Chapter 165 - 141: The Turtle in its Shell (Part 2)

After carefully squeezing out the poison, Zou Feng poured some into a small bowl and offered it to Xiaolv.

The Gu Insect showed no concern about whether it could handle the poison, sucking it all up in a single gulp.

Afterward, it acted as if drunk, swaying unsteadily in the air for a moment before tumbling to the floor and falling into a deep slumber.

Xiaolv always reacted this way after eating something sufficiently toxic, so Zou Feng was no longer surprised.

So he paid it no mind and focused on studying the Snake Poison.

This stuff had managed to affect even him without his knowledge. Its potency clearly surpassed Xiaolv’s Tri-Colored Poison.

This was quite possibly the most toxic substance he had acquired to date.

’Such a fine item ought to be shared with Young Master Yuwen.’

Zou Feng acted on his thought immediately. He tested the poison on himself, then began his Cultivation of the Five Poison Fire Lotus Skill.

After a session of Cultivation, Zou Feng didn’t feel any side effects, but he was gradually starting to understand the poison’s properties.

The poison had a strong paralytic effect and could also make blood coagulate rapidly, rendering a person immobile.

If one tried to force any movement, anyone with even slightly insufficient strength would die from their blood vessels bursting.

This was a perfect match for his Five Poison Skill and was incredibly suitable for cultivating the Blood Coagulation Claw.

But these effects were only part of the poison’s properties.

Its most potent effect was its impact on the mind.

To put it simply, it could induce immense terror in a person, as if they had encountered a natural predator. It was a primal fear, impossible to suppress.

When Zou Feng was chumming the water earlier, he had been affected by this very poison. It had scared him so much that his hair stood on end and his mind went blank; he’d nearly failed to escape in time.

For it to affect even him with his high poison resistance, one could imagine just how formidable this "Power of Fear" was.

Used against an enemy, if they were afflicted without their knowledge, the effect would be akin to being hit with the King’s Aura...

Having generally understood the poison’s effects, Zou Feng took out the Treasure Bottle, ready to conduct another experiment.

The original poison in the Treasure Bottle had been depleted, rendering it useless. This always made Zou Feng feel the bottle didn’t live up to its name.

Now that he had what was by far his most potent poison, he decided to pour it into the bottle to see what would happen.

To Zou Feng’s disappointment, it was completely useless.

The Snake Poison showed no change inside the bottle, nor did the bottle itself do anything special.

Zou Feng was speechless. ’What in the world is the deal with this thing?’

’Have I just not found the right way to use it, or is this all the bottle can do?’

In any case, the bottle was still excellent for storing poison. It had powerful preservative properties, preventing any poison inside from losing its efficacy after a few days.

As for the effect on Young Master Yuwen from his recent Cultivation session...

Even for a Gang Qi Realm cultivator with a weak foundation, a single transfer of side effects wouldn’t be enough to do any real harm to Yuwen Shuo.

The side effect of the Five Poison Skill, from its inception to its current evolved state, had always been nothing more than "Chronic Poisoning."

But one should never underestimate Chronic Poisoning. It might not seem like much at first—at most, some occasional physical discomfort.

But once it accumulates to a certain point, it will be too late by the time it’s discovered.

It was worth mentioning that since Zou Feng’s Poison Skill and the toxins transferred as side effects shared the same origin, he could naturally activate the toxins in his "top patron’s" body ahead of time, even causing them to erupt prematurely during a fight.

In short, when the time for the assassination came, they might not be able to handle the Gang Qi Realm guard, but Yuwen Shuo himself would most likely be unable to escape...

Over the next few days, Zou Feng overtly organized the "Rebel Army," giving Yuwen Shuo no cause for complaint.

In secret, however, he focused on cultivating three new Evil Skills and deepening Yuwen Shuo’s "Chronic Poisoning."

Seven days passed in this manner, leaving only half of the time Yuwen Shuo had allotted.

However, the plan to assassinate Yuwen Shuo had made almost no progress.

According to the plan Zou Feng had discussed with Tian Yun, they were supposed to create an opportunity for the Ten Directions Sect.

The problem was that while Yuwen Shuo had seemed boundlessly arrogant, he had surprisingly stopped going out to carouse these past few days.

Instead, he was dutifully staying inside the Government Office, almost never setting foot outside.

Inside the Government Office, he not only had his own Gang Qi Realm guardian but also Huang Wenbin and other Seventh Grade Experts.

There was simply no opportunity to assassinate Yuwen Shuo.

It would be impossible even if the Ten Directions Sect truly cooperated with them.

Yuwen Shuo’s sudden decision to hide in his shell came as a great surprise to both Zou Feng and Tian Yun.

After all, judging by his previous arrogance, shouldn’t a guy like him be continuing his ostentatious tour of Yuan Guang County, stirring up trouble everywhere he went?

"At this rate, I’m afraid this won’t work..."

Seven nights later, Tian Yun once again slipped into Zou Feng’s room under the cover of darkness.

Lately, Tian Yun had developed a habit of appearing like a phantom late at night; Zou Feng was almost used to it.

He said with a sense of helplessness, "Logically, he shouldn’t be worried about us posing a threat. Wasn’t he just relentlessly mocking our ’shoddy’ Cultivation Skills?"

"So Yuwen Shuo has had a sudden change of heart and is hiding in the Government Office. Is he actually afraid of the Ten Directions Sect?"

Zou Feng nodded. "Master Tian, if you could learn that a Guardian from the Ten Directions Sect is hiding in Yuan Guang County, it’s possible Yuwen Shuo has received the same intelligence."

"It seems the bastard isn’t so arrogant as to believe even the Ten Directions Sect can’t touch him..."

Upon hearing this, the expression on Tian Yun’s face grew even more anxious.

Even more so than Zou Feng, she was unwilling to be sent to the battlefield as cannon fodder.

’Run away?’

’The Heart Meeting Martial Arts Hall is practically my life’s work. How could I bear to abandon it?’

’And even if I did escape, knowing Yuwen Shuo’s temperament, he would certainly not spare the disciples of the Heart Meeting Martial Arts Hall.’

Most importantly, Tian Yun had been cultivating for many years. She had been at the Half-Step Gang Qi level for a long time and was now just waiting for a peaceful opportunity to break through to the Gang Qi Realm.

At such a critical juncture, she truly could not afford any mishaps, not even a ripple in her state of mind.

After a moment of conflicted thought, Tian Yun lowered her voice. "Actually, I know the location of a Ten Directions Sect stronghold. That Guardian is most likely there..."

This news greatly surprised Zou Feng. He couldn’t help but look at Tian Yun with a gaze full of suspicion.

Tian Yun gave a wry smile. "General Leader, please don’t misunderstand. I haven’t joined the Ten Directions Sect!"

"It’s just that one of the less-than-exemplary disciples at the hall was swayed by the Ten Directions Sect... For now, though, I’m pretending to be unaware."

Zou Feng finally understood.

The Ten Directions Sect had a history of infiltrating various factions. Traces of their clandestine activities could be found in both the former Black Flood Dragon Gang and the Mountain and River Association.

So it wasn’t surprising that a disciple from the Heart Meeting Martial Arts Hall had also been taken in.

’No wonder Master Tian said she wanted to create an assassination opportunity for the Ten Directions Sect,’ he thought. ’So she knew someone would pass the message along for her.’

"So, Master Tian, you mean to leak this information to Yuwen Shuo and lure him out?"

Yuwen Shuo may be worried about the Ten Directions Sect targeting him, but once he learned the location of their stronghold, he would surely take the initiative and strike first.

The problem is, even if Yuwen Shuo is lured out, the full fighting force of the Government Office will be at his side.

He might even summon experts from the Cheetah Camp overnight.

Under those circumstances, the chances of a successful assassination would still be slim.

After he voiced his concerns, Tian Yun didn’t insist. Instead, she pressed a hand to her forehead, looking completely at a loss. "Then what should we do?"

Zou Feng mused, "Master Tian, there’s no need to be so anxious. We don’t necessarily have to kill Yuwen Shuo within this two-week deadline!"

Hearing this, Tian Yun looked up in confusion, clearly not understanding what Zou Feng meant.

"Publicly, we’ve nearly finished organizing the Rebel Army..." Zou Feng continued. "When it’s time to inspect our progress, Yuwen Shuo will have to come out, won’t he?"

Tian Yun’s eyes immediately lit up.

"And for the Ten Directions Sect, that will also be the perfect opportunity. We just need to lend a secret hand to make the ensuing chaos even more intense!"

"After we get rid of Yuwen Shuo, we can even operate under the pretext of avenging Young Master Yuwen. We can pretend to hunt down the remnants of the Ten Directions Sect, when in reality we’ll just go on a leisurely trip before returning. Even the Governor of Jiangnan won’t be able to find fault with us..."