Chapter 195 - 156: Poison Duel

The more potent the Scorpion Poison, the more it meant the cultivation progress of his Peak Realm Five Poison Skill could finally begin to skyrocket.

This was an opportunity he absolutely couldn’t waste. Zou Feng roused himself and continued his cultivation.

After about the time it takes to eat a meal, having fled while he cultivated the entire way, Tian Yun also began to feel that something was wrong.

An invisible, oppressive presence constantly loomed nearby, making it difficult for her to even breathe.

This terrifying pressure shocked Tian Yun, making her feel that they had bitten off more than they could chew this time.

After all, just as Zou Feng had said, that Brother Duan was in hot pursuit. But even if the man was at the Peak of Sixth Grade, he shouldn’t be able to generate such immense pressure.

’Could this be... a Fifth Grade Expert?!’

At this thought, Tian Yun’s expression inevitably turned grim.

"Sister Yun, circulate your Gang Qi, now! You’ve been poisoned!"

Zou Feng came to a sudden halt. While warily scanning their surroundings, he shouted the warning to Tian Yun.

The shout jolted Tian Yun back to her senses.

"Poisoned?"

She stared at Zou Feng in a daze.

The poison had begun to degrade her bodily functions, and Tian Yun was even starting to lose her ability to think clearly.

Without a word, Zou Feng’s palms began to move swiftly over Tian Yun’s body.

This wasn’t, of course, some ill-timed fit of passion; he was using this method to draw the poison out of her body.

Once he finished performing the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Touches, Tian Yun was finally back to normal.

She clutched her chest, her heart still pounding with fear. "But... how did I get poisoned?!"

Tian Yun had reached the Gang Qi Realm, yet she hadn’t even noticed how she’d been poisoned.

She had even mistaken the physical discomfort from the poison for the spiritual pressure emanating from Brother Duan...

"He’s caught up to us!"

In truth, not even Zou Feng had immediately detected someone spreading poison nearby.

Of course, that was related to his near-immunity to this type of toxin.

Zou Feng couldn’t comprehend the power of the Scorpion Poison, but that didn’t mean he was afraid of the Poison Technique Duan Wuya was using.

However, the fact that Duan Wuya could poison Tian Yun without her noticing proved he was an exceptionally skilled Poison Cultivator.

’My initial assessment of him was spot on.’

Hearing that their pursuer had caught up, Tian Yun immediately focused, scanning her surroundings for any sign of movement.

But unfortunately, she couldn’t see a single soul.

Even Zou Feng, who could sense the powerful Poison Cultivator nearby, couldn’t pinpoint the man’s exact location.

"Are all Biyou Palace disciples such cowards, hiding in the shadows?"

"If you’ve got the guts, come out and face us! Let’s see what you’re really made of!"

Unable to spot their enemy, Tian Yun instinctively resorted to taunts.

This kind of taunt might actually work on disciples from sects that valued their reputation, or on factions that abided by the rules of the Jianghu.

Unfortunately for her, no amount of goading would work on a Poison Cultivator from Biyou Palace.

Duan Wuya already had the upper hand in terms of strength, but he still didn’t choose to confront them directly after catching up.

Instead, he decided to play to his strengths as a Poison Cultivator and slowly wear his enemies down.

After all, he already knew that one of his fellow disciples had recently fallen at their hands.

Thus, even with his superior strength, he wouldn’t be careless. He was taking the "lion hunting a rabbit" approach—using his full strength for any foe.

In the past, Zou Feng, as a Poison Cultivator himself, was always the one using poison to ambush others.

Now, the tables had turned, and it was finally his turn to experience it himself.

"Sister Yun, don’t bother taunting him. He’s not coming out," Zou Feng said, shaking his head.

"Then that bastard plans to..."

"He’ll just stalk us from the shadows, continuously poisoning us. He’ll wait until we’re too weak to fight back, then launch a sneak attack."

"Then what should we do?" Tian Yun couldn’t help but start to panic.

She wasn’t afraid of a head-on fight, but this feeling—not knowing where the enemy was, of being ambushed at any moment—was truly agonizing.

Zou Feng mused, "Just running is useless. We won’t be able to escape Qifeng Mountain anytime soon, and it will only drain our energy."

"We’ll just have to fight fire with fire..."

With that, Zou Feng pulled a few of his self-developed Antitoxic Elixirs from his crotch and handed them to Tian Yun. "Eat these first, then keep your Gang Qi circulating as much as possible. It won’t be long before this whole area becomes an extremely dangerous Poison Domain."

Tian Yun and Zou Feng had been through a lot together in their recent battles, trying all sorts of things, so she certainly wasn’t going to be picky about Elixirs pulled from his crotch.

Besides, hiding the Elixirs in his crotch wasn’t some kind of perverted hobby of Zou Feng’s; his shirt had been blown to shreds long ago, and he still hadn’t been able to find a new one.

Although he had killed the Tattooed Scorpion Man, and could have theoretically taken his clothes...

...the man’s outfit was too bizarre for Zou Feng’s taste. Plus, the clothes were likely laced with all sorts of unknown poisons, and he hadn’t had time to deal with them.

After instructing Tian Yun, Zou Feng stopped trying to flee. Instead, he stayed put and resumed his cultivation, his hands whipping through Flower Hand gestures at blinding speed.

In fact, Duan Wuya’s choice not to engage in a direct confrontation was exactly what Zou Feng had hoped for.

Sometimes, being too cautious isn’t necessarily a good thing.

With Duan Wuya’s level of power, he would have had a huge advantage if he had simply charged them head-on after catching up.

After all, Zou Feng still needed time for his cultivation, time to make his Five Poison Fire Lotus Skill progress by leaps and bounds.

But Duan Wuya had chosen to wear them down with poison first, which ironically gave Zou Feng an even better opportunity to cultivate.

Zou Feng could even use the very poison Duan Wuya was continuously releasing to further his own cultivation.

But even though this played right into his hands, Zou Feng didn’t dare let his guard down for a second. After all, Duan Wuya wouldn’t necessarily just hide and spread poison forever; he could launch a different kind of attack at any moment.