"Do you happen to know anything about his cultivation level?" I asked.
Elder Xian shook his head, "His last appearance, he was a Saint Class cultivator, and that was several centuries ago, he should be higher by now, especially since it's easier for Poison God cultivators to rise up in cultivation rank. But he isn't the one you need to worry the most about," he said.
"Really?" I asked.
"Yes, though the owners of these books have all died, there are other books that are as dangerous as the Book of Devouring, namely the Book of Swords, and the Book of Souls. Though the latter has yet to appear, the last time it did it caused a huge ruckus in the world," he said.
'Damn, the four I have are the Book of alchemy, the book of inscription, the book of Death and the Book of law. Most of my books are unrelated to battle, and only the Book of Death is considered a battle book, but I'm not planning on learning that loathsome revival technique.'
"Seeing How Shen Bao's ability to create great pills meant that he has the Book of Alchemy, but it fails in comparison to the other books of battle, he will be obliterated the moment he faces another Battle Book owner, thus tell your master to not show up if the Heritage of the Poison God does open, it will be a massacre," he said.
"There should still be several dozen years before the Heritage opens," I said.
"How would you know that?" he asked.
"I heard my master say so one day, he isn't planning on rushing things until it opens, and for now he is training secretly," I shrugged.
"No, that's not the case, that's proof that your Master is still new to this path, the Heritage can be opened the moment one presents five books to the Poison Gate, and with Dao Shen's greed and ability, he should already have five of the books. If he ever wanted he could open the gate and proceed with the trial whenever he wants," he said.
"..."
"Well, it's not like he'll do it alone, of the information we gathered, the Poison Gate's Heritage isn't something anyone can do alone. At least at the start, there have been many attempts at clearing it, but every cultivator or every Acolyte that ever tried to go through the trial died and were pushed out, their books dispersing to random locations in the Vast Expanse for a new generation to look for them and attempt it again," he said.
"The trial's content is sadly unknown and the worst part is that once it opens many could enter including none Poison God cultivators, but rare are those who greedily attempt it, since no one survives to ever tell the tale afterward." He said.
'I think I know why the Poison god allowed others to venture through his trial, he isn't the kind who'll leave the options for someone other than his heirs to take the heritage, but many of his books require the presence of another cultivator besides the Poison God cultivators. Like the Book of Devouring, it needs other cultivators to devour, thus allowing more cultivators, only fools who think they can 'steal' the heritage would wander into the heritage like that.'
"Anyway, this is most of what I know about the Poison God, you can tell your master of the contents of this conversation, but just make sure that he does not venture into the trial, it's not worth it, since his book is weak," he said.
"I'll make sure to tell him that," I said as I left the room.
"X, Y, prepare for a long trip," I mumbled as I was walking outside.
My questions weren't without purpose, of course, since I asked about the Trial. It wasn't just to be informed no, it was because of this damned update.
Opening the Poison God's book I read a single line.
"The Path To the Poison God's Trial had opened. Come, my Disciples, and prove your ability to inherit my teachings. You have one year to prepare before the full opening of the trial grounds."
I sighed, apparently, Dao Shen had opened the Poison God's trial. And with news like this, the Vast Expanse will be in an uproar.
I need to prepare well for this.
I headed to the hut at the top of the Poison Sect and began by asking the Sect, One year, might not be a lot, but for me, who is able to use the Lord of Lords pagoda, I can extend that year several dozens of times. I need to power up, and power up I shall.
***
Back at the Heavenly Academy, a man of old age and a long beard wearing a black robe sipped his tea calmly as he looked in the eyes of the person in front of him.
The man in front of him had an awfully bored and relaxed expression, he didn't even drink but just kept the old man company for the sake of acquaintance. Otherwise, this person would have already gone to exercise his eccentric antics somewhere else.
"Did you hear the news?" asked the man in black.
"What news?" replied the other person.
"Master Rain, for someone of your status to not even know this, have you finally become senile like me?" the older person laughed.
"What does that have to do with anything, you've always been a senile old man, hell I'm sure the day you were born you were born with that beard and that ugly mug of yours," Master Rain replied as annoyingly and provocatively as he could. Befitting of his status.
"Your jokes are hurtful," the man in black said.
"Stop the bullshit, and tell me, what's going on?" Master Rain asked.
"Well, it's related to your disciple," he said.
"Did something happen to Shen Bao?" Master Rain got a bit more serious.
"No, not yet that is, but I heard rumors, the Poison Gate has been triggered, it should open soon, and you know what happens when it opens," the grand elder said.
Master Rain sighed. "It's going to be another massacre," he said.
"Aren't you worried about your disciple?" asked the grand elder.
"Why should I, he isn't stupid enough to challenge the Poison Gate, Not only is he barely at the Ascendant Stage, he'll never be able to even travel to that region. The death traps and monsters moving about in that dark area of the Vast Expanse are enough to make anyone think twice about even trying to travel through it. Not to mention, it's the habitat of that stupid snake." Said, Master Rain.
"I heard that the Serpent God had moved from that location several years ago, he seemed to have settled in next to the Galactic Alliance headquarters." Said the Grand Elder.
"Well, good, I never like those idiots, thinking that they are able to uphold law in the Vast Expanse where they can't even protect their own. But what does that have to do with anything, the moment the Poison Gate opens, the Primordial Serpent god will awaken. The last time that thing moved even the Poison God couldn't fight it and had to escape," Master rain shook his head, "Shen Bao isn't stupid I know him, he'll probably think about the outcome of such a trial. How many Acolytes he'll have to face even if he is stupid enough to think that he can survive the Acolytes, he sure isn't stupid enough to think he'll be able to escape the Primordial Serpent God that should be awaiting right outside the Poison Gate to eat anyone who succeeded in the trial." Master Rain said.
"You sure do trust that kid," said the grand elder.
"I don't trust him, I trust his judgment." Master rain nodded as he drank a cup of tea.
***
"Man my ear's been itching for a while, anyway, this should be a good starting point," I said as I looked forward.
In the white space of the Lord of Lords pagoda, I had a hundred puppets that looked exactly like X, and thanks to the generous holding bag from that Spear of the Fire Lord, I was able to deck them out in Saint Qi reactors.
"Good, this should do for a small army, now let's gear you all up. First things first, follow my lead," I said to the puppets and they all grabbed a piece of metal.
I then began carving, molding modifying and changing, as did the other puppets.
Gotta love a good working force like this.
We were making guns! A lot of them. Once I'm done I should have all of my units fully armed up to the teeth. This should be a great way to showcase some firepower And I got loads of it, hot searing and destructive. If I can't beat other poison cultivators with my Alchemy Heritage, then I can probably tear them to bits with artillery.
Because poison does not work on steel. And steel is pretty damn good at breaking and tearing flesh.
Gotta love the taste of Freedom.
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