The Immortal's Poison

Chang Li giggled and the expression on her face was a combination of mischief and excitement. She seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood as she explained patiently to Wen Leyang, “I’ve told all of you this before that when I was trying to catch his attention, I did many fun things. In return, my actions caused many enemies to pursue me afterward.”

Wen Leyang nodded his head while he conveniently wiped off the cold sweat on his forehead.

Chang Li pointed at the soil mound which was dashing to the left and right as she continued, “This thing here is called ‘Po Tu’. He was the mountain-guarding Divine Beast of the Qilian Mountains’ Immortal Sect. I destroyed their exquisite ice crystals so they came after me, hah-hah. The Immortal Sect of the Qilian Mountains was a bunch of idiots, they couldn’t really cause me any harm but he still refused to pay attention to me so I stirred up an even bigger disaster! This time, all those cruel bstards came over to fight me while the Immortal Sect of the Qilian Mountains followed behind like a fox assuming the majesty of the tiger – borrowing someone else’s power. He then joined hands with me to resist the enemies together that day while this ‘Po Tu’ hid at the back and dared not come forward! I can’t believe that it has been two thousand years since we parted and this little bstard has finally cultivated into a human form.”

Wen Leyang suddenly made an ‘oh no’ sound as he looked at Chang Li both surprised and delighted, “Then he… he must know about the whereabouts of the Grand Master Tuo Xie?!”

Chang Li nodded her head, “At the very least, we can get some useful clues from him I reckon!” That magically delicate face of hers was emitting an excited glow and she became even more beautiful in the moonlit night.

Ever since the great demon Chang Li left Mount Emei, she had been trying to locate her enemies in order to investigate about Tuo Xie’s track. However, during her travels around the world for the past year and a half, whether it was her acquaintances, enemies, or her uninvolved relatives, she had not managed to acquire any viable clues from them. Right now, somehow she had managed to bump into a fellow who had taken part in that ferocious battle in the past. Even though he was only an underling, she was already more than happy at his presence.

The gigantic soil mound exploded with a bang. Po Tu turned into his human form once again as he sprang to his feet. One could see that he was furious underneath his thick scales and he roared loudly like a muffled thunder, “Out of my own damn kindness, when I had seen that the demonic energy gushing out, I risked my life to rush over and earnestly came to warn you. It seemed that everyone here was of the same Demon Sect lineage as me and if I could save one I would try to save one. Yet I didn’t think that all of you were just a bunch of bastards…”

Chang Li chuckled, “Young boy, can you still recognize me?”

The burly fellow Po Tu utterly did not look at Chang Li as he appeared from the ground. He had been more fixated on looking around and his expression was beyond worried as he stomped his foot ferociously, “Stop talking nonsense, release me and the rest should start running for your lives! It will all be too late in a jiffy!”

Wen Leyang asked Chang Li in a low voice, “That person chasing after Po Tu and the enemy that we are looking for, do you think that they’re from the same group?”

Chang Li paid no attention to this matter at all. She did not care about who was coming as she looked at Po Tu with a smile, “Hey, you shell-less little b*stard, why are you still so cowardly despite our parting for two thousand years?”

Po Tu, who had initially been so worried, turned even more dejected when he heard her addressing him as a ‘shell-less little b*stard’ like he had just recalled some unusually terrifying past event. He turned around and looked at Chang Li before slapping his thigh suddenly in realization after a long while. Even his turquoise-colored scales were turning as ashen as his face, “You… you’re… the demon witch Chang Li!” His four final words were almost screamed out in agony, his voice terrified Wen Leyang so much that Wen Leyang’s scalp tingled.

Chang Li’s smile was like a tulip flower blooming to its heart’s content, “We’ve not seen each other for two thousand years and your scales have already grown out again so quickly? Heh-heh… I think you look more pleasant in your bald and barren appearance back then.”

Po Tu’s expression was ever-changing, he was terrified and surprised with a thick old grudge. He gritted his teeth as he squalled vigorously once and transformed into the gigantic pangolin once again. He then slammed ferociously onto the protective circle set down by Chang Li!

All of a sudden, the rocks on the entire mountain slope raged madly and surged skywards. The dark mass of rocks completely blocked off the moonlight! Layers upon layers of thick soil raged and surged in all directions akin to waves as Po Tu exerted all his strength and slammed onto Chang Li’s prohibition spell. Finally, in the midst of loud crashing sounds and muffled screams, Chang Li’s prohibition spell cracked with a breach. The big soil mound immediately surged outwards while rippling with strong winds and left behind a spray of black-colored bloody mist behind him. His gigantic front limb had been forcefully torn off by the prohibition spell with the limb still spinning around after it was dropped to the ground.

Po Tu’s fear towards Chang Li was deep in his bones until he was willing to lose a limb in order to run away desperately. He didn’t even dare to ask the reason why Chang Li had wanted to capture him in the first place.

Chang Li’s expression changed abruptly and she scolded, “I haven’t seen him in two thousand years, his ability has grown!” As she was saying that a gust of strong wind swept past and plunged as fast as lightning in tandem with the soil mound. She then dashed out of the crowd’s sight in the blink of an eye.

Wen Leyang and the rest of them stood and gazed at one another. He picked up the two big rabbits from the ground before a shadow swayed before his eyes abruptly and Chang Li was back again.

Chang Li’s delicate face was tense as she spoke rapidly, “That shell-less b*stard may be useless but he’s outstanding at running away. I will need to spend some time in order to catch up with him but I’m afraid that the two rabbits can’t hold on any longer if I’m not around!” As she said that she held out both her thumbs in lightning speed and stamped them onto the two rabbits’ foreheads.

Wen Leyang could not react in time as his hands were still supporting the rabbits when suddenly two voices screamed in agony as the rabbits in his hands turned into two monks without warning. Their faces were like gold foils while their entire bodies were shivering with pain.

A streak of ghastly pale color flashed through Chang Li’s face and she had to take a few deep breaths before she could return to her usual self. She looked at the two demon rabbits who turned back into monks apologetically, “I’m pressed for time now, the both of you are going to suffer for a little while longer but your lives are no longer in danger. Do return to the Temple and recuperate, then you shall recover!” Upon saying that, she tossed her last words to Wen Leyang, saying, “Send the both of them back to the Temple immediately! I will go and capture that b*stard.” Soon after that, she disappeared like the wind.

Po Tu was a giant pangolin demon so his ability to escape was impeccable. Chang Li’s carelessness had resulted in him escaping out of the prohibition spell. As she could not manage to catch up to him and her heart was still concerned about the two demon rabbits, she had come rushing back and used her domineering demonic primordial energy to heal Bu Le and Shan Duan.

If she were to cast her magic spell to heal their injuries in an orderly manner, Bu Le and Shan Duan would be fully healed at that time and Chang Li would not be too exhausted either. Since time was pressing right now, Chang Li directly cast a desperate cure and she almost damaged her cultivation base by doing that. This time, not only has her body been weakened excessively, the two demon rabbits too suffered from an overwhelming agony. They would still require some rest and recuperation to be fully healed and in the meantime, they were pretty much useless for anything. However, as long as there were no accidents, their lives and cultivation bases were considered retained only that they had to suffer for a little while longer.

The two demon monks were in so much pain that their faces spasming as the blood vessels on their foreheads twisted and turned like earthworms. They couldn’t even clench their teeth to brace against the pain and the continuous sound of teeth chattering could be heard. Wen Leyang cried out to Ji Fei and Shui Jing as he led the way in front while the two old thieves each carried a big and a little demon monk on their backs. The little stutterer guarded the group at the back as they dashed with all their might towards the Great Mercy Temple.

They were supposed to lure the enemy and now that the enemies had almost been lured to them, their big patron had run off. They could only chant the Amitābha mantra asking for Buddha’s blessing as they ran towards the Temple and hoped that the enemy would not catch up so soon.

They had been running for a little while and were almost approaching a little mountain ridge when Wen Leyang suddenly pressed himself to the ground firmly like a nail. He stretched out his hand and pointed at a bulging piece of mountain rock before sneaking with the others towards it.

The fat monk Shui Jing, who was in a blur, asked, “What happened?”

The old monk did not wait for Wen Leyang to start speaking as he scolded the fat monk in a low voice, “Of course it’s because he has found the enemy! How am I even acquainted to such a dumb junior fellow disciple like you!”

“Senior fellow disciple!” Shui Jing corrected him unwillingly.

The little stutterer shut his mouth tightly and his little face was full of determination as he rapidly tore off the Buddhist prayer beads around his neck. He dashed the beads out as if he was doing it unintentionally and the Buddhist prayer beads spun around on the ground joyously. Upon their master’s one phrase of Buddhist hymn, the beads immediately vanished without a trace.

Everyone’s body was completely concealed at the same time when the Buddhist prayer beads disappeared.

A moment later, a small and bony old man came up to the ridge soundlessly. His eyes were glowing with an immortal radiance as he looked into the distance at the direction of the cave where Wen Leyang and the rest had been luring the enemies. His forehead was creased in puzzlement.

Wen Leyang and the little stutterer beside him looked into each other’s eyes. The incoming old man was =Third Brother Wei of the One Word Palace who had paid a visit to the Great Mercy Temple during the day. It was rather unexpected that he has yet to leave Mount Emei. What was even more surprising to Wen Leyang was that this ultimate master cultivator’s suit of clothes had been unbelievably torn off into strips. There was also a few blood stains on his cheeks was as if he had just fought a werewolf in a hopeless battle.

Third Brother Wei appeared to hesitate. He stood on the same spot with his head lowered as he pondered for a while before he suddenly shouted thunderously. No one knew when it happened but his hand suddenly held up a long black and red colored rod as he turned around and smashed it firmly onto the ground!

The hard mountain rock broke into cracks and fissures in the blink of an eye. The bigger fissures, followed by the smaller cracks extended in all directions visible to the eye before all the rocks in the radius of a dozen meters were pulverized into fine powder. It seemed like this one rod’s momentum was as strong as Wen Xiaoyi’s big-muzzled weapon!

Third Brother Wei placed the long rod on his shoulder. He was supposed to be an ordinary-looking small and bony old man and as long as he was not tossed into a kindergarten, he did not appear conspicuous regardless of where he went. Now that he was holding the long rod in his hands, he had immediately turned into another person akin to a dignified and arrogant high mountain. He stood before everyone’s eyes firmly and the air pressure around him almost seemed solidified as the air slowly coagulated and enshrouded him.

Wen Leyang was breathless with fear as he watched the cracks that rose like tidewater closer and closer towards his hiding spot before finally stopping about a meter away from where they were.

Third Brother Wei laughed out aloud in a heroic manner, “What the hell, sneakily following behind this family’s third master. Get out and show yourselves!”

The little stutterer shut his mouth and prepared to stand up but suddenly, like the popping of air bubbles in the moonlit night, seven fat men appeared out of thin air without warning.

The fat men were at least a hundred and eighty kilograms each and the fat rolls on their body trembled with every movement as they stood in a line in an unexplainably peculiar manner. They appeared old-fashioned and reserved yet their eyes were glowing with shimmery brightness as they look at the old man with their twinkling eyes.

Under the moonlight, Wen Leyang’s eyes were opened wide in surprise. These seven people looked exactly like one another. They were different from the Twelfth Moon as the people of the Twelfth Moon only had similar ages, physiques, and an extra gush of tough and courageous mannerism that made them appear as if they were made from the same mold. The expression, appearance and even the physique of these seven fat men had utterly no difference between them.

Third Brother Wei, with his dignified demeanor, posed in an extremely imposing manner as he used the long rod in his hand and pointed at the direction of the seven persons one by one, “Who are all of you? Do you know what kind of place Mount Emei is?”

A few of the seven moved their mouths as if they wanted to speak or laugh but held themselves back desperately. The fat rolls on their faces were throbbing along their brows as they winked and signaled to Third Brother Wei. The desolated atmosphere in the air then disappeared entirely because of them.

Third Brother Wei waved the long rod in his hand lightly and the buzzing sound of trembling air flooded the horizon. The air pressure that enshrouded him immediately surged up, “Report your names!”

The seven persons standing opposite him suddenly started trembling, their shoulders and abdomens were shaking the most. After a moment, it was unknown who the first person was who could not endure it anymore, started to snigger and laugh. The rest of the six of them too started roaring with laughter which became louder and louder with time. Finally, those peculiar persons stretched out a hand each and pointed at Third Brother Wei as they held their abdomens with their other hand and started rolling around on the same spot.

Third Brother Wei’s expression was a combination of rage and puzzlement as he opened his mouth and scolded in rage, “Shut up, what the hell are you laughing at!” The piercing-cold mountain wind was blowing and the cloth strips hanging on his body fluttered gently in the wind.

Finally, one person from the opposing side spoke while his finger was still pointing firmly at Third Brother Wei’s clothes, “Old man… hah-hah-hah… large sized prayer flag of the mourning son…”

Wen Leyang almost burst out laughing as well. The old man had been wearing an attire of white clothes today. Though it was unclear how his attire had been torn into strips, as the white cloth strips on his body drifted about in the wind on his small and bony form, he appeared more and more like the white prayer flag used in a funeral.

Third Brother Wei was green with rage and he knocked lightly on the long rod in his hand. His person was obviously still standing on the same spot yet a streak of dense shadow lashed out of his body vigorously. The shadow too waved around a long rod as he chased after the enemy!

Wen Leyang was startled in his heart and the humor in his eyes vanished. Third Brother Wei’s shadow rod had been launched without warning. If he was in the enemy’s position he was afraid that he would be at a loss at this moment. The One Word Palace was forcing a marriage on him without a cause so right now the disciples of the Wen Bucao were already regarding the people of One Word Palace as the opposing side already.

The seven persons who had been laughing madly suddenly screamed out in fear as they leaped up from the ground one after another. They moved swiftly with agile footsteps and the seven of them each had their own set of different powers. Some of them were graceful like butterflies flitting through flowers, some of them were as swift as a leaping leopard, and some of their postures were unpleasant as they crawled around akin to head-shaking and tail-wagging centipedes. However, each and every one of them was exceptionally fast. Third Brother Wei’s shadow rod moved as fast as lightning as it erupted into streaks upon streaks of black dragons from the rolled-up soil but the seven of them managed to dodge the attacks in an extremely awkward manner. Nobody appeared to be harmed in the process.

Third Brother Wei’s expression then turned solemn as he swept the long rod in his hand once. The shadow rod immediately vanished into thin air, “Who on earth are all of you!”

The seven persons stood in a line once again, they all had the same innocent smile as the leader of the line looked at Third Brother Wei, “Do you really want to know?”

Third Brother Wei had only nodded his head when the seven of them immediately started speaking after one another in a mess:

“I hope you don’t regret this then!”

“Our names are indeed very easy to remember!”

“But it seems like no one has managed to remember our names!”

“It’s still fine if they can’t remember our names, they even scolded us!”

“And this time he really did create a terrible disaster!”

“The act of scolding in this world, should our brothers rank ourselves as number two, no one dares to rank himself as number one.”

Wen Leyang grimaced as he looked at the two comatose demon monks on his side. He had remembered that the old monk Bu Le saying that the seven enemies’ minds seemed to be rather troubled.

Third Brother Wei spat out a sardonic sneer, “Report your names quick! This third master will see if he can manage to remember all the seven names of yours!” As he said that he knocked on the rod again and the seven persons immediately exhibited a conditional reflex as each of them leaped to the side like a nest of frogs fleeing from their lair. After a while, when they realized that Third Brother Wei had not launched his shadow rod this time, only then did they each heave a long sigh of relief as they arranged themselves in a line while laughing once again.

Three persons amongst them were arguing that they had accidentally traded their positions.

When they finally arranged themselves in order, the fat men’s leader let out a cough, “Old man, it was you who wanted to know our names. If you get confused in a while remember that you are not allowed to scold us!”

Upon saying that he stepped forward by one step and patted on his chest, “Within the seven brothers, I am the eldest child in the family, my name is Fourth Brother!”

The second person too took a step forward, “I am the second child in the family, my name is Seventh Brother!”

“I am the third child in the family, my name is Fifth Brother!”

“I am the fourth child in the family, my name is Second Brother!”

“I am the fifth child in the family, my name is Sixth Brother!”

“I am the sixth child in the family, my name is First Brother!”

“I am the sixth child in the family, my name is Third Brother!”

When all seven were done introducing themselves, the fat men’s leader concluded finally, “We are the seven brothers and we have another common name called ‘The Rainbow’! We obtained the name from the seven bright colors of the rainbow, it suits our status perfectly.” As he said that, all the seven fat men appeared triumphant and proud.

Following that, one of the fat men in the line pointed to his nose as he asked Third Brother Wei whose lungs were almost exploding with rage, “Old man, which brother am I and what is my name?”

Third Brother Wei made a noise that was between an agonized scream and a raging howl. He waved the long rod in his hand once as he broke out in a torrent of abuse, “Where the hell did you b*stards come from and how dare you amuse yourselves using the third master!” Soon after that, he waved the big rod and the crackling sound of dull cries erupted in the air.

It was as if the seven peculiar persons of The Rainbow group had expected Third Brother Wei to react in this way. They were not surprised at all as they started talking all at once:

“I said that I won’t tell you but you insisted that I tell you.”

“And now you are angry and yet you still blame us.”

“I said, do you still remember what my name is? I’ve been waiting for a long while…”

Before the fat men could finish talking, a sharp scream was suddenly heard and the seven of them each rose their bodies up vigorously and dashed out in all directions swiftly as countless shadow rods appeared abruptly in the sky. Each of the shadows was rippling with whistling wind and thunder as they slammed ferociously towards the fat men.

Third Brother Wei’s expression was more rigid than metal. The long rod in his hand was huffing in the wind as it was led the movements of the shadow rods in the air. Like a cunning poisonous snake, it swarmed and attacked the enemies from countless directions!

A shadow rod’s power was extremely big and each blow that it struck was akin to a thunderbolt. It crashed firmly into the hard mountain rock and left behind a big pit.

Seven persons shuttled back and forth as they tried to dodge the shadow rods in the sky. They appeared to be becoming more exhausted over time as one of the unknown brother named unknown brother squalled to his brother, “I can’t hold on any longer, should we fight that fellow now or run away?”

Three fat men shouted in unison, “Fight!”

While another three fat men cried out simultaneously, “Run!”

Wen Leyang, whose body was concealed by the Buddhist prayer beads, sympathized with Third Brother Wei from the bottom of his heart.

Third Brother Wei was so furious that he was almost spitting blood. The long rod in his hand swayed faster and faster as the rumbling sound of rods gradually combined into the thunder of the Nine Heaves. A million streaks of shadow rods stronger than thunderbolts caused the moonlit night to tremble chaotically. As the night sky rustled under the imposing momentum of the long rod, it felt as if it would burst apart anytime!

Seven Rainbow fat men were still running around on their own as their mouths debated with one another loudly in a continuous stream. Their faces were flushed red with anger and they were arguing whether they should fight or run. A few of them were struck by the shadow rod one after another and squalled as they somersaulted in midair. However, even after their feet have touched the ground, their mouths were still talking continuously.

Wen Leyang had finally understood that these seven people were true savages. It was unexpected that the two demon rabbits had almost died in their hands. Even if the demon rabbits’ injuries were fully healed, it was estimated that Bu Le and Shan Duan would still be crying about the unworthiness of the situation afterward.

Third Brother Wei’s gaze had slowly turned from enraged to desolated as the seven persons did not run or fight. They had only been dodging and debating yet managed to sustain for such a long period under his shadow rod’s unique skill. If they were to truly fight the battle, it was hard to tell who would emerge victorious. The long rod in his hand danced around faster and faster, his state of mind was completely fused together with the rod’s intent and he was certain that he would severely injure a few enemies before they became more alert after some rest.

Just as the people on the mountain were muddled up in a mess, the sudden sound of a crystal-clear voice hummed and pierced like a silver needle into everyone’s ears, “Strike back!”

The seven fat men’s faces immediately strained with effort. Their smiles vanished as they each soared into the air and flipped out their own weapons. Wen Leyang was so surprised that his eyes were almost bulging out of their sockets.

The seven person’s weapons were all different with only one similarity: big! Big ax, big hammer, big knife, big halberd, big spear, big polearm, and big fork.

Each of the steel weapons was much bigger than the largest millstone and different kinds of thickly-dotted inscriptions were branded onto the steel weapons. Each time a weapon appeared, it would immediately erupt in seven streaks of different bright colors. It was the first time in Wen Leyang’s life that he had seen such large treasured weapons.

The fat men held their big weapons as they hugged into a ball. They shouted while they waved the big weapons in their hands around madly. The weapon slashed into seven streaks of dazzling yet ghastly bright colors under the moonlight as a rainbow swept past gracefully as if it was heaven-sent. The shadow rods covering the sky and the seven-colored rainbow had a cross strike and made a vigorous bang so loud that the Heavens and earth changed its color before simultaneously evaporating into nothingness.

Third Brother Wei swiftly retreated a few steps back as he held up the long rod in protection before himself.

An old man draped in a green-colored robe slowly walked over. On the top of his bald head, several patches of ugly-looking favus were growing and his face was flushed redder than a cock’s comb. He giggled at Third Brother Wei, “The One Word Palace is growing weaker and weaker by generations. In your hands, it can be considered over.”

Third Brother Wei inhaled a deep breath and he suddenly retracted his rod. He kept his hands in his pocket lazily as he gave the favus-headed old man a slanted stare. He did not acknowledge the old man’s mocking but asked in reply, “What kind of big shot are you?”

Seven fat men were standing behind the favus-headed old man with a smile. One of them had a sharp vision and he saw that the old man’s green robe was slightly torn. He asked in puzzlement, “Sir, what happened to your clothes?”

The favus-headed old man’s expression had been initially sinister and savage but when he was faced with the seven fat men it immediately transformed into an affectionate expression. He chuckled as he answered, “I had fought with that old dog earlier. This isn’t a good place, I dare not do what I do best and in the end, I was accidentally kicked by him a few times. F*ck, the most abominable part was that Po Tu seized the opportunity and got away!”

Seven charmingly naïve fat men immediately put on a fierce look, they were clamoring about in preparation to go ahead and fight Third Brother Wei.

At exactly this moment, the sound of a cellphone ringtone suddenly drifted softly from not too far away and gave everyone a good scare.

The little stutterer who had been concealed by the Buddhist prayer beads behind the mountain rock cried out in alarm as he flipped out a cellphone that was ringing joyously from his pocket in a great bustle. There was a caller ID displayed on the phone’s screen: One Word Palace Third Master Wei.

Wen Leyang’s hands were shaking in rage; he had turned off his cellphone earlier but he did not think that the little monk did not even have the awareness to do so. He gritted his teeth and stood up before walking out from behind the mountain rock with the little monk while Ji Fei and Shui Jing each was carried one of the two demon monks on their backs. They followed closely behind Wen Leyang with a sorrowful expression on their faces.

Third Brother Wei took an extremely peculiar look at the little stutterer Hope Voice who was holding the cellphone while looking at him. He removed his hand from his pocket which was also holding a cellphone and he shook his head as he forced out a smile, “I was originally trying to reach your Master to seek for his help.” As he said that, his finger pressed the disconnect call button.

The little stutterer nodded his head in comprehension, “M-m-master’s c-c-c-cellphone, on most days is held b-b-by me…”

The favus-headed old man looked at the little stutterer and the others attentively. His gaze swept past Wen Leyang’s face once before finally stopping at the two comatose demon monk’s bald heads as he chuckled, “This is rather interesting!”