Waves
Mu Yu spent the days inside the dragon vine’s stomach strategizing his escape plan. The most challenging task was escaping from a group of cultivators who were heads and shoulders above him.
“Mu Yu, don’t you think there might be something useful among the goodies we took from Ageless Ku Mu?” voiced Xiaoshuai.
Mu Yu was able to view the luminous jewel and thick Poison Scripture without any hassles inside the dragon. Ageless Ku Mu added some simple diagrams to the scripture, but the bulk of the thickness lied in the tremendous text volume. The contents page alone took up dozens of pages. Ageless Ku Mu classified poisons from rank one to nine, with rank one poisons being the weakest to rank nine being the most potent.
“Traditionally, people with shallow knowledge respect but distance themselves when they see different poisons. Poison and medicine are identical in nature in that they are both herbs. Whether it saves a life or takes one is a product of one’s usage. By that account, if one has a grasp on all venoms in the world, they can treat all ailments. I dedicated my life to cultivating poison. If you have the fortune of obtaining this manual, you must pursue the study of poison. Else, you will never inherit my true teachings.
“He left it lying around because he wanted someone to pick it up – unbelievable. Study poison, my foot. I’m counting on it to escape with my life.”
Mu Yu skipped over the foreword section, which was eight pages of lessons on the approach one needed to master poison. Mu Yu, not privy to Ageless Ku Mu’s reputation, couldn’t appreciate the fact that the scripture also explored the physiological effects of countless poisons in addition to passing on implementation. See, understanding how poisons impacted the human body equipped one with the knowledge to treat and cure them. Doctors would love to learn from the manual. In regards to Mu Yu, the knowledge was trivial if he could just transfer poison to trees.
Mu Yu went through the pages and pages of the contents section. According to the manual, the vial of “Wind Dispersion” that he had was classified a rank two poison. Its final state was a green powder. Not interested, he skipped over the components it consisted off and read the effects it offered.
As its name suggested, Wind Dispersion activated once it was exposed to oxygen. Once active, it turned into a colourless and odourless poison wafting through the air. Once one breathed it in, their spiritual energy would disperse, and it would inhibit them from collecting spiritual energy. Anyone below Primordial Infant Ream would die if they inhaled it.
Mu Yu stored away Wind Dispersion carefully unlike when he took it out, afraid he’d inadvertently release it into the air and kill himself.
Poison name: Light Shaft. A transparent poison that emits a blinding light upon making contact with light. Used at a distance, victims will suffer transient vision impairment. Used at close range, the victims’ eyes will burn…
Poison name: Flame Explosion. The pill will explode once activated with spiritual energy. If one consumes it, they will never be able to utilise their spiritual energy again unless they want to blow themselves up.
“This man is a maniac,” Mu Yu commented. “Now I’m thinking we only escaped because we were lucky. Imagine if the tree wasn’t after an inheritor but a victim.”
After researching a number of poisons, Mu Yu decided on a few impactful ones that were relatively useful for escaping pursuers.
In the meantime, sects that found out about the dragon vine’s existence gave the order to win the bid for the creature at all costs.
Huai Baiwan reshuffled the order of items offered. It didn’t require much thinking to realise everyone would ignore anything offered and wait for the dragon vine.
Lie Shang, who was among those who received an invitation to the auction, remarked, “A dragon vine? You have my attention.”
“I’m surprised you’re interested,” Ximen Buxing, sitting opposite Lie Shang, expressed. Ignored, he went on. “I heard it ate a Golden Core Realm cultivator. I certainly am thankful my luck isn’t so bad.”
“I imagine Pill Cauldron Sect and Earth Sovereign Sect want dibs on it.”
“Sad for them, then. It’s not going to be a walk in the park. I bet we might even see an offer we’ve never heard of before.”
Meng Xin, sitting not too far from the pavilion Lie Shang sat, kept tabs on his location. She visited the island in spite of being aware he wouldn’t pull punches with her no matter when or where.
“Senior Sister, is Lie Shang really that formidable?’ Rou Anna, who was also invited after ascending to Primordial Infant Realm, asked.
“He is. I couldn’t keep up with him the last time we exchanged blows.”
“Really?” Rou Anna questioned, frowning. “Just where is he from?”
“Either way, he’s not someone we should take lightly,” answered Meng Xin, training her gaze in the direction the dragon vine’s voice originated. “We must win the bid for the dragon vine.”
“But we came here to bid on something else…”
“A pill concocted using a dragon vine would leave a life prolonging pill in the dust. A dragon vine that has evolved into a dragon is incredibly important for our sect elders. After all, it supposedly doubles one’s lifespan. There isn’t a shadow of doubt other sects are thinking the same thing,” Meng Xin clarified in a resolute tone.
Two young men, one short and one tall, joined Xiaohua at Pill Cauldron Sect’s building. The tall one, Bie Wenxuan, would be complimented as a gentleman and representation of a striking and talented man. In fact, he was among those invited to the island. The shorter man, Shi Yun, was rather gloomy and not someone people would be willing to strike up a conversation with. Shi Yun wasn’t regarded very highly in his sect, nor was he invited to the island.
With an irritated undertone, Xiaohua questioned, “Shi Yun, why are you here?”
“I brought him in. He is here to pass on Patriarch’s message,” informed Bie Wenxuan.
“What message?” Xiaohua asked, displaying a significantly more friendly expression when conversing with Bie Wenxuan.
Shi Yun returned the favour with a smirk. “Patriarch ordered you two to bring back the dragon vine regardless of the price.”
Xiaohua didn’t reply, implying Shi Yun was stating the obvious.
Over at Earth Sovereign Sect’s hall, Cai Lie, elder brother of Xing Gao, asked, “Xing Gao, are we also joining the contest for the dragon vine?”
Xing Gao replied, “They say it’s as strong as a Body Severing Realm cultivator. If we can tame it, great. If we can’t, it’s still a treasure. We must bag it.”
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