Back when he was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, his Fragmented Poison Body was still unable to inflict fatal damage on a Golden Core cultivator like Teng Wuji. But as the Fragmented Poison Body advanced time and time again, Li Yan's heart began to fill with anticipation. A mid-rank cultivator might seem like a powerful expert in their own right, but for Li Yan, it was still far from enough.
Even with the cultivation speed of the True Scripture of Gui Water, it still didn't give him much confidence for what was to come.
He needed more unorthodox methods to continuously strengthen himself, because he had to find Zhao Min, he had to cross realms to return home, and the path ahead was fraught with difficulties.
A few days later, Xing Ming's figure appeared in a shop in Sacred Demon City. Su Yuan and Xie Tongyi were not too surprised by his arrival.
With such a major event having occurred here, they had already anticipated that the Sect Master would likely make a personal trip when they sent the message back.
"Put the matter of the Sacred Demon Palace aside for now. You can report the latest situation to me later. Is Elder Zhang here now? Take me to him at once!"
Xing Ming was not one to dither; he directly ordered the two.
Su Yuan and the other man exchanged a glance, a look of "I knew it" in their eyes.
'The Sect Master really didn't know about Elder Zhang's methods. Otherwise, he would have first asked about the progress of the deal with the Sacred Demon Palace!'
"Oh, Martial Uncle Zhang is cultivating in the pavilion out back!" Su Yuan replied hastily.
The moment Xing Ming stepped into the shop, Li Yan, inside the backyard pavilion, abruptly opened his eyes.
'It seems some things are making this Senior Brother uneasy!'
Not long after, Xing Ming and Li Yan were sitting opposite each other. Su Yuan served tea, and after closing the door with Xie Tongyi, stood guard outside.
Xing Ming smiled and first took a sip of tea. At the same time, with a gentle flick of his wide sleeve, a barrier of light lit up in the room. Li Yan, acting as if he felt nothing, also smiled and raised his tea.
It was a restriction that isolated Divine Sense probes and sound from passing through. Matters concerning Zhang Ming's secrets were naturally not for others to hear, not even sect disciples.
"Junior Brother Zhang, you've kept me in the dark for so long! I never thought your attainments in alchemy were so profound that even the three from the Ghost Flood Dragon Clan combined were no match for you alone! It's truly breathtaking, truly breathtaking!"
As soon as he entered, he had been observing Li Yan's complexion, finally confirming that his aura was long and steady, completely devoid of any poisoning symptoms. This first brought him a sense of relief.
He also began to doubt his previous judgment. Could it be that his opponent was indeed a true grandmaster alchemist?
Li Yan gently set down his teacup, a smile on his face.
"Senior Brother, why do you say that? I had no intention of deliberately hiding anything. At the same time, I don't have many attainments in alchemy; I only know the basics. The cultivation method I practice is on the path of a Poison Cultivator, and it's a rather 'clumsy and primitive' method of cultivation. Since childhood, my Master had me soak in various medicinal herbs containing potent poisons to cultivate my physical body and temper my flesh and blood. The body refining traits I usually exhibit are just a result of the cultivation method, purely an additional body-tempering effect."
"Oh, you... you are a Poison Cultivator?"
This time, Xing Ming was truly astonished. For the past few decades, they had all thought he was a Body Cultivator, and his every action had been exactly like one.
At the same time, he understood what Zhang Ming meant by a "clumsy and primitive" poison cultivation method. It was a self-mutilating style of cultivation.
Human cultivators, unlike many demonic beast races, were not born with poison. Human cultivators needed to temper themselves through acquired training, using various methods to induce mutations in their bodies.
If they could obtain a mid-to-high-level poison cultivation method, their path of cultivation would be much smoother. Otherwise, the methods of some poison arts could only be described as chilling.
Faced with Xing Ming's surprise, Li Yan merely smiled without speaking.
After a long while, the look of astonishment on Xing Ming's face slowly faded. He was truly shaken. His opponent was actually a Poison Cultivator.
And to have a Poison Cultivator by their side for so long without any of them noticing—the thought alone sent a bone-deep chill through his heart.
A Poison Cultivator killing someone of a higher realm was relatively easier and more convenient than for other types of cultivators.
After he calmed the turmoil in his heart, he hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Then your methods in the duel?"
Su Yuan had mentioned in the jade slip that Elder Zhang had taken out a few pills that looked like Qi Recovery Pills. Just those few pills had been enough to utterly defeat the Ghost Flood Dragon Clan.
A poison so potent that even a Pseudo-Nascent Soul Poison Cultivator like the Elder Dragon Flood Dragon could not withstand it—how could Zhang Ming not be a grandmaster alchemist?
Li Yan's expression was normal as he said, "Those were just a few Qi Recovery Pills. The cultivation method I practice has tainted my Spirit Power and flesh with some poison. It was merely an infusion of Spirit Power!"
He spoke with exceptional calmness, but Xing Ming, at his side, already felt his scalp tingle and the roots of his hair stand on end.
He thought about the chair he was sitting on, the table his hands were resting on, and the fact that this was the very room where Zhang Ming cultivated. He instantly felt a prickly, itching sensation all over his body.
Although he wasn't a Poison Cultivator, he was no stranger to them.
They were generally divided into two types. One relied on refining poison pills, venoms, and miasmas to kill their opponents.
The other type practiced cultivation methods that were simply perverse. They began cultivating from a young age, constantly gathering various herbs to create poisons and absorbing them while circulating their energy. Some even went as far as to capture various highly poisonous demonic beasts from the world and use their essence blood for plucking and nourishing cultivation.
The latter type of Poison Cultivator truly couldn't refine poison pills, but they had refined themselves into a living poison, making them even more terrifying than the former type. The former type still had to use certain methods to conceal their actions when releasing poison, so a careful opponent could still take precautions.
But the latter type, wherever they went, could poison silently with a mere gesture. Everywhere they passed, they could slaughter the masses as if it were child's play.
One had to know that the Elder Dragon Flood Dragon's true form was a poisonous Ghost Flood Dragon, and he was also particularly skilled in the art of alchemy. Yet even a Poison Cultivator like him couldn't withstand a Qi Recovery Pill infused with Zhang Ming's Spirit Power.
'Just how many poisonous herbs and creatures has he refined to make his flesh and blood so malevolent that even a peak third-rank Ghost Flood Dragon cannot face him directly!'
No matter how Xing Ming looked at him, he couldn't see that Zhang Ming followed the latter path of poison cultivation.
He had seen this type of Poison Cultivator before. They often cultivated themselves into something neither human nor ghost, either with skin covered in sores or with a gray, twisted, and ferocious face. They tended to cover themselves in large cloaks, disliking to show their true faces.
But looking at Zhang Ming, apart from his dark skin, his features even held a hint of otherworldly grace. Xing Ming simply couldn't associate the two.
Quickly glancing around, Xing Ming subconsciously shifted uncomfortably, as if this could dispel the imaginary filth.
Li Yan chose to ignore this and continued to speak faintly, "Therefore, if the sect wishes to sell poison pills to the Sacred Demon Palace, it would be best for the sect to refine them itself. It's no problem for me to provide a few occasionally, but nine times out of ten, there will be no antidote!"
Xing Ming naturally understood the meaning behind Li Yan's words. He himself was a living poison, relying on his own body to resist external poisons. He couldn't very well use his opponent's essence blood to refine an antidote, could he?
To this, Xing Ming could only nod. He didn't press further about the matter of his opponent being a Poison Cultivator. The fact that the other party hadn't mentioned it all this time meant he didn't want to reveal too much.
Moreover, his opponent was now a Golden Core cultivator of the same realm as himself, no longer the little Foundation Establishment cultivator he could once knead at will.
Although his opponent was only at the Initial-stage Golden Core, Xing Ming would rather face a Pseudo-Nascent Soul cultivator than fight a Poison Cultivator of the same rank.
Even though the opponent might not be able to harm him, the unpredictable methods of a Poison Cultivator were a major headache to deal with.
With that, Xing Ming seamlessly changed the subject.
"Junior Brother, the matter with the Ghost Flood Dragon Clan is certainly not over. What are your thoughts on this?"
It was clear that Xing Ming no longer considered Zhang Ming an outsider, but directly expressed his thoughts.
Li Yan was not too surprised that Xing Ming had immediately cut to the most crucial point of their current defense.
A person like Xing Ming, who could patiently lie in wait for the sake of his sect for nearly a hundred years, was definitely first-class in all aspects of cunning, and absolutely ruthless enough. Of course, he would be able to foresee the situation they would have to face next.
"Of course, it would be best to eliminate the future trouble completely. A few days ago, I also went to the Ghost Flood Dragon Clan in secret, but I couldn't find an opportunity to strike. Their defenses are exceptionally tight!"
"Oh? Junior Brother went there alone?"
This surprised Xing Ming again. He could understand Li Yan thinking of wiping out the Ghost Flood Dragon Clan, given his understanding of Zhang Ming's calmness and intelligence.
It would be incomprehensible if he didn't have such thoughts.
But for Zhang Ming to go to their sect alone, this made Xing Ming pause for a moment and ask subconsciously. However, he quickly understood everything.
Zhang Ming didn't go to the Ghost Flood Dragon Clan solely for the sect's sake. The casualties had all been at his hand; the primary target of their revenge would be Zhang Ming himself.
Li Yan nodded. He didn't mention that he was able to infiltrate the Ghost Flood Dragon Clan's grounds, only stating the result.
Xing Ming quickly recovered and considered for a moment.
"I have also had contact with the Elder Dragon Flood Dragon a few times. Their clan's true form is the poisonous Ghost Flood Dragon; they are not to be trifled with. His alchemy skills are also extremely high, roughly on par with my own. But if we were to compare refining poison pills, I am simply no match for him. He is sinister and ruthless, with an extremely vindictive nature. Let's put it this way: when he was young and out gaining experience, he once had a conflict with a cultivator. Due to his lack of strength, he was injured by that cultivator. At that time, the other party did not kill him but let him go. Yet the Elder Dragon Flood Dragon firmly committed that person's appearance to memory. It was just a chance encounter. Given the vastness of the Forsaken Continent, without knowing the other party's specific background, finding each other again would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. But the Elder Dragon Flood Dragon never thought of letting the other party go. He kept the matter buried deep in his heart and cultivated bitterly. Decades later, he finally succeeded in congealing a Golden Core. The first thing he did afterward was not to continue cultivating in seclusion, but to begin traveling the world in search of that cultivator. This search lasted for seventeen years, and he still couldn't find the person. Many of his friends, including his clansmen, urged him to give up. But each time, he would only stay in the sect for a day or two before setting off again in a new direction. This continued for thirty-three years until he finally found a clue: that person was likely a cultivator from the 'Fire-Eyed Human-Faced Spiders.' After that, relying on this single piece of information, he indeed found that Fire-Eyed Human-Faced Spider cultivator in a city of the Black Demon Clan. But by then, that person's cultivation was already at the Late-stage Golden Core. So, the Elder Dragon Flood Dragon rented a house in that city and settled down. He spent nearly twelve hours a day spying on the other party, patiently waiting for an opportunity. A full four years later, he finally succeeded in poisoning and killing that Fire-Eyed Human-Faced Spider cultivator. And this is just one of the things he has done. Most of the other things he's done would make one's hair stand on end. My purpose in telling you this is to say that your thinking is correct. This person absolutely must not be allowed to live."