Wolf-Poison Flower

On Goat Horn Mountain, Rat Prodigy squeaked away about something. This area was full of its spies.

Jiang Chen merely smiled and did not take it too seriously. When strangers interacted, it was perfectly normal to hold something back; trusting others completely was true foolishness.

"These three taels of spirit sand are probably the true value of the Wolf King's hide. This talisman art is more of a buyout for the merit represented by the Wolf King's hide. Yet the truly valuable thing here is this jade token, which represents Lu Xuanping's status as a direct descendant of the Lu Family."

Opening the pouch and taking out a white jade token, Jiang Chen understood Lu Xuanping's intentions. The other party had deliberately left this behind to show that he wished to continue associating with him.

With this item as an introduction, the next time he sought out Lu Xuanping, he would have a proper reason to do so. Relationships were built through give and take; the more exchanges there were, the closer the relationship naturally became. That previous transaction had ostensibly sold the Wolf King's hide, but what it truly sold was the merit for killing the Wolf King and wiping out the wolf den.

However, after examining it for only a few moments, Jiang Chen put the white jade token away again.

As long as one lived in this world, one could not escape the web of relationships. Before possessing absolute strength, connections were still useful. Yet whether those connections were reliable depended more on oneself. If one was powerful and valuable, the web of relationships around them would naturally be firm.

"Although Lu Xuanping did not state it outright, from the fragments he revealed, the Demon-Slaying Bureau has dispatched quite a few people this time. It seems unrest has truly broken out in the Five Immortal Mountains."

As his thoughts turned, Jiang Chen lightly beckoned at the Wolf King's remains. If he delayed any longer, its soul would likely truly disperse.

With a hum, soul-light suddenly appeared. Countless pieces of information flowed through Jiang Chen's mind like scenes flashing past on a revolving lantern. Compared to ordinary Ferocious Horned Wolves, the Wolf King's intelligence had indeed been much higher. Precisely because of this, the information it left behind was far clearer.

"Civil strife has broken out within the Five Immortal Mountains. The five leading Demon Race clans are slaughtering one another, and many demons have been caught up in it. Quite a few have chosen to flee the Five Immortal Mountains."

Having caught an important piece of information, the doubts in Jiang Chen's heart quietly unraveled.

"Within the Five Immortal Mountains, the Five Immortal Demon Clans stand at the head. Compared to them, the Ferocious Wolf Clan can only be considered a minor clan. That is why even the Wolf King did not know what exactly had happened within the Five Immortal Mountains."

The Wolf King's soul dispersed. Thinking of the chaos within the Five Immortal Mountains, Jiang Chen frowned, but he quickly reined in his thoughts.

"The Five Immortal Mountains have nothing to do with me for now. There is no need to dwell on it. On the contrary, this time's gains are quite substantial."

With a thought, Jiang Chen headed toward a hidden cave on Goat Horn Mountain. It was where the Ferocious Wolf Clan stored its spiritual treasures.

"Wolf-Poison Vine..."

Entering the cave, Jiang Chen's gaze shifted as he looked at the vines rooted in corpses and spreading in every direction. This was the Ferocious Wolf Clan's most important foundation—the Wolf-Poison Vine.

Its entire body was dark red, its vines as thick as a child's arm and covered in sharp hooked thorns. Its leaves were emerald green, their edges serrated and exceedingly sharp, easily slicing through flesh. They also contained poison; once struck, a living creature would suffer excruciating pain.

"This Wolf-Poison Vine truly looks like a vicious thing. Ordinary people would probably take a detour upon seeing it, yet it has many wondrous uses."

"Though its sap contains potent poison, it can also stimulate one's bloodline to a certain extent. This is why the Ferocious Wolf Clan has been able to maintain its inheritance, producing a Ferocious Horned Wolf every so often. Of course, many Ferocious Wolves have also died from poisoning as a result."

"Furthermore, once the Wolf-Poison Vine reaches a certain stage of growth, it blooms. This Wolf-Poison Flower can greatly increase a creature's affinity with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth in an extremely short time, thus giving it the possibility of cultivating qi."

The various wondrous uses of the Wolf-Poison Vine surfaced in Jiang Chen's mind, and his gaze could not help drifting toward the tip of its main vine. There was a flower bud there, on the verge of blooming. It was the Wolf-Poison Flower.

"The Wolf-Poison Flower requires vast amounts of flesh and blood to bloom. This was one reason the Wolf King had the pack hunt so recklessly before. It had even considered sacrificing ordinary Ferocious Wolves, because once the Wolf-Poison Flower bloomed, it could attempt to break through into Qi Refinement."

As his thoughts turned, Jiang Chen acknowledged the Wolf King's ruthlessness. Unfortunately, its luck had been poor; it had fallen just a few strokes short of fortune.

At this moment, Rat Prodigy, having received Jiang Chen's orders, led the rat swarm into the cave. In an orderly manner, they tossed wolf corpses one after another into the corpse pit where the Wolf-Poison Vine had rooted itself.

"Let me finish what the Wolf King failed to do."

Seeing the corpses fill the pit level, while the Wolf-Poison Vine rooted within and greedily absorbed the power of the wolf corpses, Jiang Chen's expression remained indifferent. In a sense, he was helping the Wolf King fulfill its obsession. Having read the Wolf King's memories, he knew just how desperately it had longed for the Wolf-Poison Flower.

The Ferocious Wolf Clan's third-to-last Wolf King had successfully advanced into Qi Refinement after consuming a Wolf-Poison Flower. That had been the Ferocious Wolf Clan's most glorious era. Unfortunately, its successors had failed to live up to expectations, and the Ferocious Wolf Clan had declined once more. From the moment it gained intelligence, the Wolf King had resolved to restore the Ferocious Wolf Clan to greatness.

And so, ten days quietly passed. During those ten days, aside from the Wolf King's remains, which Jiang Chen refined into a Blood-Coagulating Stone, all the other Ferocious Wolf corpses were fed to the Wolf-Poison Vine. Now, apart from around twenty pups, only one Ferocious Horned Wolf remained alive.

This Ferocious Horned Wolf had fought Rat Prodigy before and been defeated by it. Considering that it still had its uses, Jiang Chen had temporarily spared it.

As the power of every corpse was absorbed, the bud of the Wolf-Poison Flower finally turned red and quietly bloomed.

At that moment, an intense fragrance erupted throughout the cave, sending all the rats stationed there into a drunken trance. Nearly mad, they lunged toward the Wolf-Poison Vine.

Seeing this, Jiang Chen carefully sensed the changes within it and did not immediately stop the rats. Only Rat Prodigy, which remained by his side, received a kick from him.

Then, in the very next instant, the Wolf-Poison Vine erupted. Every rat drawn close to the corpse pit by the Wolf-Poison Flower was strangled and became nourishment for its growth.

Coming to its senses and seeing this scene, Rat Prodigy could not help feeling a lingering chill in its heart.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak. Sure enough, Master still likes me..."

Filled with gratitude, Rat Prodigy quietly edged a little closer to Jiang Chen.

Yet upon seeing the rat swarm's miserable deaths, Jiang Chen was not alarmed but delighted.

"The Wolf King's memories were muddled, so I could only speculate before. Now, I can basically confirm that this Wolf-Poison Flower truly possesses hallucinatory effects. More importantly, those effects are not superficial—they reach the mind."

Having confirmed his conjecture, Jiang Chen was overjoyed. This was the first treasure he had encountered that could touch the mind and the soul.

"This thing may allow my soul power to recover more quickly."

With that thought, Jiang Chen's regard for the Wolf-Poison Vine immediately rose by several degrees.