Chapter 1000: My Lifeline

In the hall master's residence, Elder Xu sat to one side, a smile on his face.

"You mean to say that this time, thanks to a poison master named Sun Qiang, who was righteous and fearless, disregarding danger, he saved you, or else you might not have made it back?"

An old man across from him looked over.

He appeared to be in his sixties or seventies, with a gentle smile and kind face. If one didn't know where this was, they would never imagine that such a person could be the master of Hongyuan Poison Hall, a seven-star poison master!

"Yes, this Poison Master Sun is public-spirited, brave and resourceful. If not for him, I might have ended up like Elder Xue, long gone!"

Speaking of Sun Qiang, Elder Xu was full of admiration.

To rescue him from the hands of a Saint Domain Fourth Layer expert—just that courage and boldness alone was beyond what many could match.

"A mere First Layer Saint, facing such a powerful foe without changing expression, handling it calmly—truly a rare talent. Alright, I approve his assessment as a poison master and his joining our Poison Hall!"

With a slight smile, the old man stroked his beard.

"Thank you, Hall Master!"

Elder Xu stood up, smiling lightly, his face full of confidence and certainty: "Rest assured, you will never regret today's decision. This Sun Qiang is absolutely a trustworthy and reliable friend!"

"To receive such praise from you, I'm starting to want to see what kind of person this Poison Master Sun really is..."

The hall master nodded, about to continue speaking, when an elder hurried in from outside the room.

"Hall Master..."

"Elder Feng, what's wrong with you?"

Turning to look, he recognized him as one of the Poison Hall's elders, Feng Ping.

But now, Elder Feng was different from usual—his face was bruised and swollen, his body covered in bloodstains, as if he had just gone through some life-and-death ordeal, indescribably miserable.

"What's wrong? You have the nerve to ask what's wrong?" Seeing Elder Xu, Feng Ping was furious, roaring and about to charge over for a duel.

If not for this Xu You bringing that guy here, would the Poison Hall have suffered such a惨烈 fate?

"A dignified elder, arriving and immediately wanting to fight—what kind of behavior is that? Elder Feng, what happened?"

Frowning, the hall master scolded.

"Hall Master..."

Hearing the scolding, Elder Feng stopped, gritting his teeth, looking over with a face full of grief and indignation: "Twenty elders of the Poison Hall were killed... fourteen of them! Only Elder Du and I, along with four others, survived. Even Vice Hall Master Ming had his shoulder chopped off by a sword and is at death's door..."

"What? Fourteen elders killed? How did this happen?"

The hall master shot to his feet, his pupils contracting.

Hongyuan Poison Hall had only twenty-two elders in total. He had just heard that Elder Xue was killed... and now, in the blink of an eye, another fourteen were dead?

Weren't these elders all inside the Poison Hall, not going out? Could an enemy have broken in?

"It was... that Sun Qiang brought by Elder Xu!" Elder Feng gritted his teeth.

"Sun Qiang? What happened?" Elder Xu's body swayed.

"It's like this..."

Elder Feng recounted the previous events in detail, including Duan Ren causing trouble, Vice Hall Master Ming's fury, and... the siege of Sun Qiang, who instead killed several people in retaliation.

"How could this be..."

After hearing the explanation, Elder Xu's vision went dark.

I did say that the Poison Hall people admire the strong, and told you not to hold back, but... I didn't tell you to kill fourteen elders of the entire Poison Hall!

I just told the hall master that you were righteous and trustworthy, and then you pull this off... how am I supposed to explain?

"Let's go see!"

Giving him a cold glance, the hall master flicked his sleeve and hurried out after Elder Feng.

Elder Xu had no choice but to follow.

Before long, they arrived at Zhang Xuan's residence and saw the bodies lying all over the ground.

These people were all at the peak of Saint Domain First Layer, extremely proficient in poison studies. Outside, each could take on three or four opponents of the same level single-handedly, but now... they all lay cold on the ground.

He quickly looked up and saw the culprit, Sun Qiang, still sitting cross-legged on the ground, eyes closed in cultivation, as if none of this had anything to do with him.

"Elder Huang, Elder Li, Elder Liu..."

Looking at the bodies on the ground, the hall master's face twitched uncontrollably, his eyes nearly bleeding.

These were old men who had accompanied him for hundreds of years. He never imagined that in just a few dozen breaths, this guy had killed them all!

And the key point was, after killing people, instead of being afraid, he still sat here cross-legged cultivating... as if he held the Poison Hall in utter contempt!

"Hall Master, you must kill this bastard and avenge us!"

Vice Hall Master Ming rushed over and roared.

His wounds had been bandaged and he had taken corresponding medicine, but they were too severe. His vitality was greatly damaged, and even if healed, he would be nearly crippled.

"Yes, Hall Master, this guy is too arrogant. He didn't even open his eyes while fighting us—utterly insolent!"

"He must be killed, or how can we face the ancestors of the Poison Hall!"

...

The remaining two vice hall masters and elders also shouted.

When poison masters went out, others fled in terror. When had they ever suffered such humiliation, being killed by a guy with his eyes closed, taking out over a dozen elders?

"Rest assured, no one has ever caused trouble in the Poison Hall and gotten away with it!"

Waving his hand, the hall master looked over, his gaze cold as ice, and gave an order: "Detain Xu You. After I deal with this guy, we'll interrogate him!"

"Yes!"

At the command, several elders immediately surrounded Elder Xu.

"Hall Master..."

Elder Xu hadn't expected this outcome. His face was full of anxiety, but he had no way to intervene.

He wanted to explain but didn't know how to begin.

When this Poison Master Sun came with him, he was quite normal, saying he wanted to keep a low profile... How, in the time it took to report to the hall master, had he killed over a dozen elders? This is what you call low profile?

Did you come for a poison master assessment, or to wipe out our entire Poison Hall?

Though frustrated, thinking of Sun Qiang as his savior, he couldn't help but speak: "Hall Master, Poison Master Sun is not one to kill indiscriminately. I believe there must be a misunderstanding..."

"Seal his mouth!"

Seeing that this guy was still talking about misunderstandings when the Poison Hall's elders were nearly wiped out, the hall master's brows shot up in anger.

"Yes!"

A vice hall master nodded, stepped forward, and with a flick of his finger, sealed Elder Xu's mouth, rendering him speechless.

"Sun Qiang, is it? Coming alone to cause trouble in the Poison Hall—quite bold. But... no matter who you are or what your purpose is, since you're here, don't think of leaving..."

Ensuring Elder Xu could no longer speak for this guy, the hall master turned back, shouted, and approached Zhang Xuan. With a flick of his finger, a row of fingernail-sized beetles flew from his fingertip, exactly nine in number.

These beetles were dark gold, their wings reflecting sunlight, looking particularly ferocious.

"It's the hall master's Dark Gold Poison Beetles!"

"These are sacred creatures that can easily poison even Saint Domain Third Layer experts!"

"Yes, to raise these Dark Gold Poison Beetles, the hall master spent countless efforts, feeding them no less than a hundred Saint Domain medicinal herbs... Hard work paid off; though arduous, he managed to raise a full nine of them!"

"Each of these nine beetles can poison a Saint Domain Third Layer expert. Together, even a Saint Domain Fourth Layer expert would have to avoid them. Releasing all of them—it seems the hall master is truly enraged!"

"This guy is dead for sure. Though he might have taken some antidote that can resist ordinary poisons, he definitely can't withstand the hall master's poison beetles..."

...

Seeing the hall master release the Dark Gold Poison Beetles, everyone's eyes lit up.

Though they all raised poison insects and snakes, in terms of grade, the hall master's Dark Gold Poison Beetles were the absolute pinnacle.

Any one of them flying out could poison a Saint Domain Third Layer expert, making countless people wary!

If he truly went all out, with the nine poison beetles flying, the entire Hongyuan Empire might be wiped out.

Such was the terror of a seven-star poison master!

In everyone's view, even if this Sun Qiang had taken some powerful antidote that could resist certain poisons, facing such formidable poison beetles, there was only one path... death!

"Wuwuwu..."

Contrary to everyone's expectations, Elder Xu's vision went dark. He kept shouting, but his mouth was sealed, so he could only look on in desperation.

Ignoring the others' shock, the hall master's face was grim. He flicked his finger, and nine drops of blood flew out. The nine Dark Gold Poison Beetles each swallowed a drop of blood, becoming even more vividly colored.

"Go!"

With raised brows, he pointed at "Sun Qiang" sitting cross-legged on the ground, his killing intent boiling.

Buzz buzz buzz!

At the command, the nine poison beetles flew straight over, arriving in an instant.

Zhang Xuan seemed unaware of the danger, still sitting cross-legged, eyes closed, motionless.

Whoosh!

Seeing him not dodge, the hall master's face lit up with joy. He controlled the beetles to land on him, and soon Zhang Xuan's exposed skin—arms, neck, and so on—was covered with beetles.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The beetles bit into him, blood flowing into their mouths.

"They've bitten him..."

"Once the Dark Gold Poison Beetles bite, the venom will enter the bloodstream, and within three breaths, he'll die!"

"Bitten by so many beetles at once, I doubt he'll last even one breath..."

...

They had expected the guy to flee in terror at the sight of the beetles, but instead, he still sat there, bitten by nine beetles simultaneously. Even a god couldn't save him now.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

After biting Zhang Xuan, the nine Dark Gold Poison Beetles flew up again, but only a short distance before they suddenly seemed drunk, their heads tilting.

Plop! Plop! Plop!

They all fell to the ground, their six legs twitching a few times before going still.

"Pfft!"

His face turning pale, the hall master spat out a mouthful of blood, stumbled back seven or eight steps, and collapsed to the ground, staring ahead as if he had seen a ghost.

"My lifeline..."