Hundred Poisons Mountain Range

As one of the Chu Yun Empire's three forbidden zones, the Hundred Poisons Mountain Range held much the same status as the Magical Beast Mountain Range in the Jia Ma Empire, though it was somewhat more dangerous. Its territory was vast, spanning almost a third of the Chu Yun Empire. Without the detailed map in his hands, Xiao Yan would probably have struggled to find the location of the so-called Heavenly Scorpion Tomb Mansion.

Although the Hundred Poisons Mountain Range was not as dangerous as the Heavenly Poison Swamp, it still contained plenty of high-rank magical beasts and poisonous creatures. Combined with the poisonous miasma that lingered there year-round, even a Dou Wang who ventured in alone could easily end up buried there.

Xiao Yan knew this all too well. The last time he had entered the Hundred Poisons Mountain Range, a pack of magical beasts had surrounded him. Had Yao Lao not still been around then, he would probably have needed to unleash the Demon Fury Fire Lotus to escape.

Precisely because the Hundred Poisons Mountain Range was so dangerous, few people normally chose to enter it apart from mercenary companies specializing in hunting magical beasts. Even those seasoned mercenaries could suffer a complete wipeout with the slightest misstep.

Once the Heavenly Scorpion Tomb Mansion was discovered, however, many people threw that danger to the back of their minds. Over the past month, no shortage of people blinded by greed had ventured deep into the Hundred Poisons Mountain Range, hoping to locate the tomb mansion. Naturally, plenty of those without sufficient strength had remained there forever.

Along the way, Xiao Yan had already seen quite a few corpses belonging to such unlucky souls. Some had been so poor that they did not even have a Storage Ring. All he could do was curse as he stripped the clothes off their bodies. He had come all this way, after all; he could hardly go home empty-handed.

In his previous life, before Hun Dai'er fell out with him, she had once commented on this habit of his-plucking feathers from every goose that passed. In her eyes, any corpse Xiao Yan came across had to yield something. Even if nothing remained but bones, he would still have to boil some soup out of them...

Xiao Yan could only feel helpless about that. It was a bad habit carried over from his previous life, after all. Back then, he had still been using a Yellow Tier Cultivation Technique even after reaching Da Dou Shi, and the first Black Tier Dou Technique he obtained had come from someone's corpse. Ever since then, he had grown fond of getting something for nothing, scavenging every day in places like mass graveyards...

Put simply, he was a textbook case of someone terrified of being poor again.

With the map's help, Xiao Yan successfully found the Heavenly Scorpion Tomb Mansion. Clearly, however, he was not the first to arrive. Quite a few groups had already set up camp nearby, waiting for the seal over the tomb mansion to weaken so they could enter and search for the Heavenly Scorpion Poison Dragon Beast's corpse.

Looking at the tents, Xiao Yan could not help raising his eyebrows slightly. A sweep of his soul force revealed that not a single tent's owner was weaker than a Da Dou Shi. It seemed everyone who managed to enter the Hundred Poisons Mountain Range had a few tricks up their sleeves. Some of the quicker-witted ones had even started setting up stalls to sell things at this gathering spot.

Still, Xiao Yan was long accustomed to scenes like this. In his previous life, he had frequently explored ruins, cave dwellings, and the like. By his reckoning, the number of such expeditions had probably passed a hundred long ago. Thus, although the gathering here was sizable, it hardly struck him as spectacular.

As for the merchants' wares, Xiao Yan could not be bothered to look. For one thing, there was nothing he could use. For another, if he took a stroll through the stalls, he would very likely end up offending some faction's young master over some item. Then that fellow would try to ambush him inside the tomb mansion, only for Xiao Yan to see through the scheme and finally kill him...

Xiao Yan had experienced this sort of inexplicable, tedious plot countless times in his previous life, to the point that he was sick of it. Something similar happened almost every time he attended an auction or visited some ruins...

He could guess it with his toes: that young master would have a powerful old man at his side, yet the old man would be unable to stop him from courting death. Then the fellow's stock lines would surely be, "Nothing this young master sets his sights on ever gets away," "This young master will deal with you personally," "My father won't let you off," and "Once my father arrives, you're dead for certain!" After Xiao Yan killed him, his father would appear and declare, "You little beast / little bastard / little wretch, I'll make you pay with your life."

Xiao Yan could recite those stale old lines himself. He had no desire to repeat any of it, so he deliberately chose a secluded corner to pitch his tent and lay down inside, planning to wait until the tomb mansion opened before going in to fish in troubled waters. Unfortunately, some things could not be avoided simply because he wanted to avoid them.

Just as Xiao Yan was lying in his tent, leafing through the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture, he suddenly heard hurried footsteps approaching from nearby. He immediately put the scripture away. He had barely risen when someone lifted the tent flap, and a Green-Clothed Girl suddenly rushed inside. She froze briefly upon seeing Xiao Yan, then swiftly threw herself into his arms and cried, "Brother! I finally found you!"

"Who the fuck is your brother? Get the hell out!" Xiao Yan did not know this Green-Clothed Girl, nor did he have a younger sister. Hearing her words, he instinctively moved to throw her out, but just then, another group appeared at the tent's entrance.

At their head was an Effeminate Youth dressed in gray robes. His features were reasonably handsome, but what caught Xiao Yan's attention more was the scorpion emblem on his clothes. Xiao Yan recognized it: it was the insignia of the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect, currently the most powerful sect in the Chu Yun Empire.

The sect had a long history in the Chu Yun Empire and wielded enormous power. Even changes to the Imperial Family were controlled behind the scenes by the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect. Xiao Yan had never dealt with it in his previous life, however, because by the time he arrived in the Chu Yun Empire, the Heavenly Poison Woman had long since wiped it out. The Poison Sect she founded had been the empire's strongest faction at the time.

Behind the youth followed an old man in hemp robes, who was now watching Xiao Yan warily. It seemed he had noticed something extraordinary about this child. At the sight, Xiao Yan sighed helplessly. What was coming would come after all; the young master of some faction or other had finally made his entrance.

"Young brother, you..." The Effeminate Youth smiled and opened his fan, adopting the air of someone certain of victory. Before he could finish, however, Xiao Yan raised a hand to stop him. "Stop. I know what you're going to say."

Xiao Yan pulled the Green-Clothed Girl out of his arms with one hand and quickly pushed her forward. "The person you want to catch is right here. I have nothing to do with her, and I haven't touched anything she's carrying. Hurry up and take her away. Don't disturb my rest."