Poison Takes Effect

A figure was flying across the sky above the Treasure Gathering Basin when it was stopped by more than a dozen figures just as it approached the Ice Palace Shop of the Di Rong Kingdom.

Yue Qianchou looked puzzled and asked, "Why are you stopping me?"

Mu Lianqiu was leading the enforcement team, was furious and said in a deep voice, "The Treasure Gathering Basin does not allow cultivators below the Spirit Transformation stage to fly, especially during the Treasure Gathering Basin Convention. Yue Qianchou, don't tell me you don't know this rule."

"What a load of rubbish!" Yue Qianchou cursed inwardly, but outwardly asked in surprise, "There are such rules? I really didn't know that."

Mu Lianqiu's expression was dark and inscrutable. He stared at Yue Qianchou in silence for a while before slowly saying, "I hope there won't be a next time."

"Definitely, definitely," Yue Qianchou chuckled. Mu Lianqiu waved his hand, and the dozen or so people quickly returned.

Yan Zhuixing had already heard the news and was standing in the backyard of the Ice Palace shop, smiling as he looked at Yue Qianchou in the air and said, "Brother Yue, it is an honor to have you here. Please come down quickly for a chat."

Yue Qianchou landed, cupped his hands and smiled, "Brother Yan invited me, how could I dare not come?"

The two men looked at each other and laughed. They were polite on the surface, but each had their own ulterior motives; neither of them was a good person. Yan Zhuixing looked up at the sky and clicked his tongue, saying, "Brother Yue is a hero wherever he goes. I really envy Yan Zhuixing. He even dares to disregard the rules of the Treasure Gathering Basin."

"It's better not to follow such rules that only benefit a few people," Yue Qianchou said sarcastically. "Even if I did follow them, I doubt anyone would say I'm any better."

"Hehe! Brother Yue speaks the truth indeed." Yan Zhuixing nodded in praise.

"I don't have many merits, but I like to speak the truth." Yue Qianchou waved his hand dismissively, then said seriously, "Brother Yan, let's be frank, are you going to buy the Seven Star Blood Orchid or not?"

"Is it inconvenient to talk here? There are quite a few words to say." Yan Zhuixing looked around and raised his hand, saying, "Please come upstairs."

Yue Qianchou glanced upstairs, knowing that similar buildings were equipped with soundproofing arrays. He stroked his chin and said, "Is there some kind of ambush waiting for me?" Yan Zhuixing smiled and said, "Brother Yue, with Senior Wen backing you up, are you still afraid? Please!"

The two, behaving like old friends, smiled broadly as they went upstairs side by side. Yan Zhuixing had just pushed open a door when a piercing scream suddenly erupted from upstairs. Both were startled, especially Yue Qianchou, who immediately went on alert. Yan Zhuixing's expression changed; ignoring him, she rushed upstairs.

What's going on? Could this be a trap? Yue Qianchou bewildered, despite his fear of a trap, he couldn't help but rush upstairs. Reaching the top floor, he found the room from which the incessant wailing was coming and cautiously pushed open the door to enter.

Bing Chengzi, Man Hu, and Yan Zhuixing all stared gravely at a disciple rolling on the ground. They glanced at Yue Qianchou who had entered, but ignored him. Two other disciples nearby appeared terrified and anxious.

Yue Qianchou mustered his courage and walked to Yan Zhuixing's side. The disciple rolling on the ground was emitting wisps of smoke, as if he were about to catch fire. His face was gradually showing signs of aging, and he was visibly aging...

Seeing this, Yue Qianchou was secretly alarmed and couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Brother Yan, what's going on? Could it be that your Ice Palace is enforcing some sect rules and punishing its disciples?"

Yan Zhuixing shook his head slightly, his expression grave, and said, "It's the Seven Treasures Pill sold by the World Commerce Association. There's something wrong with this Seven Treasures Pill."

Yue Qianchou was stunned for a moment, then realized where the problem lay, and quickly shut up as if he knew nothing.

Suddenly, an immense, overwhelming aura emanated from the room, forcing the people present to retreat several steps. The temperature inside plummeted, making it feel as if they were in a frozen wasteland. Bing Chengzi waved his sleeve, and the disciple rolling on the ground floated into the air. With lightning speed, Bing Chengzi unleashed over a dozen beams of white light, striking the disciple's vital acupoints. Immediately afterward, he pushed out a cloud of white mist from his palm, enveloping the disciple, clearly beginning to treat him...

To everyone's surprise, the disciple's screams seemed to grow even more agonizing, piercingly sharp, as if he were being torn to pieces. Bing Chengzi's expression hardened, the white mist quickly receded, and the disciple slowly landed on the ground, continuing to convulse and writhe. The crowd exchanged bewildered glances.

"What a potent poison! It can even burn True Essence!" Bing Chengzi was shocked. He then turned sharply to glare at Man Hu and shouted, "What exactly happened?"

Man Hu, somewhat flustered and at a loss, said, "Master, I don't know what happened. I bought the elixir from the Treasure Pavilion and came straight back."

Bing Chengzi teleported to the side of two other disciples, grabbed their wrists to check their fear, then released them after a while, staring coldly at Man Hu and said, "The same Seven Treasures Pill, so why are they both unharmed?" Upon hearing that they were alright, the two disciples' fear turned to relief.

"I... I... I... Master, I really don't know what happened." Man Hu's face turned ashen. Yue Qianchou sized up the two people and noticed that one had just reached the Core Formation stage and the other had just reached the Nascent Soul Realm. He understood the situation. The cultivation level of the person on the ground was no longer discernible, but he had definitely broken through to the Tribulation Transcendence stage by consuming the Seven Treasures Pill.

Yan Zhuixing stepped forward, frowning, and said, "Senior Brother, did you encounter anyone on your way here? Could you have been switched with someone else?"

"No!" Man Hu recalled, "I know many people covet this, especially since our Ice Palace got the lion's share, buying a hundred at once. After getting it, I didn't linger and came straight back. At most, I bumped into acquaintances on the way and nodded in greeting. Besides, the item was in my Storage Bag and never left my side, so it couldn't have been switched!"

Yan Zhuixing looked at Bing Chengzi, whose eyes were darting around, and said, "That's strange. Senior Brother would never harm his fellow disciples. But logically speaking, the World Commerce Association wouldn't sell poison either. Otherwise, going against the entire world, no matter how powerful the World Commerce Association is, would be courting death. Yin Baikang wouldn't do something so stupid." As he spoke, he stared at the disciple on the ground and said, "Could it be that he was poisoned before? Otherwise, why are they all fine, but he's the only one who's affected?"

Yue Qianchou was speechless as he listened to his well-reasoned analysis.

At this moment, the disciple on the ground also calmed down. In just a short while, he had become an old man with a wrinkled face and white hair, extremely thin and emaciated. He stretched out one hand towards Bing Chengzi, but unfortunately, he could not move. Two lines of tears were hanging on his face, and he said in a hoarse voice, "Grandmaster... Grandmaster... save... me."

Bing Chengzi walked over with a livid face, squatted down to examine the man's body, and after a long while stood up and sighed, "He's mostly recovered, but his Dantian is severely burned. He'll never be able to cultivate again in this lifetime; he's ruined. You two carry him away and take good care of him." The last sentence was addressed to the two disciples beside him. The two disciples did not dare to hesitate and carefully carried the man away.

Yue Qianchou was somewhat surprised; he hadn't realized Bing Chengzi treated his disciples so well. However, he also found it strange. Logically, someone who took the 'False Restriction Breaking Pill' should have died after breaking through to the Tribulation Transcendence stage! Could it be that Chen Feng's alchemy skills were lacking, and the medicinal properties were compromised?

What he didn't know was that cultivators who used False Restriction Breaking Pills to break through to the Tribulation Transcendence stage could indeed die from poisoning. However, it also depended on the quantity ingested; only a large accumulation of toxins could be fatal. The disciple just now had only ingested one False Restriction Breaking Pill, which is why he was half-dead. In fact, Chen Feng's alchemy skills were already quite formidable; Alchemist capable of refining pills with accompanying auras couldn't possibly be lacking in skill.

"Master..." Man Hu walked up to Bing Chengzi, unsure of what to say. Bing Chengzi glanced coldly at Yue Qianchou, then said thoughtfully, "The matter is still unresolved and needs further investigation. I'll go see if the others have the same reaction." With that, he vanished...

As soon as Bing Chengzi left, Yue Qianchou felt the pressure greatly reduced and became energetic again. He clicked his tongue and said, "I say, Barbarian Tiger Imperial Preceptor, why did you give up your good Imperial Preceptor and come here to join in the fun? Now look what happened! Someone almost died. Luckily no one died, otherwise the sin would have been great."

"You..." Man Hu said angrily, "Yue Qianchou, stop pretending. Haven't you killed enough people?"

"Do I need to feign humility? I admit I've killed quite a few people, and maybe even more... Wait! Something's not right!" Yue Qianchou suddenly said suspiciously, "Judging from what you're saying, could it be that you intend to kill that disciple from earlier?"

Man Hu nearly choked to death. This accusation couldn't be so easily leveled. He immediately flew into a rage and shouted, "I want to kill you!"

"Trying to scare me?" Yue Qianchou rolled up his sleeves and sneered, "Why don't you try and see who kills whom?"

"Brother Yue, what you're doing is a bit unfair! You're rubbing salt into the wound!" After warning Yan Zhuixing Yue Qianchou, Yan Zhuixing immediately pulled back the raging Man Hu and comforted him, "Senior Brother, don't worry, Master and I both believe in you."

Yue Qianchou chuckled and waved his hand, saying, "I was just being nosy, it has nothing to do with me anyway. I'm telling you, Brother Yan, are you going to buy the Seven Star Blood Orchid or not? If not, I'm leaving."

"Buy, of course I'll buy." Yan Zhuixing patted Man Hu's shoulder, signaling him to restrain himself. Then he turned and asked, "I wonder how many Seven Star Blood Orchids Brother Yue has?"

"You don't need to worry about that, as long as you can afford it." Yue Qianchou said, touching his nose, and asked, "Brother Yan, I have a question I'd like to ask, but I don't know if it's convenient to answer. What do you need so many Seven Star Blood Orchids for?" He knew it would be pointless to ask, but he still couldn't help but ask.

As expected, Yan Zhuixing replied dismissively, "We naturally have our uses, Brother Yue, you don't need to worry about that."

Yue Qianchou looked him up and down and chuckled, "I've heard that Brother Yan possesses unparalleled martial arts skills. Could it be that buying so many Blood Orchids is related to the Cultivation Method you cultivate?"

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