A long time ago, the Hundred Poisons Hall was the most powerful and deeply rooted demonic force in Qingzhou.
At that time, several powerful righteous sects in the Qingzhou cultivation world united to launch an attack against it, but they were ultimately defeated.
Because their stronghold was hidden in the extremely complex terrain of the Hundred Poisons Mountain Range, even after the demonic forces weakened, the righteous side still couldn’t find their main base.
For a once-glorious and powerful force, the number of items like elixirs, techniques, secret arts, and spiritual artifacts was unimaginable.
Even after a thousand years, with most items either decayed or rendered useless, the remaining ones were still enough for these demonic cultivators to make a fortune.
“The Hundred Poisons Hall is divided into many parts,” Lian Xin explained, “the Bloodthirsty Hall, the Witchcraft Hall, the Punishment Hall, and so on. But the true main hall is only one, personally overseen by the Hundred Poisons Venerable. I suspect the ‘Nine Provinces Sealing Manual’ is kept there.”
“Why do you know so much about a demonic force from a thousand years ago, meow?” Ah Miao asked, puzzled.
“Because…” Lian Xin hesitated.
It seemed that due to their interactions over the past few days, she had become less wary of Tang Xin and Ah Miao compared to when they first met, somewhat acknowledging the two “companions” beside her.
“I have an inheritance,” she finally confessed, “the inheritance includes a lot of knowledge about the demonic history of the Nine Provinces.”
“So that’s why they want to capture you so badly,” Tang Xin nodded, “whether righteous or demonic, knowledge is power!”
“Wait, meow,” Ah Miao stopped in her tracks, “you said you have a demonic inheritance… are you a demonic cultivator?”
The other two also stopped and were stunned.
“You didn’t know until now?” Lian Xin asked, puzzled.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Tang Xin scratched his head.
“I didn’t know, meow,” Ah Miao said stiffly, “you never told me about this, meow. I thought we were on a secret mission, meow!”
Good grief, we’ve come all the way to their lair only to find out our teammate’s identity isn’t quite what we thought…
“A paragon of the righteous path and a successor of the demonic path,” the cat demon said incredulously, “What kind of combination is this, meow?”
“Ahem,” at this point, Tang Xin could only explain, “Young lady, do you want to maintain peace on the continent? We’re a secret team that came together to prevent tomorrow’s destruction. Don’t get too hung up on the righteous and demonic paths.”
“Sounds like a made-up excuse, meow…”
A Miao didn’t quite believe this reason, but it didn’t stop her from keeping her promise.
That’s how the thinking of the demon race is—sometimes very troublesome, sometimes very simple.
Under Lian Xin’s guidance, the group passed through the ruins and arrived in front of a relatively intact grand hall.
“This is the main hall,” she said, “Not only is it better preserved than other places, but you can also sense a slight residual power here.”
“Will there be danger?” Tang Xin asked.
“Definitely,” Lian Xin nodded, “When the Hundred Poisons Hall was destroyed due to chaos, it likely activated some kind of super formation. Normally, it should have blown this place sky-high. But from the looks of it, this formation was forcibly interrupted by some even more powerful force.”
“Let’s put the main hall aside for now, meow,” A Miao whispered, “There are quite a few demonic cultivators gathering in the shadows around us, meow…”
“Smart enough to be suspicious,” Tang Xin said, “Let’s not worry about them for now. We need to figure out how to get the item first!”
The three of them discussed for a while and then walked into the main hall. The demonic cultivators sent to monitor them also followed in one after another.
…
Inside the main hall.
The interior space of the hall was much larger than it appeared from the outside, likely due to some advanced spatial technique.
Because of the residual power, the condition here was much better than the dilapidated buildings outside. Whether it was the carvings on the stone pillars or the decorations on the walls, one could vaguely feel the former glory of the Hundred Poisons Hall.
[Time-limited mission triggered]
As soon as they stepped through the door, Tang Xin’s mission system popped up.
【Within twelve hours, obtain the “Nine Provinces Sealing Manual.” During these twelve hours, the death crises Lian Xin faces will become increasingly difficult to prevent. If more than twelve hours pass, everyone will be instantly killed.】
【Mission Reward: Meow Meow Fist·Upgraded Version, deals triple damage to cat lovers, and causes severe mental damage to non-cat lovers with repeated phrases like “Meow Meow is so cute, why don’t you love it?”】
Twelve hours? One day? With Lian Xin around, it shouldn’t take that long, right?
Just as Tang Xin thought this, he heard a faint, abnormal sound, like a mosquito’s buzz. Instinctively, he pulled Lian Xin, who was walking ahead.
Bang—
A large section of the previously intact roof suddenly collapsed, crashing right in front of Lian Xin.
“That scared me,” Lian Xin said. “I have such good luck, always narrowly avoiding danger…”
Isn’t it more like you have terrible luck, always encountering danger?
“Uh,” Ah Miao looked up, “What’s going on, meow? Why did such a large roof break in such a small spot?”
“Normal situation,” Lian Xin said, twitching her mouth. “No matter how well-preserved, it’s been over a thousand years…”
Before she could finish, Tang Xin’s eyebrows furrowed, sensing danger. Without a word, he lunged forward, pressing the two girls down.
Whoosh—Boom—
A black beam, thicker than a stone pillar, shot from the front, narrowly missing the girls’ heads and blasting through everything in its path.
“Is this also due to old age, meow?” Ah Miao asked.
“Don’t be surprised. In a place like this, anything can happen,” the Holy Maiden of the Demon Path explained while lying down. Then she spoke to the person pressing on her.
“Um, something seems to be moving on your lower body…”
“Sorry,” Tang Xin said, twitching her mouth. “I can’t control this thing…”
“Ugh—”
The little fox, feeling dizzy and disoriented from being squished, crawled out from under Tang Xin’s hem.
Because she was afraid of revealing her identity, Tang Xin hadn’t let it out for air, which had made it quite uncomfortable.
After getting up from the ground, Tang Xin had a better understanding of the difficulty of this timed mission.
If her guess was correct, the attacks would become increasingly unreasonable, and eventually, there might be an explosion right where they stood…
“Let’s pick up the pace,” Tang Xin said. “I sense a lot of danger ahead of us…”
“Yes,” Lian Xin looked at her deeply and said softly, “Thank you…”
Meanwhile, a group of demonic cultivators quickly followed behind them.
“Ba Kui was right, they must know something valuable,” the Golden Core demonic cultivator sneered. “Stay hidden and follow them closely. If it really is a big treasure, we might need to think of a way to ‘ask’ for it!”
