Golden-Scaled Plague Snake

"Get up!"

With a plan in mind, Zou Feng had already decided on the measures he would take next.

Since Yang Yanpeng was a ready-made human Gu, why shouldn't he make use of him?

Once his Five Poisons Skill reached great completion, he could combine it with the other two evil arts and enter the ranks...

Under such circumstances, just how high would the quality of his inner energy be? The thought alone got him fired up beyond measure.

And entering the ranks with such high quality naturally meant that his path of advancement afterward would only grow smoother and smoother.

As for strength, he would absolutely crush opponents of the same rank.

Seeing Zou Feng tell him to rise, Xu Haoran was still somewhat dazed. "Brother Feng... you... you're not going to kill me?"

Zou Feng asked in return, "Why would I kill you? Do I have a grudge against you?"

"But..."

Zou Feng waved a hand. "Enough. Stop being so suspicious. Five Poisons Palm isn't my exclusive secret manual. You practice yours, I'll practice mine. From now on, we'll mind our own business and leave each other alone."

"Oh... Thank you, Brother Feng, thank you, Brother Feng!" Only then did Xu Haoran shakily get to his feet.

Yet judging from the look in his eyes, he clearly did not fully believe Zou Feng's reason for sparing him.

But Zou Feng truly had no intention of killing Xu Haoran.

If Xu Haoran died, Yang Yanpeng would immediately become wary.

Keeping Xu Haoran alive was, instead, the best choice for now.

He could use him to test exactly when Yang Yanpeng planned to make his move and pluck the fruit...

Conversely, when Yang Yanpeng made his move, it meant he himself was ripe as well. That would be the best time to refine a Gu.

"Continue the night patrol. You should know what to say and what to do from now on."

Xu Haoran nodded frantically. "Yes, yes, I understand. Practicing poison arts is something that must never be leaked!"

"Brother Feng, why is the Five Poisons Palm you practice different from mine?"

Zou Feng did not answer. He merely shot the fellow a glare.

Xu Haoran promptly shrank his neck and shut his mouth.

After that, neither of them discussed anything related to poison arts. They honestly continued their night patrol.

During that time, they met up with other teams and shared some dry rations as a late-night meal.

Yet whenever they encountered others, Xu Haoran still acted submissive before Zou Feng, looking utterly terrified of him.

How could Zou Feng fail to see through the fellow's little scheme...

This idiot was trying to be clever and courting death!

By around the hour of the tiger, their night patrol finally came to an end.

When they circled back to where they had exchanged palms before, Xu Haoran cautiously asked, "Brother Feng, then I... I'll head back and rest?"

"Wait!"

"Uh, Brother Feng, do you still need something?"

Zou Feng smiled without smiling. "When we ran into the other night patrol teams just now, you still looked terrified of me. Are you afraid people won't figure out that there's something wrong with me?"

Xu Haoran froze, then hurriedly shook his head. "No, Brother Feng, you misunderstand. I... I truly didn't mean that..."

Before he could continue defending himself, Zou Feng stepped forward and pressed the middle finger of his left hand against Xu Haoran's brow. "It'd better be that way!"

"Remember this: if I truly wanted to kill you, not a single person in Yang Estate could save you. Not even Yang Qianqian!"

With that, he withdrew his finger and turned to leave.

Xu Haoran, frozen where he stood, was already pissing like a fountain...

After cultivating the Passion-Chaos Finger, Zou Feng's middle finger had gradually become a weapon like a poison needle.

And because it had been mixed with the "Five Poisons," the Passion-Chaos Finger could no longer only be used to make someone lustful.

With the mixed toxins, as long as he controlled the dosage, making someone's entire body go numb and temporarily lose control of it was just as easy.

Then, though Zou Feng appeared to be heading back to the woodshed to rest, he abruptly changed direction, crouching low as he circled toward the grass by the courtyard wall.

When he had passed by here earlier, he had felt something. He had always sensed that something here held an inexplicable attraction for him.

But because Xu Haoran had been beside him, he had suppressed the urge to investigate.

Now that it continued to weigh on his mind, he had to come take a look before he could feel at ease.

The moment he stepped into the grass, a faint hissing sound came from ahead.

Zou Feng immediately became certain that there was actually a venomous creature hidden in this patch of grass beside the courtyard wall!?

He was far too familiar with this feeling. When he had captured venomous creatures outside the city before, it was precisely by relying on this inexplicable sensation that he had repeatedly located those formidable poisonous creatures with uncanny accuracy.

As Zou Feng drew nearer, there came a sudden whoosh. A slender object flashing with cold light sprang from the grass and shot toward him like an arrow.

Unfortunately, Zou Feng was already thoroughly familiar with capturing venomous creatures.

With a turn of his body, he evaded the thing's attack.

Then, circulating his poison palm, he flung out a hand and seized it.

The Drunken Immortal Gazing at the Moon Step had not only increased Zou Feng's agility, but had also rapidly heightened his reaction speed.

And his palms, already mixed with numerous formidable poisons, allowed Zou Feng to handle venom directly without fear.

Once such venomous creatures were caught by Zou Feng, they would instead be left dizzy and disoriented by the mixed poisonous energy on his hands.

Without even needing to look, Zou Feng could tell from the feel in his hand that he had caught a venomous snake as thick as a chopstick.

But now was not the time for a careful inspection. The other night patrol teams would soon pass by, so he needed to get away quickly.

Thus, only after Zou Feng returned to the woodshed did he light an oil lamp and focus his gaze on the venomous snake in his hand.

The result was that one look gave him a fright.

"Golden-Scaled Plague Snake?!" Zou Feng's first reaction was to wonder whether he had seen wrong.

How was that possible? According to the records in the Herbal Compendium, shouldn't this thing only exist deep within the Northern Desert?

When he had first sensed a venomous creature in the grass, Zou Feng had instinctively assumed it might have escaped due to the negligence of Xu Haoran, who also cultivated poison arts, or Yang Yanpeng, who raised such creatures.

But upon discovering that it was actually a Golden-Scaled Plague Snake, he immediately realized that matters were far from simple.

This thing was not even sold in the ghost market.

In truth, transporting a Golden-Scaled Plague Snake all the way from the Northern Desert over thousands of miles was itself an extremely difficult technical task.

The environment of the Northern Desert differed too greatly from this place. With the slightest mishap, the already fragile Golden-Scaled Plague Snake would go into stress response and die on the spot.

Only an expert among experts could keep a Golden-Scaled Plague Snake alive while transporting it to Yuan Guang County.

As for this thing's venom...

Just as its name suggested, its poison would trigger plague-like symptoms, and it was extremely contagious.

The worst part was that the illness showed no obvious signs in its early stages. Those afflicted would only feel a slight headache and fever.

By the time they truly noticed something was wrong, it would already be too late.

Once this illness was discovered too late, even ordinary martial artists could not withstand it.

Even those who had entered the ranks would likely be finished if they were old and their blood and vitality had declined, like the Yang Family Patriarch.

So who was ruthless enough to infect everyone in Yang Estate, from top to bottom, with the plague spread by the Golden-Scaled Plague Snake without anyone noticing?

The answer was obvious.

At present, besides the Blood-Colored Butcher, who else wanted to wipe out the Yang Estate to the last man?

That fellow had finally failed to hold himself back and was making his move through a different trick...

But Zou Feng had never heard that the Blood-Handed Butcher was skilled at using poison, so had he hired help?

Still, resorting to such flashy, underhanded methods only proved that the fellow ultimately did not dare come knocking and fight head-on.

So, was he once again making a wedding dress for Zou Feng?

Zou Feng had been worrying over where to find some formidable venomous creatures to let his Five Poisons Palm transform and advance.

Truly, just as sleepiness came, someone delivered a pillow...