Chapter 292: Chapter 204: A Flavorful Sword Qi

’That was close…’

He had just chosen to directly begin the Refinement of the Scorpion Gu King Poison. Although he had anticipated its extraordinary nature, he had still underestimated the ferocity of its toxicity.

The Refinement began, and after only three breaths, the name of a Fifth Grade “big brother” on the list was instantly erased.

Zou Feng immediately realized that a Fifth Grade “big brother” was nowhere near enough to withstand the poison’s side effects, so he quickly switched to a Fourth Grade one.

Among the Fourth Grade “big brothers,” Zhao Ke’s name was relatively high on the list, so he was naturally the one to take the spot.

He had thought that would be enough. After all, a Fourth Grade from the Celestial Essence Sword Sect would undoubtedly be durable.

To Zou Feng’s surprise, however, “Brother Zhao” didn’t last long either, his name quickly vanishing from the List of Gods.

Fortunately, Zou Feng had been keeping a close eye on the list and hurriedly sent up another Fourth Grade, finally completing the Refinement process.

However, while this last Fourth Grade “big brother” wasn’t killed off, his name had dimmed considerably.

The Scorpion Gu King Poison was truly terrifying…

’If I get the other types of Gu King poisons in the future, it means I’ll have to kill off more than one—or even two—Fourth Grade ’big brothers’ each time.’

’Such a consumption rate is simply outrageous.’

’Good thing I have the Demon Slaying Order right now. My reserve of ’big brothers’ is substantial, so I don’t have to worry about this for the time being.’

In truth, another reason even the Fourth Grade “big brothers” were dying so quickly was that Zou Feng had been a bit too hasty.

Strictly speaking, the Poison of the Gu King was not something a Fourth Grade Martial Artist should even attempt to refine.

Otherwise, Ding Gang, who had obtained the poison long ago, wouldn’t have simply hidden it away without using it.

But although the “big brothers” on the list had suffered, the benefits Zou Feng gained certainly didn’t let their sacrifices go to waste.

“Five Poison Fire Lotus Skill (Peak of Perfection) Progress: 58%”

The Five Poison Fire Lotus Skill, Zou Feng’s main Cultivation Skill, was currently the most difficult one for him to advance.

Before refining the Poison of the Gu King, its progress was only at 52%.

Now, it had jumped a full six points.

As for his combat power, the improvement was even more tangible.

Now, the power of both his Scorpion Stance and his Crimson Poison Needle had more than doubled.

An idea suddenly struck Zou Feng, and he spread his hands.

Blood-red, thread-like Gang Qi flickered in and out of existence at the tips of his ten fingers.

The next moment, Zou Feng gave a light wave of his hand toward the stone coffin.

With a faint CRACKLE, the stone coffin was instantly sliced into neat chunks of rubble.

The cuts were so smooth they looked as if they had been made by a Magical Artifact that could slice through metal like mud.

Zou Feng could never have done this before.

While his Gang Qi could execute the “Love That Can Stretch and Contract at Will” to gain a spiderweb-like stickiness…

…it couldn’t be used for cutting, and thus had no direct offensive capability.

But now, after integrating the greatly enhanced “Crimson Poison Needle,” the power of these Gang Qi Threads had become incredibly sharp.

Zou Feng then waved his hand again, slicing up the rest of the stone coffin for a while. He suddenly felt as if he were performing something like the “Southern Dipper Water Bird Fist.”

Of course, it wasn’t, but the effect was remarkably similar.

’If I reach the True Qi Realm in the future and evolve this move even further, I might even be able to pull off something like a “Dimension Slash”…’

’But for now, I can already launch a poison attack that bursts from within an enemy’s body with one hand…’

’…and with the other, I can use “Crimson Cutting” to shred their body from the outside.’

’An internal and external combination… just thinking about it, I know it’s going to be ferociously powerful.’

In reality, once a Cultivation Skill reached the Peak of Perfection, every single point of progress produced a significant effect in actual combat.

Previously, even if a Third Grade came, Zou Feng wouldn’t have been afraid.

But he couldn’t guarantee he could turn the tables and kill them.

But now…

After searching the tomb chamber once more and finding nothing else, Zou Feng didn’t linger and set off back to Qingchuan City.

His mission for Biyou Palace was successfully completed. Now, he would have another period of time where he wouldn’t have to worry about anything else and could focus on his Cultivation.

He couldn’t neglect his Cultivation of the Dragon and Tiger Kan and Li Skill. After all, this Cultivation Skill not only benefited him but also his women.

Furthermore, Zou Feng had a feeling that once he had achieved a certain level of mastery with this Skill, his agreed-upon dual cultivation session with Gongsun Jinghong after he advanced to Third Grade might yield an unexpected and pleasant surprise…

Two days later, a disciple from Biyou Palace brought news.

After Ding Gang’s body was taken back, his identity was immediately confirmed.

The Yin Yang Man was one of the Biyou Palace Master’s five personal maids, and his codename was “Scorpion.”

Many years ago, Ding Gang had taken an opportunity while on an outing to run away.

Somehow, he had broken the Five Poison Heart Devouring Curse and had not been heard from since.

This was all the information Zou Feng could obtain for now.

There was likely more to the story of why Ding Gang had suddenly fled Biyou Palace, but Zou Feng obviously had no way of finding out at the moment.

For successfully completing the mission, Biyou Palace naturally had a corresponding reward for him, but he would have to return to Biyou Palace to claim it in person.

Zou Feng wasn’t in any hurry about this.

No matter what, the reward for the mission couldn’t possibly be better than the Poison of the Gu King. It would probably just be something ordinary.

On the other hand, Murong Yunhai, to thank Zou Feng, had indeed sent over another jar of “Wangchuan Road.”

Although he hadn’t intended to ask for a reward when he saved Murong Yunhai, since it had been delivered, it would be rude for Zou Feng to refuse.

After accepting the “Wangchuan Road,” Zou Feng made a special trip to visit Murong Yunhai and offer some words of comfort.

He told him not to worry too much about what happened with Ding Gang.

After all, those destined for greatness don’t sweat the small stuff. What was a little grievance like this?

But when he arrived at the City Lord’s Mansion, he found that Murong Yunhai had already emerged from the shadows, appearing calm and at ease, no longer troubled by the matter at all.

Zou Feng could only conclude that perhaps, after calming down, Murong Yunhai had opened the door to a new world…

「Three more days passed in the blink of an eye.」

As expected, Zou Feng’s Corpse Luo Heart Scripture advanced to the Realm of Refining Fire.

This meant the Skill could finally be used in actual combat.

As for the Dragon and Tiger Kan and Li Skill…

“Dragon and Tiger Kan and Li Skill (Entering the Hall and the Room), Progress: 75%”

Considering he’d been toiling day and night, this progress wasn’t surprising to Zou Feng.

However, Zou Feng could feel that while the Skill advanced quickly in the early stages, it would likely be impossible to maintain such a promotion speed after reaching the Realm of Synthesis and Mastery.

Unless…

Shaking his head, Zou Feng decided not to think about things so far in the future. For now, the priority was getting the Dragon and Tiger Kan and Li Skill to the Realm of Synthesis and Mastery.

In addition, another Cultivation Skill he had started practicing after joining Biyou Palace was also progressing rapidly.

“Scorpio Demon Armor Technique (Integration and Mastery), Progress: 66%”

This Cultivation Skill could be practiced so quickly because its quality was rather ordinary to begin with.

But it didn’t matter. As soon as this Skill reached Refined Skill, Zou Feng planned to use it to fuse into his Tribulation-Indestructible Body.

This would allow the Tribulation-Indestructible Body to also break through to the Peak Realm.

“General Leader, someone from Biyou Palace is here! They said they have urgent business with you!”

Outside the practice room, a member of the Hongxing Gang reported.

’Someone’s here again?’

Zou Feng was a little surprised. He had completed his mission, so he should have had a few months of free time.

There was no reason for anyone to be looking for him.

But when he went out to look, he saw that the visitor was Zhi Shuang, the one who had been in charge of taking care of his daily needs back in the Silk Cave.

And unlike her usual lively self, Zhi Shuang’s expression was clearly anxious.

“Shuang’Er, what are you doing here?”

“Elder Zou…”

Seeing Zhi Shuang hesitate, obviously concerned about the presence of outsiders, Zou Feng had her come inside first.

“Elder Zou, this is bad! The Cave Master… she’s been getting more and more strange lately…” Zhi Shuang said frantically after they were inside.

Zou Feng frowned slightly. “Be specific. How is the Cave Master being strange?”

“Well… she’s been spending a lot of time alone in the forbidden area of the Silk Cave, and she flies into a rage at the slightest provocation. Two of my senior sisters were… by the Cave Master over a trivial matter.”

“The Cave Master was never like this before. During the competition for the True Inheritor position, most of the senior and junior sisters hoped she would become the Cave Master of the Silk Cave.”

“But now…”

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