Chapter 822: Gu Poison and Toxicity Are Inseparable

Yang Xiangjun sprinkled a small bottle of potion, and the insects on a mountain frantically scrambled for it. Any insect that touched the potion immediately stiffened and died. Within minutes, all the Void Silkworms on a dirt mound were killed.

The two of them visited eight silkworm breeding locations in succession, completely wiping out all the Void Silkworms.

At the last silkworm breeding site, which was in a mountain gorge instead of a cliff, the Void Silkworms were noticeably larger than those on the cliffs. These insects were likely nearing maturity and ready for delivery.

However, even the largest Void Silkworms couldn't withstand the Nihilist Ash. After one bottle of potion, only their heads remained.

Li Banfeng wanted to know the origin of the Void Silkworms. "Let's go destroy their nest completely and eradicate them," he suggested.

Yang Xiangjun shook her head. "You can't eradicate them. This is the Land of Void, and Void Silkworms are naturally occurring creatures. You can't kill them all."

"I'll leave more poisoned bait for you to ensure that Void Silkworms can't be bred here anymore. If they move to another location, no one can stop them."

Li Banfeng picked up a Void Silkworm's head. "How long does it take for a Void Silkworm to grow this large?"

Yang Xiangjun looked at its size. The Void Silkworm was over a foot long. "In the wild, Void Silkworms wouldn't grow this long at all. With the special cultivation methods of Gu Cultivators, it would probably take at least a year."

A year was neither short nor long, but Li Banfeng certainly couldn't rest easy leaving them unmanaged.

The two left the tall silkworm breeding building. Li Banfeng found several watchtowers next to it. These watchtowers were larger than others but were much rougher in construction and materials, and their sanitary conditions were terrible. Based on Li Banfeng's experience in Xiaodu, this was where the servants lived.

Li Banfeng lingered near the watchtower for a moment, muttering, "Gu and poison, they are one family—"

Yang Xiangjun walked closer, listened carefully for a moment, and asked, "What did you just say was 'one family'?"

"I said Gu and poison are one family," Li Banfeng replied. "Do you think there's any logic to that?"

Yang Xiangjun was taken aback. "What logic is that? I told you, Medicine Cultivators and Poison Cultivators are considered one family. Gu Cultivators and Poison Cultivators have nothing to do with each other."

"You're too narrow-minded!" Li Banfeng had a different understanding of the relationships between the sects. "Medicine Cultivators and Poison Cultivators have gone down completely opposite paths, but Gu Cultivators and Poison Cultivators are becoming more and more similar."

Yang Xiangjun fanned herself with a round fan, shaking her head repeatedly. "Gu Cultivators and Poison Cultivators have no similarities. Gu poison and legitimate poison techniques are two different things. Gu techniques focus on control, while poison techniques focus on lethality. These two sects have never been similar—"

She explained so earnestly, but Li Banfeng didn't listen to a single word. He continued to chant around the watchtower, "Gu and poison, undivided; fight the enemy side by side!"

Yang Xiangjun stepped forward and stopped Li Qi. "What nonsense are you chanting? How does this relate to our sect? Let's just finish up and leave!"

Li Banfeng wasn't ready to leave. "What's the hurry? I still need to check if all the insects are dead."

He went through all the tall silkworm breeding buildings again to confirm all the insects were dead, then circled the servants' watchtowers twice.

As he circled, he kept muttering to himself, but Yang Xiangjun didn't pay much attention.

The servants were all asleep and couldn't hear what Li Qi was saying.

But Yang Xiangjun didn't realize that the sleeping servants could hear these words, because Li Banfeng had Mengde with him.

Mengde had followed Li Banfeng for years, enjoying a pampered life and never being mistreated. When Mengqian was around, Mengde couldn't fully utilize her abilities.

But when Mengqian was absent, Mengde had many tricks up her sleeve.

She was using dreams to repeat Li Banfeng's words, but in the dreams, it wasn't Li Banfeng speaking, but the Poison Cultivator Ancestor, Yang Xiangjun.

In everyone's dreams, Yang Xiangjun repeatedly declared, "Gu and poison, undivided; fight the enemy side by side!"

Nearby, eight people, four men and four women, each held a flag, waving it and shouting, "Follow the Poison Cultivator Ancestor to kill the enemy!"

The purpose of these eight people was to help the dreamers remember the Poison Cultivator Ancestor's clothing and appearance. In the dream, some Gu Cultivators clenched their fists, some hid in the distance, while others had blank expressions, as if the words weren't meant for them.

Li Banfeng had no time to persuade them. He left the dream in place and took Mengde to the servants' next dwelling.

By the time he had circled all the servants' watchtowers, it was already four-thirty, and the servants were due to wake up for work.

Yang Xiangjun urged, "We should go. You've chanted so many times; if they dare to fight, it's their fortune. If they don't, then they deserve what they get."

Li Banfeng shook his head. "We can't leave now. The path out of the Cursed Gu Ruin hasn't opened yet."

Yang Xiangjun was surprised. "Is that true? Does the path have specific opening times?"

"If you don't believe me, try walking out yourself," Li Banfeng said.

Yang Xiangjun couldn't leave on her own; she didn't know the way out of the Cursed Gu Ruin.

"Let's wait until five o'clock," Li Banfeng said. "When they start work, we'll check if any insects escaped. If not, we'll leave immediately."

Yang Xiangjun looked at the mountain gorge ahead and the forest behind. "Let's hide in the forest; it offers good cover."

Li Banfeng didn't see the need. "You're an Ancestor of a sect. Don't you have invisibility techniques? Why hide from these cultivators?"

Yang Xiangjun didn't dare to be overconfident. "These are Curse Cultivators. If we get hit by their Calamity Curse, we'll suffer greatly later."

"Didn't you drink Nihilist Ash? Can't that defend against the Calamity Curse?"

Yang Xiangjun shook her head. "Only high-level curses are made with Void Silkworms. Low-level curses might use other insects. Nihilist Ash isn't effective against other insects, so I'd need different medicine."

"Then change it. You're the Poison Cultivator Ancestor, can you possibly run out of medicine?"

"I wouldn't dare take that risk! This is the Curse Cultivator's den. Hundreds, even thousands, of Curse Cultivators attacking at once, hundreds of Calamity Curses assailing us—if I run out of medicine, I'll truly be dead," Yang Xiangjun said, looking at the magazine in Li Banfeng's hand. "I'd better hide in this book."

Li Banfeng opened the third page of the magazine and brought Yang Xiangjun inside. He didn't go to the forest but watched quietly from beside the mountain gorge.

At five o'clock, several female Curse Cultivators woke up first. They went to the watchtower with whips and woke up the sleeping servants.

"How long do you plan to sleep? Even pigs don't sleep as much as you! Get up now, all of you!"

"I'm giving you two minutes. Anyone who doesn't get up will be fed to the insects!"

"You don't move unless you're whipped! You truly are like beasts!"

The servants were still immersed in the dreams created by Mengde, seeing the Poison Cultivator Ancestor waving her fist and shouting at them. Most of them had initially been observing or even avoiding, but the moment they were woken up, some of them clenched their fists.

Several Gu Cultivators looked at each other. The dream they had just experienced felt so real that they wanted to tell each other about it.

However, the time to get up was so short that there was no opportunity for idle chat.

A dazed group of people left the watchtower, preparing for work. Li Banfeng called forth the projector and created an image.

The Poison Cultivator Ancestor, Yang Xiangjun, stood outside the watchtower, shouting loudly to the crowd, "Gu and poison, undivided; fight the enemy side by side!"

Behind Yang Xiangjun, eight people, four men and four women, were waving flags.

In front of Yang Xiangjun, hundreds of Curse Cultivators cast their spells towards the image projected by the projector.

This group of Curse Cultivators reacted quickly. When an Ancestor suddenly appeared, regardless of her origin, their first thought was to attack.

Li Banfeng took advantage of their attack interval, and with Zhao Xiaowan, they charged into the Curse Cultivators' formation from left and right.

Most of the Curse Cultivators didn't react in time, only seeing two dark figures moving around them.

An older, relatively experienced Curse Cultivator shouted loudly, "Cast curses around yourselves, protect yourselves—"

Before she could finish, a Tang blade was unsheathed, striking down the old Curse Cultivator with a single blow.

Two other people nearby, who were quite old and of high status, also tried to regroup but were beheaded by the Tang blade, one after another.

Without leaders, the Curse Cultivators didn't know where to attack for a moment. Li Banfeng took advantage of the chaos, unleashed a "Trampling Thousands of Rivers" kick, and a large number of Curse Cultivators fell.

The Madam continuously chanted amidst the crowd in a low voice, "Gu and poison, undivided; fight the enemy side by side! Follow the Poison Cultivator Ancestor and charge!"

Her voice was soul-stirring, and many people near Zhao Xiaowan were directly shocked to death on the spot.

One Curse Cultivator looked at the appearance of the Poison Cultivator Ancestor and listened to her voice, realizing that the image and sound didn't seem to be coming from the same source.

"There's an illusion at play here!"

The Curse Cultivator shouted loudly, "Don't attack, take a defensive stance!"

This was the correct strategy. With the enemy's true strength uncertain, taking a defensive stance, stalling for time, and waiting for reinforcements was the best choice.

"Don't just stand there!" she turned and shouted at the Gu Cultivators. "Prepare your Gu insects! I'm talking to you, can't you hear?"

The Gu Cultivators behind her seemed genuinely deaf, all staring blankly at her.

The Curse Cultivator grabbed her whip to strike, but while the whip was still in mid-air, she suddenly clutched her chest, groaned, and vomited onto the ground. Among the vomit were a large number of rice-grain-shaped insects.

Someone had already used Gu techniques on her, and not just one.

The Gu Cultivators who had been brought along continuously used Gu techniques on the Curse Cultivators, determined to kill the enemy alongside the Poison Cultivator Ancestor.

Did they know the Poison Cultivator Ancestor?

No, but that wasn't important.

They weren't living human lives. In the past, Curse Cultivators and Gu Cultivators called each other sisters, but who would have thought that once the sisters gained power, they would become so vicious?

Now, under the torment of the Curse Cultivators, the Gu Cultivators were living worse than animals.

As long as someone could lead them to fight for a way out, it didn't matter if they knew the person or if there was a reason. Besides, the Poison Cultivator Ancestor's reason was excellent: Gu and poison are one family!

Many Gu Cultivators, led by others, were already tearing into the Curse Cultivators. Li Banfeng used his sickle to cut them down one by one. After a brief but fierce battle, the Curse Cultivators suffered heavy losses and immediately retreated. Zhao Xiaowan called out in a low, husky voice, "Don't pursue a cornered enemy; follow me."

The projector then changed its projection direction, leading the image of the Gu Cultivator Ancestor and the crowd towards the next tall building where insects were bred.

The Gu Cultivators at this location had just discovered that all their Void Silkworms were dead and didn't know how to explain it. According to the rules set by the Curse Cultivators, if an entire batch died, several of them would have to pay with their lives.

In their panic, they suddenly heard a great commotion outside. A group of Gu Cultivators, shouting loudly, had already rushed downstairs.

"Gu and poison, undivided! Fight the enemy side by side!"

The dream was real!

The Gu Cultivators looked at the dead insects before them, then at the frantically responding Curse Cultivators, and then at the Curse Cultivators fighting desperately downstairs.

Having reached this point, they naturally knew who to target next.

"Sisters, let's fight alongside the Poison Cultivator Ancestor!"

The Gu Cultivators rushed out of the rooms and engaged in battle with the Curse Cultivators in the corridors.

The village became a chaotic battleground. All the Gu Cultivators wanted to follow the Poison Cultivator Ancestor, but there was a problem with the "Poison Cultivator Ancestor."

This was an image created by the projector; it could shout and fight, but it couldn't release poison.

If she couldn't release poison, how could she be the Poison Cultivator Ancestor? Sooner or later, someone would spot the flaw.

Li Banfeng brought out the magazine and released the real Poison Cultivator Ancestor, Yang Xiangjun.

The projector immediately turned off the image. Yang Xiangjun watched the chaotic battle before her and listened to the shouts.

She turned and glanced at Li Banfeng. "You lunatic, what exactly are you trying to do?"

Li Banfeng pointed at the crowd and said, "They are all following you to kill the enemy!"

"You can be crazy by yourself here!" Yang Xiangjun turned and ran. Zhao Xiaowan changed her voice to a female one and shouted, "Follow the Ancestor, keep charging!"

Yang Xiangjun used a cloud of poison mist to conceal her form, making herself invisible to the Curse Cultivators behind her.

Li Banfeng used his Torch-Bearing Night Travel technique to make Yang Xiangjun glow!

Yang Xiangjun was illuminated, so she had to fight whether she wanted to or not; otherwise, she would be surrounded by Curse Cultivators.

Seeing Yang Xiangjun fighting desperately against the Curse Cultivators, the Gu Cultivators' blood boiled. The dazzling light on the Ancestor's body doubled everyone's fighting power.

With Zhao Xiaowan commanding the battle, and Li Banfeng and Yang Xiangjun assisting, the Gu Cultivators, despite being at a disadvantage in weaponry, fought for an entire day and managed to seize half the village.

By nightfall, the Gu Cultivators found rice wine in the village. Each of them poured a bowl and presented it to the Poison Cultivator Ancestor.

Yang Xiangjun drank a bellyful of rice wine and said to Li Banfeng, "You dragged me into this. What good does it do you?"

Li Banfeng explained, "This isn't dragging you into anything. I'm earning you a great accomplishment."

Yang Xiangjun scoffed. "Brother, who are you talking to? What achievement do I need? I'm someone who only believes in doing things for money."

"Even if Qiao Yi were to make me a king or a marquis, I wouldn't care!"

Li Banfeng said, "Accomplishments bestowed by others are naturally meaningless. But you've united Gu Cultivators and Poison Cultivators into one family. That's an accomplishment you earned yourself."

Yang Xiangjun looked around, then lowered her voice. "Don't talk nonsense. Gu Cultivators and Poison Cultivators operate on different principles; they can't be merged!"

Li Banfeng sighed. "The principles of sects across the world are all different. Some sects even have completely opposing principles, yet aren't they still forced together?"

"How can principles that are opposite be forced together?" Yang Xiangjun didn't want to hear Li Banfeng's nonsense. "I know you're not planning to let me leave, but let me tell you, I won't get involved in this mess. Tomorrow, I'll find a place to hide, and we'll see who can find me."

Li Banfeng stroked his chin, looking at Yang Xiangjun. "Brother Yang, I've put a mark on you. If you insist on going to extremes, don't blame me for being ruthless."

Yang Xiangjun scoffed with disdain. "What kind of mark could a mere wandering cultivator like you make? Do you think a casual bluff can scare me?"

Li Banfeng gave Yang Xiangjun a thumbs-up. "Bold. How about we make a bet?"

Yang Xiangjun let out two contemptuous chuckles, then suddenly felt a little aggrieved. "Why do you have to make things difficult for me? You just want to cause trouble in the Cursed Gu Ruin. Couldn't you find anyone else for this?"

Li Banfeng stood up, looking at the alert sentries and the many sleeping Gu Cultivators. "I looked, but there's truly no one more suitable than you."

"You can counter Hatred Unleashed, you know her inside and out, and you have a grudge against her. No one is better suited to lead this disruption than you."

Yang Xiangjun used her middle and ring fingers to brush back a strand of hair, raised her eyebrows, and looked at Li Banfeng. "Li Qi, I'll be honest with you: I don't hold grudges. I work for whoever pays the most."

"If, tomorrow, Hatred Unleashed is willing to hire me, I'll immediately surrender and help her breed insects!"

Li Banfeng was taken aback. "Wasn't Hatred Unleashed the one who hired you for this attack on Boss Lu?"

"Why would she hire me?" Yang Xiangjun said with a wry smile. "She's too busy avoiding me. I'm the person she hates most in her life. I was hired by Qiao Yi."

Qiao Yi?

This action was puzzling.

Li Banfeng asked, "Did Qiao Yi know you had Nihilist Ash?"

Yang Xiangjun thought for a moment. "He should know, right? He's such a meticulous person; he'd definitely investigate such things beforehand."

"He knew you had Nihilist Ash, yet he still dared to send you to me?" This was the most confusing move for Li Banfeng.

Void Silkworms were difficult to kill, but Yang Xiangjun had the means to kill them. For Qiao Yi to send Yang Xiangjun to the Ink Fragrance Shop at that moment, was tantamount to handing Li Banfeng a knife.

Although Li Banfeng and Qiao Yi had a good relationship, Qiao Yi wouldn't be *that* considerate, would he?

Li Banfeng asked Yang Xiangjun, "Do you know where Hatred Unleashed is?"

"Of course, I know," Yang Xiangjun said, pursing her lips and casting a coquettish glance at Li Banfeng. "Hatred Unleashed is right in the Ink Fragrance Shop. The Bloodfang Monster is Hatred Unleashed. Seventh Master, do you really think I'd dare to take a job at the Ink Fragrance Shop without knowing anything?"

Li Banfeng was even more confused. "If you knew everything, Qiao Yi should have been even less likely to send you to the Ink Fragrance Shop. Once you fell into my hands, how much loss would that cause Qiao Yi?"

Yang Xiangjun pouted. "That's looking down on people. Who would have thought I'd fall into your hands? Li Qi, honestly, in a one-on-one fight, are you sure you could beat me?"

Li Banfeng pulled an iron rod from his book. Yang Xiangjun waved her hands repeatedly. "I was just making a point. Qiao Yi certainly didn't expect me to be captured alive by you. He sent me to the Ink Fragrance Shop mainly to contain Hatred Unleashed."

"Is Hatred Unleashed insubordinate?"

"Hatred Unleashed's temperament is just like Shan Chengjun's. Who in this world can control her?"

What she said seemed reasonable, but Li Banfeng still felt something was amiss.

To contain Hatred Unleashed, was Yang Xiangjun the only choice?

Hatred Unleashed was considered a rebellious subordinate, while Yang Xiangjun was purely a mercenary. Li Banfeng didn't believe that Yang Xiangjun would be more reliable than Hatred Unleashed.

"Li Qi, can you let me go?"

Li Banfeng shook his head. "I truly didn't mean to harm you. I genuinely want to help you. As an Ancestor of a sect, at your age, still making a living as a mercenary—doesn't that feel cold to you?"

Yang Xiangjun rolled her eyes at Li Banfeng. "I don't feel cold. Isn't living just living?"

Li Banfeng pointed to the group of Gu Cultivators and said, "Now their Ancestor is gone, and their backing is gone. If you lead them to establish a new domain, wouldn't that also be a fine story?"

"What fine story? When their lives improve, whether they'll even remember me is another matter!"

Yang Xiangjun stood up, brushed off the snow on her body, and looked at the large group of Gu Cultivators with a deep gaze. "The business has come this far; it wouldn't be right to back out now. I agree to cause trouble with this group of Gu Cultivators for you, but you must also agree to three things for me."

"Go ahead and say them."

"I'm here to help you fight a battle. You'll need to figure out how to supply food and drink, and I can't work for free. In a moment, I'll calculate my compensation and draw up a list. I won't accept anything less than real money."

Li Banfeng nodded. "I agree."

"Second, in war, you have to consider resources. Neizhou's resources are quite substantial. If I can't win, you have to guarantee my safe retreat."

Li Banfeng nodded again. "I agree."

"Third, let these Gu Cultivators sleep for another two hours, then withdraw from the village in batches."

Li Banfeng didn't understand. "We finally captured half the village; why withdraw?"

"If we truly wanted to fight, I could take the entire village, but this village isn't defensible," Yang Xiangjun said, drawing a rough map of the village on the ground with a branch. "First, let's look at the terrain, then the food distribution, then the roads inside and outside the village. All of these points are unfavorable for defense."

Yang Xiangjun explained the military strategy with great clarity. "If you don't believe me, ask that woman who knows how to fight."

Li Banfeng feigned ignorance. "Which woman are you talking about?"

"Who else could it be?" Yang Xiangjun snorted. "The woman who can make everyone in the world envious. If I had her voice and figure, even if my looks were a bit worse than hers, I'd be content."

As she spoke, Yang Xiangjun took out two bottles of powder. "One bottle is Nihilist Ash, specifically for clearing high-level Calamity Curses. The other is called Nihilist Dust. If you take both powders together, the Calamity Curses on your body will definitely be completely removed."

Li Banfeng shook his head. "I just took precautions; no one should have inflicted a Calamity Curse on me."

"What good are precautions? Curse Cultivators aren't strong fighters themselves; their attacks rely entirely on stealth. A mere land cultivator could implant a Calamity Curse on you with just a glance. Can you defend against that?"

Li Banfeng looked at the Nihilist Ash; he definitely couldn't take that.

He then looked at the Nihilist Dust. "If I take this, I shouldn't feel guilty, right?"

"It's the same; both will make you regret being born a man."

"So neither of these can be taken?"

"You can't take them, but can't she?" Yang Xiangjun rolled her eyes at Li Banfeng again, tidied up her appearance slightly, and went to find a place to rest.

Li Banfeng returned to his portable residence and handed both the Nihilist Ash and Nihilist Dust to his Madam. "My dear Madam, this is medicine from the Poison Cultivator Ancestor, it can remove Calamity Curses."

Zhao Xiaowan opened her Golden Sight and scanned her body. She could see over twenty Calamity Curses. Because the Curse Cultivators' techniques weren't as sophisticated as Hatred Unleashed's, none of these Calamity Curses could escape the Madam's sight.

"Let me count carefully, so none are missed." The Madam counted them diligently. There were a total of twenty-six Calamity Curses, seven of which were cast using Void Silkworms, and the others using ordinary insects.

The Madam considered the number, took a little Nihilist Ash, and some Nihilist Dust. In less than five minutes, all the Calamity Curses on her body reappeared on the surface of her skin and became motionless.

These Calamity Curses were severely poisoned. They tried to escape the source of the poison, but unfortunately, they couldn't break through the skin.

Li Banfeng helped his Madam remove the Calamity Curses one by one. "This is a locust, this is a cabbage worm, this is a wild vegetable. Can wild vegetables also be used to cast curses?"

He saw twenty-six Calamity Curses, but Li Banfeng removed a total of twenty-seven. There was one extra Calamity Curse made from a Void Silkworm.

Zhao Xiaowan exclaimed joyfully, "Husband, this is a Calamity Curse planted by Hatred Unleashed, and it's also been poisoned to death!"

"Good," Li Banfeng nodded repeatedly.

Zhao Xiaowan held the Nihilist Ash and said to Hong Ying, "Yingying, this medicine is really effective. It will definitely remove the Calamity Curses on you too!"

Hong Ying was overjoyed, but Li Banfeng's expression was somewhat dull.

Zhao Xiaowan asked, "Husband, aren't you happy?"

"Happy! Extremely happy!"

Li Banfeng was indeed happy.

However, he truly couldn't understand Qiao Yi's actions.

What was the reason behind him sending Yang Xiangjun to completely dismantle Hatred Unleashed's operations?

Was it simply because Hatred Unleashed was disobedient?

Nian Shangyou presented a letter to Qiao Yi. "My Lord, the Bloodfang Monster is extremely furious with Yang Xiangjun and demands an explanation from us."

The letter didn't state why the Bloodfang Monster was angry. Its wording was vulgar and offensive, clearly written solely to vent her emotions.

In another confidential letter, Qiao Yi had already learned about the situation at the Cursed Gu Ruin. It was understandable that the Bloodfang Monster was so furious, given that her base had been attacked.

Qiao Yi set the letter aside. Seeing Nian Shangyou hesitate as if he had something to say, he asked with a smile, "Do you have something to say?"

Nian Shangyou cautiously asked, "The Bloodfang Monster is your subordinate, my Lord. She's one of us. Yang Xiangjun is just a mercenary; she fights for whoever pays her. Such a person is like a knife. Is it appropriate to use her to stab our own people?"

Qiao Yi shook his head slightly. "Shangyou, it's not me who wants to stab her; it's Li Qi who wants to stab her. There are two knives. If I don't give him this knife, he'll take the other one. And under no circumstances can he be allowed to have that other knife."

These words left Nian Shangyou completely bewildered, unable to understand them at all.

Qiao Yi waved his hand, signaling Nian Shangyou to come closer. "Take a team of men and go to Haozhou. Wait for my orders there."

Hearing "Haozhou," Nian Shangyou became nervous. "My Lord, are you planning something against the Imperial Envoy—"

Qiao Yi nodded. "It's time."