Chapter 226 - 224: Mother and Son

Chapter 226: Chapter 224: Mother and Son

This was a clear example of the difference between the Daoist and Demon Sects.

The Daoist Sect pursued the Unity of Heaven and Man, learning from nature. They cultivated their true selves by comprehending the myriad things of the world, searching for their fundamental truth.

The Demon Sect, however, was direct and straightforward. They were never bound by such principles, thinking only of how to use everything in the world for their own ends to strengthen themselves.

With other people around, it was inconvenient for Chen Qingyang to act. He was in no hurry and decided to simply wait patiently.

"Alright, all of you may leave. I need to meditate."

At the Temple Master’s command, the maids filed out. He then closed his eyes to focus his spirit and began to meditate.

A small Soul Banner floated before him, True Qi flowing ceaselessly across its aquamarine surface—the very essence of Nether Qi.

Chen Qingyang had once used the power of a similar Soul Banner to send his Conscious Fish deep into the Netherworld Land, so he was quite familiar with it.

Seeing the Temple Master enter a deep meditative state, the Conscious Fish quietly departed and returned to Chen Qingyang’s side. Chen Qingyang held a small bottle, from which he poured a good amount of powder that the Conscious Fish then swept away.

Silently, it slipped through the crack under the door and deposited all of the powder into the wine cup. Inside was a vibrant, fine grape wine.

The Temple Master didn’t seem to control his appetites much. Just a moment ago, Chen Qingyang had seen him gulp down the wine as if it were water.

’He probably won’t be able to meditate for long before his cravings get the better of him, and he’ll drink this entire cup.’

Chen Qingyang had used a large amount of Star Meteor Powder. He’d poured in whatever he had left, and it had now completely dissolved into the wine. Even if it didn’t kill the Temple Master, it would come close.

This way, any Protective Magical Treasure he might have would be hard-pressed to do its job.

’My only regret is that I never seriously studied the Poison Dao. Last time at the True Register Elixir Platform in Fulu Workshop, I saw an extremely potent Poison Pill.’

’At the time, I thought such a poisoning method would be too easily detected, so I didn’t pursue it. Who would have thought I’d end up needing it for a Demon Sect Disciple?’

He waited with extreme patience once more. Although the man loved his pleasures, he was incredibly serious when it came to his cultivation. Dawn was approaching, yet he still hadn’t woken.

Growing anxious, Chen Qingyang had his Conscious Fish transform into a gentle breeze and give the door a push.

CREEEAK. The sound didn’t wake the meditating man, but the maids outside hurried over. The sound of their footsteps startled him from his meditation.

"What’s going on!"

Being interrupted while entering a Mysterious Realm would certainly make anyone furious.

The maid didn’t dare argue. She immediately kowtowed and said, "Temple Master, the door opened on its own, I don’t know how. It is this servant’s fault..."

The Temple Master waved his hand, and a wave of power shot out, sending the maid flying. She slammed heavily onto the ground, blood streaming from her mouth. "Hmph, don’t make this kind of mistake again."

What else could the maid do but repeatedly agree?

Still fuming, the Temple Master picked up the cup of wine and drank it all down. GLUG GLUG GLUG. He let out a long breath, but then his face turned ashen.

Chen Qingyang knew the effects of Star Meteor Powder well. It primarily damaged the meridians, eventually causing one’s Qi Mechanism to seize up, leading to death. Xu Baoling had fallen victim to this same poison, which had ruined her physical body.

The Temple Master didn’t dare hesitate. A cyan glow immediately erupted around him as he circulated his power to resist the poison. If Chen Qingyang were to strike now, it would surely be a fatal blow.

But after careful consideration, he held back. ’Even if the poison doesn’t kill the Temple Master today, I absolutely cannot strike him directly myself.’

In the end, the Temple Master couldn’t withstand the poison’s power. He sprayed out a mouthful of blood, his face turning from ashen to deathly pale. The aura around him nearly dissipated, and his Divine Soul seemed on the verge of emerging from his body before shrinking back.

Chen Qingyang knew very well that struggling was useless at this point. There was a problem with the body. If the Divine Soul didn’t want to be dragged down with it, its only option was to abandon the vessel and flee.

Just as he was waiting for the Temple Master’s Divine Soul to leave the body, he saw the man fumble for an Elixir and try to put it in his mouth.

With a single glance, Chen Qingyang identified it. It was undoubtedly an antidote, and a very potent one at that, which further proved the Temple Master had an extraordinary background.

The toxicity of Star Meteor Powder wasn’t actually that strong against an Essence Condensation Third Realm cultivator; its effectiveness relied entirely on the massive dose. If he took an antidote now, he would surely survive.

Left with no choice, the Conscious Fish carefully, without making any contact with the Temple Master, swept the Elixir away.

The disturbance was so faint, like a gentle breeze brushing against the skin, that it wouldn’t provoke any reaction. The Temple Master was no exception.

"Who... who is it..."

At this point, the Temple Master finally sensed that something was wrong and began to panic.

"Guards! Guards! ...You wretched wench!" He screamed for help, his voice filled with despair.

Unfortunately, Chen Qingyang had anticipated this and had already enveloped the entire room with his True Essence. Naturally, no sound could escape.

He tried to get outside, but his body was barely moving. He scrambled and crawled but only made it a few steps before fumbling for a Jade Talisman in his robes. He wanted to activate it, but the poison had already sealed the True Qi in his meridians. Since Chen Qingyang wasn’t attacking him directly, the item wouldn’t activate against Chen Qingyang on its own.

"Spare me... I’ll give you anything you want..."

A dead silence. No one answered him. Not even sounds from outside could get in.

The Temple Master remained curled up on the floor, his face a ghastly blue-black, his eye sockets turning dark. The Jade Talisman slipped from his grasp and clattered to the ground.

His Divine Soul finally left his body and tried to rush outside, but a ball of fire was already there to engulf it, killing it instantly and completely.

Today’s experience taught Chen Qingyang another lesson: when dealing with those who possess Protective Magical Treasures, it was best to slowly kill them with poison.

These Magical Treasures weren’t truly theirs to begin with, making them extremely difficult to activate with their own True Power. With poison sealing their meridians, it became even harder.

Essence Condensation Third Realm, 3,653 Immortal Seedlings acquired. Even among Third Realm Cultivators, he had had a boundless future.

[Danxia Nourishing Truth Sword Manual: (31491/34000)]

[Available Immortal Seedlings: 39]

He spent them on the Danxia Nourishing Truth Sword Manual. He was now just a hair’s breadth away from a breakthrough in his cultivation, faster than he had expected. ’Just one more kill, and I can stop.’

From his observations over the past few days, the Demon Sect Disciples weren’t fools. With so many strange occurrences, someone was bound to start getting suspicious of this place.

He couldn’t stay here much longer himself.

He didn’t dare take the Jade Talisman, nor did he touch the other Magical Treasures. This had been his method all along. He only used the Conscious Fish to take that Jade Talisman and stuff it in a hidden spot under the table.

After that, he picked up the corpse, checked that no other traces were left in the room, and quickly vanished into the night.

A moment later, a ball of fire erupted in a valley a hundred li away, cleanly disposing of the body.

Unbeknownst to Chen Qingyang, just as dawn broke over Fuyuan Temple, the sound of a Golden Bell suddenly rang out. It was extremely urgent and traveled an immense distance.

The Disciples in the temple were all discussing it. Something major must have happened for everyone to be gathered so anxiously.

In the same grand hall, nearly everyone in the temple with a cultivation base had gathered. However, the seat of honor was no longer occupied by the Temple Master, but by a gorgeous woman with an extremely grim expression.

As she sat there, a powerful pressure radiated from her, forcing everyone below to their knees. At the very front, the four maids trembled, whimpering but not daring to make a sound.

"Besides these four, who else saw my son?"

Her roar pressed everyone even lower. The people below were scared into silence; who would dare to speak?

"Hmph!" With a cold snort, a wave of Profound Metal Qi burst forth, causing the entire hall to tremble.

Below, a middle-aged man hesitated for a long time before finally stepping forward. "Reporting to the Master, we all saw the Temple Master yesterday. We do not know what has happened to him."

The Master didn’t answer him, only asking, "Where did you see him? What did he say and what did he do? Tell me the truth, or not even your own masters will be able to protect you!"

The man knelt down again, lowering his head. "Last night, the Temple Master summoned us to discuss temple matters. He was especially happy about nurturing two Saint Heirs for the Sect. Nearly everyone in this hall saw him!"

This Master wore a sky-blue Ni Chang dress. Her long hair was styled into two cloud-like buns, adorned with numerous gold ornaments. Her figure was graceful, and she was in the prime of her life. She stared with wide, almond-shaped eyes, sweeping her gaze over everyone present.

"Your Temple Master is dead!"

The kneeling man immediately looked up. "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! The Temple Master never even had a chance to leave, how could he be murdered for no reason? Besides, he had the Protective Magical Treasure you gifted him, Master. Anyone who attacked him would be taking a blow from you!"

If Chen Qingyang had heard this, he would have been grateful for his usual caution. Otherwise, he really would have met his end here.

Perhaps finding it strange, the woman fell silent. The kneeling man asked again, "Is there a body? How did he die?"

Although he was repeatedly questioning the Master, his questions highlighted just how strange the Temple Master’s death was. For the moment, the Master suppressed her anger. "There is no body. Only the Magical Treasure I left behind remains. The culprit is clearly very familiar with my methods."

The man spoke again, "Master, without a body, you can’t say the Temple Master is dead. Perhaps he just left temporarily. I have been with him here for ten years. Something like this is absolutely impossible!"

He certainly had backbone, continuing to state his views to the Master even at a time like this.

"Hmph!" With just a cold snort, the Master sent him flying out of the hall. "He is my son, my own flesh and blood. If I say he’s dead, then he is most certainly dead..."

"...Useless! You are all a bunch of useless trash! You couldn’t even watch over my son... Everyone in this hall must pay the price of sixty years of their power!"

Another powerful wave of pressure swept over them. A dark cyan aura enveloped everyone, and they all spat up blood, their faces turning pale. Only the middle-aged man she had just sent flying out of the hall escaped the catastrophe.

After doing all this, she pointed a finger at the four maids. "You four wretched wenches. You were the closest ones to the Temple Master. You are all responsible for his death..."

She waved her sleeve, and amidst screams of terror, the four young women were turned to ash.

Having done all this, her anger seemed to subside somewhat. Her voluptuous body slumped onto the soft couch, her eyes filled with desolation.