Chapter 1439: Chapter 1439: That’s Useless!
"Yun Xiao, you have absolutely no idea what kind of enemy you’ve provoked!"
Hearing Yun Xiao’s words, the sneer in Lu Tianwen’s eyes grew even colder, and as these words left his mouth, quite a few people beneath the stone platform couldn’t help but curl their lips.
"That old codger is bragging shamelessly. Does he really think our Meridian Refining Master Association will be scared of their Spirit Fighting Commerce?"
Especially in the area where the young geniuses of Lianyun Mountain were gathered, Si Mo from Sky Poison Institute couldn’t stop himself from spitting out a mocking remark, and as soon as he said this, many of the senior and junior brothers nearby all nodded in strong agreement.
It seemed these geniuses from Lianyun Mountain all believed that the "enemy" Lu Tianwen spoke of was referring to the Spirit Fighting Commerce. Yet Lianyun Mountain and the Spirit Fighting Commerce were both among the four great super forces of the Tenglong Continent; who would fear whom?
What’s more, now that Yun Xiao, Liu Hanyi, and Mo Qing had all risen to power in such a domineering fashion, each breaking through to the Heavenly Rank Floating Life Realm, in terms of top-tier combat strength, Lianyun Mountain was already far above the Spirit Fighting Commerce.
"Senior Brother Yun Xiao, show him something impressive!"
Compared to Si Mo’s cold sneer, there were others who simply shouted out loud, causing many of the geniuses of Lianyun Mountain to feel their blood boiling. Their worship of Yun Xiao had already reached a blind, fanatical level.
"Yun Xiao, I’ll give you one last chance. Are you going to kneel or not?"
As for the clamor of the many geniuses from Lianyun Mountain beneath the stone platform, Lu Tianwen didn’t care in the least. He repeated the threat he had just voiced, as though he were the Poison Vein Master firmly holding the upper hand.
"Then you’d better worry about yourself first!"
Since things had already been said to this point, Yun Xiao knew that if he didn’t show some real methods, Lu Tianwen would never kneel and beg for mercy on his own. As his cold voice fell, his right hand suddenly tightened into a light grip!
Yun Xiao’s movement was subtle, but it was still clearly seen by many sharp-eyed Meridian Refining Masters. They all knew this monstrous genius of Lianyun Mountain was finally about to strike back.
Yet in the eyes of the crowd, all Yun Xiao did was lightly clench his right hand; there were no other movements. It was as if, in that instant, he had already unleashed some obscure offensive method.
On the stone platform, Lu Tianwen was naturally watching Yun Xiao’s every move at all times. Although he had an even stronger, unstoppable trump card in reserve, he had never once underestimated Yun Xiao.
In a situation where he seemed on the verge of total victory, Lu Tianwen was truly afraid that a single careless moment would see him fall into Yun Xiao’s trap, ending up with the same fate as Song Qiuchan.
"Hm?"
Yet just as Lu Tianwen was staring fixedly at Yun Xiao’s every action, ready to respond at the fastest speed, he suddenly felt as if his right hand had been viciously bitten by a large ant, making him hurriedly raise his right hand in panic.
"Th-this... this is..."
As Lu Tianwen lifted his right hand, his expression changed drastically, because on the back of that hand, at some unknown point in time, a tiny pink dot had appeared, and this pink dot seemed to be gradually growing larger.
"Red Powder Skull!"
It had to be said that Lu Tianwen’s reaction was indeed swift. In just an instant, from that trace of pink on the back of his hand, he sensed a familiar aura, and he no longer had any doubt.
The thing even Lu Tianwen himself didn’t know was when he had been struck by this Red Powder Skull poison. Hadn’t he been watching Yun Xiao’s every move just now?
Moreover, this Red Powder Skull was an extremely toxic poison personally unleashed by Lu Tianwen himself, a poison unmatched on the Tenglong Continent. He firmly believed that aside from him, not a single Poison Vein Master on the Tenglong Continent could use it.
But now, even if Lu Tianwen’s heart was filled with a thousand doubts, that pink dot was like a heart-devouring Heart Demon, growing ever larger in his eyes. In the blink of an eye, it turned into a patch of pink mottling.
At this moment, Lu Tianwen could only forcibly suppress the doubts in his heart and first dispel this terrifying Red Powder Skull. He was not overly flustered, for when Xue Qi had given him the Red Powder Skull back then, she had also given him the Antidote.
"Lu Tianwen, I’m guessing you must have the Antidote for Red Powder Skull on you, but I’m telling you now—it won’t work."
Yet just as Lu Tianwen was frantically taking out a Jade Bottle from his Waist Storage, Yun Xiao’s light voice drifted over. From that line, everyone below finally realized that Lu Tianwen had actually been poisoned.
And everyone also knew that the poison Lu Tianwen had used earlier was called Red Powder Skull, so how had this old fellow ended up poisoned by his own toxin?
What no one knew was that when Lu Tianwen had used Red Powder Skull just now, shrouding the entire sky above the stone platform, Yun Xiao had already made a few small moves of his own.
Those Red Powder Skulls had enveloped the entire stone platform, and naturally that included Lu Tianwen, the Poisoner himself. This gave Yun Xiao the opportunity to unleash his counterattack.
Those deadly toxins of the Red Powder Skull had undoubtedly become the medium for some method Yun Xiao was using, and this time, what he relied on was a certain special transformation of the Red Powder Skull.
This transformation was perhaps only known to the former Long Xiao Battle God and Lu Qinwan; it was a special kind of change, and even for Xue Qi, before his strength reached a certain level, Lu Qinwan would never casually teach it to him.
If it were the current Yun Xiao being asked to produce Red Powder Skull on his own and then perform this transformation, he might still find it a bit strenuous; but merely controlling this transformation on the basis of an already existing Red Powder Skull was still quite easy for him.
Lu Tianwen had never imagined that the Red Powder Skull could be used like this, so while he was completely unguarded, he had already fallen into Yun Xiao’s trap; it was just that Yun Xiao had been enduring and had yet to strike earlier.
Setting aside these unknown factors, the spectators below did not think Lu Tianwen would lose just like that, because in their minds, the Red Powder Skull had been refined by Lu Tianwen; how could he possibly fail to neutralize it?
The deadly poison unleashed by a Poison Vein Master is generally forged through hundreds and thousands of trials; besides developing resistance to that poison, he will also prepare a corresponding antidote.
After all, when refining such deadly toxins, one might accidentally touch them at any moment; if there were no antidote to dissolve it in time, even the Poison Vein Master himself would end up miserable beyond words.
Yet how could these people know that although Lu Tianwen indeed carried the antidote to the Red Powder Skull, this extremely vicious poison had not been personally refined by this Vice President of Spirit Fighting Commerce.
Thus Lu Tianwen could only passively take out the antidote, unaware that the Red Powder Skull poison on the back of his hand at this moment was already vastly different from before; the same antidote might not be able to cure this poison that looked similar yet was, in fact, different.
"Hmph!"
Hearing Yun Xiao’s soft voice in his ears, Lu Tianwen did not hesitate much; he directly opened the bottle cap, poured out the white powder within, and smeared it over those pink spots.
A wave of coolness surged up, making Lu Tianwen unconsciously let out a huge sigh of relief. He believed that the antidote handed to him by that existence could not possibly be useless; judging from the current situation, that much could already be seen.
"How terribly naive!"
Who would have thought that just as Lu Tianwen felt that cool sensation, the coarse-clothed youth not far in front let out another cold laugh, and immediately after, what Lu Tianwen sensed was not a tiny ant bite—it was as if a venomous snake of lethal poison had sunk its fangs viciously into him.
Startled by this sudden burst of excruciating pain, Lu Tianwen flung his hand up, and in that flurry he clearly saw that on the back of his hand, where he had already sprinkled the antidote powder, the pink spots had once again expanded, almost reaching the size of a copper coin.
"If it’s not a poison you refined yourself, don’t take it out here and make a fool of yourself. Now that even your own antidote is useless, what else do you have to say?"
Yun Xiao’s fingers moved in a constant rhythm, and with these words, the many onlookers below finally understood a fact: that so-called Heavenly Rank Intermediate deadly poison Red Powder Skull was actually not refined personally by Lu Tianwen.
Earlier, Lu Tianwen’s Poison Meridian Skill had broken through to Heavenly Rank Intermediate, so when he produced the Red Powder Skull, apart from Yun Xiao, no one had harbored any doubts.
But now, seeing that the antidote Lu Tianwen brought out had no effect whatsoever, everyone selectively chose to believe Yun Xiao’s words—that this Vice President of Spirit Fighting Commerce had actually brazenly cheated in this final Poison Meridian match.
"Despicable old geezer!"
Those belonging to the Sky Poison Institute, Ye Ku cursed aloud. Though they despised him in their hearts, they were very satisfied with the current outcome; that old man who resorted to such a vile act had clearly been corroded by his own Heavenly Rank Intermediate deadly poison.
This was truly lifting a rock only to smash it on his own foot. He had originally wanted to use a powerful Heavenly Rank Intermediate poison to win this Poison Meridian match through cheating, yet in the end, he himself fell under this very poison.
Nothing could be more dramatic than this, and such a spectacle was undoubtedly something everyone was delighted to see.
More importantly, the antidote in Lu Tianwen’s hand seemed to have not the slightest effect on that Heavenly Rank Intermediate deadly poison Red Powder Skull.
"It should be that when Yun Xiao reflected the poison back, he already altered the nature of that poison!"
As for who understood the Poison Meridian Path most deeply, that would have to be the Dean of the Sky Poison Institute, Qingmu Wu. At this moment, he spoke with a grave expression, his words laced with doubt and emotion in equal measure.
"Th-this... can that even be done?"
Standing beside him, Guan Rufeng was not a Poison Vein Master, but as the Dean of the Heavenly Hospital, he had dealt with plenty of Poison Vein Masters. Hearing this, a trace of confusion appeared on his face, and he voiced his question aloud.
The refining of such deadly toxins was perhaps even more rigorous than the refining of Elixirs; a single misstep could lead to backlash, and if even one ingredient was wrong, the resulting effect would differ by worlds.
As for a poison that had already been refined, no one had ever heard of its toxicity being altered again. If one were to forcibly add something else, it would very likely disrupt the balance of the poison and cause all efforts to go to waste.
