Chapter 272: Peng-Venom

Xue Hanmeng stood in front of the stone wall for a long time, but didn't move.

Li Miao raised an eyebrow, and his hand was about to lift.

Zheng Yi flashed in front of Li Miao, her face bitter, hands clasped together in supplication: "My lord, my lord, she doesn't understand, she's stunned for a moment, please wait a bit."

"There aren't many of us Penglai people left, please loosen your hand."

After saying this, she turned and kicked Xue Hanmeng in the back of the leg, her willow-leaf eyebrows arched, and she scolded.

"You came here with a sword tonight; whether you live or die is something you have to earn yourself! Do you still think you're a three-year-old, standing there without moving and having someone else carry the burden for you!?"

"Your mother is already dead! You protected your mother's killer all the way, and now you want to accompany him down to see your mother? How can there be such an unfilial child in the world!"

"Idiot!"

Although Zheng Yi also hated Xue Hanmeng to the bone, Xue Bangzhu was already dead, and she might be the last Penglai peer in the world; no matter how much Zheng Yi disliked her, she couldn't watch her throw her life away in vain.

These words were both a scolding and a reminder; with every sentence, Zheng Yi slapped Xue Hanmeng on the back of the head, the slaps ringing out, satisfyingly vengeful.

By the time the last "idiot" landed, Xue Hanmeng's shoulders slumped, her body tilted, and she collapsed like a noodle.

"I, I can't open it..."

Xue Hanmeng muttered.

Zheng Yi thought she was going to be stubborn to the end, her eyebrows arched, raising her hand to strike, but she heard Xue Hanmeng say in a low voice.

"Mother said before she left that I could only come here to open this place when I reached the second level of the Heaven-Human realm... If a peer came looking, they would also need to have two levels of realm for me to let them in..."

"Otherwise, not only would they not be able to get what she left behind, but they would also be in danger of losing their lives..."

Zheng Yi looked back at Li Miao; Li Miao walked to the stone wall and pressed his palm against it, his hand trembling slightly.

A moment later, Li Miao withdrew his hand and smiled.

"Interesting."

"I wondered how this Xue Bangzhu, who had no foundation in the Great Ming and was being hunted by Yingzhou people, could so coincidentally find this stone wall that matches the artistic conception of Penglai sword techniques."

"Little Yi, how many years ago was the Penglai massacre?"

"About forty-eight years ago."

Li Miao nodded.

"Xue Bangzhu only officially appeared in public forty-five years ago, but before that, she must have secretly investigated in Kaifeng Prefecture until she confirmed this place was safe before moving into the city."

"During that time, she must have lived here. This stone wall wasn't naturally formed, but was carved out by her bit by bit with a sword during that time."

After saying this, Li Miao raised his fist and struck the stone wall.

This punch combined hardness and softness, with very little movement, as if he had merely brushed his fist against the stone wall.

But after Li Miao withdrew his fist and stood with his hands behind his back for three breaths, a "rustling" sound suddenly came from inside the stone wall, and then it collapsed like an avalanche into countless stones—revealing a hole one man high and one arm wide.

Li Miao stepped inside, Zheng Yi reached out and grabbed Xue Hanmeng's arm to follow, leaving Cao and Yin outside to guard the half-crippled "No-Trace."

Caves for refuge generally look the same; narrow entrances are easy to conceal, and narrow passages prevent enemies from sneaking in; this place was the same.

As Li Miao walked, he reached out and touched the stone wall, feeling dense sword marks.

This stone cave had been carved out by Xue Bangzhu sword strike by sword strike.

Xue Bangzhu, who had just escaped from Penglai, was also a two-level Heaven-Human expert.

Unfortunately...

Li Miao turned his head and glanced at Xue Hanmeng, who was being dragged in by Zheng Yi.

Practicing Wu Gong is ultimately not cultivating immortality; no matter how profound the Heaven-Human realm is, one is ultimately a mortal, unable to escape the seven emotions and six desires. Wu Gong can have no flaws, but a person certainly does.

For the sake of her children, Xue Bangzhu, a dignified two-level Heaven-Human expert, died so unclearly in the hands of a scoundrel like "No-Trace"... I wonder if she felt any resentment before she died.

After walking a few more feet, the narrow passage came to an end.

Li Miao touched the stone wall and walked into the stone chamber at the end; as soon as he entered, his brow furrowed. The cycle that had been running on its own in his body was triggered, suddenly accelerating its flow, pouring True Qi into his limbs and bones to force out the invisible toxins invading his body.

This stone chamber was filled with fierce poison.

Zheng Yi followed into the stone chamber, caught her breath, and her expression instantly changed. A moment later, it relaxed, and she merely raised her hand and pushed Xue Hanmeng out.

"You go out and wait, don't come in, don't go near the entrance."

After Zheng Yi finished instructing Xue Hanmeng, she turned to look at Li Miao.

"My lord, are you alright?"

Li Miao replied.

"No matter."

Zheng Yi breathed a sigh of relief and looked around.

The floor of the stone chamber was lush and green, covered in a type of mushroom emitting a faint fluorescent light, the tops split open, spores drifting out and disappearing into the air.

Zheng Yi bent down, picked one up, examined it carefully in front of her, and turned to Li Miao.

"My lord, this thing is called 'Peng-Venom.' According to my mother, the forbidden land of Penglai was planted with this thing, and once mature, it would release toxic miasma. If one is not a Penglai sect member, one would surely die upon inhaling it."

"But looking at it now, this thing isn't as magical as they say."

Zheng Yi held the mushroom under her nose and sniffed, closed her eyes to feel it, and said.

"The poison of this thing vaguely matches our Penglai internal technique. If one practices Penglai internal technique and has the realm of a two-level Heaven-Human expert, one can neutralize it on one's own. But if one doesn't practice Penglai internal technique, I'm afraid only you, my lord, could be fine."

"It's just—"

Zheng Yi pondered for a moment and said hesitantly.

"Why did Xue Bangzhu go to the trouble of setting up this hand?"

"The previous checkpoints were already enough to confirm that the person who came was from Penglai; why did she have to use this thing to confirm it again?"

"If Xue Hanmeng acted on her own and came in early, wouldn't she also be poisoned... could Xue Bangzhu not have thought of this?"

Li Miao twisted his fingers and thought for a moment, then smiled.

"No one knows a child like their mother."

"Although Xue Hanmeng is stupid, she revered Xue Bangzhu extremely highly. To save 'No-Trace,' she was willing to fight you and me to the death, yet she never told 'No-Trace' about this place. So before she reached the two-level realm, she likely wouldn't have come here on her own."

"And Xue Bangzhu's purpose in setting up this thing should be twofold."

Zheng Yi asked in confusion.

"Which two?"

Li Miao smiled and pointed outside the cave.

"To kill 'No-Trace'."

He then pointed to Zheng Yi.

"And to kill people like you."

"Or it could be said, to kill people who want to use Xue Hanmeng, and Penglai sect members who want to drag Xue Hanmeng along to seek revenge on Yingzhou but lack the strength."