82: Chapter 82 The Gathering of Poison Kings

Inside the Inn.

Jiang Yuyan walked into Meng Li's room and closed the door. Seeing him mixing things with various bottles and jars, she walked over to take a look, her face filled with curiosity: "Husband, are you preparing for tonight's Poison King Heroes Gathering?"

"Mhm," Meng Li responded softly, his hands never stopping as he explained, "Although I only plan to go and watch the excitement and don't intend to compete, there will surely be many people from poison Schools there. I need to make some preparations for self-defense in advance."

Then, he asked, "How is your mother?"

Jiang Yuyan replied, "Influenced by her emotions and the remaining effects of the Sleep Inducing Powder, she just fell asleep."

After saying that, she couldn't help but sigh and said gloomily, "Actually, after the failed recognition last time, she had already lost hope in Jiang Biehe. After this time, she has completely given up. It's just that the dream she held for many years has been shattered, so the blow is a bit heavy."

"However, I believe she will get better."

Meng Li nodded slightly: "It's best for her to recover on her own from this kind of thing. If it really doesn't work, I'll look into prescribing some formulas to calm her nerves and nourish her heart later."

"Thank you, husband."

"Hmm?" Meng Li cast a staring gaze at her.

Jiang Yuyan realized, stuck out her tongue, and lowered her head: "Yu Yan was wrong. Husband said that we are husband and wife, so there's no need to say thank you."

Only then did Meng Li withdraw his gaze and begin to pack up the prepared self-defense medicine.

After everything was packed, Meng Li made a slight disguise.

Everything was ready, and the time was almost up.

Meng Li took the improved storage box and left the Inn, heading towards the location of the Poison King Heroes Gathering finals.

Jiang Yuyan returned to the room she shared with Xiao Baiyan and began to Cultivate her Hun Yuan True Qi.

...

Traveling with Lightness Skill, Meng Li arrived at the place before long.

The venue for the Poison King Heroes Gathering finals was an Inn that had been fully booked. There was a sign at the entrance, and the interior layout also matched the theme, with many poison-themed patterns like spiders and centipedes hanging as decorations. In the center of the stage stood a flagpole with a flag that read "Poison King Heroes Assembly."

However, the personnel were as loose as sand; no one was checking identities.

After Meng Li entered, it was no different from entering a shop to eat normally. He had the waiter bring some wine and food, and after that, no one bothered him.

He was also happy for the peace and quiet, leisurely sipping his wine with the side dishes while waiting for the Poison King Heroes Gathering to begin.

At dusk, the Inn was basically full.

The shopkeeper and the waiters seemed to know the situation in advance and quietly left the scene.

Soon after, a burst of music sounded, and Xiao Hongye appeared.

He stood on the center stage, holding a feather fan, cupped his hands to all sides, and then smilingly began the opening speech.

Meng Li listened briefly; the general meaning was that he was honored to be elected as the host of this assembly, and then he explained the origin and rules of the Poison King Heroes Gathering with appropriate detail.

Simply put, the Poison King Heroes Gathering is held every three years, and the participating Schools compete based on their own abilities.

The final winner would receive the title of "King of Poison Kings" and then lead the poison School practitioners in the Jianghu for three years.

The competition rules were also simple: all participants would duel in pairs in order, and the method of dueling was poisoning and detoxification.

Who would poison and who would detoxify was decided by drawing lots.

The subjects for poisoning and detoxification were all ordinary people brought in by the organizers.

The organizers promised them a large sum of money; as long as they went on stage to act as experimental subjects, they could obtain a significant amount of cash.

If the poison in their body was successfully neutralized, the detoxifying party won, and everyone was happy.

If the poison was not neutralized, meaning the poisoning party won, then their fate was left to the heavens.

After explaining these things, Xiao Hongye did not dawdle and directly announced the start of the competition.

The first round of the competition was the Ximen Family poisoning and the West Shu Tang Family detoxifying.

The one representing the Ximen Family was a man in white.

He was extremely confident in the poison he administered. Before even poisoning, he revealed its origin, saying it was his family's unique secret Seven-Insect Nine-Herb Pill, refined from seven types of poisonous insects and nine types of poisonous herbs. There were sixty-three different ways to concoct it, making it difficult even for immortals to cure.

After the first subject took it, his face changed drastically within a few seconds, and he started foaming at the mouth.

The one representing the Tang Family was a man in black with a braid.

He followed the path of using poison to fight poison, using the Tang Family's holy detoxification medicine, the Sixty-Nine Tianhuang Pill, to detoxify.

The pill arrived, the poison was removed, and the Tang Family won.

The subject felt like he had escaped death and hurriedly left the stage.

Then, the second round began: the Five Poisons Sect against the Hei Family.

Representing the Five Poisons Sect was the Old Ancestor of the Five Poisons, and he drew the poisoning side.

The person representing the Hei Family was named Hei San, with a hairstyle closely resembling Ultraseven.

Meng Li's interest was instantly piqued.

Because the Old Ancestor of the Five Poisons was a character with quite a lot of screen time in the original drama, and he indeed had a set of skills in using poison.

At the same time, that Hei San had a Spotted Silkworm, which left a deep impression on Meng Li.

After the Old Ancestor of the Five Poisons went on stage, in order to elevate himself, he belittled the performance of the previous round's contestants, claiming that poisoning invisibly is the mark of a master. Then, to show off, he asked his competitor Hei San what kind of poison he had just administered.

Unexpectedly, that Hei San was even more arrogant, saying there was no need to know what poison it was, because no matter what poison was used, he could cure it.

Subsequently, he revealed the Spotted Silkworm and successfully neutralized the poison.

The Old Ancestor of the Five Poisons, having been slapped in the face, immediately stopped talking.

Soon, the third round of the competition began: Poison King Valley against the Miao Immortal Sect.

Meng Li was stunned for a moment when he heard "Poison King Valley."

Because Poison King Valley was where the Poison Queen Su Rushi lived, and it wasn't a formal School like the Tang Family or the Five Poisons Sect.

And at this moment, there was only one person who could possibly use the name of Poison King Valley—Su Ying!

Sure enough, just as Xiao Hongye finished speaking, Su Ying walked out from the corner through the crowd, carrying a small box.

She wore side-swept bangs plus a few small braids. Her upper body was dressed in a yellow-green inner garment and a cyan outer coat, while her lower body featured a dark brown short skirt and knee-high lace-up boots.

Meng Li glanced at her and felt she looked a bit alternative, but thinking about the outfits of the Old Ancestor of the Five Poisons and Hei San, he felt Su Ying was still relatively normal.

Then, he remembered that in the original drama, Su Ying did not sign up for the competition but barged in halfway, wanting to ask the Old Ancestor of the Five Poisons for the Rainbow Seven-Color Poison Mist.

The situation had changed now, but Su Ying's goal should remain the same.

For a moment, Meng Li couldn't help but become a bit more vigilant.

After going on stage, Su Ying drew the detoxification side.

After the person from the Miao Immortal Sect administered the poison, she put down her box, wiped the white foam from the corner of the poisoned person's mouth, and then took out a candle from the bag she carried and lit it.

Meng Li's eyelid twitched, and he hurriedly used a Breath-Holding Technique to hold his breath.

Seeing this, the person from the Miao Immortal Sect asked in confusion: "You aren't detoxifying him; why are you lighting a candle? Are you offering a sacrifice in advance?"

By the end, he couldn't help but burst into laughter.

The others also burst into laughter.

Su Ying smiled and said: "I have already neutralized his poison."

The person from the Miao Immortal Sect was startled, then looked sideways and found that the poisoned person had indeed returned to normal. He couldn't help but ask in surprise: "When did you neutralize the poison?"

"When I was wiping the corner of his mouth just now," Su Ying answered truthfully.

The person from the Miao Immortal Sect realized, then felt confused again: "Then why did you light a candle?"

Su Ying said with a beaming smile: "To administer poison, of course."

Everyone else: "???"

...