Chapter 384: Poison Dragon Saliva Obtained

Liu Fengji's attitude once again left Zhou You unable to make heads or tails of it.

Mixing kindness with severity, blowing hot and cold—what exactly was his goal? Zhang Huaimin, who was usually arrogant and unruly, had acted as docile as a kitten after entering the door, his loud voice automatically muted.

Zhou You had finally witnessed the illustrious prestige of a Fucheng noble family, and his understanding of Liu Fengji had deepened.

"Brother Lu, since you want the Poison Dragon Saliva, you must be looking to temper your Poison Palm and raise your realm!"

Just as Zhou You nodded, he was refuted by Liu Fengji, "No, that is not your goal."

"Brother Lu uses Poison Martial Arts to take an unconventional path to break through the Martial Master realm; you must have a more magnificent goal."

"You practice the Seven Step Poison Sand Palm. As far as I know, this Poison Palm is divided into three great realms: Poison Snake, Poison Dragon, and Poison Dragon, corresponding to Blood Qi, Martial Master, and Strong Martial respectively."

"Poison Dragon Saliva is the key to your breakthrough in the Poison Dragon realm, and also the accumulation needed to charge toward Strong Martial."

"Your ultimate goal in wanting this poison is the Strong Martial realm, isn't it?"

Zhou You hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"Brother Lu is ambitious."

Liu Fengji said sincerely, "If you want to achieve a Poison Strong Martial that is rare throughout history, a single portion of Poison Dragon Saliva is not enough."

He counted on his fingers as he analyzed, "Once you obtain the Poison Dragon Saliva, do you have the recipe to process it into a medicinal liquid that can be absorbed without damaging your physical body while promoting rapid progress in your fist techniques?"

No.

Zhou You shook his head; the Poison Dragon Saliva wasn't even in his hands yet, so he couldn't think that far ahead.

"The Medicine King Sect's processing methods are peerless under heaven; they have the recipe you need."

Before Zhou You could thank him for the tip, he continued, "After processing the Poison Dragon Saliva and taking it to practice your palm, there is a high probability of breaking through the Poison Dragon realm. Going from an Intermediate Martial Master to an Advanced Martial Master—seventy or eighty years would be enough."

In reality, it wouldn't take that long!

Liu Fengji was estimating based on normal circumstances, but Zhou You had a cheat; he could shorten the cycle by ten or twenty percent.

"However, the breakthrough from Advanced Martial Master to Strong Martial is absolutely a matter of nine deaths and one life."

"You previously visited Du Wuyao for the secret method, but now you must find a Poison Strong Martial expert to ask for the way to break through."

Liu Fengji looked at Zhou You, "Brother Lu, do you have any leads?"

"I have heard that Du Taiyue is a rare Poison Martial practitioner who broke through to the Strong Martial realm."

Liu Fengji nodded slightly, "The Seven Step Poison Sand Palm was written by Du Taiyue himself. In terms of roots, you can be considered one of his disciples' disciples, but what bargaining chip do you have to move him to impart his personal secret techniques to you?"

Liu Fengji told Zhou You, "In Du Taiyue's Ten Thousand Poisons Secret Workshop, there are countless disciples and grand-disciples, among whom there is no lack of Advanced Martial Masters, yet I have never seen anyone manage to touch the Strong Martial realm."

The Ten Thousand Poisons Secret Workshop is Du Taiyue's territory, located in the Ten Thousand Mile Swamp. Because the terrain is uniquely suited for raising countless poisonous insects, which is beneficial for practicing poison, he claimed it as his own and cultivated the world's largest Poison Martial sect.

"I have no way!"

Zhou You admitted honestly.

Liu Fengji smiled slightly and stepped forward to hold Zhou You's hands, "Brother Lu, I felt like we were old friends at first sight. I have tried to invite you to join the Liu family several times, but there was no opportunity before. Today, however, you have come to my door yourself, and I believe the time is right."

So that was it; this was the other party's goal.

Zhou You suddenly realized; the target of this series of maneuvers was none other than himself.

Treating him to drinks, throwing him in prison to be beheaded, or taking him in as a dog—it all boiled down to wanting him to submit willingly.

"The status and position of my Liu family are plain for all to see; many things can be done with ease."

"Sixty percent of the Medicine King Sect's resources are purchased through my Liu family's channels. He cannot refuse to give me this face. A recipe for processing poison is something I can obtain with a wave of my hand."

"And then there is the Ten Thousand Poisons Secret Workshop. Outsiders don't know the inside story and think it is a ten-thousand-foot hell, but it is actually Du Taiyue's private palace. He is arrogant and extravagant, and he must sell a large amount of specialty products every year to maintain his lifestyle." "Hmm, the liquidation of the Ten Thousand Poisons Secret Workshop's specialties also cannot be done without my Liu family's help."

Liu Fengji reminded Zhou You, "Brother Lu, there is no need to say everything. You know how to choose, right?"

The Medicine King Sect and the Ten Thousand Poisons Secret Workshop are sects that rival Dayin Mountain and Wanxiu Mountain, both guarded by Strong Martial experts, and they don't even have to give face to noble families.

With the identity of 'Lu Zhigang', he could not produce enough equivalent value; even if he knelt to death in front of their doors, it would be useless.

Just as Liu Fengji said, as long as he joined the Liu family, all problems would vanish.

A familiar feeling came rushing over him!

Zhou You couldn't help but smile; the familiar formula, the familiar taste, only the person standing in front of him had changed.

He opened his mouth and asked, "Where is the Poison Dragon Saliva?"

Liu Fengji's eyelids twitched. His methods were sharp enough that nine out of ten Martial Masters would have cracked, yet he hadn't expected Lu Zhigang's resolve to be so firm, remaining completely unmoved.

He pointed to the teacup beside him, "See for yourself!"

This cup of tea had been sitting to the side since it was brought over earlier and had not been drunk; the heat had already dissipated.

When Zhou You opened the tea lid, a strange sensation rose in his heart, and he thought: as expected.

A small silver bottle was placed inside the teacup. Gently stroking the exterior, he felt over a dozen layers of shielding and defense on the bottle body, the defense level ten times higher than the vessel containing the Huiyu snake venom.

The answer was obvious: Poison Dragon Saliva!

The Poison Dragon Saliva he had originally thought would require a great deal of effort to obtain had actually been acquired just by drinking a cup of tea.

Yet, Zhou You felt not a shred of surprise in his heart, because he knew this was just another one of Liu Fengji's methods.

The rare poison you painstakingly search for and hold heavy gold for but cannot obtain is merely an ordinary item that I, a noble family, can easily give away.

With such a huge gap and contrast, are you not desperate, are you not afraid? "It really is Poison Dragon Saliva!"

Zhou You twisted the bottle cap slightly. Under the action of the intricate internal structure, a wisp of poison gas, diluted to one percent, drifted out. He reached out to catch it in his palm and circulated his palm technique to refine it.

Puchi! Thick smoke billowed! In an instant, white smoke erupted from every pore on Zhou You's body, his blood and Qi boiled as if being cooked, and scales sprouted all over him, as if he had become a humanoid giant snake.

A moment later, he digested this hard-won wisp of poison gas and bowed to Liu Fengji, "Many thanks."

The words "many thanks" were the ones he had repeated most often since arriving at the door.

"Brother Lu, I also congratulate you on getting what you wished for; your Poison Palm realm has advanced a step further."

Liu Fengji was extremely courteous, "The conditions I promised remain unchanged; you can think about it slowly."

A brilliant angler, when the fish is about to take the bait, will not pull the bait back, but will instead let the line go slack.

To put it more elegantly, this is called "to let go in order to catch."

Only after Zhou You and Zhang Huaimin had left did Xu'er speak up to ask, "Young Master, if you wanted to know how he transported us out, why go to such great lengths?"

"What would you know?"

Liu Fengji scolded the little book boy, "He carries a great secret on him, one more valuable than Dayin Mountain."

Xu'er muttered, "It's just Poison Martial Arts; it's not like we don't have them at home. Which family doesn't keep a few people like that to do their dirty work?"

"His value lies not in his Poison Palm, but in the method he used to transport the two of us out of Beijing without anyone noticing."

Liu Fengji gazed at the dark, surging surface of the stone pool, "How wonderful would it be if I could win his heart and make him submit to my service?"

Although he had returned safely from the destruction of Zunyang City, his influence had suffered a heavy blow, and he was still licking his wounds to this day.

(End of chapter)