Settlement, each taking what they needed

"Cough, cough!!!"

The instant he realized the black serpent was dead, Zhao Er felt little joy. Instead, he immediately sat cross-legged and began practicing the Five Poisons Returning to Origin Body.

Zhao Er had anticipated the poison within the black serpent, but only now did he discover that he had still underestimated its potency.

Earlier, his nerves had been stretched taut, and his body's innate lv.2 poison resistance had kept him from noticing much discomfort during the fight.

Yet the battle had barely ended before his eyes felt as though they had been smoked over. Even his throat grew dry and tight, while the pain inside his body was unbearable, as though he had swallowed razor blades.

As he circulated the art, Zhao Er absorbed all the poison in his blood, then used it to temper his body.

"As expected of a Variant Beast. An ordinary martial artist facing poison like this would probably have no choice but to retreat immediately!"

Only after absorbing every trace of poison did Zhao Er reflect on the agony of his cultivation just now, still shaken by the experience.

He had merely inhaled some poisonous smoke, yet after absorbing all its poison to temper himself, he discovered that that single breath had produced nearly as much progress as three days of cultivation.

Zhao Er had barely opened his eyes when text appeared before him.

"Event completed. Beginning settlement!"

"Settlement event: ambush and slay a Variant Beast!"

"Successfully killed Variant Beast—Blackwater Strange Serpent ×1"

"Experience gained: Five Poisons Returning to Origin Body +20, Dian Clan Eight Methods of Twin Halberds +20, Nine-Turn Golden Body Art +5, Poison Resistance +3"

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

[Five Poisons Returning to Origin Body (blue) lv.2 (245/500)]

[Nine-Turn Golden Body Art (blue) lv.2 (7/500)]

[Dian Clan Eight Methods of Twin Halberds (green) lv.2 (21/500)]

[Five Poisons Fist (white) lv.2 (164/500)]

[Poison Resistance (passive): lv.2 (12/500)]

[Available skill points: 0]

"Hahahaha..."

Looking at the Settlement Panel before him, Zhao Er could not help bursting into laughter.

High risk truly did come with high rewards. From this risky ambush on the strange serpent, the settlement system's rewards alone had already amounted to several days of grueling cultivation.

"No wonder wielding the halberds felt different toward the end. The Dian Clan Eight Methods of Twin Halberds had leveled up..."

For that descending halberd strike earlier, Zhao Er had only been able to pour all his bodily force into the Twin Iron Halberds. Worried that the strike would not be powerful enough to break through its defenses, he had attacked from above, intending to add the weight of his own body to the blow.

In the end, however, he had still fallen just short. He had pierced the black serpent's skin, but failed to reach the heart within.

Fortunately, the subsequent increase in his Halberd Art's level had greatly strengthened his following slashes.

At lv.1, the Dian Clan Eight Methods of Twin Halberds used basic moves to coordinate the body's force with each technique, increasing the weapons' power.

At lv.2, the Dian Clan Eight Methods of Twin Halberds could mobilize the body's qi and blood to empower the weapons, pushing their might to the limit.

The only pity was that Zhao Er could not use this method to coat his weapons with the poison in his qi and blood. Otherwise, their power could have risen even further.

Still, this was already the limit of what the Dian Clan Eight Methods of Twin Halberds could achieve. After all, it was merely a basic Halberd Art.

"Coo, coo..."

Just as Zhao Er was inspecting the panel, delighted by his soaring progress and the increase in his Halberd Art's level, the White Marten's cries reached his ears.

Turning toward the White Marten, Zhao Er's attention was instantly caught. The little creature stood atop a large rock nearby, holding half of a small black snake caught somewhere unknown in one paw and a fist-sized black fruit in the other.

It was the black fruit that drew Zhao Er's gaze.

The fruit was black as ink, with what looked like black smoke curling around it. One glance was enough to tell that it was no ordinary fruit.

Standing there, the White Marten first bit into the black fruit. That bite left a small notch in its surface, and juice splashed out.

"Sss..."

The juice dripped onto the rock like water falling into a sizzling pan of oil. A thin wisp of black smoke rose, and wherever it drifted, the surrounding vegetation instantly withered yellow.

"Coo, coo..."

The black fruit did not seem to taste very good. After swallowing a bite, the White Marten hurriedly bit into the little black snake held in the other paw. Only after chewing a few mouthfuls of snake meat did the White Marten give a soft, contented coo.

The White Marten ate like that, alternating between bites of black fruit and little black snake. Occasionally, when particularly pleased, the little creature even rolled on the ground, cooing softly.

Noticing Zhao Er looking over, the White Marten hurriedly stuffed the remaining fruit into that little mouth in two or three bites, but held out the short piece of snake in the other paw, seemingly offering it to Zhao Er.

"So this fruit was what you wanted all along. Since you've taken the fruit, this black serpent belongs to me!"

By now, how could Zhao Er fail to see it? This was no grudge between the White Marten and the Black Viper. The White Marten had simply coveted the Spirit Plant the serpent guarded, but could not defeat it alone, and so had dragged Zhao Er along as hired muscle.

Although Zhao Er did not know what that black fruit was or whether it was valuable, he knew the Black Viper's worth very well.

Now that the White Marten had taken the fruit, the serpent belonged to him.

"Coo, coo, coo..."

Seeing Zhao Er point at the Black Viper and then at himself, the White Marten nodded repeatedly as though understanding him, then hurriedly withdrew the small remaining piece of snake and crunched away at it.

Next, Zhao Er opened the leather pouch containing the centipedes and released them all before searching for the pair of Iron Halberds he had thrown aside.

Only then did Zhao Er discover that one Iron Halberd's point was bent, while the crescent blade of the other had snapped clean off.

Fortunately, he only needed them to extract the Black Viper's blood essence, so they were still barely usable.

A Variant Beast's blood essence could not be left inside its corpse for too long, or the energy within it would return to the flesh.

The Poison Glands, however, were not a concern. Zhao Er could deal with those after carrying the black serpent back.

The Black Viper weighed a little over two hundred jin, which was nothing to Zhao Er. He took off his clothes and used them as ropes to bind the serpent securely, then hoisted it onto his shoulder.

"Come on! Let's head back..."

With the Black Viper over his shoulder, Zhao Er tried calling out to the White Marten.

By now, Zhao Er no longer had any intention of capturing the White Marten to sell.

This strange serpent was certainly worth a considerable sum, and this trip had yielded a rich harvest. Rather than set his sights on the White Marten, he would be better off cooperating with the little creature.

Just like today, joining forces against an enemy and each taking what they needed from the spoils was the best choice.

"Chirr, chirr..."

Hearing Zhao Er's call, the White Marten tilted that little head in thought, then gave an almost coquettish cry and turned into a streak of white. The little creature landed on Zhao Er's other shoulder and even rubbed that small head against his ear.

Clearly, the White Marten was also quite satisfied with their cooperation this time and was willing to grow a little closer to Zhao Er.