24: Mandala Poison

Chu Ye returned to the Great Chu Imperial Palace carrying an aura of Immortal Qi and more than half of a certain Empress's resources. He immediately dove into Qianyuan Hall to share his "battle results" with his father, Chu Tianxing.

"Father! Your son has done it!" Chu Ye beamed with delight. "The Empress of Great Qin, a score of 99, conquered! She's now our family's 'Immortal Empress'! Her cultivation? Immortal Rank! Resources? Look inside this ring..."

With a clatter, he poured out a pile of top-tier Heaven And Earth Treasures that Qin Nishang had "offered up." These items were rare even in the Great Chu national treasury, and they instantly filled half of the imperial study.

Chu Tianxing listened dumbstruck, looking at the pile of resources radiating soaring treasure light, then at his radiant son. After a long while, he slapped his thigh hard. "Good! My son is mighty! Wait... you said Qin Nishang listens to you now?"

"More than just listening!"

Chu Ye raised his chin proudly. "With just one word from me, she wouldn't dare go west if I told her to go east. Father, do you remember that Old Qin Schemer, that Quasi-Emperor who plotted against Mother, caused you to lose your love, and almost plunged Great Chu into crisis?"

"He's currently squatting in the Great Qin Imperial Tombs. Say the word, and I'll have Qin Nishang twist his head off tonight to use as a ball for you to kick!"

Chu Ye spoke with such Killing Intent that he seemed to have the potential of a decadent ruler who would "light the beacon towers just to make his father smile."

Unexpectedly, the excitement and smile on Chu Tianxing's face slowly faded. With his hands behind his back, he paced twice amidst the room full of treasure light. His gaze swept over the resources that could drive any Cultivator mad, finally landing on Chu Ye's face with an exceptionally firm look.

"Ye'er," Chu Tianxing spoke slowly, his voice steady and powerful, "I appreciate your sentiment. But this grudge... I want to settle it myself."

Chu Ye was stunned. "Huh? Father, why not use a ready-made Immortal Rank fighter..."

"It's not that I won't use her, it's that it's unnecessary." Chu Tianxing interrupted him, a long-lost imperial ambition and pride igniting in his eyes. "Before, there was no chance; my strength was insufficient, and resources were scarce. But now, things are different."

He pointed at the pile of resources on the floor. "With these, with the guidance of the Mountain River Old Ancestor, and the various opportunities brought by the System... I have the confidence to pile up my cultivation in the shortest time possible!"

"That old fogey is only a Quasi-Emperor because of his age and deep Foundation, not because of true peerless talent. I want to kill him personally on the battlefield, fair and square! I will use his blood to sacrifice to your mother's spirit in heaven!"

These words were delivered with a resounding force, revealing an unquestionable determination.

Looking at his father, who seemed to have regained his youthful passion, Chu Ye felt touched. He put away his joking expression and nodded solemnly. "Father has ambition! Your son supports you! I'll provide all the resources; just say the word for whatever you need! When the time comes, I'll be there cheering for you!"

"Haha, good!" Chu Tianxing laughed heroically, then rubbed his hands together and lowered his voice. "Um... that... Immortal Rank Dual Cultivation Technique, is there one suitable for my age? Something a bit faster?"

Chu Ye: "..."

Father, isn't this shift in tone a bit too fast?

"Ahem, back to business." Chu Tianxing cleared his throat, returning to a serious demeanor. "You just said Qin Nishang wants to attack the Western Regions?"

"Yes, she thinks the time is ripe and wants to start with the Western Regions. Their strength is relatively weak; they have many underhanded tricks, but they can't handle a direct confrontation."

Chu Ye repeated Qin Nishang's analysis.

Chu Tianxing stroked his chin, a shrewd light flashing in his eyes. "The Western Regions... they excel in Witch Gu and poison curses, ghostly tricks. It's indeed a headache and hard to guard against. However..."

He paused, revealing a somewhat "sinister" smile. "In my early years, I dealt with some small countries in the Western Regions and found that although their methods are strange, their Physical Bodies are generally weak, far inferior to the solid Foundation of our Eastern Wasteland Martial Artists."

"As the saying goes, fight fire with fire... perhaps we can 'use poison to fight poison'?"

"Use poison to fight poison?" Chu Ye's eyes lit up.

"Exactly!" Chu Tianxing grew more excited as he spoke. "Don't they play with poison and Gu? We'll use even more powerful poisons and more overbearing Gu to fight back!"

"Let them also taste the fear of being dominated by eerie methods! Ye'er, does your System have anything in this regard..."

Before he could finish, Chu Ye had already burst out laughing. "What a coincidence! Father, your son just happens to have a 'Heavenly Poison Scripture' gifted by the System."

"The poison and Gu techniques recorded inside are said to be out-of-print ancient goods, countless levels higher than those circulating in the Western Regions!"

With a thought, he also remembered that within the hundred phoenix diagram, due to the difference in time flow and Spiritual Qi concentration, those rare medicinal herbs were growing beautifully. Among them were many excellent Materials for refining extraordinary poisons and Gu creatures.

"Furthermore, we have an exclusive medicinal herb production base, the hundred phoenix diagram. We have as much as we want, and the quality is top-notch!"

The father and son looked at each other, both seeing the excited light of "stirring up trouble" in each other's eyes.

"Good! Let's do it!"

Chu Tianxing made the decision. "For the conquest of the Western Regions, we'll use 'poison' to overwhelm the world in secret! Ye'er, you're responsible for organizing the formulas from the 'Heavenly Poison Scripture' that are suitable for large-scale 'use,' and get more raw Materials from that 'production base.'"

"Let's give our friends in the Western Regions an 'unforgettable' greeting gift!"

Chu Ye chuckled, already starting to imagine the dumbfounded expressions of those poison masters in the Western Regions when they were knocked down by even stronger poisons.

Indeed, having an elder at home is like having a treasure.

His father's underhanded trick of "using poison to fight poison" was exactly to his liking! This trip to the Western Regions would not only involve "conquering" that 99-point Witch Empress, but it seemed he'd also have to play the role of a "Poison Ancestor" along the way.

The soft rice must be eaten, the war must be fought, and the poison must be released!

Life was truly becoming more and more "fulfilling."

Chu Ye plunged into the ocean of the Heavenly Poison Scripture.

The Comprehension Ability boosted by the System made learning this stuff like child's play. Those life-ending Legacies and Immortal Rank poison techniques that could take a poison Grandmaster an entire lifetime to study were as easy as reading a picture book in his hands.

His goal was clear: to refine one of the most overbearing and unsolvable poison pills recorded in the scripture: Mantuotian Poison.

This pill was also known as the "Yama's Invitation." Those poisoned were almost certain to die; only the refiner knew the antidote. Furthermore, the refining techniques were ever-changing, and the antidote changed accordingly, making it utterly unscrupulous.

In addition to refining pills, the young Prince Chu's life rhythm also became "regular." Sometimes, he would be in the dedicated pill room of the hundred phoenix diagram, picking through various rare poisonous herbs, occasionally letting a furnace explode just for the sound.

At noon, he would return to his chambers for a "midday break." Sometimes he was served by the cold Imperial Sister-in-Law Su Qingxue with a blushing face, and sometimes the Saintess of the Hehuan Sect, Liu Ruyan, would come to "discuss" with her professional skills.

In the afternoons and evenings, he would either study new positions from The Treasure Codex of Yin-Yang Harmony with the "Great Emperor-tier" ancestors Su Wu, Huanxin, and Meiyue, or go to "console" the cold and elegant Sect Master of the Hehuan Sect, who was forced into business with a complex expression.

When the mood struck, he would "summon" people through the hundred phoenix diagram, calling over the Immortal Rank Empress of Great Qin, Qin Nishang, from far away. He called it "checking the condition of her Immortal body," but in reality, he enjoyed the sense of conquest from playing with this once-supreme being at his whim.

Most of the time, Qin Nishang was expressionless and submissive, but at the most intense moments, a trace of extremely hard-to-detect complexity would flicker in her eyes.

In such "fulfilling" and "corrupt" days, a month passed in the blink of an eye.