Zhu Tian: A journey of spiritual practice starting from Joy of Life

Chapter 240 Poison Dragon Stronghold

Listening to the shouts of the crowd, Leng Feibai wandered around the Hundred Poisons Market and then went straight to a stall filled with wooden boxes.

The stall owner was a young girl who had just turned 18. As soon as she saw Leng Feibai approaching, she smiled and said, "What would you like to buy, young man from the Central Plains?"

Upon hearing this, Leng Feibai was taken aback and couldn't help but ask, "How did you know I'm from the Central Plains?"

"The way you looked when you came in just now proves that you're not from Raojiang!"

The woman laughed and said, "The residents of Raojiang don't care about the stench of poisonous insects at all, but you reacted so strongly as soon as you came in. Also, the people of Raojiang call girls Aya, unlike you people from the Central Plains who call me 'girl'!"

Leng Feibai smiled awkwardly after hearing this and quickly began to inquire.

"Aya, where is the place in Hundred Poisons City that sells information?"

Upon hearing this, the girl frowned. "What do you want to find out? Everyone in Hundred Poisons City sells information. As long as you can afford it."

"Ice Silkworm Gu!"

As soon as those three words were uttered, not only the girl in front of him, but even the faces of the surrounding vendors turned to surprise.

"Can you say that again."

Seeing the girl's stunned expression, Leng Feibai said directly, "Aya, I do indeed urgently need the Ice Silkworm Gu, so I have already gone to Kunlun Snow Mountain to capture some."

As soon as he said that, everyone's gazes dispersed.

The girl urgently asked, "So you're here to find someone to help you refine the Ice Silkworm Gu? Then you should already know who in the entire Raojiang region is qualified to refine the Ice Silkworm Gu?"

"The Grand Master of Poison Dragon Village, the Heavenly Poison Elder of Tianhe Village, and the leader of the Iron Fork Society."

As soon as Leng Feibai finished speaking, the girl pouted and said, "Your information is outdated. The Heavenly Gu Elder passed away ten days ago. As for Gan Xin, the clan leader of the Iron Fork Society, he doesn't have a good impression of the people of the Central Plains because he married a woman from the Central Plains more than ten years ago and fled back to the Central Plains with his daughter. The only person you can choose is the Grand Gu Master of the Poison Dragon Stronghold. However, the Poison Dragon Stronghold hasn't been peaceful lately either..."

The girl stopped speaking here, a glint of shrewdness flashing in her eyes.

Leng Feibai understood and took out a ten-tael silver ingot from his pocket, placing it on the girl's stall.

The girl was overjoyed and quickly put the silver away. She continued, "Actually, it's not a big deal. It's just that the Underworld Toad Fortress, which is under the Poison Dragon Stronghold, is in a bit of a mess. But because the current lord of the Underworld Toad Fortress is the granddaughter of the Great Gu Master, the Great Gu Master is having a lot of trouble."

Upon hearing the words "Mingchan Fortress," Leng Feibai's expression subtly changed.

He was very familiar with the place called Mingchan Fortress.

A year ago, when he first came into this world, the group of Rao Jiang men and women he killed were from the Underworld Toad Fortress.

Leng Feibai didn't want to waste any more time and said directly, "Aya, does the Great Gu Master have anything he likes?"

"Medicinal herbs, poisonous plants, or rarer Gu techniques and Gu vessels!"

Upon hearing this, Leng Feibai breathed a sigh of relief. He no longer needed to worry; the Hundred Herbs Garden had plenty of both poisonous and medicinal herbs.

I'll go to the Herb Garden later and pick out a few suitable plants.

Thinking of this, Leng Feibai took out another five taels of silver and placed it on the stall. He then casually tapped the cloth on the stall and asked, "Give me a few empty boxes to hold herbs. Also, how do I get to Poison Dragon Village?"

Seeing the silver that was about to be in her hands, the girl quickly picked out a few boxes from the stall and placed them in front of Leng Feibai. Then she said, "I am from Poison Dragon Stronghold. If you're not in a hurry, I'll take you there in an hour! If you are in a hurry, I'll get you a map!"

Throughout the conversation, Leng Feibai used the Emperor's Aura Observation Technique to observe the girl. Seeing that her tone was sincere and her eyes were clear, she did not seem to be lying.

Seeing that he had a backup plan, he was delighted and said, "Give me the map."

After hearing this, the girl took out a map from a package and handed it to Leng Feibai.

Having obtained the map, Leng Feibai opened it, examined it, and then transformed into a beam of light, leaving Hundred Poisons City.

Following the map's directions, in just a few breaths, Leng Feibai arrived at a sprawling mountain stronghold.

Outside the mountain stronghold, two men from Raojiang, each holding a long spear, stood guard at the gate.

Upon seeing this, Leng Feibai, carrying the medicinal herbs he had just dug out from the Hundred Herbs Garden, quickly walked outside the Poison Dragon Stronghold.

"stop!"

The Jiang man guarding the gate immediately shouted, "This is a restricted area of ​​Poison Dragon Stronghold. Outsiders are not allowed to enter."

Leng Feibai stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Gentlemen, I am Leng Feibai, the Valley Master of Xiaoyao Valley in the Central Plains. I have come here specifically to pay my respects to the Grand Gu Master. Please announce my arrival!"

Upon hearing this, the two men from Raojiang exchanged a glance.

One of them said helplessly, "Another one who's come to find a master Gu master to refine Gu. You people from the Central Plains are really something..."

Before the other party could finish speaking, Leng Feibai opened several wooden boxes in his hand and said, "I have specially prepared two thousand-year-old ginseng roots and one hundred-year-old lingzhi mushroom, as well as two catties of top-grade benzoin."

Upon seeing the medicinal herbs that Leng Feibai took out, the two gatekeepers' eyes widened instantly.

One of them swallowed hard and quickly said, "Friend from the Central Plains, please wait a moment while I go in and inform them."

After saying that, the Jiang man ran quickly and rushed into the Poison Dragon Stronghold.

Not long after, the man came running back, panting, and said, "Young man, please come in with me."

Upon hearing this, Leng Feibai secretly breathed a sigh of relief. No matter what, the fact that he was able to successfully enter the Poison Dragon Stronghold meant that half of his plan had succeeded.

The houses in Poison Dragon Village are mostly made of pure wood, without any bricks or tiles.

A small number of the houses were small bamboo houses, exuding a deep aura but without any special architecture. What caught Leng Feibai's attention was a stone sculpture of a king cobra, about seven zhang tall, placed in the center of the village.

Around the stone sculpture, many children aged seven or eight were playing with poisonous insects such as snakes, scorpions, and spiders.

Leng Feibai didn't pay much attention to anything else and followed the Jiang man who was leading the way to a two-story bamboo building.

Upon entering, a withered old man wearing a black overcoat, with a headscarf wrapped around his head and a pipe in his hand, was squatting on the threshold of the inner room, smoking a pipe.

Seeing Leng Feibai enter, the old man clicked his tongue, exhaled a puff of white smoke, and said with a smile, "Young man from the Central Plains, what brings you to this old man?"

Leng Feibai smiled and handed the wooden box in his hand to the man from Raojiang beside him, saying, "Junior Leng Feibai greets the Great Gu Master." "You Central Plains people certainly have many manners."

The Grand Gu Master tapped his pipe, stood up, and said, "Considering the ginseng and lingzhi you brought me, just say what you want. What kind of Gu do you want? I'll do my best to make it for you."

Seeing the Grand Gu Master's straightforward manner, Leng Feibai didn't hide anything and went straight to the point, "Senior, I've come here to trouble you to refine an Ice Silkworm Gu."

Upon hearing this, the Grand Gu Master's face darkened, and he said, "Little friend, are you here to make fun of this old man?"

Upon hearing this, Leng Feibai quickly took out seven gourds from his sleeve and said, "Senior, I am indeed in dire need of the Ice Silkworm Gu. Therefore, I made a special trip to Kunlun Snow Mountain to capture seven Ice Silkworms."

Seeing the seven gourds that Leng Feibai took out, the Great Gu Master raised an eyebrow slightly, took out a small cup about the size of a palm, and poured the seven ice silkworms that Leng Feibai had brought into the cup.

Upon seeing the seven ice silkworms, the Grand Gu Master's expression softened slightly.

"Cough cough!"

The Grand Gu Master coughed twice. "Young friend, let me remind you. The success rate of refining the Ice Silkworm Gu is extremely low. Even if I were to do it myself, I would only have a 40% chance of successfully creating the Gu. So you should prepare yourself mentally in advance."

Leng Feibai nodded. "I had anticipated this. Regardless of how many Ice Silkworm Gu these seven Ice Silkworms can cultivate, I will only take one, and the rest will be my thanks."

Just as the Grand Master of Gu was about to decline, a figure suddenly burst in.

"Grandpa!"

The speaker was a woman in her early twenties, with a full figure and graceful posture.

Then the woman came in holding a bright blue toad that had run onto its body. She said excitedly, "It's done! I've finally succeeded in refining it!"

Leng Feibai looked at the toad in the woman's hand. If he remembered correctly, that toad should be the Heavenly Water Toad Gu recorded in the Complete Book of Gu.

It is extremely yin and cold, and its injury is considered quite good among toad-type Gu insects.

Upon seeing this, the Grand Master of Gu quickly stepped forward to examine it and then said, "Excellent, excellent! This is indeed the Heavenly Water Toad, and its quality is quite good..."

At this point, the Grand Gu Master changed the subject, sighed, and said, "However, Xueying, you should know that even if you master the Heavenly Water Toad Gu, you're still no match for You Yong's Seven-Colored Snow Spider Gu. Unless you can cultivate the Five Poisons Profound Art to its ultimate level..."

Upon hearing this, the woman's joyful expression turned to disappointment, and she became somewhat sad.

Upon seeing this, Leng Feibai asked, "Great Gu Master, when may I come to collect my Ice Silkworm Gu?"

The Grand Master Gu hesitated for a moment after hearing this, then said, "It will take seven days to refine the Ice Silkworm Gu, but I have some matters to attend to these next few days. Why don't you stay at the Poison Dragon Stronghold for now, and I will give you the Ice Silkworm Gu in half a month!"

After hearing this, Leng Feibai asked curiously, "Senior, have you encountered any trouble? Could you tell me? Perhaps I can help you."

After hearing this, the woman turned to look at Leng Feibai, but the moment she saw him, her heart suddenly began to pound uncontrollably.

Seeing this, the Grand Gu Master didn't hide anything and sighed, "Young friend, you may not know this, but my granddaughter, He Xueying, is the fortress lord of the Dark Toad Fortress in western Raojiang. Besides the Dark Toad Fortress, there are also four other gangs in western Raojiang: the Cold Spider Palace, the Heavenly Serpent Sect, the Golden Scorpion Sect, and the Earth Centipede Gang. Every twenty years, these five forces hold a competition. The winner will become the overlord of these five sects for twenty years, and all gangs, large and small, in western Raojiang must obey his orders."

He Xueying continued, "My mother was the previous leader of the fortress. After her passing, she passed the position to me. After I took over, the Palace Master of the Cold Spider Palace sent someone to propose marriage, wanting his eldest disciple, You Yong, to marry into my Dark Toad Fortress. I refused on the spot. But not long after, my sister, He Chunying, because she was dissatisfied with me, stole the family's secret technique, the Five Poisons Profound Art, and the sect's sacred artifact, the Azure Water Cold Toad, and also abducted more than a dozen skilled fighters from the sect. This caused chaos throughout Dark Toad Fortress. Although I managed to stabilize the situation, Dark Toad Fortress was severely weakened. The Cold Spider Palace took advantage of the situation and proposed to determine the marriage through a competition at the next Five Poisons Grand Competition. If I win, the Cold Spider Palace will compensate Dark Toad Fortress with a large sum of resources. But if I lose, I must allow You Yong to marry into Dark Toad Fortress. And the competition will begin in three days."

Leng Feibai nodded upon hearing He Xueying's words, then feigned surprise and said, "Wait, what did you say? Your sister's name is He Chunying!"

Seeing Leng Feibai's surprised expression, He Xueying's face was full of curiosity.

Before she could speak, Leng Feibai's expression darkened, and he said calmly, "A year ago, I was traveling in the Jiangzhe region. I passed by a certain desolate mountain..."

Leng Feibai calmly recounted how He Chunying had captured people to refine poisonous gu. As for her death, Leng Feibai changed it to her dying from qi deviation during her cultivation of poisonous arts.

Upon hearing this, He Xueying plopped down on the ground, while the Great Gu Master repeatedly uttered words like "sin, sin."

Seeing the two of them, Leng Feibai reached into his sleeve and actually used his mind to take out the Five Poisons Profound Art manual and the Azure Water Frost Toad from the Twelve-Story Tower.

“Miss He, this should belong to your Underworld Toad Palace. I am returning it to its rightful owner.”

Upon seeing what Leng Feibai had taken out, He Xueying ignored it. She never expected that her younger sister would commit such a heinous act.

"Little brother!"

He Xueying struggled to her feet and quickly said, "My sister harmed the villagers in such and such a place back then, and I want to make it up to them. I want to atone for her sins!"

Looking at He Xueying's sincere expression, and with the Emperor's Aura Observation Technique able to detect her emotional fluctuations, Leng Feibai was able to determine that the woman was not lying.

Upon hearing this, Leng Feibai revealed the location of the village. He Xueying bowed to Leng Feibai, then turned and left the Great Gu Master's courtyard with the Five Poisons Mystic Art and the Azure Water Toad.

The Grand Gu Master didn't say much, but simply called someone over and asked him to take Leng Feibai to a guest room in the Poison Dragon Stronghold to rest.

Leng Feibai didn't say much and followed the man to the courtyard in the village where guests were arranged to rest.

That evening, after finishing the meal that was delivered, Leng Feibai settled into his room to read.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Upon hearing this, Leng Feibai put the book away and quickly walked over.

As soon as the door opened, He Xueying was seen looking at Leng Feibai with a conflicted expression.

"Young man!" He Xueying made a move to come in, but Leng Feibai stopped her, saying, "Miss He, if you have something to say, we can talk in the courtyard!"

After saying that, Leng Feibai flashed into the courtyard.

The nights in Raojiang are quite nice. Although Poison Dragon Village is located deep in the jungle, there are no bothersome mosquitoes to disturb the peace.

Seeing Leng Feibai's expression, He Xueying stepped forward and couldn't help but ask, "Young brother, you returned the Five Poisons Mystic Art, I should thank you. But there's one thing I need to ask you!"

"Do not worry!"

Leng Feibai said calmly, "I have not cultivated the Five Poisons Mystic Art, so you can rest assured."

After speaking, Leng Feibai raised his hand and released his unique five-colored true qi.

(End of this chapter)