The people outside the rear garden either hadnât noticed yet, or the ever-spreading poisonous gas had clouded their judgment.
Therefore, the Old Witch couldnât fight Zou Feng here. After all, if the two of them went all out, the Poison Domain alone wouldnât be able to conceal the commotion in the rear garden.
Zou Feng wasnât about to let her escape and immediately gave chase.
Now, Zou Fengâs desire to catch this Old Witch wasnât just about completing the Biyou Palaceâs mission.
He was also eager to force out of her the method to advance the Five Poison Skill to the Extraordinary to Saint realm, then kill this fiend and seize the Poison of the Gu King and other valuable treasures.
After escaping the City Lordâs Mansion, the two of them leaped across eaves and scaled walls, chasing each other through Qingchuan City.
To the average pedestrian, it would have just felt like two gusts of wind brushing past.
After chasing for a while, just as they were about to leave the city, Zou Feng was surprised to find that the distance between him and the Old Witch hadnât noticeably shortened.
âThis fiendâs Qinggong is that strong?â
You had to know, Zou Fengâs Drunken Immortal Moon Chasing Step was at the Peak Realm. Although the Moon Chasing Stepâs greatest strength was its evasive ability, the fact that he still couldnât catch up was enough to prove that the Old Witchâs Qinggong was also incredibly formidable.
Moreover, the Old Witch wasnât just single-mindedly fleeing.
As a Peak of Fourth Grade Poison Cultivator, this woman also possessed the special skill of "poison running," constantly using different poisonous gases to interfere with Zou Fengâs pursuit along the way.
Thankfully, Zou Feng could resist or even ignore these poisons. Had a weaker person given chase, they might have been horrified to realize that all that was left of them was a running skeleton...
âIâve really run into a tough one. This fiend must be someone of renown.â
Thinking of this, Zou Feng diverted some of his attention to open the List of Gods.
A new name, Ding Gang, appeared.
This freshly appeared name naturally corresponded to the Old Witch who bore killing intent toward him.
âHer name isnât feminine at all.â
It was normal for Zou Feng to have never heard this name.
After all, he was only familiar with outsiders and couldnât even recognize most of the publicly known experts from the Southern Border.
He didnât even know most of the upper echelons in Biyou Palace, aside from those he had personally met.
Although he couldnât catch up for the moment, Zou Feng wasnât worried. After all, he still had an ace up his sleeve.
His True Man State, which now lasted a full five minutes, was no joke.
But there was no need for that now. Zou Feng had already seen that since she couldnât shake him, the Old Witch must have had other plans.
âFor example, taking this opportunity to lure me into her lair...â
The chase lasted for more than half an hour. Due to their incredible speed, the two had naturally entered the deep mountains and old forests, quite a distance from Qingchuan City.
The sky gradually darkened, and the surrounding atmosphere grew increasingly strange.
Although there wasnât a single grave around, Zou Feng clearly felt that it was no different from when he had entered the Chaotic Burial Mound.
Sure enough, after entering a rugged, stony area, the Old Witch, Ding Gang, suddenly stopped and fled no more.
Zou Feng followed suit and stopped, catching his breath slightly as he prepared for what was to come.
"Biyou Palace... what exactly did they give you to make a Poison Skill expert like you work so desperately?" Slowly turning her head, the face that had been disguised as a maidâs was long gone.
In its place was an androgynous face, making it hard to distinguish their gender, and they were, on the whole, quite attractive.
In menâs clothes, they would be devastatingly handsome; in a dress, breathtakingly beautiful.
Moreover, their face still looked very young, seemingly having no connection to the moniker "Old Witch" whatsoever.
Zou Feng clasped his hands behind his back and said, "I am an Honored Guest Elder who has just joined Biyou Palace."
Ding Gang sneered, "You could have joined any Sect, but you just had to pick the filthiest one!"
"Take a word of advice from me: find a way to undo the Five Poison Heart Devouring Curse and get out of there as soon as you can. Otherwise..."
"Calculating the time, that person in your Biyou Palace should be about to have another fit of madness!"
Just from these words, Zou Feng knew that this Ding Gang indeed had some history with Biyou Palace.
âI just donât know if sheâs the one who betrayed Biyou Palace all those years ago.â
This question could be answered easily by asking a senior disciple of Biyou Palace, but he didnât have the chance to do so right now.
Besides, Zou Feng was genuinely interested in the "inside story" Ding Gang mentioned.
"Spouting nonsense. You think you can fool me by just sharing some made-up story?" Zou Feng tried to provoke Ding Gang into revealing more.
Ding Gang snorted repeatedly. "You donât have to provoke me. Everyone knows your Biyou Palace Master is a complete lunatic."
"Is she still dreaming her beautiful dream of âUnity of Heaven and Manâ?"
"She could have taken that step at any time, but she shamelessly dragged it out, and as a result, she drove herself mad! HAHAHA..."
Ding Gang clearly held a great deal of resentment towards the Biyou Palace Master. As they spoke, their tone was not only gloating but also filled with overwhelming hatred.
Zou Feng inevitably found these words somewhat confusing.
âBut none of this has anything to do with me for now, so it doesnât matter if I donât understand.â
And while it seemed like Ding Gang was revealing secrets, it was actually all just nonsense with no real substance.
Zou Feng was well aware of this; this person was just stalling for time.
A moment later, just as he had predicted, figures began to slowly emerge from behind the many scattered boulders in the area.
Even though it was dark, Zou Fengâs vision was so sharp that he immediately saw their appearance clearly.
They werenât living people at all, but a group of walking dead covered in inscribed talismans.
Moreover, Zou Feng could tell that these walking dead were the very men who had been harmed by Ding Gang before.
He could deduce this from their faintly discernible good looks.
After all, Zou Feng had learned from reading the Grass Thiefâs case file that no matter how horribly the victims were tortured, their faces were always left intact.
Leaving these menâs handsome faces intact was clearly still useful for Ding Gang.
âFor instance, they would still be pleasant to look at after being refined into Zombies.â
Zou Feng had practiced the Corpse Luo Heart Scripture but had never encountered a fellow expert in the art. He never imagined that this Ding Gang was a true all-rounder.
âStrong Five Poison Skill, strong Body Skill, and they even know Gu Planting and Corpse Refinement.â
Once the Gu Poison was cultivated and absorbed, they didnât even let the bodies go to waste, instead refining them into Gu Corpses.
âTruly, not a single bit goes to waste.â
No wonder this person was so insistent on capturing Murong Yunhai. Recovering the Gu Poison was one thing, but if they could also refine Murong Yunhai into a Gu Corpse, he would be a massive asset.
âNow this is a true master of Gu Techniques.â
In comparison, the batch of Gu he had first raised back in Yuan Guang County was no different from childâs play.
Even his own Iron Blood Gu Poison Group, which he had later carefully cultivated with the blessing of the Wise Triple, couldnât compare to Ding Gangâs methods.
In truth, Zou Feng was already feeling the pressure.
These Gu Corpses, which had been tortured to death and deeply implanted with Gu Poison, were by no means easy to deal with.
Almost every Gu Corpse possessed strength equivalent to the Fifth Grade.
Of course, they certainly couldnât compare to a normal Martial Artist in terms of intelligence, and their movements in combat were not as refined as when executing a Cultivation Skill.
But while their flaws were great, their advantages were just as obvious: their bodies were as hard as steel, and they were utterly fearless of death.
If a dozen or so Gu Corpses were to swarm him now, let alone a Fourth Grade expert, even someone at the Third Grade True Qi Realm might not be able to escape unscathed.
"Youâre really bold to have chased me here!"
With the Gu Corpses revealed, Ding Gangâs posture shifted to the offensive. It was only natural for them to start celebrating early.
"Honestly, Iâve taken a liking to you. Especially that Poison Skill youâve cultivatedâitâs truly not easy!" Ding Gang said regretfully.
Only a Poison Cultivator could understand the hardships of being a Poison Cultivator, especially one like Ding Gang who had reached a high Realm.
Unfortunately, Zou Feng couldnât relate to such hardships. For him, it hadnât been that difficult at all; he had relied entirely on the "big brothers" on the list to take care of him.
"So Iâve decided to give you one more chance!"
"After we both swear a Heart Demon Poison Oath, we can dual cultivate. The fusion of our poisons will surely bring immense benefits. If we can cooperate through long-term dual cultivation, itâs not impossible for both of us to step into the True Qi Realm in the near future!" After speaking, Ding Gang stared at Zou Feng with a burning gaze.
To be fair, Zou Feng had to admit that what Ding Gang said made sense and was highly probable.
But the problem was, how the hell could he accept that? His tastes werenât that extreme. He really couldnât do it!