Chapter 58: Chapter 56: The Poisonous Roasted Chicken

"Maybe he’s an undercover agent from the Wolf Fang Sect. Otherwise, how could he have known about the Beast Tide?" Qi Tian’s sudden accusation startled everyone.

A dignified Core Disciple, a spy for the Wolf Fang Sect?

Everyone’s first reaction was disbelief. But after a moment’s thought, it seemed entirely plausible. It would explain many things that hadn’t made sense.

For instance, how Mo Qi had detected the danger in advance, why he had them hide here, and why, with the array’s core nearby, he himself had vanished without a trace.

"Utter nonsense! You’re courting death!" Liu Hui roared, instantly transforming as he lunged at Qi Tian.

Qi Tian was deliberately stirring up trouble to slander Mo Qi, and Liu Hui could no longer tolerate it.

However, before he could even get close to Qi Tian, a powerful force blocked his path. It was Ji Lin who had intervened.

"Enough. Where is Mo Qi?" Ji Lin’s face was grim. He didn’t actually believe Mo Qi was a spy; after all, the identity of every Core Disciple was rigorously vetted.

He believed Mo Qi was a deserter, a coward.

That he had taken advantage of the chaos of the Beast Tide to abandon his fellow sect members and flee on his own.

Perhaps, just as Qi Tian had suggested, the so-called Heaven-Deceiving Array was merely a ploy to make them all stay behind as bait.

Only that could explain Mo Qi’s actions.

"He went to break the array and hasn’t returned yet," Ye Lei answered.

"Break the array? Hmph. We’re not waiting for him. We’ll head back to the stronghold now. The Wolf Fang Sect is ruthlessly ambitious; I worry they have more tricks up their sleeve," Ji Lin said. "We’ll only be truly safe once we’re back at the stronghold."

"But..." Ye Lei and Ye Dian exchanged a look.

After experiencing the Beast Tide and the Heaven-Deceiving Array, they both had a somewhat favorable impression of Mo Qi.

But Ji Lin had already made his decision, so it wasn’t their place to object. They could only agree.

Seeing Liu Hui silently follow the group toward the stronghold, Qi Tian sneered, "What’s wrong? Isn’t this faithful bootlicker going to wait for his master?"

A cold glint flashed in Liu Hui’s eyes as he looked icily at Qi Tian. "If Elder Ji Lin hadn’t just stopped me, you’d already be a corpse."

Qi Tian scoffed dismissively. "With just your Refining God Fifth Heaven cultivation?"

Liu Hui averted his gaze, unwilling to engage in a pointless war of words with Qi Tian.

The reason he wasn’t waiting for Mo Qi was because Mo Qi had sent him a telepathic message before leaving, telling him not to worry about his safety and to just follow the Sect.

Qi Tian continued his provocations, but Liu Hui completely ignored him.

After a few more attempts, Qi Tian grew bored of it himself and fell silent.

...

"What? The Beast Luring Array was broken? That’s impossible!"

Hearing the news from his subordinate, Jin Quan was incredulous. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

He couldn’t believe that a few people from the Void Sect could have found the array’s core.

"Steward Leader, the scout saw with his own eyes that Ji Lin shattered the array with a single sword strike. The Beast Tide has now collapsed, and the many Demon Beasts are slowly dispersing."

Jin Quan took a deep breath, unable to make heads or tails of it.

"Steward Leader, what do we do now?"

"The plan proceeds as before. So what if they escaped? I refuse to believe those Void Sect disciples will have any energy left for the competition after surviving a Beast Tide."

"What if they avoid the fight and try to delay, postponing the competition?"

"Postpone? I’d love for them to postpone! The competition is scheduled for today. If they avoid the fight, it’s an automatic forfeit. The Earth-level Spiritual Ore will be all ours!"

"The Steward Leader is brilliant. This subordinate will go make the preparations at once."

After all his subordinates had left, Jin Quan’s stern expression vanished. He took out a Stone Mirror, his face softening.

This Stone Mirror was called an Image Transmission Mirror, which Jin Quan had acquired at a massive cost during an auction.

The Image Transmission Mirror came in a yin-yang pair. There were two of them; one was in Jin Quan’s hand, and the other was with his son, Jin Sanpang.

It had only one function: to allow the two users to communicate with each other through video calls.

Jin Quan’s wife had passed away early, leaving him with only his precious son, Jin Sanpang.

Jin Sanpang was his only family and his greatest concern.

Although there was something wrong with Jin Sanpang—he was mentally slow—it didn’t diminish Jin Quan’s love for his son. On the contrary, he cherished and doted on Jin Sanpang even more.

He sent his Divine Sense into the Image Transmission Mirror, but unlike usual, he received no response from Jin Sanpang.

Jin Quan grinned and cursed fondly, "That little rascal. He’s probably hiding somewhere, asleep again."

...

A One-Way Teleportation Array, as the name implies, can only transport someone from one place to another, with no return trip.

However, a reverse-engineered One-Way Teleportation Array gained the ability to teleport in the opposite direction.

The world spun around him. When Mo Qi finally recovered from the disorientation, he found himself in an underground cavern.

The cavern was spacious, filled with strange, jagged rock formations and abundant Spiritual Energy.

Stalactites hung down in dense clusters, resembling an inverted mountain range descending from the heavens. They shimmered with a seven-colored fluorescent light, creating a magnificent and beautiful spectacle.

"Huh? We’re back again," Jin Sanpang said, looking around with a delighted expression.

Not long ago, this was the very spot where Zhang Cheng had teleported him into the middle of the Beast Tide.

"Brother Mo, you’re amazing," Jin Sanpang said with heartfelt admiration.

Mo Qi patted Jin Sanpang’s belly and smiled. "San Pang, from now on, don’t trust anyone so easily, except for your father. Especially not that Brother Cheng of yours."

Jin Sanpang looked bewildered, scratching his bald head in confusion. "Huh? Why? Brother Cheng is very nice to me."

As he spoke, Jin Sanpang took out a whole roasted chicken. "Look, Brother Mo, Brother Cheng often treats me to delicious food. But it’s not as tasty as yours, Brother Mo."

Mo Qi glanced at the roasted chicken, and his pupils contracted sharply.

With his knowledge of ingredients, a single glance was all it took for him to see that this was no ordinary roasted chicken.

It wasn’t that the cooking method was complex, but that the chicken was laced with a deadly poison.

Although he didn’t know the poison’s composition, Mo Qi was certain that even Yang Ming wouldn’t be able to withstand it.

"He treats you to this often?" Mo Qi asked, his expression strange.

"Yeah," Jin Sanpang nodded.

"And you don’t feel any discomfort after eating it?"

Jin Sanpang thought for a moment, then slapped his forehead. "Not really uncomfortable, no. It’s just that I get really tired and want to sleep every time I eat it. But I feel energetic again when I wake up."

Mo Qi was astounded, staring at Jin Sanpang as if he were a monster.

’Is that even possible?’

"Mo Qi, this Emperor thinks our little brother San Pang might possess a special bloodline. Otherwise, there’s no reason he’d be immune to all poisons, let alone grow to look... like that," the Pig Emperor transmitted telepathically.

"A special bloodline? Are you sure?"

"Ninety-nine percent certain!"

Mo Qi stroked his chin, lost in thought.

In the Martial Arts World, a very small fraction of people could awaken a special bloodline.

It could also be called a special constitution.

Such individuals were often peerless geniuses in the eyes of others. Even if they didn’t achieve greatness on the path of the Martial Dao, they could still excel in other areas.

It could be said that every person with a special constitution was a lucky soul blessed by the heavens.

"San Pang, does your father know about the roasted chicken?"

Jin Sanpang shook his head repeatedly and whispered, "Brother Cheng said I can’t let him know, or Dad won’t like me anymore. So I always eat it in secret."

Mo Qi was speechless. ’So this is what an Innocent Heart means?’

’This isn’t just naivety; this is being plain brainless.’

"San Pang, do you have any idea this chicken is poisoned?"

Although Mo Qi wanted to let Jin Sanpang maintain his Innocent Heart and continue to believe that everything in the world was wonderful, he couldn’t bear to see the simple-minded boy die without ever knowing why.