Teacher Pavilion of the Qingyuan Conferred Empire might even become embroiled, ensuring that no one would pay attention to the ruins, allowing their plan to succeed effortlessly.

"Yes..."

Seeing the Young Master's stunned expression, King Ziye felt helpless. Perhaps King Jinye and King Qingye were the most tragically defeated among Qing Tian's ten great kings. They had gone to kill someone, only to be killed themselves by a target who didn't even know they were coming. It was truly tragic to consider.

"Well, they deserved their fate..."

They had intended to kill him but met their end by his hand, which was a fitting consequence for their crimes.

"I have a folding space; you go in first!"

After asking all necessary questions, Zhang Xuan said no more. With a wave of his hand, he brought King Ziye into the Myriad Ant Nest. It had been difficult enough to convince Elder Xu he was a poison master. If he kept this fellow by his side, Elder Xu would likely not believe anything he said anymore. It was better to put him away first.

After putting away King Ziye, Zhang Xuan swept his hand, dismantling the Seven-Star Maze Formation. Hu Yunsheng and the others had not gone far; he instructed them to apprehend the guards. He then wrote a letter and dispatched someone to deliver it to Hongyuan Imperial City and the Master Teacher Pavilion. Only then did he head towards the quiet room.

The matter of Jingyuan City's City Lord colluding with the Spirit-Devourer tribe would be Yu Shenqing's headache to deal with. As for whether he would be replaced or reappointed, that was none of Zhang Xuan's concern. It was predictable that once the letter was delivered, this arrogant and overbearing city lord would surely become history.

Upon returning to the quiet room, he saw that Elder Xu's injuries had mostly recovered. His essence, qi, and spirit had become more harmonious, though his face remained somewhat pale, indicating severe damage to his soul.

With a thought, a beetle appeared in Zhang Xuan's palm, which he handed over. "I just went to the City Lord's Mansion again and quietly retrieved this!" This beetle was nourished by the other party's vital blood; its loss would cause immense harm. After subduing King Ziye, he had retrieved it. As for how King Ziye confirmed their hiding place in Moyun Pavilion, it must have been related to this beetle. Otherwise, in such a vast place as Jingyuan City, why would they search here specifically and nowhere else?

"This..." Elder Xu's eyes lit up with excitement as he quickly took the beetle. "Thank you!" This was his life-bound beetle; if it died, he would be severely wounded, even if not fatally. He had believed it would be impossible to retrieve once it fell into the enemy's hands, but this person had unexpectedly risked danger to help him get it back. This act of kindness deeply moved him.

"You... aren't injured, are you?" Elder Xu asked, putting away the beetle and looking at him with deep concern. He had personally witnessed how terrifying that powerful individual was. Retrieving the beetle from their grasp must have been unimaginably difficult.

"Don't worry, I'm fine..." Zhang Xuan smiled faintly, then suddenly swayed, his face turning pale before he spat out a mouthful of blood. A mouthful of fresh blood gushed out; his injuries appeared too severe to bear, and he collapsed onto the ground.

"My friend..." Elder Xu exclaimed, startled, and quickly helped him up, his eyes filled with worry and gratitude. To risk such danger just to help him retrieve the beetle—such integrity was truly admirable. Most crucially, despite such severe injuries, he had claimed to be unhurt, just to prevent Elder Xu from worrying. This poison master was truly someone worth befriending, a good person worthy of entrusting one's life to! Elder Xu quickly took out some healing poison from his robes and administered it to Zhang Xuan. Seeing his complexion slowly improve, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"We can't stay here any longer; let's leave quickly!"

After meditating for a while, Zhang Xuan let out a breath.

Elder Xu nodded. If they hadn't retrieved the beetle, the enemy would have assumed they had fled far away and searched in all directions. But now... they surely knew they were still in Jingyuan City, and narrowing down the search would be much simpler.

"How do you feel now? Do you need to rest a bit longer?" After a pause, Elder Xu looked at him. Although escaping was important, if Zhang Xuan's injuries worsened because of it, Elder Xu would surely feel guilty for the rest of his life.

"It's fine, my injuries are still bearable," Zhang Xuan said, covering his chest with a look of righteousness. "Let's leave here first. It won't be too late to treat them properly once we reach the Poison Hall!"

"Very well, let's prepare to depart!"

With the plan set, the two quietly left the quiet room and slipped towards the city outskirts. Before long, they were out of the city gates.

After walking for a while along the mountain forest outside the city, they arrived at a mountain hollow, where they soon spotted a massive Saint beast appearing nearby.

"This is a Saint beast from our Poison Hall," Elder Xu explained. "Elder Xue and I rode it when we came..." As he said this, Elder Xu paused, a sorrowful expression crossing his face. The Elder Xue he mentioned was the slightly thin man who had been killed on the spot by King Ziye in the City Lord's Mansion while trying to save him.

"Elder Xue died trying to save you," Zhang Xuan comforted him. "As long as we return safely to the Poison Hall, his efforts won't have been in vain!"

"Mmm!" Understanding his meaning, Elder Xu nodded and said nothing more.

The two boarded the Saint beast and flew directly towards Longcang Sea. Longcang Sea was the largest inland sea in the Hongyuan Empire, covering an area of tens of thousands of kilometers. The powerful spirit beasts inhabiting it reached Saint 3-realm and 4-realm, making them extremely formidable. It had always been a forbidden land for cultivators. The Saint beast they were riding was an Iron-Armored Winged Dragon Beast at the mid-Saint 1-realm. It wasn't particularly fast but possessed excellent stamina.

After flying for half a day, a vast ocean appeared before their eyes. The azure sky and slightly greenish seawater merged in the distance, resembling a painting where heaven and water met. Gazing at it for a long time would broaden one's mind and inspire a sense of grandeur.

Standing in the wooden cabin of the flying Saint beast, Elder Xu looked at the water before them and said, "On the way to the Poison Hall, there are a total of 27 poison formations. Even Saint 2-realm and 3-realm experts would be easily poisoned to death if they rashly entered."

"27 poison formations?" Zhang Xuan was astonished.

"Yes," Elder Xu confirmed, "surrounding the poison formations are the lairs of Saint 3-realm Saint beasts. If one manages to avoid the poison formations, they'll fall victim to their attacks... Almost all cultivators who try to find the Poison Hall die; their numbers exceed several hundred each year." At this point, Elder Xu shook his head.

"Every year... not less than several hundred?" Zhang Xuan was startled. Those who dared to seek the Poison Hall were certainly not weak; at minimum, they had reached the Saint realm. For hundreds of such individuals to die each year, even if not directly by the hands of poison masters, was still largely attributable to them. No wonder this profession inspired such widespread fear and awe; it was indeed terrifying.

Frowning, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but ask, "If the Poison Hall is hidden so secretly, how does its legacy continue?" Every profession required a replenishment of younger talents. With the Poison Hall hidden so deeply that many couldn't find it, how did new disciples apprentice and how was its legacy passed down?

"Successor disciples are generally sought out by members of our Poison Hall," Elder Xu explained. "Anyone with talent is accepted as a disciple. Of course, some are orphans whom we adopt, exposing them to potent poisons from a young age. Only those who survive are deemed qualified to become disciples!"

Zhang Xuan frowned. This method was somewhat similar to raising Gu worms, where all worms were put together, allowed to fight each other, and the last survivor became the king. For a group of orphans who had never encountered poison to be suddenly exposed to it, casualties were inevitable. It seemed that cultivating a single poison master required the sacrifice of countless lives.

After explaining, Elder Xu looked at him inquiringly. "You didn't receive a direct inheritance, so how did you enter the profession of a poison master? Even with a poison master's inheritance, it wasn't guaranteed one could be immune to all poisons. Yet, this person in front of him had never visited the Poison Hall but could achieve immunity, and his skill with poison was no less than Elder Xu's own. How exactly had he done it?"

"Actually... I have stayed in a Poison Hall before," Zhang Xuan replied casually. "However, it wasn't this one, but in a small place under the Xuanyuan Kingdom, called the Red Lotus Mountain Range... Later, I left there and ventured out on my own. By a stroke of luck, I obtained a secret manual on the path of poison, and through gradual study, I reached my current level..." If he had claimed to have reached such a level without ever being exposed to poison, no one would have believed him. Thus, his words contained a mix of truth and falsehood, making it difficult for the other party to discern.

"A secret manual on using poison?" Elder Xu praised, unable to help but look at him with curiosity. "For it to allow you to reach such power, it seems this manual is extraordinary! I wonder if it would be convenient to lend it to me to examine for a moment? Don't worry, I won't open it; I'm just curious to see which master it came from!"

"This..." Zhang Xuan's mouth twitched. He had just been talking nonsense; where was there any secret manual? Could it be... the other party was suspicious of him again?