Poison Kills Lei Potian

(PS: The previous first-place has already dropped off the new book rankings. Now we're number one on the game category's new author new book list. A second-level text recommendation, and to have this result after five days on the recommendation is all thanks to your support. But if we want to go further on Qidian, this result is far from enough. Next week, we have a category strong push. Can we break into the homepage new author new book list? No need to say more—if we succeed, bonus chapters are no problem...)

"That's the place. There are traces of artificial excavation inside that cave. I went in and looked around—it's where an Asura Sect disciple went into seclusion to break through to the Refining Qi to Spirit stage. But in the end, it seems he went into qi deviation. There are plenty of good things left inside, but there's also a One-Star High-Grade demonic beast, so I had to flee. Now that I've run into you all, it's perfect. With so many of us, a One-Star High-Grade demonic beast is nothing."

Lei Potian led Zhuge Xiang and the others for about half an hour before they finally arrived in front of a cave. Zhuge Xiang and the rest looked it over—the entrance was square and neat, clearly not a natural formation, as if it had been carved out by hand. This lent a bit more credibility to Lei Potian's words.

"A One-Star High-Grade demonic beast? Haha, here I come!" Zhuge Xiang swung his Blood Refinement Saber and charged ahead without hesitation, eager to get started. By now, Lu Yuling and the others were long accustomed to Zhuge Xiang's fervor for battle, especially against One-Star Mid-Grade and High-Grade demonic beasts. Watching him, they just smiled and followed along.

For Lu Yuling and her group, who had already successfully slain a Two-Star demonic beast, a One-Star High-Grade one posed no real threat. After all, a One-Star High-Grade demonic beast was in no way comparable to a Two-Star one. And with the addition of Lei Potian, a powerful ally, they naturally paid no heed to a mere One-Star High-Grade beast.

The group filed into the cave one by one. But just as they entered, a slab of Dragon Breaking Stone suddenly dropped at the entrance, slamming down with a heavy thud, sealing the cave shut and cutting off their escape route.

"Don't worry. The mechanism on this Dragon Breaking Stone slab seems to be malfunctioning. It opens and closes automatically every hour. It'll open again on its own in about an hour," Lei Potian said, clearly sensing the unease among the others as the slab fell.

Lei Potian had been inside before. If he had managed to get out, then there was nothing to worry about. Besides, Lei Potian himself was trapped here too—if he wasn't concerned, why should they be? After a moment's thought, the group relaxed.

Zhuge Xiang gripped his Blood Refinement Saber and continued to lead the way at the front. Though the cave was sealed off, the walls were embedded with many glowing orbs—common Fluorescent Orbs used for illumination in such cave chambers. Legend had it they were made from depleted spirit stones that had absorbed sunlight, not particularly valuable but very practical.

The cave wasn't very deep. Clearly, it was only meant to provide a quiet environment for secluded cultivation and breakthrough attempts, so depth wasn't necessary. After walking a short while, the space opened up, revealing a chamber about seven or eight zhang in diameter.

At the far end of the chamber was a platform with a table. On the platform sat a cushion, and atop it rested a bleached-white skeleton—the cultivator who had died in seclusion. In the center of the chamber was a pool of water, but its color was an eerie purplish-red, giving off a very strange vibe. A stone path crossed the pool, connecting to the platform at the far end...

"That's a pool of poison water," Niu Geng said, eyeing the pool that took up nearly half the chamber.

Gurgle, gurgle...

Just then, the purplish-red poison pool suddenly began to bubble, ripples spreading across its surface as it churned. Something seemed about to burst out from within. Zhuge Xiang and the others quickly readied themselves for battle, and Lei Potian spoke up: "Be careful—the demonic beast inside is coming out."

Two thick, long antennae first pierced the water's surface, followed by a head covered in fuzz. A pair of compound eyes locked onto Zhuge Xiang and the others. As the beast fully emerged from the water, everyone's expressions shifted dramatically.

It was a giant moth, the size of an elephant. Its wings spread wide, releasing clouds of purplish-red poisonous mist. Clearly, from soaking in the poison pool, the moth's body had also turned purplish-red, mutating into a venomous creature.

Of course, that wasn't the main issue. The real problem was the rolling demonic aura emanating from the Poison Moth—it was nothing like what a One-Star High-Grade beast should possess. This was unmistakably a Two-Star demonic beast.

"Lei Potian!!!" Zhuge Xiang's face darkened as he turned to look at Lei Potian, seeing the Two-Star Poison Moth appear.

By now, everyone knew this was all Lei Potian's scheme. No matter how off the intelligence was, there was no way it could mistake a Two-Star beast for a One-Star High-Grade one.

"Why are you doing this? You can't escape either, can you?" Zhuge Xiang's voice was grim as he stared intently at Lei Potian.

"Haha, don't worry about that. A few months ago, I obtained a Breath Concealing Pearl. As long as I'm more than five meters away, no one can sense my aura. After you're dead, I can come back at my leisure to collect your artifacts. I've already used this method to ambush and kill two teams of passing disciples, netting three artifacts. I didn't expect to run into you lot this time—what a haul!" Lei Potian laughed smugly at Zhuge Xiang's question.

"You all have fun playing with the Two-Star beast. I'll be off now. I'll come check on you later, but by then, you should already be corpses, haha..." Seeing the growing anger on Zhuge Xiang's and the others' faces, Lei Potian didn't want to linger and prepared to retreat.

"Ah!" But just then, Lei Potian let out a sharp cry of pain and instinctively slapped at his neck. A Poison Bee flew away from the spot, circled once, and landed back in the Yin Gu Pot in Niu Geng's hand—one of the poison insects cultivated through the Gu-raising technique.

"When did this happen?" Lei Potian clutched his neck, eyes wide with disbelief. With his perception, if that Poison Bee had gotten close, he should have noticed.

"When? Naturally, before we entered the cave. In the forest, with trees all around, it wasn't hard to have a Poison Bee secretly latch onto you. Zhuge Xiang told me to do it earlier, and I didn't understand why at the time. Now I finally get it—he saw through you from the start," Niu Geng replied, seeing Lei Potian's shocked expression.

"Saw through me from the start? Impossible!" Lei Potian's eyes bulged as he pressed his hand to his neck, utterly refusing to believe it.

But within moments, he felt his neck go numb, almost losing all sensation. The Poison Bee, bred from hundreds of venomous creatures using the Gu-raising technique, clearly carried a potent toxin.

"Zhuge Xiang, how did you figure out he was suspicious?" Lu Yuling asked, surprised, as she looked at Zhuge Xiang. The others also turned to him with curiosity, clearly having noticed nothing wrong with Lei Potian.

"From the very moment we met him, I had my doubts," Zhuge Xiang replied, seeing their puzzled expressions. "Earlier, we were heading toward the Aurora Asura Tower, but we ran into him head-on. Don't you find that strange? Asura Sect disciples should be moving toward the Aurora Asura Tower, right? Even if we encountered him, we should have been catching up from behind, not meeting him face-to-face."

He paused briefly before continuing, "Also, he had a few extra artifacts on him. Suddenly having more artifacts? Right now, everyone is on the run—when would he have time to go on adventures? So I suspected back then that Lei Potian had spotted us first and deliberately came to find us. Now it seems he must have been watching from a high vantage point, killing and robbing any disciples who passed by. If they came in groups, he'd lure them here with this method to kill them."

"I see." Hearing Zhuge Xiang's analysis, Lu Yuling and the others nodded in understanding. When he laid it out like that, it was indeed suspicious. Everyone was heading toward the Aurora Asura Tower, yet he was going the opposite direction, running into them head-on—that alone was worth questioning.

"Impossible... impossible... I don't want to die... save me..." Lei Potian's voice grew hoarse as he clutched his neck. In no time, the spot where the Poison Bee had stung swelled up, black blood oozing out. His neck went completely numb, losing all feeling, and breathing became difficult. Within moments, he was dead from the poison.

Watching Lei Potian die from the venom, Hua Nongying and the others silently reflected. This was the Asura Sect—this was a demonic sect. For the sake of artifacts, killing and robbing even fellow disciples came without a second thought. At the same time, they felt a secret relief that Zhuge Xiang had seen through his plot.

"But even if we saw through his plot, it's too late now," Lu Yuling said, her expression turning grave as she turned to look at the Poison Moth hovering over the poison pool.

Hua Nongying and the others also wore grim faces. Indeed, though they had uncovered Lei Potian's scheme, it was too late now. They were trapped here. A Two-Star demonic beast was no easy kill. The Demon Bear from before had already given them a harsh lesson in just how terrifying a Two-Star beast could be.

Everyone turned, their expressions tense as they fixed their gazes on the Poison Moth. But the moth simply hovered above the pool, making no move to attack. Instead, its eyes held a very human-like look of amusement, as if it were enjoying the show of their infighting.

"This beast actually has some intelligence," Lu Yuling noted, catching the human-like glint in the Poison Moth's eyes. Her expression soured.