Chapter 1421: The Five Poisons Elder!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
"When something abnormal happens, an evildoer is afoot. Just when we had found a quiet and remote area to talk about the treasure map, a treasure map immediately delivers itself to our door. Whether it's real or fake, I sense that this matter isn't as simple as it seems."
As Wang Chong spoke, he glanced at the groups outside.
"Brother Zhou, I wanted to say this as well. Whether it's real or fake, let's just wait and see for now!" the Demonic Emperor Old Man said in his old and dignified voice.
"Zhang Wenfu, you..."
The Formation Elder turned to the master and disciple in shock.
"Brother Fang, do you think so as well?"
The Formation Elder turned to the silent Wushang Village Chief.
The Wushang Village Chief silently nodded. The Formation Elder's mind was sent reeling and he was unable to speak.
Outside the stone formation, the two groups had reached the peak of their battle. Three or four of the fleeing group had been felled while the remainder were surrounded and on the verge of being executed.
But a moment later, as the last two were surrounded and about to be cut down, time seemed to stop. Both groups simultaneously stopped moving.
"Old Six, did you notice anything?" a voice asked after a long while. This was none other than one of the men being pursued.
"No. We even threw the map on the ground, but no one came to take it. It seems that they aren't here, so we can rule out this region."
The other speaker was unexpectedly that savage-faced Huo Guo.
At this moment, their tones did not seem to be those of the pursued and pursuer.
"That's that, then. We can cross this area off the list and inspect another one."
The two groups were soon putting away their weapons and acting like friends. At the same time, those members of the 'Eight Heroes of the Northern Pass' who had been cut down suddenly let out long breaths and returned from the land of the dead to the living, each of them standing back up.
They had been holding their breaths this entire time, but they naturally didn't need to now that the play was over.
"This, this..."
Within the stone formation, the Formation Elder's eyes were bulging out and he had long ago been rendered speechless.
"These bastards... This is far too shameless!"
The Formation Elder gnashed his teeth, his face turning red.
What he had believed was a great boon had actually just been an act played out by these two groups to make them take the bait. And in their group of four, he was the only one who had taken the bait, utterly humiliating him in front of the other three.
"Bastards, bastards! These scoundrels are too despicable, too shameless!"
While the Formation Elder clenched his fists in rage, those two groups outside the formation knew nothing of what was going on. After picking their weapons off the ground and tidying up their clothes, they took their leave.
"Senior Zhou, the entire northwest is buzzing about the matter of the Origin Immortal treasury, causing everyone in the region to look for us. Right now, you can't be careless when it comes to the treasure map. We have to be very cautious and only act when we're absolutely sure."
Wang Chong smiled and spoke in a comforting tone.
"Kid, you think that I don't know? I was just saying it on purpose to see how you reacted!" the Formation Elder stammered out.
Wang Chong inwardly chuckled and said no more.
Not long after those two groups left, a sharp cry came from overhead.
When they looked up, they saw several large eagles flying past, their sharp eyes sweeping over the area.
The four of them only silently watched as those eagles circled around the area before flying off elsewhere.
"The temptation of the Origin Immortal treasury is too great. With so many martial artists working together, even if we hide three feet underground, they'll dig us out eventually."
The Wushang Village Chief sighed.
The group that had painstakingly played out that drama was clearly a different one from the group sending out these eagles to survey the area. In this short amount of time, they had already encountered two groups.
Each of them began to feel an invisible pressure. Although the northwest was large, even they could not so easily avoid the search of so many martial artists.
The Formation Elder finally found a chance to interject. "Old Man Fang, there's no need to bring down your own side. This old man's stone formations are so good that you wouldn't be able to hear anything even if you stood right next to them. I don't believe there's anyone with enough skill to see through them."
The verdict was out on anything else, but he had absolute confidence in his formations.
At the very least in this era where knowledge of formations was almost lost, there was no one who could compare to him. After all, hadn't he deceived those first two groups?
These formations were the source of his confidence and pride.
Buzz!
Wang Chong had just opened his mouth to speak when a deafening buzzing came from the distance.
The stone formation fell silent as all four of its inhabitants turned in the direction of the sound.
"These are... bees!"
"It's that scoundrel, the Five Poisons Elder!"
The Formation Elder instantly paled, and the faces of the others turned grave.
A dark cloud had appeared on the horizon and was rapidly making its way toward them.
This black cloud was constantly churning and shifting as it swept over the world like a mighty tsunami.
If one looked carefully, one would realize that this cloud was made of countless wasps and bees, a passing glance putting their number in the millions.
There was only one person in the martial arts world who had tamed so many bees and wasps: the Five Poisons Elder.
In terms of seniority, the Five Poisons Elder was from the same generation as Zhang Wenfu. He was so famous and powerful that even the Formation Elder, someone who rarely paid much attention to the martial arts world, knew who he was.
"This is a problem."
The Formation Elder furrowed his brow, his confidence seeping away.
The Formation Elder's formations could fool eyes and conceal energy, but these methods were completely useless against the Five Poisons Elder. Once that cloud of bees simply rammed into the formation, all would be revealed.
The bees moved faster than imagined, and a few moments later, boom! Tens of thousands of them crashed into the stone formation.
Bang! The cloud of bees seethed and began to behave differently.
Bzzzz! Some of the bees flew off in another direction.
"Move out!"
Upon seeing this, the group lost their last shreds of hope.
Swish! Countless bits of stone flew up from the ground and into the cloud of bees.
At the same time, space twisted as a massive hand of Stellar Energy formed in the air and slammed into the earth. As the earth sank down with a shudder, countless bees were crushed to death.
The Wushang Village Chief, the Demonic Emperor Old Man, the Formation Elder, and Wang Chong all attacked, pulverizing the cloud of bees. At the same time, the formation was opened and the Formation Elder rushed out, followed swiftly by the others.
"Let's get out of here! This place is no longer safe! The Five Poisons Elder can control bees, other flying insects, and even beasts. He directly counters my formations. We can't hide here any longer!" the Formation Elder anxiously said.
Everything in the world had its counter. The Formation Elder's formations could deceive elite experts, but they were completely useless against the bees controlled by the Five Poisons Elder.
The entire northwest was no longer safe for their group.
But though the four had reacted quickly, they were still too slow.
"Hahaha, found you!"
An elderly voice gave a wicked chuckle.
"Forget about anything else and just run!" the Demonic Emperor Old Man sternly said, waving a sleeve as he rushed away, sending out a vast wave of Stellar Energy that crushed the remaining bees.
Numerous martial artists and factions were searching for them. Now that they were exposed, it was easy to imagine what would happen next.
Caw!
As the group fled, a cawing crow came flying out from the southwest, and the air was soon resounding with caws.
Wang Chong looked over and instantly grimaced. A flock of tens of thousands of crows was making its way over from the southwest.
"Damn it! The Black Poison King is also here!"
That flock of crows flying toward them caused the Formation Elder to grimace as well.
"Senior Zhou, who is the Black Poison King?" Wang Chong asked.
"The Black Poison King, like the Five Poisons Elder, is also an old monster of the martial arts world. The sum of their ages exceeds one hundred, and the two are nigh inseparable. The Five Poisons Elder is skilled at controlling bees and other small creatures, while the Black Poison King is skilled at controlling those black crows.
"Look at the beaks of those crows. They're all black tinged with violet. Their beaks and claws have all been soaked in poison. Just touching them is enough to become fatally poisoned. Quite a few martial artists have died to this kind of sneak attack," the Formation Elder said, tension in his eyes.
Wang Chong said nothing, only looked at those crows. Sure enough, the beaks and claws of those crows had a violet tinge, just as the Formation Elder had said.