The Immaculate Poison King severely injured a Foundation Establishment cultivator but is still well and alive? That explains his arrogance. He must have formidable means up his sleeves, Fang Chen thought.
“Young friend, what’s on your mind? Surely you don’t intend to step forward and uphold justice? If so, I’d have to advise you to drop that thought,” Song Yu said. “I harbored such thoughts in my younger years too… but that’s simply the world we live in. There’s no changing it no matter what we do.”
“I just thought he looked familiar,” Fang Chen replied. “Rest assured, Chief Song. I don’t do things I’m not confident about.”
“It’s not surprising that you find him familiar. The Immaculate Poison King’s reputation isn’t for show. He wouldn’t have shown me any respect at all if not for Boss You’s strong clan backing,” Song Yu replied with a bitter sigh.
“Forget it, let’s not talk about this anymore. Boss You arranged a distinguished compartment room for us too. Let’s head over.”
The distinguished compartment rooms had a window that allowed them to overlook the auction hall. All in all, there were ten of such rooms.
Many people had already gathered in the auction hall, and those who were acquainted greeted one another. Those who didn’t know anyone settled down in their seats and patiently waited for the auction to commence.
The average cultivation level in this auction hall was much higher than the cultivators who frequented Dragonback Lane. There were even eighth stage and ninth stage Ki Refinement cultivators.
As for those who were at tenth stage Ki Refinement and above, they had all been ushered into the distinguished compartment rooms.
Fang Chen closed his eyes and feigned rest. His soul drifted to the neighboring room, where a tenth stage Ki Refinement cultivator was patiently waiting for the auction to commence.
He proceeded to look at the other rooms, until he stumbled upon the Immaculate Poison King.
“Little bastard, take his pill.” The Immaculate Poison King took out a green pill and tossed it by the side of the hunched figure.
The hunched figure bent down with great difficulty to pick up the green pill and pop it into his mouth. His movements looked very stiff, and there was not the slightest emotion to be detected on his ugly face.
Shortly after swallowing the pill, the hunched figure’s face warped in pain. The massive tumor on his back began leaking thick, green pus.
The Immaculate Poison King burst into laughter. He took out a clear bottle, and with a wave of his hand, the thick, green pus was drawn into the bottle.
“You might be young, but you have a hardy life. You have at least nurtured 500 grams of Dracovenom for me now,” the Immaculate Poison King snickered before downing the contents in the bottle.
Fang Chen was horrified. He drank the green pus?!
The Immaculate Poison King looked intoxicated after drinking the green pus, and his aura slowly strengthened bit by bit.
“Dracovenom is incredible. Drinking a daily cup of it should bring me to eleventh stage Ki Refinement within the next three to five years. Haha, Foundation Establishment will soon be within my reach!” The Immaculate Poison King laughed gleefully.
“Ahhhh!” The hunched figure suddenly groaned while gesturing with his hands.
“You dumb mute, what are you groaning for? Remember that you were sold to me. It’s your fortune that I’m using you to nurture poison. You would have long died if I hadn’t bought you,” the Immaculate Poison King sneered.
The hunched figure looked at him, and his clear eyes slowly fogged up.
Fang Chen’s soul trembled as he looked at the hunched figure. He finally understood where that sense of familiarity came from. Song Yu thought that he had found the Immaculate Poison King familiar, but the one whom he had found familiar was instead the hunched figure.
Not long ago, a Blood Spirit Cultist had killed a family of civilians in Great Xia, and a child was the sole survivor of that tragedy. However, that child had been made mute, making him unable to communicate.
Fang Chen had the child test his aptitude via the Spirit Gauging Bell, where he was deemed to have a cultivation talent of three tolls. It was not excellent, but it was not terrible either.
He asked Elder Jinnan for a favor to take the child to the South Heaven Sect to cultivate, to which the latter accepted.
Had everything gone to plan, the child should have been cultivating in the South Heaven Sect instead of becoming a test subject here to breed lethal poison!
Looking at the poisonous tumors covering the child’s body, Fang Chen felt a pang in his heart.
Normal children of his age would have probably been chasing chickens and playing with dogs, or maybe acting coy to their parents. However, his family has been killed.
Despite having survived the ordeal, what awaited him wasn’t good days but greater suffering.
Fang Chen tore his eyes away from the child to look at the gleeful Immaculate Poison King.
“Why do I feel a chill?” The Immaculate Poison King looked around with a frown. He turned to the hunched figure and roared, “Are you secretly insulting me? Kneel at the corner of the room!”
The hunched figure trembled. He obediently headed over and kneeled at the corner.
The Immaculate Poison King sneered before playing with his braids again.
Fang Chen’s soul returned to his body, and he opened his eyes. He mumbled under his breath, “The South Heaven Sect, huh…”
He had no idea how the child ended up in the hands of a malevolent cultivator instead of being in the South Heaven Sect. I shall question Jinnan about this one day.
“Most of the guests are present,” Song Yu suddenly stood up and said. “The auction should be starting soon.”
Fang Chen looked below, and the sight of another familiar figure made him raise his eyebrows.
It had been a while since they last met, but Li Huafeng looked different from before. He was dressed in a green daoist robe, and he was accompanied by a seventh stage Ki Refinement middle-aged daoist.
“Chief Song, what’s the background of that daoist?” Fang Chen pointed to the middle-aged daoist as he asked.
“He is a Cloudless Monastery’s cultivator,” Song Yu glanced over and replied. He then turned to Fang Chen and asked, “Young friend, are you acquainted with the Cloudless Monastery? It has quite a reputation in the region. Rumor has it that its old abbot is at twelfth stage Ki Refinement, just a step short of reaching Foundation Establishment.”
“I don’t know him.” Fang Chen shook his head.
Minutes later, Boss You appeared in the auction hall. He warmly greeted all of the cultivators as if he knew them.
Song Yu remarked, “Boss You has wider connections than me. It’s lucky that the You Clan didn’t scorn our Dragonback Lane, or else this place will be much colder than it is.”
“Boss You is from a formidable clan?” Fang Chen asked.
“He has a Foundation Establishment ancestor.” Song Yu nodded. “The You Clan is a cultivator clan without a proper legacy, but it’s famous in the world of cultivation. They have businesses all around the world, so it’s not to be underestimated.”
Foundation Establishment ancestor?
No wonder he’s able to organize an auction with hundreds of people. It’s with such a backing that these people trust him to sell their goods or buy the things they need.
“The first thing on our auction today is a cultivation method,” Boss You said.
A huge commotion ensued.