Volcanic Age

(The chapter title is another name for Mount Everest)

The Yuan Dynasty became the Ming Dynasty, while the Great Yue became Nanman after its downfall. They were all currently divided into many lands and constantly fighting each other.

Due to the absence of a clear monarch, the derogatory term Nanman, which meant southern barbarians, kept being used to refer to them.

"Not much was known about the Poison Demon, but I didn't know there was such a secret behind him…"

The Poison Demon was a demon cultivator from around 150 years ago. Soon after his appearance, he attacked factions that handled poison to steal their arts.

Although his activities only lasted around a decade, it took only half that time for him to become the public enemy of the martial world due to his overwhelming mastery of poison arts. Five years after that, he was pursued by the experts of the martial world and went missing after sustaining severe internal injuries. Although rumors suggested that he must have died from his wounds somewhere, Zhou Xuchuan never imagined that he had died here in the Poisonblood Valley.

"Why hasn't the Dark Heavens Association discovered this?"

According to what he knew of the future, The Green Eyes Ten Thousand Poison Art would not exist, even in the hands of the almighty Dark Heavens Association, who were known to possess most arts under heaven.

"Oh, did the Seven-horned Serpent stumble upon it and eat it? That might be a possibility."

The Dark Heavens Association should have discovered the iron chest when they collected the Seven-horned Serpent's body, but they wouldn't be able to discover something that didn't exist. They must have also just checked if the serpent survived or its position before hunting for other rare materials, so they would have missed it during their search. After all, the iron chest was only visible from inside the cave.

"Poison Demon. Your general is dead, and the Yuan Dynasty is no more, so I cannot grant your wish. But don't be disheartened, I'll learn your art so it doesn't get lost."

Zhou Xuchuan put his hands together in prayer.

"Oh, but I'm an orthodox cultivator, so I cannot boast about how amazing your art is. Please forgive me."

A member of Mount Hua being the successor of the Poison Demon? That was a terrible joke.

"When I first saw the name, I didn't even consider practicing it, but after reading through the manual, I changed my mind."

The Green Eyes Ten Thousand Poison Art was nearly complete around the time this man was named the Poison Demon, and was supplemented during his escape. As a result, green eyes became symbolic of the Poison Demon. No matter how powerful the art was, that was not a risk Zhou Xuchuan was willing to take.

However, his decision changed after seeing a part of the text.

"If the green eyes only appear after full mastery, it shouldn't be a problem. I can only learn half of it even if I obtain insights into the art."

The downside of the Ten Thousand Convergence Art became an advantage in this case. Had the Poison Demon heard what he said, he would have risen from his sleep even in the depths of hell.

"I've gathered plenty of poisonous plants and even the Seven-horned Serpent's core. This must be a heaven-sent opportunity. Keke." Zhou Xuchuan laughed insidiously. "Let's leave the valley for now, huh?"

By now, there should be commotion in the Diancang Sect after Duan Hecheng's report. That report would eventually reach the Dark Heavens Association. The Seven-horned Serpent was a spiritual beast that their Archive had a close eye on, so they would come to investigate sooner or later.

*

The intelligence power of the Dark Heavens Association was nearly unparalleled, rivaled only by the Beggars Gang, and the Xia Wu Sect of the Evil Faction.

In terms of quality, they were lacking compared to the two organizations from the orthodox and evil factions, but in terms of quantity, they were superior, if not equal. News of the commotion in the Diancang Sect reached the Dark Heavens Association, and the Archive was immediately sent to investigate, just as Zhou Xuchuan had predicted.

Poisonblood Valley.

The Archive of the Dark Heavens Association entered the valley. They seemed at ease as if they were moving around in their own home, and there was no hesitation in their steps. They also subjugated poisonous creatures without difficulty.

However, as they walked through the maze-like jungle, there was a hint of unease and hastiness in their steps.

After approximately two hours, the Archive managed to reach the cave of the Seven-horned Serpent deep within the valley.

"No!"

They couldn't help but shout after seeing the collapsed cave.

"Shit!" the Archive Leader swore, turning away. "I must have seen it wrong. I must be tired and hallucinating."

He shook his head from side to side, as if attempting to rid himself of his nightmares. Then he lifted his head to check again.

"Argh, shit!" he screamed before swearing again.

The Seven-horned Serpent could be seen. However, the mighty horns and shiny scales were nowhere to be found. Half of its body was buried beneath the rubble of the cave, while the other half was only flesh and bones.

"What am I supposed to report to the lord?!" The Archive Leader's face distorted in fury.

"It seems that the poisonous creatures in the valley challenged the serpent while it was injured and won against it. Everything was eaten."

Poisonous creatures grew stronger by consuming poison. This applied to all creatures in the Poisonblood Valley. Because of this, the ecosystem of the Poisonblood Valley was centered around predation. The victor would eat the loser, absorbing their poisons.

Other than bones, everything else was eaten, whether it was scales or whatnot.

The problem was that nobody could be held responsible for this.

"Duan Hecheng, seventh young master of Diancang!"

It hadn't been that long since the Ten Millennia Fire Carp was stolen!

The Archive Leader started emanating ferocious killing intent, causing not only his subordinates around him, but even the beasts in the Poisonblood Valley to tremble in fear.

"How long has it been since the serpent died?"

"F-from the traces, it has been less than a week."

"In that case, we must search the valley and recover the remaining horns. They can't be damaged without augmented qi, so the poisonous creatures couldn't have consumed them. Duan Hecheng only has a single horn, so reclaim the rest at all costs!"

With that, the Archive searched every nook and cranny of the Poisonblood Valley, but naturally, found no horns.

*

With the slaying of the Seven-horned Serpent behind him, Zhou Xuchuan left Mount Ailao and headed to his next destination, the Great Snowy Mountains of Tibet. He used lesser-traveled roads as much as possible because of the six eye-catching horns he was carrying. He did not want to be seen by anyone.

Fortunately, he managed to avoid drawing attention by using his lightness art and avoiding human settlements.

He headed northwest without rest. Not long later, he managed to reach his first intermediary destination.

Dehong, Yunnan.

Dehong was a village located at the northwestern end of the province. A little to the east was Sichuan, and Tibet was located to the north. Before he arrived, however, he first hid five of the horns in a nearby mountain. He wrapped the remaining one in cloth and carried it behind his back.

"Hm, was it around here…?"

Dehong could barely be considered part of the central plains, which meant that it was very underdeveloped. Still, it wasn't so small that it didn't show up on maps. Although not many, there were still people and even merchants visiting. It was on the larger side among the settlements in Northern Yunnan.

"Hey, there, brother! Why don't you look at some clothes?"

"If you're going to Tibet, you're not gonna make it with those clothes!"

"Although it isn't as cold as the Northern Seas, Tibet is rather chilly and has strong winds. I'll make it cheap for you."

He walked down the market streets. He wasn't wandering around aimlessly and had a destination.

"Come on in."

He visited a clothing shop among the many vendors on the street. It was neither too big nor too small.

After seeing that there was no one around other than the store clerk, he whispered, "Gold Will Merchants. Zhou Xuchuan."

The clerk's eyes widened. He immediately scanned Zhou Xuchuan's face and sleeves—the latter to check for the plum blossom patterns.

"I have been expecting you, young master." The clerk closed the door and windows.

"How is life here?"

Although Zhou Xuchuan's priority was the Seven-horned Serpent's internal core, he did have plans for the horns before he left Mount Hua. The biggest problem was how to handle the horns. He couldn't exactly take something so big to the great snowy mountains, and he didn't trust others to keep the horns safe. He needed the help of the Gold Will Merchants.

However, the Gold Will Merchants were unable to do business in Yunnan due to the dominance of the Galaxy Manor, which included remote places like Dehong. Because of this, they decided to buy one of the storefronts in this village to operate in secret.

"Being so remote, there are hardly any cultivators here. Still, the Galaxy Manor has a presence." The clerk smiled bitterly.

"Good work. Take this for now." Zhou Xuchuan said, handing over the horn wrapped in cloth.

"I have hidden five similar horns nearby. Collect them tomorrow and send them to the head merchant along with this letter. Oh, and this is the map that marks the hidden location."

"Understood. I'll have it dealt with. Do I have to check the contents?"

"I heard that a few of the Ten Gale Swordsmen are waiting in Sichuan. Show it only to them and have them transport it. It's an important item, so please ensure it's handled with care."

"Yes. I'll have it done."

Cultivators on the level of the Ten Gale Swordsmen would raise suspicions if they were to gather in a remote place like Dehong, so they were waiting in Sichuan. There was a risk that the Galaxy Manor would view them as rivals if their affiliation were exposed, leading to numerous complications.

"It's getting late, so I plan to stay here for the night. Is that okay?"

"Of course."

*

There was a prepared place to sleep on the second floor. Unlike the rather shabby-looking exterior, the room was very clean and comfortable.

Zhou Xuchuan instructed the store clerk not to enter his room until he came out again. His purpose was to absorb the internal core, so he had the store clerk keep watch over the surroundings without intruding, even if he didn't leave the room for a whole day.

"First, I'll check the Green Eyes Ten Thousand Poisons Art…"

Though he had burned the Poison Demon's martial arts manual, he had memorized its contents.

After sitting in a lotus position, he took out the internal core from the iron chest that originally had the martial arts manual in it.

With a gulp,he swallowed the internal core.

It was a great stroke of luck that I obtained both the Green Eyes Ten Thousand Poisons Art and the Seven-horned Serpent's core.

If the Seven-horned Serpent reached the level of a lesser dragon, trying to become a true dragon, its internal core might have been much purer.

However, as it was still a serpent, the core's nature was closer to that of poison. It would be suicidal for him to consume the core if he didn't have the Hundred Poisons Immunity, and without the poison art, he wouldn't be able to absorb it completely.

Originally, Zhou Xuchuan's plan was to upgrade his Hundred Poisons Immunity to the Thousand Poisons Immunity and obtain a small amount of qi. However, obtaining a poison art made him change his mind. The core dissolved as soon as it reached his stomach, and Zhou Xuchuan tried to circulate the Green Eyes Ten Thousand Poisons Art while feeling its energy.

I'm reaching the second stage.

The first stage of the Green Eyes Poison Art was simple. Anyone could reach it as long as they could circulate poison in their body, though, normally, many people would not be able to survive the stage before that, which was to be poisoned.

When Zhou Xuchuan reached the second stage in one go, the poison art started showing its effectiveness. The poisonous qi of the Seven-horned Serpent flooded through his blood and qi vessels, without the repulsive stickiness unique to poison qi.

The poison qi knocked on his acupoints as they smoothly went through the passage of qi and blood. There was no viciousness unique to poison that tried to corrode the body. The Green Eyes Ten Thousand Poisons Art had them under control, softly guiding its way.

With the Seven-horned Serpent's qi, Zhou Xuchuan's Hundred Poisons Immunity reached the next level, becoming the Thousand Poisons Immunity.