"This is not a Divine Sense poison," Yan Longzi said slowly, looking at the crystal screen.
The other few Peak Masters and elders who were watching Li Yan's match also nodded. Others might not be able to see it, but they were great Golden Core cultivators. Although it was through a crystal screen, they had seen the method Li Yan used.
"So this is the Fragmented Poison Body? But I have truly never seen this poison before. It should be a mixed poison," an elder said.
"The Fragmented Poison Body truly lives up to its name. Have them bring those six spirit beads over for a look. But it is a pity," the Elder Hua from Never-Parting Peak said faintly.
Hearing this, Yan Longzi and the others also showed a hint of regret on their faces, but then they still nodded. They were also extremely curious about this. After all, they really wanted to see the three great poison bodies for themselves.
Yan Longzi gave the order, "Have the supervising disciple bring those spirit beads over." The discussion of these few people made the seven or eight elders who were watching other matches also look over here.
Li Yan looked at the fallen Lu Qiutong but did not approach, nor did he dispel the protective spiritual light around his body. At this time, the six spirit beads, having lost Lu Qiutong's spiritual power support, had long fallen to the ground. Just as Li Yan was about to slowly approach Lu Qiutong, a cultivator in his twenties walked in through a distortion in the blue light of the battle stage's shield, emanating a powerful pressure. This surprised Li Yan, but he immediately understood. At this time, who else could enter here besides the supervising Foundation Establishment cultivator?
That Foundation Establishment cultivator glanced at Li Yan, also somewhat surprised in his heart. He had been watching up close, unlike Wei Chituo's group of Foundation Establishment cultivators who couldn't perceive Li Yan's methods through the crystal screen. But even if he had seen it, if he hadn't later seen Lu Qiutong fall, he couldn't be sure that some of the traces he saw were Li Yan's doing.
"You've won this match. You may leave," he said. With a flick of his sleeve, the unconscious Lu Qiutong, along with the six spirit beads on the ground, flew into the air and then vanished from the spot.
Hearing this, Li Yan was finally relieved. He dispelled his protective spiritual light, glanced around, and after releasing his flying spirit artifact, he flew out.
At this time, the cultivators from various areas below the stage who had watched this match were still discussing. Some were discussing what poison Lu Qiutong had been afflicted with; the disciples of the Malevolent Spirit Sect were always full of curiosity and a desire to explore unknown poisons. And another group of people had taken notice of Li Yan and were privately asking about his identity.
Li Changting was discussing with Zhao Min. "Junior Sister Min, you've had more contact with Li Yan. Do you think his poison body can possess a Divine Sense poison?"
Zhao Min thought for a moment and slowly spoke. "It is possible. After all, it is one of the three great poison bodies of ancient times. But I feel that Lu Qiutong might not have been afflicted with this poison. A cultivator's Divine Sense is their most sensitive part, one could say it's comparable to a cultivator's second brain. With Junior Brother Li's current cultivation, his control over the poison must not be mature yet. If Lu Qiutong's Divine Sense didn't immediately know upon contact with the poison, that would only mean the poison is formless and traceless. But Lu Qiutong controlled those six spirit beads for a good dozen or so breaths. Why did he suddenly fall? There was no warning at all. Logically speaking, in those dozen or so breaths, his Divine Sense should have at least felt some discomfort, not a sudden outbreak like this. In that case, it can only mean that there might be no problem with his Divine Sense; it should be his body that has a problem." As Zhao Min spoke, she lowered her head in thought, revealing her long, slender, jade-like neck, while also kicking the ground with the tip of her foot.
Li Yan flew back to the area of Little Bamboo Peak. Wei Chituo and the others looked at Li Yan with a smile. Lin Daqiao just came up and lightly patted Li Yan's shoulder, giving him a thumbs-up.
"Little Junior Brother, that was one of the top fifty from Lord Lao Peak. You've won your first battle."
Beside him, Gong Chenying's beautiful eyes looked at Li Yan. Seeing Li Yan also look over, she let out a soft "hmm," as if she was quite satisfied.
Even Yun Chunqu glanced at Li Yan at this time, but none of them asked Li Yan how he had won. Cultivators all have their own secrets. If others can see through them, that is their ability. If they can't, they won't ask, because that is someone else's trump card or secret.
Li Yan also smiled and nodded at them, then gave a deep bow. "This is all thanks to the help of my senior brothers and sisters these past few days." The others naturally understood that Li Yan was referring to the matter of "feeding him moves." Although Li Yan had won using his own methods, his combat evasion, sensing the opponent's aura lock-on, and so on, were all things they had helped him with these past few days. Although a few short days couldn't help much, they had still benefited Li Yan greatly. This was a treatment that other peaks did not have.
Then Li Yan silently walked to the side and sat down cross-legged. What he needed most at this moment was to comprehend the battle he had just gone through and to recover his spiritual power.
Thinking of his victory, Li Yan also inwardly called it a "fluke." He hadn't used any Divine Sense poison, because he didn't have this type of poison among the twelve in his Fragmented Poison Body. Instead, it was a poison he had named himself—"Branches of the Same Breath." This poison could be used not only with water-element immortal arts but also with the other elements. When used, it would form a faint gas or smoke. If this gas was inhaled, it would quickly dissolve into the bloodstream and spread to all the meridians and collaterals in the body with the flow of blood, continuously devouring the oxygen in the blood until it was all gone. During this period, because it was a gradual devouring process, the host would not notice it at first. Because whether in battle or daily activities, oxygen is consumed. Occasional discomfort would only be attributed to the intensity of the battle. By the time the host realized something was wrong, it was often too late. At this point, the body would die of suffocation due to the disappearance of oxygen in the various meridians and collaterals. Hence, Li Yan named it "Branches of the Same Breath." The reason Lu Qiutong felt a stuffiness in his chest and his head felt as heavy as lead was due to severe oxygen deprivation. It was a good thing he was at the ninth layer of Qi Condensation; if he were a low-level cultivator, he would probably have lost consciousness after a few breaths.
Because this poison revealed a faint gas when used, it was not easy for the opponent to fall for it. Therefore, one had to choose the right moment. Li Yan had a spontaneous idea when he saw Lu Qiutong use the "Sky-Covering Sand Rain" containing the "Lamp-Piercing Poison." Due to his lack of combat experience, he had carelessly inhaled a breath of the poison Lu Qiutong had hidden. But he didn't know if it was because the "Lamp-Piercing Poison" was not potent enough, or for some other reason, but it actually had no effect on him. When he judged that what he had inhaled was the "Lamp-Piercing Poison," he was also alarmed. But the next moment, the dizziness and weakness described in the texts did not appear. At that moment, he had a flash of inspiration. He simply pretended that because he had carelessly inhaled a breath of the "Lamp-Piercing Poison," his movements had become sluggish and he couldn't dodge Lu Qiutong's "Sky-Covering Sand Rain." He then used the "Water-Cloud Pouch" to resist it. And when the water and fire elements clashed, a cloud of steam rose. At this time, Li Yan had taken the opportunity to release "Branches of the Same Breath." How could outsiders see that there was another faint gas mixed in with the steam?
And at that time, Lu Qiutong had already judged that Li Yan's main spirit root was water-element, which countered his own fire-element main spirit root. He immediately adopted a forceful attack method and then rushed forward to attack Li Yan with a palm strike, thus entering the area and falling for the trap.
As for the poison that later attached to the spirit beads, it was another type of Fragmented Poison, which Li Yan named "Maggot on the Bone." It had strong adhesive and corrosive properties. But Li Yan's purpose was only to block and corrode those six spirit beads, and on the other hand, to buy time for "Branches of the Same Breath" to take effect.
The reason Li Yan said it was a "fluke" was because Lu Qiutong had been careless. He was deceived by the steam produced by the clash between Li Yan's "Water-Cloud Pouch" and the "Sky-Covering Sand Rain." He had only held his breath for a moment when he was chasing Li Yan. After Li Yan dodged his palm strike, he stood there and released the spirit beads to pursue him. And at that time, all his attention was attracted by the abnormality of the spirit beads in the rain screen. The steam in the sky had begun to dissipate, so he of course subconsciously started to breathe normally. At this time, there was still some "Branches of the Same Breath" poison in the air. By breathing continuously, he also inhaled a lot into his body, and after a few dozen breaths, it took effect.
The faint gas of "Branches of the Same Breath" was almost identical to the gas produced by the clash of water and fire, but upon careful distinction, there was still a difference. In the eyes of those great Golden Core cultivators, this was very obvious. But it was difficult for Foundation Establishment cultivators to notice. Even the supervising Foundation Establishment cultivator who saw it on the scene only understood after thinking for a while. He initially also thought that Lu Qiutong had been afflicted with the strange poison on the spirit beads. Those Golden Core elders felt it was a pity that they couldn't get a firsthand sample of this poison to study. But they also couldn't just ask Li Yan to reveal his secret alone. First, it was a great taboo in the cultivation world. Second, that would be like using their position to pressure him. They estimated that Wei Zhongran would definitely not agree if he found out.
At this time, on the floating pavilion, Lu Qiutong stood below with a look of shame, while the group of elders either held the spirit beads with their palms protected by spiritual power to observe them, or were bowing their heads in thought.
Yan Longzi's palm flashed with spiritual light, and he was also holding a spirit bead, observing it carefully. After a while, he looked up at the anxious Lu Qiutong below and thought for a moment. "You may leave. After we have examined these six spirit beads of yours, we will naturally remove the poison on them. You should be able to recover them after nurturing them for a while."
Lu Qiutong was overjoyed to hear this. He had no idea what to do about the poison on his spirit beads. Although he had only probed it with his Divine Sense, he was sure he had never seen it before and didn't know how to remove it. He had been thinking of asking someone to find an elder to help him remove it afterward, and it had to be quick. Otherwise, if it was delayed, even if the poison on the spirit beads was removed, the spirituality would probably have been completely corroded, and they would be completely scrapped. Although these six spirit beads were not his best spirit artifact, they were very handy to use. Now that the Sect Master had said so, no matter what they wanted to do, they wouldn't covet his kind of spirit artifact. Of course, this was something he couldn't ask for more. Overjoyed, he kowtowed and then turned to leave. But as he turned, he firmly remembered the name Li Yan in his heart.
Seeing Lu Qiutong leave, Yan Longzi looked at the people who were either looking at the spirit beads or deep in thought and said, "You have all seen the poison that was in Lu Qiutong's body just now. Although we didn't get a firsthand sample of the poison's formation, we at least know the tyranny of this poison from his blood. As for the poison on these few beads, I have also never seen it before."
The Elder Hua from Never-Parting Peak had been silent with her eyes closed, thinking. At this time, she opened her eyes upon hearing the words. "The poison in Lu Qiutong's blood, I've calculated, should be able to be refined from twelve kinds of herbs, 'Bittersweet Wood,' 'Silybum Seed,' 'Green Kudzu Powder'..., and three kinds of mid-stage first-tier demonic beast organs, 'Green Goat's Cheekbone,' 'Bloodwind Eagle's Eye'... But since it's not the original poison firsthand, it's still hard to say whether its initial form was gas or liquid."
At this time, another sturdy, red-haired, large man frowned and said, "A few of what Junior Sister Hua said are the same as mine, but I don't think 'Bloodwind Eagle's Eye,' 'Silybum Seed,' and 'Green Kudzu Powder' can be used. Although 'Bloodwind Eagle's Eye' can quickly dissolve into the blood and has a certain oxygen-consuming effect, it belongs to the fire element. When it is released to form a gas, it is very easy to reveal its tracks. And when it travels through the meridians, it will burn them, making it impossible to be traceless..."
"Senior Brother Zeng, what you said is wrong. I think Junior Sister Hua's choice of 'Bloodwind Eagle's Eye' is very reasonable. The burning problem you are worried about can be neutralized with 'Silybum Seed.' On the contrary, the combination of 'Bittersweet Wood' and 'Green Kudzu Powder' is somewhat problematic..." another elder from Four Symbols Peak said with dissatisfaction.
"Senior Brother Fan, you have been looking for so long. Do you have any opinion on the poison attached to this bead? I think this poison can be made with eighteen kinds of herbs..."
Yan Longzi held the spirit bead and looked at the people below who were arguing endlessly, and couldn't help but smile bitterly. Then he focused his gaze on the gray water stains on the spirit bead and muttered to himself, "Fragmented Poison Body, Fragmented Poison Body. Two types of poison actually require so many rare herbs, and even demonic beast organs to be synthesized. Interesting. Little Junior Brother, it seems your insight has always been good."
When Lu Qiutong had been sent in unconscious just now, that Foundation Establishment cultivator had come in with a look of shame. When he had first brought Lu Qiutong out, he had tried to neutralize the poison in his body, but after circulating his spiritual energy through his body once, he felt it was very difficult to deal with. Even if he could neutralize it, it would probably take a few days, and then Lu Qiutong wouldn't have to participate in the later matches. So he could only send him over along with the few spirit beads. In the end, the great Golden Core cultivators here also each probed with their spiritual power before an elder made a move to neutralize the poison. This was the difference in realm. Now, the twelve poisons in Li Yan's Fragmented Poison Body were still growing and would continue to strengthen and evolve. Perhaps one day, they would grow to a point where even these elders would be helpless.