The Immortal’s Poison

When the Mourning Cauldron leaped, the Yin flames that burned enchantingly within it froze suddenly as if time had stopped without a warning.

Both Cone Nail and Chang Li forgot about crying. They almost screamed at the same time. With some unknown strength, they leaped like two furious mother cats and pounced towards that Mourning Cauldron. Wen Leyang's death was originally all but certain when he was thrown into the Mourning Cauldron but the perceptive, master-acknowledging 'You've Got Me' was still very much alive. That, and the Mourning Cauldron had shown some strange changes, they saw a ray of hope.

The two female demons had just made their moves when the corpse figurines also moved suddenly. They quickly parted and shielded the Mourning Cauldron from the front. Their hollow eyes looked fiercely at Chang Li and Cone Nail.

Fifth Brother Hanba burned with rage. His body moved like lightning. He kicked Chang Li and Cone Nail who wanted to rescue Wen Leyang until they flipped over, "It's in the nature of the corpse figurines to guard the cauldron, do you guys have a death wish?! If you want to die, do it outside the col, don't do it in my home!"

The Mourning Cauldron vibrated, the demon flames froze. These were premonitions of the advent of a terrifying tragedy. It was not as Chang Li and the others had thought, that Wen Leyang was struggling…

Chang Li crashed heavily onto the ground. This time, she could not get back onto her feet anymore. She screamed hoarsely towards Hanba, "Wen Leyang isn't dead yet!"

Cone Nail's wounds were slightly lesser than Chang Li. She bounced right back up the minute her shoulder touched the ground. She did not even have time to talk nonsense as she howled and wanted to urge her life vitality. She was about to pounce towards the Mourning Cauldron when she suddenly gave a heart-wrenching wail. She clasped her head with her hands and fell on the ground in excruciating pain! Her life vitality was already gradually scattering, her spirit took blow after blow. She flitted between life and death, sorrow and happiness. Her primordial spirit was extremely shaken. The heavenly water spirit suddenly attacked. It enveloped the life vitality, which was in a mess, and started to attack the seal within her primordial spirit like a tempest.

Cone Nail felt like her entire strength was sapped from her body. Her head was in so much pain that it felt like it was erupting. Her scattered memories were like snow in the gale as they swirled and flew past her eyes!

Nineteen was greatly shocked. She quickly stepped forward to prop Cone Nail up. Cone Nail's lips were already bleeding because she bit on them. She tried with all her might to open a slit in her eyelids. She used her final strand of spirit she preserved and said to Nineteen, "Break the cauldron! I beg…" She collapsed and fainted.

A tinge of hesitation flashed cross Nineteen's eyes. She lifted her head and looked at the thousand corpse figurines, which were capable to tear them all to shreds. In the end, she carried Cone Nail and retreated.

Chang Li's eyes blew fire with hate. She did not even look at Nineteen and Cone Nail. Her pristine hands, which had been untainted for thousands of years, had scratched at the hard Yin eye's ground until her blood flowed out. She glared at Fifth Brother Hanba and screamed almost hysterically, "You're making me do this!" After she finished, she quickly drew a deep breath and howled every word, "Demon! Body…"

Xiaowu cried loudly. She jumped down from Hanba's embrace onto the ground. She extended her arms and shielded her father. She cried at Chang Li, "It's not that daddy doesn't want to save him. Nobody can save Wen Leyang, they'll only throw away their lives in vain!"

Chang Li could not shout the final words 'Breaking Spell'. The one who stopped them from breaking the cauldron was not Hanba, but the corpse figurines. Fifth Brother Hanba only did not want them to die in vain.

Even if she killed Hanba, she still could not save Wen Leyang.

Even if the four peerless demon immortals, the cat demon, Cone Nail, golden monkey and Hanba were at their prime, it was still impossible for them to break through the seven hundred and seventy-seven corpse figurines that had fused together with the dragon's vein and Yin's eye.

She had spent two thousand years and was parted with Tuo Xie in life; she had used one minute and was separated by death with Wen Leyang! Chang Li raised her pointed chin and spewed out a mist of blood packed with the agony of the partings in life and death. Her sharp howl turned into a hoarse wail, "What's the use of cultivating heaven!?"

She was not even as happy as the cat inside the creeping mountain forest, which was unsure if it was hiding or ambushing a wild rat!

The frozen flames on the Mourning Cauldron suddenly moved!

The Yin flames that were a few meters high were like a pained snake. It writhed and wriggled in agony before entangling in circles, the light of the flames flickered and flashed across everyone's eyes… Suddenly, a sad and shrill wail that made everyone's blood curdle shot towards the sky from the evil hole of the Mourning Cauldron! That strip of Yin flame gave a muffled bang. Like a flower which had been suppressed for thousands of years and finally got the chance to bloom, its thick flames quickly broke into countless fiery snakes and blasted in every direction.

The other Yin flames that burned on the Mourning Cauldron seemed alive. They struggled desperately and hastily leaned their own bodies towards their wounded companion but they could not reach it. From a bird's eye view, every Yin cauldron in the col had long fiery snakes reaching out form them, they shook their tails at the Yin cauldron which swallowed Wen Leyang and formed a giant and enchanting red spider lily…

Fifth Brother Hanba sighed. He waved his hand with some exhaustion. He wiped out the spark of hope which had just risen in Nineteen's eyes, "The final Mourning Cauldron which is tainted with a living person's fresh blood will trigger the evil point's spirit gas. The calamity is certain, what's left is its location." After he finished, he stooped down and carried Xiaowu into his arms again and stepped aside.

The corpse figurines caught a living person to sacrifice it on the cauldron, then, their powers increased. The final cauldron that was tainted with a living person's fresh blood would trigger the evil point's spirit gas under it to shoot towards the sky and bring forth a great calamity in the realm of men… What was left now was to wait for that dark and gloomy, stifling greyish-green Yin air to spray forth from the final Mourning Cauldron which swallowed Wen Leyang.

When everything was over, Hanba would cast his spell again to guide the corpse figurines which had regained their corpse appearance back into the crypt. Soon, the bloody soil on the ground would dry up, the col would resume its thousand-year barrenness as if nothing had ever taken place. 

At this moment, Hanba suddenly felt a blazing heat, which dropped down from the sky. When he looked up, he saw a humungous red giant sword plunging straight down towards himself.

Hanba was scared out of his wits. He immediately ran as he howled furiously, "Who is this elite who has come to the Yin's eye. Please show yourself!"

The half-solidified corpse blood in Hanba's body all rushed towards his brain. It was needless to say that he was infuriated, but he was even more terrified. Someone had sneaked an attack on him, why were the corpse figurines unmoved?' You've Got Me' hid within Xiaowu's chest, only a tiny head showed. It saw, with its own eyes, that the two great demon immortals beside its master had been bullied by Hanba and secretly summoned the great sword…

Xiaowu was also startled. She reached out and grabbed 'You've Got Me'. 'You've Got Me' flailed and 'ran'. It ran along the little darling's arm and neck. It would let out a wail every so often. It complained that the little darling could not read the atmosphere and was only interested in having fun even now.

At the same time, the sad and forlorn wail that erupted from the Yin cauldron stopped abruptly. A series of explosions like muffled thunder rumbled in the ground beneath the Yin cauldron. A layer of stifling greyish-green smoke slowly filled the giant cauldron, but it did not spew forth like a volcano. It was like a strange god's lake. These beautiful evil spot's spirit gas flowed into the cauldron ceaselessly from the evil spot. Then, it flowed and rolled but not even a single drop of it spilled.

Hanba had no time to wonder about the Mourning Cauldron's strange phenomenon. He was carrying Xiaowu and dodged Molten Metal Fire Bell's attacks like lightning. His cold gaze quickly turned towards Nineteen, which shocked Nineteen into hastily shaking her head, "It wasn't me!"

Xiaowu was completely worn out after she was heavily wounded. She could not catch 'You've Got Me' who was running all over her but was reluctant to leave her.

The seven hundred and seventy-seven corpse figurines had mechanical expressions. They stood upright on their original spots. However, inside their dark eyeholes, it was as if a tinge of confusion and disappointment flowed out of them. They did not understand why the foul air only rolled into the cauldron but did not shoot up to the sky.

Why did they need to fight so hard since they could not do anything about the calamity?

Just like Hanba did not know that there was a worm under the heavens that knew how to control a profound orthodox ultimate giant sword and recently learned how to sneak an attack, Nineteen herself did not know about the Mourning Cauldron's heaven-killing magic. She had no idea that the Mourning Cauldron was behaving abnormally right now. She frowned slightly and looked at Molten Metal Fire Bell that was chasing Hanba around and mumbled, "Why didn't 'You've Got Me' break the cauldron?"

You've Got Me was only angry at Fifth Brother Hanba. It did not even feel that Wen Leyang was in any danger…

Suddenly, a series of muffled howls rolled within the Mourning Cauldron. The muffled howl was like a deadly shout but it was not clear, but it was so hoarse that it made everyone uncomfortable.

'You've Got Me's' body went stiff. It no longer cared about chasing Hanba down. It hastily turned around. Its dark black eyes bulged as it looked at the Mourning Cauldron.

Molten Metal Fire Bell lost its orders and plunged into the ground at an angle.

Red Pot was much more well-behaved than 'You've Got Me'. Ever since Xiaowu shook it, it crawled back into Xiaowu's chest and did not move about. When it heard the muffled howl, it could not restrain its curiosity and peeked its head out.

Hanba was still flustered but he was still concerned about the strangeness of the Mourning Cauldron. After he walked away from the giant sword, his life vitality flowed and he slowly floated up into the sky. Then, his always-rigid face twitched fiercely! On the other hand, Xiaowu cheered suddenly, "It's Ning Jiao's bone!"

Inside the giant cauldron, a giant Bony Snake wrapped in grey mist coiled and stretched its body. Its dark giant head surfaced and sank. It swam happily within the cauldron full of evil spot's spirit gas. Beside it, there was a curved Snake Knife, which also swam as it wagged its tail. It made a hoarse hiss occasionally.

Chang Li stopped crying again. She stared blankly at the Mourning Cauldron. After a brief moment, she regained her senses. She yelled anxiously at Nineteen, "Bring me up! Bring me up, quick!"

Nineteen smiled faintly. She went over and helped Chang Li up. She leaped onto the red giant sword that was stuck in the ground.

Hanba was startled. He reminded Chang Li with good intentions, "Be careful of that sword!"

Chang Li ignored him. She looked absent-mindedly at Ning Jiao, which was happily cruising in the Mourning Cauldron. Her already dark eyes gradually lit up. Her delicate chest regained some spirit but she seemed to have lost it. She opened her mouth and chuckled.

Hanba was anxious out of his wits. He would have given anything just to jump into the cauldron to see what was happening. However, no matter how he called out to Chang Li, the cat demon only smiled foolishly. At this moment, there was a sound of two cold metal rubbing against each other which came from the ground, "Bring me up there to see, then I'll tell you what's happening!"

Hanba turned around with great joy but he could not find the person who spoke. Only when the golden monkey waved his tail forcefully did Fifth Brother know that it was him. He placed the little darling onto his back and stretched out an arm. He drew the monkey to himself.

When Qian Ren dug the devil fetus on Mount Hua's Ending Cave, he had already gone through Wen Leyang's method of practice with Chang Li and Cone Nail. When he saw the phenomenon in the Mourning Cauldron, the monkey's face was also filled with happiness. He roughly explained the Nine Jiao magic weapon and Wen Leyang's Art of Poison to Hanba.

Even though Hanba was a peerless corpse immortal, he had never heard of such an Art of Poison, which led to the attainment of a saint's body. The five elements transformed Yang, the corpse poison is Yin. When Yin and Yang combined, the poison will turn into Chaos. First, the meridians were remolded, then, the bones were remolded, then the blood, flesh and skin…

When the monkey finished his explanation, Chang Li had already regained her senses. She looked as fresh as a daisy. She stood on top of the giant sword, laughed loudly and shouted at Hanba, "Now you understand?"

Hanba did not reply, but he looked at the giant sword under Chang Li's and Nineteen's feet with eyes full of alarm.

Chang Li was all smiles, "It's alright. We'll talk about the giant sword later!"

Hanba brought the golden monkey and floated onto the giant sword, "This set of magic weapon refined using Ning Jiao, they've assimilated with Wen Leyang and improved alongside his Art of Poison? If Ning Jiao's sting and the Bony Snake is still here, Wen Leyang is sure to be alive?"

Chang Li nodded without saying anything. The little darling Xiaowu hastily asked, "What about Ning Jiao's armor?" Xiaowu could not rest easy as long as the snake skin did not float up.

Chang Li was in an amazingly good mood. She strenuously reached out her hand to pinch Xiaowu's chubby cheeks, "Ning Jiao's armor is already refined into the armor of his blood and bones, it cannot leave his body…" As she was saying this, the Bony Snake and Ning Jiao's sting inside the Mourning Cauldron suddenly rustled and shook. The evil spirit gas inside the Mourning Cauldron also became murky and rapid.

The Bony Snake kept hissing in a muffled tone. Its body stiffened as if it was under immense pain. The little darling could not help but bulge her eyes. Two bags of bones the size of fists were protruding out of the Bony Snake's skull. At the same time, on the Bony Snake's body, another four giant bags of bones rose on the Bony Snake's body!

The Snake Knife which cruised beside the Bony Snake stopped its humming. It floated silently on top of the Mourning Cauldron's evil spirit gas as if it were dead.

Hanba's voice sounded like he just swallowed a bowl of glass shards, "This is…"

If it were not for Nineteen's support, Chang Li would have been so excited that she fell off from the giant sword. She pointed at the Mourning Cauldron and said, "Bony Snake turned turned turned turned turned…"

Hanba stomped his foot fiercely, the two of them finished the sentence together, "Into a dragon!"

Bony Snake turned into a dragon!

Ning Jiao cultivated with the hopes that it might one day turn into a heavenly dragon and rise directly to a high position. The current Bony Snake is dead, it could not have improved itself.

Chang Li herself was unsure if she was crying or laughing. Her sparkling tears only had one single thought, god was not blind!

The golden monkey's excitement was partly due to Wen Leyang's not being dead, partly because he had witnessed a never before seen strange phenomenon, the dead monster Ning Jiao had taken the form of a dragon! After a long while, he regained his senses, "As I expected… The evil spot's spirit gas was also absorbed by this young lad!" As he said this, he looked up at Hanba, "The evil spirit gas inside the evil spot is the Poison of Yin?"

"No wonder the evil spirit gas did not spray forth…" Hanba noded. Nobody under the heavens understood this place more than he did. The evil spirit gas within the evil spot was the purest and strongest Poison of Yin. It could never be released into the realms of men, that was why it was subdued by the Mourning Cauldron.

If it was about quality, the Poison of Life and Death inside Wen Leyang's body was not as pure and strong as Grand Master Tuo Xie's aqua blue strong poison; but in terms of quantity, the toxins accumulated within Wen Leyang's body was unrivaled. The Poison of Life and Death was like a gluttonous evil beast whose hunger was never satisfied. As long as it found some pure poison, it would absorb it and assimilate it. After the remolding of bones last time, it had swallowed the big group of firecracker's Poison of Water and the devil fetus' Poison of Wood. 

That Poison of Water almost destroyed Tian Yin's dharmakaya which gathered the life vitality energy of Black and White Island's three sword immortals; that Poison of Wood was formed by the spiritual seed demon's spell after it absorbed the vitality of the plants. However, after these two poisons were absorbed by Wen Leyang, because they could not find any Poison of Yin to assimilate them, they could only mix with his Poison of Life and Death. The quantity was enough but the quality was never satisfactory. Wen Leyang only felt that he attained the art of casting poison of the water element's flow and wood element's root-taking. His body could not be improved, his method of practice also did not move forward.

Although the Yin flame within the Mourning Cauldron was enchanting and blazing, it had no heat, it could never burn someone to death. What truly killed the 'sacrifice' was the corpse-guiding mourning gas that condensed inside the Mourning Cauldron for a few thousand years. After the sacrifice was offered, the purest Poison of Yin would surge out from the evil spot under the Mourning Cauldron. It was supposed to shoot up into the sky, mix with the vitality of heaven and earth and form a boundless foul air, eventually leading into a great disaster.

Ever since Wen Leyang was thrown into the Mourning Cauldron, he first completely absorbed the mourning energy within the cauldron, but he was already covered in blood. He still triggered the Yin's eye magic circle and guided the evil spirit gas from within the evil spot into the Mourning Cauldron…

A crisp cracking sound interrupted the deductions of the few demon immortals. Inside the Mourning Cauldron, a pair of pale bone horns protruded ferociously from that big skull and pointed at the firmament!

Suddenly, seven auspiciously colored rays of light shot forth from the melancholic sky. Thousands of clouds rolled forth and formed countless godly appearances of golden-winged Dapeng and Ninth Heaven divine dragon with the wind. In the blink of an eye, clear vehement long howls and dragon's roar intertwined with each other, they penetrated the heavens and earth!

Since the beginning of the world, the dragon's vein Yin's eye had been void of life, but now it was enveloped in a layer of soft beauty by the auspicious light that covered the skies. It was like the sweetest dream, so silently, so unexpectedly, so unbelievably dropping down from the sky!

The Bony Snake's body did not increase in size, but amidst the waving of its two horns and four limbs, it burned with an imposing dragon's aura, which spews forth from within the Mourning Cauldron. Like a ground-breaking eruption, it quickly covered every corner of the Yin mountain's eye!

Xiaowu cried. Her two chubby hands grabbed her father's neck. It was different from her former wails. This time, the little darling sobbed, which left her unable to say another word. After countless sobs, she finally coughed out the stifling air within her chest. However, she was at a loss for words. She was stunned momentarily with a silly look before she said with a stutter, "This dragon is ugly!"

The Bony Snake had grown dragon horns and got four sharp claws but its body was still a chain of cold white bones. The faint greyish mist, which enveloped its body before this, was nowhere to be seen, while Ning Jiao's sting turned into a dull black. Without anyone noticing, layers of dragon lines covered the blade.

As long as Wen Leyang was still alive, Chang Li could care less about the appearance of the monster within the Mourning Cauldron. She replied with a smile, "Ning Jiao is dead. Its bones turning into a dragon is all thanks to Wen Leyang. No matter how it changed it would never regrow its skin and flesh. This bone form will never change."

As if it heard Chang Li's words, the Bony Snake which had turned into the shape of a dragon's bone raised its head and roared loudly…

Hanba heaved a long sigh, "As long as Wen Leyang is alive!"

Of course, Wen Leyang was not dead.

Ever since the beginning, Wen Leyang had been unconscious. The Poison of Aqua Blue fought fiercely with the Poison of Life and Death. The series of pain it rocked formed a nightmare. Like countless rusty saws, it sawed on his nerves ceaselessly. Only when he was brought out of the Yin cauldron by the corpse figurines, that innards-chilling Yin cold that followed chased away this unending nightmare.

At that moment, the scar on Wen Leyang's face twitched slightly. He was unconscious but he truly thought that he was dead. Everything in his surroundings expanded unreasonably. His limp body could not feel an ounce of livelihood. He only continued to sink deeper and deeper…

The Poison of Yin entered the cauldron. The Poison of Life and Death, which was like a caged beast that was still fighting though it was already at the edge of breaking down, suddenly obtained another lease of life. It desperately absorbed the Poison of Yin that was scattered around it. The poison stream eventually formed a wild spinning whirlpool. The Poison of Life and Death did not increase in size but it became purer and stronger with a blast. Maybe it was still slightly inferior to the Poison of Aqua Blue, its already great volume of poison was enough to make up for its lack of quality. 

Just like the series of battles at Mount Hua, strange lands and the Qin Mountains, the outcome of the battle between the poisons within Wen Leyang's body was quickly reversed. The Poison of Life and Death finally preserved its master's body and won this fierce battle, which no one else could see!

The Poison of Aqua Blue was Grand Master Tuo Xie's signature poison. It would not be refined by the Poison of Life and Death. Eventually, it was only sealed within Wen Leyang's body by the Poison of Life and Death.

The evil spirit gas within the evil spot was endless. The Poison of Life and Death was ceaselessly being purified and cruised around within Wen Leyang's body.

Although Wen Leyang was not like Chang Li, Cone Nail and the others, he was also a top elite under the heavens. Faulty Punch had already turned into his instincts. When the poison stream grew stronger and his body could almost take it no more, even in his unconscious state of mind, Wen Leyang's body silently shook. Although the scale of his movements was not big, it was clearly the ultimate skill passed down by Grand Master Tuo Xie, the Faulty Punch.

His limbs and bones catered to the flow of the Poison of Life and Death. They twitched, shook and directed the flow of the poison current's flow with the energy from the Faulty Punch.

For a person to attain a saint's body, it was not a matter of the firmness of heart or stability of life vitality, but it was to separate oneself from the world. Since one was not given birth or brought up by the heavens, why go over so much trouble to assimilate oneself with the world? Now, the Mourning Cauldron in which Wen Leyang settled in was his own little world!

Under the guidance of the Faulty Punch, Wen Leyang's skin fell off piece by piece. Under his skin, his tendons and flesh had already been crushed by the big-mustached man's life vitality energy and they withered slowly. After god knows how long, the crumbling skin was restored once again…

Water element under the heavens nourishes everything. The Poison of Life and Death, which had completely assimilated with the water element, was slowly remolding Wen Leyang's blood vessels.

The wood element was full of vitality, tough and unrelenting. The Poison of Life and Death which had assimilated with the wood element was slowly remolding Wen Leyang's tendons and flesh which had been crushed by the big-mustached man's life vitality…

It was at this moment that Ning Jiao's sting silently appeared from within his body. Then, it summoned the Bony Snake and started to swim within the Mourning Cauldron.

From the moment the Poison of Life and Death started to remold Wen Leyang's blood and flesh, the Bony Snake had taken the form of a dragon. Now, it slowly sunk to the bottom of the Mourning Cauldron and started to improve with Wen Leyang's method of practice.

Chang Li spat out a stifled breath. Then, she thought of another matter as she shook her head with a bitter smile, "How long is this going to take now?" After she finished, she returned to the surface of the ground with Nineteen's support and went to take care of Cone Nail.