98: Chapter 98 Drink your poisoned tea, and shatter my Nascent Soul!

Da Qian Imperial City, Zhengdao Alliance Headquarters.

Inside the Lingxiao Palace, Immortal Qi swirled amidst wafts of sandalwood incense.

This was the symbol of the highest power of the Righteous Path in Central State; even a single floor tile pried loose would be engraved with top-tier Spirit Gathering formation patterns.

But at this moment, the atmosphere inside the hall was so oppressive it could freeze water into ice.

On the red sandalwood armchairs on both sides sat twelve powerful Elders of the Zhengdao Alliance, all of whom were great experts from the Early Nascent Soul Stage to the Middle Stage! Although they sat with lowered eyes and focused minds, the faint, interlaced massive Spiritual Pressure was enough to make any Golden Core Cultivator collapse instantly.

"Fellow Daoist Lin, please take a seat of honor."

Zhengdao Alliance Leader Alliance Leader sat in the main seat, a smile as warm as a spring breeze plastered on his face as he gestured for him to sit.

Lin Que strode arrogantly into the hall, ignoring the glaring Elders on both sides, and directly pulled Su Qingyu along to sit boldly in the primary guest seat opposite Alliance Leader.

"Alliance Leader Li, skip the pleasantries. Where is the inventory list for the Ye family's treasury?"

Lin Que tapped his folding fan on the table, getting straight to the point.

"Fellow Daoist Lin is a straightforward man. The list is here, however..."

Alliance Leader waved his hand, and a beautiful maid nearby stepped forward carrying a jade tray.

On the tray lay not only a Jade Slip but also two steaming cups of spirit tea emitting a seven-colored haze.

"Before handing over the treasures, I have specially prepared this 'Seven-Colored Dao Enlightenment Tea.' This tea is brewed from the tender leaves of our Zhengdao Alliance's ten-thousand-year-old immortal tree; it not only cleanses the Divine Soul but is also of great benefit to one's Nascent Soul Stage cultivation."

Alliance Leader picked up the cup in front of him, covered his face with his sleeve, took a sip, and smiled:

"Fellow Daoist Lin just slew the Marquis Shenwu and the Heavenly Demon Sect envoy, surely exhausting yourself quite a bit. Why not drink this tea before we discuss business?"

Lin Que looked at the tea in front of him, shimmering with a seven-colored halo.

The fragrance of the tea filled the air; a single breath made his pores feel as if they were dilating with pleasure.

But the purple-gold light in his eyes flickered slightly, and the four-colored God-Demon Nascent Soul within him emitted a faint wave of revulsion.

"Young Master Lin, don't drink it..."

Standing behind Lin Que, Su Qingyu, relying on her Innate Dao Body's keen intuition for the world's Qi, quietly tugged at Lin Que's sleeve and sent a voice transmission: "In this tea... there is a very heavy Death Qi."

Lin Que patted the back of her hand, signaling her to be at ease.

"Seven-Colored Dao Enlightenment Tea? Good stuff."

Lin Que picked up the teacup and toyed with it in his hand.

The moment he picked up the teacup, the twelve Elders on both sides of the hall involuntarily slowed their breathing.

For this was no Dao Enlightenment Tea at all, but the Zhengdao Alliance's forbidden poison—[Nascent Melting Powder]!

Colorless and odorless, it was extremely difficult for even Soul Transformation old monsters to detect. Once a Nascent Soul Cultivator drank it, within ten breaths, the Nascent Soul inside their body would melt like a snowman, turning into a pool of pus! They would be completely crippled!

"What? Is Fellow Daoist Lin afraid I've poisoned it?"

Alliance Leader set down his teacup with a half-smile.

"The Alliance Leader must be joking. The Zhengdao Alliance is noble and upright; how could it use such low-handed methods as poisoning?"

Lin Que grinned, revealing a row of white teeth.

Under the intense gaze of everyone, he tilted his head back and downed the cup of [Nascent Melting Powder] in one gulp!

He even smacked his lips:

"The taste is a bit bland, like dishwater."

"You—how arrogant!"

A hot-tempered Elder was about to lash out but was stopped by a look from Alliance Leader.

Seeing Lin Que drink the tea clean, the smile at the corner of Alliance Leader's mouth could no longer be suppressed; it widened until it became an unmasked, wild laugh.

"Hahahaha!! Lin Que, oh Lin Que! Though your combat power is Heaven-Defying, you are still too young after all!!"

Alliance Leader suddenly stood up and smashed the teacup in his hand.

"Activate the Formation!!"

Rumble—!!

As the teacup shattered, countless golden runes instantly lit up on the floor tiles of the entire Lingxiao Palace. A peerless trapping Formation, the [Ten Directions Annihilation Nascent Locking Formation], was instantly activated, completely sealing off the hall!

"Revealing your true colors now?"

Lin Que sat in his chair, not moving an inch, even crossing his legs.

"Boy, did you really think you could walk out of this Da Qian Imperial City alive?"

The hot-tempered Elder from before stood up, pointing at Lin Que with a distorted face: "What you just drank was the lethal poison [Nascent Melting Powder]! Combined with the suppression of this Nascent Locking Formation, your Nascent Soul should have already begun to melt, shouldn't it?!"

"You killed our Zhengdao Alliance's Vice Hall Master and still dared to come here to collect a debt? Today, this old man will flay your skin and pull out your tendons!!"

The twelve Elders stood up simultaneously, their Nascent Soul Stage killing intent released without reservation.

However.

One breath. Two breaths. Five breaths passed.

Lin Que, sitting in his chair, did not cough up blood or scream in agony as they expected, nor did his cultivation vanish.

On the contrary, his face grew increasingly ruddy, and his breathing even became as heavy as wind and thunder!

"What's going on?"

The wild laugh on Alliance Leader's face froze, and an extremely ominous premonition surged in his heart.

"System, don't just focus on purifying; send those 'scraps' back to the Elders."

Lin Que thought to himself.

[Lethal toxin detected: Nascent Melting Powder (fused with ten-thousand-year Spirit Medicine foundation).]

[Analysis: This toxin contains the "vicious Law of melting Nascent Souls" and the "massive vitality of ten-thousand-year Spirit Medicine."]

[Logic Reorganization initiated—Precise filtering and redirection!]

[Operation 1: Intercept the "massive vitality and spiritual energy essence of the ten-thousand-year Spirit Medicine" and channel it into the host's Dantian!]

[Operation 2: Through the Qi connection of the Formation, redirect the "toxic side effects of melting the Nascent Soul and stripping cultivation" in full to the thirteen people present (including Alliance Leader)!]

"My thanks to the Alliance Leader for the tea!"

Lin Que suddenly snapped his eyes open! Purple fire in his left eye and white flame in his right, a terrifying four-colored strange fire instantly erupted from his body, incinerating the thousand-year-old red sandalwood chair he sat on into nothingness!

"Ugh—!!"

At the same moment Lin Que erupted.

The hot-tempered Elder who had just been shouting about pulling out Lin Que's tendons suddenly clutched his lower abdomen and let out a scream like a slaughtered pig!

"My Dantian!! My Nascent Soul... why is it melting?!!"

He discovered in horror that although he hadn't drunk the poisoned tea, it felt as if a pot of boiling lava had been poured into his body; his Nascent Soul, cultivated over a thousand years, was dissolving at a rate visible to the naked eye!

"Pfft!!"

Immediately after, the second and third Elders spat out black blood together, their legs buckling as they knelt directly in the hall.

"This is bad!! How did this poison end up inside our bodies?!!"

"The Formation! There's something wrong with this Formation! He reflected the toxin!!"

The hall instantly fell into chaos.

The high and mighty Nascent Soul experts were now like a pack of wild dogs that had eaten rat poison, rolling frantically on the ground.

Even Alliance Leader was no exception!

He frantically circulated his mysterious technique to suppress the toxicity within him, his face as pale as paper. He looked at Lin Que as if he were looking at a true monster: "You... what kind of demonic sorcery did you use?!"

"Demonic sorcery?"

Lin Que slowly stood up and spread his arms.

At this moment, the ten-thousand-year Spirit Medicine essence contained in the poisoned tea, combined with the foundations left over from devouring the Marquis Shenwu and the three Nascent Souls earlier, was completely ignited!

The four-colored God-Demon Nascent Soul inside him let out an earth-shaking roar.

Golden Buddhist light and purplish-red Devilish Qi interlaced, completely shattering that invisible Bottleneck!

Boom!!!

A storm of Spiritual Pressure several times stronger than before exploded outward with Lin Que as the center!

The entire Lingxiao Palace shook violently under this Spiritual Pressure. The [Ten Directions Annihilation Nascent Locking Formation], said to be able to trap a Soul Transformation Stage expert for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, actually emitted "crack, crack, crack" sounds of shattering under the impact of this Breakthrough aura!

[Congratulations to the host! Success comes naturally; Realm shattered and reorganized!]

[Current Realm: Middle Nascent Soul Stage!]

[Four-colored God-Demon Nascent Soul advanced! Undying Blood Body (Demon God Body) compatibility increased to 80%!]

[Actual Combat Power Rating: Capable of slaying gods in direct combat (can slaughter anyone below the Middle Soul Transformation Stage)!]

"Whew—"

Lin Que exhaled a mouthful of turbid air; his breath was like a sword, piercing a large hole straight through the hard wall of the hall.

He cracked his neck, and the bones throughout his body let out thunderous pops.

Feeling the terrifying power within his body that felt as if it could shatter stars with a single punch, Lin Que smiled with satisfaction.

"Alliance Leader Li, this tea of yours is quite potent."

"Not only did it cure my Bottleneck, but it also helped the Elders 'lose some weight' while it was at it."

Lin Que flicked his wrist, and the starfall mo dao appeared in his hand.

The blade pointed at the group of Nascent Soul Elders on the ground whose cultivation had plummeted and who were now at death's door.

"I am a very reasonable person."

"You invited me for tea, and I accepted. Now, it's time for me to collect the debt."

Lin Que walked up to Alliance Leader.

By now, Alliance Leader had exhausted ninety percent of his spiritual energy to suppress the [Nascent Melting Powder] in his body. His cultivation had been forcibly suppressed to the Peak Golden Core level, and he didn't even have the strength to stand up.

"Lin... Demon Venerable Lin... let's talk this out..."

Alliance Leader looked at the terrifying black saber emitting four kinds of strange fires and finally lowered his noble head, his voice trembling.

"Sure."

Lin Que's blade tip tilted up Alliance Leader's chin; the Bone Spirit Cold Fire on the blade made Alliance Leader shiver uncontrollably.

"First, hand over the inventory list for the Ye family's treasury, along with the keys to the Zhengdao Alliance treasury, right now."

"Second, from this day forward, this Zhengdao Alliance..."

Lin Que's gaze swept across the room, his voice like the decree of a Nine Heavens Demon God, brook no dissent:

"I, Lin Que, have the final say."

"Who is in favor? Who is opposed?"

The entire hall was deathly silent, save for the suppressed groans of pain from the Elders.

Just as Alliance Leader's hand trembled, preparing to unfasten the Alliance Leader token and treasury keys from his waist.

"Hmph! Arrogant brat! Do you truly think there is no one left in my Great Qian Imperial Family?!"

A voice of extreme majesty, seemingly containing the will of the Heavenly Dao, suddenly came from the deepest part of the Imperial City (the Great Qian Imperial Palace). This voice completely ignored the distance of space, exploding in the hall like thunder.

Immediately after.

A giant hand that blotted out the sky, formed entirely from pure golden Imperial Dragon Qi, directly tore through the ceiling of the Lingxiao Palace. Carrying the terrifying destructive power of the Middle Soul Transformation Stage, it slammed down fiercely toward Lin Que's head!

The true foundation of the Great Qian Imperial Dynasty, the old emperor who had been in seclusion for five hundred years... had made his move!

"Middle Soul Transformation Stage?"

Lin Que looked up at the golden dragon hand that seemed capable of crushing mountains. He had just broken through to the Middle Nascent Soul Stage, and the power within him was itching for an outlet.

"Since the old one has come after I beat the young one, then I shall..."

Lin Que gripped his saber with both hands, his Demon God Body's blood and Qi soaring to the sky, as the four-colored fire lotuses compressed frantically on the blade's edge.

...uproot your Imperial City entirely!!"