133: The sneak attack by the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect

Lin Feng left Xuanlei Valley, traveled three hundred miles away, and stopped in a quiet mountain stream to regulate his breathing.

The Shadow Scale Snake slithered out from the spirit beast pouch. The golden patterns on its forehead were several times brighter than usual, and as thunder light flowed across its snake body, it even produced fine electric sparks in the air.

Lin Feng lightly touched its newly grown jade horn, and the little guy squinted its vertical pupils in comfort, its tail tip unconsciously scratching scorch marks on the rock.

“If it really transforms into a Shadow Teng Snake...” Lin Feng recalled the records of “riding the clouds and mist, summoning thunder and lightning” in the “Ten Thousand Spirits Ranking,” and his heart grew slightly warm.

The experiences of the past month made him suddenly realize that the “Sword Essence” of the Nine Profound Sword Heart Art was not limited to the Five Elements. But how should he refine the power of the thunder spirit into essence and make it his own?

He was just planning to set off back to the sect to ask his Master about the jade talisman when he suddenly smelled a sweet, fishy scent at the tip of his nose. The dense forest ahead moved without wind, and a few leaves stained with purple spots drifted to his feet.

The Shadow Scale Snake suddenly raised its head and flicked its tongue, its scales bristling as if facing a formidable enemy.

“Since you've come, why hide?” Lin Feng gathered thunder light at his fingertips.

A child in colorful clothes crawled out from the pile of dead leaves, his cheeks flushed: “Fellow Daoist, are you from Xuanlei Valley?”

Lin Feng calmly channeled the thunder to his palms, but his expression remained indifferent: “And who are you?”

The colorful-clad child giggled, the silver bells on his wrists shaking lightly, yet no sound came out.

“On the fifteenth of last month, that batch of thunder crystals in Black Wind Gorge disappeared without a trace.” He lightly tapped his toes, and three purple-patterned leaves spun, blocking Lin Feng's retreat, “Does the Xiao Family not even have anyone to guard the ore veins anymore?”

Lin Feng recalled that Xiao Yan had mentioned earlier that the batch of thunder crystals in Black Wind Gorge had been robbed last month; it turned out to be the work of this person's faction.

“Snap.”

Lin Feng crushed a dead branch under his feet, and the thunder light rose in response, weaving into an arc barrier around him. The thunder light was not dazzling, but it carried a heart-palpitating hum.

The colorful-clad child's expression changed slightly, and he flicked three green poison needles from his sleeves. However, the moment the poison needles touched the thunder net, they dissolved like snowflakes meeting fire, without even leaving a wisp of green smoke.

“What pure thunder technique!” The child exclaimed and retreated, the flush on his face fading to a deathly pale.

He quickly formed hand seals, and mist rose around him. Suddenly, rustling sounds echoed in the forest. Countless poisonous insects crawled out from under the dead leaves—centipedes, poison ants, colorful spiders—surging toward Lin Feng like a tide.

Lin Feng pointed his fingers like a sword, and the thunder light condensed into a swimming dragon at his fingertips. Although the thunder dragon was small, it carried majestic heavenly might, and wherever it passed, the poisonous insects were scorched to death.

What was even more strange was that the trajectory of the thunder dragon followed a certain pattern, always finding the weak point before the poisonous insects could surround him.

“Interesting.” Seeing the poisonous insects all destroyed, the colorful-clad child gritted his teeth and formed hand seals to activate his Gu technique.

The ground split open, and three green-scaled poisonous pythons crawled out. These were the “Spirit-Eroding Pythons” he had meticulously cultivated, specifically designed to break through Protective Aura. When they besieged the Xiao Family patrol last month, this move had caused three Foundation Establishment Cultivators to collapse instantly.

The pythons opened their mouths and sprayed poison mist; vegetation rotted upon contact. Lin Feng's footwork changed suddenly, his figure swaying like willow catkins, and every step he took just happened to avoid the poison mist.

Thunder light flowed at Lin Feng's fingertips, condensing into three delicate thunder shuttles. What shocked the child even more was that the trajectory of the thunder shuttles followed a Three Talents formation, and when they nailed into the python heads, not even a drop of blood splashed out.

“How is this possible...” The child watched the collapsed poisonous pythons, his voice trembling.

The colorful-clad child finally panicked. He remembered the team of Xiao Family disciples he had intercepted last month; their thunder techniques were as loose as child's play. He hurriedly patted the leather pouch at his waist and released the “Crimson Flame Poison Bees” he had meticulously raised. The tail stings of these poison bees could penetrate ordinary thunder shields and had always been his trump card.

Who knew that the Shadow Scale Snake coiled to the side was even more bizarre. The golden patterns on its forehead flashed slightly, and those ferocious poison bees scattered and fled as if they had seen a natural enemy, and even the colorful-clad child's Gu-driving spell could not constrain them.

“Since when did the Xiao Family hide such a monster...” The colorful-clad child broke into a cold sweat. He remembered that he had killed at least eighteen, if not twenty, Xiao Family disciples over the years, and he had never seen such exquisite thunder techniques.

Seeing Lin Feng gathering thunder light at his fingertips again, he gritted his teeth, spat out a mouthful of essence blood, formed hand seals, and used the blood mist to escape.

Lin Feng watched the blood mist gradually dissipate before him and frowned slightly. The lingering sweet, fishy scent in the air made the Shadow Scale Snake coiled at his side flick its tongue uneasily, its snake body making a rustling sound as it slithered through the pile of dead leaves.

As dusk deepened, Lin Feng was about to leave this place of trouble when a subtle sound of dry leaves cracking suddenly echoed in the forest.

A sense of oppression closed in from three directions.

“Little Friend, stay a while.”

Three black-robed figures appeared from the tree shadows, sealing his path in a triangular formation.

The leading old man had spider patterns embroidered with gold thread on his cuffs, which were faintly visible in the twilight. His gaze locked onto Lin Feng: “To be able to practice thunder techniques to this level, the Xiao Family has actually produced a talent in this generation.”

Lin Feng gathered thunder light at his fingertips: “Senior has mistaken me for someone else.”

The old man chuckled and flipped his withered palm, holding a charred scale in his palm: “This is the remnant of the Heart-Devouring Gu left behind by my incompetent disciple just now.”

He swept his gaze over the Shadow Scale Snake, “What's more strange is that your Spirit Beast can actually counter-devour the Gu insects I meticulously cultivated...”

The Shadow Scale Snake suddenly tensed its body, and Lin Feng slowly stroked its forehead: “Who are you? Why do you condone your subordinates to ambush others?”

“What a sharp-tongued junior.” The spider pattern in the old man's sleeve moved slightly, and poison mist wrapped around it, “Thirty years ago, the Xiao Family relied on the help of outsiders to injure my Revered Master. Since we've met today, it's a perfect time to learn a thing or two!”

The poison mist transformed into thousands of fine threads, covering Lin Feng like a spider web. The Shadow Scale Snake raised its head and hissed, the golden patterns on its forehead shining brightly, actually absorbing all the poison threads into its body.

The old man's expression sank: “This Spirit Beast can actually devour poison mist?”

Lin Feng's fingertips shone brightly with thunder light, and an arc of electricity shot out, piercing straight at the old man's face.

The old man retreated three steps in a hurry and slapped his withered palm against the bone shield at his waist. A hideous ghost head appeared on the shield surface, opening its mouth to swallow the thunder light.

“Sizzle.”

The thunder light collided with the bone shield, actually scorching cracks into the ghost head. The old man's pupils shrank: “What an overbearing Cultivation Technique!”

Before he could change his moves, Lin Feng lightly twisted his wrist, and the thunder light turned into a drizzle across the sky. The old man danced with his bone shield to block, and the shield surface was soon covered in scorch marks.

“No...” The old man stared at the trajectory of the flowing thunder light, “This thunder technique can actually combine rigidity and softness, changing as one pleases?”

He shot three black rays from his sleeves, but they were all caught by Lin Feng with a thunder net. What shocked the old man even more was that the opponent's thunder technique had no stagnation during the changes, as if it were a complete Legacy.

“Could it be...” The old man's voice trembled, “The complete Seven Heavens Thunder Lure?”

The other two black-robed men saw this and attacked at the same time. The person on the left struck with both palms, while the one on the right offered up a poison banner.

Lin Feng did not retreat but advanced instead, the thunder light condensing into a vortex around his body, shredding all the attacks.

“The fifth form... Thunder Vortex Shredder!” The old man exclaimed in shock, “The Xiao Family actually found the lost last three forms!”

The three of them looked at each other and bit the tips of their tongues at the same time. Three hideous Poisonous Corpses condensed from the blood mist and pounced in a triangular formation.

Lin Feng was unhurried and pressed his palms together. Thunder light surged from his crown, condensing into seven slowly rotating thunder rings in the air.

“Seven Luminaries Thunder Ring!” The old man's voice trembled, “The seventh form lost by the Xiao Family for a hundred years!”

Wherever the thunder rings passed, the Poisonous Corpses dissolved like snow meeting the sun. What was even more terrifying was that the thunder rings actually began to devour the poison mist pervading the field, feeding back into the thunder light around Lin Feng.

“Complete seven forms... it's actually the complete seven forms!” The old man's face turned ashen, and he suddenly crushed the jade talisman in his hand, “Elder Du Sha! The Seven Heavens Thunder Lure has appeared!”