Published at 25th of March 2019 11:01 pm

Chapter 1004: Paying Respects to the Founder

"Poison Soul Constitution?" The hall master paused for a moment before nodding.

The Poison Soul Constitution, as the name suggested, meant that one's soul was completely immune to poisons of all kinds. For several dozen millenniums, ever since the passing of the founder of the Poison Hall, there had never been another person in the world with such a constitution. If they could confirm that the fragmented soul did possess such a constitution, they could confirm that the other party was indeed the founder!

Even if that wasn't the case, an individual who possessed such constitution would surely be bound to advance to unprecedented heights in the future. It was just a matter of time before the other party became a 9-star poison master and made a mark for himself in the world.

With such thoughts in mind, the hall master didn't hesitate for too long before flicking his wrist to whip out a jade bottle.

This jade bottle was slightly different from the other bottles which he used to store his poisons. It was roughly the size of his palm, and there were bizarre inscriptions carved on its exterior.

The body of the closed eyes 'Sun Qiang' stiffened for a brief moment upon seeing the bottle, seemingly noticing something unbelievable. However, this anomaly only surfaced only for an instant. Before anyone could notice it, he had already reverted back to his impassive state.

"This is a poison which can easily exterminate a soul, the [Emerald Serenity Jaundice Poison]! It is concocted out of the killing intent of Otherworldly Demons and many precious herbs. It was left behind by one of the predecessors of the Hongyuan Empire Poison Hall, and it is powerful enough to even eradicate a Saint 4-dan expert's soul easily. Even with my current proficiency, I am unable to concoct such a medicine." the hall master explained.

"If you truly possess the Innate Poison Body, you will surely be able to consume the poison without suffering the slightest damage."

There was only one way to ascertain whether an individual possessed the Poison Soul Constitution or not—the consumption of poison.

As long as the other party was fine after the consuming the lethal poison, it would mean that the other party wasn't lying.

On the other hand, if the other were to die after consuming the poison, it would mean that they have successfully avenged the deceased elders of the Poison Hall. In a sense, the hall master and the others had nothing to lose from this.

"Very well."'Sun Qiang' nodded. With a hook of his finger, the jade bottle flew into his hands.

Without any hesitation, he uncorked the bottle, and a gush of malicious intent burst forth from it. It pierced right into one's mind, raising a violent storm in one's head.

The hall master and the others hurriedly turned their gazes over and noted that 'Sun Qiang' didn't show the slightest hint of weakness under the assault of the poison aura. Not only so, his face was gradually growing redder and redder, as if he had just consumed some extremely nourishing substance.

It was as if what he had been exposed to wasn't poison but a heavenly tonic instead.

"Legend has it that those who possesses the Innate Poison Body are able to advance their cultivation by consuming poison. As long as there is a sufficient supply of poison, one's cultivation and fighting prowess can be raised by leaps and bounds within a short period of time… Could the rumors be true?" an elder mumbled in astonishment.

The Innate Poison Body was extremely rare in this world, such that it was considered to be something that only existed in the legends. However, there were some rumors and records regarding it within the books. It was said that those who possessed the Innate Poison Body were able to derive power from coming into contact with lethal poison that could kill others easily, and as such, they were the most suited to become poison masters.

That was also the reason why many poison masters hoped to obtain such a constitution as well.

However, the Innate Poison Body was only effective on one's body whereas the Emerald Serenity Jaundice Poison was something that assaulted the soul. For the other party's soul to not be wounded but instead nourished by it, that reflected a lot…

There was little doubt about it at this point, the other party did possess the Poison Soul Constitution!

A person who possessed such a constitution and was capable of peering through the secrets regarding the great protective formation of the Poison Hall with a glance and challenging experts far stronger than him… Even if the fellow before him wasn't the founder, it was almost certain that there were intricate ties between the both of them.

"Is this enough evidence for you?" Just as the hall master was deep in thoughts, 'Sun Qiang's' voice sounded once more.

"I…" The hall master was still slightly hesitant.

It was certain that the other party possessed the Poison Soul Constitution, but to say that he was the founder of the Poison Hall… this entire matter was still a little too ridiculous for him to believe.

"Why? You still don't believe me? If not for Sun Qiang begging me earnestly for me to spare you, I would have all of you killed right here and now for your insolence!"

Hong long!

With a furious bellow, an incomparably powerful aura burst forth from 'Sun Qiang's' body. In that instant, the man before them suddenly felt like a divine being, an existence that was inviolable by any mortal.

The divine aura emanated by the other party erased all lingering doubt in the hall master's mind.

Without any hesitation, he kneeled to the floor and kowtowed, "Hongyuan Empire Poison Hall's hall master, Ruo Qingyuan, pays respect to the founder!"

In the fight earlier, it was apparent that none of them was a match for the other party… Wielding such overwhelming advantage over them, the other party could have just slaughtered them clean. There was no need for the other party to waste words explaining to them at all…

Perhaps, the founder might have really managed to survive through the ages by hiding a fragment of soul within a Seven Hearts Lotus! Perhaps, the person before them was really their founder!

Having reasoned all of this out, the hall master couldn't help but tremble in agitation.

For the founder to actually appear here… if the other party were to just offer them a bit of pointers, their fighting prowess would surely be able to soar by leaps and bounds! It wouldn't be long before the Hongyuan Empire Poison Hall was brought to greatness!

Without a doubt, this was a great opportunity to him.

"Hmph, it seems like there is some hope for you after all!" Seeing that the other party finally admitted his identity, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. Without opening his eyes, he lifted a finger and pointed at himself. With a grim face, he continued, "Sun Qiang over here is my savior. If not for him, my soul could have perished long ago. Thus, all of you here shall obey his words in the future. Take his commands to be those of my own as well. Anyone who dares to disobey him… don't blame me for not having mercy on you!"

"Yes!" Hall Master Ruo Qingyuan and the other elders hurriedly nodded.

Who would dare to disobey a direct order from the founder?

"Also, I was the one who killed those elders and wounded Vice Hall Master Ming. If you wish to exact vengeance, you are free to come at me!" Zhang Xuan continued.

"I dare not to…" Hall Master Ruo Qingyuan quickly shook his head fearfully. "Vice Hall Master Ming and the others are at fault for offending you, they only have themselves to blame for their own fate. We dare not to exact vengeance for them!"

"Hmph, I doubt you would dare!" Zhang Xuan harrumphed coldly as his voice gradually echoed into silence. A moment later, his eyes slowly opened once more, and his confusion was reflected clearly in his eyes. It was as if he was completely unaware in everything that had happened before, "What just happened? Hall master, I plead with you not to make things difficult for Elder Xu. He is really not to blame for this matter, all he did was to bring me here…"

Noting the look of bewilderment on Zhang Xuan's faces, everyone immediately realized that the founder's soul had gone dormant once more. Hall Master Ruo Qingyuan hurriedly clasped his fist and said, "Poison Master Sun, please don't worry. Our founder has already explained the situation to us. Elder Huang and the others have shown blatant disrespect to our founder, and they deserve the fate that fell upon them. On the other hand, for bringing our founder back to us, not only has Elder Xu not sinned, he is even a meritorious subject of our Poison Hall. Naturally, we will reward him generously! From today onward, he shall replace Ming Zhen as the vice hall master of the Poison Hall…"

"Vice hall master?" Elder Xu was stunned to hear the abrupt news. He hurriedly shook his hand and said in a fluster, "Hall master, I am unqualified to assume such a position!"

He was only a 6-star pinnacle poison master, and the minimum rank one needed to have to become the vice hall master was 7-star. If he were to be promoted haphazardly like that, the others would surely voice their complaints,

"Don't worry, they won't dare to do anything with me here. You are more than qualified to assume this role, so don't turn it down anymore!" Hall Master Ruo Qingyuan waved his hand.

The merit for escorting their founder back to the Poison Hall was immeasurable. Besides, they were still hoping to depend on Elder Xu to speak well of them before the founder on their behalf. Perhaps, their founder might just offer them some pointers on the Way of Poison under Elder Xu's coaxing…

"Alright then…" Seeing the other party insisting on it, Elder Xu eventually nodded in agreement.

He turned his gaze towards Sun Qiang once more, and this time, his eyes were filled with admiration.

This explained the other party's inconceivable immunity to and incredibly profound knowledge regarding poison! With just a short lecture, the other party was able to show a veteran poison master like him a whole new perspective towards the interpretation of the Way of Poison… The other party was indeed lucky to have the founder's fragmented soul in his body. Very few in the world would meet with such fortuitous encounter in their life.

"It seems like I managed to get past them for the time being…" Seeing that he had managed to convince everyone of his new identity, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. He turned his gaze towards the words on the bottle in his hand once more, and his eyebrows shot up once more.

Gesturing for the Hall Master Ruo Qingyuan to come over, he asked, "Hall master, do you know what language are these words in?"

The inscriptions on the jade bottle of the Emerald Serenity Jaundice Poison was extremely familiar. He had seen words identical to them before—the map which Wu Yangzi had left behind!

This was precisely the reason why Zhang Xuan was shocked when he scanned the bottle with his soul earlier. Unable to hold his intrigue back any longer, he asked about it.

"These inscriptions? I have no idea as well… Two thousand years, a hall master of our Poison Hall found an ancient booklet from an ancient domain, and the content of the booklet happens to be written in this very language. Due to our inability to interpret it, we were unable to figure out what it means… However, by a stroke of coincidence, we found that these words are exceptionally effective in sealing malicious intents and that sort. Thus, we began using it as a seal in the Poison Hall…" Hall Master Ruo Qingyuan replied.

"Ancient booklet? Sealing malicious intent?" Zhang Xuan frowned in confusion.

He had seen the same words on the map Wu Yangzi left for him… Were the purpose of those words to seal malicious intents as well?

"Is that ancient booklet still around? Is it possible for you… to allow me a look?"

After pondering for a while, Zhang Xuan was still unable to make sense of the situation. Thus, he decided to ask for the ancient booklet to take a look at it.

As there was no error in the coordinates and labels on the map, there was no particularly useful flaw reflected in the Library of Heaven's Path. However, if he could obtain the booklet with the other party spoke about, he just might be do a cross reference between the two and decipher bits of the language.

Furthermore, two thousand years ago… That coincided with the timing which the map of the ancient domain first appeared, according to what the Violetleaf King said. Could there be a connection between the two?

"Ancient booklet… Back then, many elites of the Poison Hall lost their lives to acquire that booklet. The hall master back then felt that the booklet was inauspicious, so he ordered for it to be buried with him upon his death…" Hall Master Ruo Qingyuan shook his head.

"The ancient booklet is buried?" Zhang Xuan frowned. "May I know where it is at the moment?"

"It is in the Mausoleum of Hall Masters…" Hall Master Ruo Qingyuan replied.

"I see." Hearing that it was located in one of the forbidden grounds of the Poison Hall, Zhang Xuan decided to ask no further.

If he were to ask too much about the matter, he just might incur the other party's suspicions.

After questioning everything there was to questioned, Hall Master Ruo Qingyuan ordered his men to swiftly prepare a new accommodation for 'Sun Qiang'.

As for the matter regarding the poison master examination, considering that the other party was able to even poison his Lifebound Venomous Bug to death, there was no longer any purpose to the examination. Thus, he helped the other party apply for the 7-star poison master emblem straight.

"I will be heading to the Compendium Hall to study for a while…"

Considering Zhang Xuan had received his 7-star poison master emblem and his identity as the founder, there was no longer for him to sneak into the Compendium Hall anymore. With the current esteemed standing he had, he could just walk in openly.

"Yes!" Hall Master Ruo Qingyuan and the others didn't dare to voice any word of objection. They escorted the other party to the entrance of the Compendium Hall, and after seeing the other party entering the premises, they glanced at one another meaningfully.

"Vice Hall Master Xu and the others, follow me to my residence for a while."

"Un!" The others nodded.

Not too long later, they arrived at a courtyard. Hall Master Ruo Qingyuan activated a formation to isolate their auras before looking deeply at the crowd.

"Everyone, what are your views on the matter today?"

"Since we can confirm that the soul in Sun Qiang's body does indeed possess the Poison Soul Constitution, we can be certain that there is an intricate link between him and our founder."

"Indeed, that is the Poison Soul Constitution we are talking about! Other than our founder, there has never been another person in the one known to possess such a constitution!"

The other elders nodded in agreement.

They had a deep trust in 'Sun Qiang's' identity as the founder of the Poison Hall.

"Vice Hall Master Xu, what are your views on this matter? Can you share the details of how you met Poison Master Sun with us so that we can analyze the matter?" Hall Master Ruo Qingyun asked.

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