184: Chapter 184 Poison, Bewitchment

"Huff, huff, huff..."

Ever since Yin Laojiu leaped into the mountain forest, he had kept his head down and sprinted wildly in the direction Li Xiuyuan pointed out.

He didn't even know how long or how far he had run, but judging by his breathlessness at this moment, it was definitely not a short distance.

Only when Li Xiuyuan was certain that the Half-demons were no longer giving chase did he allow Yin Laojiu to rest by the bank of a small river.

Yin Laojiu lay prone by the riverbank, guzzling down the river water like an ox.

"Unexpected events really do keep cropping up."

Li Xiuyuan's clay avatar didn't require any sustenance. He sat under a tree, reflecting on everything that had transpired.

The Half-demons capable of killing Baili Jin could be counted on one hand. His death was definitely related to Baili Yue.

But why did Baili Yue do that?

He killed the Revered Master who had raised and trained him with his own hands; what was his goal?

To seize power?

That didn't make sense either.

Baili Yue had no reason to be in a hurry to seize power. To Baili Yue, Baili Jin was not only his Revered Master but also the sky of this grotto-heaven. As long as this sky remained, Baili Yue would not encounter any danger.

Li Xiuyuan's gaze darkened slightly.

With Baili Jin dead, the cooperation with Li Xiuyuan was naturally voided, and the method of Spiritual Vein and Bloodline Fusion went up in smoke.

But looking at it from another angle, the most direct result of Baili Yue killing Baili Jin was that the things Baili Jin had promised Li Xiuyuan no longer needed to be given.

The Spiritual Vein was preserved, and the method of Bloodline Fusion would not leak out.

Wait, the Spiritual Vein?

Li Xiuyuan suddenly grasped onto something.

Baili Jin had said that this Spiritual Vein ran through the mountains and rivers of the grotto-heaven, and was the fundamental reason why the Spiritual Qi here was superior to the outside world.

Once the Spiritual Vein was drawn away, this world would usher in a period of Spiritual Qi depletion. Although the rootless duckweed could slowly nourish a new Spiritual Vein later on, that would take hundreds of years or even longer.

Could Baili Yue also have his eyes on that Spiritual Vein?

But the problem was, he still needed to find the rootless duckweed; otherwise, once the rootless duckweed left, this grotto-heaven would still be discovered by the outside world.

Thinking up to this point, Li Xiuyuan immediately realized that his line of thinking was wrong.

Not wanting the grotto-heaven to be exposed to the outside world was Baili Jin's idea, not Baili Yue's. Perhaps Baili Yue didn't care about this at all.

This was also highly possible.

Just as Li Xiuyuan was thinking of this, he suddenly sensed a hint of abnormality.

Sitting beneath the tree, he raised his eyes and cast his gaze toward the riverbank.

Yin Laojiu had stopped drinking water. His massive tiger head turned around, and his copper-bell-like eyes stared blankly at Li Xiuyuan.

Under the moonlight, the light in those tiger pupils was somewhat vacant, as if covered by a thin layer of mist.

His mouth was half-open, and droplets of water fell one by one along the whiskers at the corners of his mouth, yet he was completely oblivious.

Li Xiuyuan sat up straight. "What's wrong?"

Yin Laojiu didn't answer. He just stared blankly at him, his head swaying slightly as if he had heard some sound but hadn't registered it yet.

Seeing this, Li Xiuyuan stood up and took two steps toward him.

Only then did Yin Laojiu shake his head. His movements were very slow, as if the muscles in his neck had suddenly become incredibly heavy.

But before he could even finish shaking his head, his entire massive body began to sway from side to side. His four tiger paws stepped about on the ground as if he were standing on a rocking boat, unable to steady himself no matter what.

"Lord... Lord Dragon Lord..."

Yin Laojiu finally spoke, his voice slurred as if his tongue were tied. "Do... do you feel..."

He suddenly stumbled forward a step, his front paws slamming onto the ground to barely keep himself from falling.

"My head... is so dizzy..."

Before his words could fully land, Yin Laojiu's large mouth suddenly flew open, and a burst of white foam welled up from the corners of his mouth. Mixed with the clear river water and viscous saliva, it dripped down his lower jaw, pattering onto the stones of the riverbank.

Li Xiuyuan's expression instantly changed.

He walked over to Yin Laojiu in a few quick strides, squatted down, reached out to pinch both sides of his lower jaw, and lifted the tiger's head to examine it closely.

Yin Laojiu's pupils were still contracting, his breathing grew rapid and chaotic, and the muscles in his limbs were twitching uncontrollably. He spat out more and more white foam, which almost covered half of his tiger face.

It looked like Yin Laojiu had been poisoned. To be able to poison a tiger of his physical build and cultivation to this extent was clearly no simple feat.

Li Xiuyuan immediately glanced at the nearby river. He dipped his finger to take a few drops, and after careful inspection, he found nothing unusual about the water.

"It could also be that there was something wrong with the meat and wine he consumed at Baili Jin's manor during the day."

At this moment, Yin Laojiu's state was not very good. Although the poison was not life-threatening, it made him extremely weak, to the point where even his speech was slurred.

If Yin Laojiu were left to recuperate on his own, he would probably have to lie here for ten to fifteen days.

By then, the pursuing forces might have already caught up.

"Do I need to destroy this clay avatar and enter in person?" Li Xiuyuan thought to himself.

In this grotto-heaven world, as far as he could tell, there was temporarily nothing that could put Li Xiuyuan in a dangerous situation. Even the strongest, Baili Jin, only possessed the strength of the Peak of the Sixth Realm.

As long as Li Xiuyuan entered this place, he could walk completely unchecked.

However, he ultimately calmed down.

Although the strength of the Half-demons in this grotto-heaven could not be considered very powerful, there was no telling if they possessed some Spirit Treasures that had not yet been brought out.

At present, his clay avatar could be said to have almost no strength. He could only manage to drag Yin Laojiu to a more hidden place and wait for him to neutralize the poison first.

...

Meanwhile.

Baili Jin's manor had already changed its appearance.

The lanterns under the corridors had all been replaced with plain white, swaying gently in the night wind and casting pale halos of light.

The news traveled very quickly.

Within a single night, the capitals of the four Half-demon tribes in this grotto-heaven had all dispatched their most important figures to offer their condolences.

Because Baili Jin's status was highly unique, his existence was of extraordinary significance. Not only was Baili Jin the strongest existence in this grotto-heaven world, but he was also able to mediate the conflicts among the four capitals.

The reason why there were four tribal capitals in this grotto-heaven world, yet the flames of war had never spread, was entirely because of Baili Jin.

During the funeral, Baili Yue was still explaining the cause of Baili Jin's death to the mourning Half-demons. When the Half-demons learned that Baili Jin had been killed by two outside intruders, they were instantly furious.

"What?! Venerable Baili actually died like this?!"

"Since childhood, I've heard from my Elders about the dangers of the outside world, and now it seems it's indeed true! Venerable Baili treated them with such hospitality, yet he was plotted against in return!"

"If we don't find those two murderers and sacrifice them to the heavens, it will be impossible to appease the anger in my chest!"

"Yes! We must find the murderers!"

Baili Yue just quietly watched the indignant Half-demons. He chose not to step forward and say anything, because at this time, speaking too much would only lead to mistakes.

He handed over the condolence procedures, the vigil shifts, and the lodging arrangements for the distinguished guests of the four tribes to several of his fellow Disciples in a calm, proper, and flawless manner.

Those Half-demon Disciples who were normally of the same generation as him actually listened to his instructions with an air of looking up to him unconsciously, as if once Baili Jin fell, Baili Yue naturally became the new pillar of this manor.

Only when the last fellow Disciple had received his orders and departed did Baili Yue slowly stand up and pat the dust from his knees.

The mourning hall was brightly lit with candles. The representatives of the four tribes had already been ushered into the side hall for tea, and the noisy voices of people drifted over faintly across several walls. Using the excuse of changing into mourning garments, Baili Yue slipped out of the front courtyard through a side door and passed through a dark corridor.

Outside the back gate of the manor was a narrow alley flanked by towering courtyard walls. When Baili Yue pushed open the gate, the hinge let out a very soft groan, which he immediately muffled with his hand as he closed it silently.

A figure stood in the alley.

The figure was extremely tall, a full two heads taller than Baili Yue, with broad shoulders and a thick back. He wore a dark gray cloak with the hood pulled down very low, revealing only a patch of thick, short beard on his lower jaw.

He stood leaning against the courtyard wall with his arms crossed over his chest, like a silent boulder.

Baili Yue walked up and stopped three paces in front of him, bowing slightly. "Greetings, Junior Martial Uncle Fei."

Hearing this, the visitor took off his cloak, revealing himself to be a tiger demon.

Within the grotto-heaven world,

there were a total of four Half-demon tribes that had established capitals, namely the Fox Clan, the Snake Tribe, the Tiger Tribe, and the Feather Clan. Although they were four different Half-demon tribes, they all shared the surname Baili, just like Baili Yue.

The tiger demon before him was named Baili Fei, an Elder of the Tiger Tribe.

"No one noticed you, right?" Baili Fei asked.

Baili Yue shook his head. "I've made sure. No one."

"Very good."

"You are one step closer to your dream."

As Baili Fei spoke, he reached out with his furry palm and patted Baili Yue's shoulder.

Baili Yue's expression was somewhat complicated. He looked up at him, his eyes filled with worry and lingering fear. "Junior Martial Uncle Fei, what if this matter is exposed? What should I do?"

"If you don't speak of it and I don't speak of it, who could possibly know? Rest assured, I have already arranged everything."

Baili Fei consoled him.

But Baili Yue did not find peace of mind because of these words. On the contrary, judging by his expression, he was still somewhat uneasy.

"What, are you starting to feel scared now? It's already too late. Now that the die is cast, we can only continue down the path we envisioned."

Baili Fei's furry palm pressed down gently on Baili Yue's shoulder once more.

"Venerable Baili's dream was very beautiful—to let all Half-demons live in this grotto-heaven for generations, protected from the wind and rain of the outside world, without being hunted by the Human Race or bullied by the Yao Race. He wanted to build an eternal pure land and shelter all Half-demons under his wings."

"There's nothing wrong with that." At this point, Baili Fei suddenly paused, then slowly shook his head. "But it's unrealistic."

The night wind poured in from the mouth of the alley, rustling the hem of Baili Fei's cloak. He raised a hand and pointed to the night sky covered by the grotto-heaven barrier overhead.

"This grotto-heaven cannot remain hidden forever. Sooner or later, there will come a day when it is discovered by the outside world."

"And the arrival of that day will also mean that the death of all Half-demons will arrive along with it."

"Instead of waiting for death here, it is better to forge a future with your own hands. You are still young, and your future holds too many possibilities. You shouldn't slowly await death here."

Baili Fei spoke with earnest and well-meaning words.

If one were to calm down and think about his words carefully, they would feel like utter nonsense, but as it happened, he was talking to Baili Yue.

A Half-demon who was not very old, yet harbored immense yearning and curiosity for the outside world in his heart.

Especially Baili Fei's sentence, "You are still young, and your future holds too many possibilities." It was like a shot of adrenaline injected straight into Baili Yue's veins.

Just hearing it made Baili Yue feel his beast blood boil, believing that he had already undergone an Awakening at this very moment.

"I can understand your respect and affection for Venerable Baili, but he blocked our path. Sometimes, on the road to success, one always has to pay a price and discard certain things."

As Baili Fei spoke,

he drew a bronze mirror from his sleeve. Just then, the moonlight leaked through a gap in the clouds, casting a cold silver gleam across the mirror's surface.

The surface of the mirror was as smooth as water, capable of reflecting figures. The back was engraved with the pattern of a strange beast, with rough and archaic lines. The beast was shaped like a tiger or leopard, with a single horn on its head, a ferocious countenance, and knotted limbs.

If Li Xiuyuan were to see it, he would definitely recognize at a glance that the strange beast was a Zheng.

At this moment, Baili Yue was already lightheaded with hot-blooded excitement, having absolutely no inclination to pay attention to what was carved on the back of the bronze mirror.

Baili Fei held the bronze mirror in his palm and presented it to Baili Yue.

"Place it beneath Venerable Baili's head."

"Although the Venerable is dead, his cultivation still remains within his body. His Physical Body has not decayed, and his cultivation has not dissipated. At this time, you only need to place the mirror between the back of his head and the pillow, face down, pressed tightly against his Lingtai Acupoint. Within three days, the residual cultivation will be drawn out by this mirror along his Meridians, and then fed back into you through the mirror surface."

Baili Yue cradled the bronze mirror, his expression slightly solemn. "Are there any dangers to this?"

"Of course there are." Baili Fei laughed heartily. "Spiritual Qi backlash, meridian reversal, or the mirror shattering and the overflowing spiritual energy blowing the mirror-holder into fine powder—these are all things that could happen. Any method of seizing cultivation is never entirely safe."

"However, I will bear all the risks."

"You only need to boldly move forward!"

When Baili Fei reached the end of his words, his voice couldn't help but rise slightly. Hearing this, tears welled up in Baili Yue's eyes. He had not expected his Junior Martial Uncle to support him so much.

Baili Yue nodded vigorously. At that instant, the hesitation and fear in the depths of his eyes seemed to be completely washed away by something.

Carefully tucking the bronze mirror into his sleeve, he bowed deeply to Baili Fei.

"I won't disappoint you, Junior Martial Uncle Fei."

Baili Fei nodded and watched as Baili Yue turned to push open the wooden back gate, his figure disappearing into the gap. The wooden gate let out a soft sound as it closed, and his footsteps gradually faded away along the corridor, eventually drowned out by the sound of chanting coming from the direction of the mourning hall.

The alley fell silent once more.

That face covered in tiger stripes remained motionless under the moonlight, and the curve at the corner of his mouth, which had been incredibly gentle just moments ago, grew cold bit by bit.

With the smile vanishing from his face, Baili Fei slowly closed his eyes and sank his consciousness deep into his Sea of Consciousness.

In that patch of chaotic darkness,

he softly called out,

"King Zheng."