Chapter 121: Chapter 119: Killing You, Only to Settle the Karma

There were not many Cultivators inside the Ten Thousand Poison Gang’s headquarters.

Those who were allowed to remain were all trusted confidants of the Ten Thousand Poison Taoist.

Besides them, there were only some Hidden Guards, servants, Maids, wives, and concubines.

A small, Demon Jade-colored Gu Insect flapped its wings, silently flitting through the headquarters.

Everywhere it passed, an invisible, colorless, and deadly poison gas spread.

Although the Ten Thousand Poison Gang Cultivators were exposed to some poisons in their daily lives, it was a world of difference compared to a tier-two deadly poison.

Wherever the Poison Gu went, the faces of the Ten Thousand Poison Gang Cultivators contorted in agony as they died silently, one after another.

Deep within the headquarters lay a lavish and magnificent White Jade Pool, its waters shimmering with brilliant golden ripples.

An old man with white hair but a youthful face reclined in the pool, surrounded by four beautiful and elegant Female Cultivators.

He was resting with his eyes closed, enjoying the attentive service of the four beauties.

Suddenly, he slowly opened his eyes, a trace of confusion on his face.

"Yun Die, go out and take a look."

The old man commanded faintly.

"Yes, Master."

Upon hearing this, one of the Female Cultivators in the pool stood up, stepped out of the Paradise Pool, draped herself in a gauzy robe, and swayed gracefully as she walked out.

A moment later, a woman’s cry of alarm came from outside, then abruptly stopped.

The other three Female Cultivators in the pool looked startled, and their hands paused.

The old man frowned and shouted, "Where is Gui Pi?"

He was met with a deathly silence.

A flicker of doubt crossed the old man’s eyes. He immediately pushed away the beauties beside him, who looked as if they were coated in gold paint, and rose from the Paradise Pool. His entire body surged with power as a faint green poisonous mist, shimmering with light, enveloped him.

He walked out of the Quiet Chamber, and when he saw the scene in the corridor, his pupils shrank.

The Female Cultivator named Yun Die had collapsed on the ground, her body covered in a deathly blue-black pallor. It was clear she had been fatally poisoned.

’Who?!’

The old man swept the area with his Divine Sense, his expression wary as his eyes scanned his surroundings.

But to his dismay, he couldn’t sense any presence at all!

Not the presence of an enemy, nor that of his own people!

The six Guardians stationed here by the Ten Thousand Poison Gang all had a Late-stage Sensing Cultivation. Among the many Loose Cultivators of Netherworld Valley, they were all renowned experts.

Now, even their presences had vanished.

The old man’s expression grew grim. He called out in a low voice, "Which fellow Daoist has come to visit? Might you show yourself?"

No one answered.

The old man entered the assembly hall. The spacious chamber was empty, save for a few Ten Thousand Poison Gang Cultivators lying on the floor, their faces twisted and their bodies blue-black. Their deaths had been gruesome.

’A Poison Cultivator...’

The old man’s gloomy eyes flickered, complex emotions churning within him.

He crossed the assembly hall and, in a side hall, saw Gui Pi.

Guardian Gui Pi, the first Guardian of the Ten Thousand Poison Gang, a man with a Peak of Sensing Cultivation, acclaimed as the top expert under the gang leader himself!

At this moment, this Guardian, just like Yun Die, showed no signs of life. The terror he felt before his death was still frozen on his face.

What was strange was that an expert of his caliber had died without making a single sound.

The old man walked up to Gui Pi’s corpse, stopping three feet away. With a flash of light from his hand, he sent a golden thread flying out to land on the body.

In an instant, a blue-black aura spread up along the golden thread.

"Such a potent poison!"

The old man hastily flicked his finger. The golden thread shattered inch by inch, and the blue-black aura dissipated into the air, failing to touch him.

The old man’s expression grew even heavier.

He continued walking through the headquarters, and one by one, he found the other five Guardians of the Ten Thousand Poison Gang.

All of them had died horribly!

A chill ran down the old man’s spine. He had dominated Netherworld Valley for decades and hadn’t felt this kind of bone-chilling fear in many years.

"Which fellow Daoist is playing a joke on this old man?"

"As far as I know, I have not offended you. There must be some misunderstanding. Could you show yourself so we can talk?"

The old man looked around, cupped his fists, and asked in a deep voice.

Still, no one answered.

This old man was none other than the Ten Thousand Poison Taoist!

Seeing that his enemy refused to appear, he was filled with doubt.

’Wait, there’s still one place I haven’t checked!’

’The gang’s Treasure Vault...’

That was the place he felt most secure about, for a Tier Two mutated Poisonous Python lay dormant there year-round.

In all of Netherworld Valley, no one but him could walk out of there alive.

At this thought, he strode quickly toward the Treasure Vault.

He saw that the restrictions on the Treasure Vault’s main gate had been broken. The stone door was half-open, and faint sounds came from within.

The Ten Thousand Poison Taoist’s expression shifted. He shrouded himself in poisonous mist and activated a Tier Two body-protection Talisman, which transformed into a treasured light that shielded him like armor.

He slowly walked into the Treasure Vault.

The scene before him instantly shocked him, and an expression of disbelief appeared on his face.

A young man dressed in the black robes of a Ten Thousand Poison Gang member was sitting leisurely in the center of the Treasure Vault, perched atop a massive Poisonous Python’s head!

The Poisonous Python had been decapitated. Its body was on the other side of the vault, with seven clusters of golden light attached to it, moving slowly.

Wherever the golden light passed, the python’s flesh and blood vanished at a visible rate, leaving behind only stark, crystalline white bones.

The Ten Thousand Poison Taoist’s greatest reliance had fallen so silently. The head of the Tier Two Poisonous Python had become someone else’s stool...

He felt as if a giant hand had seized his heart, and his mind went blank for a moment.

The mysterious man was casually toying with a golden Flying Sword that exuded a Zen-like aura.

It was one of the Ten Thousand Poison Taoist’s own treasures: the First-grade top-quality flying sword, Kumie!

In the man’s other hand was a cyan jade slip—the secret record containing the Pill Formula for the Jile Pill and its antidote.

’Is he here for the Jile Pill?’

The Ten Thousand Poison Taoist stared at the unfathomably powerful enemy before him as countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

He still had one more trump card...

The Defense Array for the entire Ten Thousand Poison Gang headquarters!

’A Tier Two Talisman, plus a Tier Two Array... Can that stop this person?’

He had his doubts.

He opened his mouth and said, "Fellow Daoist, are you here for the Jile Pill? I have been refining this pill for many years and have gained some insights. If you are interested, I can record them on a jade slip and offer it to you."

The man looked him up and down and asked noncommittally, "You are the Ten Thousand Poison Taoist?"

The old man nodded. His gaze swept over the grotesque and terrifying Poisonous Python head beneath the man, and his eye twitched. In a somewhat hoarse voice, he said, "I am."

"I killed your son,"

the man said flatly.

The Ten Thousand Poison Taoist’s eyes flashed. He mulled it over and said, "I failed to raise my son properly. If he offended you, then he deserved to die. I should even thank you for disciplining him on my behalf."

The man smiled faintly. "No need to thank me. It was no trouble at all."

He paused, then added, "The murder of one’s son is an irreconcilable blood feud. I’ve heard that your Ten Thousand Poison Gang is known for seeking revenge for the smallest slight, so I came to see how we might resolve this matter properly."

Even for someone as experienced as the Ten Thousand Poison Taoist, who had met countless people, he couldn’t make heads or tails of these words.

"When you say ’resolve properly’... what do you mean?" he asked slowly.

The man said with a straight face, "Naturally, I will kill you and then annihilate the Ten Thousand Poison Gang. That will settle the karma between us. That is what I call a proper resolution."

Only then did the Ten Thousand Poison Taoist realize the man had been toying with him the entire time. He laughed in fury, his voice fierce but his heart terrified. "Do you really think you have me cornered?!"

Without another word, he fiercely activated the Array Activation Jade Pendant he had prepared.

Halos of light flowed through the Treasure Vault, and countless strands of the Seven-Colored Smoke Net coiled toward Fang Cheng like ribbons.

This Second Order Defense Array could temporarily trap an Early-stage Life Talisman Cultivator. He refused to believe it couldn’t stop this man, who only had a Seventh-Layer Sensing Cultivation!

At the same time, spiritual light flared from his body, and he transformed into a plume of dense, dark green poisonous smoke, fleeing wildly for the exit.

Suddenly!

A deep, thunderous boom echoed within the Treasure Vault.

The Buddhist Flying Sword in the man’s hand transformed into a brilliant, dazzling streak of sword light. Carrying a hint of tranquil, empty Zen, it instantly caught up to the dark green smoke and slashed down viciously.

Sword Qi Thunder Sound!

The Ten Thousand Poison Taoist was horrified. In his panic, he was struck by the sword light.

The poisonous smoke scattered. The sword light struck the treasured light formed by the Tier Two Talisman. An immense, unstoppable force erupted, sending the old man within the treasured light careening into the side wall of the Treasure Vault.

BOOM!

The treasured light shuddered.

The old man’s body was embedded in the stone wall.

He frantically unleashed his poison techniques to attack the man, but to no avail.

Meanwhile, the streak of golden sword light circled the treasured light from the Tier Two Talisman, slashing at it again and again!

CRACK!

Finally, the First-grade top-quality flying sword could no longer withstand such intense use and suddenly shattered into countless fragments.

A crack also appeared on the treasured light of the Ten Thousand Poison Taoist’s Tier Two Talisman.

From the Poisonous Python’s corpse, a cluster of pale golden light silently flew out, landed on the crack, took a few small bites, and then squeezed through the treasured light to land on the Ten Thousand Poison Taoist.

Before he could react, a sharp pain erupted in his chest. He looked down to see a bloody hole had appeared there.

"You’re a Gu Cultivator?!"

He finally understood why the members of the Ten Thousand Poison Gang outside had been poisoned to death so silently.

This man was a Gu Cultivator!

His face filled with terror. Feeling the excruciating pain of the Gu Insect frantically devouring his organs from within, he panicked and cried, "No, don’t kill me! I have a secret to tell you... Ah...!"

Fang Cheng paid him no mind. A dark Demonic Light surrounded him, blocking the Seven-Colored Smoke Net formed by the Grand Array’s power.

A moment later, the Ten Thousand Poison Taoist fell silent, his corpse still embedded in the wall.

"A pity about the fine sword,"

Fang Cheng sighed.

Once the Vajra Gu and the Poison Gu had devoured the flesh and poison sacs of the Tier Two Poisonous Python, Fang Cheng leisurely plundered the Ten Thousand Poison Gang’s Treasure Vault, collected the members’ storage bags, and departed unhurriedly.

Not a single living person remained in the entire Ten Thousand Poison Gang headquarters.

...

The cold wind howled.

A Loose Cultivator happened to pass by the Ten Thousand Poison Gang’s headquarters. A casual glance from the corner of his eye revealed that many new characters had been carved into the cliff face next to the Ten Thousand Poison Gang’s Rock Inscription.

He flew closer for a better look and, upon careful inspection, discovered it was the Pill Formula for the antidote to the Jile Pill!

"Is... is this real?"

The Loose Cultivator was skeptical, but he took another look at the entrance to the Ten Thousand Poison Gang’s headquarters from a distance.

This glance gave him a huge shock!

In the past, whenever he passed the Ten Thousand Poison Gang’s headquarters, he would steer clear, never daring to get close enough to look.

But now, looking closely, he saw six or seven Cultivators lying on the ground in front of the main hall at the gang’s entrance, all seemingly lifeless.

’Something major has happened!’

The Loose Cultivator was horrified. He decisively retreated, moving far away from the area.

Before leaving, he didn’t forget to copy the Jile Pill antidote formula from the cliff face onto a jade slip.

Soon, news of the incident at the Ten Thousand Poison Gang spread throughout Netherworld Valley.

It was currently the time of the great market in Netherworld Valley, so the area was dense with Cultivators, and news traveled extremely fast.

Many Loose Cultivators and disciples from prominent families who heard the news flocked to the scene. Some of the bolder ones even entered the Ten Thousand Poison Gang headquarters directly.

...