The Immortal's Poison

Panda Novel

Including Wen Leyang’s group, there were a total of eighteen troops of evil cults that worshipped the nine-headed snake in the small town of Tuer. There could only be nine troops left in the end. Due to their stubbornness and persistence which was brought on by their religious fanaticism, more than a few people would certainly be dead by the end of this battle.

Even Wen Leyang was unaware of what sort of prophecy that they had received before they made their way to China but he could at least understand why these religious fanatics had decided that the best course of action for them was to stay.

Every troop would rather die from being eliminated. That was why the ambience of the small town was thoroughly ghastly. Everyone was glaring at one another like ravenous tigers, yet they were also waiting for someone else to make the first move.

If the organizer was to come forward and come up with a solution, then the situation could have been resolved with ease. There were to be nine troops left out of eighteen. They could have either paired up and fought each other, or divide themselves into smaller groups and compete by counting scores. All in all, it wouldn’t be too difficult a task. Yet, the residents of the town did not speak, they gathered and watched from the sides since the early morning, they did not even have breakfast.

Xiao Sha suddenly scoffed. He turned around and walked back to the campsite. The dozens of gigantic footprints beside him disappeared instantly.

Wen Leyang was astonished, he asked, “Why did you come back?”

Xiao Sha gave him the evil eye. “Bullshit, my sister just said that someone is unyielding, of course I should come back quickly!”

Qin Zhui lifted his Tang knife, his eyes glimmered as he asked Fei Fei, “Who are they, these who are unwilling to back down?”

Undoubtedly, Wen Leyang’s group’s responsibilities had been divided well. Fei Fei was in charge of observing the enemy’s expression to gain first-hand intelligence. Xiao Sha had the job of intimidating the others. Wen Leyang and Qin Zhui were to stand guard and fight anyone who came close. Gu Xiaojun did not do anything…

Even before Fei Fei answered, Wen Leyang seemed to have realized something, he sneered as he said, “I will go first!” He got up and jumped backwards a few step. He seemed to be leaving himself some space for a starting run.

At the same time, a strong looking man from the Greek troop on the opposite side threw open his arms. He jumped out of the group with his jaw clenched. Like a raging bull, he dashed in great strides, to the direction of Wen Leyang and the rest’s camp.

Xiao Sha could not help himself. He burst out laughing from where he stood. “Are we having a bull race here” This is…” Before he could finish his sentence, his mouth suddenly shut tight. Fear flashed across his face!

The distance between the evil cults and their campsite was less than a few dozen meters. The bull-like strong man did not run very fast but moments later, the entirety of the small town shook with thundering footsteps. Every time the strong man’s feet touched the ground, the ground would tremble and rumble loudly!

Tutatunte led his troop in a series of loud shrieks, like a group of monkeys that realized danger was approaching them. Their expressions were savage as they waved their limbs about.

The trembles grew stronger and stronger by the second. The remnants of the bonfire and the small rocks were trembling so hard, they started rolling everywhere around the campsite. Suddenly, following a loud call, Wen Leyang gathered his strength and ran forward towards the strong man, whose body was three times the size of his.

Cruel smiles appeared on the face of the Greeks standing nearby. They knew that even the toughest and sturdiest pine tree on Mount Olympus could not withstand the strength of this strong man’s one arm.

Wen Leyang did not run fast but went at the pace of an ordinary man. His hands were opened wide, shrieking loudly through his mouth along with his African allies. It was like watching a squirrel dash towards its true love, the great bear, with firm determination and defying all danger.

Just as Wen Leyang was about to crash into the strong man, a gust of strong wind swept past, Qin Zhui had already pulled ahead and surpassed him. He laughed loudly as he crashed into the Greek’s strong man!

In a fight, how could Qin Zhui ever be content with second place?

Qin Zhui slung his Tang knife over his shoulder. He crashed into the strong man without holding back. Bang, a cracking sound like the air had exploded rang out, even the evil cult followers who were cruel and unyielding, gave out a soft scream of fear in unison. Their jaws dropped from fear, as they stared at the scene before their eyes in disbelief and bewilderment.

The strong Greek, that was famous for his strength as well as his iron-like body, could not bear the tremendous force that rippled out from the impact of the crash. His body was like a balloon that was filled with water. The moment the two of them came into contact, his body exploded with a loud bang. The strong man, that had seemed extremely powerful a few moments ago, had been turned into a pile of ground meat in the blink of an eye, guts splattered in all directions!

When Wen Leyang was dashing forward, he had been controlling his strength the whole time. Following the group’s earlier discussion, even while defeating the enemy, he was not allowed to be too flashy. Whether he was fighting with strength, his body or his Poison Hand or with poisons, even if he just stood still, he still had a way to kill the evil cult followers that pounced his way, without uttering a single word. However, Qin Zhui did not care for such things. His dash was filled with the spirit of the Olympics. At the same time, he had faced his opponents with the utmost respect, not hiding his body’s strength as he crashed into the strong man and blew him to pieces.

A shower of blood rained down and splattered everywhere. Wen Leyang swayed and retreated back to Gu Xiaojun’s side in a speed far quicker than before. His body was not tainted by even a single drop of blood. Even though he did not meet with the enemy head-on earlier, Wen Leyang knew this in his heart. Aside from the rest, the strong man’s abilities were even less than that of Giant Bull from the rogue practitioners. Even for two monk disciples, the strong man would not have been a problem for them.

At this point, the sharp shrieks of the African allies in their campsite had turned into hoarse, alarmed cries. Judging from their voices, one would have guessed that they had just eaten three tones of salt.

Qin Zhui dodged the shower of blood rain that was falling from the sky. He stood in between their campsite and the evil cult followers, he asked defiantly, “That’s it?” His gaze dotted all around. His eyes swept back and forth across the enemy. Wherever he looked, the evil cult followers caught under his gaze could not help but feel frightened.

Gu Xiaojun suddenly shouted, “Don’t stop Qin Zhui!”

Fei Fei, who had been serving underneath Gu Xiaojun as a soldier for some time, immediately understood their leader’s intention. She explained to Wen Leyang softly who was slightly puzzled, “Our intention was to get the enemy to retreat in the face of difficulty but with that one attack, in the eyes of the rest of the troops, they think it was the Greek man that was too weak.”

Wen Leyang had learned a lot as of late. He was much more quick to understand now, he laughed as he nodded, “Understood! If the Greeks want to retain their position, they must risk their lives in a counterattack!”

Fei Fei praised as she chuckled, “It is so much easier to talk to a knowledgeable person! Rather than wait for the Greeks to attack, why don’t we help the other troops bet them into defeat first, before we discuss this any further.”

After the China-African alliance, the Greeks were the strongest amongst the rest of the four alliances. The Greeks were like tigers amongst wild beasts, while the other three alliances were akin to wolves. Gu Xiaojun’s intention was clear, he wanted the wolves to understand that the tiger was a fake.

With a series of savage wild laughter, at a speed that could not be detected by the naked eye, Qin Zhui dove into the group of Greeks ferociously. Even before the opposing party could react, he had already bashed into a dozen people. The troop’s formation instantly turned into chaotic mess. Although Qin Zhui did not stop running, his footsteps gradually slowed down. Every single one of the Greek evil cult followers were strong men built with bulky arms and strong waists. Their bodies was an accumulation of strength that was utterly unimaginable by any other ordinary beings. Just like chunks upon chunks of hard rocks, the moment their body was crushed into powder from the impact, the force from the impact sent wave after wave of uneasiness into Qin Zhui’s body mercilessly.

It was easy to crash into one but it was no easy feat for him to crash into ten of them. By the time he had crashed into twenty, he was already in pain… The situation had now turned from him crashing into them, to them throwing themselves at his body in true desperation.

Fei Fei frowned as she spoke to Wen Leyang, “The Greeks are people who advocate for strength. Whether it stems from ancient myth or folk beliefs, they have always worshipped rigid strength. Qin Zhui is straining with the effort of going against that strength now.”

Wen Leyang felt pride in his heart, for the martial arts practiced by the Greeks were slightly similar to his but paled in comparison when it came to power.

Xiao Sha followed up the conversation from the side as he laughed, “Qin Zhui is right now fitted to the old saying ‘How many nails can one nail into the body, even if that body is made of made of metal!’. Are you going to help him?”

Wen Leyang came up with a plan in his heart, he understood Qin Zhui’s abilities more than anyone. He shook his head as he laughed. “He’ll be fine!”

As expected, Qin Zhui, who was swaying from the impact, raised his arms and pulled his Tang knife from his back. With a raging roar, he chopped down with his knife!

Every Greek evil cult follower that had been pushed back were now squalling. Just as they were about to surge forwards to intercept Qin Zhui, they suddenly felt as if the entirety of heaven and earth, everything and anything in their surroundings, following the movement of the knife, converged into one impetus torrent, that crashed onto them! The people at the front of the lines did not even have the opportunity to scream out. They dropped dead where they stood. Even though the Tang knife did not touch their bodies, the grand tremendous force that rippled with the force of heaven and earth had caused their bones to explode without mercy.

Wen Leyang chuckled. “Qin Zhui alone is enough to deal with them.”

Similarly, Gu Xiaojun laughed upon hearing that. “This is chaos. That is splendid thing!” Inadvertently, the rest of the three great powers have changed their direction. It was unknown since when their wolf-like, bloodthirsty gase had shifted, from the direction of the China-Africa alliance’s campsite, to the the Greek evil cult followers’ troop.

The few troops that had formed an alliance with the Greeks did not hesitate in the slightest as they abandoned their ‘alliance chief’. They fell back rapidly and quickly formed a new alliance.

The Greeks could not hold out for much longer. There was utterly no one who could break past Qin Zhui’s force, that was as powerful as the supernatural powers found in the supreme leaders of the Five Blessings, which was enough to beat all of them into pieces.

Under Qin Zhui’s relentless charge, almost half of the Greek evil cult followers, which had originally been a hundred men strong, were dead. Their formation was almost broken. Gu Xiaojun was about to instruct Wen Leyang to call Qin Zhui back, when a bitter and shrill howl called out. It called to the skies from the group of Greek evil cult followers. A masculine old man with a face full of tattoos, just like an old lion king, appeared, roaring towards the heavens in a rage. With a flash, brown colored flames sprung up all over his body. The sound of raged roaring turned into an agonizing scream in the blink of an eye!

The fire burnt brightly, yet not enough that it concealed one’s vision. The Greeks’ leader was turning into a pile of charred bones within the heart of the burning fire. When the roaring flames had consumed enough flesh and blood, it erupted with a bang into dozens of fire snakes while the corpse of the leader fell to the ground. The fire snaked appeared intimidating and mighty as it filled everyone’s vision.

The surrounding troops that were eager to fight immediately fell back. They were afraid they might be affected by these unknown fire snakes. Qin Zhui waved his Tang knife, protecting himself from harm.

The Greeks, who got wrapped around by the brown colored fire snakes, were akin to metal ores. They clenched their teeth firmly and refused to make a sound. Under the refinement of evil fire, they gradually disintegrated and reintegrated like steel! Some of the ‘ores’ could not be refined in the end and turned into black, charred coal, accompanying that were half sorrowful cries of agony. The fire snaked carried along the cries of the deceased and melded it into the refinement of the others.

Qin Zhui lifted up his Tang knife. He watched as the Greek men were continuously strengthened by the art of devilry. His expression became more and more excited as it went on.

More and more Greeks fell over and finally, there were only five of them left, they managed to pull through the evil fire. Just as the smoke and dust cleared, the shadow that had enshrouded them vanished and they appeared.

The Greeks had transformed, not in appearance, not by their gaze nor their expressions, but in their mannerism. It was as if they were just still rocks not long ago, but now, they had been refined by their leader’s and companion’s life energy, turned into something akin to steel! Qin Zhui did not waste any time. He stepped forward, raising his knife to one of them, with a roar akin to thunder!

The Greek roared softly simultaneously. To everyone’s surprise, he stood his ground and raised his hand, and firmly grasped onto Qin Zhui’s Tang knife! With the sound of a soft pop, the two of them stopped and stood still.

The small-eyed Xiao Sha stomped his foot nonstop out of nervousness, he stood to the far side as he shouted out an idea, “Pull out the knife! Stab him!”

Gu Xiaojun nodded his head from the side. It seemed like he approved of his underling’s idea. None of them knew that Qin Zhui’s ‘knife’ was actually just the sheath. There was no way he could pull it out and stab someone with it.

Wen Leyang inhaled a deep breathe, the skin on his body tightened abruptly.

The African people started up again to the events at the moment. They started their sharp shrieking once more. This time, they scattered. Tutatunte was the leader. They each found a high spot in the campsite to watch the competition.

Gu Xiaojun gave a forced laugh as he peered at Fei Fei. “Did we just find a cheer squad as our ally?”

Fei Fei laughed as she nodded. “I suspect that our African companions do not possess any formal abilities, otherwise, why would the others refuse to form an alliance with them.”

Tutatunte’s group albeit had came in small numbers, but they had more than ten people, unlike Wen Leyang’s group that was pathetically made up of five people. Moreover, out of the dozens of evil cult followers, there were another two or three troops that had almost the same level of manpower as the Africans but those people had easily formed an alliance.

Finally, after a paused that lasted a full minute, Qin Zhui and the Greek’s body shook in unison. Two twisted and curved rivers of blood slowly crawled out of Qin Zhui’s ears. The Greek was like an ancient corpse that was suddenly exposed to sunlight. He rapidly withered, dried, and turned into a pile of dried bones in the blink of an eye!

Wen Leyang could not help but grind his teeth, he cursed softly, “Evil cult!”

The few Greeks that walked out of the evil fire had exchanged their lives in return for this power. Their strength and movements were powered and supported by the demonic spell. This Greek had been defeated by QIn Zhui. Upon that, the spell broke. He then turned into a charred corpse, burnt by scorching fire, like his fallen comrades.

An evil cult may just be an evil cult but the power that had been summoned was truly despicable! It took only one person’s effort to hurt Qin Zhui.

Qin Zhui inhaled deeply. He looked towards the rest of the four remaining Greeks and murmured, “Next!”

Before his voice died away, Qin Zhui abruptly cried out, he backed away rapidly. Not just one, but four came at him.

Along with their icy cold stares, the muscles on the bodies of the four Greeks were angular as though chiseled by an axe. After their first companions fell, they pounced on Qin Zhui all at once!

Qin Zhui had already knew, since the battle with the first Greek earlier, that these Greeks had been refined through the art of devilry. He could triumph against one, he could even call it even against two, he could protect himself in desperation against three, he would surely die against four. He was a martial art fanatic and being a foolish man, he had a vicious heart. Upon seeing his opponents coming in a group, his body turned around, and using the Tang knife, he blazed off in a trail. He dove, like a ghost, into the Indian alliance troop that was nearest to him.

The Indian people and their allies cursed outrageously. Everyone understood that it was over for the Greeks. They had been the one with the highest number of people, booted with an equal amount of strength. The highest and mightiest troop had been defeated by the hands of an Asian person so hideous that no one could look at him.

It was like watching a giant elephant, that appeared strong and huge, get flipped over by a crab with unimaginable power.

It was useless to pay attention to the remaining four Greeks. When the art of devilry was exhausted, naturally they would die. Yet, despite everyone’s expectation, the China man waved his Tang knife as he guided the four monsters and dashed into the Indian troop.

The leader of the Indian troop was a bony, thin old man with a goatee. His mouth, which was filled with the smell of curry, gave loud instructions to his people as well as his allies to disperse quickly without attacking. The evil cult followers that ran too slowly were either tossed away by the force of Qin Zhui’s impact, or torn to pieces by the Greeks. The Indian people and their allies were deranged, yet everyone understood that they could not dash forward to avenge their companions, otherwise, this would turn into a tangled mess. Whether it was by the hands of the four warriors that stood with the Greeks’ final essences, or the Asian man with the maniacal smile on his face, the price to pay for turning this into a violent battle was that their actual powers would be diminished, turning into fat meat served on a platter for the other great powers.

The Indian people’s troop scattered and fell into disarray. It would not take long before they got turned into a pile of scattered sand. The old goatee’s eyes glimmered sharply, he shrunk and hid his body behind a few of his taller and stronger companions…

Qin Zhui was running joyously when he suddenly felt the ground beneath his feet clamp around his feet without warning. A gush of silky soft, yet rigid force, akin to a slithering scaleless snake, tightly wound itself around him. Qin Zhui stopped moving and roared. He plunged his Tang knife heavily into the ground. The crips sounds of popping echoed out. The force that had entangled him was shattered but it had slowed him down. The four Greek warriors pounced at him, their strong bodies blocking out the blue sky. Qin Zhui’s vision darkened. He did not think as he raised his Tang knife and slashed at the heavens in one swift stroke!

However, the stroke that which QIn Zhui had exerted with all his might, surprisingly missed its target. The Greeks that pounced over were like agile birds. They circled around in mid-air in a manner that defied the laws of physics, and after a brief moment, somersaulted and shrieked as they crashed towards the Indian leader.

The four Greek warriors flew up all at once, their heads and legs crashed into each other as they trashed in mid-air in a series of arcs, like meteors chasing after the moon. They flew in the direction of the Indian troop’s core.

Finally, his vision started to blur, as Wen Leyang appeared next to him. Qin Zhu gave out a laugh as he asked, “Did you do that?”

Wen Leyang chuckled as he pointed towards the Indian goatee leader. “He tried to harm you earlier.” Even if Wen Leyang were to attempt to conceal his true power, he could not bear to see Qin Zhui, who was already injured, go through anymore danger.

Despite everything, Qin Zhui stayed composed. “It’s alright, I was the one who brought harm to him first!” As he said that, he inhaled a deep breathe and laughed once more. “It was a great fight indeed!” Following that, he pulled at Wen Leyang and strolled back to their campsite almost lazily.

The four Greeks were like iron emery wheels as they crashed next to the Indian leader. They jumped up and immediately engaged the Indians in a chaotic fight. The Indian people could not dodge them in time. They could only cry out and complain bitterly as they fought.

Upon Wen Leyang and Qin Zhui’s return to their campsite, they were received with grand shouts from their African cheering squad. There was heartfelt admiration in Tutatunte’s glance as he looked upon the two young Chinese lads, he understood, in his heart, that he had finally found himself protection under these powerful forces.

Qin Zhui was not injured too severely but he would not be fighting for some time to come. He did not waste time in talking upon his return, instead headed directly into the tent to recuperate. He had waved his knife and fought valiantly to display their power. If he had not been driven into a helpless corner, they could have rested easy knowing that no one would be scheming against them for a while.

As it happens, a Khmer man and a Persian man walked out of their respective troops, the rigid smile that they displayed earlier was still hanging on their faces. They walked towards Wen Leyang’s campsite.

Their African allies started shrieking in vigilance once again, revealing their gleaming white teeth…