Chapter 224: Going Against Convention

Clear Void Poison King's words alerted everyone, and murderous gazes fell upon the middle-aged Daoist and Li Huafeng.

"Clear Void Poison King, even if you silence us, my master will figure out it was you,” said the middle-aged Daoist in a deep voice. “Why make things so difficult for yourself?"

"Do it!" ordered Clear Void Poison King lightly. "He's stalling for time. Perhaps that old geezer from the Clear Sky Monastery will come to their aid."

Upon hearing this, everyone drew their weapons and attacked the two.

The middle-aged Daoist let out a roar, and a peachwood sword flew out from his sleeve to fend off the attacks while he attempted to break through the encirclement with Li Huafeng.

Clear Void Poison King suddenly chuckled, pointing at Li Huafeng. "This is interesting. Spare that kid's life. His talent is probably not bad; otherwise, the Clear Sky Monastery wouldn't value him so much."

Most cultivators were selfish, but even at this critical moment, the middle-aged Daoist was still protecting Li Huafeng, which spoke volumes.

"Junior Brother, we are probably doomed to fall today," lamented the middle-aged Daoist with a hint of despair.

The attackers were all at the ninth or tenth stage of the Qi Refining Realm. Though they were only wandering cultivators and weren’t particularly strong, the middle-aged Daoist alone couldn't hold out for long against them.

"Clear Void Poison King, stop watching and help!" shouted one of the cultivators shouted discontentedly.

Clear Void Poison King smiled and flicked his finger. A green light shot out and hit the middle-aged Daoist's spiritual energy barrier, instantly corroding it.

The cultivators who were originally fighting the middle-aged Daoist saw what happened and promptly retreated to a certain distance, their expressions filled with fear. Clearly, they didn't want to be touched by Clear Void Poison King's poisonous techniques.

"Argh!" The middle-aged Daoist let out a painful scream as the corrosive green gas touched his skin. It continued to spread through his body.

Li Huafeng staggered back several steps, horrified by the scene unfolding before him.

"Junior Brother, hurry and run!”

The middle-aged Daoist slowly knelt on the ground. When he raised his head again, the flesh on his face had vanished, revealing bare bones, a terrifying appearance.

Li Huafeng was about to flee for his life, but he was immediately kicked back by a cultivator. His internal energy was completely useless in the face of spiritual energy.

"Don't kill me, I'm willing to serve you in any way. I've only just joined the Clear Sky Monastery, and I haven't even condensed my immortal veins!" begged Li Huafeng as he suddenly knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly to Clear Void Poison King. "I have a seven-chime aptitude. Spare my life, I'm sure it'll be useful to you, senior!"

The middle-aged Daoist was stunned, and a hint of complexity flashed in his eyes. His master had misjudged the kid’s character. This junior brother of his truly had no backbone at all.

"Seven-chime aptitude? No wonder!" Clear Void Poison King's eyes lit up, followed by bursts of laughter. "No wonder that old fart from the Clear Sky Monastery took you as his disciple. No wonder this guy risked his life to save you. Such aptitude is rare indeed."

The surrounding cultivators had various expressions: some were envious, some suspicious, and some jealous.

Most of them have aptitudes of two or three chimes, and by the time they came into contact with cultivation, they were already past their prime. The sects simply didn’t value them. If they had a seven-chime aptitude, perhaps they would at least be at the twelfth stage of the Qi Refining Realm by now... They might’ve even stepped into the Foundation Building Realm....

"Kid, if you're not lying, I'm willing to take you as my disciple, and you'll follow me to cultivate the art of poison. But... to make me believe you, you have to deal with him yourself," said the Clear Void Poison King as he pointed at the middle-aged Daoist, smiling faintly.

Li Huafeng stood up and rushed toward the middle-aged Daoist, holding a dagger in his hand. He began stabbing wildly as he said, "Senior brother, I'm sorry... I just want to stay alive!"

Plop, plop, plop!

Blood blossomed, staining the soil red. The middle-aged Daoist stared at Li Huafeng, his vitality gradually fading away. The middle-aged Daoist was already dead, but Li Huafeng continued to stab him relentlessly, stabbing hundreds of times before finally coming to a stop. Then he looked at Clear Void Poison King, terrified. "Senior, I've done as you said. Please accept me as your disciple. I'm willing to serve you for the rest of my life!"

"This guy..." The surrounding cultivators exchanged glances, secretly fearful. If the Clear Void Poison King took him as his disciple, they reckoned that in a few decades, another evil cultivator would emerge in the cultivation world.

"Very well, very well." Clear Void Poison King nodded with a smile. "Bring the manual of the technique you bought over to me."

"Yes!" Li Huafeng nodded quickly, taking out the stowed manual from the middle-aged Daoist's body, then walking toward Clear Void Poison King.

Rustle, rustle.

The crowd stirred, and Li Huafeng's footsteps paused slightly as everyone turned to look in the same direction. They saw a figure emerging from the dense forest.

The newcomer's eyes were tightly closed, seemingly unaware of the scene before him.

"Fang Chen!" Li Huafeng exclaimed in shock, then his gaze turned extremely malicious, and he shouted, "Senior, this person is also a cultivator. We can't let him leave alive! He must be silenced!"

The others hesitated, some even became wary. A cultivator appearing suddenly in such circumstances? They had to have some real skill; otherwise, why would they dare show themselves now, at this critical moment?

The Clear Void Poison King furrowed his brow slightly as he looked at Fang Chen without saying a word.

"Oh? This sounds like Li Huafeng." Fang Chen suddenly smiled, turning to face Li Huafeng. "Encountering you in this place is truly unexpected. What were you just saying? Silence? Who do you want to silence?"

Li Huafeng sneered repeatedly, his eyes filled with deep hatred. "Don't play dumb. With your temperament, your appearance here can’t be a coincidence. You probably didn't expect this, did you? You severed my immortal fate, but I still managed to join the Clear Sky Monastery. And now, I even have a senior intending to take me as his disciple!"

"Oh, really?" Fang Chen chuckled lightly. "Which senior intends to take you as his disciple?"

"Kid, we met at Dragon Ridge." Clear Void Poison King's eyes narrowed, and he smirked. "Did you just happen to bump into us, or were you following us on purpose?"

Fang Chen smiled and clasped his fists. "So it’s you, Clear Void Poison King. My apologies."

𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The surrounding cultivators were filled with suspicion and doubt. One of them looked toward Clear Void Poison King and asked, "Poison King, is he an acquaintance of yours? Do we need to silence him?"

Plak!

As those words came out of the cultivator’s mouth, he was sent flying dozens of feet away, crashing heavily onto the ground, a bloody hole pierced through his temple. Even the spiritual energy shrouding his body hadn’t been able to withstand this fatal strike.

In mid-air, a small sword spun rapidly, awaiting Fang Chen's next command.

The remaining cultivators gasped in disbelief, their gazes fixed on Fang Chen. The cultivator who had just been killed was at the tenth stage of the Qi Refining Realm! Yet, he didn't even have time to react before dying instantly!

Fang Chen chuckled softly. "There are too many people here. It’s not a great place for a conversation...."

A flash of silver light swept through the air with lightning speed, mercilessly claiming the lives of one cultivator after another. The cultivators couldn’t resist whatsoever.

As the last cultivator faced his imminent death, he finally saw what was killing them!

"A flying sword? A sword cultivator?!"

His screams were cut short as a flash of silver took his life.

A sword cultivator?

Even Clear Void Poison King, who had been described as domineering by Song Yu and had even fought against Foundation Building Realm cultivators, couldn't help but feel his scalp tingle upon hearing the term ‘sword cultivator.’

Looking at the corpses littering the ground, Clear Void Poison King's eyes showed a hint of unprecedented seriousness, and he quietly began to retreat.

As for Li Huafeng, he had long been standing still, as if he had turned into a wooden statue.