349: storm

The night passed without a word.

Early the next morning, Feng Ming brought Feng Da and Lu Qianqian to the Hua Clan Merchant House.

Since Lu Qianqian was one of his own, there was no need for secrecy. Furthermore, since the girl would be staying in the Imperial Capital later, he wanted to spend more time with her now, as he didn't know when they would meet again after this parting.

To maintain a low profile and avoid exposing the deep connection with the Hua Clan Merchant House, Lu An'an specifically changed the greeter to an obscure elder within the Merchant Guild.

Although this elder was not well known, he had been with the Merchant Guild for decades, possessed a steady Heart-Nature, and was extremely reliable.

In a secluded private room within the Merchant Guild, Uncle Zhao placed three storage rings on the table and introduced them one by one. The three rings contained the weapons, medicinal materials, and Magic Treasures that Feng Ming needed.

As he spoke, he took out another storage ring and pushed it towards Feng Ming: "In addition, the items in this storage ring are somewhat unusual. They were just discovered yesterday in the Merchant Guild's treasury. I was instructed that Young Master might find them useful, so I brought them along."

Feng Da was astonished. He looked up at Feng Ming; these supplies far exceeded the list he had initially drawn up.

Feng Ming, however, understood instantly, a slight curve appearing on his lips: "It seems the Hua Clan Merchant House has secretly begun transferring assets."

When he met Madam Hua in Liang Province previously, she had mentioned that after the Trials in various provinces concluded, King Haoyue might move against the Hua Clan Merchant House. Although there was no concrete news now, given Madam Hua's temperament, she certainly wouldn't wait for death.

Besides investing in him secretly, many valuable resources within the Merchant Guild also needed to be handled quickly—either exchanged for money or used to build connections—anything was better than leaving them all for King Haoyue.

After setting aside enough "tribute" for King Haoyue, the remainder naturally had to be sold off quickly. Sending a large batch of supplies all at once like this was, in reality, a form of investment.

Since they showed such sincerity, if they truly needed his help in the future, it would naturally be difficult for him to refuse. Moreover, these supplies were exactly what he urgently needed right now.

Since returning from the Liangzhou Trial, he had acquired nearly eight hundred followers. Although everyone had sworn a Blood Oath and would not defect, they did not follow him to be unpaid laborers.

Without the rewards of Cultivation Techniques, divine weapons, Medicinal Pills, and Spirit Stones, even if they didn't betray him, they would inevitably slack off. Only by treating his subordinates generously could he ensure they served wholeheartedly. The bond of interest might seem fragile, but once tightly fastened, it was indestructible.

Feng Ming didn't stand on ceremony. He raised his hand and collected all four storage rings. Afterward, he took Feng Da and Lu Qianqian to browse the auction area within the Merchant Guild for a moment, hoping to find some rare items, but the result was predictable.

The Merchant Guild was already precarious; if they had any truly good items, why would they auction them off? They would have long since kept them for their own people.

Seeing that the celebration banquet was three days away, Feng Ming decided not to waste any more time and seized the opportunity to charge toward the second level of the Mahayana Realm. He already showed signs of a Breakthrough, and now that he had received a large batch of Spiritual Plants from the Hua Clan Merchant House, he stayed behind closed doors starting that afternoon to focus on Cultivation.

After selecting and consuming several rare herbs that enhanced power and vitality, majestic spiritual energy instantly surged through his Meridians, continuously impacting the Realm barrier along the trajectory of his Cultivation Technique.

Deep in the night of the third day, with only a slight tremor, Feng Ming's aura suddenly soared. The barrier to the second level of the Mahayana Realm broke instantly, and the spiritual energy surrounding him became increasingly condensed and pure.

Minor level Breakthroughs within the Mahayana Realm did not cause many unusual phenomena. After the Breakthrough, Feng Ming immediately organized all the herbs, Cultivation Techniques, and divine weapons he had obtained.

These supplies concerned the combat power of his eight hundred followers, so he could not afford the slightest carelessness. Only by arranging them properly could he ensure everyone utilized their resources and maximized their strength.

After sorting out all the supplies, Feng Ming finally remembered the fourth storage ring that Uncle Zhao had delivered that day.

At the time, the other party had only said the item was unusual and might be useful. He had been busy preparing for his Breakthrough then and hadn't paid it much mind. Now that he had free time, he extended a wisp of Divine Sense into the storage ring.

The next moment, Feng Ming's face showed surprise.

This storage ring contained only one item, massive in size, comparable to a coffin. However, it was not wood but a huge block of Ten Thousand Year Cold Ice. Yet, this ice was completely different from ordinary Ten Thousand Year Cold Ice.

Ordinary Ten Thousand Year Cold Ice was pure white like jade, but the block before him was covered in colorful, patterned lines, the largest proportion of which was a deep, inky black.

Feng Ming tried to probe the ice with his Divine Sense, wanting to find out what was inside, but the next moment, his heart trembled—the multicolored patterns within the ice were all venom!

This was actually a block of contaminated Ten Thousand Year Cold Ice, permeated by tens of thousands of venoms!

Feng Ming flashed into the storage ring space and pressed his palm directly onto the cold ice. His Divine Sense probed again, but as soon as it reached the depths of the ice layer, it was violently obstructed by a thick, bone-chilling toxicity.

The venom was layered thickly, becoming denser closer to the core, to the point that even his Mahayana Realm Divine Sense struggled to advance an inch.

"Could it be that some highly venomous, exotic Essence Spirit is sealed inside?" Feng Ming's heart sank slightly.

Although he was an Alchemist and had some knowledge of detoxifying Pill Formulas, he had never touched the art of poison making. The laws of the Bright Moon Dynasty were strict; those who refined Poison Pills were classified as Evil Cultivators, hunted by the entire nation. Therefore, he had always been unfamiliar with the Dao of Poison.

But Feng Ming was a Chaos Body and knew well that everything in the world could become a Dao. Poison also possessed its unique Dao charm. Poison Pills and toxic medicines were all branches of the Dao of Poison; he simply hadn't delved into them before.

Feeling the diverse venoms within the cold ice, most of which he couldn't name, a glint flashed in Feng Ming's eyes. For him, this was an excellent opportunity to engage with the Dao of Poison.

With the Heaven-Defying talent of the Myriad Dao Body, if he could refine and comprehend this contaminated cold ice, he might just forge a new path in the Dao of Poison.

Having made up his mind, Feng Ming began preparations. However, since the cold ice sealed tens of thousands of venoms, he absolutely could not use fire for a forced attack.

Firstly, the Ten Thousand Year Cold Ice was intensely cold; even roasting it with fierce flames would melt it at a snail's pace. Secondly, if the fire temperature was too high and caused the toxic water to evaporate into mist, the resulting toxic fog might be unbearable even for him, a Mahayana Realm cultivator. No one knew if ancient secret poisons capable of corroding bone and melting souls were hidden inside.

To be safe, Feng Ming retrieved a large quantity of High Grade Heaven and Earth Spirit Stones and stacked them in layers around the cold ice.

The faint warmth naturally emitted by the Spirit Stones was just enough to create a warm, small space that would neither cause the cold ice to melt suddenly nor risk evaporation, allowing it to slowly dissolve.

Since he was currently abundant in Spirit Stones, he naturally wasn't afraid of this consumption. Replacing the Spirit Stones once they lost their warmth was quite convenient.

Next, he summoned Feng Da and instructed him to find a dozen or so giant Profound Iron Basins from the general store overnight, capable of resisting corrosion from a hundred poisons.

He stacked the iron basins like a tower and placed the Ten Thousand Year Cold Ice securely in the uppermost basin. In this way, the toxic water from the melting ice would drip down through the gaps between the basins, layer by layer, and be collected completely in the basins below, without leaking a single drop.

These toxic waters would serve as the Foundation for his future comprehension of the Dao of Poison.

After all the work, Feng Ming saw that fine ice beads had condensed on the surface of the cold ice, and the first drop of toxic water, bearing faint black patterns, was slowly falling, dripping into the Profound Iron Basin below with a soft "ding-dong" sound. Only then did he withdraw his hand with satisfaction.