I Never Meant to Go This Hard

Shangling Cliff had branch offices throughout the Jing Dynasty, and Qingzhou City naturally had one as well.

However, assassin organizations usually concealed their hideouts extremely well. Ordinary people could never uncover them, but Lu Li knew quite a bit about Shangling Cliff.

Lu Li made his way through the streets and alleys and soon arrived at a general store called Know-It-All.

The shop looked utterly ordinary. Only a shop assistant stood behind the counter, and there were few customers.

As soon as Lu Li entered, the assistant did not even move. He merely said lazily:

"Customer, please help yourself to whatever you need. Small business, no credit."

Lu Li glanced around. The shelves were filled with all manner of goods: pots, bowls, ladles, firewood, rice, oil, salt, and much more.

Drawing back his gaze, Lu Li walked to the counter, lightly tapped it with a finger, and said:

"Where the night is dark and the wind blows high..."

"Hmm?"

The shop assistant's lazy expression vanished in an instant. He glanced at Lu Li, then rose and gestured for him to follow.

"Please come this way, sir."

Lu Li followed calmly. The assistant lifted the cloth curtain leading to the back room, revealing a hidden chamber beyond.

"Please wait a moment, sir. The shopkeeper will be here shortly."

The assistant brought over a cup of inferior tea, then slowly withdrew.

"Mm."

Lu Li nodded noncommittally and sat quietly in a chair to wait.

Before long, footsteps sounded, and a tall, thin old man entered the chamber.

"What does our guest require?"

The old man had a lean face and the bearing of a schoolteacher, appearing refined and scholarly.

"...I'm buying medicine. Poison."

Lu Li spoke slowly as he studied the old man. His aura was steady and heavy; he was at the ninth level of Meridian Opening.

In this era of martial arts, the Astral Condensation Realm counted as an expert in any region, while late-stage Meridian Opening martial artists were already enough to serve as the backbone of a small sect.

It could only be said that Shangling Cliff possessed truly deep foundations. Even the contact in charge of a prefectural city branch was a late-stage Meridian Opening martial artist.

"What?"

The tall, thin old man was briefly stunned. Seeing Lu Li's serious expression, he frowned slightly, somewhat displeased.

"Does our guest not know what sort of place this is?"

"We do not sell goods here; we only conduct business. If you truly want something, we can sell you pots and bowls."

The old man waved him away expressionlessly.

"Since it is your first time, I'll let it slide. But if you come again to mock this old man..."

Before he could finish, Lu Li slapped a token onto the counter and smiled.

"Shopkeeper, why not reconsider?"

The old man's frown deepened, and his expression turned hostile. Just as he was about to make a move, he saw the token Lu Li had placed down. His eyes instantly widened.

"The Silver Profound Token!"

Shangling Cliff's identity tokens came in gold, silver, and bronze, representing the Divine Intent, Astral Condensation Realm, and Meridian Opening respectively.

The tall, thin old man stared intently at the token. As a veteran of Shangling Cliff, he knew perfectly well that the Silver Profound Token was genuine.

Yet he also knew that among Shangling Cliff's many assassins, there was no one named Lu Li. The young man was completely unfamiliar.

Which meant...

There was an Astral Condensation Realm assassin standing behind this man!

Seeing Lu Li's faintly smiling expression, the old man's face shifted. In an instant, he put on an amicable look.

"Look at this old man's memory. Shangling Cliff does occasionally sell poison as well."

The old man smacked his forehead and gave a bitter laugh. "Sigh, once you get old, your mind stops working properly. I hope you can forgive me, young friend."

What a joke. Assassins were mostly eccentric by nature, let alone an Astral Condensation Realm assassin. He simply could not afford to offend one.

He had no desire to wake up one night and discover that his head had fallen off because of his "lack of consideration."

"It's nothing. It's nothing."

Lu Li smoothly accepted the old man's changed attitude, and the two exchanged smiles.

"What type of poison does young friend require? I can better recommend something suitable."

Only then did the old man ask with a genial smile:

"You truly have a discerning eye, young friend. We may not have everything else, but when it comes to poison... no one in the world understands it better than Shangling Cliff."

"We have absolutely everything. Even the Miao Poison Sect of the Southern Wasteland cannot compare to us when it comes solely to poison."

Hearing that, Lu Li nodded in satisfaction. He had indeed come to the right place. After pondering briefly, he said:

"I have no particular requirements. Just give me the most poisonous kind you have."

The most poisonous kind...

The old man thought for a moment, then smiled.

"We naturally have poison of the strongest potency. Please wait a moment, young friend."

With that, he rose leisurely. Lu Li remained seated and waited. After some time, the old man returned with a packet of powder in his hand.

Seeing how cautiously the old man handled it, Lu Li felt a flicker of anticipation.

This was definitely the real deal!

"Young friend, this is Body-Devouring Powder."

The old man carefully handed over the medicine powder, tightly wrapped in oil paper, and introduced it.

"Body-Devouring Powder is extraordinarily toxic. It is colorless and odorless, dissolves instantly in water, and after being consumed, it will melt flesh, blood, bones, and marrow within the time it takes to burn a stick of incense. Even a peak Astral Condensation Realm expert would not be able to withstand it."

Seeing Lu Li's delighted expression, the old man reminded him:

"To bring out its full effect, this poison must be taken internally... and there is no antidote for Body-Devouring Powder."

Lu Li put away the Body-Devouring Powder, a smile appearing on his face.

"Not bad. How much is this Body-Devouring Powder?"

The old man smiled at that.

"Young friend carries a Silver Profound Token and is of noble status. I'll give you a thirty percent discount. Thirty taels of silver will do."

A trace of pain flashed through Lu Li's eyes, but he still paid.

He had long heard that poison was expensive. Given the powerful effects of Body-Devouring Powder, its price was understandable, but...

"My wallet has shrunk again."

After leaving Shangling Cliff's storefront, Lu Li walked back, touching his now-flattened money pouch.

Between the food and lodging expenses from Liangshui Town all the way here, plus the thirty taels of silver, he now had only around twenty taels left.

"Money is needed everywhere when traveling the martial world. I still need to rob the rich and help the poor."

As he considered this, Lu Li looked toward the north of the city, where the Thousand-Eyed Bodhisattva Temple stood.

From what he knew, the Drooping-Ear Monk was greedy for wealth and lustful for women, endlessly amassing riches. He was covered in fat, and just scraping off a little of it would probably be enough to support an ordinary person for a lifetime.

"Demonic monk, you who commit every evil—my money, blade technique, and Demon Token can remain in your care for now. I'll personally come collect them someday."

After one glance in that direction, Lu Li withdrew his gaze and headed toward the inn he had rented earlier.

He had gathered the poison as well. It was time to begin cultivating the Poison Astral Body, a technique he had been looking forward to for a long time.

After all, it was perfectly compatible with his Xiangliu Martial Dao and the passive Intransigent Qi. Once he mastered it, his strength would undergo a transformative increase.

The Poison Astral Body could refine poison into one's flesh, blood, and inner qi. Since Lu Li was using Body-Devouring Powder to cultivate it, the poison astral qi he formed would carry its deadly toxic properties.

Combined with the Heart-Breaking Buddha Body and the body-enhancing effects of Intransigent Qi, the Poison Astral Body meant that as long as he was not killed in a single blow, his enemies could simply wait to be poisoned to death.

They might even be poisoned to death without ever touching him.

By refining poison into his inner qi, the poison astral qi could stack with the Intransigent Qi Field Domain.

With that, Lu Li could already imagine what it would be like when he fought others. His opponents would have to endure all the reductions imposed by the Intransigent Qi Field Domain.

Their movements would be slowed, their inner qi circulation would become sluggish, God-Devouring Blade Qi would interfere with their minds, and the Body-Devouring Powder poison of the Poison Astral Body would strike them as well.

At that thought, Lu Li could not help sighing inwardly.

"We're all martial artists. I never meant to crush you with a difference in dimensions."