Therefore, even though the other materials had long been gathered, it was uncertain when he would be able to refine "Pill Annihilation Powder" again.
In fifty years, "Elder Longjiao" had used three "Pill Annihilation Powders," killing a total of seven Golden Core peers and helping to build his fearsome reputation.
Although this pill had the ability to corrode and penetrate spiritual power, if it were shot directly at an opponent, the opponent would discover the abnormality upon contact with their spiritual power barrier.
They would immediately surge with more spiritual power to defend, or they could defend by sacrificing a magical treasure to directly destroy the pill.
Therefore, the casting of a poison cultivator's arts also depended on the environment and timing. This time, the two sides had agreed to swallow it directly. Although "Elder Longjiao" was somewhat reluctant to part with this pill.
But for the benefit of the sect, and to let an enemy Golden Core cultivator die a miserable death, he still decided to use "Pill Annihilation Powder" to show others his methods.
The moment "Elder Longjiao" spoke, the matter was decided. Although Jiao Wuxing and Xi Ye were displeased, they had no more objections.
"Alright, then let's swear by our inner demons and settle the rules and outcome of this bet now."
Li Yan immediately began to draw a complex rune in the air, simultaneously inscribing the bet between the two sides within it.
After the rune was drawn, he immediately broke the skin of his fingertip and dripped a drop of essence blood into it. A demonic, bloody light glowed on the surface of the rune floating in mid-air and then vanished in a flash.
He then raised his hand to gesture to the other party.
"Please have a look. If there are no objections, then just drip your blood."
They hadn't done this before because it was just an ordinary duel. In fact, a poison duel was also a type of duel. Under that broad rule, making an oath didn't have much meaning.
Now that the two sides were having a poison duel, neither side would be willing to swallow the poison pill first. The person who was a step slower could just wait for the other party's poison to take effect and then give up swallowing the poison pill or liquid.
After swearing by their inner demons, there would be no such problem.
Seeing the other party agree, Li Yan's movements were as smooth as flowing water. The attitude he showed towards life, one could even say it was indifference, and this of course included his own life, as if he often did this.
This made everyone present certain of the madness hidden beneath the other party's calm surface.
'Has this Elder Zhang often had poison duels with others before? And is he really a master of alchemy?'
Su Yuan and Xie Tongyi were both from "Falling Star Valley." They knew more and did not think that Zhang Ming would risk his life for the sect.
So their first feeling was that this Elder Zhang was confident.
The other Golden Core cultivators suddenly felt that "Elder Longjiao's" move seemed a bit problematic, but they couldn't be sure, so they all watched the situation develop quietly.
The three from the "Ghost Flood Dragon Clan" probed the rune floating in the air with their divine sense. A moment later, they did not find that the other party had tampered with the rune.
"Elder Longjiao" nodded to Jiao Wuxing and the other two. The three of them no longer hesitated. After breaking the skin of their fingertips with spiritual power, three drops of dark green blood flew into the rune.
The moment the three drops of blood flew into the rune, its light became dazzling. In the next moment, it quickly vanished into the void, absorbed by a corresponding law of heaven and earth.
Immediately, Li Yan said no more. He cupped his hands to Great Master Wanxiang and the other two, and with a flash of his figure, he swept onto the platform in front of him.
This platform was dozens of li in size and was used for cultivators to duel. Now it seemed, it was completely unnecessary.
Li Yan and the others could even have a pill duel right where they were, but they still chose to go onto the stage.
As another three figures flew onto the platform, formation lights around the platform lit up in an instant. Those Demon Guard soldiers were still conscientiously activating the protective restriction.
After the few of them landed on the platform, there was no more nonsense. With a flash of spiritual light in "Elder Longjiao's" hand, a small green jade bottle appeared in his hand.
This was a "Pill Annihilation Powder" that he had secretly prepared just now. He did not want to pour out the medicinal pill with spiritual power in front of Zhang Ming.
That way, the other party might be able to roughly guess that the "Pill Annihilation Powder" had a corrosive effect on spiritual power through his actions and the changes in the surrounding spiritual energy.
On the other side, Jiao Wuxing and Xi Ye also took out two small jade bottles and held them in their hands.
In this kind of poison duel, both sides would usually not throw the poison directly to the other party to swallow. That way, the other party could first sense the poison with their spiritual power and divine sense, and thus be prepared.
Instead, one's own side would cast a spell and shoot out the poison.
The other party could not dodge in any way, or they would have to open their mouth and swallow the pill shot by the other party as agreed, or let the poison liquid land on their skin.
Then, they fixed their gazes on Li Yan, who was a hundred zhang away.
Li Yan's face was calm. He patted the storage pouch on his waist, and three green lights flew out. In the next moment, they landed in his hand.
He just glanced at his palm, and without waiting to cast a spell like the three of them, he threw them out with a flick of his wrist.
At the same time, he said softly.
"This doesn't require any spell. You just need to swallow these three pills separately."
As his voice fell, three pills had already appeared in front of the three of them, "Elder Longjiao" and the others. The three of them quickly focused their gazes and probed with their divine sense.
A moment later, the three of them's gazes flickered repeatedly.
"Be careful, this person is very strange!"
"Elder Longjiao" immediately sent a voice transmission to Jiao Wuxing and Xi Ye.
"This looks like a 'Qi Recovery Pill' that Foundation Establishment cultivators usually take?"
"And all three are the same pill, no difference!"
The surprised and uncertain voices of Jiao Wuxing and Xi Ye also echoed in the minds of the three of them.
"Elder Longjiao" was still repeatedly scanning the three pills with his divine sense. The more he looked, the more confused he became.
They had all guessed that Zhang Ming would use different poisons on the three of them respectively. Only then could he effectively restrain the three of them.
Otherwise, as long as one of them successfully detoxified, the other two would instantly get the detoxification method.
But the result was beyond the three of them's expectations. Although Zhang Ming had released three pills at the same time, in their senses, they were exactly the same.
What puzzled the three of them the most was that these three pills did not look like poison pills, but more like the "Qi Recovery Pills" that Foundation Establishment cultivators often used to restore their spiritual power when they had no spirit stones.
And under their repeated scans with their divine sense, they did indeed sense the relatively rich spiritual energy emanating from within the pills.
"This..."
For a moment, the three of them were all in a daze. They had never seen this kind of poison pill.
And Li Yan on the opposite side was watching them quietly. He didn't need any poison pills or liquids to administer his poison. He just needed an intermediary. But he couldn't just take out a spirit artifact and let the other party touch it.
So, after a little thought, he took out three "Qi Recovery Pills" and held them in his hand. He had secretly injected no less than five different potent poisons into each of the three pills.
Of course, these poisons were all ones that Li Yan was already extremely familiar with. He knew their characteristics like the back of his hand. They could blend with each other and had a synergistic effect.
The momentary daze of "Elder Longjiao" and the other two was also seen by the crowd below. They also saw the pills thrown out by Li Yan. But because the platform's formation restriction was activated, they could not use their divine sense to detect the poisons sacrificed by both sides.
But from the current expressions of both sides, it was clear that the three from the "Ghost Flood Dragon Clan" did not recognize Zhang Ming's poison pill.
"Is that Zhang Ming asking the other party to take the pills and swallow them himself? He's really arrogant, just recently promoted to Golden Core, hehe..."
The third elder of the "Four-Eared Macaque Clan," with his stooped back, stared at the stage with burning eyes.
"It seems so. Why do the pills thrown by this person look like the 'Qi Recovery Pills' used by cultivators below the Golden Core realm?"
The clan leader of the "Jade Water Crocodile Clan," a stout cultivator in a green robe, said with his hands behind his back and a frown.
"It should just look like it on the outside. It's mostly used to confuse the enemy. But I've never seen or heard of a poison pill that looks so much like a 'Qi Recovery Pill'..."
Another Golden Core cultivator's confusion was no less than others.
On the other side, Jie Fengkai turned to look at Great Master Wanxiang.
"Great Master, this Zhang Ming is not like what you said. How does he look more belligerent than me, and as if he doesn't care about the other party at all?"
"Amitabha, this... when Little Friend Zhang talked with me, he was indeed humble and well-mannered at all times, and was kind and gentle. This... this... this poor monk is also unable to know for a moment!"
Wanxiang also saw Li Yan throw the pills over without casting any spell, with an attitude of letting the other party take them as they pleased. That way, once the pills were in the other party's hands, "Elder Longjiao" and the other two would definitely probe them first.
This way, they would lose the initiative.
...
"Fellow Daoists, you may cast your spells!"
Li Yan's voice startled the three people opposite him. Then, Li Yan opened his mouth as the three had instructed.
A stern look flashed across "Elder Longjiao's" face. He flicked the bottom of the bottle with his finger, and a gray-brown pill shot towards Li Yan's mouth like a streak of light.
The pill was powerful, looking like a shooting star or a flying arrow, as if it could pierce through everything. But the moment it approached Li Yan's face, it paused, its momentum greatly reduced.
"Elder Longjiao" had also hidden his intentions when he administered the poison.
"Pill Annihilation Powder" had a corrosive effect on spiritual energy. When he flicked the pill, it started off extremely fast.
So, even if the "Pill Annihilation Powder" came into contact with the spiritual energy in the air and caused some abnormalities, in the eyes of others, it was due to the friction between the two at high speed.
But he couldn't really use this pill as a hidden weapon. Otherwise, if Zhang Ming saw that the situation was not good, he would naturally dodge. So the speed of the pill was greatly reduced at the last moment when it was approaching, and in the next moment, it smoothly flew into the other party's mouth.
He wanted to make the other party lose their guard as much as possible.
Xi Ye, on the other hand, threw a ball of thick green liquid into the air. In the next moment, it sprinkled on Li Yan's exposed neck.
Jiao Wuxing even shot the jade bottle together with its contents at Li Yan. When the purple jade bottle was three inches from Li Yan's nose, the stopper of the bottle flew off, and a ball of gray mist was inhaled by Li Yan.
The spiritual power Li Yan had laid in his mouth only blocked the pill for a moment. But in the next moment, the spiritual power in his mouth was instantly corroded and penetrated by the pill.
Although he was prepared, after losing control, he was instinctively shocked. At the same time, a slightly bitter taste came from the tip of his tongue.
Then the pill instantly turned into a stream of juice and flowed into his throat.
At the same time, a stabbing pain came from the skin on Li Yan's neck, as if tens of thousands of steel needles were simultaneously piercing into his body.
If it were just that, it would be fine. But at this time, Li Yan actually felt a wave of dizziness in his head. This was caused by the gray mist he had inhaled as instructed.
The moment the gray mist entered his body, it went straight to his brain.
"A poison that burns the sea of consciousness, a potent poison of at least the fifth grade. He's really willing to part with it!"
Li Yan instantly knew the other party's means. This was a set of cooperation designed by the three of them. One attacked the internal organs, one forcibly destroyed Li Yan's physical body.
And in order to prevent Li Yan from timely circulating his power to resist, Jiao Wuxing simultaneously assisted with an attack on his sea of consciousness, wanting to poison Li Yan in one fell swoop, leaving him either crippled or dead.
Seeing Zhang Ming's body tremble slightly on the opposite side, and his whole person entering a daze, a cold smile appeared in the eyes of "Elder Longjiao" and the other two.
But they did not delay any longer in the next moment. After wrapping the pills suspended in front of them with spiritual power, and after sensing them with their divine sense, they sensed them again with their spiritual power.
After making full preparations, they opened their mouths and sucked, each sucking a pill into their abdomen.