The Flaw in the Five Poisons Returning to Origin Body (1 / 2)

"I'm glad you're all right!"

"Really? You've become a martial artist?"

"You're amazing, big brother!"

Now that Zhao Er had become a martial artist, his whole family was happy for him.

There were still differences between Zhao Er and Zhao Da.

Their parents actually knew that Zhao Da had already become a martial artist, but his position was somewhat awkward. Although he had not married into his wife's family, his martial training depended entirely on the Ning Family. In their hearts, his parents instinctively did not want to hold their eldest son back, and naturally expected little from him.

But their second son, Zhao Er, was still unmarried and had become a martial artist through his own efforts, without needing to depend on anyone else. Although they likewise asked for nothing in return, they felt a little more comfort and pride.

"Mm, let's eat first. I can smell the snake soup."

Having finally taken this step successfully, he only truly relaxed when he saw the smiles on his family's faces.

In times like these, even a little meat was a blessing, so everyone in the family thoroughly enjoyed the snake meat.

Zhao Er also took this opportunity to inspect the settlement and personal panel he had not had time to check earlier.

"Event completed. Beginning settlement!"

"Event settlement: cultivation!"

"Consumed poison, practiced the cultivation method 'Five Poisons Returning to Origin Body,' and practiced the combat technique 'Five Poisons Fist.'"

"Gained: Five Poisons Returning to Origin Body +8, Five Poisons Fist +8, poison resistance +1"

[Cultivation: martial artist, first realm—Blood Condensation]

[Cultivation method: Five Poisons Returning to Origin Body (blue) lv.2 (4/500)]

[Combat technique: Five Poisons Fist (white) lv.1 (70/100)]

[Poison resistance (passive): lv.2 (2/500)]

[Available skill points: 2]

Zhao Er's breakthrough was celebrated only at home, without being publicized everywhere, and his daily routine did not change much afterward.

Although martial artists were lofty figures in the eyes of ordinary people, only Zhao Er, who had truly become one, knew that he had barely touched the threshold of the martial path. The road ahead was still long.

If he were so easily satisfied, there would have been no need for him to take such great risks venturing into the mountains again and again, much less embark on the path of poison cultivation.

So the next day, Zhao Er headed into the mountains as usual, carrying his bamboo basket and earthenware jars.

This trip into the mountains brought no surprises and went extremely smoothly. First, he caught several venomous snakes beside the stream, then went to the centipede traps and harvested quite a few centipedes.

The only pity was that the traps he had set had caught no game, but Zhao Er did not mind. What concerned him more was that this trip into the mountains had not triggered an event settlement.

This made him realize that as his strength increased, the threshold for triggering events rose accordingly.

Fortunately, cultivation was something he would always do as his strength grew. That alone was enough to give him twice as much cultivation progress as others in the same amount of time. After all, cultivation increased his progress, and each settlement increased it again.

Two more days passed in the blink of an eye. This time, his luck in the mountains was quite good. Apart from catching more venomous snakes and centipedes, Zhao Er also found game in the hunting traps he had set.

It was a fully grown stag. When Zhao Er went to check, its leg was caught in a beast trap. He killed it with a single stroke of his blade, then hoisted the game onto his shoulder and hurried down the mountain.

When Zhao Er appeared at the village entrance carrying the fully grown stag, the entire village erupted with excitement, and everyone rushed over to look.

"Zhao Er! Did you get that in the mountains? Good heavens, what a huge deer!"

"It must weigh over three hundred jin! How long would it take to eat all that?"

"You ignorant fool, all you think about is eating meat. The hide and antlers are the real treasures. I hear they can sell for a lot of money..."

"Martial training really does make a difference. Even earning money, he's better at it than us..."

"All right, all right, move along. He's capable in his own right. A capable man won't go hungry wherever he goes... Impressive! Selling this deer should cover your martial training expenses, shouldn't it?"

In the end, the village chief stepped in and dispersed the onlookers. As he looked at Zhao Er, a complicated expression appeared in his eyes.

The others merely thought Zhao Er had become capable after taking up martial training. Only the village chief knew that Zhao Er had been capable enough to begin with, and that was how he could support his own training.

After all, the village chief had emptied his family's coffers to support his son's martial training, but his son had lacked that ability and ultimately could only work in town.

"Luck. Just good luck..."

Zhao Er answered with a smile, then carried the deer home.

Naturally, his family was overjoyed to see him bring back such a large deer.

Because of the poisonous miasma surrounding the Clear Radiance Mountains, usually only martial artists went in to hunt. Ordinary hunters could not enter at all. Even occasionally catching a wild boar was an impressive feat, and very few people ever managed to hunt a deer.

"Dad, it's too hot right now, and we can't finish such a big deer ourselves. Let's keep one leg, and tomorrow I'll take another to my eldest brother. Give some of the remaining meat and organs to everyone."

Zhao Er set the deer down in the courtyard, then spoke to Zhao Dazhu.

If he had said this at the village entrance earlier, quite a few villagers would probably have come over immediately to help butcher it.

But he had not said anything then. Instead, he deliberately brought it up with his father now, naturally to give Zhao Dazhu a chance to gain face.

As for the antlers and hide, those were the truly valuable parts. He planned to take them to County Town to sell the next day, and deliver a leg to his eldest brother along the way.

He did not begrudge giving the meat away. He was already a martial artist, and entering the mountains was no longer as dangerous as before. He certainly would not lack meat in the future. Besides, in weather like this, it would be a shame if the meat spoiled at home.

"All right! We'll do as you say!"

When Zhao Dazhu heard this, he understood Zhao Er's intention and immediately broke into a broad grin.

Even Zhang Xuan'e, who had always been frugal, raised no objections after hearing her son's arrangements.

That day, the whole Zhao Family Village was especially lively, with smiles on every family's faces. Zhao Dazhu did not return empty-handed from delivering the meat, either, bringing back plenty of eggs, rice, and flour.

None of this affected Zhao Er, however. After dressing the deer, he continued practicing martial arts in the side room.

First, he mixed the venom sacs and snake venom he had collected that day into the herbal decoction he had already prepared, then sat in meditation to absorb it.

Since his breakthrough to become a martial artist, the single strand of qi and blood power in his body had become five, considerably increasing the power of his punches.

Over the past few days, through his own investigations, Zhao Er had discovered a flaw in cultivating the Five Poisons Returning to Origin Body.

This flaw was probably inherited from the Ginseng Spirit Art.

The Ginseng Spirit Art's weak combat power was not just due to its lack of accompanying fist techniques and combat skills. Another reason was that as qi and blood power was used in battle, the medicinal potency contained in the blood diminished along with it.

The Five Poisons Returning to Origin Body now had the same flaw. The toxins contained in his blood were not rootless duckweed; they had slowly accumulated from the poisons he consumed.

And as he continued using them in battle, the toxins in his body would weaken as well.

These toxins have to be reserved as my trump card. I need to keep up with my fist training, too.