"That little guy, Celestial Poison, he's really..."
Yang Xiao gave a wry smile as he felt the strange sensation spreading from his feet.
However, if anyone else had heard him, they'd probably have been so shocked their teeth would have flown out.
The Celestial Poison God King.
He was a notoriously fierce god from the Middle Ages.
Moreover, having been born in the Late Ancient Era, he would be an old monster at least a million years old if he were still alive today.
And someone was calling him a "little guy"?
That was just absurd.
Of course, if anyone knew that in his second life, Yang Xiao was the Flame Emperor's son, and in his first, the Supreme Divine King known as the Flame Emperor, their souls would probably be scared right out of their bodies.
These two identities.
Either one was unbelievably powerful.
Of course, with his great enemy yet to be eliminated, Yang Xiao could not expose his own identity.
And in this world, as long as he didn't say anything, didn't deliberately leave any traces, or run into someone who knew him intimately, it was unlikely anyone would guess who he was in his previous two lives. After all, a million years had passed.
But at this moment, Yang Xiao wasn't thinking about any of that.
And no one else heard what he said.
His feet, however, had gone completely numb.
Because the ground...
Was poisoned.
'Still, it's a good thing this poison isn't particularly potent. Otherwise, with my current strength, I would have died on the spot.'
Yang Xiao smiled helplessly.
But instead of rising into the air, he sat down cross-legged.
By doing so, the toxins from the ground invaded his body at an even faster rate.
Instantly.
Yang Xiao felt the toxins invade his entire body, paralyzing him from head to toe.
But in that time...
He had already identified the properties of the poison.
The types of poisons were strange and numerous. They primarily existed in three formsāgaseous, liquid, and solidāwith effects ranging from corrosive, deactivating, and paralyzing to inducing Illusions and more.
There were even some combinatory poisons.
The variety was immense.
It was much like the properties of medicines. The difference was that medicinal properties were beneficial to the subject, while toxic properties were harmful. From this broader perspective, a poison was not necessarily just a poison; it could also be a Spirit Medicine or a tonic.
As long as it was unsuitable for and harmful to the subject, it could be classified as a poison.
'If my judgment is correct, this should be a mild, paralyzing toxic gas that affects all living things. Anyone whose cultivation has reached the Demigod level can become immune, but it will leave a residue. For those in the Great Divine Power Realm, its effects are very weak, making it difficult to even detect. Only those at the Small Divine Ability Realm or below would be able to clearly sense its presence, like me.'
If it were anyone else, even if they could detect this like Yang Xiao...
They would probably just assume the Celestial Poison God King used this toxic gas to deal with experts of the Small Divine Ability Realm.
But Yang Xiao knew that couldn't be the case.
'Knowing Celestial Poison's personality, he wouldn't target the weak. On the contrary, his true targets and sense of achievement came from dealing with powerful opponents.'
'Therefore, if this toxin isn't cleansed, it will play a critical role later on, its effects magnifying infinitely. It could pose a fatal threat to Demigods, even True Gods or Divine Kings.'
'Furthermore, for those who don't touch the ground, there should be another poison in the airāone even more colorless, odorless, and undetectable.'
The more he analyzed...
The more startled Yang Xiao became.
'If I'm not mistaken, the toxins will only get more terrifying the deeper I go. If I don't prepare myself, I'm afraid I won't make it to the end.'
'To go through so much trouble to set this place up like this... could it be there's something inside that's very important to Celestial Poison? If so, then no matter what, I have to reach the deepest part and take a look. Maybe I'll learn more about what happened a million years ago, and whether he's dead or alive.'
A gleam flashed in Yang Xiao's eyes.
He knew that Celestial Poison was someone who hated trouble; he never did anything without a purpose. 'If the environment here is truly as I suspect, then Celestial Poison must have really hidden something here.'
At this thought...
Yang Xiao grew a little excited.
But he didn't act rashly. Instead, he began to analyze the toxins within his body.
He began to slowly absorb them.
And neutralize them.
As mentioned before, poisons and Spirit Medicines were, in fact, two sides of the same coin.
What was beneficial to the subject was a Spirit Medicine; what was harmful was a poison.
And just as Yang Xiao could convert the properties of Spirit Medicines through the Five Elements, the same was true for poisons. As long as he found the right catalyst, he could transform a poison into a Spirit Medicine.
Not only would it be harmless, but it could even enhance his cultivation.
Just like now.
When Yang Xiao converted the paralyzing toxic gas, it turned into Spiritual Qi that enhanced his blood and various aspects of his spirit.
As he absorbed it on a massive scale...
His Heaven and Earth Origin Fire Source, which had reached the Mid-stage Yellow Flame, actually grew a size larger. His aura also advanced from just barely entering the Martial Grandmaster Sixth Layer to the Mid-stage Martial Grandmaster Six Realm.
It didn't seem like much of an improvement.
But Yang Xiao was very satisfied.
'This toxic gas is already equivalent in effect to a Greater Yang Spirit Fruit. Not bad. I'm really looking forward to seeing how much benefit the upcoming toxins will bring me.'
Yang Xiao smiled faintly.
He lifted his feet and walked forward.
Meanwhile, the two inside the Heaven-Fighting Divine Palace were incredibly nervous.
Especially when they saw Yang Xiao sitting cross-legged on the ground, completely motionless.
Han Ziye and the Purple-scaled Blood Horned Flood Dragon were both extremely tense.
If Yang Xiao hadn't sent them a telepathic message telling them not to act rashly...
They probably would have forcibly pulled him back.
They couldn't help but sigh in relief when they saw Yang Xiao stand up again.
But then...
Their expressions changed as they saw him continue deeper.
The two of them paled.
"Uncle Hanx, do you think my master will be okay? This place of the Celestial Poison God King is filled with poison, even the ground is poisoned. Can my master withstand it?"
The Purple-scaled Blood Horned Flood Dragon had a worried expression.
Although it hadn't been with Yang Xiao for long...
The Master-Servant Slave Seal had been planted on it. If anything happened to Yang Xiao, it would not be spared; only death would await.
Naturally, it was worried.
And during their time together...
The Purple-scaled Blood Horned Flood Dragon felt that by following such a badass master, its life as a dragon would be pretty good. At the very least, as long as its master was alive, it could leave this place.
Only then would it have a future.
Only then would it have the chance to become a True Dragon.
So with Yang Xiao now taking such risks, it was naturally extremely worried.
As for Han Ziye.
His situation was similar to the Purple-scaled Blood Horned Flood Dragon's, but slightly better. He wouldn't be implicated and die if Yang Xiao died.
But being trapped in this Poison King Valley...
Getting out in the future would be next to impossible.
Naturally, Han Ziye also looked grim.
"For now, let's just hope Brother Yang is okay. From the looks of it, he seems to have some confidence."
But just then.
Just as the words left his mouth...
Over on Yang Xiao's side...
Something suddenly went wrong.
The expressions of Han Ziye and the Purple-scaled Blood Horned Flood Dragon changed in an instant!
They saw Yang Xiao reach out and lightly tap the liquid in a small puddle before him.
Immediately after, his finger began to rot over a large area at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the decay spread continuously upward.
It seemed that soon, Yang Xiao himself would melt into a pool of pus and blood, dying on the spot!
"What a terrifying poison! Master, he..."
The Purple-scaled Blood Horned Flood Dragon couldn't continue.
Han Ziye's face...
...also turned extremely grim. After a moment's hesitation, a purplish-red fruit appeared in his hand, and he began to pilot the Divine Palace forward to save him.
But just then.
Yang Xiao did something that shocked them both.
He...
He actually walked over to the small puddle and sat right down in it.