"So that's how it is." I responded to Zhang Zidao's words, my mind sinking into thought, "Master, just now Granny Long said that the Ten Thousand Poison Hall has infiltrated Chief Yan's son, turning him into one of their own."
"The Ten Thousand Poison Hall is skilled at brainwashing; it's nothing surprising." Zhang Zidao, unconcerned, failed to grasp my implication, "Didn't the entire Zhuji Village get brainwashed?"
"If that person becomes the Stronghold Master, the Immortal Gu will become an object in the Ten Thousand Poison Hall's pocket." I scrutinized my thoughts step by step, "The Ancestor of Ten Thousand Poisons is already an Immortal; he wouldn't need the gu of Tianying Village, right?"
"That's the logic, but still, the Ten Thousand Poison Hall has come out in full force to search for it, not knowing what strength they seek." With every step Zhang Zidao took, a deep blue Taoist Heart lotus bloomed beneath his feet.
I looked down at the emerging lotuses and said out loud, "That's exactly what I was thinking. If the Ten Thousand Poison Hall knew that Zhao Zheng was dead, would they still go through so much trouble to find the Immortal Gu?"
Somehow, I suddenly managed to multitask, pondering the affairs of the Ten Thousand Poison Hall on one side.
On the other hand, I was able to unravel the essence of Zhang Zidao's step technique,
This step technique seemed simple, but in reality, it encompassed the profound mysteries of the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams.
Every seven steps made a complete cycle, appearing to repeat endlessly yet possessed infinite variations.
One simply couldn't learn it by rote memorization...
If one could comprehend the realm within, it wouldn't require Spiritual Power—only a Taoist Heart.
Then one could follow the Fuxi Eight Trigrams understood in their heart, to thus develop their own stepping technique.
"I...go!" Zhang Zidao halted in his tracks upon hearing my words.
He took a step that shattered the lotus just conjured, stopping dead, "You mean to say, nobody has discovered Zhao Zheng's death yet, everything is just us worrying needlessly?"
"Moreover, the Ancestor of Ten Thousand Poisons is most likely still in seclusion." I nodded vigorously, "We got nervous just now, thought too much and believed we were being targeted."
"Ah, a guilty conscience leads to self-imposed confusion," Zhang Zidao slapped his forehead, realizing his mistake.
The only people in the world who knew of Zhao Zheng's death were me, Zhang Zidao, and Yu Longting.
Zhao Zheng's ashes were even taken by Yu Longting; even with the Ten Thousand Poison Hall's extraordinary abilities, it wouldn't be possible for them to find out so quickly.
I knew we still had to prepare for a rainy day, "The truth will out eventually; it will be discovered sooner or later. We need to think of a way to deal with the future."
"Well said, the old teacher's mind has its limits, I entrust everything to you, my student!"
Tianying Village is an isolated ancient Miao stronghold, located very remotely.
Even if one took a long bus ride like earlier, one would still need to cross several mountains and traverse dangerous cableways after getting off the bus.
Next, Zhang Zidao led me away from the national highway.
And we entered a vast expanse of mountainous area.
The air between the mountain forests seemed to congeal, bone-chillingly cold. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ noⅴelfire.net
It was as if we had entered the Netherworld, devoid of any warmth that the human world should possess.
Fortunately, the tree trunks and bushes were home to many snakes, providing me a sense of safety.
"Disciple, be careful, Poisonous Wasps." Zhang Zidao's fire charm ignited without an open flame.
With a single throw, he set ablaze a sudden, dense curtain of black, engulfing it in a raging inferno.
The fire illuminated half of the thicket, and the dark web was visible as being composed of countless black wasps.
These wasps had poisonous stingers on their tails and had enveloped all the nearby snakes.
The snakes coiled on the trees, long paralyzed and dead from the wasp venom, hung there with only their lifeless husks, appearing as if they were merely asleep.
I felt a dull pain in my heart and was about to pull out a talisman paper from my body.
But I was stopped by the raised hand of Zhang Zidao, who said, "You can't use Spiritual Power, disciple."
Now that my Spiritual Power was greatly reduced, it mattered less.
The little Spiritual Power I retained was all used to protect myself and prevent the onset of Blood-weeping Syndrome for the time being.
Just now, seeing so many snakes killed, I almost lost control in my haste.
"I'm sorry, Master, I was reckless." I clenched my hand into a fist in secret, suppressing the frustration and pain in my heart.
I didn't know when it started, but slowly, in my heart, I began to regard the Snake Tribe as my own kind, developing an inexplicable sense of belonging and protective instinct.
Then I saw Zhang Zidao suddenly pull out his sharp Bronze Sword, grabbed me, and swiftly turned around.
His sword pierced directly into the heart of the man in the long robe behind us, "You wish to launch a sneak attack, you scoundrel! You're still too green to play tricks on the Old Taoist Priest!"
"Where did you come from... scruffy old Taoist, you dare meddle in the affairs of the Ten Thousand Poison Hall..."