Chapter 1309: Five Poison Wine

Five Poison Wine

Hearing this, the Black Snake fell silent.

[Have you forgotten how the King used to treat us?] The Centipede's emotions were a bit agitated, [We are his subordinates, but even more so, his playthings! I've truly had enough of that fear of not knowing what torment I'd face every day I woke up!! The time the King wasn't in the abyss was my most carefree days... I don't want to be dominated by fear anymore, I've had enough!]

[You're crazy, you actually want to commit regicide?!!] The Black Snake was shocked, [Do you know what you're doing?!]

[I know... The King is too strong, he is invincible, but this time might be my only chance... I must give it a try.]

The Black Snake seemed unable to understand the Centipede's crazy thought. It hesitated for a long time, then slowly shifted its body and slithered out of the cave:

[I can pretend I heard nothing... but if you want to court death, don't drag me down with you.]

Seeing the Black Snake actually chose to give up so easily, the Centipede was somewhat annoyed. It let out a burst of low hiss, as if cursing "a piece of trash who's knelt for too long," and then turned its gaze back toward the royal palace...

Rashly testing the King's strength was absolutely a no-go... It had to find a better opportunity.

...

Chen Ling was awakened by the noises outside.

Outside the royal palace, it seemed incredibly lively. The hissing and screeching of various underground creatures rose and fell in succession, as if they were holding a grand gathering... At the same time, it was accompanied by occasional rumbles and tremors.

The Ghost Mockery Abyss had no distinction between day and night; here was the eternal carnival of darkness. Chen Ling calculated the time. He should have slept for seven or eight hours. After waking up, the exhaustion on his body had faded quite a bit.

He casually draped on the Great Crimson Theatrical Robe and walked out of the royal palace.

Seeing Chen Ling come out, Wu Yi immediately consciously lowered its body, as if it had been waiting outside ever since Chen Ling went in a few hours ago.

"What's going on outside?" Chen Ling asked.

Through Wu Yi's explanation, Chen Ling learned that the Toad Poison Chief had specially taken the lead in hosting a welcome banquet to celebrate his return. The entire Ghost Mockery Abyss was currently reveling. However, hearing that he was still sleeping, the Toad Poison Chief didn't rush to wake him up. After all, the Ghost Mockery Abyss had no day and night, and according to the customs of underground creatures, this kind of revelry would last for at least a day and a night.

A welcome banquet, huh...

Chen Ling was somewhat surprised. A group of Calamities also understood these things?

Chen Ling naturally stepped onto Wu Yi's back and patted its head. The latter immediately understood and carried Chen Ling toward the "banquet" venue.

On the way, Chen Ling was still thinking, how would a group of Calamities imitate humans in throwing a welcome banquet? Was he expecting centipedes, scorpions, and poisonous snakes to all wear gorgeous clothes, then stand up and take turns toasting him in a circle?

When he arrived at the venue, he realized he had overthought it.

Within the rugged gullies, large swaths of Calamities were rolling on the ground. A lot of a liquid resembling wine seemed to have been spilled on the ground. Every time these Calamities rolled, they would get some on their bodies or drink it into their stomachs, and then they would become visibly excited and entangle with other Calamities around them. Some who were excited to the extreme would even directly start fighting with other Calamities!

Centipedes, poisonous snakes, scorpions, geckos, toads... Countless Poisonous Insects just gathered together like this, rolling and fighting. Various hisses rose and fell in succession. The scene was spectacular yet carried a trace of eeriness.

The higher the Rank of the Calamity, the more wine liquid it occupied, without needing to fight other Calamities for it. But there were also some who, after drinking too much, actively went to neighboring Calamities' territories to stir up trouble. Those few loud rumbles that woke Chen Ling up just now came from two Seventh-Tier Calamities Risking One's Life fighting each other.

Unlike these ordinary Calamities, there was a raised platform on the cliff. The Five Great Poison Chiefs were high above, currently each soaking in a pool of wine. Whether it was the concentration of the wine liquid or the environment, it was much better than the other Calamities...

The Toad was happily rolling on its belly in the wine pool. The Scorpion was calmly as if taking a bath, occasionally taking a sip of "bathwater." The Gecko was lying motionless at the bottom of the pool; those who didn't know would think it had already drowned... As for the Centipede and the Poisonous Snake, each in their respective wine pools, their postures were somewhat constrained, as if they had something on their minds.

"What kind of wine is this?" Chen Ling was extremely puzzled.

[King, this is our Ghost Mockery Abyss's unique 'Five Poison Wine'.]

Smelling the rich aroma of wine in the air, Wu Yi's spirit was also incredibly excited. [Mixing the toxins of the five poisonous creatures and burying it underground to ferment for a few months can only produce one jar... If we poisonous creatures take a sip, not only will our strength grow, but we can also experience intense pleasure.]

The Five Poison Wine was quite precious. Even the Ghost Mockery Abyss, which was full of the Five Poisons, couldn't enjoy it often. Normally, only the Calamity of Mockery could have infinite refills. The others could only catch a little whiff of the wine during large-scale banquets, but to them, this was already a blessing.

Seeing Chen Ling arrive, the Calamities that were originally rolling all over the ground immediately sobered up and respectfully cleared a path for him;

The Toad, which was rolling in the wine pool, also stood up steadily with a whoosh and continuously let out muffled "croaks," as if inviting Chen Ling up...

Chen Ling naturally wasn't polite. He leaped, landing lightly on the raised platform like a red butterfly. Behind the wine pools of the Five Great Poison Chiefs, a pitch-black throne had already been set up. Beside it lay a string of small Five Poisons, acting like servants specially meant to attend to Chen Ling.

Chen Ling swept a glance over them, then sat down expressionlessly on the throne.

At the same time, the Toad's chin bulged again...

"Croak, croak, croak——"

A loud and resonant voice like thunder echoed in the Ghost Mockery Abyss. The numerous chaotic Calamities below all sobered up and prostrated themselves respectfully, as if listening attentively to the Toad Poison Chief's words.

What the Toad said was also very simple, roughly meaning that after such a long time, the King had finally returned, and to welcome the King, we are holding this banquet...

As Chen Ling listened, he felt weird in his heart. The style of these Calamities of the Ghost Mockery Abyss was a bit too much like humans.

Could the former Calamity of Mockery actually train a group of Calamities so well?

As the Toad's voice fell, the Calamities of the Ghost Mockery Abyss let out bursts of calls, as if responding to the Poison Chief's words... At the same time, a small scorpion next to him carried a skull wine cup filled with mellow wine liquid and came to Chen Ling's side.

All the Calamities turned to look at Chen Ling.

Chen Ling knew that as the King of the Ghost Mockery Abyss, it was time for him to "propose a toast."

He hesitated for a moment, then still picked up that full cup of Five Poison Wine and slowly stood up...

The Great Crimson Theatrical Robe fluttered in the sunless abyss. Chen Ling looked down at the countless prostrating Calamities below his feet. After a long silence, he spoke in a deep voice:

"To... the Ghost Mockery Abyss!"