Chapter 185 - 151: What is the Price?

Poisonous creatures are naturally drawn to one another.

Devouring one another is a form of Mixed Poison, which has a high probability of causing the venom to evolve.

Therefore, once Zou Feng understood why the Ape King was relentlessly pursuing him, an idea inevitably began to form in his mind.

’Since this Ape King is also a poisonous creature, isn’t this an opportunity for me?’

Just shaking this thing off wouldn’t be worth it. He had to at least try to turn the tables and kill it.

The thought ’I can kill it’ wasn’t one of life’s three great delusions taking hold of Zou Feng.

It was a calculated decision.

Admittedly, if he faced this Ape King head-on, his "One-Minute True Man" ability clearly wouldn’t be enough. He’d most likely be the one to get wrecked.

’But why would a Poison Cultivator have to fight a brute like that head-on?’

The fact that this thing was reckless enough to pursue him relentlessly meant it was already courting death.

Zou Feng hadn’t tried poison-kiting in a long time.

With his current toxicity, he could release poison as he ran, achieving an effect so subtle it was practically unnoticeable.

Even if colorless and odorless, an ordinary poison would still be quickly detected by a powerful Martial Artist, who could then take countermeasures.

A sophisticated poison, however, is unnoticeable at first. By the time it takes effect, it has already seeped into the bone marrow, and not even the gods can save you.

That was exactly how Yuwen Shuo had met his end. If he had realized he was poisoned sooner, Zou Feng might not have been able to use the Qifeng Mountain hunt to eliminate him.

So, as Zou Feng fled, he performed the Shaking Flower Hand, continuously releasing his poison.

But to the Ape King, these Shaking Flower Hand movements were a blatant provocation.

This made it even more uncontrollably furious, causing it to periodically unleash a burst of power and suddenly accelerate.

The first few times it charged, Zou Feng got a real scare. After all, the creature’s speed was absurd, and it looked like it was about to run him down.

Fortunately, his Drunken Immortal Moon Gazing Step had merged with the Ghostly Shadow Mysterious Step. Combined with the fact that the Ape King couldn’t change direction during its bursts of speed, Zou Feng was always able to dodge, albeit narrowly.

Before he knew it, the chase had lasted for a full hour.

Zou Feng had already gnawed away more than half of the Xiong Xin he carried, which barely replenished his massive energy expenditure.

To be honest, eating the thing raw was a trial. The taste was so overpowering that even with Zou Feng’s powerful constitution, he almost threw up.

Although Zou Feng hadn’t yet analyzed the specific effects of the poison it contained, he had no problem absorbing it.

But to his surprise, as he fled, a strand of his hair drifted in front of his eyes. It had turned slightly red.

’My hair has always been jet-black. There’s no way it would suddenly change color for no reason.’

He thought about the many Demon Beasts he had encountered along the way, including the Ape King currently chasing him—they all had blood-red fur...

’Don’t tell me... the effect of this poison is to turn the victim’s hair red?!’

’What a bizarre side effect... No, wait, perhaps there’s a deeper reason.’

’It feels more like I’ve been afflicted with some kind of ’mark’...’

Before Zou Feng could dwell on it, the Ape King launched another charging sprint.

’For this thing to still have so much stamina after chasing me all this time... It really is a monster.’

’Good thing I didn’t choose to face it head-on.’

After dodging another one of the Ape King’s charges, Zou Feng noticed the terrain to his right. It was a rugged area with jagged rocks and overgrown shrubs—the perfect place for a little hide-and-seek...

’The Ape King has inhaled more than enough of my "exhaust" along the way. It should be about time to deliver the fatal blow.’

At this thought, Zou Feng immediately changed direction. With two quick leaps, his figure vanished behind the strangely shaped rock formations.

***

A good while later, a panting Tian Yun finally arrived on the scene.

Even for someone at the Half-Step Gang Qi Realm, sprinting for an hour and dealing with two Demon Beasts that had blocked her path had left Tian Yun quite exhausted.

The only reason she had managed to follow the correct path was because the Ape King had left a very obvious trail of destruction in its wake.

As she looked up and saw the mist-shrouded, rocky area ahead, Tian Yun froze, her next step arrested in mid-air.

After all, anyone could see that this labyrinth of strange rocks was the perfect place for an ambush.

More importantly, her energy was severely depleted, and she was in poor condition.

If just one more Demon Beast on par with a Peak Seventh Grade Martial Artist were to appear, Tian Yun would very likely die right here.

Being in poor condition and all alone in an environment fraught with danger and uncertainty—this was truly a first for Tian Yun.

Strictly speaking, while Tian Yun’s strength was outstanding among Seventh Grades, she was ultimately still a "greenhouse-grown Martial Artist."

However, instead of feeling the extreme discomfort or even fear that one might expect, she found herself growing excited from this kind of "stimulation."

And this "excitement" drove Tian Yun to act irrationally, and she finally took that fateful step forward.

"Master Tian, don’t!"

A ghostly figure suddenly shot out from nowhere.

Tian Yun’s nerves were already stretched taut. Upon hearing the voice, she whirled around and threw a punch, purely on reflex.

It was Zou Feng’s fault, really. He was too used to using his Snake Skin Movement to circle around behind people. If he had just appeared in front of her to give his warning, she almost certainly wouldn’t have thrown that punch.

Seeing this, Zou Feng had no choice but to meet her fist with his open palm, attempting to block the blow.

But to his surprise, the moment her fist met his palm, it became as slippery as a loach. It slid with impossible smoothness right past his hand, heading straight for his right pectoral.

’Uh, what kind of fist technique is this? Loach Fist?!’