Chapter 574: Hundred Poisons Immunity Technique

After the meeting dispersed, Fu Manlun had intended to waylay 'Lu Zhigang' at the entrance of the imperial palace.

As it turned out, plans could not keep up with changes; in order to retrieve the poisonous insect eggs bestowed by Du Taiyue, Lao Chainu took Zhou You to the poison pool where Chuangmian was kept, departing from behind the palace.

"Damn it!"

Fu Manlun was itching with hatred, yet he was helpless; he had no choice but to leave people to watch Zhou You while he departed himself.

In Wanli Zhaohai, there were hundreds of poison pools of various sizes distributed throughout, used for raising all kinds of poisonous insects.

Several of the more prominent poison pools among them, because they were the palaces of the Nine Insects, could not be approached by any Disciple or even Inner Courtyard disciples, aside from Lao Chainu; even asking about them carelessly could cost one their life.

Lao Chainu did not utter a sound throughout the journey, leading Zhou You around various complex and dangerous mechanisms and traps.

Zhou You had wanted to strike up a conversation with him, only to discover that this person was a die-hard, loyal dog of Du Taiyue, having no other intentions beyond absolute loyalty.

They walked for two days deep within the swamp, passing through areas that were forbidden zones where no one had set foot in the past.

"We're here."

Lao Chainu stopped his footsteps and, to Zhou You's astonishment, broke his own index finger, pulling out the bone to use as a whistle.

Woo— woo— woo—, the whistle sounded, and the black, watery poison pool in front of them instantly exploded.

A strange snake as thick as a water vat drilled out from the underground; its body was covered in hair-like bristles that grew out from the gaps between the snake scales, forming a dense area that harbored filth, with countless lice and small insects crawling in and out.

One of the Nine Insects, Chuangmian.

It was impossible to tell how poisonous this great insect was, but it was the sloppiest and most disgusting one Zhou You had ever seen.

At the mere thought of having to hold this insect's egg in his hands, he felt his stomach churning; he hoped to heaven that...

Lao Chainu conveyed the order, and Chuangmian was slightly reluctant, but still obediently spat out a pitch-black egg.

Taking this opportunity, Zhou You released all the Heart-Bewitching Blood Qi Gu he had on hand, distributing them around this poison pool.

These tiny Gu Insects lay in ambush near Chuangmian's habitat, remaining Dormant while waiting for an opportunity.

Originally, the Seal Character 'Control' would have had a better effect, but Zhou You considered Du Taiyue's methods of controlling poisonous insects and, fearing he might startle the snake,

he did not use the Seal Script for the time being.

"Take it, bring it back and take good care of it; you must be even more careful than you are with your own ancestors."

Lao Chainu did a good deed, using a bamboo basket to catch the snake egg and handing it to Zhou You.

Zhou You suppressed his nausea and bowed respectfully toward Chuangmian, "Many thanks for the reward."

Although Du Taiyue had given the order, taking a child away from someone and causing the separation of flesh and blood still required a gesture of respect.

Chuangmian lazily flicked its tail and, with a turn, drilled into the mud-filled poison pool.

Immediately following this, footsteps sounded all around; countless Chainu with bloated faces brought over endless amounts of food, including various plump, well-fed poisonous insects, chopped-up human remains, and even living cows and sheep that were still breathing... this was the start of the feeding of the poisonous insects.

Zhou You returned to his residence with the snake egg, having already formulated his next plan; his main task was to practice Poison Palm to increase his strength.

Secondly, he would hatch the snake egg of Chuangmian; if he followed the habits of this poisonous insect, hatching it and cultivating it into a larva to form even the most basic combat power would take at least fifty years.

He could not afford to wait that long, so he had to use other means.

When he previously participated in the great battle, he killed many martial artists and scavenged quite a few resources for cultivating poisonous insects and Gu Insects from them; he had used a portion for the reproduction of the Blood Qi Gu, and the rest would all be used on Chuangmian.

Conservatively estimated, by the time the war began, Chuangmian would have successfully hatched and could assist him in increasing the power of his Poison Palm.

"Trial Project (Six-Star): Master Du Taiyue's unique secret technique."

"Due to the other party's intention to instruct you, the conditions for opening the Reverse Palm Martial Arts Hall are met. Do you wish to open it?"

The meatball that Zhou You had integrated into his body contained Du Taiyue's knowledge, which counted as a form of instruction in a certain sense. Why hesitate? He decisively opened it...

While in the Reverse Palm Martial Arts Hall, the fragments of information contained within his body were concentrated and organized, combing out a piece of precious information.

"Nine-Unity Poison Spirit Profound Art (Fragmented)... Poison Pet into Palm Power."

As it turned out, Du Taiyue's signature skill was to integrate the Nine Insects into his palm power, erupting with lethality that surpassed his own realm.

This technique was the core of the Nine-Unity Poison Spirit Profound Art.

Now, through the reverse-deduction and integration of the Palm Martial Arts Hall, it had fallen into Zhou You's hands.

There was now one more reason to hatch the Chuangmian snake egg as soon as possible.

If it were one of the Nine Insects he saw today, Zhou You would certainly be unable to control it—like a small horse pulling a large cart, it wouldn't work—but if it were a newly born larva, it would perfectly match the Poison Snake Realm he had just mastered.

In Fucheng, Zhou You opened his eyes; from here on, he only needed to keep a fraction of his attention on Lu Zhigang's side.

He temporarily withdrew his focus back to his main body, considering his next move.

Du Taiyue was about to make a big move, and Fucheng would bear the brunt of it, after all, the base of the Thousand Faces Hall was in the city.

Most of the martial artists who relied on the Thousand Faces Hall for a living were also active near Fucheng.

Therefore, once the Poison Martial Arts struck, Fucheng would suffer.

Although he had had foresight and had hoarded quite a few detoxifying medicinal herbs, he always felt it was not enough.

"If only there were a fist technique that was immune to the Hundred Poisons, it would not only save myself but also protect those around me."

As far as Zhou You knew, there were quite a few fist techniques that came with anti-poison properties; many avian-style fist techniques had more or less anti-poison properties, after all, certain fierce birds fed on poisonous snakes and certainly could not suffer from food poisoning.

However, fist techniques that were truly immune to the Hundred Poisons were rare and precious, mostly monopolized by noble families.

Hua Youxing had once mentioned that within the Medicine King Sect, only a handful of people possessed such a technique, and they adamantly refused to admit it to outsiders.

The principle of "the innocent man harboring a treasure is guilty" was something everyone knew! "What a pity."

The Glazed Longevity Fist within the Zhou Family Fist would gain a passive skill called 'Poison Self-Dissolving' after being raised to Level 10.

However, this noble family fist technique seemed to be locked; the Zhou Family Fist was at Level 3, and the corresponding Glazed Longevity Fist was stuck at Level 5, unable to improve no matter how hard he practiced, and even using Experience Points did not work.

Zhou You estimated that this noble family fist technique must have been set with some kind of trigger mechanism; it required specific conditions to improve.

Perhaps there would be an opportunity for this fist technique to break through at the place where his ancestors came from.

But distant water could not put out a nearby fire; from then on, this Family Fist Technique was completely shelved.

Just as Zhou You was feeling melancholy, the travel-worn Liu Bing returned from Gongliang City; he drove a carriage from the Outer Courtyard to the entrance of the Inner Courtyard.

"Hall Master, the items have been brought back."

What is it? Zhou You did not react at first, and only after a moment of daze did he realize it was Liu Bing, whom he had sent to retrieve the family surname of Qi Fengzi.

A moment later... Qi Fengzi stood before a half-section of wall that had been erected, her face filled with excitement; carved upon the wall was a piece of ancient, simple text, which was strikingly her surname, 'Qi'.

Beside her, Zhou You's expression was grave; only upon seeing it with his own eyes did he discover that this family surname was, shockingly... Seal Script.

Could it be that the surnames of the noble families all correspond to a certain Seal Script on the Nine Cauldrons? "Clan Head, please join me in bowing to the family surname to comfort the ancestors and declare my joining of the Zhou Family."

As soon as the words fell, the interface gave a reminder, "Trial Project (Seven-Star), Noble Family Ceremony, possesses the ability to weakly activate bloodlines."

(End of this chapter)