Volcanic Age

Chapter 88: Mount Hua's Phoenix Slayer (1)

Again.

It happened again.

Although Tang Hui had hoped that Zhou Xuchuan would be able to hold on as long as possible, she hadn't expected this.

She had wanted to see the urgency in his eyes as he held the liquor in his mouth, the desperation as he swallowed, and the immediate struggle to detoxify.

That was the only way to repay her humiliation!

“Jian Nan Chun!”[1]

Tang Hui's voice, filled with anger, resonated sharply. The warrior standing by was startled and rushed toward her with the arranged liquor bottles.

"To think I'd be treated to the Two Great Baijus that the Sichuan Province is proud of! How incredible!"

Zhou Xuchuan laughed to himself, pleased.

When he said the Two Great Baijus, he was referring to the Wuliang Liquor and Jian Nan Chun.

“Let’s see how long you can keep that smug smile on your face!”

Tang Hui's eyes widened. There was even murderous intent in her voice. When an expert, especially one of the Righteous Path, got that angry, they would usually be able to find stability quickly through meditation.

For someone of Tang Hui's caliber, that wasn't too difficult.

However, the fact that she was still mad and not calming down meant that she was so angry that she couldn't hold it in.

She opened the liquor bottle and filled the empty cup. Despite her anger, her hand movements were careful and precise.

No matter how angry she was, she couldn't afford to make any mistakes with the second cup.

After all, even she was in danger while handling this liquor.

“Hmm.”

Zhou Xuchuan accepted the cup that Tang Hui handed him.

What should I do…

He was suddenly hit with a concern once it got to the second cup.

‘None of them have any effect. What should I do…’

With the Thousand Poisons Immunity, he was trading candy for treasures!

He hadn't spent the elixir's energy for nothing back then.

His choice had been worth it.

Thanks to the Thousand Poisons Immunity, what silver reef serpent or whatever it was, none of it had any effect on him.

There was no need for him to detoxify. The venom that entered his body was converted into poison and stored in his dantian. To a poison user, poison was medicine. However, because he practiced the Green Eyes Ten Thousand Poisons Art, poison was akin to qi for him.

“You’ll regret tasting the Flame Poison Lotus!”

“The Flame Poison Lotus!”

Tang Lian’s eyes widened. He had been in awe of Zhou Xuchuan's ability.

“…Isn’t that excessive?”

Tang Youqi narrowed his eyebrows.

The Flame Poison Lotus was an artificial poison created by raising fire qi to extreme levels. It was rare and difficult to find, even within the Sichuan Tang Family.

It was also expensive and only used when absolutely necessary. Unless one was a direct descendant, it was impossible to take out at will.

One needed to be on the level of the Poison Phoenix to be able to use it. Even so, it was still too excessive to use for this bet when it wasn't even a matter of life or death. While he didn't know how Zhou Xuchuan had managed to handle the Golden Reed Snake venom without a hitch, the Flame Poison Lotus would definitely be a problem.

It could be lethal to most Peak Realm experts or even Transcendent experts. Moreover, it was extremely hard to detoxify without much knowledge of poisons.

"Oh, the Flame Poison Lotus. It looks like I'll have to use some strength. Please be prepared to intervene in case of an emergency, Patriarch. Hehehe."

Tang Lian got up from his seat and patted his waist.

It's already amazing that he was able to handle the Golden Reed Snake venom without any issues. Most likely, he consumed an elixir by chance when he was young, and his qi must have been able to support him through it. However, the Flame Poison Lotus isn't something that can be handled with qi alone.

It had been surprising that Zhou Xuchuan had staved off the Golden Reed Snake venom from the first cup, especially since he wasn't even a Poison User. But now, everyone expected him to collapse.

"Now, let’s have a taste.”

Gulp!

Without a second's hesitation, he downed the cup in one gulp.

The audience was terrified, yet impressed by his courage.

"What?!"

Still, they all thought that he was being reckless.

From their perspective, Zhou Xuchuan should have prepared himself a little before drinking it. They clicked their tongues, saying that the detoxification would be more difficult than he thought.

"You must have gone insane and want to die!"

“You crazy bastard!”

This time, it would be over.

Everyone had the same thought, and none of them doubted what would happen next.

Even Tang Youqi, the greatest Poison Master in the world, saw it that way.

One…

"Kya!!!!"

Everyone froze at the sound of Zhou Xuchuan's burp.

Tang Hui, who was sitting proudly before him.

Tang Lian, who was rushing over.

Even the people of the Sichuan Tang Family who had filled the Tavern.

All of them were frozen.

It wasn't just the people. The very air, wind, and time itself seemed to freeze.

Perplexity, suspicion, shock, disbelief, shock, confusion…

All kinds of emotions swirled and gathered in one place.

“What, what, what…!”

Tang Hui stuttered for the first time.

"Ahem!"

Zhou Xuchuan blurted out his thoughts with a strange expression.

"This one's quite tingly on the tongue!"

To think he'd react in the same way?!

H-how is this possible?!

Tang Lian stopped, unable to close his mouth. Even though he witnessed it with his own eyes, his mind couldn’t keep up.

Zhou Xuchuan had consumed one of the highest-level poisons, and his response was just a stupid comment.

Of course, the Flame Poison Lotus wasn't a Harmony-realm poison. If one was in the Transcendent realm, it was possible to survive it as long as no one interfered during the detoxification.

However, wasn't the disciple before him just a child? Even if he had a strong background, he was still an ordinary disciple with no reputation.

Even if he had a lot of qi, if his ability to utilize it was poor, it was impossible for him to detoxify the poison so quickly!

No, did he even detoxify them in the first place?

"Even if he was detoxifying them, this is too fast…"

Tang Hui had the same thoughts as Tang Lian.

As Zhou Xuchuan seemed to defy common sense, she became suspicious and quickly turned to the warrior behind her.

"Did you give me the correct one?!"

“O-of course! How could I be mistaken?” the warrior answered, prostrating himself. Making a mistake in this situation wouldn't end with just a salary cut.

Tang Lian also jumped up and stood in front of Tang Hui, perhaps thinking of possible answers.

“Young Lady Hui, if it is alright with you, could I check the wine bottle?”

"... please do."

Tang Lian took the wine bottle and smelled it.

Sniff, sniff.

It's a refreshing scent unique to the Jian Nan Chun mixed in with the scent of the Flame Poison Lotus.

After the scent came the taste. He titled the wine bottle slightly, letting a few drops fall onto his finger, and licked it.

“Elder Lian, what do you think?” Tang Youqi asked first, also curious.

"I'm sure of it; it's liquor mixed with the Flame Poison Lotus.”

Rumble.

Tang Lian was the second-best Poison Master in the Family. There was no way his judgment would be wrong, which only made everyone more confused.

This young man… no, Zhou Xuchuan… there's no way he could possibly be a master that has reached the Harmony Realm or beyond… then!!!

A guess came to mind, a guess that he was almost completely sure of.

Tang Lian raised his head and stared at Zhou Xuchuan.

His complexion remains unchanged, and his breathing is still steady. Moreover, his pupils don't tremble, and there are absolutely no signs of him being poisoned. If he's not detoxifying the poison in the first place, then…!

A scream suddenly left his mouth.

"Thousand Poisons Immunity, Thousand Poisons Immunity!"

"What?!"

Tang Youqi also jumped up from his seat.

"The third cup is left, right?"

Zhou Xuchuan laughed heartily.

***

While the Ten Thousand Poisons Immunity was something of legend, the Thousand Poisons Immunity was something that could be occasionally seen in the gangho. However, even the Thousand Poisons Immunity was rare, found once in a hundred, if not a few hundred years.

In truth, more people with this constitution could be found if one really went searching. However, unless someone was a martial artist or a physician, they would never realize the constitution they had.

Moreover, this Thousand Poisons Immunity was considered a constitution given by the heavens to martial artists, especially those who practiced the art of poisons, as it provided more advantages to those with Poison Arts than to anyone else.

Regardless of whether one was from the Righteous or Evil Sects, using poisons required building up a tolerance from the start and a significant amount of time to be useful.

However, with the Thousand Poisons Immunity, one could skip this process entirely and freely handle poison, greatly enhancing one's ability to use and transform qi.

Although Zhou Xuchuan actually lost this advantage of the Thousand Poisons Immunity due to the many limitations brought on by the Ten Thousand Convergence Art, from the perspective of the Sichuan Tang Family, his constitution was so important that they would be willing to take him in as a son-in-law regardless of his family background.

He was still served a cup of the Seven Soul Destroying Steps Poison after the Flame Poison Lotus, a poison at the extreme end of peak-ranked poisons. However, in the end, it was useless against him.

Instead of feeling any pain, he actually absorbed the precious poison and was able to use it to raise the Green Eyes Ten Thousand Poisons Art from the third stage to the fourth.

“If it weren’t for his age, I would have brought him into the family as a live-in son-in-law!”

Tang Youqi was truly regretful.

Zhou Xuchuan was eighteen years old. It was too late to take him into the family, especially considering he had already trained in the martial arts of Mount Hua.

Although his constitution was a heavenly gift to those who practiced Poison Arts, his body would soon become rigid and unable to change cultivation paths. There were also matters of sect politics and loyalty to consider.

“It’s not too late, Patriarch.”

"If it's really the Thousand Poisons Immunity, he can freely travel around Mount Ailao or Poisonblood Valley and would be of great help in collecting poisonous herbs. As Young Hero Zhou hasn't yet taken up a high position in the Mount Hua Sect, let's quickly take him in as a live-in son-in-law."

It wasn't that the Daoists of the murim couldn't get married. Even the Wudang Sect, known for its strict Daoist practices, allowed their disciples to marry.

The only conditions were that married disciples couldn't teach their bloodline the sect's martial arts and weren't allowed to hold high positions.

If Zhou Xuchuan were to become Tang Xuchuan, he could secure many poisonous plants and be of great help to the Family.

"Hey, Young Master Zhou. If it's okay with you, why don't you stay a little longer?"

Immediately after the bet, Tang Youqi went to see Zhou Xuchuan.

"While I would like to, unfortunately, I'm a little busy. I hope you will be generous and understand, Master Poison King."

"...hmph."

Tang Youqi was quite disappointed.

Incidentally, the Tang Family’s Tavern incident spread throughout Sichuan and soon became known to the whole world.

"The Poison Phoenix has lost again! And at the Sichuan Tang Family's Tavern?!"

"Wow, it's hard to say he won by chance at this point."

“I have a relative who's a warrior from the Tang Family, and I heard that Zhou Xuchuan is immune to poison.”

"What? Could he really have the rumored Ten Thousand Poisons Immunity?"

"What? You idiot! What do you mean by Ten Thousand Poisons Immunity? He most likely has the Hundred Poisons Immunity."

The Sichuan Tang Family kept the fact that Zhou Xuchuan had the Thousand Poison Immunity a secret.

They were worried that those from the Evil Valley or the Demon Cult might kidnap him and use him as a human subject to experiment on and whet their appetite.

While no secret lasts forever, and the information would most likely be revealed later, it was best to keep it hidden for now.

After the Poison Phoenix lost to the same person twice, Zhou Xuchuan was finally given a title.

Phoenix Slayer!!

"Phoenix Slayer? It sounds like Phoenix Shitter!"[2]

The person in question also hated it. Meanwhile, Tang Hui, the actual Phoenix that had been slain, was also quite depressed after failing the revenge battle and experiencing another bitter defeat.

"Of course…"

She had originally wanted to succeed in getting revenge in front of many people and recover her fallen pride.

However, that desire had become the cause of her trouble, and instead of recovering, her pride had fallen even further.

This time, she had experienced a spectacular defeat, even in front of all of the Family members.

"I heard that he asked for you to accompany him to detoxify someone as a condition of the bet. Is that true?" Tang Youqi asked when he went to see Tang Hui, who was wallowing in despair.

"... yes, Father."

“I see. It's a good coincidence, as it's time for you to go back into the gangho, anyway."

Most people with a daughter as incredible as Tang Hui would treasure her like a precious jewel, but Tang Youqi wasn't a daughter-con.

His eyes, a little tired as always but unreadable, looked at his daughter.

"I'll send a few of the Family warriors as your escorts, so follow him. Moreover, if you like him, it wouldn’t be a bad thing for you to bring him back as a son-in-law. Stop by your brother's side on your way back after completing your business and help him with his work."

Could there really be such a heartless father? There was absolutely no concern for his child in his eyes or voice.

And thus, that was how Tang Hui’s trip to the gangho was decided.

1. Also a very famous liquor from one of the oldest distilleries in China. ?

2. Technically, it's Fall of Phoenix? It sorta sounds like Balls of Phoenix?!' Lmao. ?