Chapter 90: Qi Linked Branches
Chapter 90: Qi Linked Branches
"This isn't divine sense poison."
Yan Longzi spoke slowly.
The other peak masters and elders watching Li Yan’s match also nodded in agreement. Others might not be able to tell, but as Core Formation cultivators and poison experts, they certainly could.
“Could this be the Fractured Poison Body? Still, I’ve never seen a poison like that before. It must be a hybrid toxin.”
An elder spoke up.
“The Fractured Poison Body certainly lives up to its name. Have them bring those six spirit orbs over for examination.”
Elder Hua from Boundless Peak said coolly.
Hearing this, Yan Longzi and the others all nodded. They were just as curious. After all, they truly wanted to witness one of the legendary Three Great Poison Bodies in person.
Yan Longzi immediately issued an order:
“Have the disciple monitoring the battle bring those spirit orbs here.”
The elders' discussion even drew the attention of several others nearby who were watching different matches.
On the dueling platform, Li Yan looked at the collapsed Lu Qiutong, but did not approach him, nor did he withdraw his protective spiritual aura. The six spirit orbs had long since fallen to the ground after losing Lu Qiutong’s mana support.
Just as Li Yan was preparing to cautiously approach Lu Qiutong, the blue protective barrier of the platform rippled slightly. A cultivator in his twenties stepped through, exuding a powerful aura.
Li Yan was startled for a moment but quickly relaxed. At this point, the only one who could enter here was a Foundation Establishment cultivator overseeing the match.
The arriving cultivator glanced at Li Yan, slightly surprised. He had watched the match at close range unlike Wei Chituo and the others who relied on the crystal display and even he couldn’t discern exactly how Li Yan had acted.
Even with what little he had observed, he wouldn't have guessed Li Yan had done anything, until Lu Qiutong suddenly collapsed.
“You’ve won this match. Step down.”
With a flick of his sleeve, the young cultivator swept up the unconscious Lu Qiutong and the six spirit orbs, vanishing them into the air.
Only after hearing this did Li Yan finally withdraw his protective aura. He glanced around, then summoned his flying artifact and left.
In the stands, cultivators from all factions continued to debate. Some speculated about the poison that felled Lu Qiutong, disciples from the Wraith Sect were always fascinated by unknown toxins.
Others began inquiring into Li Yan’s background.
Li Changting was speaking with Zhao Min.
“Sister Min, you’ve spent more time around Li Yan. Do you think his poison body is capable of producing divine sense poison?”
Zhao Min had also been deep in thought. She answered slowly.
“The Fractured Poison Body could possibly produce such a poison. It is, after all, one of the Three Ancient Poison Bodies. But I don’t think that’s what Lu Qiutong was afflicted by.
"Divine sense is a cultivator’s most sensitive faculty, sharper even than the five senses. With several minor realms between them, if Junior Brother Li’s poison had reached Lu Qiutong’s divine sense, Lu should have sensed it immediately.
"Moreover, Lu Qiutong controlled those six orbs for dozens of breaths. If his divine sense had been affected, he would have felt something odd at least, rather than suddenly collapsing unconscious.
"So, it’s more likely his divine sense wasn’t touched at all. The problem was probably with his body.”
As she spoke, Zhao Min lowered her head in thought, exposing a long, white jade neck. She idly nudged the ground with her toe as she pondered.
Back in the Little Bamboo Peak section, Li Yan landed from his flying artifact. Wei Chituo and the others greeted him with smiles. Lin Daqiao walked up and lightly patted his shoulder, giving him a thumbs-up.
“Junior Brother, that guy was ranked top fifty on Old Lord Peak and you took him down in your first match!”
Beside him, Gong Chenying’s beautiful eyes flicked toward Li Yan. When he met her gaze, she softly acknowledged him with a faint “Mm,” as if somewhat satisfied.
Even Yun Chunque looked at him and gave a small nod.
Yet none of them asked how he’d won. In the world of cultivation, everyone had their secrets. If others could see through it, it was their skill. If not, no one would pry. Trying to uncover someone’s trump card was a serious taboo.
Li Yan respectfully bowed to them all.
“This victory wouldn’t have been possible without your guidance these past few days.”
Though his win relied on his own methods, things like evading attacks or sensing an opponent’s targeting had all come from the group’s help in recent days.
Even if it wasn’t long, he had gained much, an advantage disciples from other peaks didn’t have.
Afterward, Li Yan quietly walked to the side and sat cross-legged. What he needed most now was to reflect on the battle and restore his spiritual energy.
Thinking back on his narrow victory, Li Yan could only sigh to himself: “Pure luck.”
He hadn’t used any divine sense poison, his fractured twelve branches of his body contained no such toxin. What he had used was something he himself had named: “Qi Linked Branches.”
This poison wasn’t limited to water-type spells, it could be used with several other elements. Once deployed, it formed a faint mist in the air. If someone inhaled it, it would swiftly enter their bloodstream.
From there, it flowed through the meridians and internal pathways, devouring the Qi within the blood, spreading steadily through the body.
Because it consumed Qi gradually, the host wouldn’t notice at first. In an intense battle, a bit of breathlessness might just be seen as fatigue from fighting too hard.
By the time they realized something was wrong, it was often too late. They would ultimately suffocate and die.
Hence the name: “Qi Linked Branches.”
Because the poison created a visible mist, it wasn’t easy to use successfully. Timing was key. Li Yan had seized the perfect moment, when Lu Qiutong used the Raining Sand from the Sky spell which incorporated the Piercing Lantern poison was when he had improvised.
Due to his lack of real combat experience, Li Yan had carelessly inhaled a wisp of the hidden poison released by Lu Qiutong. However, whether it was because the Piercing Lantern poison wasn't potent enough, or for some other reason, it ended up having no effect on him whatsoever.
When he realized that he had inhaled the Piercing Lantern toxin, Li Yan was startled. But since none of the dizziness or fatigue symptoms described in the records appeared, he quickly calmed down.
In that moment, a sudden inspiration struck him. He simply pretended to be affected, acting as though accidentally inhaling it had left him sluggish, unable to dodge Lu Qiutong’s Raining Sand from the Sky spell. He then deployed Water Cloud Pouch to counter the attack.
As the powers of water and fire clashed, a mist arose in the air. Seizing this opportunity, Li Yan released the Qi Linked Branches poison. No one noticed that the mist in the air had subtly changed.
At that point, Lu Qiutong judged that Li Yan possessed a primary water spiritual root, directly opposed to his own fire root. Determined to take advantage of the elemental clash, he chose to attack head-on, inadvertently stepping right into the poisoned zone.
As for the poison later clinging to the spiritual orbs, that was a different kind of vicious toxin from the Twelve Fractured Poisons, which Li Yan had named Bone-Clinging Maggot. It was highly adhesive and corrosive.
But Li Yan's goal wasn’t to harm his opponent with that, only to corrode the six spiritual orbs slightly, delaying their effect and buying time for Qi Linked Branches to take hold.
The mist generated by Qi Linked Branches looked nearly identical to that produced by the clash of water and fire spells. But under close scrutiny, the difference was still discernible, especially to the eyes of experienced Core Formation cultivators.
The supervising Foundation Establishment cultivator on-site had only noticed some vague clues. It was only after reflecting for a while that he understood what had actually happened.
Meanwhile, up in the floating pavilion, Lu Qiutong stood below the gathered elders, face full of guilt. Some of the elders were carefully examining the spiritual orbs with qi-protected hands, while others were lost in thought.
Yan Longzi held one of the orbs, spiritual light flickering in his palm, inspecting it thoroughly. After a while, he looked up at the uneasy Lu Qiutong below and spoke after some thought.
“You may withdraw. After we examine these six spiritual orbs, we’ll remove the poison for you. Once you reattune them afterward, they should regain their spiritual properties.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Qiutong was overjoyed. He had no idea how to remove the poison himself and had never encountered this kind before. He had just been thinking of asking someone to find an elder for help.
Time was of the essence. Any further delay, and even if the poison was removed, the spiritual essence of the orbs might already be eroded, rendering them utterly useless.
Though the six orbs weren’t his best spirit artifacts, they were still very useful in combat. Now that the sect master had said this, he couldn’t have hoped for more. Overcome with gratitude, he dropped to his knees in a deep bow.
After that, Lu Qiutong turned and left but as he did, he firmly etched the name "Li Yan" into his memory.
Once Lu Qiutong had departed, Yan Longzi looked around at the other elders, some still studying the orbs, others deep in contemplation.
“You’ve all seen the poison that afflicted Lu Qiutong. It resided in his bloodstream, extremely fierce in nature and clearly distinct from the toxins found on the spiritual orbs.”
Elder Hua of Boundless Peak, who had been silent with her eyes closed, now opened them and spoke:
“The poison in Lu Qiutong’s blood could potentially be concocted using twelve medicinal herbs, Bitterstone Wood, Waterfeather Seed, Green Kudzu Powder… along with mid-grade materials from three first-rank demonic beasts, Azure Ram Jawbone, Bloodwind Hawk Eye…
“However, since we don’t have the original form of the poison, not its initial gas nor its liquid form, it’s difficult to say for sure.”
At this, a burly, red-haired elder frowned and said:
“Some of the ingredients Junior Sister Hua listed match my thoughts, but I disagree that Bloodwind Hawk Eye, Waterfeather Seed, and Green Kudzu Powder would be appropriate here.
Bloodwind Hawk Eye may bind quickly with blood, but it’s inherently fire-aligned. When it vaporizes, it tends to leak traces easily. Moreover, as it travels through the meridians, it scorches them, hardly ‘invisible’ or ‘untraceable’…”
“You’re mistaken, Senior Brother Zeng,” interrupted another elder from Four Symbols Peak. “I believe Junior Sister Hua made a very good point with Bloodwind Hawk Eye. The burning issue you mention can be neutralized by pairing it with Waterfeather Seed. However, the combination of Bitterstone Wood and Green Kudzu Powder might be problematic…”
“Senior Brother,” he continued, “since you’ve been staring at that orb for so long, what are your thoughts on the toxin? I believe it can be synthesized using eighteen specific herbs…”
Holding the spiritual orb and listening to the debate, Yan Longzi couldn’t help but chuckle wryly. He then narrowed his eyes and focused on the gray water stain on the orb, muttering to himself:
“Fractured Poison Body… Fractured Poison Body… Two different poisons, and each requires numerous rare herbs, even materials from demonic beasts, to replicate. Interesting. Little Junior Brother, it seems your judgment really was quite keen.”
Earlier, when Lu Qiutong had been brought in unconscious, the supervising Foundation Establishment cultivator hadn’t been able to purge the toxin. It was only after the gathered Core Formation elders conducted their inspection that one of them finally took action to cleanse it.
Such is the difference in cultivation levels. The Twelve Fractured Poisons within Li Yan are still maturing, constantly evolving and growing more potent. One day, they might become so refined that even Core Formation elders would be powerless against them or even frightened.
And that, in truth, is exactly what Yan Longzi hopes for. Though he originally thought it would be enough if Li Yan simply reached Foundation Establishment, now it seemed Li Yan at the Foundation Establishment stage might already be able to pose a threat to Core Formation cultivators.
(Chapter End)