Old Man Heaven Poison

"Found it! Good, you all take... never mind, I shall go and invite him up the mountain myself!"

Having enjoyed over a month of peace within the sect, Yun Zimo received a secret transmission from the Chu Yun Empire. He immediately found Yun Shan, and the two of them pushed their speed to the limit, rushing toward the Chu Yun Empire without a moment's rest.

The Chu Yun Empire was a chaotic land filled with countless factions of varying sizes, yet without exception, every member was a poison master skilled in the art of toxins.

"Why would you seek out that old hag? Even I wouldn't dare provoke her poisons!"

Yun Shan asked, looking somewhat puzzled.

"It is precisely because even you would not dare provoke her that I thought of her. I have heard she has been researching various poison bodies and has even experimented on herself; I suspect she does not have much time left."

"Ah, her. When she was young, she was a madwoman who firmly believed she could create a Myriad Poison Body. She has an extremely eccentric temperament and no fixed residence, yet she has remained unscathed despite being recruited and hunted by the factions of the Chu Yun Empire countless times."

Mentioning this "old friend," Yun Shan could not help but sigh with emotion.

"I believe she will certainly be interested in the conditions we are offering!"

"Oh?"

Yun Shan was somewhat curious, but since Yun Zimo did not elaborate, he naturally would not ask.

"Senior Heaven Poison, Senior Heaven Poison, are you home?"

Treading through the mountain mist, Yun Zimo approached a thatched cottage and called out softly and politely. Yun Shan stood with his hands behind his back not far away, ready to intervene should any sudden situation arise.

"Pfft!"

A puff of light smoke erupted from the door crack. Yun Zimo dodged to the side, yet he still became stained with a trace of gray vapor.

"What kind of little brat is this, shouting and hollering in front of my door!"

A hoarse, sinister voice drifted from behind the door. A hunched old woman in hempen robes, leaning on a gray-purple withered wooden cane, stepped out of the room, panting with every step.

"Senior Heaven Poison is truly formidable. If I had not prepared in advance, I would have truly fallen for that."

Yun Zimo chuckled lightly, fortunate that he had maintained his Dou Qi gauze throughout, preventing him from being easily poisoned.

"Is that so?"

The old woman let out a wheezing laugh and tapped her withered cane lightly.

"Who said my poison can only be used by throwing it?"

"Not good..."

A wave of dizziness surged through Yun Zimo's mind, and the old woman's soft laughter slowly drifted toward him.

"My Poison Mountain is not a place just anyone can enter..."

"The mist!"

Yun Zimo felt a surge of frustration. Even though he had taken an antidote in advance and maintained his Dou Qi gauze to isolate himself from contact, he had still inhaled a small amount of the mountain mist while breathing...

"Heaven Poison, it has been so many years, yet you are still as cautious as ever!"

Yun Shan appeared to steady the swaying Yun Zimo, chuckling softly at the old woman.

"Yun Shan, you climbed my mountain without even a greeting; you cannot blame me for this. This junior hasn't been poisoned with anything lethal; it was merely to make him relax his body and get a good sleep."

Old Man Heaven Poison spoke in a raspy voice and turned to invite Yun Shan into the house.

"Come in and sit. It has been a long time since we old friends met; I assume you have come for a reason."

"Ugh, ah..."

Yun Zimo shook his slightly throbbing head. To have been caught off guard despite such caution—truly, one must never underestimate the experts of this world!

"Awake?"

"Come, try this specialty of the Chu Yun Empire."

Yun Shan picked up a plate of deep-fried centipedes and handed it to Yun Zimo without a care, continuing to chew on one himself.

"This, no, no thank you."

Feeling a chill in his heart, Yun Zimo declined repeatedly.

"I shall leave the two of you to enjoy it!"

Seeing the various poisonous insects and vermin laid out on the table, the colorful bottles and jars scattered throughout the room, and the human anatomical models—some incomplete, others bristling with acupuncture needles—standing starkly against the wall, Yun Zimo's impression of Old Man Heaven Poison deepened significantly.

"This old woman does not have much time left. What is it that the two of you want?"

Old Man Heaven Poison lifted her somewhat cloudy eyes, her tone entirely indifferent, as if she had already cast aside all thoughts of life and death.

"Are you aware of the Woe Poison Body?"

Yun Zimo did not beat around the bush and stated his purpose directly.

"The Woe Poison Body!"

Old Man Heaven Poison's voice rose slightly.

"How could I not know of it? Look at this room; this old woman has spent her entire life researching it..."

"What if I told you I have found a Woe Poison Body, and she has even lived past the age of ten?"

Yun Zimo spoke once more.

"What?"

The eyes of Tian Du gradually brightened, yet she muttered, "Impossible. The Woe Poison Body erupts every few years at most. If no one knows of it, she would surely die from ten thousand poisons devouring her body..."

"Senior Tian Du, if there truly were a Woe Poison Body that survived by sheer luck, would you be interested in teaching her, or even taking her as your disciple?"

Yun Zimo finally revealed his true purpose. Disbelief surged in Tian Du's eyes, while Yun Shan frowned.

"If, if there really is one, then, then this old woman has a successor, a successor at last..."

Tian Du muttered to herself, rising to rummage through the shelves before finally laughing toward the sky.

"Bring that child here. If she is suitable, this old woman will use this final bit of time..."

"Will you not return with us?"

"No. If the Woe Poison Body erupts, your Misty Cloud Mountain would become another mountain of poison. Here, this old woman still has some ways to manage it."

"Woe Poison Body..."

Two silent figures streaked through the mountain forest. Yun Shan suddenly muttered in a low voice, looking sharply at Yun Zimo beside him.

"It wouldn't be that girl named Xiao Yi Xian, would it?"

Yun Zimo nodded gently, but Yun Shan's brows were locked tight.

"Do you know about the calamity from over a hundred years ago?"

"I know. The Woe Poison Body brings ultimate calamity; a thousand miles of scorched earth, leaving no life behind."

"Then you still..."

Yun Shan stopped mid-sentence, eventually just sighing. These children were all grown up now...

Yun Zimo remained silent. He knew he might be playing with fire, but he could not bear to watch Xiao Yi Xian die in agony; he simply could not do it!

"I will send Xiao Yi Xian to Heavenly Poison Mountain. The Chu Yun Empire might be more suitable for her..."

Yun Zimo said in a low voice.

"Let Yun Xia come to the Chu Yun Empire as well. This Chu Yun Empire is too chaotic!"

In the end, even Yun Shan could not bear it.

"Many thanks, Teacher Yun Shan."

Yun Zimo felt a slight stir of emotion in his heart; he had finally called him Teacher Yun Shan.

"I will have people in the Chu Yun Empire assist Elder Yun Xia. The Misty Cloud Sect needs some branch forces as well."

"How you develop the Misty Cloud Sect is your business. My only duty now is to ensure the sect's lineage does not perish."

"If you don't want to go, then don't. I will explain it to Senior Tian Du."

In the end, Yun Zimo could not bear to see Xiao Yi Xian go to a foreign land, and his original plan suddenly changed as the moment arrived.

"The life and death of an Illusion Butterfly span only a few months, yet such a creature struggles so tenaciously."

Xiao Yi Xian held up the colorful butterfly in her hand, looking at the sun through its slightly translucent wings as she spoke softly. Yun Zimo, standing beside her, was slightly stunned before gently embracing the curled-up Xiao Yi Xian.

Yun Zimo watched as Xiao Yi Xian walked up Heavenly Poison Mountain alone, until she disappeared into the depths of the layered clouds and mist. Behind him, Elder Yun Xia stood draped in a black robe, hidden in the darkness and silent.

"Elder Yun Xia, I leave the matter of the Misty Cloud Sect's Chu Yun branch to you."

"Hall Master is too kind. It is all for the sake of the sect. I only wonder, what should this branch be named?"

"..."

"Let it be called, Butterfly Medical Valley!"