Volcanic Age

Riip!

The last horn was ripped off alongside bits of flesh.

"Phew!"

Seven horns were laid out on the ground. Duan Hecheng wiped his sweat, still in disbelief. Though he knew they had received assistance, the fact that they managed to slay the Seven-horned Serpent still felt unreal to him.

"Hmhm."

Zhou Xuchuan bundled six of the horns behind his back. He had already claimed the internal core of the serpent secretly after it fell, pretending to check if it was really dead.

"Oh Great Young Lord Duan of the Almighty Diancang Sect, I'll take six of the horns as we previously agreed. You won't stab me in the back like those evil cultivators would, right? I hope not. Haha."

He used all sorts of flattering words on purpose, as he had seen multiple people betray their saviors. Life was unpredictable.

"We won't dare do such a thing to our savior!" Duan Hecheng looked disappointed that Zhou Xuchuan thought so at all.

"Thank you, truly, for saving us and for helping me out. Thank you so much." Duan Hecheng bowed in gratitude.

"Thank you, Great Hero!" The other cultivators also bowed.

"Ahem! That was nothing… yeah it wasn't much." Zhou Xuchuan waved off their thanks with a modest smile

"I won't forget your kindness, and will definitely pay back."

"Then, may I ask for a favor?"

"A favor? If it's something I can help with, I'll gladly listen. Please speak."

"I hope you can keep things about me, or the successful killing of the Seven-horned Serpent a secret."

"Mmm…"

Duan Hecheng was a conscientious and upright man. He could keep the latter a secret, but he didn't feel right concealing Zhou Xuchuan's contributions. After all the help Zhou Xuchuan gave them, he didn't want to keep that a secret and take credit for all the achievements.

"I'm fine with it, so don't worry. Also, if you say that you were helped by a cultivator from Mount Hua, you may not be acknowledged even if you take back the horn. This is for your sake as well, Young Master Duan."

"Urgh, alright. It's the words of my savior, so I can't ignore it. As for the reason… is it because of those?" Duan Hecheng pointed at the horns behind Zhou Xuchuan's back.

Zhou Xuchuan nodded in response. Although the horn was defenseless against augmented qi, it still meant that it was impenetrable to anything below that. The martial world didn't have many Harmony Realm experts, so this material was highly sought after by most cultivators.

If the Diancang Sect were to find out about it, they would naturally want the rest, and perhaps even come up with various excuses to take it from him. Worst of all, if the Dark Heavens Association found out through some rumor, things would become bothersome.

"Understood. I promise with the life you have saved, as well as with my reputation on the line. Unless you permit it, what you did for us today will be taken to my grave."

"We swear, Great Hero!" chorused the men of the Galaxy Manor.

"Well, then. Let's head back."

After taking plenty of rest in a cave, they turned to leave the Poisonblood Valley.

*

Duan Hecheng returned to the Diancang Sect, with a horn of the Seven-horned Serpent and various poisonous plants that only grew in the Poisonblood Valley as proof.

"Whoa… the seventh young master visited the Poisonblood Valley?"

"He did something reckless because his senior brothers didn't acknowledge him. Is he alright? Isn't he poisoned or something?"

"Forget being poisoned. He apparently survived a battle against the Seven-horned Serpent!"

"What? Is that true?"

"Yes. Although they didn't manage to kill it, they barely escaped alive. Not only that, they even got one of its horns!"

"That's hard to believe. Are you sure it's not fake?"

"His senior brothers thought the same and tried to cut it with sword qi, but they all failed. It must be real."

The Seven Young Masters of Diancang were experts even within the sect. The fact that they failed to cut it was proof that the horn was real.

"That's incredible!"

Even the members of the Tang Family could not head deep inside the Poisonblood Valley because of the numerous animals, predatory beasts, harsh terrain, lack of sunlight, and even the maze-like complicated paths.

Despite these conditions, not only did Duan Hecheng overcome them all to confront the Seven-horned Serpent, he even survived and returned with a horn. It was a great achievement.

"But he didn't do it all by himself, did he? I heard he had help from his family's warriors."

"No, no. Don't you already know the levels of the cultivators around him?"

"True. It's about time we put aside our biases against Junior Brother Duan. Let's not judge him too harshly."

"Let's at least abandon the notion that he's living a lazy life with martial arts he bought with money, or about how he's trying to show off."

Duan Hecheng's senior brothers' opinions of him had changed from suspicion or dislike. Although some of them still didn't like him, there were now people who viewed him in a more positive light.

"The seventh young master's martial arts is something else, isn't it?"

"That's right."

"If I were him, I would be showing off my skills left and right, but apparently, he hasn't said anything after he reported his return."

"That's quite humble of him."

The Diancang Sect only had endless praises for him. His humble attitude, serious personality, as well as his now-revealed martial prowess made people reevaluate their opinion of him.

However, there was another reason Duan Hecheng was not boasting about his achievements. He didn't want to reveal that a large part of their success was thanks to Zhou Xuchuan's help, and he especially didn't want to take credit for Zhou Xuchuan's achievement.

I am truly indebted to Great Hero Zhou. I must definitely repay his kindness later.

*

Poisonblood Valley.

One of the lords of this hell, a snake with seven horns, had died. When the Seven-horned Serpent died, the poisonous insects and beasts outside its domain started encroaching. When they came across one another, they tried to fight, but they had no choice but to flee at the sight of a human that appeared not long later. That was because this human was the one that slayed the Seven-horned Serpent.

"Phew!" Zhou Xuchuan sighed, surveying the debris in the collapsed cave. Underneath all the debris was the body of the Seven-horned Serpent, covered in poisonous fluids and dried blood.

He put down the horns on his back and approached the pile of debris to clear a path.

"I wanted to investigate on the day itself, but I had to go all the way back to the entrance with them to avoid suspicion…"

He couldn't help but complain.

"At that time, I definitely saw something."

It was when he had stabbed the Seven-horned Serpent and was dangling from his sword. He saw something strange near the entrance of the cave.

However, due to the battle with the snake after that, as well as the eyes of Duan Hecheng and his group, it was hard to investigate it properly.

Because of that, he went to the entrance of the Poisonblood Valley and returned after seeing Duan Hecheng leave, even if that meant taking a roundabout route.

One hour, two hours… six hours went by. He spent nearly half the day rummaging through the debris. Finally, he was able to find what he was looking for before the sun completely set.

"I thought it would have been crushed to pieces under that debris, but thankfully, it's still intact."

It was a green, iron chest without any patterns or adornments. Other than a few dents, it looked relatively okay.

Zhou Xuchuan brushed off the dirt and gravel on top of the chest and left the cave.

"Considering how it survived those falling rocks, it must not be an ordinary material. If someone used this as a container, whatever's inside must be extraordinary as well."

He put down the chest and rubbed his hands in anticipation.

"It's fortunate that I saw it near the cave's entrance. If it was deeper inside, I might have had to keep digging for around half a year."

The chest had been partially buried when he first found it, likely the reason why it remained on the same spot.

"Well then, open up!"

He forcefully tried to open the iron chest.

Squeeeak.

Perhaps because it hadn't been opened for a long time, the squeaking sound made him frown when he opened it.

"A martial arts manual…?"

It was a rather tattered, yellowed book.

Chen Dynasty, General Chen Xingdao!

I have dedicated my life and my reputation to his name, and I shall continue to do so. There is no regret in my resolve.

I have dreamed of the day Annan returns to the Great Yue, and have engraved "Kill the Mongols" on my arm, cultivating my hatred against those bastards of Yuan.

In the third year of the Chen Dynasty, when Yuan led thirty thousand men and conquered our capital, killing my blood relatives and my close friends.

I managed to console their resentful souls by killing those bastards using my specialties, poison and infectious diseases.

When the armies of the Yuan Dynasty that conquered our capital fled in the face of poison and infectious diseases, we struck them and achieved a grand victory.

On that day, General Chen Xingdao commended this lowly one's feats and even allowed me to form an army specialized in poisons and infectious diseases.

He ordered us to professionally research poisons and infectious diseases, deeming that it will become very crucial in the upcoming wars.

I have joyously received that order and dedicated my whole life researching poison and diseases.

As a result, I stood unparalleled in this country when it came to poisons and diseases, and in search of more knowledge, I have sought another world in the central plains, the martial world, to study poisons and diseases.

I had successfully obtained the knowledge of the Orthodox Faction, the Evil Faction, and even the Demon Cult and the Blood Cult, I had become a public enemy of the martial world.

The whole world sought my life, and due to an internal injury during my fleeing, I could no longer return to my homeland and had to hide here in the Poisonblood Valley, which is a forbidden area.

I have barely retained my life, but I cannot keep moving for long as my internal injuries have worsened.

If I have a regret, it is that I cannot relay my knowledge and cannot be of help to the general. I have created a poison art based on the knowledge obtained in the martial world, and I cannot allow it to be forgotten like this.

You who read this message!

I do not care who you are. It is okay even if you are from the Yuan Dynasty. Please give my works to the general!

The message was a dying will. After that, there was a record of a martial art manual of the man who didn't name himself.

However, because of this martial art manual, Zhou Xuchuan was able to identify the writer.

"Green Eyes Ten Thousand Poisons Art!" he exclaimed in surprise. "The Poison Demon!"

Becoming a public enemy in the martial world was not common, especially if that person was pursued not only by the Orthodox and Evil Factions, but also the two demonic cults. There weren't that many in history, and the Poison Demon's martial art was well-known to this day—it was the Green Eyes Ten Thousand Poisons Art.

"The Poison Demon was from Nanman?"

The Poison Demon's wishes did eventually come true. Around one hundred and thirty years ago, Kublai Khan, the Shizu[1]of the Yuan Dynasty once again invaded their capital, bringing it to the brink of ruin.

However, once again, Chen Xingdao miraculously defended the capital and fended off the foreign army.

After that, they managed to reclaim their lost title, the Great Yue, but their future was bleak. They, despite not losing several wars against the Yuan Dynasty, met their downfall due to internal strife.

That happened less than one hundred years after General Chen Xingdao's death.

1. One of the titles given to ruling monarchs in Asian History ☜