"Something isn't right," Master Rain spoke, his face was solemn and serious and his words were all that could be heard in the room.
They were back at the Heavenly Academy's main hall. Meng Hao was sitting among them, fully healed up from the prior events, but vexation and defeat was clear in his eyes at what happened.
"What's gonna happen to Shen Bao?" Liang Yu asked. Yuyu who was right next to her sighed as she thought for a moment on what would happen if they were to lose Shen Bao. He had become a great impact and influence on their lives, and without the certainty of his return everyone was worried.
"I believe he'll make it," Meng Hao spoke, though a man of rare words, he still spoke his mind when needed to.
"Three of the Fire Lord's Spears had returned after giving up the challenge, they're being interrogated and soul searched as we speak for any intel on what happened inside the Poison God's trial, as for the Fire Lord himself," Master Rain spoke as he looked at Meng Hao, "He has yet to leave seclusion," he said.
These words gave Meng Hao some form of relief, with the Fire Lord still in cultivation he had more time to save his beloved. But without Shen Bao, it won't be easy.
No one else would bother with his wishes and only Shen Bao promised him aid in his time of need.
Though he didn't want to rely on anyone else, he couldn't help but rely and fear for Shen Bao.
"It still bothers me though," Master Rain said, "All of the books besides one are there, this means that if this trial ends with one of the contenders of the Poison God's heritage owning the book, it will cause a great deal of strife and struggle in the Vast Expanse." Master Rain said.
"All for a book?" asked one of the elders of the Heavenly Academy.
Everyone besides the younger generation looked at the elder as if he was a mad man.
"Pardon my words, but I can't help but think it absurd, the Vast Expanse has a great deal of powerful cultivators, why should we be bothered by the heritage of a has been, I've heard of Du Shen and his exploits, but I'm sure that he wouldn't be able to hold a candle to any of the current lords of the realms. Why should we even care if one of the younger generation was to obtain his treasure, it would be meaningless, the same as giving a toddler an axe," he said.
Master Rain sighed and said, "I hate idiocy the most, and you seem to be holding enough of it to drown us all. Do you truly not understand the implications of the Poison God's Heritage appearing fully back in the world?" Master Rain asked.
"Excuse me, could I explain it in your stead Master Rain," a fine looking gentleman with a feather fan spoke.
He was wearing full white robes and had a long scholar hat over his head. The man was known as the heavenly prince of the wind realm, the uncrowned heir and the Immortal Scholar Zhang Tian.
"Ugh, might as well, I don't wish to accommodate or entertain idiocy anymore," Master Rain said.
Zhang Tian smiled and looked at the elder, "You sir, how old are you?" asked Zhang Tian.
"Eight hundred and sixty this year," said the elder.
"Good, you're a fairly young cultivator, and I admire people who achieve the grade of elder below the thousand years in the heavenly academy. Still you must not have been there when Du Shen was alive. I was barely a couple hundred years old back then, and I witnessed his greatness. He wasn't someone who would bow down to anyone, not even my father in his prime. He was someone who did what he wanted whenever he wanted and acted upon his convictions." Zhang Tian said.
"Thank you for the high praise," said the elder interrupting Zhang Tian, "But that was Du Shen, he was already a powerful cultivator, what is the point if another were to have his heritage, even if it was Dao Shen, the one who devours planets, our grand elder, or even Master Rain himself could easily take them on," the elder said.
"That is where you are mistaken," said Zhang Tian, "The Heritage of the Poison God isn't something that improves upon one's strength, but it improves upon their understanding of their own strength, there is a famous saying, know yourself and know your enemy. With the full heritage, one would be able to use the most of their current strength, and believe me, even when my father was at the peak of the King Class, he still had to give a literal arm for Du Shen who was only at the beginning of the Saint Class, just to appease him. Du Shen's understanding of himself, his limitations and potential was all because of his life's work, the Poison Arts which are now known as the Poison God's Heritage. By applying them, knowing and understanding them, and then understanding oneself, one's limitations are to an extent completely lifted."
Zhang Tian took a breath before he added, "Du Shen's influence over the world was enough to sway the lords of a domain themselves from interfering with him. If he were to visit a certain domain, not even the tyrannical Fire Lord dared bother him. All because of those arts. Now if arts that powerful were to come back to the world what do you think will happen?" asked Zhang Tian.
"Total chaos," Spoke Meng Hao.
"Indeed junior brother, complete and utter chaos, for everyone would give everything to have the Poison Arts, because using them, and seeking the truths of oneself and one's existence using them, understanding of one's soul, Dao, Cultivation, and Body will be enough to improve upon one's own understanding of their existence and role within the Heavens own plans. Then you have the other paths of the Poison Arts which improve upon every aspect a cultivator needs, from combat, to alchemy, to Law, these will further increase one's own understanding of the world around them. What the Poison God's art give isn't power, but knowledge, and if you don't believe me even if I am known as the Immortal Scholar, you must believe the saying, Knowledge is Power."
Master Rain finally hit the nail home when he said, "With the full Poison God's arts revealed, whoever obtains them will be allowed access to knowledge that is so pure and vast that will allow them to twist the very world to do their bedding. Du Shen had been doing that for a while, he had turned the entire Vast Expanse over using his arts. Death and destruction were the least of our worries when it came to Du Shen, it was the ability to completely thwart the plans of whomever was unwise to face him or antagonize him. In terms of pure combat ability, Du Shen with his trusty sword is more than enough to cripple any of the current lords even at the Saint Class."
"But Du Shen is dead," the elder said, still not fully convinced.
Yuyu then spoke, "I believe what master Rain is trying to say is that if by some chance the Poison Arts fall into the hands of someone as strong or as influential as the Fire Lord, the whole Vast Expanse will suffer for it, even if Du Shen had perished his knowledge lives on. And if that knowledge fall in the wrong hand, everyone will suffer for it," she said.
"I do agree with some points but something isn't making sense to me," the elder said.
Everyone waited for him to finish his words.
"What does it matter if the books do come out, we've known of the acolytes for a while now, and we've never had much issue with the occasional Poison God cultivator. They were strong indeed, but that was it, they were still susceptible to death. As you have known Servant Mao was proficient in killing the Poison God's inheritors, he had probably killed over seventy of them. So why should we care if they come out, I'm sure that no Lord bothered enough about the books before why should they care right now?"
"You ask a valid question, but you're missing one small detail," Master Rain as calmly as his temper could ever hope to appear he added, "There was never a point in time when all of the books were in one place at one time since the disappearance of Du Shen."
"Does it really matter?" asked the elder.
"It does, and a lot, all of Du Shen's books were incomplete. They were parts of a whole, and even if you gathered all twelve books, and that's not possible by the way since one of the books never appeared, the Book of Swords, you will still not have the full original book", Master Rain said.
The elder frowned, "I'm sure that there were only twelve books," said the elder.
Master Rain shook his head, "There was never twelve books, there was only one book. A golden stolen book from the treasury of the Imperial Family, my knowledge is pretty scarce on the subject but what I could gather from old rumors was that some Remnants of the Imperial Family had lost an important book and that book ended up in the hands of a young Du Shen. The book was damaged by something as it appeared and had lost all of its content, and due to some incident Du Shen had lost his ability to cultivate, and then created a method to cultivate that was unique to him and him alone, finding nowhere else to write it on, he wrote it on that Imperial Book. And that is the Original Poison God's heritage. The divided copies are nothing but parts of that book, and without the original book the Poison God's heritage can never be complete. Only when all of the books along with the original book are together can one truly have the real heritage, the very Book that Du Shen was using. That annoying golden book…"
The elder calmed down and thought a bit about what was going on, he was finally understanding the severity of the Poison God's Heritage coming back in the world.
It was true, they could easily manage one or two books, even the whole lot of them when they were separated, but once they are all in one place, and in the hand of one person, it will be completely different, the only saving grace was the fact that the Book of Swords and the original book are nowhere to be found.
"I think I understand," Meng Hao's eyes opened up.
Everyone turned to listen to him waiting for his words.
"The Trial, it was never meant to show who is the 'best' poison god cultivator, it didn't have any reward for anything, how can a trial not have a reward? The answer is simple, the final reward for the trial must be the golden book!" he said.
"We thought about that possibility, and we denied it for many years, since we had no idea what was inside the trial ground, but with your memory intact, and inferring from the various challenges there must be an end goal for the trial, and now I wouldn't be surprised if your words are true… no matter what, we must be prepared to either cease the heritage once someone manages to take it, or if by some ungodly luck Shen Bao manages to win the trial, protect him at all costs," Master Rain said.
"I'm more than willing to help in that matter, but there is one thing you must all know right now…" Zhang Tian said.
"What is it?" asked Master Rain.
"We just received information that the Primordial Serpent is headed to the trial grounds… the Trial will be ending soon…" Zhang Tian said in all seriousness.
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