Chapter 162: Chapter 139: Late Night Conspiracy

“How exactly we’re going to create this opportunity is something we can discuss later.”

“We must prepare for the worst-case scenario: we create an opportunity, but the Ten Directions Sect either doesn’t act or fails…”

Since this wasn’t a true collaboration with the Ten Directions Sect, the potential complications were indeed hard to predict.

It was very likely that in the end, they would still have to do it themselves to send Yuwen Shuo to his grave.

“I should be able to hold off Yuwen Shuo’s guards for a while… General Leader, are you confident you can take down Yuwen Shuo in that window?” Tian Yun asked, looking at Zou Feng with a solemn expression.

’Not bad. She’s actually volunteering for the riskiest task?’

Zou Feng was quite surprised.

After all, no matter what method they used to assassinate Yuwen Shuo, holding off the Gang Qi Realm guard by his side was always the most crucial and most dangerous part.

Zou Feng thought for a moment before saying in a confident tone, “A Gang Qi Realm expert like Yuwen Shuo won’t be much of a problem.”

The guy’s Realm was greatly inflated; anyone with a decent eye could tell.

Besides, if they really were to assassinate him, it wouldn’t just be the two of them. Senior Seventh Grade experts like Shi Yangming, who were also implicated, certainly wouldn’t just stand by and watch.

“Excellent. But, General Leader, do you have any more reliable methods?” Tian Yun asked, a calculating look in her eyes.

Tian Yun had just laid out some of her countermeasures, but they were all just theoretical and hadn’t been put into practice.

And as an Evil Genius who had forcefully unified three gangs in a short time, the young prodigy Zou Feng couldn’t possibly have no ideas of his own, could he?

Especially since almost everyone in Yuan Guang County now knew that this leader’s Poison Skills were truly formidable.

His fifty-strong Iron Blood Gu Poison Group, in particular, gave off an aura of being incomprehensibly powerful.

Seeing the expectant look in Tian Yun’s eyes, Zou Feng cleared his throat and said, “I have a method. There’s a decent chance it could poison Yuwen Shuo without him ever realizing it.”

“But I can’t guarantee this poison will be enough to make him ’die of illness.’ However, it should be possible to significantly weaken his ability to defend himself.”

Poisoning a Gang Qi Realm Martial Artist without them noticing was no easy feat.

In fact, if anyone other than Zou Feng had said it, it would have sounded like complete nonsense.

Seeing that Zou Feng wasn’t just speaking casually, Tian Yun didn’t voice any doubts.

“What preparations are needed?”

In truth, Zou Feng had been waiting for Tian Yun to take an interest in the matter. He took the opportunity to say, “Poisoning Yuwen Shuo isn’t difficult for me.”

“The difficult part is that I don’t currently have a suitable poison. As you know, Master Tian, a poison that can affect a Gang Qi Realm expert is a rare commodity here in Yuan Guang County…”

Tian Yun couldn’t help but roll her eyes at him. ’Isn’t that obvious?’

Zou Feng immediately continued, “Fortunately, a few days ago, I discovered a Demon Snake in the Jiayue River, about twenty li away!”

“Based on my research into toxins, this snake’s venom is guaranteed to make even a Gang Qi Realm Martial Artist suffer severe consequences.”

The implication was clear.

’He just wants me to help him catch the snake…’

After only a moment’s thought, Tian Yun said, “When it’s time to catch the snake, just let me know, General Leader. I will lend a hand if necessary.”

Although she agreed readily, it was clear Tian Yun didn’t mean she would be charging at the forefront during the snake hunt. Rather, she would act according to the situation.

If she saw that the Demon Beast was stronger than expected, she obviously wouldn’t see the need to take such a risk.

“Also, if we succeed in catching the snake, the poison-related parts are all yours, but I get first pick of the rest.”

The chance to get their hands on a powerful Demon Beast was a great temptation even for Gang Qi Realm Martial Artists, so naturally, Tian Yun wouldn’t let this opportunity slip by.

“No problem. With Master Tian’s help, I’m ninety percent certain we can catch the snake!”

This unexpected united front with Tian Yun was too good an opportunity to pass up.

Originally, even with full preparations and bringing along Seventh Grade Experts like Shi Yangming, Zou Feng had only been sixty to seventy percent confident he could capture the Demon Snake.

It couldn’t be helped. After all, the fight would be in the river. Even if he could suppress the Demon Beast, it would be a huge headache if it sensed something was wrong and was determined to escape.

And Tian Yun, a Half-Step Gang Qi Realm expert on par with Deng Guangxin, would greatly increase the chances of a successful capture.

As for having to share parts of the snake…

It didn’t matter. What Zou Feng needed most was the Snake Poison; the other parts were just a bonus.

Besides, Zou Feng wasn’t completely deceiving Tian Yun. After obtaining the Snake Poison, he definitely planned to use it for his cultivation, which, in effect, would be the same as preparing to poison Yuwen Shuo.

In fact, in the most optimistic scenario, even if it didn’t kill Yuwen Shuo, just poisoning him to the point where he was bedridden would be enough to solve their immediate crisis.

With their business concluded, Zou Feng saw a rare opportunity and began to ask Tian Yun for advice on matters of Martial Arts.

It wasn’t that he truly expected any profound guidance from Tian Yun; rather, Zou Feng wanted to better understand the methods of those who cultivate Righteous Skills like her.

After Entering Grade, Zou Feng had immediately joined the Black Flood Dragon Gang, surrounded by people who cultivated Evil Skills.

Later, when dealing with the Ten Directions Sect, he was dealing with another group of Cultists practicing Evil Skills.

Although he had assassinated Su Changqing of the Celestial Essence Sword Sect, his opponent had already been rendered bedridden by side effects, so it couldn’t be considered a true fight.

When he challenged the Fu Hu Martial Arts Hall, he did get a taste of other martial arts halls’ Cultivation Skills, but none of them were impressive and held little reference value.

But since Tian Yun had been the top expert in Yuan Guang County for a long time, her Righteous Skill must have some real substance to it.

He couldn’t practice it, but there was no harm in knowing his enemy—and himself.

’That fellow Yuwen Shuo looks down on Evil Skills so much. The Cultivation Skill he practices must be quite something…’

And so, the two talked late into the night by candlelight, enjoying the conversation immensely.

After all, Zou Feng wanted to learn about Righteous Skills, and Tian Yun wanted to learn about Poison Skills. In that sense, they hit it off immediately.

Besides, a Jianghu woman like Tian Yun, much like Bian Yixia, had long since lost the coy affectations of ordinary women and didn’t care at all about being alone with a man late at night.

Although Zou Feng had no such intentions toward her, if he were forced to choose, he would rather pick Tian Yun than Liu Xian’Er.

Setting aside how much trouble Liu Xian’Er was, the main reason was that he was long past the age where he would mistake a young girl for a treasure.

Besides, if he embarked on the Immortal Path in the future, he’d probably be surrounded by all sorts of so-called Fairies who were hundreds or even thousands of years old…

Seeing that it was almost dawn, Tian Yun finally took her leave.

“Arrange the snake hunt as soon as possible, General Leader. We only have half a month to deal with Yuwen Shuo…”

Zou Feng nodded. “Rest assured, Master Tian. Our lives are on the line. I would never treat this like a game.”

“However, as for creating an opportunity for the Ten Directions Sect, I’ll have to trouble you to put more thought into that, Master Tian!”

Tian Yun nodded with a smile, then reached out and swiped a hand across her clothes.

Zou Feng was opening the door for Tian Yun, so he didn’t notice.

But when he turned back after opening the door, he saw that Tian Yun, who had been wearing a dress, was now instantly clad in a tight-fitting night suit.

It was so fast it was like a transformation.

But Zou Feng quickly realized the night suit must have been worn underneath. She had just shed her outer layer in an instant to complete the “transformation.”

With a final fist-and-palm salute to Zou Feng, Tian Yun quickly vanished into the night.

Watching Tian Yun leave, Zou Feng couldn’t be bothered to sleep. Instead, he prepared to go and see if the Demon Snake would still be active in that stretch of water at this hour.

Of course, he didn’t forget to call Xiaolv to go with him.

In truth, Zou Feng could tell that although Xiaolv had acted terrified of the Demon Beast last time, it was actually quite greedy for the snake’s body.

That snake was absolutely a superior tonic that could allow its Tri-Colored Poison to evolve further.

Additionally, Zou Feng wanted to try putting the Snake Poison into the Treasure Bottle he had obtained earlier, once he acquired it.

To be honest, for one of the Immortal Treasures he had risked his life to obtain, its effects weren’t as great as Zou Feng had expected.

Admittedly, the poison in the Treasure Bottle had allowed Xiaolv to evolve and had provided considerable help for his Five Poison Fire Lotus Skill to advance to the Peak Realm.

But that still wasn’t enough for it to be called an Immortal Treasure.

Not to mention, now that the Exotic Poison in the bottle was used up, the thing was practically useless…

That was why Zou Feng always felt that he just hadn’t found the bottle’s true method of use.

He had put some other venom into the bottle before, but nothing had changed.

Therefore, he wanted to try putting a more potent venom inside to see if it would make a difference.

Not long after, Zou Feng was once again standing on the cliffside he had visited before, gazing out at the river’s surface.

He had just confirmed underwater that the Demon Snake was still frequenting the area.

’It feels like this creature has already claimed this stretch of water as its own territory…’

For Zou Feng, this was naturally a welcome development.

’In that case, there’s no need to wait any longer. I’ll capture this beast tonight, lest delays give rise to new problems…’

After returning to the Dragon Gate Boat, Zou Feng only rested for an hour before planning to begin his routine cultivation.

The first things to practice were, of course, the three Evil Skills he had learned not long ago.

For him at his current level, these three new Evil Skills were the type that showed results even with just casual practice.

Soon enough, the progress on his panel showed another gratifying increase.

“Blood Coagulation Claw (Entering the Hall and the Room), Progress: 12%”

“Enchanting Heart and Soul Stealing Technique (Entering the Hall and the Room), Progress: 76%”

“Dragon Scale Iron Armor (Entering the Hall and the Room), Progress: 20%”

To break through with all three skills to the Entering the Hall and the Room level in less than ten days was mainly because—aside from not having to worry about side effects—these three Cultivation Skills were highly compatible with the Evil Skills he already practiced.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible to progress at such an outrageous speed.

Among them, the Enchanting Heart and Soul Stealing Technique progressed the fastest, thanks to the Evil Eye Wine, of course.

After drinking this wine, the effects of cultivating this type of skill, which could influence an opponent’s mind, were exceptionally good.

The wine had also been indispensable in his cultivation of the Great Universal Hand and the Drunken Immortal Moon Gazing Step.

But while the progress was gratifying, the trouble was that the wine was gone…

Zou Feng looked at the now-empty wine jar, containing only a single eyeball, and shook his head helplessly.

Fast cultivation also meant fast consumption of resources.

Although he could add more wine to continue the infusion, it was now obvious that the eyeball no longer gave off that intensely evil feeling.

Before, the longer one looked at this eyeball, the more terrifying and heart-pounding it became.

But looking at it now, it just gave off a dull feeling…

So there was no point in expecting much effect from infusing more wine.

’Go find another Celestial Eye Cloud Pattern Deer?’

’Completely unrealistic. While there should still be other Demon Beasts on Qifeng Mountain, only one Celestial Eye Cloud Pattern Deer has ever been found.’

But Zou Feng had now deeply felt that these Demon Beasts were truly superior resources for cultivating Evil Skills.

This made him even more desperate to capture that Demon Snake.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep