1111: Testing the waters

Ji Wuchang was currently sitting on a stone bench, fiddling with several Storage Rings in his hands.

These Storage Rings were all obtained from that Secret Realm; he hadn't had time to look through them before.

But now that he was back, he naturally had to take a good look.

After his Divine Soul broke through the Seal of one Storage Ring, he was just about to take the items inside out.

"Fellow Daoist, are you home?"

A voice rang out from outside!

Ji Wuchang's brows furrowed slightly as he activated his Thousand Illusions Spirit Pupils. The Barrier before him rapidly faded, and he saw a middle-aged man standing outside the small courtyard.

He took a step forward, and his body instantly appeared outside the Barrier.

"Fellow Daoist, is there something you need?"

He looked at the middle-aged man before him and asked calmly.

This middle-aged man's strength was not weak, at the third level of the supreme realm. Not far away, a woman stood there with a cultivation base at the second level of the supreme realm.

Seeing Ji Wuchang, the middle-aged man sized him up curiously before taking out a Jade Slip and presenting it to him.

Ji Wuchang took the Jade Slip with a suspicious look. His Divine Soul surged out, and he instantly saw the contents within.

Inside the Jade Slip was a portrait, and it was exactly his current appearance.

He frowned slightly and looked at the middle-aged man.

"Don't misunderstand, Fellow Daoist. We also just arrived in Illusion Sea City a few days ago. This is a Jade Slip I bought for one Low-Grade Spirit Stone."

"Someone is offering a reward of one million Low-Grade Spirit Stones for the person in the Jade Slip!"

"We were just curious at the time, so we bought it just to take a look."

"My wife happened to see you return just now and said you were the person in the Jade Slip, so I came to inform you."

"You might not have noticed, but several groups of people were following you just now. The news of your return has likely already spread."

"You should be careful. Many people will surely come looking for trouble soon. If it's convenient, it would be best to go out and hide for a while!"

After speaking, the middle-aged man nodded slightly to Ji Wuchang, then turned and left, entering a courtyard with the woman.

That courtyard was separated from his by two other courtyards.

Ji Wuchang's eyes narrowed slightly. He had sensed people following him earlier but hadn't taken it to heart.

He squeezed his fingers slightly, and the Jade Slip shattered, turning directly into powder!

He returned to the courtyard, no longer in the mood to look at the Storage Rings. Instead, he took out a pile of Spirit Stones and sat cross-legged atop them.

As he operated the Purple Qi Burning Heaven Art within his body, the Spirit Stones exploded one after another, and surging spiritual energy continuously poured into him.

During this time, he had been traveling and fighting sea demons, and the spiritual energy in his body truly hadn't recovered yet.

Not just spiritual energy, but his Divine Soul power hadn't fully recovered either.

After about the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, he slowly opened his eyes. Feeling the spiritual energy filling his body once again, a flash of killing intent appeared in his eyes.

He could already sense that many figures of strangers had appeared around his courtyard!

Moreover, these figures were still increasing in number.

"Old man, it's probably the trouble caused by those pitch-black Flying Needles I used last time that brought these people here!"

"Do you have any friends in Illusion Sea City? Once I start killing, I might not be able to hold back!"

Ji Wuchang spoke to Thousand Poison Venerable, his words cold with killing intent.

"No, where would I get friends from now? It was within my expectations that these people would come for you!"

"But you'd better be careful, kid. Those fellows who play with poison are no joke."

"Forget it, I owe you. Keep this bead on you. Even if those people secretly use poisons against you, you won't have to worry."

As Thousand Poison Venerable finished speaking, runes lit up on the Heaven-Locking Coffin, and a seven-colored bead flew out from within.

Ji Wuchang looked at the bead before him and asked in surprise, "Old man, what is this bead?"

Just as he finished speaking, Thousand Poison Venerable's mischievous voice rang in his ears.

"Hehe, kid, this is the Myriad Poison Bead. I refined it using countless poisons."

"With countless poisons mixed together, they generate and overcome each other, which actually leaves it without toxicity."

"But this thing can devour all kinds of poisons and continuously grow!"

"If it were anyone else, I would never have brought this out!"

"But you have to return it after you're done. I plan to give this to Yunjin in the future!"

"With this, her Poison Physique can be fully activated in the future!"

Ji Wuchang nodded, put away the Myriad Poison Bead, and tucked it into his robes!

He took out those pitch-black Flying Needles and checked them; there were still several hundred left, enough for use.

Just then, a tinge of yellow suddenly appeared on the defensive Barrier of his small courtyard.

This tinge of yellow expanded extremely quickly, spreading across the entire defensive Barrier in just a few moments.

Ji Wuchang looked at the Barrier above him with a cold sneer. The opponent used poison right from the start; it seemed they wanted to give him a show of force.

"A bunch of trash, daring to show off their meager skills before this Venerable."

Thousand Poison Venerable's voice came from the Heaven-Locking Coffin. Countless runes surged on the coffin, and a massive suction force emerged.

The Heaven-Locking Coffin automatically flew up from Ji Wuchang's waist and moved to the edge of the Barrier.

The yellow that had been spreading now rushed out of the Barrier and poured into the Heaven-Locking Coffin.

In just about a breath's time, all the yellow aura was completely devoured by the Heaven-Locking Coffin!

Outside the Barrier, over two hundred people had already gathered, and the number was still increasing!

Yan Yizhi and his Disciple Xiao Wuping had arrived!

The Fast Blade Sect led by Zhan Wujiu and Zhan Yun had also arrived.

Besides them, there were over a dozen other groups, most of whom were poison experts with strong cultivation bases. Each group was overseen by a supreme realm expert.

Seeing the yellow on the Barrier disappear, their expressions couldn't help but turn more serious.

In the poison profession, what just happened was called 'Testing the Waters,' a probe to see how the opponent's poison skills were.

If the opponent took more than three breaths to clear the toxins, it proved their poison skills were mediocre.

Two breaths would be enough to show the opponent was a poison expert, on par with most people present.

One breath surpassed everyone present.

Yan Yizhi stared at the small courtyard with a solemn expression; the previous probe had been carried out by his Disciple, Xiao Wuping.

That was a poison he had concocted himself, so he naturally understood its terror.

The fact that the opponent could resolve it in one breath made him realize that he was far inferior to such methods!

"Fellow Daoist, I am Yan Yizhi, here to pay a visit!" Yan Yizhi spoke calmly, using the word 'visit' as a sign of his recognition of the other party.

Everyone's gaze turned toward the small courtyard. Although they had seen the portrait, they wanted to see the Immortal Master in person even more.

Many people's eyes shone brightly; they were determined to obtain that poison prescription!