Chapter 1762: The Highest Consumption

Qing Shaohuang had told Qing Li about the existence of Transience, but the emperor never mentioned that the Second Nightking had appeared. Qing Shaohuang would never mention that detail to anyone at all.

The emperor had no intention of moving in the open to deal with Lu Yin, as there were far too many powerful people supporting Lu Yin.

This was also just considering Lu Yin’s situation, as it was also important to note that the Second Nightking was wanted by Interstellar Arbitration. As soon as news leaked that the ancient expert was in Venom King City, Qing Shaohuang would not only need to face those supporting Lu Yin, but also the full might of the Hall of Honor. That was the strength that dominated the Human Domain.

Qing Shaohuang had also been feeling hesitant, but Lu Yin slapping Attendant Yi in the face had firmed the emperor’s resolve. Lu Yin had not been striking Attendant Yi, but Qing Shaohuang. This had happened in Venom King City, which demonstrated just how arrogant Lu Yin was and how he looked down on the Divine Venom Dynasty. Perhaps the truth was like the Sword Sect had said, and once Lu Yin united the Innerverse, the Divine Venom Dynasty would not be overlooked.

The emperor felt hate towards Yuan Taishi and the others were too stubborn and conservative.

The Divine Venom Dynasty had sent invitations to many people throughout the Human Domain, and more and more people continued to enter Venom King City. It would still be some time before the banquet celebrating Qing Shaohuang’s breakthrough would be held.

Lu Yin stayed in Qing Shaohuang’s remote palace for two days before going out again. This time, he went to visit Elder Lianxin.

Lu Yin had no idea what sort of bizarre surveillance methods the Divine Venom Dynasty might possess, so he did not try to hide his movements, but was open about his visit.

Lu Yin's location was something that was constantly being monitored by Qing Shaohuang. The Divine Venom Dynasty monitored the city through the ground. Every inch of land on Divine Venom Continent was poisonous, and each drop of poison was able to record the daily whereabouts of any particular creature.

The moment Lu Yin stepped out of the palace, Qing Shaohuang was aware of it.

Elder Lianxin was staying in a mansion close to the imperial palace, but she refused to see Lu Yin when he arrived at the mansion.

Lu Yin frowned. The Sword Sect had already surrendered secretly to him, and yet this was how Elder Lianxin was still treating him. This was either because she was worried about the Divine Venom Dynasty, or it was because the elder had no desire to personally join the Great Eastern Alliance. Regardless, Lu Yin had to get in. Even if he was not able to see Elder Lianxin, he could still see Li Zimo and determine Elder Lianxin's true feelings.

There was a bang as the gate of the mansion was destroyed and all the Divine Venom Dynasty cultivators who guarded the mansion dropped to the ground. Lu Yin casually entered the mansion’s grounds.

The sound disturbed the nearby imperial palace, as well as Qing Shaohuang. The emperor was absolutely furious; Lu Yin was too arrogant! This was Venom King City, not the Great Eastern Alliance territory, and yet Lu Yin was still so brazen!

The boom also alerted other people in Venom King City, and all of them started to pay attention to Lu Yin's actions. This was just too over the top!

Lu Yin entered the mansion and saw Li Zimo, who was staring at Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, is there something you need here?"

Lu Yin moved right past the young man. "I heard that Elder Lianxin was here, so I came to see her."

Li Zimo lifted his sword in a futile attempt to stop Lu Yin. Lu Yin did not even move, yet the sword shattered. The next moment, the void warped, and Qing Shaohuang emerged to block Lu Yin’s path.

This was Lu Yin’s first time seeing the emperor in person, but he had seen many videos before.

"Alliance Leader Lu, if you have something to say, I can relay a message on your behalf. You and Elder Lianxin are both my Divine Venom Dynasty’s honored guests, so please stop your actions," Qing Shaohuang spoke lightly and showed a calm expression. He did not betray even the slightest bit of hostility towards Lu Yin, despite the rage the emperor was feeling.

Lu Yin was surprised. "I didn't expect His Majesty to leave the palace."

Lu Yin’s position made it reasonable for Qing Li and Qing Longlong to greet him upon his arrival, but given the fact that he was staying in Venom King City, it was natural for Qing Shaohuang to also show some courtesy and personally meet with Lu Yin. However, so far, Qing Shaohuang had used the excuse of secluded training as an excuse to not meet with Lu Yin, though the emperor had not met with anyone else, either.

"I just exited my seclusion. I’ve ignored Alliance Leader Lu," Qing Shaohuang answered with a smile.

Lu Yin gave a small smile. "Since His Majesty has made the request, then I’ll just forget about this."

"Thank you. A banquet will be held in a few days, and Alliance Leader Lu can rest until then. Although Venom King City is not a particularly prosperous place, it still has its own charms unique from the outside world, and I insist on covering any expenses that you may incur while visiting my city." Qing Shaohuang smiled.

Lu Yin's eyes lit up. He was somewhat familiar with this concept, as it was the same gesture that the Sea King had made towards all of the participants in the competition to become the Sea King’s son-in-law; the Sea King had covered all of the participants' expenses at the Sea King’s Dome for the duration of the competition.

"Are you sure?" Lu Yin's mouth curved up.

Qing Shaohuang was startled at Lu Yin’s reaction, and had a bad premonition. Still, after a moment’s thought, the emperor remembered that Lu Yin was the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, so how could he be shameless enough to rack up much of a bill? The emperor put no more thought to the matter. "Alliance Leader Lu should enjoy his stay."

Lu Yin smiled. "Your Majesty, you should feel free to return to your seclusion. Oh, and also, congratulations on your breakthrough."

Lu Yin then turned around and left.

As soon as he saw Lu Yin leave, Li Zimo stepped forward to bow to Qing Shaohuang.

At the same time, Elder Lianxin appeared. "Thank you, Your Majesty, for stopping him."

Qing Shaohuang nodded, "Both Elder Lianxin and the alliance leader are our honored guests. It would be best if the two of you can avoid any conflicts. I will have to trouble Elder Lianxin to remain in the mansion for the next few days."

Elder Lianxin was feeling torn at the moment, Qing Shaohuang believed that Lu Yin was looking to make trouble for Elder Lianxin because the Sword Sect had sent her to ask the Divine Venom Dynasty for help in dealing with Lu Yin. The emperor had no idea that the Sword Sect had already secretly submitted to Lu Yin. At times, the more stubborn a person was, the more then would ignore inheritances, life and death, and even if they were right or wrong in their pursuits.

Lu Yin was the reason that Li Zimo had left Shenwu Continent. Lu Yin had helped Li Zimo and had sent him to the Sword Sect. Because of this, Li Zimo would not betray Lu Yin. This was something that not even Elder Lianxin knew about.

This was part of why she had no desire to see Lu Yin. Even if Liu Qianjue had submitted to the Great Eastern Alliance, Elder Lianxin had no desire to do the same, and she would much rather live the rest of her life in seclusion.

However, despite Elder Lianxin’s unwillingness to submit to Lu Yin, she would also not work against Lu Yin, nor would she tell Qing Shaohuang of the Sword Sect’s decision.

After Qing Shaohuang left, Elder Lianxin let out a sigh.

"Master, will this be your decision?" Li Zimo asked quietly.

Elder Lianxin looked over at Li Zimo. "Remember, only by maintaining your natural state of mind can you reach peace. Your master is not willing to join the Great Eastern Alliance, nor I will not help Lu Yin. This is your master's path."

"Your disciple understands," Li Zimo replied.

Elder Lianxin nodded.

Li Zimo stared at Elder Lianxin's back and inwardly sighed. "Master, you have your own path, but your disciple has his own path as well."

That night, Elder Lianxin suddenly collapsed after being assaulted by a wave of drowsiness. Qing Shaohuang arrived to check on her, and was surprised to discover that Elder Lianxin had been poisoned.

"While it’s only a toxin with an average effect, it is incredibly potent. It perfectly utilizes the characteristics of the poisons, or even beyond perfection. Every single bit of the poison’s power has been magnified ten times, or even a hundred times over." Qing Shaohuang frowned as he looked at Li Zimo. "Who has Elder Lianxin met with recently?"

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Li Zimo replied in a very respectful tone, "Master has always remained within the mansion and has never had any contact with anyone other than her disciples."

Qing Shaohuang was surprised. While the type of poison that had been used was very common, this particular version was incredibly potent. After all, it had caused even an Envoy like Elder Lianxin to fall asleep. Who had poisoned her? Lu Yin? If so, then when?

The emperor looked back at Li Zimo and shook his head. It was impossible for Li Zimo to be behind the poison. He was Elder Lianxin’s disciple, and he had been with her within the Sword Sect for many years. When Qing Shaohuang had spoken with Elder Lianxin, she had mentioned her disciple. It had been clear that Elder Lianxin had absolute trust in her disciple. This young man seemed the least suspicious out of everyone.

The poison was quite common, but its potency was truly terrifying. Where had it come from?

"Your Majesty, how is my master?" Li Zimo asked, his eyes worried.

Qing Shaohuang replied, "Don't worry. The elder is merely lethargic. It’s nothing serious, and she will be able to wake up shortly."

Li Zimo let out a sigh of relief, but then clenched his fists. "Who the hell poisoned my master?"

Qing Shaohuang did not understand either, and this matter had to be looked into. This attack had happened within Venom King City, which would make this matter more difficult to cover up. This was also not a simple attack, and how many poison masters in Venom King City were capable of creating such a toxin? The emperor suddenly remembered Yuan Taishi. That old man had always disapproved of targeting the Great Eastern Alliance, so it would not be any surprise for him to have poisoned the Sword Sect’s representative.

It was not impossible for it to have been Yuan Taishi, but Qing Shaohuang suppressed his suspicions and reassured Li Zimo once again before leaving.

Li Zimo bowed deeply to the unconscious Elder Lianxin. "I'm sorry, Master."

He had been the one to poison the woman. Lu Yin had broken into the mansion and had handed the poison over when he had passed by Li Zimo, while also asking if Elder Lianxin was unwilling to join the Great Eastern Alliance. That was the reason for the poison. Also, Lu Yin had shared the properties of the poison with Li Zimo, which was the only reason he had been willing to poison his master.

Lu Yin was aware of the relationship between Li Zimo and Elder Lianxin, and he had no desire to truly poison Elder Lianxin, just to have her remain asleep for a while. This was a poison that Lu Yin had taken from Elder Wu. It was a very common sort of poison, and it was not a violent sort. Lu Yin had originally had three bottles, and he still had two left.

Elder Lianxin was unhappy with the Great Eastern Alliance, so even after the Sword Sect had submitted, she had remained unwilling to join the alliance. She presented an unstable factor, which meant that Lu Yin could only have her sleep for the time being.

At first, Lu Yin had planned to continue on to the Wen family’s quarters after leaving Elder Lianxin's mansion. Lu Yin hoped to threaten Wen Zizai again and drive home the importance of the improved Literary Prison, but Qing Shaohuang had given Lu Yin an opportunity that could not be ignored, so Lu Yin had excitedly decided to go shopping.

His first stop was the small shop he had visited on his first day in the city.

He had no paid particular attention the first time, but on his return, Lu Yin deliberately checked the name of the shop: "Poisons Come and Go." A good name.

Lu Yin entered the shop, and saw the shop owner was busy with a group of customers. The owner and his customers saw Lu Yin, and simultaneously, all five of the people in the store nearly dropped. "Sir!"

"Master Lu!"

Lu Yin gave an odd stare at the customers. "You know me?"

The man at the front of the small group answered respectfully, "Who in the universe doesn't know of Alliance Leader Lu? Seeing the alliance leader in person is enough to let this lowly one be willing to die!"

Lu Yin smiled. "There’s something I want to discuss with this shopkeeper."

"Please take your time. This lowly one will withdraw." The man quickly left the store with the others in his group.

Still on the floor, the shop owner kept his head bowed in terror as he bowed to Lu Yin. "Sir, this lowly one was wrong before! I did not mean to offend you or your friends, so please forgive this lowly one this once! I swear it will never happen again...."

Lu Yin scratched at his ears. "Alright, enough with the crap."

The man became even more frightened, and he actually collapsed.

Lu Yin’s eyes grew sharp as he looked at the man. "Let me ask you: where’s the most expensive store in Venom King City?"

The shop owner felt confused. "The most expensive store?"

Lu Yin squatted down to get closer and smiled at the man. “Your shop’s got a decent size in a good location, and it does a great deal of business. With all of this, you have to have a good understanding about the more expensive places in Venom King City."