Chapter 24: The Terrifying Five-Poison Water

The individuals surrounding him all wore cold, indifferent expressions as they fixed their gazes on Chen Xuan.

Chen Xuan’s heart sank. As expected, the Second Elder had been right! These practitioners of the evil arts were merely fair-weather friends; they were full of malice.

"My fellow brothers, what is the meaning of this? Why the sudden questions?" Chen Xuan asked with a chuckle, feigning ignorance while continuing to play along.

"Junior Brother Chen, I’m just a bit curious," Hao Shengyi said, smiling. He was nicknamed "The Knife Behind the Smile"—he always appeared jovial, yet no one knew when he might suddenly strike. "Tell me, why did the Second Elder of your Five Poisons Sect give you three vials of Five-Poison Water, but only one to us? Could it be... that your sect doesn’t trust us?"

"How could that be? Brother Hao, you’re overthinking it," Chen Xuan replied with a laugh. "The toxicity of the Five-Poison Water is simply too overbearing. The Second Elder was only worried that you might accidentally come into contact with it, so he gave me three vials to handle it on your behalf."

"Is that so?" Hao Shengyi laughed.

Zhao Hai spoke in a flat tone: "Junior Brother Chen, the Second Elder is being overly cautious. Why don't you hand the remaining Five-Poison Water over to us? We are perfectly capable of completing the mission."

"Exactly. It’s just poisoning a water source; it’s no trouble at all," added Wu Tian coldly.

"No need, really. I couldn't possibly let you brothers do the heavy lifting. Leave such menial work to me," Chen Xuan chuckled.

The eyes of those around him narrowed, a flicker of imperceptible cold light flashing through them. With a sneer, they closed in on Chen Xuan once more.

Chen Xuan felt a chill and scanned his surroundings. "What are you all planning? Do you intend to attack me? Are you not afraid of my Five Poisons Divine Palm?" he asked in a low voice.

The seven men frowned, their movements freezing instantly as their expressions turned grave. Chen Xuan’s physical tempering was already formidable enough; combined with the Five Poisons Divine Palm, if a real fight broke out, he might truly be able to take a few of them down.

"We are all here to deal with the righteous sects," Chen Xuan said coldly. "Why resort to infighting now? Do you really want to force my hand?"

The group fell silent. Suddenly, Tan Bao spoke up, his voice icy: "Actually, I’ve always wanted to know which is stronger: the Five Poisons Divine Palm or my Illusory Yin Finger. Brothers, I have waited a long time for this opportunity. Please, stand aside and watch!" He spurred his horse forward.

Chen Xuan’s eyelids twitched, and he cursed inwardly. *Damn you, Tan Bao!* If he actually knew the Five Poisons Divine Palm, he would have smashed Tan Bao to death first! Unfortunately, he didn't know it at all.

Seeing Tan Bao step forward, the others wore intriguing smiles and retreated a few paces.

"Everyone, I’ve given it some thought," Chen Xuan suddenly said. "This isn't the right time for infighting, and it’s true that carrying the Five-Poison Water by myself is unsafe. Very well, I’ll hand it over to you."

Tan Bao’s eyes were cold and piercing as he stopped and watched Chen Xuan. The others also fixed their gazes on him.

"Which one of you wants to come take it?" Chen Xuan asked with a smile.

"No need for trouble, just throw it over," Wu Tian sneered.

"Right, throw it here," Zhao Hai added coldly.

"Fine. In that case, I'll toss them to you one by one." Chen Xuan laughed. He pulled a thumb-sized jade vial from his robe, looked at Wu Tian, and smiled. "Brother Wu, this one is for you. Catch!"

He weighed it in his hand, then suddenly exerted force, hurling it hard against a large boulder beneath Wu Tian.

The others' expressions shifted.

*Bang!*

The jade vial shattered, and the venom splashed outward. The ground instantly turned black, as if stained by ink, spreading at an incredible speed. The horses beneath them let out piercing cries, their hooves withering away until they collapsed as dried husks.

The men jumped back in terror, swearing loudly as they scrambled toward a nearby tree. But even the tree’s leaves turned yellow and its bark peeled away in an instant, as if it had been dead for centuries.

"Damn you, Chen Xuan! What are you doing?"
"You spilled the Five-Poison Water?"
"Chen Xuan, are you looking for death?"

They cursed furiously. Chen Xuan had already leaped toward a tree on the other side the moment he decided to throw the vial. Having planned his escape route, he launched himself from one tree to the next, then fled into the distance at full speed.

Behind him, the ground blackened and hissed; the venom spread like a raging flood, devastating everything in its path—trees, grass, insects, and animals all perished instantly. Chen Xuan’s hair stood on end as he fled for his life. Fortunately, the Five-Poison Water didn't spread across land as quickly as it did in water. Though the speed of the spread was alarming, it was still a fraction slower than his own pace.

The others behind him were screaming in rage, pushing their light-foot techniques to the limit. Two of them, unfortunately, stepped onto the contaminated ground; they shrieked as their bodies hissed and shriveled into dried corpses in seconds.

The others were terrified and fled blindly. Wu Tian, in particular, was twisted with rage, roaring in agony—he was desperate to tear Chen Xuan to pieces. Because Chen Xuan had thrown the vial near him, even though he had dodged, the fumes had touched his left leg, leaving it burning as if scalded by boiling water.

"Chen Xuan, I’m going to kill you!" he roared while fleeing.

The others, too, hated Chen Xuan to the core, their faces livid. But Chen Xuan ignored them, darting wildly into the dense forest. During his escape, he threw another vial of the poison against a rock, creating a chemical-weapon-like zone of death that forced his pursuers to scatter in different directions, unable to continue the chase.

*Hiss, hiss, hiss!* The horrific poison spread rapidly through the woods.

Chen Xuan ran for over an hour before finally stopping. His pursuers had not followed, and the poison had not reached him. It was a good thing they weren't in water; had he thrown it into a stream, the poison would have flowed for miles, creating a catastrophe of unimaginable proportions.

Chen Xuan clicked his tongue in wonder. It was truly one of the ten great poisons under heaven. If it were used directly on a person, even a master of the Secret Vault realm might not be able to withstand it.

He checked the final vial remaining in his pocket and tucked it away securely. This was his trump card. However, he couldn't use it easily against top-tier masters, as they could easily deflect the vial back at him. That was why he had smashed it against the ground earlier.

"Those in the evil sects are truly fickle, turning on you in a heartbeat," Chen Xuan muttered to himself. "Laughing and chatting in the temple, only to attack the moment we step outside."

He scanned his surroundings, ran further away, and found a cave to hide in. He decided to abandon the plan to poison the water source; he would keep the last vial for himself. For now, he needed to make progress with the *Five Poisons Heart Sutra*. He was far too vulnerable without it.

Chen Xuan moved a large rock to block the entrance and sat cross-legged to practice.

Time passed quickly. A night went by.

As the sun rose, the forest was deathly silent. The once-lush woods were now withered and yellow, covered in fallen leaves and the carcasses of countless animals and birds.

In another area, halfway up a mountain, five men—Wu Tian, Zhao Hai, Tan Bao, Hao Shengyi, and Wang Qing—gathered, all looking miserable. Wu Tian’s left leg had been severed at the thigh, wrapped in layers of white cloth. His face was pale, his eyes burning with resentment. After being exposed to the poison, he had been forced to hack off his own leg to survive.

His hatred for Chen Xuan reached a breaking point; he cursed not just Chen Xuan, but the entire Five Poisons Sect.

"Damn the Five Poisons Sect! Damn Chen Xuan! You deserve to be wiped out! You’ve turned me into a cripple—I will tear you all to pieces!"

Having lost a leg, his potential to reach the pinnacle of martial arts was gone; he was effectively a broken man. The others wore equally gloomy expressions.

"What do we do now?" Wang Qing asked coldly. "Do we still poison the water?"

"What’s the point?" Tan Bao replied coldly. "Let’s wait and see. Our goal is to fish in troubled waters. Besides, we must find Chen Xuan and kill him. If he goes back and reports us, it won't be easy to explain to our elders."

The others nodded. Though they schemed against each other in private, they still had to maintain a facade of solidarity. Otherwise, what would the other evil sects think?

*Whistle!*

Suddenly, a signal flare soared into the sky and exploded. The five men looked up in unison.

"That’s the distress signal of our Blood Blade Sect!" Zhao Hai’s expression tightened.

"It’s not far from here. Let’s go take a look," Tan Bao said.

The group immediately set off toward the distance.