Ning Xue noticed Chu Qingyun stirring and opened her eyes, a bit confused. "Young Master Chu, how are you alright? Don't tell me you weren't affected by the Fire Poison?"
'Fire Poison?'
Chu Qingyun was still puzzling over this when a violent, scorching energy suddenly surged through all the meridians in his body.
In that instant, Chu Qingyun felt as though he were back in the sea of fire. This time, however, the heat radiated from the inside out, as if his entire body was ablaze. The pain was immense.
"Calm your heart and concentrate your spirit. Use your Primordial Power to refine the Fire Poison. It'll take some time, but you'll be able to resolve it."
Hearing Ning Xue's words, Chu Qingyun nodded and sat down cross-legged. Primordial Power from his Qi Sea surged into his meridians, and he began to suppress the Fire Poison.
"Miss Ning Xue, was there Fire Poison in the Four-direction Illusionary Fire Array? When were we poisoned?" Chu Qingyun couldn't help but ask.
Ning Xue was just as puzzled. "The Four-direction Illusionary Fire Array uses four Fiery Red Lotuses as its Array Bases, so its energy is exceptionally pure. In theory, it shouldn't produce any Fire Poison. Besides, even if it were a trap set by Canglang King, a thousand years have passed. It should have dissipated long ago..."
"Hahaha, what a fine analysis! I'm the one who put the Fire Poison there!"
Just then, a hearty laugh suddenly echoed from beneath the ground.
Soon, to Chu Qingyun and Ning Xue's astonishment, a two-meter-long giant rat burrowed up from the ground, its eyes filled with excitement as it stared at them.
'I thought I'd only be able to kill Ning Xue this time. I never expected Chu Qingyun to be here too. Hahaha, the heavens are truly on my side.'
Both Chu Qingyun and Ning Xue stared, their eyes wide with shock.
A talking giant rat!
'Could it be some kind of High Tier Demon Beast? No, that's not right. Its aura is only that of a Tier Two Demon Beast, and I've never heard of a Tier Two Demon Beast that could speak.'
Chu Qingyun was even more astonished, because upon seeing the giant rat, his Devouring Martial Soul had begun to thrum and quiver again.
'Again!'
'This is the third time. The first time was in that mine shaft. The second was at the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower auction, the time I saw Qian Sanpang. And now, my Devouring Martial Soul is acting up again.'
"Chu, long time no see."
The giant rat swished its tail and slowly ambled up to Chu Qingyun.
Instantly, Chu Qingyun felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, and a creeping unease washed over him.
'This is just too bizarreābeing called 'Chu' by a rat.'
"Hehe, it seems you don't recognize me, Chu. You could say we're old acquaintances. I saw you back when you were just a fourth-level Martial Artist."
As the giant rat spoke, it suddenly began to writhe and twist.
In less than five seconds, it had transformed from a giant rat into a portly man wearing a golden robe.
"Qian Sanpang!"
Chu Qingyun couldn't help but cry out in alarm.
'This is terrifying. Not only could the giant rat talk, but it damn well turned into a person!'
What sent an even greater chill down Chu Qingyun's spine was that he had met this person beforeāhe had even chatted with him.
"Are... are you a demon?" Chu Qingyun asked, his face pale.
Hearing this, Qian Sanpang froze for a moment before bursting into loud laughter.
"You're from the Martial Soul Hall!"
At that moment, Ning Xue fixed her gaze on Qian Sanpang and spoke in a cold voice.
Qian Sanpang's smile vanished. He turned to Ning Xue and sneered, "Hmph, as expected of the prodigy from Central State. You figured out my background with a single glance."
"You're the one who put the Fire Poison in the Four-direction Illusionary Fire Array?" Ning Xue asked.
"That's right, it was me. Sigh. I had hoped to wipe out all five of Lianshan County City's geniuses in one fell swoop. I never thought Canglang King would have one last trick up his sleeve, teleporting everyone away at random."
"But it's a good thing the heavens are on my side, teleporting you two to the same place. Hahahaha..."
At this, Qian Sanpang burst into another fit of laughter.
"Hmph. Since you're from the Martial Soul Hall, there's nothing left to say. Only one of us is leaving here alive today!"
As she spoke, Ning Xue forcefully suppressed the Fire Poison in her meridians, preparing to strike.
Qian Sanpang, however, waved his hand dismissively and chuckled. "Not so fast, not so fast. I have some business to discuss with Chu. Why don't you wait a moment? It'll give you some more time to refine that Fire Poison."
Qian Sanpang looked utterly smug, not the least bit worried.
"Chu, I'll cut to the chase. You've fallen into my hands. I have just one question for you: where is the Vermilion Bird?"
Qian Sanpang fixed his gaze on Chu Qingyun as he asked.
"Vermilion Bird? What's a Vermilion Bird?"
Chu Qingyun looked completely bewildered, having no idea what Qian Sanpang was talking about. He'd encountered more bizarre things today than in his entire life combined.
Qian Sanpang sneered. "Still playing dumb? When I saw you in the mine shaft, you didn't have the Vermilion Bird's aura on you. But at the auction house and here, now you do."
"You can't fool me. I know the Vermilion Bird is in Qingshan City. Tell me, where is it!?"
A flicker of ferocity flashed in Chu Qingyun's eyes. Qian Sanpang's aggressive attitude was infuriating him. "I don't know means I don't know! Qian Sanpang, don't think I'm afraid of you just because you can turn into a rat!"
"Fine! If you won't do this the easy way, you'll do it the hard way. Kid, I'll give you a taste of my power!"
Qian Sanpang barked, a golden light flaring from his hand as he lunged at Chu Qingyun with a claw-like strike.
"You're courting death!"
With a flick of his finger, Chu Qingyun summoned a towering figure that suddenly appeared before him. Its fist tore through the air as it smashed down viciously on Qian Sanpang.
BOOM!
The golden light shattered, and Qian Sanpang was sent staggering back a dozen steps, his face turning exceptionally pale.
"That's... a Puppet! Kid, you... you actually have a Storage Ring!"
Qian Sanpang was utterly shocked, never expecting Chu Qingyun to have an ace like this up his sleeve.
That Puppet's punch definitely carried the force of a sixth-level Martial Artist. If he hadn't been cautious enough to use that golden power, he would have been crippled.
'This kid is clearly from Broken Mountain Village, how could he have such a treasure... unless...' In that instant, Fatty Qian understood.
"Hmph, to think the greatest treasure from the Martial King's Tomb was actually taken by you, kid."
Qian Sanpang's gaze toward Chu Qingyun was now filled with deep apprehension.
He had thought that using the Fire Poison so discreetly would guarantee his success. He never expected this complication.
"Good, you figured it out. Qian Sanpang, if you know what's good for you, get lost. Otherwise, once we've dealt with this Fire Poison, you're a dead man."
From their earlier clash, Chu Qingyun had also discerned that Qian Sanpang only had the strength of a Fifth-level Martial Artist; he wasn't some kind of powerful demon.
Once he knew Qian Sanpang's true strength, Chu Qingyun's apprehension toward him vanished.
The unknown is what's most terrifying.
Now that everything was out in the open, Chu Qingyun had already calmed down completely.
"Hehe, naive. You think a mere Puppet is enough to stop me?"
Qian Sanpang sneered. With a flick of his hand, golden light surged forth, forming a long whip as he once again closed in on Chu Qingyun.