The Grandmaster of Poison

Chapter 23: The Grandmaster of Poison

"I was just picking herbs and happened to stumble upon this. I didn't do it on purpose. Sorry for the trouble, and I hope you'll forgive me." Zhang He rose from behind the bushes, covered in dirt. He looked just like an ordinary villager who had come into the mountains to gather herbs.

Wu Xuan's gaze settled on Zhang He, and he suddenly sneered. "You've come this deep into the mountains, yet your clothes are spotless, and you don't look the least bit worse for wear. Looks like you've got some decent skills."

A flicker passed through Zhang He's eyes. Wu Xuan really was meticulous.

"Whoever you are, since you saw what happened, I can't let you live." Wu Xuan picked up Sun Shaochuan's longsword and gave it a light shake. A bone-chilling aura instantly spilled from the blade. A layer of blood-red energy surged over Wu Xuan's skin, protecting him from head to toe like armor.

Zhang He's pupils contracted sharply. True qi protecting the body—that was a sign of the second level of the True Martial Realm!

This was bad!

He was currently at the ninth level of the Force Martial Realm, the Brute Force Realm. With Rejuvenation True Qi, he should be a few notches stronger than an ordinary Brute Force Realm cultivator, but against an expert at the second level of the True Martial Realm, Zhang He had little hope.

There was already a chasm between the Force Martial Realm and the True Martial Realm. The gap between the two realms was enormous, to say nothing of the fact that Wu Xuan was a full two levels above him!

"Silver Snake Line Slash!"

Wu Xuan had no interest in wasting another word on Zhang He. All he wanted now was to kill him and silence him. With a sharp shout, Wu Xuan sprang into the air and shot toward Zhang He. At the same time, he flicked his longsword, its silver gleam flashing like a gaping silver snake as it streaked toward Zhang He's chest. The speed was breathtaking, and as the silver snake twisted through the air, it seemed to seal off every possible escape route around Zhang He.

"You're no more than an ant. Killing you will be effortless." Wu Xuan was completely confident. His sword had blocked every route. Zhang He had nowhere to run.

"Take this!"

Three dark shapes flew from Zhang He's hand, arranged in a triangle as they shot toward Wu Xuan in midair. Their trajectory was perfectly calculated, locking down Wu Xuan's path. If he continued forward, he would crash straight into them.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—the objects tore through the air.

Wu Xuan's expression shifted. Damn it, this kid could use hidden weapons too! He clenched his teeth, and the silver snake instantly transformed into a curtain of sword light before him. The three dark shapes struck it.

At once, dust billowed up, blocking the view.

Wu Xuan exploded with rage! Hidden weapons, my ass—they were just three ordinary clods of dirt! He'd been tricked! Wu Xuan spat out a mouthful of dirt, his face twisted with fury. He looked up, but Zhang He had vanished from behind the bushes.

A gust of wind suddenly swept in from behind. Goosebumps sprang up all over Wu Xuan.

How devious! First, Zhang He had used clods of dirt to fool him, then taken advantage of the cloud of dust to rush behind him and launch a surprise attack. Each step had led into the next, leaving Wu Xuan shaken. There was no time to turn around. Gritting his teeth, he reversed his grip and stabbed his longsword viciously behind him.

Thud!

A sharp pain burst from his ribs. Even with his true qi protecting him, the force of that punch was enough to make him suffer. Wu Xuan saw stars. If he hadn't cultivated to the Body Protection Realm, that blow would have taken his life on the spot!

Enraged, Wu Xuan viciously thrust his sword backward, aiming to run Zhang He through.

Rip—the sound of cloth tearing.

"Damn, good thing I reacted fast!" Zhang He wiped the cold sweat from his brow and looked at his pierced clothes, his heart still pounding.

Wu Xuan turned around and saw Zhang He standing there unharmed. A sense of humiliation surged through him. That ant was still alive? He swung his longsword and charged forward, murder in his eyes.

"Ordinary attacks can make him feel pain, but they can't seriously injure him. But from that exchange, it's clear he doesn't have much combat experience. He's relying on nothing but his exquisite swordsmanship and powerful true qi cultivation."

Zhang He watched Wu Xuan charge without the slightest panic. He had already seen the limits of Wu Xuan's cultivation, and in an instant, he came up with a way to deal with him.

Wu Xuan had barely reached him when he saw Zhang He kick at the ground. Sand and dust burst into the air, obscuring the entire area. Trying to stop me with such a cheap trick? Dream on!

Wu Xuan charged straight in. A streak of cold light came soundlessly toward him. Wu Xuan was startled and swung his longsword, knocking it away with a series of metallic clangs. He suddenly recognized it: Wang Jian's saber!

The saber flew away, and then a sharp, tricky force struck his wrist. His hand went numb, and he couldn't keep hold of his sword. It flew from his grasp.

Wu Xuan was stunned. Only then did he see that the object that had struck his wrist was a stone. Zhang He appeared right in front of him.

"Without your sword, you're far less of a threat to me!" Zhang He pressed in close. He knew there was no way he could escape. His only hope of survival was to fight with his back to the river.

Zhang He closed in and immediately launched an attack.

"You actually want to fight me at close quarters? So you know I'm good with a sword. Too bad fighting me up close will be the biggest mistake of your life!" Wu Xuan was delighted rather than alarmed to see Zhang He come in close. "Try my Soul-Bewildering Guide. Even the Cold Flood Dragon ended up weak in the knees! Using it on you is almost a compliment."

Wu Xuan sneered and flicked his fingers. Two streams of colorless, odorless powder shot out.

"Damn it!" Zhang He's heart sank. Caught off guard, he inhaled the powder, and a powerful dizziness immediately washed over him. This drug was far too potent; it took effect the moment it touched him. Zhang He remembered Sun Shaochuan a moment earlier—he had lost the ability to fight less than a second after being poisoned.

I was careless! I thought I could knock Wu Xuan down with my close-combat experience, but I never imagined that would give him the perfect chance to use poison!

Feeling the force that clouded his mind, Zhang He reacted at once.

"Rejuvenation True Qi!" The Rejuvenation True Qi in his body surged into action, reversing the power of the Mad Heart Fox's poison. A soothing, mind-clearing aura suddenly spread from within him, and the intense dizziness was instantly suppressed. Zhang He's mind cleared at once.

"Using poison on me? I'm the grandmaster of poison!" Zhang He sneered inwardly. "Good thing I refined the Mad Heart Fox's poison earlier. Once reversed, it can clear the mind and calm the spirit, which lets me counteract this poison."

Seeing Zhang He's eyes grow unfocused after being struck by the Soul-Bewildering Guide, Wu Xuan seized his chance. His fists struck like thunder as he aimed a vicious punch at Zhang He's vulnerable throat.

One punch would crush Zhang He's throat and kill him. Wu Xuan hadn't even had time to feel pleased before he saw his opponent's eyes clear in an instant.

A sense of foreboding rose in his heart.

The moment Zhang He's mind cleared, he saw Wu Xuan's deadly punch.

"Rejuvenation True Qi, contain the myriad poisons! Half-Step Blast Fist!" With no time to dodge, Zhang He reacted instantly. His Rejuvenation True Qi reversed course, and the Soul-Bewildering Guide that had entered his body was immediately wrapped in it.

At the same time, Zhang He gritted his teeth and drove his fist up from below his ribs, its force as mighty as a thunderclap, meeting Wu Xuan's punch head-on.

"You're actually trying to meet me head-on? An egg striking a stone—you're overestimating yourself!" Wu Xuan sneered and put more power behind his punch. His fist whistled through the air.

Crack!

A muffled bang rang out as their fists collided.

Zhang He spat out a mouthful of blood. His body flew sideways like a kite with its string cut and slammed into a tree behind him. The entire tree shuddered, scattering leaves everywhere.

He was in a wretched state.

Wu Xuan hadn't had time to celebrate when his expression suddenly changed. He could clearly feel a strange mass of true qi, carrying an irresistible penetrating force, entering his body.

Bang! That mass of force, infused with true qi, exploded inside Wu Xuan.

Pfft!

Wu Xuan's face turned crimson. He opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood. Afterward, his face turned deathly pale. A look of disbelief appeared on his face. He hadn't expected the ant he'd looked down on to actually hurt him!

"You can ignore my true qi defense?" Wu Xuan abruptly raised his head and stared at Zhang He. A startling light flashed in his eyes. "That martial technique you used can actually let you challenge someone above your level. It must be at least a fifth-grade technique. Very good. Very good."

Zhang He gasped for breath. His arm felt as though it had been burned by fire, and the searing pain had left it numb.

Seeing Wu Xuan's reaction, Zhang He immediately understood that he wanted the Half-Step Blast Fist he'd just used. His Half-Step Blast Fist had the effect of striking through a mountain to hit the ox behind it. A punch could send his force through the outer layer of defense and deep inside. Half-Step Blast Fist was his unique martial technique, designed specifically to be used with Rejuvenation True Explanation. Even if he taught it to someone else, they wouldn't be able to use it.

But Wu Xuan didn't know that. He only wanted Zhang He's Half-Step Blast Fist!

He walked over step by step, licking his lips as he said sinisterly, "Hand over the martial technique you just used, and I'll give you a chance to live."

Zhang He watched Wu Xuan approach, his expression turning grim. "Am I really going to end up in his hands?"

Just then, Wu Xuan's body suddenly trembled. His consciousness began to blur, and his strength rapidly drained away. His face turned deathly pale, as if he'd seen a ghost. "How can this be?!"

Seeing Wu Xuan's reaction, Zhang He was overjoyed. "It worked!"

He had used Rejuvenation True Qi to wrap up all the Soul-Bewildering Guide he'd inhaled, then used Half-Step Blast Fist to drive it all into Wu Xuan's body. Now the Soul-Bewildering Guide was taking effect.

Seeing the look on Zhang He's face, Wu Xuan immediately realized it had to be connected to him.

But what shocked Wu Xuan was how this kid had gotten his hands on the Soul-Bewildering Guide. It was a secret formula, and how had Zhang He poisoned him? From beginning to end, he hadn't noticed Zhang He do anything unusual.

Wu Xuan immediately pulled a small white porcelain bottle from his robes and uncorked it. He poured out a cherry-sized pill and was about to swallow it.

Whoosh!

A sharp pebble tore through the air. Wu Xuan had been poisoned by the Soul-Bewildering Guide, and his reactions were sluggish. He couldn't dodge in time. His wrist shook, and the pill fell to the ground.

Wu Xuan looked up angrily and saw that Zhang He had already stood up. His face was streaked with blood, and he was grinning viciously.

A sense of foreboding surged through Wu Xuan. He stammered, "I'm a disciple of the Medicine King Valley. If you dare hurt me, everyone in the Medicine King Valley will hunt you down! If you know what's good for you, leave quietly. As long as you don't tell anyone what happened today, I can pretend none of it ever happened."

"Pah!" Zhang He spat, grabbed the longsword nearby, and grinned viciously. "Once you're dead, who'll know I killed you? You dumbass!"

If he didn't pull out the weeds by their roots, they'd spring up again when the spring breeze blew. Besides, Wu Xuan had no integrity whatsoever. Zhang He wasn't about to leave himself a future threat.

With a flick of his hand, Zhang He drove the longsword deep into Wu Xuan's body and twisted it viciously...

Zhang He slumped to the ground and gasped for breath. His whole body felt drained. His fight with Wu Xuan had truly been a brush with death; the slightest mistake would have left him brutally killed by Wu Xuan.

After catching his breath, Zhang He immediately circulated Rejuvenation True Qi to heal his injuries. His arm had been hurt in the punch he'd traded with Wu Xuan.

"Help... help me." A weak voice suddenly came from nearby.

Zhang He sprang up from the ground as if a bee had stung him on the butt. Only then did he realize that Sun Shaochuan was still alive.

"Help... help me. I... I'll give you an enormous reward."