Five Poisons Secret Codex

Ji Shu was extremely careful and cautious. He took out a handkerchief Yue Lingshan had given him from his robe and wrapped up the bottles and jars.

He used the tip of his sword to pry open the secret booklet as well, never touching it directly.

Ji Wushi was actually skilled at refining so many strange and sinister poisons. It seemed the Players' intrusion had brought enormous changes to the people of this martial world. Moreover, Ji Wushi appeared to have deep grudges entangled with the Players. This bastard's attempt to frame him, even poison him to death, seemed connected to Zuo Lengchan and the Players?

Ji Wushi was dead.

With no living witness, there was no proof.

There was no one left to question.

Ji Shu could only make judgments based on cause and effect, on scattered scraps of information.

It was understandable that the Players wanted to kill him. After all, he was beyond their control and had touched the bottom line of the Players' upper ranks—the vested interests. To preserve their rule, they would certainly kill a chicken to scare the monkeys. According to Hong Yi, this was not the first time the Players' upper ranks had done such a thing. They were already very practiced at it.

Ji Shu was not the first to resist. In the past, many Players had tried to break free from the caged life of being controlled, but none had gotten their wish.

Why does Zuo Lengchan want to kill me? Could it be...

Ji Shu thought of the Five Peaks Alliance Assembly, as well as what had happened to Lu Bai, Ding Mian, and the others on Mount Hua.

He pressed his lips together, his brows tightly furrowed.

These people are getting more and more despicable. Poison at the drop of a hat—there's simply no guarding against it! Good thing I learned the Turtle Breath Technique tonight. Otherwise, wouldn't Cong Buqi and the others have cut off this fine head of mine!

The very thought sent a chill through Ji Shu's heart. He did not want to die. He possessed two supreme talents and had limitless prospects. He might even unlock more talents in the future. He absolutely could not die in this martial world!

And their methods of poisoning are constantly evolving. Before, it was poisonous mist. This time, they directly released colorless, odorless poison gas in the dead of night!

They did not even poison the food.

They simply waited until someone was asleep, stayed far away, and released poison gas!

How was anyone supposed to defend against that?!

It seems that in the ten years since the Players entered the martial world, even the methods of its people have evolved to become increasingly vile and deceitful! I have to learn a martial art that can resist deadly poison as soon as possible. Otherwise, I'll have to be on guard even while eating. What an exhausting way to live!

As Ji Shu was thinking this, he opened the secret booklet and saw its contents.

He froze slightly.

Could it really be such a coincidence?

Written in the booklet were the words: Five Poisons Secret Codex!

It was actually a poison art! And it contained methods for internal cultivation, poison-making, and antidotes.

Where did Ji Wushi obtain such a Secret Manual?

Ji Shu treated it like a priceless treasure. By the dim moonlight, he kept turning the pages with the tip of his sword, his eyes bright as he studied the contents of the secret booklet.

His two supreme talents took effect.

As long as he read its contents, he could swiftly perceive their essence.

By the time he had finished the entire book,

his inner energy had already begun generating itself. An exceptionally unique strand of Five Poisons Inner Qi coiled within his Dantian.

Ji Shu took out the Thousand-Year Ginseng from his robe and bit off several mouthfuls. As the Five Poisons Inner Qi circulated continuously, its speed of progress was no weaker than the Huashan Heart Method or the Jade Breaking Sword Art!

The faster he ate the Thousand-Year Ginseng, the faster the Five Poisons Inner Qi grew.

By the time he had finished the Thousand-Year Ginseng, the Five Poisons Inner Qi had condensed within his Dantian like a vortex, forming a three-legged balance with the Righteous Qi Sword and the sword art's inner qi.

With the ginseng gone,

the Five Poisons Inner Qi's growth slowed, but it still circulated on its own, continuously absorbing Ji Shu's vitality and blood to strengthen itself.

Ji Shu experimentally used the Righteous Qi Sword and sword art inner qi to suppress the circulation of the Five Poisons Inner Qi, and found it highly effective. Under the dual suppression, the Five Poisons Inner Qi shrank into a corner, unable to move or circulate any further.

Huff!

Ji Shu let out a long breath.

He truly feared that the Five Poisons Inner Qi would keep circulating until it drained him dry of vitality and blood.

Back on the mountain, I had the Qi Mechanism of the Old Sophora Tree, and Yue Lingshan and Ning Zhongze regularly brewed tonics for me. There was no need to worry about vitality and blood at all. But after coming down the mountain, this problem has become rather serious.

It seems that if I obtain internal cultivation arts in the martial world in the future, it would be best to return to Mount Hua to cultivate them. Swordsmanship and the like can be practiced in the martial world.

Compared to swordsmanship and the like,

internal cultivation consumed a terrifying amount of medicinal tonics.

Just consider this: in only a few days, Ji Shu could bring the Huashan Heart Method to completion. His inner strength had become so profound that Yue Lingshan and the others, who had cultivated for over a decade, could only gaze after him in the dust.

The internal cultivation others took ten or even several decades to achieve, Ji Shu could reach in just days. How much vitality and essence would that consume? It was easy to imagine!

Swordsmanship was ultimately more about technique. Although generating Sword Qi also consumed vitality and blood, compared to internal cultivation, it could only be considered a minor amount.

I won't cultivate the Five Poisons Inner Qi for now.

With the Five Poisons Inner Qi now circling within his Dantian,

Ji Shu sensed that he had already reached the realm of Hundred Poisons Immunity. He was still far from Ten Thousand Poisons Immunity, but ordinary poisons could no longer harm him.

He nodded inwardly, quite satisfied. Though he had been ambushed tonight, his gains had not been small.

He had memorized everything in the Five Poisons Manual, perceived its essence, and learned its methods of internal cultivation, poison-making, and antidotes. Looking at the manual again now, he found it horrifying at every glance.

The surface of the manual, even its interior, contained several deadly poisons. If an ordinary person touched it and eagerly began flipping through it, there would be only one result: death by poison!

Good thing I was cautious enough!

The world of The Smiling, Proud Wanderer was becoming increasingly deceitful and wicked.

All manner of despicable tricks emerged one after another.

Since coming down the mountain, Ji Shu had truly had his eyes opened.

These people would ambush and poison their targets, anything but face them head-on! They were simply a pack of old scheming bastards!

Zuo Lengchan won't act personally and instead sends Cong Buqi and the others to kill me. Once I have the time, I'll sneak onto Mount Song and butcher Zuo Lengchan.

A cold glint flashed through Ji Shu's eyes.

Even a clay Buddha had three parts anger!

These people had tried to ambush and kill him again and again. What could be endured, and what could not?

He thought of the operation at the ruined temple. Even if that group had not been primarily targeting him, they had certainly wanted to kill him. Including today, there had been at least several attempts.

Swish, swish!

Ji Shu did not touch the manual. With several slashes of his sword, he destroyed it.

Then, using the methods from the Secret Codex he had just acquired, he examined the gold, silver, bottles, and jars. After confirming there was nothing excessively dangerous among them, he took them back to the Inn.

He also searched Cong Buqi and the others' bodies.

Of course, he first used his sword tip to flick away their outer garments and check for poison before proceeding further.

He was becoming increasingly cautious in his actions.

Though he had not died and had even grown stronger, it could not be denied that Ji Wushi and the others' "poison" had left him with a certain psychological shadow. Now, he would not even touch a corpse directly while searching it.

After some time,

Ji Shu returned to his room carrying several bundles of gold and silver.

Cong Buqi and the others had no secret booklets on them, only some gold and silver. Other than that, their most valuable possessions were their weapons.

The Tongbai Twin Wonders' golden crutches were not actually made of gold, but copper. They were not worth much, so Ji Shu did not take them.