Chapter 308: Peng Poison

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

Li Miao arched his eyebrows, and his hand was about to be raised.

Zheng Yi flashed in front of Li Miao, with a bitter face, and clasped her hands together to beg for mercy: "My lord, my lord, she is ignorant and stunned for a moment, please wait a while."

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

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

"You came here with a sword tonight; whether you live or die is up to you to earn! Do you still think you are a three-year-old, standing still and having someone else carry the burden for you!?"

"Your mother is already dead! You protected your mother's killer all the way here, 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 dead, and she might be the last Penglai fellow disciple in the world; no matter how much Zheng Yi disliked her, she couldn't watch her throw away her life in vain.

This remark was both a scolding and a reminder; with every sentence, Zheng Yi raised her hand and slapped Xue Hanmeng on the back of the head, slapping with a *slap-slap* sound, extremely satisfying.

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 only thought she was going to be stubborn to the end, her willow-leaf brows arched, and she raised her hand to strike, but heard Xue Hanmeng say in a low voice.

"Mother said before she left that only when I reach the second level of the Heaven-Man Realm can I come to open this place... if a fellow disciple finds it, they must also have the second level realm for me to let them in..."

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

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

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

"Interesting."

"I wondered how this Xue Bangzhu, without any foundation in the Great Ming and with Yingzhou people chasing her, could so coincidentally discover this stone wall that matches the artistic conception of Penglai sword technique."

"Xiao Yi, how many years ago was the Penglai sect annihilation?"

"Roughly 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 entering the city to settle down."

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

After saying this, Li Miao raised his hand and struck the stone wall with a punch.

This punch combined hardness and softness, with minimal 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, the inside of the stone wall suddenly made a *rustling* sound, and then, like an avalanche, it crumbled into countless stones, collapsing with a *clatter*—revealing a hole one man high and one arm wide.

Li Miao stepped in, Zheng Yi grabbed Xue Hanmeng's arm and followed, leaving Cao and Yin outside to guard "No-Trace," who was half-crippled.

Shelters generally look the same; the entrance is narrow for concealment, and the passage is narrow to prevent enemies from sneaking in; this place was the same.

As Li Miao walked, he raised his hand and brushed the stone wall, feeling dense sword marks.

This stone cave was carved out by Xue Bangzhu sword by sword.

Xue Bangzhu, who had just escaped from Penglai, was also at the second level of the Heaven-Man Realm.

It's a pity...

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

Practicing Wu Gong is ultimately not cultivating immortality; no matter how profound the Heaven-Man Realm is, one is ultimately a mortal, unable to escape the seven emotions and six desires. Wu Gong may have no flaws, but people certainly do.

For the sake of her children, Xue Bangzhu, a dignified second-level Heaven-Man expert, died so inexplicably in the hands of a scoundrel like "No-Trace"... I wonder if she felt unwilling before she died.

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

Li Miao walked into the stone chamber at the end, feeling the stone wall; as soon as he entered, his brows furrowed. The Zhou Tian that was circulating on its own in his body was triggered, suddenly accelerating its flow, pouring true energy into his limbs and bones, forcing the invisible poison invading his body out.

This stone chamber was filled with potent poison.

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

"You go out and wait, don't come in, don't get 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 then breathed a sigh of relief and looked around.

The ground of this stone chamber was lush and green, covered with a kind of mushroom emitting a faint fluorescent light, the tops cracked, 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 Poison.' According to my mother, the forbidden land of Penglai in those days was planted with this thing, and once mature, it would disperse poisonous miasma. If not a Penglai disciple, one would surely die upon inhaling it."

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

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

"The poison of this thing faintly matches our Penglai internal energy. If it is someone practicing Penglai internal energy, they can resolve it on their own with the second level Heaven-Man Realm. But if they don't practice Penglai internal energy, 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 extra hand?"

"The previous checkpoints were already enough to confirm that the person who came was from Penglai; why did she 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. 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 second 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 doubtfully.

"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 disciples who want to drag Xue Hanmeng along to seek revenge on Yingzhou but lack the strength."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 309 =====