Chapter 1020: Too Noisy

He had spent hundreds of years, untold wealth, and countless amounts of blood to cultivate these nine dark-gold venomous insects. They were dearer to him than his own sons, his absolute lifeblood. Now, they all lay motionless on the ground. It was a testament to his strong will that he didn't immediately vomit blood and die.

Seeing his reaction and the state of the venomous insects, everyone around exchanged bewildered glances.

"The dark-gold venomous insects were... poisoned by Sun Qiang?"

"He actually possesses a more potent venom, one that even the poison insects couldn't withstand?"

"Trying to poison him, but getting poisoned instead..."

Realizing what had happened, they were all completely flustered.

With their knowledge and expertise in poisons, they could naturally tell the cause of the insects' death: they had been instantly killed by a more potent poison!

These nine beetles had only been on Sun Qiang's body from start to finish. For this to happen, there was only one possibility: the poison on his body was even more terrifying!

He ran over to poison someone, but the other person, eyes closed and motionless, simply caused the Hall Master's venomous insects to be poisoned to death...

All the onlookers felt like they were going mad.

This was the Poison Hall, the most formidable place for poison arts in the entire Hongyuan Empire, and even the Qingyuan Conferred Empire. How did someone manage to poison the Hall Master's lifeblood right here?

While they were still wondering, they heard the Hall Master's enraged roar. "I'll kill you..."

At this moment, the Hall Master had lost all his previous elegance and solemnity. His eyes were bloodshot, revealing a hysterical rage, as if he wanted to devour the man in front of him on the spot.

It was understandable.

With the death of his lifebound venomous insects, not only were years of his efforts ruined, but his cultivation also suffered greatly. He had previously been at the peak of Saint 3-dan, but now, it would be good if he could even display the strength of a Saint 2-dan peak.

Boom!

With his venomous insects killed, using poison was clearly no longer an option. Amidst the Hall Master's roar, his true qi surged, forming a giant palm in the air that struck straight forward.

Before the palm could reach "Sun Qiang", the man who had been sitting cross-legged suddenly stood up. His eyes were still tightly shut, but with a flick of his wrist, a long spear appeared.

It was even more terrifying than Zheng Yang's earlier display. With a single thrust, the spear seemed like a massive dragon emerging from the clouds, galloping across the land, soaring for thousands of miles.

Clash!

The two forces collided, vanishing into thin air.

Zhang Xuan was pushed back two steps by the impact's airwave. He stamped his foot and surged forward like lightning. While still airborne, he thrust his spear again.

This time, man and spear became one, as if he was the spear and the spear was him. Surging true qi, combined with an incredibly powerful physical body, caused all the bluestones on the ground to explode even before he arrived. The spot where the Hall Master stood collapsed, forming a large crater.

"Damn it..."

With a roar, the Hall Master met him again.

Normally, although the opponent's strength was ferocious, with his Saint 3-dan peak combat power, crushing him would have been effortless!

But his nine lifebound venomous insects had just been killed, causing immense damage to both his body and soul. He couldn't even unleash a tenth of his usual strength. When clashing head-on, he actually felt a sense of inability to contend.

And the opponent... was merely a Transcendent Mortal!

"I refuse to believe I can't kill you..."

He roared again, channeling his internal power to its limit. His true qi gurgled like boiling water.

Boom!

The spear tip clashed with the palm print. A colossal roar echoed throughout the surroundings, and the dissipated true qi reduced all buildings within several hundred meters to dust. The poison masters who had been eager to watch the spectacle, feeling such immense power, were terrified and retreated repeatedly, no longer daring to approach.

The Hall Master used all his strength, but "Sun Qiang", still with closed eyes, seemed unable to withstand it. He spat out blood, flew backward, and crashed heavily onto the ground.

Although Zhang Xuan cultivated the *Sealing Saint Art* and could fight above his rank, there were limits. The Hall Master's power was simply too great; he was no match for him.

Of course, if his soul had not left his body and he could use the Library of Heaven's Path to investigate the opponent's flaws and formulate a combat strategy, then even if the opponent was strong, the outcome would be uncertain. But now, relying solely on brute force was far more dangerous.

After sending "Sun Qiang" flying, the Hall Master took another step, pressing forward relentlessly. "Die!"

From the previous clash, he had also gauged his opponent's true strength. Compared to him, there was still a noticeable gap. As long as he didn't give the opponent a moment to breathe, he could definitely kill him!

Sensing the danger in the Hall Master's move, "Sun Qiang" across from him seemed to panic. He threw his long spear straight out and turned to flee.

In the blink of an eye, he had covered several hundred meters.

"Where do you think you're going?" He didn't expect this fellow to have no principles at all. Just moments ago, he was arrogantly fighting with eyes closed, and now he was running away. The Hall Master roared in fury, pursuing closely and striking again.

Boom!

The mighty palm force created a large crater, but the opponent's speed was simply too fast; he barely managed to evade it.

Seeing him run faster and faster, and knowing he was severely injured and couldn't last much longer, the Hall Master turned and commanded, "Stop him for me!"

"Yes, sir!"

The many elders dared not hesitate and followed closely.

They pursued quickly, but Zhang Xuan ran even faster. What's more, he was running aimlessly with his eyes closed. Everywhere he went, countless buildings were forcefully crashed into and collapsed. For a time, the entire Poison Hall was enveloped in dust and smoke, and ancient buildings that had stood for countless years were all destroyed.

Seeing his ancestors' foundation about to be utterly dismantled by this fellow, the Hall Master's eyes were bloodshot with rage. With a flick of his wrist, a token appeared in his palm. He infused it with true qi, and it slowly floated in the air, as if communicating with a special force, emitting dazzling light.

"I, the thirtieth generation Hall Master of the Poison Hall, activate the Hall-Protecting Grand Formation..."

Rumble!

Along with his voice, the token's light grew brighter and brighter. The massive formation that had previously concealed the entire island seemed to be activated by a special force, slowly starting to operate.

This formation, left behind by the founding patriarch of the Hongyuan Poison Hall, could not only conceal the island but also entrap and poison intruders!

That fellow in the distance was not only fleeing but also causing destruction everywhere. If he wasn't stopped and killed soon, the Poison Hall's ten-thousand-year foundation would likely be utterly ruined.

As the formation began to operate, a powerful force immediately surged towards Zhang Xuan, who was fleeing nearby.

Whoosh!

The formation was too fast; there was no way to dodge it. It instantly sealed him within, as if he had been trapped in a cage.

"Hmph, let's see where you'll run now..."

Seeing how powerful the formation was, the Hall Master's eyes lit up, and he hastily flew over. However, before he even reached him, he saw "Sun Qiang", as if recalling something, suddenly take a few steps back within the seal and violently stamp his foot on the ground.

Crack!

The seal immediately shattered. Then, he stood still, raised his right hand, and made a sudden grab.

The token he had just activated immediately slipped from his control, flying straight towards his opponent.

"What?!"

His pupils contracted, and the Hall Master nearly died of fright on the spot.

Easily breaking the seal and even snatching the token from his hand... There was only one possibility: the opponent was extremely knowledgeable about formations, had completely understood its flaws, and had taken control of it!

How... how was this possible?

This formation was something their ancestor had studied for countless years and perfectly laid out in conjunction with the terrain. Even generations of formation masters only had a partial understanding of it. How long had this fellow been here? Not only did he understand it, but he also found its flaws...

How did he do it?

Shocked, and just as he was about to try and regain control of the formation token, he saw the young man in front, still with closed eyes, flip his palm again.

Whoosh!

A wave of power immediately struck him. The Hall Master's body instantly stiffened...

The formation was now controlled by the opponent. Using his own methods against him, it locked him within.

"Oh no..."

His pupils contracted, and the Hall Master's entire body surged with power, just as he was about to break free from the seal. He then saw a foot kick straight towards his face.

With just one kick, several of his teeth fell out, and blood streamed from his mouth and nose.

"Sun Qiang, how dare you hit me! I'll kill you..." He roared, but before he could finish, he saw the opponent's fists and feet moving faster and faster.

Whack! Thump!

In less than ten breaths, he suffered at least thirty to forty slaps and fifty to sixty kicks. His entire face was beaten beyond recognition. If he were thrown out now, no one would believe he was the amiable Hall Master.

Under normal circumstances, with his strength, even if he couldn't kill the opponent quickly, it would be very difficult for the opponent to injure him.

As a result, after activating the formation, not only did he fail to kill the opponent, but he also allowed the opponent to use its power to deliver a severe beating. The Hall Master felt his head spinning, as if it was about to explode.

He was the Hall Master of the Poison Hall, the most powerful and influential person in the entire Hongyuan Poison Hall...

To activate the grand formation, only for it to be used by the opponent to deliver a brutal beating... What kind of situation was this?

It felt as if the opponent was the Hall Master, and he himself was the outsider.

"Hall Master..."

The many elders who had rushed over to help, seeing "Sun Qiang" continuously pummeling the Hall Master, beating him almost to death, were scratching their heads, unsure of what to do.

When the Hall Master intervened, they thought he would surely reverse the situation and restore their dignity. They never expected his venomous insects to be poisoned to death, followed by him getting severely beaten...

Seeing that the Hall Master was about to be beaten to death, an elder remembered the previous situation and couldn't help but shout, "Don't harbor any killing intent towards Sun Qiang, or else he'll kill you..."

"No killing intent?"

The Hall Master, with a swollen and bruised face, didn't know why the elder said this, but since he could shout it so loudly, it must be true. He forcefully suppressed his anger and slowly subdued the killing intent in his heart.

As soon as he finished suppressing it, "Sun Qiang" across from him indeed stopped, sitting cross-legged nearby again to continue cultivating.

From beginning to end, his eyes never opened. It was as if all his previous actions were performed while sleepwalking.

"This... what in the world is going on? Was I just beaten up by someone who was sleepwalking?"

The Hall Master's eyes reddened.

As the dignified Hall Master of the Poison Hall, he could tolerate being beaten by a powerful expert. But to be beaten beyond recognition and nearly killed by a Transcendent Mortal ally... What kind of situation was this?!

At the same time, Zhang Xuan's Soul Form had just finished reading the books on the third floor.

Feeling the spiritual energy surging outside, seemingly from a massive formation in operation, along with buildings collapsing and continuous roars, he frowned, utterly displeased.

"It's so noisy! Can't a person read in peace?"