Chapter 256 Chapter 256 – Visitors of the Phoenix Feather Sect
"Teacher, how does this poison work?"
Ken asked Typhon while looking at a certain jar with transparent liquid.
"Hiya, you barely let me teach you the basics of fifth-rank Alchemy and keep asking me about poison instead. Don't you have bad intentions there?"
"You must be joking, Teacher. Can't you see how young I am, how can a child have bad intentions? I'm only interested in the subject of poisons and antidotes."
"Yeah, right. This poison is concocted from the venom I extracted from a sixth-rank emerald snake and a few other ingredients. The other key ingredient is the soul-transforming grass, which makes the venom target the soul instead of the physical body. The rest of the ingredients are just there to support these two ingredients and make the mixture stable."
"I see. That's an interesting concept, but it wouldn't affect a seventh-stage cultivator," Ken remarked and put down the jar back to its place.
"You're right, it won't. I'm the one who invented it when I was a sixth-rank alchemist, so I keep a jar here as a trophy for my invention. It's still good if you want to poison a sixth-stage cultivator or someone weaker than that."
The Aspis clan's specialty was poison, and their alchemists had an inspiring variety of poison to offer. Ken thought the weekly lessons would only waste his time, but he found many interesting 'toys' to play with during his stay.
While he learned from a library of a better alchemist, it didn't contain all the knowledge there was to learn about Alchemy, and Ken did not have time to read all the recipes available. He had to focus on what could save him from the mind-control of the Residence of a Buddha and a Demon.
"Let's focus on today's lesson, Kid." The elder tried to make Ken focus again with a sigh. He did not understand how a kid with the attention span of a fly could come up with so many theories and practice Alchemy to the fourth rank at such an early age.
However, before Ken could answer, something pulled their attention.
"PHOENIX FEATHER SECT, HAND OVER KEN SUE TO THE FOUR SEASONS SECT."
A loud shout resounded in the whole base of the Phoenix Feather Sect. Ken looked up instinctively, but the ceiling blocked his view.
Thousands of disciples left their houses, looking around them in confusion. Ken and Typhon were not any different, and the two went out of the elder's house to have a look.
While it might be smarter for Ken to hide, he knew it'd ultimately depend on the sect's decision. If they wanted to turn him in, hiding in their territory would be anything but helpful, and if they didn't want to turn him in, the Four Seasons Sect would have to gather a whole army first to launch an all-out attack.
He didn't worry that the coming elders would try to snatch him and run away; a few of them would die in the process, and no matter how much they hated him, it wasn't a price they were willing to pay for the life of a fourth-stage kid.
"Are you afraid, or do you want me to take you there?"
"Take me there."
Typhon nodded and wrapped Ken with his Qi. He jumped into the air and appeared at the entrance to the sect within seconds. Upon their arrival, they could see outside a group of 30 people standing in the air and looking at a group of a dozen elders that stood at an equal height inside the sect's territory.
The smaller group continued growing as various elders stopped their cultivation and occupations to come and see what one of the top 5 sects wanted.
"Elder Ewan, it might be him. I didn't see his face and the sect's formations are twisting my Qi senses, but I never saw another child with these menacing red eyes," A woman bowed to the man at the head of the group and pointed at Ken.
They were standing in half a circle outside the gate, and the woman was the second from the center. The man at the center glanced toward Ken and spoke.
"Are you Ken Sue?"
"So what if I am?"
"Insolent!" a second woman shouted at him for talking back.
"Does the Four Seasons Sect think they can bully us as much as they want? State your business here."
One elder from the Phoenix Feather Sect lost his patience and spoke up. The way the other sect looked down on them had annoyed all the elders present.
"We want Ken Sue. He is a criminal wanted by our sect, and suspected to be an evil cultivator. He had murdered thousands of our disciples, please give him to us or risk antagonizing the Four Seasons Sect."
The elder spoke with an overbearing tone. While his words seemed like a request at first, the threat in the end made it clear that he expected them to be obedient.
"And you, what are your intentions in coming to our sect?" The same elder from the Phoenix Feather Sect asked again.
Only then Ken could see dozens of other figures appear in the sky a few hundred meters away from the group from the Four Seasons Sect.
"Elder Murdo, we don't have any bad intentions toward your sect. We were just curious about the rumors that the Devil's Heir was here and wanted to come and have a look. Please don't mind us."
'Hmm, the Serene Lotus Sect was indeed efficient in arranging spectators," Ken pondered.
"The Devil's Heir?" The elder raised an eyebrow. He did not understand what was going on and tried to connect the pieces together. A child from their sect was accused of murdering thousands of disciples from a top sect, the other top sects seemed to know about the incident and gave Ken a nickname, and… that's all he knew.
"Esteemed elders of the Four Seasons Sect, do you have any proof of what you just said?"
"We only know that his red eyes, height, and prowess fit the description of the Devil's Heir. Give him a truth pill and we will find out right now."
There was a moment of silence, and Ken understood that the elders were conversing among themselves.
"Give us some time to investigate and decide on the matter. If anyone enters without permission – we will kill without mercy."
The elders of the Four Seasons Sect distorted their faces in slight anger but couldn't do anything about it. The real danger behind barging in was the formations that were inscribed all over the sect; attacking the base of a top 20 sect was almost suicidal, and even a top 5 sect couldn't get away with it without significant losses.
With a nod from the elder who spoke earlier, Typhon took Ken with him and the two disappeared. Looking around him, Ken found himself inside a large meeting hall with many elders seated by small tables on the ground and two men sitting on a small stage at the front.
"I call a meeting of the grand elders and the supreme elders to decide what to do about this matter."
After waiting a few seconds and seeing that nobody had any objection, the elder turned to Ken.
"Hello Ken, I'm Murdo Sapiens, a supreme elder and a former sect master."
"Ken Sue greets Supreme Elder Murdo," Ken bowed and cupped his fist. The other elders remained quiet, a gesture that meant they accepted Murdo's right to lead the meeting.
"I want you to know that you have the sect behind you. But first, are their claims true?"
Ken knew the first sentence was meant to calm him down, but it was by no means a true promise. If the sect was truly behind him, they'd make it clear to the elders from the Four Seasons Sect first.
"It is partially true. I did kill thousands of their cultivators after one of them killed my two friends. I lost my sanity to grief and challenged all their four-stage cultivators to a duel. They sent them one by one, and I killed them all. However, I'm not an evil cultivator; all of my cultivation until that day stemmed from the manuals I found here in the Phoenix Feather Sect."
"How did you get away with killing thousands of their disciples?" The elder asked. He already found value in Ken. He believed that the sect did not have a single core disciple that could replicate Ken's achievement. He was unwilling to lose someone so promising.
"A secret realm was opened…" Ken briefed them in short about the way the secret realm opened, omitting every detail he didn't want them to know. He did not lie; he knew that these elders were out of his scope of understanding for now, and they might pick up any lies he tried to tell.
"Are you willing to consume a truth drug and confirm everything you said was true?"
"I am."
"Take this then. Since you're at the peak of the fourth stage and I can feel Alchemical Qi coming out of you, this is a sixth-grade pill. I can't be too careful in such a sensitive matter after all."
Ken held back a smile while he took the pill without a hint of hesitation. As a sixth-rank alchemist, he understood exactly how to isolate the energy from the pill, practically resisting its effect and eventually killing it off.
"Did you lie to us or hide any information?"
"No."
"Is there anything else you think we might want to know or should know?"
"No."
"All right then. Before we vote, does anyone have anything to add or ask?"
At that moment, many different elders stood up.
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