Chapter 151: Illusion Poison

"Pei Yingyao..."

Murong Kang’s expression was grim as he muttered her name under his breath.

’If it weren’t for her help, how could Li Chang’an possibly have destroyed that Puppet?’

From the very beginning, Murong Kang had never considered Li Chang’an a threat.

The one he truly feared was Pei Yingyao, a Sword Cultivator at the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment.

Sword Cultivators were renowned for their combat prowess and were often more skilled at killing than other Cultivators of the same Tier.

And Pei Yingyao’s strength was even more terrifying than that of other Sword Cultivators at her level!

Murong Kang knew that if he fought Pei Yingyao head-on, he likely wouldn’t last ten moves.

’However, Pei Yingyao is dedicated to her One-Hearted Sword Dao. She can’t protect Li Chang’an forever. Back then, she couldn’t even protect her own disciple,’ Murong Kang mused.

Everyone in the Yellow Crane Mountain Lineage knew that one of Pei Yingyao’s disciples had been killed by a Tribulation Cultivator.

Li Chang’an wasn’t her disciple. At most, he had a few Treasures she had given him for protection.

’The Foundation Establishment Techniques Pei Yingyao gave Li Chang’an can probably only be used a few times.’

At this thought, a new idea gradually formed in Murong Kang’s mind.

At that moment, Huang Feng propped himself up from his sickbed and asked with concern.

"Master, did something happen? Is there anything I can do to help?"

"It’s nothing, Feng’Er. Just focus on recovering!"

Murong Kang wiped the grim look from his face, turned, and offered a few words of comfort.

He didn’t hide anything. He directly told the two brothers, Huang Feng and Huang Liang, that the operation had failed.

They hadn’t managed to kill Li Chang’an.

Instead, they had lost a valuable Puppet and the Array-Breaking Treasure.

They had suffered heavy losses.

Upon hearing this, Huang Feng’s face turned deathly pale, and he couldn’t help but blame himself.

"Master, it’s all my fault. If I hadn’t provoked that Li Chang’an, you wouldn’t have lost so many Treasures."

"Don’t overthink it. This has little to do with Li Chang’an. It was merely a round of long-distance Magical Combat between me and Senior Sister Pei."

As he spoke, Murong Kang glanced in the direction of the mountainside.

His eyes held both fear and killing intent, feelings he normally dared not show.

A moment later, he left Huang Feng’s residence and returned to his own.

Inside, he sat cross-legged, formed a hand seal, and once again cast that complex Magic.

In the palm of his hand, a blood-red human figure immediately appeared, bearing the exact likeness of Huang Feng.

Compared to last time, the figure was slightly brighter.

’Good, the Vessel Continuation Pill is indeed effective!’

With a thought from Murong Kang, the figure in his hand instantly transformed.

It changed into the likeness of Huang Feng’s senior brother, Huang Liang.

This figure’s blood-red glow was even more brilliant, casting a blood-red hue over the entire room.

’Huang Liang is already at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer, so the devouring effect will be excellent now. However... should I help him reach Foundation Establishment? If I could devour a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, the benefits to me would be even greater, but Foundation Establishment Resources are just so hard to come by.’

Murong Kang pondered for a long time, a bloody light glinting in his eyes, his features twisting into a subtly horrifying expression.

He looked like a man-eating Demon.

「Meanwhile.」

In the courtyard of his Inner City residence, Li Chang’an was taking stock of his recent gains.

’It’s a shame. Xiaohai’s magic was too powerful. It shattered a lot of the Puppet Materials, greatly reducing their value.’

The courtyard was littered with scattered Puppet Materials and components.

Li Chang’an felt a pang of heartache as he looked at the mess.

He walked over to a piece of material, gestured with his hand, and picked it up to examine it closely.

’Profound Silk Wood, a Tier Two Low Grade Spirit Material. If it were intact, a small piece like this could sell for three hundred Spirit Stones. A pity Xiaohai’s attack left a crack in it.’

He shook his head and continued to inspect the other materials.

’Cyan Pattern Stone, a Tier One Top Grade Material... completely smashed.’

’And this Purple Cloud Wood...’

About an hour later, Li Chang’an finished taking inventory.

His current skill in puppet-making had long since reached the Peak of Tier One.

Although he wasn’t at Tier Two yet, he could roughly determine the specific abilities of the destroyed Puppet by examining its materials.

’This must have been an Illusion Puppet,’ Li Chang’an thought as he looked at the dark green Jade Stone in his hand. ’When active, it could create several illusionary bodies to confuse an enemy’s judgment.’

This Jade Stone was called Illusory Poison Jade, a Tier Two Low Grade Treasure that he had dismantled from the Puppet’s core.

This kind of Poison Dao Treasure was extremely rare. If used as an Array Material, it could create an Illusion Array.

If used to make a Puppet, it could produce a special type like the Illusion Puppet.

’This Illusory Poison Jade is quite valuable.’

Li Chang’an weighed it in his hand; it had a considerable weight.

This Illusion Puppet’s ability to create illusionary bodies must have been quite impressive, but it was destroyed before it even had a chance to use it.

This meant his opponent hadn’t taken him seriously.

If Li Chang’an had been the one attacking, he would have definitely activated the illusionary bodies at the first opportunity to test for any potential dangers in the courtyard.

’To underestimate me so much... it shows that the opponent is indeed a Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator who looks down on Qi Refining Cultivators.’

A smile touched Li Chang’an’s lips. ’It’s a good thing I was underestimated. It saved me a lot of trouble.’

Just as he was thinking this, there was a sudden movement in his sleeve.

"Hm?"

Intrigued, Li Chang’an looked at his cuff.

A plump, round bug crawled out.

It was multicolored and emanated a sense of longing. This was the Ten Thousand Poison Gu that Li Chang’an had obtained from Fourth Lady Mei’s Spirit Beast Bag.

"You want to eat this?"

Li Chang’an waved the Illusory Poison Jade in his hand.

The Ten Thousand Poison Gu once again conveyed its desire, which served as a response.

Its Tier wasn’t high; it was currently only at Tier One Late Stage and hadn’t even reached its Peak.

This was because Poison Dao Treasures were simply too scarce in the region of Yellow Crane Immortal City; almost all of them had been collected by Cultivators of the Five Poison Wanderer Lineage.

Furthermore, Li Chang’an had been busy with his own advancement and that of his two Spirit Beasts.

He hadn’t paid much attention to the Ten Thousand Poison Gu.

"If you want to eat it, go ahead."

He smiled and handed the Illusory Poison Jade over.

The Ten Thousand Poison Gu conveyed a happy emotion. Its fat, round body immediately latched onto the entire piece of Illusory Poison Jade, and it slowly retreated back into Li Chang’an’s sleeve.

With this Poisonous Gu, Li Chang’an was immune to the vast majority of Tier One poisons.

’After it absorbs this Illusory Poison Jade, it should be able to advance to the Peak of Tier One.’

Li Chang’an thought for a moment. He had no immediate plans to help the Ten Thousand Poison Gu gather advancement Treasures, simply because Poison Dao Treasures were too difficult to obtain.

He would leave it up to fate.

For now, it was better to focus on himself and his two Spirit Beasts.

After cleaning up the courtyard, Li Chang’an returned to his room and took out the chessboard-like Array-Breaking Treasure.

’The Forbidden Spirit Chessboard.’

It took him a great deal of effort to complete its Refinement.

The chessboard was a Tier Two Middle Grade Spiritual Artifact of extremely high quality, verging on Top Grade.

Relying on his own strength alone, Li Chang’an would have been unable to refine it. In the end, he had to borrow the power of the Profound Water Turtle.

In the center of the front of the board was an inlaid black stone.

And on the back, a white stone was inlaid in the center.

’Black Pawn Forbidden Array, White Pawn Forbidden People!’

After he refined it, Li Chang’an immediately understood its functions.

A short while ago, the reason the Thundercloud Annihilation Array had stopped operating was because it had been affected by the black stone.