CH 18

Chapter 18: Poison Art

“Why do you look so disappointed?”

Xiao Fan raised his eyebrows when he looked at Li Hao’s listless face.

“I thought today Teacher Fang will teach more swordsmanship.”

“It’s your own fault; your speed of improvement surprised him that it took him some time to recover his heart.” Xiao Fan laughed mockingly.

Li Hao scratched his head, then put down the wooden sword he was carrying knowing he wouldn’t be using it today.

“Don’t worry, I’ll teach you something no less interesting than swordsmanship. Today, we will learn the art of poison.”

“Poison? What’s that?”

“It would be easier to show you…”

Xiao Fan then took Li Hao to go look for a small demonic beast. They then found one in the shape of a cow.

“We can make the cow a guinea pig…” Xiao Fan rubbed his hands together.

“Oh, poison can turn a cow into a pig?”

Xiao Fan patted Li Hao’s forehead and asked him to pay attention. Xiao Fan sneaked closer to the cow, and after getting close enough, he released white powder from his hand towards the cow.

Within seconds, the cow began to struggle and roll over the ground.

Li Hao’s eyes widened when he saw this behavior. Curious, he asked, “Teacher Xiao, what did you do to it?”

Xiao Fan chuckled. “I used itching poison. If you don’t get the antidote, then the cow will be itching for the next twelve hours.”

“I’m just getting started. I’ll show you something more interesting.” Xiao Fan again approached the cow. With the cow too busy scratching its body, he didn’t even try to sneak around.

Xiao Fan threw another powder. This time, instead of just struggling, the cow started laughing in amusement. He explained it was laughing poison, then threw another poison which put the cow to sleep.

“There are tens of thousands of different types of poison in this world. Those who are new to poison arts will seek to learn deadly poisons, but those who understand the essence of poison arts will realize that poison arts are far greater than that…”

Xiao Fan started to mention the different types of poisons and their functions. Li Hao listened enthusiastically because poisons turned out to be much more interesting than he thought. While Xiao Fan was explaining poison science, the previously sleeping demonic beast woke up.

The cow-shaped demonic beast had stopped laughing, but his body was still very itchy. He then looked at Xiao Fan with anger knowing that the cause of his suffering was the red-haired man.

The cow was ready to attack Xiao Fan, but before he could start running, his body was suddenly in great pain. Finally, the creature vomited a large amount of blood and fell to the ground, no longer breathing.

“There is no easier way to kill people who are stronger than us than using poison.” Xiao Fan laughed as he glanced at the cow carcass lying not far from him.

Li Hao studied the cow in surprise before looking at Xiao Fan. “Teacher Xiao, if you can kill him so easily, why don’t you ever hunt for food for us?”

Xiao Fan’s smile faded. “Demonic beasts that affected by my poison can no longer be eaten by you guys. I might be able to eat them because of my Thousand Poison Body, but you can die. After all, my poison is too valuable to kill a demonic beast like this.”

Li Hao pondered for a moment before asking again, “Master, didn’t you tell me that you have fought Teacher Fang for hundreds of years? Why can’t he be defeated with your poison?”

“Who said I can’t beat him with my poison?! He nearly died several times from my poison.”

“Then why is Teacher Fang still alive? Doesn’t that mean Master’s poison isn’t as great as Master boasts?”

Xiao Fan refrained from smacking Li Hao’s head. He realized that this young man was not trying to anger him but was asking this out of pure curiosity.

“Didn’t Fang Mu say that apart from being a Sword Cultivator, he is also an Alchemist? The only profession capable of making antidotes other than Poison Cultivator is Alchemist. Fang Mu is one of the best Alchemists that the Eastern Star Continent has; there are only one or two people who can surpass him in the realm of Alchemy.”

Xiao Fan explained that Fang Mu studied Alchemy to deal with his poison skills while Xiao Fan became a Body Cultivator to face Fang Mu’s Sword Dao.

“Just as Fang Mu is famous for his Alchemy abilities in addition to his position as a Sword Sage, I also have the reputation of being one of the strongest Body Cultivators in the Eastern Star Continent apart from being a Poison King.”

“Master, you and Teacher Fang often mention Sword Sage and Poison King. Is that something important?”

Xiao Fan refrained from cursing. “Hao’er, you may be the only one in the entire Eastern Star Continent who can ask that…”

He explained that Fang Mu’s title of Sword Sage was due to his ability as the best Sword Cultivator in the Eastern Star Continent.

“Sage is the nickname for the five strongest cultivators of the righteous and neutral faction—they are called the Five Sages. Fang Mu was not only one of them, but the strongest. That’s why Fang Mu is known as the greatest master of the righteous faction,” Xiao Fan explained.

Xiao Fan added that, just like the righteous and neutral faction, the Eastern Star Continent’s evil faction’s greatest cultivators are known as the Seven Kings. They are seven people with extraordinary abilities among the faction, and Xiao Fan, nicknamed the Poison King, was one of them.

Apart from being the best poison expert in the Eastern Star Continent, Xiao Fan was also the strongest master among the Seven Kings. That’s why Xiao Fan was known as the strongest master of the evil faction as well as Fang Mu’s rival.

“Master, I still don’t understand. Why is someone belonging to the Five Sages or Seven Kings considered important?”

Xiao Fan took a deep breath. “Listen, I’m too lazy to admit it, but Heaven Mountain Sect, where Fang Mu is from, is the strongest sect in the world because it has two Sages within it. Fang Mu is the Sword Sage, and the other is called the White Sage.”

Ever since Fang Mu became a Sword Sage about three hundred years ago, the Heaven Mountain Sect’s position had steadily risen until finally, not a single righteous and neutral sect had disputed their position as the number one sect in the Eastern Star Continent.