Chapter 513: Offering a Book Before the Palace

The Ten Thousand Mile Swamp, with its surging black waters, is where the Ten Thousand Poisons Secret Workshop is located; let no living soul approach.

When Lu Zhigang first entered with Du Wuyao, it was like breaking into a maze, and they had to take many turns before finding the entrance.

Under normal circumstances, without an introduction, to rashly enter this swamp is to walk a path to certain death.

Being trapped in the swamp and dying of Hunger is one thing, but there are often vicious people practicing Poison Palm who snatch people back to test poisons; the environment is very unfriendly.

Lu Zhigang's projection descended from the sky, landing deep within the Ten Thousand Poisons Secret Workshop.

This time, he did not take the usual path; instead, he relied on the interface's assistance to project directly into the depths of the sect.

The location he chose was the most forbidden place deep in the swamp: the palace of Du Taiyue.

"What person dares to break into the palace? Are you tired of living?"

"Take him down and throw him into the insect nest and poison pool. If you dare to offend the Old Ancestor, wanting a quick death is a luxury."

Before Du Taiyue's palace, trusted Disciples were on guard and patrolling year-round; the moment they saw Zhou You appear, they immediately erupted in a frenzy.

A major security loophole had occurred; someone had actually broken all the way to the front of the palace, and the commotion shook the surroundings.

It is easy to imagine that once Du Taiyue learned of this, he would surely be in a thunderous rage.

These trusted Disciples all knew the Old Ancestor's temperament; at the mere thought of the punishments, they felt a chill down their spines and wished they could die and be reincarnated early.

At this moment, it was Zhou You's main consciousness controlling this avatar, and seeing this, he said loudly, "Disciple Lu Zhigang requests an audience with the Old Ancestor; I have a great treasure to present. If there is any falsehood, I am willing to bear all consequences."

As soon as these words were spoken, the Disciples stopped in their tracks; the weight of this statement was more severe than any poison oath.

The Ten Thousand Poisons Secret Workshop was founded on Poison Martial Arts, and all kinds of punishments were based on this, being far more miserable and cruel than being hacked by blades or axes.

Those who were poisoned and punished often begged for death but could not obtain it, becoming terrifying in appearance and wishing they were dead.

Zhou You dared to boast that he would bear all consequences, clearly staking his life and death, as if he were desperate to see Du Taiyue.

Suddenly, a Disciple recognized Lu Zhigang, "Aren't you supposed to be escorting the Doll Gu to the front lines with Fu Manlun? Why have you turned back halfway?"

"Wait, could it be that your great treasure is..."

For a moment, the surrounding atmosphere grew tense, and greed appeared in the eyes of many Disciples.

There are few treasures that can move Du Taiyue, and combined with the current background of the Witch tribe invasion, the answer was obvious...

Besides the Book of Myriad Transformations, what other treasure could make 'Lu Zhigang' bear the charges of deserting the front lines and breaking into the palace? Many of the Disciples present were high-level martial masters, with seniority even above Fu Manlun, and they immediately became feverish.

"Quick, give it to me; I will hand it to the Old Ancestor for you."

More than one Disciple reached out with trembling hands, ordering Zhou You to hand the item over to them.

Zhou You stepped back a few paces, assuming a defensive posture, "I must hand the item to the Old Ancestor personally."

How could that work? The Disciples guarding the palace were all Du Taiyue's trusted aides and naturally held the advantage; how could they possibly look at a bottom-tier Disciple like him?

Relying on their status, they were determined to swallow Zhou You's treasure and usurp the credit.

"Old Ancestor, Old Ancestor! I risked life and limb to snatch this treasure, and now some people want to embezzle it! Please, Old Ancestor, uphold justice for me!"

The group of trusted Disciples turned pale at these words; if Du Taiyue were disturbed, they would all be in deep trouble.

They released poison miasma and poisonous insects, which surged over like a tide, and it looked as though they were about to drown Zhou You.

Zhou You shouted loudly, "Old Ancestor, no one but me can understand this item!"

"Don't you want to know how I obtained it and how I confirmed it?"

As soon as these words landed, the palace gates opened, and a large hand reached out, flying through the air to grab the Disciple closest to Zhou You and squeeze him into a puddle of blood.

"All of you, stand down. Lu Zhigang, come in." The trusted Disciples knelt in a row, trembling like cicadas in winter before this large hand; not one dared to move, and they no longer had their previous arrogance and haughtiness.

Zhou You thought to himself that it was as expected: Du Taiyue had been awake the whole time and had seen everything happening in front of the palace.

He had ignored it before because he deemed Zhou You to have no value; once the treasure was before him, it did not matter who presented it.

It was only when Zhou You shouted, demonstrating his own value, that he intervened.

Zhou You straightened his clothes and stepped onto the stairs, noticing the trusted Disciples kneeling all around; although they did not look up, the resentment and hatred radiating from them were very obvious.

Clearly, Zhou You's actions this time had offended all of these people.

Inside the palace, it was pitch black, and copper lamps with unique designs stood about; looking closely, the bases of these lamps were in the shapes of poisonous snakes, scorpions, and other venomous insects, crafted with extreme delicacy.

"Glug, glug, glug!"

A familiar sound came, the movement of refining deadly poisons in a cauldron, echoing from the deep, dark corners.

Just as Zhou You was wondering where Du Taiyue was, a patch of colorful, dazzling poison light suddenly lit up before him.

He realized that this poison light was exactly the same as the one that had shattered the Witch Banner with the Doll Gu, and he hurriedly covered his eyes.

"The Old Ancestor's poison light can be retracted or released at will; he can choose not to harm anyone if he wishes. This is to provide you with light."

A voice sounded from a hundred paces away, the colorful rainbow light fell, and a large bronze tripod emerged in the darkness.

Du Taiyue sat upon the large tripod; his appearance was that of a man in his thirties, mature but not aged, yet the gloomy palace was filled with a warm aura, completely unrelated to the "Old Poison" that outsiders imagined.

Zhou You's gaze fell upon his palm; it was this hand that had just pinched through the air, turning a high-level martial master into a puddle of blood on the spot.

"Old Ancestor, I am here to present a treasure!"

Hearing this, Zhou You stepped forward quickly and pulled the stone slab from his bosom, "Old Ancestor, this is the Book of Myriad Transformations that Wu Luoye stole from the Zhongxi Tribe. I have checked it; it is the original copy."

Du Taiyue raised a hand, and the stone slab fell into his grasp. He squinted at it for a few moments, then looked up, "Hmm, you can read this?"

"This Disciple once traveled through Beijing and fought with the Witch people, learning the Totem without a teacher."

Hearing this, Du Taiyue's gaze revealed satisfaction, "Good, a talent!"

He pointed at the stone slab, "The Book of Myriad Transformations, one transforms into ten thousand, scattered among various tribes. This piece is a part of it; although it is an original, it is also a fragment. It has value, but its value is limited."

He looked Zhou You up and down, "If you can obtain the full volume, based on this merit, I will take you as my foster son, placing you above all other Disciples, and in the future, I will pass this foundation of the Ten Thousand Poisons Secret Workshop to you."

"It is a pity that it is only a fragment, hmm..."

Du Taiyue pointed at Zhou You, "You actually understand the Totem; you are of great use to me, and your value is higher than this stone slab."

"From now on, you are one of my thirty-eight inner Disciples, qualified to guard my palace and serve me personally."

Inner Disciples are the group of trusted Disciples who were just guarding the palace.

Zhou You leaped from a bottom-tier Disciple to an Inner Disciple, equivalent to a Tiger General being directly promoted from a Minion General of Dayin Mountain.

"By the way, you have always been on good terms with Du Wuyao, why is he not seen returning with you this time?"

Du Taiyue asked suddenly, making Zhou You break out in a cold sweat.

How does this old man know everything? Could it be that the sect is full of his eyes and ears?

Zhou You put on a sorrowful expression, "Brother Du plotted against me, so I killed him."

"Good, to accomplish great things, one must be willing to make great sacrifices. Lu Zhigang, since you have joined my sect, you may make one request."

(End of this chapter)