The Immortal's Poison
chapter-231-30041322

Mumu was aware that the divine punishment was meant for Ah Dan and she became so anxious that her face turned ashen. She no longer cared about breaking the taboo of not seeing Wen Leyang before their marriage as she leaped out of the house agilely. She resembled a nervous sparrow as she dashed towards the depths of the mountain to locate Ah Dan. Wen Leyang could not bear to see her put herself at risk and his body swayed once as he blocked her. However, before he could speak, Chang Li moved past them in a flash and spoke in a low voice, "I'm going to save the little fatty, all of you stay back!"

Wen Leyang heaved a sigh of relief in his heart. Earlier, Guo Huan had informed him that even Chang Li would be unable to resist this divine punishment. He would never allow Mumu to take such a risk and at the same time, he could not stay behind in the village and complacently wait for news. He then patted Mumu's slightly trembling shoulders and repeated Chang Li's statement to her, "I'm going to save the little fatty, you stay back!" Soon after that, his figure flashed past as he sped towards Ah Dan. 

Another lightning-fast figure dashed out diagonally and followed closely behind Wen Leyang. That figure shouted, "I'm coming with you!" Wen Leyang smiled gently as he heard this. The ugly youth Qin Zhui's expression was bold and heroic yet his voice had sounded a little shaky, "I will try to withstand as much as I can but don't count on me to risk my life!"

Qin Zhui was a martial arts fanatic, sometimes he would act so foolish that he was incisive but he was genuinely a good friend. 

Mumu immediately chased after them while a few other figures also plunged ahead at the same time. Little Chi Maojiu, Wen Nine, and Wen Thirteen were attempting to follow them when First Grandfather abruptly roared, "Stop! These children who don't know their own limitations won't be helpful even if you were to tag along. Your presence will not help the situation, on the contrary, you'll only be troubling them more!" The old man's voice sounded stern and fierce but his gaze was filled with heartfelt affection. 

The newer disciples of Tuo Xie stopped moving and Mumu grit her teeth as she hesitated for a moment before she finally broke out in bitter sobs. Nineteen appeared in a flash and embraced Mumu as she consoled her in a gentle voice. 

Within the entire Wen family village, the Rainbow Brothers, Nineteen, Mumu, Chi Maojiu as well as the two silly uncles could all be considered as master cultivators in the cultivation world. However, only Chang Li, Wen Leyang, and Qin Zhui were able to withstand the second divine punishment for Ah Dan's sake. Truthfully speaking, even Wen Leyang and Qin Zhui were incapable of offering much help to the situation!

By the time Wen Leyang had rushed to Ah Dan's location, Chang Li was holding Ah Dan in her arms and smiling as she pinched his plump cheeks. When she noticed that Wen Leyang had arrived, she was the least surprised as she laughed, "If this divine punishment was meant for me, I will die without a doubt." She then paused for a moment before she continued and her statement was almost the same as what Qin Zhui had said, "I will try my best but the rest will still depend on this little fatty's creation. You ought to understand that I will never risk my life for him."

Ah Dan seems to understand Chang Li's words as his plump body twisted here and there. He struggled free from Chang Li's embrace and squatted on the ground as he patted Wen Leyang's feet with a sorrowful expression. The zombie baby has always greeted everyone this way without fail.

Wen Leyang did not know whether to cry or to laugh as he patted Ah Dan's bald head which only just reached past his knees. He then turned around and asked Chang Li, "Is there anything else that we should prepare?" When Bu Le had helped Ah Dan to cross the first divine punishment back then, he had conjured a Buddha's Light Great Formation. 

Chang Li shook her head unexpectedly, "The only target of this divine punishment is Ah Dan, it is utterly useless to conjure a protective circle. We can only launch our supernatural powers to withstand a portion of the divine punishment's power before the lightning strikes him. The rest is up to him..." She was halfway through her explanation when the monk Jin Zhao suddenly spoke up from the jade knife, "The second portion of my primordial soul... Has been swallowed by this zombie baby here?" His voice sounded baffled but his tone of speaking was filled with rage!

The monk Jin Zhao had sensed that the other portion of his primordial soul was about to receive the divine punishment. However, before he saw Ah Dan, he thought that the other portion of his primordial soul was in a similar situation and had possessed a soul-less human body. He was astonished and had wondered how the other primordial soul portion had cultivated to a level which incurred the divine punishment so soon but he never expected a zombie baby to have swallowed that primordial soul. This had opened up Ah Dan's spiritual intelligence when he was resurrected from death which was why he had drawn in the divine punishment. 

To Jin Zhao, Ah Dan could not be considered as the other part of him. In fact, Ah Dan should be considered as a great enemy who had killed the other him! How could he not feel angry? He had an exceedingly high level of cultivation during his lifetime. and had spent a thousand years accumulating good deeds yet in the end, he had been pulverized by the divine punishment into nothingness. Two portions of his soul had survived by sheer luck but he had been tormented for the past thousand years while the other portion of his soul had been wasted to help the zombie baby!

The moment Guo Huan realized that Jin Zhou was burning with rage, he immediately threatened with a cold voice, "Hey, monk! Don't you start getting the wrong ideas here! This jade knife is mine and I'm only lending it to you for you to rest here. If you attempt to launch the 'Break the Demon Body' spell, this old father will take your life!"

The monk Jin Zhou was a remnant soul. After he had launched his supernatural power in the crystal ore cave to deal with Tian Yin, his soul's power had become even weaker. Now, based on the level of power in his primordial spirit, he could not even fart much less cast any more spells. Guo Huan, however, was afraid that Jin Zhou would risk everything and use the jade knife as a weapon to attack the others. Guo Huan would be at risk of being destroyed if Jin Zhou had done that.

The monk Jin Zhou's voice shook gently and sounded like he was suppressing his rage as he asked in a low and hoarse voice, "Who amongst all of you can tell me, how had this happened!"

Wen Leyang peeked at Chang Li but she acted like this was none of her business as she stood aside with her arms crossed. She raised her charming head slightly and she looked up at the sky before she laughed, "There is still enough time to burn a joss stick. Since we are idling here and doing nothing, Wen Leyang will tell you!"

Wen Leyang nodded before he told the story that the demon monk San Duan had explained to them before he died. Wen Leyang focused on the encounters that he, Mumu, and the others in the Qing Miao's land of evil spirits had experienced and relayed the matter from beginning to the end. 

The monk Jin Zhao was surprised that San Duan had used the evil spirit to grow the soul and that San Duan had turned a huge and great temple into a shady hole which was used to suppress the vitality energy in the land of evil spirits. This revelation caused Jin Zhao to exclaim in astonishment.

Wen Leyang could not bear to continue anymore and wanted to stop at that point yet the monk Jin Zhao was unexpectedly persistent as he urged Wen Leyang to continue the story. Wen Leyang then told him how the demon monk had transformed himself into the Weeping Buddha and created trouble on the Nine Peaks Mountain. 

There was a deadly stillness between the heavens and the earth as the sound of sobs echoed from time to time in the jade knife. No one expected that the monk Jin Zhao would cry like a child! After a long while, it was difficult to tell if his tone of speaking was filled with hate, love, rage or heartache as he enunciated each word clearly, "This evil disciple! He was such a stubborn child!"

Chang Li too sighed as she shook her head and was about to say something but, in the end, she pointed to the sky and spat out two words dully, "It's here!"

Wen Leyang and Qin Zhui had just looked up into the sky when that puff of black-colored cloud which had been floating above Ah Dan's head suddenly moved like a jellyfish which had been stimulated. The cloud expanded several times suddenly and spread all the way to the edge of the sky in a flash. In no time at all, the lightly floating black cloud had fused entirely into the boundlessly black velvety sky. 

It was then completely silent for one second. It was not the oppressed silence before the apocalypse but it was the utmost silence of emptiness after everything had been destroyed. It was a dead silence in which all sounds of breathing, blood flow, and heartbeats were absent!

Within that deadly stretch of silence, the boundless darkness in the sky abruptly erupted into a sonic boom. It sounded ruthless and tyrannical as it suddenly shrank into the size of a bowl and was rather similar to Guo Huan's treasured weapon, Yang's Mistake.

After the darkness had shrunk, the sky above showed some light but rather than illuminating everything, the light had cast a dull grey color on their surroundings instead. All these had happened in the blink of an eye, Wen Leyang did not even have the time to react to the situation when that small puff of darkness erupted into countless fragments. A streak of golden radiance, like a wicked newborn dragon which was about to destroy the world, appeared in the darkness ferociously. There was even the hoarse sound of a dragon's roar which rippled from within before this radiance it surged towards Ah Dan!

Chang Li groaned and her body swayed swiftly. Even with her cultivation base as the top demon immortal, she did not dare to directly face that golden colored divine thunder on Ah Dan's behalf. That divine thunder was not vast but it was so forceful that it made one feel nauseated, she could only launch her supernatural powers desperately from the side as she tried her best to weaken the thunder's power. 

It was at this moment that Wen Leyang and Qin Zhui understood that they were not qualified enough to help Ah Dan to pass through this punishment. When the thunder's power had appeared, the terrifying pressure had firmly shackled them in place. No matter how hard they struggled, these two young master cultivators could not even budge an inch!

The cloud dispersed and wrapped itself around the rippling black-colored sky. After the golden-colored thunder had taken form, it had broken out of the cocoon with alacrity. However, once the divine thunder had appeared, everything seemed to slow down once again. As the divine thunder struck towards Ah Dan from the sky, its speed was quite average.

If it had not been for Chang Li who was rippling with terrifying supernatural powers as she blasted the divine thunder continuously as fast as lightning, forming a sharp contrast to that streak of slowly approaching divine punishment, Wen Leyang would have thought that time was being extended. Chang Li, who could cause profuse bleeding just by moving her arms and legs in the past, almost seemed like a dragonfly who was trying to shake a jade pillar as she attacked in a graceful and swift manner but was also turning ashen in the midst of her weakness!

Ah Dan too was pinned in place, his gaze was frightened as he looked at the divine thunder which was approaching closer and closer from the sky. Somehow, the zombie baby had lain on his back and positioned his body in the pose of making a snow angel to greet the divine punishment.

The divine thunder of the divine punishment finally descended onto the top of Ah Dan's head yet it did not directly crash into the little fatty's body. Instead, it was more like a snake which was enjoying its prey's breath as it lingered three feet away from Ah Dan's body. The divine thunder slowly twisted and wriggled its body and Wen Leyang could even hear this wicked creature's cooing laughter. The divine thunder was waiting for Ah Dan's heart meridians to be connected, waiting for the moment when his little heart would start to beat!

Chang Li heaved a sigh dully as she stopped her futile attacks. Her originally healthy and glowing face was now ashen. She was exhausted and the divine thunder was too close to Ah Dan now. Even if she was to grit her teeth and attack, this streak of divine thunder would lose its job then. 

She had blasted countless strikes of supernatural powers at the divine thunder ever since it had appeared. Each strike was enough to crush a cultivator of Wen Leyang's level into pieces yet it had been futile in the face of the golden-colored divine thunder. Ah Dan's second divine punishment had appeared in a more incisive manner than they had expected.

Ah Dan had a grimace on his small face and his eyes were filled with fear. He struggled desperately to run towards Wen Leyang and when his repeated attempts to struggle free had failed, he then pursed his lips and wailed loudly!

Wen Leyang felt pity swell in his heart but his body remained as rigid as before. Even if he could make a sound now, he would curse the heavens!

The sound of Ah Dan's cry and his crystal-clear tears told everyone that the zombie baby had become a living being. 

The divine thunder was like a startled snake as it displayed its fangs all of a sudden. It then constricted before it shot downwards immediately at lightning speed towards Ah Dan mercilessly! Wen Leyang cried out in heartfelt sorrow before he shut his eyes and could not bear to watch anymore when he suddenly heard a series of laughter in his ears which sounded cheerful, crisp yet resolute!

A pale green-colored shadow which was even swifter than the divine thunder struggled free from the jade knife and dove head-first into Ah Dan's chest. Soon after that, a pure golden-colored radiance bloomed out of Ah Dan's body with a bang. The godly appearance of a Buddha as large as a mountain had taken form in the blink of an eye within the golden light!

Nevertheless, the divine thunder was utterly unhindered as it tore apart the golden giant Buddha into pieces like a ferocious knife. Soon after that, a loud sound which could rouse the heavens was heard as the Buddha's light and the divine thunder both vanished at the same time. 

The sky then brightened in a flash, the winter's sun which was warm and full hung on the edge of the sky. Wen Leyang felt his body become lighter but he has yet to realize what had happened when the divine punishment ended. However, the sound that made him wish he could rejoice with wild excitement and cry loudly was Ah Dan's childish and resentful cry which was echoing in his ears.

Ah Dan's face was covered with mucus and tears as he cried fiercely…

A pale, golden-colored Buddhist prayer bead was rolling around on Ah Dan's chest as his little tummy heaved.

Chang Li sighed and her body was swaying ever so slightly as she picked up the Buddhist prayer bead. She held it in her palm as she frowned and asked softly, "Why did you do that? He is him and you are you, the act of him crossing the divine punishment and growing into an adult hereafter are all his own matter which are unrelated to you."

Wen Leyang realized that Ah Dan was safe and sound. He then stretched out his hands and held the little fatty in his arms before he walked to Chang Li's side. Wen Leyang observed the Buddhist prayer bead in her palm attentively and he discovered in slight astonishment that there was an indistinct face reflected on the surface of the Buddhist prayer bead. 

Guo Huan saw that Wen Leyang gathered over and his rigid voice too carried a slight grievance as he informed Wen Leyang softly, "That's the monk Jin Zhao!"

The monk Jin Zhao's voice remained as heavy and deep as before but he now sounded like he was very far away, so far away that he could be blown away by the wind at any time, "That time, it was me who had opened the door to let him in. How could I just stand by and watched as he leaves once again? This way, what difference was there if I had never opened the door in the beginning..."

His words were baffling but Wen Leyang felt that these words sounded unusually familiar as if he had heard them before in the past. He could not recall why they sounded familiar and he shot his gaze at Chang Li out of habit. 

Chang Li pursed her lips before she softly said to him, "It's from the movie 'Léon: The Professional'!"

Even though he knows that the timing was inappropriate, Wen Leyang could not help but laugh out loud. He looked at Chang Li then at the Buddhist prayer bead, it turns out old demons enjoyed watching movies too. 

The monk Jin Zhao laughed as well, "When I was the Taoist priest San Wei, I had the opportunity to watch some movies too... In any case, I had been referring to the meaning behind the dialogue." He then paused for a moment before he refocused the topic of discussion once again, "Actually… I was not only saving the boy's life, I was also saving myself. Over a thousand years ago, I had not managed to cross the divine punishment successfully. I was supposed to be reincarnated into the next world and continue my cultivation in the next life but because of failing to cross over, I had ended up possessing the evil sycophant's human body. Even though I had managed to survive for another thousand years, I had lost the opportunity to be reincarnated once again too. I could only wait for the karmic power which I had accumulated during my time as a Buddhist monk to be exhausted. Only then would my soul be scattered and dispersed, it would happen sooner or later I guess!"

He had not managed to cross the divine punishment successfully back then. He was supposed to be reincarnated into his next life and he would have brought along the karmic power and blessed deeds which he had accumulated in his past life. He would certainly have become an eminent monk in his next life. When this process was repeated many times, sooner or later, there would come a day when he could hopefully ascend to the Devaloka of the Western Pure Land but due to this strange mishap, he had ended up stranded in his current state. His power of primordial spirit was also the karmic power which had been accumulated from back then.

After he had regained his memories, the monk still had one ultimate question. He wondered why he had been left with so little karmic power. By right, he had fought the evil soul's evil energy for a thousand years so not only should his karmic power be depleted, it should have grown instead. After he had discovered the demon monk San Duan's heavens-defying actions, only then was he suddenly enlightened. His favorite disciple had tried to save him but had harmed him as a result!

The process of growing evil spirits and planting a soul for a thousand years had exhausted his karmic power rapidly. Now, he was left with almost nothing. Even if he could find a new human body, he would not be able to live for a long period of time. By then, when his soul was truly about to be scattered and dispersed, he would completely disappear from this world. 

The monk Jin Zhao had lost all hopes of being reincarnated into the next life and continuing his cultivation. He had been a little furious initially but he was still an eminent monk who had achieved mastery. Just as Ah Dan was about to be blasted by the divine thunder, Jin Zhao was also enlightened to the fact that Ah Dan was alive because of him. Though he was not the one who had come back to the land of the living... was this not another form of his reincarnation?

He had used the next few years or the next decade of his feeble life to bet on this reincarnation process that belonged to him. He was willing to accept the reality whether he had won or lost that bet. 

As he was risking his remnant soul to withstand the divine punishment, he already knows that he would naturally re-enter the reincarnation process while the remaining karmic power from his past life has accumulated into Ah Dan's body. 

When the monk Jin Zhao finished his tale, he laughed softly, "This boy here is the reincarnation of my next life. Otherwise, just by depending on the power of my remnant soul, he could not have survived the divine punishment."

The power of Ah Dan's second divine punishment shocking, Chang Li had exhausted all her powers yet she had been barely able to shake it even a little. The divine thunder was also aimed more accurately this time, it only recognized Ah Dan so it would not strike anyone else to death before it had dispersed. The monk Jin Zhao had been capable of using his remnant soul to disperse the divine punishment due to only one reason, Ah Dan and he was of the same soul. However, while he was the person of this life, Ah Dan was his next incarnation. To the divine punishment, it had struck this person to death so it would naturally have vanished after that. 

Wen Leyang exhaled gently, he was filled with questions but he did not know what to say now. 

The monk Jin Zhao's voice was growing softer and softer as the radiance on the Buddhist prayer bead too became dimmer and dimmer. It seems that he would not last much longer, "I have regained all of my memories, if all of you still have any more questions, make the best use of my time!"

Wen Leyang understands that the monk does not have much time left. There was no need for him to delay so he asked directly, "How did the jade talisman which had been left behind by the Grand Master end up in your hands?"

The monk Jin Zhao understood Wen Leyang's question but there was an uncertainty in his tone of speaking, "That jade talisman had belonged to your Grand Master? Heh… After I had possessed San Wei's body, I then spent days and nights fighting the evil soul's evil energy until I was extremely familiar with Xiang Liu's breath. I can't remember the exact moment but a few centuries ago, someone had suddenly come to investigate in secret at Eyangshan Mountain. Even though he had tried very hard to suppress himself, I could still distinguish that the soul within that human body was Xiang Liu! Hehe, that very same person was Tian Yin whom we met in the ore cave. I had chased after him for a long distance back then but he still managed to escape in the end. However, I managed to seize this jade talisman from him during our fierce battle... I was aware that this item was important to Xiang Liu but I did not know its purpose and I knew even less of its origins."

Wen Leyang had found out from Liu Zheng that Tian Yin had once visited the Eyangshan Mountain in order to locate his evil soul's brother a few centuries ago. As a result, he was then hunted by San Wei. Unexpectedly, that was how San Wei had obtained the jade talisman. After that, when Painting Town had spent days and nights monitoring the Eyang Sect, Painting Town had not realized the peculiarity of this jade talisman back then. It was only when they found out that San Wei frequently studied this item that they realized this was an important item and they subsequently hired unrelated master cultivators to attack the Eyang Sect to seize this jade talisman. Finally, it then passed through many hands before it landed in Wen Leyang's grasp. 

Chang Li continued to inquire closely, "If the matter of Hanba and Xiang Liu was very important to you, when you had gone to Shanghai to deal with Hanba, why did your other three split bodies not follow you?"

The Taoist priest San Wei's final cultivation base was already perfected, he was no less inferior than Chang Li and Hanba and needless to say, his three split bodies' actual power was not too shabby either. However, San Wei had chosen to handle the important matter himself and had not brought along his three powerful helpers.

"The One Word Palace!" Jin Zhao began to speak faster though his voice was still as calm as before, "The evil soul had once left a clue behind in the Eyang Sect. When it was acting as San Wei, he had started to pay careful attention to every single movement of the One Word Palace since two thousand years ago. I did not manage to find out the specific reason why but in the recent one thousand years, I had not discovered any mysterious or unusual incidents from the One Word Palace. However... The One Word Palace is closely related to Xiang Liu, I'm certain of this. Otherwise, why had that evil soul acted so cautiously?! I had sent the First to participate in the Five Blessings' gathering on Nine Peaks Mountain because the One Word Palace had decided to suddenly marry their young maiden to the Wen family in a baffling manner. I was afraid that when I was dealing with Hanba and the evil soul, the One Word Palace would ruin my important matter, that was why I had then sent the Second and the Third to each kept a close watch on First Elder Xia and Second Elder Ma..."

The monk Jin Zhao's voice was already so soft that he could almost not be heard anymore. When that final golden light on the Buddhist prayer bead was extinguished, the divine monk had left behind a voice which was unclear if it was a sigh, a laugh, or only a whithered whisper!

At this point, even Ah Dan was feeling tired of crying. He had been sitting in Wen Leyang's embrace as he sobbed and the area around his eyes and lips were blushing enchantingly. He was trying to stretch out his plump hand desperately and his mouth babbled as he tried to reach that Buddhist prayer bead which had already lost its shine in Chang Li's palm...

Chang Li laughed as she reached over to Wen Leyang and picked Ah Dan up from his embrace. She then cradled Ah Dan and stuffed the Buddhist prayer bead into his little plump hand. 

Ah Dan behaved as if he was relieved by the weight on his hand. He heaved a long sigh and, following that, he wriggled his buttocks strenuously as he stretched out his hand and pointed at the direction of the Wen family village. His mouth was still babbling all the while...

Little Ah Dan, who was supposed to die without a doubt and would not even leave ashes behind, has turned into a delicate baby at this point. His tiny little body emitted a sweet-smelling warmth in Chang Li's embrace and in his widely opened eyes, his pupils were glimmering like black onyx. He was greedily looking at this world which had suddenly become colorful!

Chang Li was elated, she pouted her lips and was about to kiss the little fatty's cheek. Ah Dan, however, immediately held his palm to her lips as his body arched away with a determined expression. He utterly refused to be kissed by Chang Li...

Wen Leyang was startled and he hastily snatched Ah Dan out of Chang Li's grasp, was afraid that she would react in rage… If that happens, Ah Dan's crossing of the divine punishment earlier would have been all in vain.

Guo Huan burst out in laughter but he was still a little puzzled, "He's alive now but why isn't he talking yet?"

Of course, a newborn baby would not know how to speak, Wen Leyang was surprised at how Guo Huan could ask such a foolish question when Chang Li too chimed in, to his surprise, "That's true, he ought to be able to talk the moment he had been resurrected!"

Wen Leyang was stunned before he was finally enlightened. These old demons could speak the moment they took the form of a human so they had assumed that humans too were born knowing how to speak… It was not easy for Wen Leyang to know the answer to a question which they did not know and that was why Wen Leyang was determined not to tell them the answer.