Chapter 266: Chapter 191: Capital City Divine Catcher (Part 2)

Therefore, one could only imagine how bountiful the rewards would be when all the offerings from those sects were combined.

Kang Shixiang’s advanced age made his hope of advancing to a High Grade very slim.

But it wasn’t entirely hopeless.

Especially if he could personally slay Zou Feng this time and obtain that incredibly generous reward, he might just be able to make another attempt at reaching a High Grade in a short time.

As for the injuries he sustained from Zou Feng and Bian Yixia’s Combined Skill…

They were only minor. After taking the Xuanhuang Sect’s exclusive elixir and resting for a few days, he had now almost completely healed.

Additionally, Kang Shixiang was certain Zou Feng was still lingering on Qifeng Mountain thanks to his Sect Leader’s Stargazing Skill.

Once a Martial Artist reached a High Grade, their Gang Qi transformed into True Qi, and many of their techniques ascended to the level of Skills.

Of course, the power of the Xuanhuang Sect Leader’s Stargazing Skill wasn’t so absurdly powerful that it could predict the exact time and place where Zou Feng would appear.

It could only roughly determine that he was still lingering on Qifeng Mountain during this time.

Being able to determine this much was, in fact, enough.

For an ordinary Martial Artist, finding someone deep within Qifeng Mountain would be like finding a needle in a haystack.

But for a Fourth Grade Martial Artist, this was not a difficult task.

Especially since Kang Shixiang had brought a helper this time…

“Elder Kang, my apologies. I don’t know why, but for the past two days, my stomach has been a bit…”

A weak voice drifted over, and a burly man with a neatly trimmed beard slowly emerged from the bushes behind Kang Shixiang.

Kang Shixiang’s frustration stemmed precisely from this burly man.

This man was supposed to be a great asset he had specifically sought out to team up with. Who would have thought that despite also being a Fourth Grade Expert, the guy would have an upset stomach at the drop of a hat?

’He’s probably not sick. It’s more likely something went wrong during his cultivation, or some old, hidden injury is flaring up.’

The burly man’s name was Xu Tao, and he was renowned as the Capital City Divine Catcher.

Kang Shixiang had teamed up with him, but his Fourth Grade cultivation was a secondary consideration. The main reason was that Xu Tao was exceptionally skilled at investigation and tracking.

He could analyze faint clues that others would miss and extract a large amount of valuable information.

Many of the Great Yan Dynasty’s major cold cases in recent years were solved with Xu Tao’s involvement.

In short, with Xu Tao’s help, finding Zou Feng on Qifeng Mountain would not be a problem.

However, who could have predicted that Xu Tao had this kind of problem, causing considerable delays every day.

Even worse, after two days of having the runs, the man was obviously growing weaker.

’If we suddenly run into Zou Feng, forget helping, he’ll probably just drag me down…’

“Chief Xu, just hang in there a little longer. Didn’t you say earlier that the brat Zou Feng should be nearby?”

Xu Tao nodded. “That’s right. He’s most likely in this swamp. We must be ready at any… Ouch, ouch!”

“Wait… wait for me…”

Clutching his rear, Xu Tao hastily turned around again and ran toward the bushes, which already stank to high heaven.

Seeing this, Kang Shixiang fought the urge to just tell the guy to get lost and go home.

But if Xu Tao really left, the thought of facing Zou Feng alone made Kang Shixiang nervous.

Although he considered himself stronger than Yuwen Boxi, a Poison Cultivator like Zou Feng was simply unprecedented. His methods were too absurd.

Especially since this swamp was already filled with poisonous miasma, making it home turf for a Poison Cultivator. Kang Shixiang was even less confident about fighting Zou Feng one-on-one here.

Furthermore, their brief clash last time had shown Kang Shixiang that Zou Feng was on the verge of advancing to the Fourth Grade.

’This guy is already so ferocious at the Fifth Grade. If he’s allowed to break through to the Fourth Grade, what’ll happen then?’

’So I have to slay him quickly, before he truly matures, to avoid any more trouble.’

Just as he was wondering what to do, he heard a sudden howl from Xu Tao in the bushes.

“Blood… Blood!?”

“How is this possible? I… I’m actually shitting blood!!”

It was no wonder Xu Tao was making a fuss. As a Fourth Grade Martial Artist, his physical body had long been tempered to an inhumanly tough state.

He should have been immune to all diseases, making it impossible for him to get hemorrhoids or any other illness that could cause blood in the stool.

So, seeing such an abnormal situation, Xu Tao was naturally shocked to the point of heart palpitations.

Kang Shixiang couldn’t stand the howling any longer. He gritted his teeth, braved the stench, and leaped to the edge of the bushes. “Chief Xu, don’t panic! Try my Xuanhuang Sect’s Cyan Emperor’s Hundred Herbs Pill!”

With that, he poured a green Elixir Pill from a vial and tossed it to Xu Tao.

The Cyan Emperor’s Hundred Herbs Pill was every bit as effective as the Celestial Essence Sword Sect’s Nine Yang Primordial Energy Pill, if not more so.

It was especially miraculous when it came to healing injuries.

Not only could it heal external and internal injuries, but it could even alleviate mental trauma.

After all, the pill contained a vibrant life force, and taking it would unconsciously fill a person with hope.

The moment the Cyan Emperor’s Hundred Herbs Pill appeared, the previous stench was immediately overwhelmed by a unique fragrance.

Even the poisonous gas that occasionally drifted over from the swamp seemed to have met its natural enemy, dissipating even more rapidly.

“Thank you, Elder Kang!”

Xu Tao caught the pill, his face a mixture of surprise and delight.

While Xu Tao had genuinely been frightened by his condition, with his level of self-control, he wouldn’t have made such a scene.

There was clearly an element of acting involved.

His goal, naturally, was to bait out Kang Shixiang’s Cyan Emperor’s Hundred Herbs Pill.

In short, if Kang Shixiang had been unwilling to part with it, Xu Tao was prepared to use the excuse of his dire physical condition to pack up and go home.

After all, no matter how much he coveted the reward from the Demon Slaying Order, he wasn’t about to be stubborn and risk his life when he knew there was something wrong with his body.

But with the Cyan Emperor’s Hundred Herbs Pill, he could now continue to play it by ear…

He swallowed it in one gulp. Just a moment later, an expression of immense relief spread across Xu Tao’s face, and his stomach instantly settled down.

At the same time, deep in the swamp, Zou Feng, who was meditating on the back of a toad the size of a bathtub, abruptly opened his eyes.

’Huh?’

A feeling prompted him to immediately open the List of Gods.

He saw that the name of the current number one, Xu Tao, which had been dim, had suddenly brightened.

’What the hell? Something can actually counteract the side effects of my Five Poison Fire Lotus Skill cultivation?’

The reason he had prioritized making Xu Tao number one on the list wasn’t a random choice.

When he had returned to his base earlier, Zou Feng had chatted with many of the veteran members of the Black Flood Dragon Gang.

It seemed like idle chatter, but his first goal was to see if there were any clues about the other three Cultivation Skills corresponding to the Black Tortoise Sea-Suppressing Force.

His second, of course, was to investigate the backgrounds of the new “big brothers and sisters” on his list.

Although these old Jianghu veterans didn’t recognize all the names Zou Feng seemingly brought up casually…

…as the Capital City Divine Catcher, Xu Tao was naturally very famous. The veterans immediately launched into a nonstop, detailed account of his exploits.

Zou Feng only needed to focus on one point: Xu Tao was a Chief Constable who was exceptionally skilled at tracking.

’Clearly, he’s the one on my list most likely to find me first.’

In that case, there was nothing more to be said. He was immediately served up the number one spot.

Although a Fourth Grade Expert couldn’t be tormented to death in a short time, his Five Poison Fire Lotus Skill was already at a high level of progress towards the Peak of Perfection. Combined with the Giant Spider Poison he happened to have on him, the cultivation would absolutely make the man feel ecstatic.

Seeing Xu Tao, who had been getting weaker by the day after having the side effects transferred to him, suddenly perk up, Zou Feng easily deduced that the man had probably taken some kind of Miracle Elixir.

’Unfortunately, when it comes to cultivation side effects, this is just a temporary fix, not a permanent cure.’

’Time to continue his training.’

’After all, this swamp is just too perfect for cultivating the Five Poison Skill…’

The toad beneath Zou Feng was actually alive, but it didn’t dare move a muscle.

The beast knew full well that if it made the slightest movement, it would be instantly subject to Refinement.

Zou Feng had been in this swamp for a day and a night.

He was lingering here again to search for several strange poisonous creatures raised by Biyou Palace.

With his sensitivity to poisonous creatures, he had determined after arriving in the area that there was a high probability the toad among the Five Poison Creatures could be found here.

Unfortunately, although he had found many large toads after entering the swamp, he still hadn’t found a truly worthy Toad King.

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