Chapter 997: Sneaking In (Part 2)

These three halls were all sixty to seventy meters high, towering above the surrounding buildings and extremely conspicuous.

"Hall of Poison Testing, Hall of Competition, Hall of Books... The first two are often used for poison, and no matter how thoroughly they are cleaned, traces remain... The Hall of Books is different; it's full of books and should be the cleanest..."

The Hall of Poison Testing was used to test newly refined poisons. Even if an antidote could neutralize them, traces would inevitably remain. The Hall of Competition was similar; poison masters clashed, various poisons rose, creating a murky atmosphere and leaving many hard-to-resolve hazards. Based on this judgment, finding the Hall of Books should not be particularly difficult.

With a thought, he carefully looked at the three halls.

Under the illumination of the Eye of Clarity, the conditions inside the halls were revealed in minute detail. Two of them were filled with rising poison, giving a turbid impression.

"It should be that one!"

His eyes brightened. Without much hesitation, Zhang Xuan leaped and flew straight toward the clearest hall.

This building was even taller than the previous two, exuding a heavy aura of books. Extremely powerful formations were arranged around it, making it seem difficult to enter without a special token.

After a glance, Zhang Xuan smiled lightly.

Before studying the formation manuals, it might indeed have been impossible, but now his understanding of formations was no weaker than that of a七星 formation master. Coupled with the Eye of Clarity, finding loopholes was not difficult.

He stared intently, and before long, he indeed found a small loophole. With a gentle flicker, he slipped inside.

Although the soul of a witch was formless and invisible to the naked eye, formations gathered spiritual energy. Entering them could easily alter the surrounding aura, leading to discovery.

Thus, entering required caution.

Following the loophole in the formation, he walked inward and soon arrived at the Hall of Books.

Not far away, two poison masters at Saint Realm Level 1 stood guard. Zhang Xuan had calculated his path in advance and did not attract their attention. Through the gap in the door, he flickered and slipped inside.

On the first floor of the hall, many bookshelves were arranged, and densely packed books immediately came into view, all about poison.

"True Interpretation of the Poison Dao," "Thirty-Six Poison Methods of Qing Yuanzi," "Antidote Strategies," "Cultivation of Basic Poison Techniques"... Countless books of all kinds piled up, an immense collection.

These were works painstakingly created by countless poison masters over the ten thousand years since the Poison Hall was established. Some were correct, some erroneous. For others, daring to read them all would risk confusing their thoughts, but for Zhang Xuan, this was not a concern.

With a flicker, he found the most comfortable spot.

"Begin!"

With a soft hum, his gaze was like lightning, shooting straight toward the rows of books.

Rustle!

One by one, the books were recorded in his mind. Discarding the false and retaining the true, they slowly formed a flawless Heavenly Dao technique.

After an hour, the books on the first floor were all recorded.

"This is the cultivation method for a one-star poison master..."

Glancing at the formed poison technique, Zhang Xuan walked upstairs.

The layout of this Hall of Books was somewhat similar to that of the Master Teacher Academy. Each floor corresponded to a star level; those who had not reached the level were not allowed to view the next grade.

Although he had already learned the content for one-star and two-star poison masters back in the Qinglian Mountain Range, the book collection here was clearly richer. Since he had come anyway, he didn't mind spending a little more time.

Moreover, some seemingly insignificant books might contain information on how to cure Wei Ruyan. Therefore, he did not let his guard down and read through them one by one.

Soon, the content on the second floor was also fully recorded.

Then he went up to the third floor.

...

While his witch soul quietly infiltrated the Hall of Books to read, his physical body's courtyard had already caused an uproar.

Seeing Senior Brother Duan and the others hanging from the tree, many poison masters trembled in fear.

They had thought that this newcomer, facing so many poison masters, would be at their mercy and dare not speak out. They never dreamed he was a formidable dragon from elsewhere, incredibly fierce!

With one move, he knocked out their strongest, Senior Brother Duan Ren!

"Quickly report to Vice Hall Master Ming Zhen..."

Someone in the crowd shouted.

"Alright!"

With a low cry, a person hurriedly ran in a direction.

Vice Hall Master Ming Zhen was a七星 poison master and also the teacher of Senior Brother Duan Ren. The latter's arrogance relied on his status. Now that a newcomer had knocked him out, this Vice Hall Master would likely be furious.

Rushing all the way, he soon arrived at the Vice Hall Master's residence. Just as he was about to enter, he was stopped.

"The Vice Hall Master is in a meeting with the elders. If you have something to report, please announce it!"

The guard said expressionlessly.

"Meeting with the elders?"

Startled, the poison master then remembered that today was the day the Vice Hall Master met with the elders. He hesitated for a moment: "Senior Brother Duan Ren was beaten and is now unconscious!"

"Duan Ren was beaten?"

The guard was taken aback.

"Yes! The man is called Sun Qiang, brought by Elder Xu..." The poison master dared not conceal anything.

"Alright, I'll go report..."

Knowing that Duan Ren was Vice Hall Master Ming's most valued disciple, and that he was about to be promoted to elder at a meeting, the guard did not dare delay and hurried inside.

Soon he returned and waved: "The Vice Hall Master asks you to enter."

Nodding, the poison master walked inside.

Before long, he arrived at the central hall. Looking up, he couldn't help shrinking his neck.

In the room, not only Vice Hall Master Ming but also the other two Vice Hall Masters were present, along with twenty six-star peak elders, excluding Elder Xu and Elder Xue.

"What exactly happened?"

Seeing him enter, Vice Hall Master Ming looked over, his gaze like lightning, carrying pressure.

This Vice Hall Master Ming was about sixty years old, with a graying beard, dressed in black, and with a cold expression, giving an imposing aura.

"It's like this..."

The poison master quickly recounted what he had seen.

"You say that the man Xu You brought injured Duan Ren without a word?"

Vice Hall Master Ming narrowed his eyes.

"Yes..."

The poison master nodded.

"Very well, very well! Some unknown fellow dares to cause trouble in the Poison Hall—what audacity!"

A cold glint flashed, and Vice Hall Master Ming sneered: "Take me there. I want to see what kind of person, and who gave him the nerve, to strike my student!"

"Yes!"

Without daring to say more, the poison master led the way out.

"Vice Hall Master Ming, since we have nothing to do, and there's a spectacle to watch, we might as well go together!"

"Indeed, others come to our Poison Hall and can't even speak from nervousness. This fellow dares to strike directly. I also want to see what kind of deity he is!"

The other two Vice Hall Masters also stood up.

"We also want to see what formidable character Xu You brought back from his trip!"

"How could I miss something like this..."

...

The other twenty elders also had shining eyes and laughed.

The poison masters of the Poison Hall could only stay on one island. Over the years, there had been little new to capture their attention. Since this newcomer was so arrogant, naturally they wanted to go see.

"Alright!"

Seeing that both Vice Hall Masters and the many elders wanted to go, Vice Hall Master Ming did not refuse. He waved his hand and followed the messenger poison master toward Zhang Xuan's residence.

Soon they arrived and indeed saw his student and several subordinates hanging miserably from the tree, their bones broken in countless places, severely injured.

"Despicable!"

His face ashen, Vice Hall Master Ming clenched his fists.

The other party knew this was his student and still struck so ruthlessly, clearly showing no regard for him.

"Open the door!"

He had someone revive Duan Ren while he himself walked toward the courtyard, letting out a cold snort.

"Vice Hall Master Ming... Poison Master Sun said..."

Li Yuan and the others guarding outside the courtyard, seeing so many Vice Hall Masters and elders arrive, were terrified, their lips trembling, unable to speak.

"What, my words have no effect?"

Raising his eyebrows, Vice Hall Master Ming shouted.

"Yes..."

Knowing that the Vice Hall Master's authority could not be challenged, Li Yuan had no choice but to open the courtyard gate. He had wanted to notify Poison Master Sun Qiang in advance, but now it seemed impossible.

"Hmph!"

With a cold gaze, Vice Hall Master Ming walked in. The other two Vice Hall Masters and the many elders followed in single file.

Everyone wanted to see what the fellow who had beaten Duan Ren so badly looked like.

Entering the courtyard, they soon saw a figure sitting cross-legged at the spot where spiritual energy was most concentrated, eyes tightly shut, cultivating.

"Are you Sun Qiang?"

With so many of them arriving, this fellow still had the leisure to cultivate, not even opening his eyes. Vice Hall Master Ming's face darkened ominously.

After speaking, he waited for a reply, but found that the fellow not far away... still hadn't opened his eyes, as if they didn't exist.

"How insolent! Do you know who we are?"

Never expecting a Vice Hall Master to be so slighted, Ming Zhen was about to explode with rage.

Regardless, he was a七星 poison master, highly esteemed. Not rising to greet them was one thing, but not even opening his eyelids—this was arrogance to the extreme, utterly contemptuous!

With so many people entering and shouting loudly, he couldn't believe the fellow was unaware!

If that were the case, he would have died many times over; how could he still be alive?

Whoosh!

After the shout, the opposite side still gave no answer, as if the fellow were asleep.

"You..."

His face flushed red, Vice Hall Master Ming burned with anger.

He had seen arrogance, but never such arrogance. The entire Poison Hall—three Vice Hall Masters and twenty elders—had come, called out several times, yet he sat on the ground without a word...

"Truly bold, thinking that with Elder Xu's backing you can do as you please. Then let me see if Elder Xu can protect you..."

About to explode, Vice Hall Master Ming roared, his inner true energy surging, ready to strike.

"Haha, Vice Hall Master Ming, why dirty your hands teaching such a wretch..."

Just then, a laugh rang out, and an elder stepped forward.