Library of Heaven's Path

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Back when Poison Master Bai was younger, he had indeed suffered the betrayal from another.

It was a brother whom he had trusted deeply. Plagued with envy after learning about the existence of the Starweaving Art, the other party had discreetly switched a medicinal herb that he had prepared for the concoction of an extremely difficult pill, resulting in him being severely wounded in the affair. Not only so, the other party had even assaulted him while he was at a crucial stage in his cultivation, and that incident had nearly left him dead!

Even though he had exacted vengeance after he recovered, poisoning that wretched scoundrel to death with his own hands… the damage caused to his body was already irreparable.

It was due to such a wound that he had been trapped at the Primordial Spirit realm for so long, unable to achieve a breakthrough. This matter had become a huge regret in his life.

It was also due to this incident that he had remained guarded toward everyone before him, never daring to let loose before anyone for fear of being betrayed once more… So how did the middle-aged man before him learn of the matter?

"When you made a move against me earlier, your zhenqi stopped right before your Yunmen 1 acupoint. This shows that there is a blockage there that you are unable to pass through. That acupoint isn't a particularly difficult one to break open, and for a condition like yours to occur, it typically means that one has been injured in the past or that… he is suffering from a mental trauma!"

Without opening his eyes, the middle-aged man continued speaking calmly.

"As for your inability to achieve a breakthrough… While you did conceal your Primordial Spirit well, I can still see it as clear as day. It is extremely powerful, and under normal circumstances, you should have been able to draw it out from your body long ago to soar into the skies. Yet, there isn't the slightest hint of zhenqi in your Yuanshen acupoint. This suggests that your Yuanshen acupoint is tightly sealed. At the same time, the zhenqi flowing through your body is very distinctive, possessing a thread-like form. Given all that, it wasn't too difficult for me to deduce the entire story!"

"Just by driving my zhenqi a bit… you were able to tell so much?" Poison Master Bai felt his throat running dry.

As a Saint 4-dan pinnacle expert, he had seen plenty of people who possessed astounding eye of discernment and powerful means that weren't beneath those of a 7-star master teacher at all.

But… to be able to see through so much in just an instant, that was completely unbelievable. He had never seen something like this before!

More importantly, the other party had never opened his eyes throughout the entire process, keeping his back toward him.

This wasn't something that could be described as frightening anymore; it was horrifying.

"It doesn't matter how I see through it; the issue is you. The reason you are unable to achieve a breakthrough is due to your lack of confidence. Without confidence, nothing else will fall in place! How about this? Since you are a 7-star pinnacle poison master, your ability to utilize and discern poison shouldn't be too bad… Let me give you a test."

At this point, the middle-aged man chuckled softly, and 'hu!', a gourd slowly floated over toward the Poison Master Bai. "Look and see if there is poison in here."

"In here?"

Perplexed, Poison Master Bai uncorked the gourd, and an aromatic fragrance gushed toward him. He extended his Spiritual Perception into the gourd, and a moment later, he shook his head and said, "It doesn't have any poison…"

Through checking with his Spiritual Perception, he could tell that even though the wine did contain a higher concentration of spiritual energy, it didn't contain any poison.

"Do you dare have a sip?" the middle-aged man asked.

"This…" Hearing those words, Poison Master Bai froze.

He could confirm that the wine in the gourd wasn't poisoned, but he was still fearful to drink it.

"To doubt even your own judgement, how far can you reach with such a state of mind? It seems like… that is all there is to a 7-star pinnacle poison master!" The middle-aged man shook his head in disappointment.

On the other hand, Poison Master Bai's face reddened in shame.

"You might think that your greatest problem came from your friend's betrayal, but that isn't really so. What that is truly limiting you is your inability to trust even yourself! Whenever you saw your Yuanshen acupoint firmly shut even after several attempts to knock it open, you decided for yourself that it is impossible to succeed and chose to give up. Without the confidence to persevere and take the final step, how can you achieve greater heights?" the middle-aged man asked.

"I…" Poison Master Bai was rendered speechless.

The other party was right. Due to that matter, he had become deeply suspicious of others. As time passed, his suspicions deepened, and eventually, he even began to doubt himself.

"Since you have already confirmed that there is no poison, why won't you drink it? Do you fear that your judgement isn't accurate, or do you fear death?" the middle-aged man said deeply.

Facing the other party's questions, Poison Master Bai's face paled as his body trembled uncontrollably. A moment later, he raised his head and looked at the other party earnestly. "Elder, what should I do?"

Regardless of whether it was the other party's eye of discernment or understanding of poison, they were far superior to his. Even if the other party wasn't the founder, there was no doubt that the other party was his senior in the Way of Poison.

Thus, there was nothing wrong with calling the other party 'elder'.

"You need to break the shackles of doubt in you." With a high and mighty attitude, the middle-aged man spoke affirmatively. "You need to trust your own judgement and drink this gourd of wine. This is the only way for you to vanquish the doubt you have in yourself!"

Hearing those words, Poison Master Bai hesitated. But a moment later, he clenched his jaws tightly and nodded. "Indeed. If I have deemed the wine in the gourd to be devoid of poison, what do I have to fear?"

Since he had already affirmed it himself, why shouldn't he drink it?

Even if he were to be poisoned, he still had the Heavenly Aroma Detoxification Pill with him. That should suffice to deal with everything.

With such thoughts in mind, he uncorked the gourd without any hesitation, and 'Gudong! Gudong!', he drank several large mouthfuls of wine. In that instant, he felt everything he had suppressed deep in his heart being liberated all of a sudden, and a look of delight surfaced on his face. He couldn't help but exclaim, "Excellent wine!"

Due to be betrayal he had suffered once, he didn't trust any outsiders or even himself at that. Such a problem had plagued him for the longest of time, but at this instant… he felt like he had been saved by the other party's gourd of fine wine.

"Elder, thank you for your advice!" Poison Master Bai bowed deeply.

Regardless of whom the other party was, he was still thankful to the other party for dispelling his inner demons.

"Do you believe that I am your founder now?" the middle-aged man asked.

"I…" Poison Master Bai was immediately sank into an awkward position.

The reason for his arrival there was to investigate the other party's identity. Yet, he had been exposed from the moment that he stepped through the door, rendering everything he had planned futile.

"Elder, both your eye of discernment and understanding of poisons are things that I am unable to match. However, it is still very difficult for me to believe that the soul of the founder is in you. On top of that, this matter has huge implications as well… If it is convenient for you, can you allow me to use my Primordial Spirit to peer into your soul? Once I confirm that you possess the Poison Soul Constitution, I will kowtow and ask for your forgiveness!" Poison Master Bai hesitated for a moment before saying.

He was already eighty percent convinced that the other party was the founder, but he still needed to verify it directly in order to dispel his doubts.

After all, he knew for a fact that the founder was a lady, and the person before him was indubitably a male.

Instead of responding to his question, the middle-aged man waved his hand and said, "The Innate Poison Body is also known as the Constitution of Disaster. Wherever one went, lethal poison followed. You should have heard of this matter before."

"Yes!" Poison Master Bai nodded.

As a 7-star pinnacle poison master, he was naturally aware of the various details concerning the Innate Poison Body. The Constitution of Disaster did grant one perfect immunity to poison, but if it wasn't suppressed properly, lethal poison will leak from one's body, bringing great disaster upon one's surroundings.

"I might just be a fragmented soul, but the essence of my constitution remains. Even though Sun Qiang, whom I have deposited my soul in, does possess a strong aptitude toward poison, he is still unable to contain the prowess of my soul. As a result, the moment I entered this room, it became permeated with lethal poison. Naturally, you were also poisoned the moment you stepped in as well," the middle-aged man said.

Poison Master Bai was taken aback. "Poisoned?"

When he assessed the wine in the gourd using his Spiritual Perception earlier, he had also caught a glimpse of the surroundings. There was clearly no poisonous air or powder in the area!

Besides, if he had really been poisoned, how could he possibly be unaware of the matter? He didn't feel anything at all, so how could he have been poisoned just like that?

"You don't believe me?" The middle-aged man chuckled softly.

"It is not that I don't trust elder, but… I have spent my entire life around poisons, and I don't think that there is poison in here!" Poison Master Bai assessed the surroundings once more and shook his head.

"You don't think that there is poison here?" The middle-aged man burst into laughter before eventually sighing. "If the poison aura emanated by the Innate Poison Body could be discovered by another that easily, how could I have become the founder of the Poison Hall, initiating an occupation that even Kong shi was fearful of?"

After saying those words, the middle-aged man snapped his fingers.

Padah!

Right after the sound echoed around the room, Poison Master Bai suddenly felt his entire body stiffening up. It felt as if a lethal poison that had lain dormant in his body all along was coming to life under the other party's control. His face paled, and a mouthful of blood spurted from his mouth. Horror and fear were reflected in his eyes.

He had been proceeding carefully ever since he entered the room, so how could he have been poisoned?

Could it be that… just as the other party said, those who possessed the Innate Poison Body would cause a calamity wherever they went, and even poison masters were no exception to the rule as well?

After retracting his poison, the middle-aged man asked nonchalantly, "Do you believe me now?"

"I… I believe you!" Poison Master Bai nodded vehemently.

If he'd still had his reservations a moment ago, at this point, he no longer had any doubts.

As a 7-star pinnacle poison master, he actually didn't even realize it when he was already fatally poisoned. Without a doubt, the other party's ability to utilize poison was far above his!

More importantly, he could sense that the poison had seeped into even the narrowest of acupoints in his body. Therefore, there was no way he could dispel it, not even with the Heavenly Aroma Detoxification Pill he had in his possession!

To remain unaware despite being fatally poisoned and completely helpless before it after learning of the matter… This was the fearsome power that one of those possessing the Innate Poison Body harnessed!

"7-star Poison Master Bai Ting pays respect to the founder!"

Having confirmed the matter, there was no longer any need for Bai Ting to ascertain the other party's identity through his Primordial Spirit anymore, and he dared not do so either. He hurriedly kneeled on the ground and paid his respect to the other party.

"Rise." The middle-aged man waved his hand.

Naturally, the middle-aged man was Zhang Xuan, who was disguised as Sun Qiang at the moment.

Knowing that the fellow before him was a Saint 4-dan pinnacle expert, he knew that it was impossible for him to make the other party submit with just a few words.

Furthermore, if the other party were to still doubt him after he had explained himself and attempt to assault him while he was unguarded, there was a good chance that he might have been killed before he could even bring the Violetleaf King out.

For his own safety, he felt that he had to poison the other party first.

Thus, he intentionally feigned that he was knocking into the bookshelves so as to lure the other party to driving his zhenqi. Through doing so, he could use the Library of Heaven's Path to determine the other party's flaws and use his sharp tongue to scare the other party.

In a shocked state, it was inevitable that one would be unable to make the most rational of decisions. Through exploiting the weakness in the other party's heart, he was able to convince the other party to drink the wine.

As for everything else about the Innate Poison Body he had mentioned earlier, they were all lies.

Even though Wei Ruyan possessed the Innate Poison Body, due to the limitations of her cultivation, it was difficult for her to even kill a Saint realm expert, let alone a Saint 4-dan expert like the other party.

Needless to say, Zhang Xuan didn't possess such a mystical ability either. The reason the other party had been poisoned was due to the gourd of wine that the other party had drunk earlier.

Of course, until Poison Master Bai had an opportunity to think this matter over, it wasn't too difficult for Zhang Xuan to mislead the other party into believing that he had been poisoned due to prolonged contact with the Innate Poison Body. As a result of that, the other party would fear him and not dare to pull anything before him.

Seeing that he had managed to win the other party over, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. After a short moment of contemplation, he said, "As a result of the fragmentation of my soul, my strength is far from what it used to be, and I have lost most of my memory as well. I am unable to contain the poison aura within me any longer, and there is a good chance that it might act up very soon. Are you aware of any solutions to resolving this problem?"