Chapter 127: The Heavenly Poison Master

Chapter 127: The Heavenly Poison Master

The cold snow fell on the vast field of white. There was no wind, just the steady descent of snowflakes. Yet, an unnatural chill lingered in the air.

Hu Jin stood atop the wall of Red Lotus City, clad in the uniform of the Blazing Sun Sect. Around him, fellow disciples stood shoulder-to-shoulder, their eyes distant and forlorn.

Many had lost friends, and some even family. Escape was not an option, as the monstrous beasts ensured no humans could flee. This forced the cultivators to constantly play defense.

And what a defense it was...

The stone wall was unremarkable. Some stones were uneven, and there were rough patches where monstrous beasts had broken through.

Hu Jin's gaze pierced the distance, where a horde of monstrous beasts began their relentless charge. The ground quaked under their weight, threatening to crumble the wall. The beasts stirred up a blinding snow cloud, resembling a merciless avalanche hurtling towards them, their roars echoing with a chilling ferocity.

Until now, they had faced only minor skirmishes, never waves of this magnitude.

Hu Jin glanced around at the fortified walls. Traps were set at the base, and pots of strange liquids were ready to be hurled at the beasts. He guessed they contained poison.

Poison had become a routine weapon against the monstrous beasts. Hu Jin's master constantly kept bragging about poison and things like that.

Despite their preparations, Hu Jin knew their chances were slim. A Core Formation monstrous beast was among the horde, sealing their fate. Of course, no one had taken any countermeasures against that...

He had warned everyone, but as an outer disciple with no notable feats, his warnings were dismissed. The delay in the beasts' attack had made him seem like a liar.

"Monstrous beasts are using strategies and plans, just like they did when they conquered the central continent," his master's voice came from the coin. "If that monster from the central continent is here, we're all dead."

"What monster?" Hu Jin whispered.

"When a whole continent falls, there's always a monster or two involved—both literal and metaphorical. If you ever thought about going on a wild adventure, don't even think about heading to the central continent," his master advised.

"I wasn't thinking that. There are already enough problems here," Hu Jin sighed.

"Then keep your eyes ahead. The monstrous beasts are close, and there are some troublesome ones among them," the old man in the coin said before falling silent to let Hu Jin focus on the impending battle.

The monstrous beasts were now within range. Roaring flames, ice spikes, wind blades, rocks, and various ranged attacks rained on them. The beasts were so densely packed that it was hard to miss.

Hu Jin looked on with a worried gaze. Despite his warnings falling on deaf ears, one of his new friends was the son of a Clan Leader in the city, and his father had built additional fortifications on the walls. This should allow them to hold out longer, but it wasn't enough. They were going to be crushed.

"Ugh, so this is why the Sect Leader decided to bring me here?" A man beside Hu Jin grumbled.

Hu Jin turned toward the speaker and saw an old man, easily two heads taller than everyone else.

The man had a bald head like a monk and was built like a bear, with rippling muscles. His thick, spiky white beard resembled a lion's mane around his jaw. Despite the weather, he wore a red robe that was open in the middle, showing off his rock-like physique.

"Careful of this one," his master muttered, something only Hu Jin could hear, and he gave a slight nod.

The large man turned toward Hu Jin, noticing his gaze. "What're you looking at, kid? Never seen a real man?"

Hu Jin was about to turn away when his master in the ring suddenly added, "Follow my instructions from now on and say what I say."Rêạd new chapters at novelhall.com

Unsure of his master's intentions but trusting him implicitly, Hu Jin repeated, "How does someone even move around with such deadly poison running through his veins?"

At that moment, the old man put his meaty hand on Hu Jin's shoulder. The weight of it felt oppressive. Hu Jin's eyes turned bloodshot like they were about to burst. His mouth was shut, and his teeth chattered like they were about to shatter due to the invisible weight.

What was this power? He couldn't even open his mouth!

"That's not the kind of thing you say in public, young man," the muscular elder whispered, his sharp gaze fixed on Hu Jin. Some of the others around them turned to watch.

But then Hu Jin felt a surge of power as his master remotely activated the Qi inside his body. He flinched, and his teacher whispered hurried instructions. Hu Jin repeated his master's words out loud.

"I can help heal you before the battle starts," Hu Jin spoke through gritted teeth as the pressure around him increased.

"Oh?" The old man smiled, but despite his nonchalant demeanor, the pressure grew stronger. Hu Jin felt like he was going to be crushed. "And pray tell, why would you do something like that?"

The old man's tone made it clear he didn't trust him. Anger sparked within Hu Jin's chest. He had been working hard, doing everything he could, yet people still didn't listen to him and treated him like dirt.

"Because I don't want you to get injured in a battle that will involve my life if you lose!" Hu Jin yelled, this time without his master's help, driven purely by willpower. "So shut up and take my help, old man!"

This was it, Hu Jin thought. Was this how his life was going to end? No, his master would likely come out and save him somehow; he always did. But he was tired of people looking down on him all the time.

Instead of growing angrier, the elder, a towering figure with a weathered face and a glint of mischief in his eyes, laughed loudly, his voice echoing through the courtyard. The pressure around Hu Jin dissipated instantly. "I like your guts, kid!" he boomed. "Come show me what you've got!"

"Ah..." Hu Jin was surprised and couldn't believe his eyes. The old muscular man was smiling from ear to ear.

"By the way, my name is Zun Gon," the old man introduced himself. He picked up Hu Jin and slung him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Just as Zun Gon seemed ready to unleash his Qi, Hu Jin's master gathered Qi for a potential fight. But Zun Gon suddenly laughed loudly, "You have guts, kid! This is refreshing compared to those schemers in the Inner Sect. I'll trust you on this."

Before Hu Jin could react, the bald old man grabbed the pills from his hand and popped the green one into his mouth. Immediately, the old man's face turned pale, and he coughed up a mouthful of black blood onto the floor.

Where the blood landed, the stone floor sizzled like a chicken dropped in hot oil. Hu Jin's eyes widened, realizing the severity of the poison within Zun Gon.

The veins on the elder's face popped up and turned green, and blood began dripping from his nose. Despite this, the elder stood calmly and asked, "When should I take the second pill?"

Hu Jin waited for some time, watching the elder's face contort in pain. When his master told him it was time, Hu Jin said, "Now!"

The elder immediately swallowed the blue pill. Everything was quiet for a moment until a burst of black blood erupted from Zun Gon's nose. His pale face slowly regained its natural color, and the elder smiled, revealing bloody teeth. He glanced at his ribs, where the poison had been, and saw only tanned skin.

"Heh, a poison I've been struggling with for over a century was healed by some random kid," Zun Gon chuckled. "I owe you one, kid. What's your name?"

"Hu Jin."

"Well, Hu Jin, what do you think about becoming my personal disciple? I need some friends who aren't snakes," Zun Gon offered, his voice filled with a mix of seriousness and humor.

"You should accept," his master said. "He seems like a good man. You could gain a lot from him and also protection."

Hu Jin's gaze lingered on the weathered face of the muscular old man, a flood of memories washing over him. He recalled the time when his cultivation was shattered, and the relentless torment that followed. Everyone loved to beat on a fallen genius.

Hu Jin clasped his right fist with his palm and he lowered his head in a respectful bow, his voice filled with determination. "Sorry, I will only have one master in this life."

His master's ghost smiled next to him, stroking his long beard before retreating back into the coin.

"Oh, I didn't know you already had a master. Well, I can respect that. A man must be loyal and stick by his word, or he isn't a man!" Zun Gon declared boldly. Then he frowned and looked toward one of the house's walls, toward the battlefield.

Without another word, he walked toward the wall, slamming through it and stepping out into the snowy ground. He looked up, frowned, and suddenly disappeared.

Hu Jin was left alone, unsure of what he had just witnessed or what he was supposed to do. He felt exhausted before the battle had even started, knowing most monstrous beasts had the power of a Qi Gathering Cultivator.

"Go to the wall," his master commanded.

Hu Jin's feet moved before he could think about what his master meant. He climbed the stairs to the wall and was shaken by what he saw. The monstrous beasts, with their hulking forms and glowing red eyes, were dangerously close, their roars making the hair on the back og Hu Jin's neck stand up.

Explosions rang out everywhere. Flying monstrous beasts, with their razor-sharp claws and fangs, grabbed cultivators off the walls. It dropped them, their bodies landing with a wet, crushing sound, turning into red smudges on the ground.

The air was thick with the stench of blood and the cries of the wounded.

There was a metallic smell in the air that Hu Jin had grown somewhat familiar with.

Before he could fully immerse himself in the battle, a shadow descended over the field. Hu Jin looked up, and what he saw made him freeze in place. It was a giant snake monstrous beast that towered over the clouds.

The snake had a scar running from its chin to the tip of its tail. Its pure white scales seemed to reflect the sun. Four red eyes wandered around, looking for prey.

A deadly aura surrounded the creature, making Hu Jin's skin crawl.

The snake opened its mouth, releasing a red mist toward the walls.

"It appears the little snake has come to play again," Hu Jin's master's soul emerged from the coin. There was a slight shine in his translucent soul. "Well, it seems like I won't get to slap it around a bit this time."

As he said that, there was a thundering roar and two figures appeared in the sky. Both wore crimson robes, but they couldn't have been more different in build. One looked like a thin, starving young man. The other was someone Hu Jin was familiar with—Zun Gon.

Zun Gon pulled his arms out of his robe's sleeves, letting the upper part hang down and revealing his sculpted upper body.

The white snake narrowed its eyes at him, and all the red mist concentrated into a large bead that shot toward Zun Gon with a thundering boom, the air around it rippling.

Zun Gon clasped his hands, and an invisible, heavy pressure descended. The earth below cracked, causing many monstrous beasts to fall through the fissures. A tidal wave of lava rose up, forming a giant human head made of lava. A wave of heat washed over the fields, making Hu Jin feel like he was in a sauna. The snow melted, and some of the grass beneath the snow caught fire.

As the red sphere reached the lava head, the structure opened its mouth and bit down on the red sphere. A sizzling sound rang out, and the lava head popped like a balloon.

Lava splattered everywhere, causing panic among the people on the walls. But before the molten rock could reach them, the thin man standing next to Zun Gon waved his hand, and a wall of fire almost reaching the clouds formed, burning the lava to a crisp.

No one stopped the falling lava on the monstrous beast's side. Lakes of lava formed, and the monstrous beasts burned. Their yelps, yells, roars, and cries of pain echoed briefly before they died quickly.

Hu Jin's eyes were wide as saucers as he witnessed the battle. He knew without a doubt that these were Core Formation powerhouses. They could easily change the tide of war and destroy armies.

The Sect had sent two Core Elders!

Hu Jin smiled, realizing they had listened to his warnings. The Sect might have kept it hidden to avoid alerting the monstrous beasts.