Poisonous Venom Divine Ability

Li Shuidao carried the chamber pot, ladle in hand, and stepped into the spirit field.

The spirit field was planted with lethal poisonous herbs; Wang Tianjiao knew the danger and only dared to stand outside it.

"This chamber pot doesn't just need emptying—you have to scrub it clean with water, then sprinkle incense over it. When the lady uses it next, she should smell a fresh fragrance. After you finish fertilizing, carry the empty bucket to the woodshed and rinse it at least three times, scrubbing inside and out." Wang Tianjiao gave these instructions with lingering worry.

But Li Shuidao, head down as he spread fertilizer, changed the subject and asked, "Senior Disciple Brother Wang, why don't you wear the same wide-sleeved black robes as the rest of us?"

This question struck right at Wang Tianjiao's sore spot.

His face flushed slightly, and he cleared his throat softly before explaining, "This Humble One is accustomed to hemp clothes—they're easier to wash."

"Senior Disciple Brother Wang must have lost his Spirit Companion," Li Shuidao said, stopping his fertilizing and lifting his head, his eyes sharp as blades.

Wang Tianjiao's heart jolted. "You! How do you know? Did Lu Qi'er tell you?"

Li Shuidao had, of course, guessed. He pressed on, "How did you lose it?"

"I let it out at night to eat mosquitoes, and it never came back."

"You weren't watching it?" Li Shuidao asked.

"Of course I was—it's the lifeline of my cultivation. But I somehow passed out back then. Someone ambushed me. I don't know who did it."

Li Shuidao smiled and continued, "It's not hard to find out who made the move. What was your Spirit Companion, Senior Disciple Brother Wang?"

"A Toad."

A Toad!?

Li Shuidao's expression turned grave. His own was also a Toad.

The Five Elements cycle: Water gives birth to Wood.

Wood Poison corresponds to Centipede; Water Poison corresponds to Toad.

The one who acted must have had a Centipede as their Spirit Companion.

Was it Senior Disciple Brother Ren Jichuan, or Master's wife Qin Yue'e?

"What a pity. How long ago was this?" Li Shuidao asked further.

"Two years ago."

"Oh... Two years ago, did any of Master's disciples suddenly break through?" Li Shuidao continued probing.

"I don't know." Wang Tianjiao shook his head.

"Oh... Senior Disciple Brother Wang, the Golden Juice is all poured. Here's the bucket for you." Li Shuidao handed the wooden bucket to Wang Tianjiao.

Wang Tianjiao: "..."

"Uh... aren't you going to scrub it?"

"I never said I'd scrub the chamber pot. I only said I'd fertilize."

Wang Tianjiao: "..."

When Li Shuidao returned to his dwelling, he saw Li Shuilang crouched in front of a large stone vat, poking and scraping at it with his fingers...

The big stone vat was covered in moss. It originally had no water, but now it had been filled with some.

A water-filled stone vat naturally bred mosquitoes and flies, which could be used to feed a Spirit Companion.

Li Shuidao leaned in for a look and saw that this guy was actually catching snails. As soon as a small snail reached his sleeve, it was snatched away by a tiny iron clamp.

Li Shuidao: "What are you doing?"

"My Spirit Companion hasn't eaten in days. I'm feeding it a bit." Li Shuilang explained.

"A Spirit Companion is a first-rank Demonic Insect. It won't die even if it doesn't eat or drink for months. And ordinary snails have no nutrition. If you feed it that much, aren't you afraid it'll crap all over your sleeve?" Li Shuidao said quietly.

"Still better than starving to death."

"Suit yourself. But this way of feeding is actually safe. You know, that Wang Tianjiao let his Toad out to eat mosquitoes, and he got knocked out and lost his Spirit Companion." Li Shuidao lowered his voice.

"Toad? Then aren't you in danger too?" Li Shuilang exclaimed in shock.

"Yeah. My Gecko is in danger too." Li Shuidao said with a serious face.

"Gecko?"

"Mm, Gecko... We're of the same bloodline—this secret, you can't tell anyone." Li Shuidao emphasized again.

Li Shuilang's eyes rolled as realization dawned, and he nodded heavily. "I understand."

Li Shuidao nodded. Everything was understood without words.

In the following days, all was calm. The two Li brothers behaved themselves, followed the rules, and quietly blended into the Golden-Faced Gentleman's cave dwelling.

During this time, neither of them saw the Golden-Faced Gentleman or Senior Disciple Brother Ren Jichuan again. In daily life, they only saw five people: Master's wife Qin Yue'e, the head maid Jiang Xue, the second maid Lu Qi'er, woodshed worker Wang Tianjiao, and kitchen worker Wang Tiankun.

Li Shuidao and Li Shuilang focused on the spirit field, while not slacking off in their cultivation either.

In their two years at the Cultivation Hall, Li Tianliang had long taught the Li clan members how to cultivate after obtaining a Spirit Companion.

Every day, they only needed to sit in meditation for half an hour, using an extremely simple mental method to sense their Spirit Companion and quickly develop various abilities. This was the cultivation of Spirit Awakening Early-stage, until they evolved mana within their meridians and reached Spirit Awakening Mid-stage.

About half a month later...

Li Shuilang stared at the tip of his index finger, his face full of surprise.

"I did it, I finally did it!" He excitedly showed Li Shuidao the results of his half-month of cultivation.

On the tip of his finger was a single, crystal-clear bead of sweat—except it wasn't sweat, but venom.

After nearly half a month of cultivation, Li Shuilang had finally obtained his first innate divine ability: Scorpion Venom.

From now on, a single wipe of his fingertip would be enough to poison someone.

Almost every cultivator of the Five Poisons Sect could master this venom divine ability within a very short time of obtaining their Spirit Companion.

It was also the first divine ability that Five Poisons Sect cultivators learned.

"Next, I can practice Flying Knife—Venomous Scorpion Tail Needle. Once I master the Flying Knife technique, whoever dares to mess with me, I'll strike with a venomous needle. Then I won't have to worry about being bullied anymore!" Li Shuilang was extremely excited, even blurting out the name of his Spirit Companion.

With a venomous scorpion as a Spirit Companion, one could generally obtain a second divine ability—a significant boost to the accuracy of flying needles, flying knives, and hidden weapons. Of course, awakening this divine ability required long hours of practice.

Fortunately, Li Shuilang was a Spirit Plant Master. Every day, he only needed to water and fertilize, leaving him plenty of time to cultivate.

Once he mastered the Arrow Splitting Technique, Li Shuilang would dare to sign up for the trials organized by the sect.

After joining the Five Poisons Sect, there were only two ways to obtain cultivation resources: rely on one's Master's rewards, or brave the trials on one's own.

The Five Poisons Sect was a Demonic Sect; it encouraged trials and encouraged slaughter.

If he didn't feed Spiritual Objects to his Spirit Companion, it would take at least five years for Li Shuilang to reach the mid-stage of the Spirit Channeling Realm.

But if he fed it Spiritual Objects, that time would be greatly shortened—even to just one or two years.

"Little brother... I told you, you need to catch some snails to feed your Spirit Companion. Yours has been starving for over half a month—not a drop of water, not a grain of rice. How can it be lively and energetic? If it has no vitality, how can you improve your strength? Look, I've already obtained the venom divine ability. Next, I'm going to practice the second divine ability. Flying Knife plus venom—that's combat power right away." Li Shuilang spoke again, his face brimming with excitement.

Li Shuidao gave a faint smile. He had actually obtained the venom divine ability ten days ago, but hadn't mentioned it.

He had been low-key since childhood; it had become a habit, and he couldn't change it now.

After a brief pause to think.

Li Shuidao said with a smile, "Actually, I've already obtained the venom divine ability too. I was just about to tell you."

"Oh... that's great!" Li Shuilang's face lit up with surprise.

"How are you going to train your second divine ability? According to Doctor Tianliang, you should soak in water to awaken the Water Breath Technique. Speaking of which, there's actually a big vat in our courtyard. Do you want to soak in it?" Li Shuilang patted the large stone vat beside him.

Li Shuidao frowned deeply. This guy was far too careless.

Although there were only the two of them in the courtyard, if someone outside were eavesdropping intentionally, they might have already guessed that his Spirit Companion was a Toad.