Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
Zhang Ruochen was severely injured from the attack of the humanoid monster, even after the defending move - Destruction of the Thousand-patterns.
He could stand up only with Li Min's support.
After listening to Zhang Ruochen, looks of dismay etched deeply on the faces of the fellow half-saints from the clan of the Guardians of the Prison. Their saint aura was boiling in anger, fogging up the dungeon.
A half-saint elder who was standing on the back of a three-foot-tall golden giant bird scoffed, "Zhang Ruochen, do you know who you are trying to protect and the horrible things he's done before? If we let him loose, he could strangle you easily with one hand."
"What a young and naïve boy. Haven't you learnt your lesson from your severe injuries?" another man with a heavy sword voiced out from the other direction.
A majority of them were reluctant to believe his words.
"Ahem."
Zhang Ruochen cleared his throat. In the midst of the saintly fog, he stood still and his facial expression was unchanged. "It was never my intention to save his life, it's the Clan Leader's. I have found out something, and I wish to help him by sharing this piece of information."
w.a.n.g Beilie's lofty figure stood beneath the moon, casting a shadow as huge as a sacred mountain. The half-saints present highly looked up to him.
Their cultivations were nothing compared to w.a.n.g Beilie's.
w.a.n.g Beilie turned around again. His pitch-black eyes stared at Zhang Ruochen intensely, his face stern. "What have you found?"
Zhang Ruochen was standing opposite w.a.n.g Beilie, unaffected by the stern staring. He then lifted his finger and pointed at the humanoid monster standing beneath the Heaven-Burier Sword. "That veteran…is poisoned…"
A man in black robes interrupted him before he could finish his sentence. "That's absurd! The Guardians of the Prison have appointed a few alchemists to examine s.h.i.+ QianKun thoroughly. All of them are experts in medicine and possess powerful Spiritual Power, yet no trace of poison was found in his body. Young boy, how long have you known him? Are you an alchemist? Did you really think you could utter nonsense and then leave?"
s.h.i.+ Qiankun was the father of s.h.i.+ Ren.
"The poison is undetectable because they have not seen any precedent cases for this kind of poison. I am not questioning their expertise," Zhang Ruochen answered.
Although what Zhang Ruochen had said was something unbelievable, some of the monks looked doubtful in regards to his words.
For examples, the forefathers of the s.h.i.+ Family and Ling Feiyu.
The forefathers of the s.h.i.+ Family did not really believe what Zhang Ruochen was proclaiming. After all, they had examined the symptoms of s.h.i.+ Qiankun, and none of them were signs of being poisoned.
Rather, they had always been suspicious towards the incident. What Zhang Ruochen said raised their speculations once more.
Ling Feiyu had known Zhang Ruochen for a while now, and she knew he would not make up stories.
One of the forefathers from the s.h.i.+ Family walked across a bridge made up of crystalized saint fog to the front of Zhang Ruochen. He asked, "Zhang Ruochen, do you have any idea what Qiankun was poisoned with?"
Zhang Ruochen glanced across the crowd and replied, "Blood Poison of Pluto."
"Blood Poison of Pluto?"
"Never heard of it."
"Zhang Ruochen, did you just make up a poison? What are you up to?"
"Are you trying to cause a civil war among the clan? So that the Immortal Vampires can initiate a strike on us?"
If Zhang Ruochen did not have Ling Feiyu standing on his side, they would have caged him with a rune scroll.
They were convinced that Zhang Ruochen had bad intentions, or other ill motives.
The Saints had achieved immortality and were immune to all illness, including poisoning.
It would be horrifying if there existed an undetectable poison, one not even detectable by the Saints.
Zhang Ruochen continued, "As the name suggests, Blood Poison of Pluto is the blood of Lord Pluto, extracted and refined by him. It has no smell or taste, and is undetectable, even for the Saints." Lord Pluto was very powerful and yet little about him was known to the public.
"Even I've never heard of this Blood Poison of Pluto. How did you know about this?" w.a.n.g Beilie asked.
"My mentor Sword Saint Xuanji has been poisoned before, the one that caused him to die," Zhang Ruochen replied.
He added further, "Indeed, the Blood Poison of Pluto is capable of taking the lives of the Saints. However, the dosage used on this veteran is very minimal, and has been mixed with some kind of evil Death Qi that turned him into a blood craving monster, instead of ending his life. The blood addiction made him lose his sanity."
Those who had had doubts about s.h.i.+ Qiankun's condition were more suspicious now after listening to Zhang Ruochen's explanation. They were starting to believe him.
Bam!
s.h.i.+ Ren broke the Rune Formation and rushed to Zhang Ruochen, trembling in anger, "Brother Zhang, is my father really poisoned?"
Zhang Ruochen nodded and took out a black pill from the Spatial Ring. Holding the pill with his thumb and index finger, he said, "This pill contains the Evil Death Qi, which is similar to the evil Qi in your father's body. The only thing that differs is that your father has Blood Poison of Pluto in him."
The pill held in Zhang Ruochen's hand was made of condensed Evil Death Qi.
s.h.i.+ Ren took the pill, and examined it using his Spiritual Power. As expected, it was exactly the same as the one residing in his father.
s.h.i.+ Ren tightened his grip around the pill, and his eyes were flaming with anger. Gush of Holy Qi was emanated from his body, and all the forefathers had to back off.
Zhang Ruochen was the closest to s.h.i.+ Ren. He could feel s.h.i.+ Ren's anger strongly.
His father had been framed and caged as a heartless monster for decades. Anyone in his position would not be able to take this calmly.
That aside, the anger outburst did surprise Zhang Ruochen.
The strength of the swirl they experienced was at least a Level Six Half-Saint's, and not a Level Two Half-Saint's.
Every member of the Ancient Race of the Prison Guardians was surprised too.
"The Young Clan Leader has been hiding his power all along. His cultivation should have achieved Level Six Half-Saint." The corner of w.a.n.g Beilie's lip was twitching, and his right hand clenched into a fist without him realizing. s.h.i.+ Ren hid his capability well, it was not noticeable at all.
An uncomfortable silence followed.
The crowd was s.h.i.+fting its gaze between w.a.n.g Beilie to s.h.i.+ Ren.
They all knew the only one who could stab s.h.i.+ Qiankun in the back was w.a.n.g Beilie.
While the w.a.n.gs looked restless and anxious, the main suspect, w.a.n.g Beilie, remained calm.
"Must be the spy of the Immortal Vampires! They are the only ones who have access to Blood Poison of Pluto," an elder member from the w.a.n.g Family said.
Another elder member pointed the finger of suspicion to Zhang Ruochen. "Zhang Ruochen, how did you know about the existence of the Blood Poison of Pluto? And the pill filled with Evil Death Qi, where did you get it? You owe us an explanation."
It was understandable why Zhang Ruochen would learn about Blood Poison of Pluto, considering the fact that Sword Saint Xuanji had been poisoned before. But what about the pill of Evil Death Qi?
"This is ridiculous! Why should I explain to you?"
"After knowing the previous Young Clan Leader has been poisoned, rather than finding the solution, your focus is in fact on defending someone else? Is this going to be meaningful? The reason the once mighty Guardians of the Prison fell was all of you," Zhang Ruochen snorted.
Zhang Ruochen was clearly pointing the finger at the current Clan Leader, w.a.n.g Beilie.
w.a.n.g Beilie was of course, extremely furious. He wished he could crush Zhang Ruochen into mush.
He knew he could never do it. His impulsive acts would prove him guilty.
His influence had not extended to the entire tribe yet.
Ling Feiyu casted a side glance at Zhang Ruochen, her eyes flickering in curiosity. She thought: "He must have plucked up courage to insult a Sword Saint when he's only a Level One Half-Saint. He must have underestimated w.a.n.g Beilie."
Nevertheless, she admired Zhang Ruochen's righteous character, because she had one herself.
Suddenly, s.h.i.+ Ren knelt on one knee and said, "Brother Zhang, since you know about the Blood Poison of Pluto and Evil Death Qi, you must know about the remedy as well. Please, save my father. We, the s.h.i.+ Family, will be forever grateful."
All the other monks from s.h.i.+ Family knelt on one knee as well.
Zhang Ruochen helped s.h.i.+ Ren up from the ground and said, "Brother s.h.i.+, save the courtesy. I do have some remedies, but I'm not 100% sure of the effectiveness. But I will try."
Having listened to the promise Zhang Ruochen made, s.h.i.+ Ren and the rest of the s.h.i.+ Family were ecstatic.
"Doesn't matter if the remedy works. One way or another, our family owes you a huge favor. From now on, I shall fulfil any request of yours full heartedly," s.h.i.+ Ren told Zhang Ruochen firmly.
