Chapter 1002: Irreconcilable Enemies

Zhang Xuan was somewhat annoyed.

Where was this? The Poison Hall!

A place so isolated, with so many formidable poison masters... shouldn't it be extremely quiet, with everyone diligently studying poison crafting and happily getting along?

Instead, there were sounds of "clang" and "boom!"—formations and dismantling buildings—what the hell was going on?

He had been reading peacefully, fully capable of finishing the remaining floors in one go... With all this noise, he couldn't even calm down, let alone read.

Really, with so many poison masters, how could they have no sense of public decency?

This was simply too much!

Next time, he definitely had to mention this to Elder Xu.

"Forget it!"

Stopping his reading, Zhang Xuan shook his head.

After all, he was just a passerby and would leave soon. Whether these poison masters had quality or decency had little to do with him. He should just go back first.

The books from the first three floors were all recorded in his mind, and his understanding of poison masters had reached the peak of three-star.

Although the content was rich, there was no treatment method for Innate Poison Body, only a side introduction to the terror of this constitution—one in ten thousand years, and once it appeared, it inevitably possessed the power to destroy heaven and earth.

According to this book, the founder of the Poison Hall had this constitution, and even when fighting with Master Teacher Kong, the latter was wary.

Because of this, although the poison master profession was not well-liked, the Master Teacher Pavilion did not completely eradicate it, unlike dealing with Soul Oracles, where the inheritance was directly erased.

"No rush. As long as I finish reading the books, I should find a method eventually..."

Scanning the contents in his mind, Zhang Xuan comforted himself.

With all the noise outside, he couldn't read today. He should go back first and find another opportunity to come later.

His body swayed, and he walked out through the previous door. His soul returned to the air, and just as he was about to head back to his residence, he couldn't help but freeze in place.

He saw that just over two hours ago, the many ancient and elegant buildings had all turned into ruins, collapsed in stretches, and within dozens of li, there was not a single person in sight.

"This, this..."

His eyes widened.

With his insight, he could naturally tell this was caused by a battle between experts.

Wasn't it said that battles could go to the dueling hall? How did they start fighting within the city?

Look at what they did to this place...

"Truly no sense of public decency! These are ancient buildings, existing for who knows how many millennia... Fighting back and forth, not a shred of awareness about protecting cultural relics!"

Shaking his head, Zhang Xuan sighed.

Poison masters were indeed poison masters, not refined at all.

Look at the master teachers—even when fighting, they had to apply to headquarters in advance and then engage in various duels. But these guys... they started a war right in the city, causing so many beautiful buildings to suffer... He really didn't know who could be so lacking in virtue.

Sighing, he flew toward his residence. He hadn't gone far when his heart stirred.

Earlier, the library had been covered by a formation, so he hadn't sensed it carefully. Now that he had left and was about to return, he suddenly felt that his physical body seemed... to have moved, no longer in its original place.

"What's going on?"

A look of caution arose in his eyes.

Under normal circumstances, his physical body should have been in the courtyard, motionless. If it wasn't in its original place, could someone have made a move against him?

If so, that would be bad!

Although his physical body had comprehended the ability of No-Thought, No-Contemplation and would automatically avoid danger when encountering threats, if it attracted experts—for example, the Poison Hall Master or Deputy Hall Master—it would still be very dangerous.

After all, they were all seven-star poison masters, while he only had the strength of a Saint. In comparison, he was still too weak.

If he returned too late and his physical body was crippled, he wouldn't even have time to cry.

Full of anxiety, he couldn't help but rush toward the location of his physical body. Before he even arrived, he saw the latter sitting motionless on the ground, while a disfigured fellow was looking over with ill intent, seemingly plotting something.

"Good thing I came in time..."

Seeing that his physical body hadn't suffered much damage, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. His soul moved and drilled into his body, while a doubt arose in his mind.

Looking at his position, which was right in the center of the ruins, could it be that... these buildings had been collapsed by his own battle?

That shouldn't be, right?

Although his physical body would flee or counterattack when encountering danger, it had always been reliable—at least much better than his doppelganger or the ruthless one—and had never caused any trouble... If he really had collapsed so many buildings, how would he explain it to Elder Xu later?

As he pondered, his soul quickly perfectly merged with his physical body, and his eyes slowly opened.

"He's awake..."

"Mm, he really is awake..."

"His eyes are open. When they were closed, he was already so formidable. Now... I'm afraid no one can contend with him, right?"

...

Seeing him open his eyes, the surrounding area erupted in noise, and everyone turned pale with fear.

This guy had killed over a dozen elders with his eyes closed and beaten the Hall Master beyond recognition... Now that his eyes were open, would he slaughter their entire Poison Hall?

"You, you..."

Seeing him open his eyes, the Hall Master also shrank back in fear.

He had developed a psychological shadow from this guy.

"Ahem, where am I? What... is going on?"

Seeing everyone looking at him as if he were a murderous maniac, Zhang Xuan felt a bit depressed and looked over with an innocent expression.

I just read for a while... What happened? Why is everyone surrounding me? Why are they so scared?

"Where? What's going on?"

The Hall Master swayed and spat out blood again.

Damn... it really was sleepwalking!

Others get beaten by Saint realm fourth stage, Saint realm fifth stage, but he got beaten by a Saint sleepwalking... Just thinking about it made him feel bitter.

To be a Hall Master reduced to this was truly embarrassing.

"Don't get so worked up. Tell me what exactly happened. I just arrived here and don't know anything..."

Seeing the disfigured guy spitting blood in agitation upon seeing him awake, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but console him.

"You... pfft!"

Agitated? Agitated my ass!

You don't know?

Can you have some shame?

You did all this... and I was beaten by you too!

After messing someone up like this, you wipe your mouth clean and deny it...

In his emotional turmoil, the Hall Master spat out blood again, feeling like he was about to explode.

"You don't know? Just now, you fought with the Hall Master all the way here, destroying countless buildings... You don't know?"

Seeing that his expression didn't seem fake, an elder mustered his courage and couldn't help but speak.

"I fought with the Hall Master?"

Zhang Xuan blinked: "Who is your Hall Master? I've never even met him. You must be mistaken..."

On the way here, Elder Xu had specifically told him that the Hall Master of Hongyuan Poison Hall was a seven-star poison master, with cultivation reaching the peak of Saint realm third stage, and formidable combat power.

His physical body, with No-Thought, No-Contemplation, could indeed exert some combat power. It might even defeat an ordinary Saint realm second stage, but against a third stage expert... it would be outright suicide!

There was no way a so-called battle could have occurred.

Before he finished speaking, he saw the already unrecognizable guy stand up angrily: "I am the Hall Master..."

"You?"

Zhang Xuan was startled.

When he first saw this guy, he thought he was some irrelevant person... He never expected him to be the strongest in this Poison Hall!

"Did I... do this to you?"

Zhang Xuan's mouth twitched.

A Saint realm third stage peak expert, beaten like this by him?

Could it be... that No-Thought, No-Contemplation unleashed even greater combat power?

"You..."

The Hall Master was about to explode with rage.

"I'm really sorry. I was in a special cultivation state just now, and even the fighting was purely instinctive... I truly don't know what happened!"

Knowing that continuing would only escalate the conflict, Zhang Xuan had to apologize.

He came here to learn, not to cause trouble and wreck Hongyuan Poison Hall. He needed to first figure out what happened and see if there was a chance to make amends.

After all, Elder Xu had told him to keep a low profile, and he had always adhered to that principle, trying to minimize conflicts.

It would be best to resolve the matter satisfactorily.

"You... really don't know?"

Hearing him repeatedly claim ignorance, the elders exchanged glances, showing only confusion.

Indeed, from the start of the battle, this guy hadn't opened his eyes, as if in a dream. He only automatically counterattacked when attacked...

Could it really be, as he said, that it wasn't intentional but instinctive?

If so, that would be laughable.

The other party hadn't even used his full strength, just relying on instinct, and had thrown their entire Poison Hall into chaos... If word got out, Hongyuan Poison Hall might as well close its doors.

"I don't know!" Zhang Xuan shook his head.

He was indeed completely in the dark right now.

His soul had left his body to read in the library, and his physical body had no consciousness at all. He was also utterly bewildered.

"It was like this: you were cultivating in the courtyard. Deputy Hall Master Ming—that is, the teacher of Duan Ren, whom you beat up—felt angry and came to find trouble with you. But you completely ignored him... and then the fight started..."

Seeing that his expression didn't seem like he was lying, the elder who had spoken couldn't hold back and recounted the previous events in detail.

"This, this... I did all this?"

Zhang Xuan's mouth fell open, and his eyes nearly popped out.

In just the time he had been reading, his physical body had killed fourteen elders, crippled a deputy hall master, and beaten the Hall Master like this, destroying countless buildings...

This trouble... seemed to be quite big!

"You really did it!"

The elder nodded.

"I..."

Zhang Xuan scratched his head.

His original intention had been to quietly finish reading and leave quickly. He never dreamed that his physical body would be so unreliable...

This was a disaster!

If he had only beaten up the Hall Master, he could have found an excuse to smooth things over, part on good terms, and at most pay some compensation... But now he had killed over a dozen elders, destroyed so many buildings that had been preserved for years, and even "poisoned" their lifeline...

Even if he took out everything he had to compensate, it would be useless!

They were now irreconcilable enemies...

"No, if this blows up, I'll definitely never get a chance to read the remaining four floors... And if I need these poison masters' help with the Innate Poison Body, that won't be possible either..."

Zhang Xuan's brow furrowed into a knot.