Chapter 994: The Poison Master Examination
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric
"It's fine if it isn't convenient for you..." Noticing the look of distress on the other party's face, Elder Xu shook his head.
"It is not that it is inconvenient, but that it isn't my place to be spreading the heritage around... How about this? Why don't I detail the 1-star and 2-star fundamental knowledge to you instead so that you can fathom the origin of the secret manual through it?" Seeing that the other party was just posing it as a casual question and not to investigate his origins, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.
He didn't have the secret manual, and his knowledge of poison was still capped at 2-star. The only reason why he seemed fearsome in the eyes of the other party was due to his Heaven's Path zhenqi, which granted him a near complete immunity to poisons.
As such, he could be considered to be an amateur to poison. Nevertheless, if it was just fundamental knowledge of 2-star and below, he was confident that there was no one who could rival him.
"That would be great!" Elder Xu's eyes lit up.
Lineage was extremely important in the Master Teacher Continent, so it was indeed inconvenient for the other party to expose his heritage to an outsider.
It was understandable why the other party was unwilling to speak any more about that. As for knowledge of 2-star and below, as it involved only the fundamental knowledge of poison, there was no harm to sharing them.
"Based on the explanation of the book, poison can be viewed as a medicine of one kind as well. To put it simply, it is used to complement the Yin-yang and Five Elements of the human body. As long as one achieves a balance in the Five Elements, one will be able to develop an immunity to all poisons..."
Recalling the 1-star and 2-star Heaven's Path Poison Art, Zhang Xuan began to speak.
"T-this..."
Elder Xu initially thought that there couldn't possibly be anything new to the fundamentals, but as he listened on, his face gradually warped in astonishment. Gripped by agitation, his entire body began trembling, and his breathing hastened.
The other party had reshaped the understanding of poison through the concept of Yin-yang and the Five Elements, and through it, he was able to theorize the concept of poison immunity.
It was possible to poison a person to death, but was it possible to poison the heavens to death?
The fundamental knowledge that the other party spoke of was directed towards the very essence of poison itself. As long as one were to cultivate according to it, it was almost certain that one would be able to forge the Poison Body.
Even though it was already too late for him to switch his cultivation technique, he could already foresee the huge uproar it would cause in the Poison Hall should this piece of knowledge ever be made public.
"Poison can be a tonic as well. It can save and can treat. As long as one were to use it well, it can definitely become a valuable tool to the world..." Zhang Xuan continued speaking.
The more he listened, the deeper a trance Elder Xu found himself falling into.
The main reason why poison masters were so widely feared was due to their ability to plant poison discreetly, making it extremely difficult for an average cultivator to guard against them. However, if their poison really could make a positive contribution to the world, just like what the other party had said, it might be possible for the Poison Hall to walk out of its isolation and stand openly on the Master Teacher Continent once more. They could come under the protection of the Master Teacher Pavilion, and they wouldn't be shunned and snubbed by the world as they were now.
With such thoughts in mind, Elder Xu subconsciously turned to look at Sun Qiang with a look of agitation on his face.
"Alright, this is all I have understood from it..."
After casually sharing some of the knowledge of poison that he possessed, Zhang Xuan finally came to a halt. Lifting his gaze, he noticed that Elder Xu was looking at him with a fiery gaze. Alarmed, he quickly glanced downward at his clothes, but... nothing was open!
If nothing is open, what are you getting agitated over?
It can't be that your sexual orientation has changed from listening to a lecture?
It doesn't seem like there is any master teacher in the world who possesses such an ability!
"Cough cough!" Noticing Zhang Xuan's actions, Elder Xu knew that he had acted inappropriately for a moment there. He adjusted his expression before continuing with a grim look, "Poison Master Sun, the secret manual that you have is simply too astounding. It will be best for you to keep its existence hidden from the others, or else, I fear that... you might meet with danger!"
Which poison master didn't dream of a body that boasted a high resistance to poison? Which poison master didn't hope to concoct an even more potent poison?
If the other poison masters were to learn that the man before him had such a formidable secret manual in his possession, they surely wouldn't hesitate to resort to all kinds of underhanded means to obtain it, thus putting the other party in grave danger.
Zhang Xuan nodded in agreement.
Unlike master teachers, poison masters had no regards for rules and morals. If they were to learn of the existence of the secret manual, they might even attempt to snatch it in broad daylight.
Nevertheless, Zhang Xuan had no fear.
The main reason why he wanted to head to the Poison Hall was to collect books regarding poison and save Wei Ruyan. If the poison masters knew that was best for them, he could still consider getting along with them.
Otherwise, he didn't mind teaching the other party the meaning of fear.
After a moment of hesitation, Elder Xu added, "You should conceal your poison-resistant constitution as well. Make sure not to show it to anyone easily. Otherwise, you might be stoking their greed!"
"Un." Zhang Xuan nodded.
While he didn't possess the Innate Poison Body, his ability to neutralize most poisons was indeed something that would interest most poison masters, if not all. Others could very well go after him in hopes of uncovering his secrets and cultivating the same poison-resistant constitution for themselves. For this reason, it would be best for him to maintain a low profile at the Poison Hall.
In any case, this happened to work in his favor. He was a humble person at heart, and he never liked to boast to others anyway.
"I intend to take the poison master examination later on at the Poison Hall, but I'm not too sure how it is conducted there. Can you shed some light on the matter for me? Also, will I be able to access all of the books in the Poison Hall if I were to clear the examination?" After chatting for a while longer, Zhang Xuan asked.
His main goal at the Poison Hall was to collect all of the books on poison there, so naturally, that was also the matter that he was the most concerned about.
"The poison master examination at our branch is slightly different from that of the others. Rather than the typical concoction of poison, the crux of our examination lies in... poisoning!" Elder Xu said.
"Poisoning?" Zhang Xuan was perplexed.
"Indeed. The ability to concoct potent poison is formidable, but what that makes a truly great poison master is his ability to poison a person whose cultivation realm is equal or even greater than him discreetly!" Elder Xu explained.
"Are you saying that the poison master examination will come in the form of a poisoning match?"
"That's right. For the 6-star poison master examination, the examinee will be challenging a 6-star poison master. The examiner would be fighting with his full strength as well, and if the examinee is able to wound the examiner through his poison, he would be considered to have cleared the examination!" Elder Xu explained.
"But poison... it shouldn't be easy to control it in combat, right? What will happen if one side accidentally poisons the other to death?" Zhang Xuan frowned in bewilderment.
Precise control was required to wound an opponent without dealing lethal damage, and this was something extremely difficult to control in combat. Use too little poison, and it might end up being ineffective. Use too much, and one could accidentally kill one's opponent. Given so... wasn't it a little too risky to conduct such an examination?
"If one were to be poisoned to death in the midst of the examination, it can only mean that he hasn't worked hard enough in his studies. He has no one but himself to blame!" Elder Xu shook his head and sighed. "This is simply how things work here!"
Not expecting that the poison master examination would be so risky, Zhang Xuan shook his head helplessly. A moment later, he asked, "May I trouble Elder Xu to fill me in on the situation in the Hongyuan Empire Poison Hall?"
At the current moment, he knew nothing about the Poison Hall at all. If he could learn a thing or two about it, he would be more well-prepared for whatever he would face there.
"Of course, that's nothing much to ask of!" Elder Xu chuckled.
"The Hongyuan Empire Poison Hall branch is, in fact, a grade-7 branch. We have a 7-star poison master as our hall master, and this means that it is possible to take the 7-star poison master examination at our branch. If one can defeat the hall master in a poison match, one will be qualified to become a 7-star poison master immediately.
"Other than the hall master, the Poison Hall also has three 7-star vice hall master, as well as twenty-two 6-star pinnacle elders. Elder Xue and I are amongst the twenty-two 6-star pinnacle elders.
"As for poison masters below 6-star, there should be at least several dozen thousand of them."
'Several dozen thousand?" Zhang Xuan was stunned.
The utilization of poison could be considered to be an unorthodox art, so he thought that there wouldn't be too many poison masters in the world. Yet, who could have thought that just this single branch would have numbers nearly on par with the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy!
It was fortunate that they had chosen to isolate themselves at Jingyuan City. Otherwise, their presence could easily bring unease or even chaos upon the entire Hongyuan Empire!
"The Poison Hall is known for its Three Great Halls. The first hall is the Compendium Hall, which boasts a huge collection of books accumulated over the past ten thousand years. Most who wished to advance as a poison master would devote most of their time to studying the books in there.
"The second hall is the Poison Experimentation Hall. Researching and practicing the concoction of poison requires a vast amount of medicinal herbs. If one were to work with real herbs each time, even a mountain of medicinal herbs could be easily depleted within days. Within the Poison Experimentation Hall is a unique formation which could accurately simulate the unique properties of each medicinal herb. Through experimenting with the herbs here, one could lessen the wastage of herbs!
"The last one is the Sparring Hall! Just like with most other occupations, poison masters who have an irreconcilable conflict with one another would head there and settle it through a life-and-death duel. While it was named the Sparring Hall, it was also the location where many poison masters had died!" Elder Xu shook his head.
"Other than the Three Great Halls, there is also the Two Forbidden Grounds. One of them is the Mausoleum of Hall Masters. It is the location where the hall masters of every generation rested. Only the incumbent hall master was allowed to enter the grounds, and anyone else who tried to circumvent the rule would find themselves being poisoned to death! The other forbidden ground is the herb fields. Planted in the fields are the medicinal herbs used in the Poison Hall, and they are strictly controlled. Anyone who needs any medicinal herb must apply for it beforehand. No one was allowed to enter it casually, or else death would be what they would face!
"Other than that, there is nothing else. Given your strength and your immunity to poison, there should be nothing for you to worry about..."
'Un." Zhang Xuan nodded.
7-star poison master, Three Great Halls, and the Two Forbidden Grounds...
Since he was intending to only go through the books of the Poison Hall, he would probably only pay a visit to the Compendium Hall and go nowhere else.
"Actually, the Poison Hall isn't as frightening as others put it out to be. As fellow poison masters, everyone actually treats one another rather amiably... Not to mention, you are my savior on top of that!" Elder Xu said with a kind smile.
The Poison Hall might seem like an incomparably frightening existence in the eyes of others, but internally, they still got along with one another harmoniously.
While fellow friends might occasionally spike each other's drinks or something, they would usually prepare the antidote beforehand, so no permanent harm would be done.
Zhang Xuan continued asking on several matters concerning the Poison Hall, and Elder Xu, seemingly convinced that he was a real poison master, didn't hide anything from him at all.
Half a day later, Zhang Xuan finally gained a deep insight into the Hongyuan Empire Poison Hall.
While it was located within the territory of Hongyuan Empire, it was in truth the largest and most formidable Poison Hall in Qingyuan Conferred Empire. This was also the reason why there were multiple 7-star poison masters holding the fort there.
The Poison Hall was also a really dangerous place for the average cultivator. Not only were there poison masters and poisonous herbs, there were even poisonous worms, poisonous plants, and even the drinking water itself was poisoned... Had it been anyone else, Elder Xu would have surely made sure to warn them sternly beforehand. However, the man before him was no average cultivator. He was an existence who could munch on grade-6 pinnacle poisons as if they were mere snacks.
In any case, he was certain that the other party couldn't possibly be poisoned to death, so there was nothing to warn him about.
"Alright, we are arriving at the Poison Hall..."
After flying for two days straight, Elder Xu abruptly stood up and pointed forward. Turning his gaze over as well, Zhang Xuan saw the boundless blue ocean with a brilliant sun hanging at the horizon.
In the next moment, the saint beast twisted its body slightly, and the sight before him cleared up. A massive island abruptly came into sight.
To Zhang Xuan's astonishment, the island was actually concealed by a massive Hidden Formation. Had it not been for Elder Xu leading him here, it was very likely that he might have never found the Poison Hall.