Chapter 988: Lifebound Venomous Bug
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric
Boom!
Following which, a powerful might fell upon the entire courtyard, including the huge tree which Zhang Xuan was hidden in. Under the rampaging zhenqi, Zhang Xuan felt as if his body would be torn apart.
"The other party has discovered me?" Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes in alarm.
He had made sure to conceal his presence entirely, sealing every trace of aura within his body. Even if one were to scan his area, he would only appear to be a non-living being.
It was also out of confidence for his concealment ability that he chose to came here in his body instead of just his soul. Who could have thought that he would be discovered before he could do anything at all?
Zhang Xuan hesitated for a moment, and just as he was about to show himself, he suddenly heard two powerful gust of wind behind him.
Following which, two figures leaped into the courtyard.
Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed like the other party wasn’t referring to him after all.
Both of the two figures were dressed in dark gray clothes. One of them had a towering physique and a snowy beard. He exuded a powerful aura which hinted at the incredible strength he harnessed.
The other had a relatively small build, but there was a sharp glint in his eyes which made one instinctively realize that he wouldn’t be an easy person to deal with.
They were both Saint 1-dan pinnacle experts. The movement technique they used was rather uncommon, or at the very least, Zhang Xuan had never seen such a movement technique before.
"It’s you two?" Upon seeing their appearances, the eyes of the silhouette, which had been talking to the city lord, a moment ago lit up.
"Indeed. And you must be the one who have been using all kinds of means to dig up news on us?" With a hostile gaze, the white-beard elder narrowed his eyes.
They had found that someone had been trying to track them down over the past few days, so they decided to launch a pre-emptive strike first. Following the trails of the culprits, they eventually found themselves at the City Lord Manor. However, they didn’t think that they would be discovered shortly after entering the manor.
"Hahaha, I have searched far and wide for you but to no avail, but who could have thought that you will end up knocking on my doorstep instead? Since you are already here, don’t even think about leaving anymore!" The silhouette sneered coldly as he spread his palm open and thrust it downward.
Hong long!
In the next moment, the air in the surroundings seemed to be have turned incredibly viscous, and an overwhelming aura crushed down on the entire manor. It seemed like a powerful formation had been activated.
"Shit, it is a trap!" In that instant, the faces of the two men turned livid.
It couldn’t be clearer to them at this moment that the other party had intentionally lured them into this manor so as to trap them with the formation.
"Hahaha, you realized it too late!"
With a cold smile, the silhouette lifted his palm and thrust it forward forcefully.
Boom!
A powerful burst of might shot forth towards the taller man, tearing a long gorge of a meter in width along its path.
Jiya, even the formation shook violently before that powerful might, ready to collapse at any moment.
"That silhouette man is a Saint 4-dan expert too?"
On the tree, Zhang Xuan’s face turned grim.
To his astonishment, the silhouette man was also a Primordial Spirit realm expert, just like the Waterleaf King.
Even in Qingyuan Conferred Empire, Primordial Spirit realm experts were individuals who stood at the peak of the pyramid. Why would so many of them suddenly appear in a remote location like Jingyuan City?
Flaws!
Seeing that the other party was in the midst of executing his battle technique, Zhang Xuan willed without any hesitation, and a book materialized in the Library of Heaven’s Path.
Placing his fingers on the book, he swiftly flipped it open.
"Violetleaf King, one of the Qingtian Ten Great Kings..."
There was a short introduction at the front, followed by all kinds of flaws afterwards.
"Violetleaf King? He is one of the Ten Great Kings as well?" Zhang Xuan was taken aback.
He didn’t think that the silhouette man would also be an Otherworldly Demon King, just like the three fellows he had dealt with previously.
He had already eliminated three of the Qingtian Ten Great Kings... If their leader were to learn about it, would the other party skin him alive?
"Elder Xu!"
While Zhang Xuan was astonished by what he was reading, the shorter of the two men hurriedly rushed forward with his palm raised, choosing to face the devastating attack in place of the taller man.
Boom!
As the two mights collided, the face of the shorter man paled, and he was sent flying in the next moment. While in the air, blood spurted uncontrollably from his mouth.
The powerful life force he harnessed a moment ago vanished instantaneously as if a popped balloon. By the time he crashed heavily onto the ground, the final breath had already escaped from his body.
"He was actually killed in a single palm?" Zhang Xuan clenched his fists tightly in astonishment.
Upon reaching Saint realm, there would be a qualitative evolution in one’s level of existence. One’s physical resilience would be enhanced significantly, allowing one to survive a greater extent of damage. The shorter man’s cultivation was at Saint 1-dan pinnacle, and yet, he was killed on the spot with just a single palm... Was this the true strength of a Primordial Spirit realm expert?
But thinking about it, that was to be expected!
At Primordial Spirit realm, one’s comprehension of the world had already reached an unfathomable level. The reason why Zhang Xuan was able to kill three of them previously was through utilizing various different means to overwhelm them. In truth, not once had he clashed with them at all.
If he were to really engage a Primordial Spirit realm expert in a direct confrontation, not even five of him combined would even be sufficient to faze the other party!
"Elder Xue!"
Seeing that his companion had been killed while trying to save him, the face of the white-bearded elder, Elder Xu, warped in fury. He turned his gaze towards the silhouette before him with killing intent raging in his eyes.
Flicking his hand, he took out a small jade bottle and opened it. A black-colored beetle with a golden hue on its mouth flew out from the bottle.
Weng weng weng!
The beetle was only around the size of a fingernail, but it flew at an incredible speed. Its fluttering wings produced a particularly unnerving sound.
Biting his finger, Elder Xu dripped a droplet of blood on the beetle.
Tzzzzz!
Upon seeing fresh blood, the beetle excitedly opened its mouth and gulped it clean within two mouthfuls. Following which, a brilliant silver glow emanated from its body, as if a certain ability of it had been activated.
"Could that be... a venomous bug?" Zhang Xuan frowned.
He had read quite a few books relating to poison back on the Red Lotus Mountain Range Poison Hall, and there were some records relating to poison masters nurturing venomous bugs using their own blood. Such bugs were capable to producing frightening poison whenever fed with human blood.
"To possess a venomous bug... Could it be that the both of them are poison masters?" Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up in excitement.
His purpose for coming to Jingyuan City was to find the Poison Hall, but to do so, he would require the guide of the poison masters. However, to conceal themselves from the Master Teacher Pavilion, the poison masters often moved in secrecy, never appearing in public view. As such, it was nigh impossible to find them. This was also the reason why Zhang Xuan could only resort to the Sepulture Flower to lure them in.
Yet, who could have thought that he would meet them here...
"From the looks of it now, it seems like the reason why the city lord is determined to obtain the Sepulture Flower is to lure the poison masters out as well..." At this point, Zhang Xuan also came to a realization as well.
Judging from the current state of affairs, it seemed like the city lord was under the command of the Otherworldly Demon Kings, and he was acting on their behalf... But why would the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe be interested in finding the Poison Hall?
Perplexed, Zhang Xuan turned to Elder Xu, and a corresponding book on the latter materialized in the Library of Heaven’s Path.
"The Grand Elder of the Hongyuan Empire Poison Hall, 6-star pinnacle poison master..."
The other party’s identity was clearly written in the book. Just like what Zhang Xuan had guessed, the other party was indeed one of the elders of the Poison Hall.
While Zhang Xuan was still analyzing the situation, the venomous bug finally had its fill of blood. With a light silver glow on its body, it flew straight for the Violetleaf King.
"Do you really think that a mere Silverarmor Venomous Beetle will suffice against me? You sure are underestimating me..." Sneering coldly, the Violetleaf King raised his palm and struck at the beetle.
Hula!
An incredible surge of fiery zhenqi burst forth, threatening to burn the beetle down to ashes. However, the latter was simply too nimble. It dodged the Violetleaf King’s attack with ease and headed towards the aerial space right above him. With the fluttering of its wings, it scattered a pile of silver powder all around.
"Hmph!" The Violetleaf King flung his sleeves and swept the silver powder away.
At the same, he shot bursts of sword qi from his fingertips towards the beetle.
Tzzzzz!
The sword qi traversed through space at an incredible speed, but the beetle was even quicker. As it treaded around the bursts of sword qi, it continuously released a unique gas. Not too far away, the city lord inadvertently breathed in a mouthful of it. His face immediately paled, and his body began wobbling weakly before falling to the ground.
Just by breathing in a mouthful of the gas, he was already incapacitated by the poison.
"Not too bad, you do have some tricks up your sleeves!" Seeing the city lord falling to the ground, on the verge of dying at any moment, the Violetleaf King’s complexion finally turned grim.
With an abrupt twist of its body, it created a thin energy barrier around it, warding off the poisonous powder and gas from the beetle.
"That venomous bug is formidable, but it is still impossible for it to defeat the Violetleaf King!" Looking closely at the battle, Zhang Xuan shook his head.
Even though his current strength was far beneath the Violetleaf King, he could still determine the flow of the battle precisely with his sharp eye of discernment.
The venomous bug which Elder Xu had released was indeed formidable, unmatched by cultivators of the same cultivation as him. However, it was still a little too weak to poison a Saint 4-dan expert to death.
Putting everything aside, just the fact that the Violetleaf King hadn’t even used the prowess of his Primordial Spirit once ever since the very start of the battle clearly displayed the difference in the differing positions of both sides.
Primordial Spirits were capable of conducting attacks on one’s soul directly, and it was the strongest offensive mean of Saint 4-dan experts. On top of that, despite the potency of the beetle’s poison, it was unable to breach the latter’s defenses. With this, the victor of the battle was already clear.
As expected, after seeing through the moves of the beetle, the Violetleaf King decided to end the battle there and then. With a light chuckle, a powerful force burst forth from his glabella, "Kneel down!"
Boom!
The voice was deafening, reminiscent of thunder. Upon hearing the voice, the flying beetle suddenly began wobbling unstably, as if intoxicated.
Pu!
Not too far away, Elder Xu also spurted a mouthful of blood, as if he had been struck by the soul attack as well.
"Could it be... a Lifebound Venomous Bug?" Zhang Xuan’s eyebrows shot up.
A Lifebound Venomous Bug could be considered as the clone of a poison master. By feeding a bug with one’s blood essence frequently, one could infuse a portion of his soul into the bug’s soul, thus further enhancing the strength of the bug and one’s control over it. However, should one’s Lifebound Venomous Bug die, one would incur severe damage or even die on the spot.
"I see, no wonder your beetle is so formidable. So it is a Lifebound Venomous Bug..." Naturally, the Violetleaf King also realized the same. With a light chuckle, he swiftly grabbed it with his hand.
Ji ji ji ji ji!
The beetle’s movement was already hindered from the soul attack it suffered earlier, so it was unable to dodge from the Violetleaf King’s hand at all. Trapped, it struggled desperately, but it was unable to escape at all.
"If you were a little stronger, this thing might still be able to threaten me. But in your current state, dream on!" The Violetleaf King flicked his finger lightly at the beetle, and under the impact, Elder Xu staggered weakly, and his face paled further.
Poison masters may be formidable, and the poison they concocted were extremely difficult to guard against, but ultimately, Elder Xu was only a Saint 1-dan pinnacle cultivator. It was too difficult a feat for him to kill a Saint 4-dan Otherworldly Demon King.
"Bring me to the Poison Hall, and I can consider sparing your life. Otherwise, I can’t guarantee what will happen to you!"
Grabbing the beetle tightly in his hands, the Violetleaf King looked at Elder Xu coldly, the killing intent in his eyes unconcealed.
"This is a good opportunity for me..." Seeing that the Violetleaf King would make a move any time soon, Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up.
If he could save Elder Xu, he could very well earn the latter’s trust. If so, there would be a good chance he would be able to convince the latter to bring him to the Poison Hall.
This was far more reliable than capturing a poison master and interrogating him.
Just that... how could he save the other party from the hands of a Saint 4-dan Otherworldly Demon King?
A deep frown emerged on Zhang Xuan’s forehead.