Gu Poison

Three years had passed since the affairs at Green Luo and Flat Lake were settled, and Longevity Monastery had made no move.

Liu Xiaowen returned to the mountain for secluded cultivation and broke through to late-stage Fetal Breath, but reaching Qi Refining would still require arduous cultivation.

Xu Xuan's cultivation reached the sixth level of Qi Refining. His progress was slow, but his swordsmanship had advanced again. His Sword Qi was more condensed and more lethal, yet he still could not glimpse the realm of Sword Intent.

Xu Xuan had also gained some insight from the notes his master left behind. He was trying to gradually guide his Sword Qi into the streak of purple lightning within his body, and had achieved some results.

Inside True Abode Hall, Xu Xuan devoted himself to studying the newly emerged Seal Script inscription within his body, [Five Poisons-]. Two more characters had yet to appear after it.

Over three years, his clear qi had accumulated, and Xu Xuan had poured all of it into this inscription. Today, it finally underwent a change. The last two characters still had not manifested, but the entire inscription projected itself onto the ancient stele, revealing a passage of text.

"Moonlight Illuminating the Witch's Gifted Teachings"

"Long ago, there was a High Shaman who united and fathomed the Five Poisons, corresponding to greed, wrath, delusion, arrogance, and doubt. He sought teachings in the Eastern Lapis Lazuli World and received the words of moon-purity, discerning good and ill, knowing calamity and fortune.

"The World-Honored One withdrew from the world, and Papiyan usurped the true. With neither deliverance nor salvation, he spread his wings across the heavens, swallowed the Star of Fortune, and fell into Shu, his whereabouts unknown. From then on, calamity and fortune became unclear, good and ill hard to divine, and a hundred kinds of insects wailed."

The opening preface was so abstruse that Xu Xuan understood little of it, but what followed stirred him-it was a cultivation method. The "True Method of Poison-Watching and Gu-Wielding," from the [Calamity Poison] lineage of the Shamanic Way, explained how to merge one's body with poisonous creatures, refine gu, and pursue poison.

There were gaps in this method. Although it included sections from Qi Refining through Purple Mansion, the portion Xu Xuan was reading appeared to be a simplified version, one of its Five Poisons Methods.

After carefully reading it through, Xu Xuan judged the method in his hands to be roughly fifth-grade, despite being only one branch of the whole. The immortal foundation it formed was called [Red-Fighting Centipede]. It united with Wrath Intent and took root in fire poison. Four other poison methods remained.

According to the text, truly mastering this method required merging one's body with the Five Poisons, using the organs as an altar and flesh and blood as a breeding ground, until the fiercest poisonous creature emerged victorious. Cultivated this way, it should reach the sixth grade, allowing one to attain the Divine Ability [Poison-Viewing Assembly].

Two secret arts were recorded afterward: the "Witchcraft Treatise on Gu" and the "Complete Record of Fire Poisons." The former resembled a method for rearing spirit beasts through inscriptions, except its subjects were various poisonous creatures. The latter described the properties, uses, and refining methods of the world's fire poisons.

Excellent as this cultivation method was-even far surpassing Longevity Monastery's true-disciple "Heavenly Fire Eternal Radiance Scripture"-he could not openly use it now. If the monastery noticed something amiss and demanded an explanation, Xu Xuan would have none to give.

As for the two arts of gu and poison, he could secretly try using them, doing his best to conceal them. The Wilderness of Witches bordered Green Peaks; he could find a plausible source for them there when the time came.

Once he cultivated [Red-Fighting Centipede], he would have to engage someone in magical combat at least once a month, or suffer fire poison devouring his heart. Though it possessed many wondrous properties and was exceptionally powerful in battle, cultivating it would likely make concealment impossible. Only when the Five Poisons truly became one would it have no shortcomings and become a complete, wondrous method.

Unless I leave Red Cloud and get far from the eyes of Longevity Monastery and the Wilderness of Witches, I won't be able to cultivate this method.

Yet this inscription contained a cultivation method. Why had his and Liu Xiaowen's shown no response? Could it have been caused by the strange change in the Underground Palace back then?

Those signs of insects devouring flesh must have been the work of the Shamanic Way. Xiao Cunsi's condition had also resembled the signs of [Red-Fighting Centipede]. What exactly did Longevity Monastery and the Wilderness of Witches intend by joining forces?

Within True Abode Hall, Xu Xuan quietly pondered the methods of refining gu and making poison. He found them extraordinarily wondrous, full of uncanny variations. Once mastered, they would be impossible to guard against.

At his current cultivation of sixth-level Qi Refining, [Thunder-Sleeping Gu] should be the most useful to him. He needed to find three worms, refine them with [Dulling Mistwater], and hide them in the earth. When someone roused thunder, the worms would awaken in alarm, embodying the awakening of insects to magnify its might.

As for the Complete Record of Fire Poisons, he had no materials at hand to refine. It did, however, list places where substances containing fire poison might be found. Several were in the Wilderness of Witches, and Xu Xuan quietly took note.

Liu Xiaowen arrived outside the hall, briefly interrupting Xu Xuan's contemplation.

Several years had passed, and Liu Xiaowen had reached the age of binding up his hair. His bearing had grown increasingly steady, and he had taken charge of some affairs concerning the mortals under their rule. He waited outside the hall, dragging the corpse of a huge demon behind him. Looking uneasy, he said in a low voice:

"Master, these demons have appeared again near Eastern Secret. This one had even reached late-stage Fetal Breath, and there are signs of Qi Refining demons as well. The mortals there have already moved elsewhere and taken shelter beneath the formations."

Xu Xuan stepped out of the hall and saw a demon's corpse laid beneath a green pine. Its body resembled a blue ox's, but its head had been replaced with a woman's. Her face was terrified, her eyes wide open.

Why does this look rather like a gu-refining method, close to the [Beast Gu] method described in it?

Xu Xuan sensed that most of these demons had been pieced together from beasts and humans. They had certainly not arisen naturally. Someone had to be working behind the scenes, most likely with ties to the Wilderness of Witches.

Since these demons appeared in the direction of Eastern Secret, they should be Xie Shu's handiwork. He probably obtained this wicked art from the Wilderness of Witches.

Xu Xuan gently closed the woman's eyes, then rose and gazed toward East Secret Mountain in the distance.

"I'll go investigate myself and find those demons' tracks, so the people under our rule can rest easy. For the next few days, leave the affairs of the sect to your Martial Uncle Xi Wei. You and Gao Xia will arrange accommodations for the mortals."

Having said this, Xu Xuan sent Liu Xiaowen off to his duties.

He went to the secret treasury and retrieved the mid-grade Foundation Establishment magic sword [Constant Light]. Its body resembled jade rather than metal, its eight facets gleaming. Its surface was like a bright mirror, patterned with flowing clouds. When Xu Xuan touched it and stirred his magical power, bright blue lightning surged forth.

With this magical artifact in hand, even if Xie Shu could no longer restrain himself and truly attacked, Xu Xuan would have the strength to resist.

He immediately mounted a thundercloud, crossed the heavens, passed through layer upon layer of clouds, and descended into the territory near Eastern Secret. Some demons had appeared here before, but they were few and weak. His disciples had eliminated them, and they had caused no great calamity.

Now Qi Refining demons had appeared, destroying every mortal village in the area and drawing a pack of lesser demons to occupy the territory.

Xu Xuan followed the main road. Desolate weeds lined its sides, the setting sun was like blood, and gusts of demonic wind rose from the flat ground. Entering the village, he heard neither chickens nor dogs, nor the clamor of cattle and sheep-only repeated scraping sounds as heavy objects were dragged along.

This place was Horse-Tethering Road, east of the Great Red Three Mountains and near Eastern Secret. There had once been a small village of several hundred people here, but now not a soul remained. The villagers had abandoned even their fields and fled.

A rank smell seeped from the cracks in the mud walls and thatched huts, a stench like something rotting. Following the scent through the village, Xu Xuan reached a well at its center and finally saw the Qi Refining demon Liu Xiaowen had mentioned.

It was a mountain ogre, fully twice a person's height, with four human arms grafted onto its body, each holding a weapon. Its ghastly beast face was mottled blue and white, with a man's head and a woman's mounted on either side. They spewed filthy words, cursed their kin, or lamented their own plight.

Several corpses lay scattered nearby-men and women, old and young. All appeared to have been killed by this demon. It had clearly been refined using the Beast Gu method, unmistakably the handiwork of the Shamanic Way. Xu Xuan still did not know, however, just what relationship Xie Shu had with the Wilderness of Witches.

The mountain ogre turned and spotted Xu Xuan. It let out an enraged roar, its aura spilling forth. It, too, had reached the sixth level of Qi Refining.

Xu Xuan dared not underestimate it. He immediately unleashed [Constant Light], Sword Qi streaming forth. A rumble like a divine being rousing thunder crashed against the demon's roar, shaking down a ring of mud houses around them.

The Gu Beast has appeared, but where is the person behind it?

Before he could think further, the three-headed, six-armed mountain ogre charged. Its weapons whipped up gusts of wind, while the male and female heads on either side burst into wild laughter.

(End of chapter)