Chapter 91: Poison Dao Treasure

"An Illusion?"

Fourth Lady Mei’s face was ashen as she muttered to herself.

She finally understood.

From the very beginning, Li Chang’an never intended to let her leave alive.

In the end, she collapsed to the ground, her breath gone.

A ball of fire erupted, consuming her body.

Li Chang’an removed the restriction on her Storage Pouch and opened it to take a look.

’She has very few Spirit Stones or other Treasures. It seems she spent almost all her savings on that Shadow Slaughter Array.’

Inside the Storage Pouch, the most valuable item was, naturally, the Gu Insect Inheritance.

The Raising Gu Technique was an extremely peculiar one among the Hundred Skills of Cultivation Immortality.

This was because the art was quite bizarre.

It was almost impossible to defend against.

This time, Chen Qianya had no idea when or how she had been controlled.

She had unwittingly become Fourth Lady Mei’s Puppet.

’A Tier One Top Grade Gu Insect Inheritance.’

Li Chang’an gave it a cursory look.

This Tier One Top Grade Gu Insect Inheritance recorded the characteristics, cultivation methods, control techniques, and countermeasures for a large number of Gu Insects.

He didn’t plan on Raising Gu himself, as it was too energy-intensive.

However, he decided to read through the entire inheritance.

If he ever encountered a Cultivator who raised Gu in the future, he would at least know how to counter them.

"This must be the Heart Control Gu."

With a thought, Li Chang’an produced a translucent Jade Box.

Inside the Jade Box, a small, blood-red insect was curled into a ball, deep in slumber.

"Is that the Gu Insect that controlled me?"

Chen Qianya’s gaze sharpened as she stared at the small insect inside the Jade Box.

Li Chang’an nodded slightly.

"That’s right. Fourth Lady Mei cultivated this Heart Control Gu to Tier One Top Grade. Even a Late Stage of Qi Refining Cultivator could fall victim to it. Daoist Chen, you are only at the Middle Stage of Qi Refining, so it’s normal that you couldn’t defend against it."

"The Raising Gu Technique is truly bizarre."

Chen Qianya felt a lingering fear.

She really did not want to experience that feeling of being controlled a second time.

Li Chang’an put away the Heart Control Gu and opened another bag.

It was a Spirit Beast Bag.

However, it didn’t contain a Spirit Beast, but rather the large number of Gu Insects that Fourth Lady Mei had cultivated.

At a rough glance, there were at least a hundred of them!

"Fiery Fire Gu, Brain-Eating Gu, Golden Silkworm Gu, Ghost Snake Gu, Love Flower Gu..."

Li Chang’an identified some of the Gu Insects based on what he had just read in the inheritance.

Almost all of them were Tier One Low Grade Gu Insects, with only a very small number at Tier One Middle Grade.

As for Top Grade Gu Insects, there was only one.

’Is this... the Ten Thousand Poison Gu?’

With a thought, Li Chang’an took out that Gu Insect and observed it closely.

The insect was rainbow-colored, its surface covered with brilliant spots. It looked particularly gorgeous, curled up in the translucent Jade Box.

According to the inheritance’s description, this was an extremely rare Ten Thousand Poison Gu.

Its entire body was incredibly toxic.

Once cultivated to Tier One Top Grade, its poison could easily kill a Late Stage of Qi Refining expert.

It was truly a deadly weapon!

However, it couldn’t only be used to kill; it could also be used to save people.

This was because it could not only release poison but also absorb all kinds of toxins.

’This is a good Treasure. If I carry it with me from now on, I can reduce the risk of being poisoned.’

Li Chang’an thought silently, recalling the time he had almost been poisoned by Chu Mu.

The poisons in the Cultivation Immortality Realm were terrifyingly potent.

Many were colorless and odorless, impossible to detect, and one could fall prey to them with a single moment of carelessness.

By the time you realized you were poisoned, it was already too late!

’Something’s not right. Why is this insect’s aura fluctuating so much? Could it be that it hasn’t successfully advanced yet?’

Li Chang’an frowned.

Inside the Jade Box, the Ten Thousand Poison Gu Insect’s aura, originally at Tier One Top Grade, suddenly dropped to Tier One Middle Grade.

A moment later, it returned to Tier One Top Grade.

Li Chang’an quickly flipped through the Gu Insect Inheritance and found the section on cultivating the Ten Thousand Poison Gu.

Soon, he understood the reason.

’Each time a Ten Thousand Poison Gu advances a tier, it needs to devour a high-quality Poison Dao Treasure. If it meets the conditions for advancement but doesn’t find a suitable Treasure to devour, its aura will fluctuate.’

’In that case, this Ten Thousand Poison Gu is still only at Tier One Middle Grade.’

Li Chang’an was lost in thought.

Poison Dao Treasures were rarer than other Treasures, and high-quality ones were even harder to find.

Fourth Lady Mei had likely failed to advance this Ten Thousand Poison Gu because she couldn’t find a suitable Treasure.

’I’ll have to keep an eye out for these kinds of Treasures in the future.’

Li Chang’an pondered this. He planned to try and purchase one secretly.

He couldn’t ask for such a Treasure openly, or he might be mistaken for a Tribulation Cultivator or a Poison Cultivator.

After taking inventory of all of Fourth Lady Mei’s belongings, Li Chang’an, drawing on the contents of the Gu Insect Inheritance, said to Chen Qianya, "Daoist Chen, you might feel unwell for the next few days—dizzy or groggy, for example—but that’s normal. You just need to rest and recuperate, and the symptoms will gradually disappear."

"I understand. Thank you, Daoist Li."

"Right, and please keep this a secret for me, Daoist Chen."

"You can rest assured, Daoist Li!"

Chen Qianya’s tone was solemn as she promised not to speak of this to anyone.

The events of today took place inside the array.

Besides the two of them, no one else in the Marketplace knew what had happened.

...

「That evening.」

Li Chang’an sat cross-legged in his room.

Holding a Jade Scroll, he carefully read through the Gu Insect Inheritance.

He hadn’t been reading for long when a man’s voice sounded from outside the door.

"Daoist Li, are you there? I’ve come to collect this month’s Talismans."

Hearing the voice, Li Chang’an used his Puppet Body to open the door.

Standing outside was a lean-faced, middle-aged man.

Zheng Qian.

He was the new Marketplace Steward, appointed by Zheng Lingfeng.

In the Marketplace, many Loose Cultivators had a decent opinion of this new steward, as he had yet to use his authority to bully anyone and treated everyone with an amiable air.

"Daoist Li, are the Talismans ready? If not, I can come back in a few days."

Zheng Qian smiled and cupped his hands, stating his purpose.

Li Chang’an immediately took out the prepared Talismans.

Although Zheng Qingqing had lost her influence, the Spirit Contract for Talismans he had signed with the Zheng Family had not been terminated. He still provided a batch of Talismans to the Zheng Family every month.

"The quality of this batch of Talismans is quite good. Daoist Li, your Talisman Art must have improved again."

Zheng Qian was all smiles as he counted the Talismans.

Li Chang’an offered a few humble words in response.

He had no issues with this new steward. As long as the man didn’t cause him any trouble, they could coexist peacefully.

A moment later, Zheng Qian took his leave.

Li Chang’an closed the door and continued reading the Gu Insect Inheritance.

...

「More than ten days later.」

Li Chang’an had finished a rough reading of the entire inheritance.

In addition, he had learned how to control the Heart Control Gu and the Ten Thousand Poison Gu.

’Unfortunately, I still haven’t found a suitable Poison Dao Treasure. They’re not even for sale in the Black Market.’

During this time, Li Chang’an had asked around in the Black Market.

Many stall owners had told him that nearly all the Poison Dao Treasures in this region had been collected by the Foundation Establishment Poison Cultivator, the "Five Poison Wanderer."

If he urgently needed such a Treasure, he could try to trade for one with the Five Poison Wanderer.

But Li Chang’an didn’t have the nerve for that.

’Going to see a Foundation Establishment Tribulation Cultivator is no different from seeking death.’