207: The Hidden Currents of Ten Thousand Poisons

The water mirror in the core hall of Beyond Heaven was divided into three sections; Jun Xiaoyao tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest of the black iron chair, his gaze drifting between the mirrors.

In the left mirror, Great Doctor Ping was crouching at the edge of the miasma forest in the Western Regions, using a silver needle to lift a wisp of pale purple miasma, and the tip of the needle was instantly covered in a layer of black frost.

He frowned slightly, poured three cyan Medicinal Pills from his medicine gourd, and handed them to the agent from The Net beside him: "Take one of these 'Cleansing Miasma Pills' every half an hour; it will allow you to hold out in the forest for three hours. Remember, do not touch those vines with small red flowers; those are 'Bone-Eating Vines', and if their sap touches your body, it will rot down to your bones."

The agent took the Medicinal Pills, his fingertips trembling slightly—his sleeve still had a hole burned through by the miasma, and the edges of the fabric were charred black like coal.

"Mr. Ping, the patrol team of the Myriad Gu Valley passes by every two quarters of an hour; we must sneak in before the next patrol passes."

He pointed to the vaguely swaying black shadows deep in the forest, "Those are 'Poisoned Humans', refined by Madam Scorpion using living people to feed the Gu; they have no sense of pain, possess immense strength, and the most troublesome part is that the Gu insects on them will crawl into people's bodies through wounds."

Great Doctor Ping waved his whisk lightly, the whisk hairs sweeping across the agent's sleeve, and the charred black at the edge of the hole actually gradually faded.

"Rest assured, my 'Dust-Cleansing whisk' can force back low-level Gu insects."

He pulled a yellowed piece of paper from his bosom, on which the forms of dozens of Gu insects were drawn, "Memorize this diagram well; if you encounter the Gu insects circled in red, avoid them immediately, as those are the 'Heart-Corroding Gu' that even the Cleansing Miasma Pills cannot block."

In the middle water mirror, Never Seeking Defeat was standing on the snowy plains of the Far North, his black iron heavy sword stuck diagonally into the snow, and the Protective Aura on the sword steamed up white mist, enveloping the Snow Wolf Clan warriors within a hundred feet.

Those warriors who had been infected with the Madness Gu were originally red-eyed, roaring and biting each other, but after being enveloped by the Protective Aura, their movements gradually slowed, and the redness in their eyes faded a little.

"Roar—" A snow wolf with a build comparable to an ox lunged fiercely, saliva dripping from its fangs, and the saliva landed on the snow, actually corroding a series of small pits.

Never Seeking Defeat did not dodge or evade, flicking his finger lightly on the scabbard, and an invisible Sword Qi broke through the air, accurately hitting the center of the snow wolf's brow.

The snow wolf whined, its huge body falling into the snow, twitching a few times before it stopped moving, and a tiny blood hole appeared on its brow, from which a small golden centipede crawled out, only to be burned to ashes by the Protective Aura as soon as it landed.

"The mother Gu of the Madness Gu is in the Myriad Gu Valley."

Never Seeking Defeat's voice was flat, yet it clearly reached the ears of every Snow Wolf Clan warrior, "The one who tied the bell must untie it; if you want to completely detoxify, you must go to the Western Regions."

The water mirror on the right was the most bizarre; the scene showed the imperial palace of the Southern Chu imperial capital, where a group of Men in Black wearing tokens with the word "Nether" were carrying the corpse of Marquis Zhenbeis formal name onto an altar.

The altar was carved with blood-colored runes, faintly echoing the Blood Gu Formation of the Myriad Gu Valley.

The leader of the Men in Black took off his hood, revealing a face covered in scars—it was actually the Black-Robed State Preceptor who had been captured by from Water Margin and had mysteriously escaped!

"Your Majesty, do not blame this old minister for being ruthless."

The Black-Robed State Preceptor's voice was hoarse, his fingertips tracing Marquis Zhenbeis formal name's face, which was bleeding from the seven orifices, "If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for blocking the Nether Lord's path."

He took a black pottery bottle from his bosom and poured the golden Gu insects inside onto Marquis Zhenbeis formal name's corpse; the Gu insects instantly drilled into the seven orifices of the corpse, and the originally stiff corpse actually began to squirm slightly, with countless bumps appearing under the skin, as if countless insects were crawling inside.

A cold light flashed in Jun Xiaoyao's eyes in front of the water mirror, and he raised his hand and pressed it on the summoning array in the center of the hall.

The Formation runes flowed on the ground, the energy had accumulated to eighty percent, shimmering with a faint blood-colored halo.

"It seems the 'Nether' faction is more troublesome than expected; I need to summon someone who can hold the fort."

He flicked his finger, and a drop of essence blood fell onto the eye of the Formation.

The moment the essence blood merged, the Formation erupted with blinding golden light, and from the light walked out a figure wearing a kasaya, holding a purple gold alms bowl; it was none other than the Monk Xuanzang from journey to the west (Note: This selects the Wuxia-adapted image of Xuanzang, focusing on his ability to subdue demons and eliminate evil).

[Character Panel Expanded: Name: Xuanzang (from the Wuxia adaptation world of journey to the west); Realm: Mid-stage Land Immortal; Martial Skill Cultivation Technique: 1. Great Mercy and Compassion Palm: The palm power is gentle but contains vast righteous energy, specifically countering evil Gu insects; Gu insects swept by the palm wind will instantly lose their activity. 2. Tightening Fillet Mantra (Sonic Skill): Uses Buddhist mantras to drive sound waves, which can disrupt the minds of evil spirits and has a significant effect on "Poisoned Humans" controlled by Gu insects; Special Abilities: - Buddha Light Illuminates: Radiates Buddha light from the whole body, which can purify miasma and corpse Qi; the poison miasma of the Myriad Gu Valley is like nothing in front of him. - Demon-Identifying Eye: Can see through the disguises of Gu insects; even the mother Gu hidden in the human body can be accurately located; Additional Items: - purple gold alms bowl (Treasure Artifact): Can contain all evil spirits in the world; after sucking the Gu insects into it, one only needs to chant the mantra to refine them. - Brocade Kasaya (Treasure Artifact): Immune to water and fire, Gu insects cannot approach, and the scriptures on the kasaya will emerge under the reflection of Buddha light, forming a defensive barrier.]

Xuanzang put his palms together and chanted a Buddha's name: "This poor monk Xuanzang greets the Young Lord. Such acts of feeding Gu with living people and disrupting Yin and Yang are against the Heavenly Dao; this poor monk is willing to go to Southern Chu to purify the evil spirits."

Jun Xiaoyao pointed to the water mirror on the right: "The Black-Robed State Preceptor is performing a blood sacrifice in the Southern Chu imperial palace; you go and stop him, and by the way..."

A glimmer of deep meaning flashed in his eyes, "See if you can get the bottom line of the 'Nether Lord' out of his mouth."

"Amitabha, this poor monk obeys."

Xuanzang's figure flickered, and the purple gold alms bowl drew a golden light in the air, disappearing into the transmission light pattern.

Zhao Gao hurried into the hall, holding a black token in his hand, which was the "Nether" token found from the Black-Robed State Preceptor's Storage Pouch.

"Young Lord, the runes on this token have been cracked!"

Zhao Gao's voice was excited, "What is recorded on it is not a Cultivation Technique, but coordinates—the headquarters of the 'Nether' faction is the 'Netherworld Valley' in the Far North Ice Plain, where 'Netherwater' that can make Gu insects mutate in batches is hidden!"

Jun Xiaoyao took the token, his fingertips stroking the coordinates of the Netherworld Valley on it, his mouth hooked into a cold, sharp arc: "Netherwater... no wonder their Gu insects are fiercer than those of the Myriad Gu Valley. Zhao Gao, have the agents of The Net in the Far North Ice Plain immediately investigate the Netherworld Valley; remember, only watch and do not act; I want to know the defensive layout there."

"Yes!" Zhao Gao was about to retreat when he was called back by Jun Xiaoyao.

"Notify Great Doctor Ping, tell him to find a way to sneak into the Ten Thousand Gu Assembly, and focus on keeping an eye on Madam Scorpion's mother-child heart devouring gu."

Jun Xiaoyao added, "Also, tell Never Seeking Defeat to bring the Snow Wolf Clan closer to the Western Regions; no need to rush into the Myriad Gu Valley, just wait outside the miasma forest; when the time comes, they will naturally be needed."

At this time, Great Doctor Ping in the left water mirror had already led the agents of The Net into the miasma forest.

His Dust-Cleansing whisk swung constantly, and where the whisk hairs swept, the pale purple miasma retreated like a tide, revealing a clean path.

The Bone-Eating Vines encountered along the way were burned into charcoal by the Buddha light flicked from his fingertips just as they were about to wrap around.

"Ahead is the Nine-Curved Poison River."

The agent pointed to the black river at the end of the forest, on which a layer of green foam floated, and white bones floated up from under the foam from time to time, "Across the river is the entrance to the Myriad Gu Valley, guarded by the 'Water Poison Envoy' among the 'Twelve Poison Envoys', who can command the Bone-Eating Gu to attack."

Great Doctor Ping poured some powder from his medicine gourd and scattered it onto the river.

The powder dispersed immediately after meeting the water, the green foam disappeared instantly, revealing the dense black Gu insects under the water—those Bone-Eating Gu were pitch black, with two rows of fine teeth, crazily gnawing on the white bones at the bottom of the water.

"No matter." Great Doctor Ping took a small jade bottle from his bosom, which contained transparent liquid, "This is the sap of the 'Seven-Star Lotus', which the Bone-Eating Gu fear the most."

He dripped the sap into the river, and the river water actually became clear at a speed visible to the naked eye; the Bone-Eating Gu turned white and floated up one after another, floating on the water surface with their bellies facing the sky.

The Water Poison Envoy on the opposite bank sensed the movement, roared, and the snake-shaped whip in his hand lashed fiercely at the river surface.

The tip of the whip had just touched the water surface when it was hit by the finger wind of the Rejuvenation Finger flicked by Great Doctor Ping, the tip of the whip exploded instantly, and countless black Gu insects flew out from it, but were purified by the Buddha light in mid-air.

"Who is it?!" The Water Poison Envoy was shocked and angry, untied another pottery jar from his waist, and was about to pour it into the river.

How could Great Doctor Ping give him a chance? His figure flickered and he had already leaped over the poison river, his Rejuvenation Finger pointing directly at the Water Poison Envoy's wrist.

The Water Poison Envoy only felt his wrist go numb, the pottery jar flew out of his hand, and was rolled up by Great Doctor Ping with his whisk, landing steadily on the ground.

"A mere Mid-stage Grandmaster dares to guard the entrance of the Myriad Gu Valley?"

Great Doctor Ping sneered, his fingertips flicked continuously, and several finger winds hit the Acupoints on the Water Poison Envoy's body.

The Water Poison Envoy was instantly frozen in place; he wanted to use his internal energy to resist, but found that as soon as his internal energy was circulated, it was dissolved by a gentle force—this was the wonderful use of the Rejuvenation Finger.

In the water mirror on the right, Xuanzang had already arrived at the Southern Chu imperial palace.

As soon as he stepped into the altar area, a dazzling Buddha light erupted from his body, and the blood-colored runes around the altar instantly dimmed.

The Black-Robed State Preceptor looked at the Buddha light pouring out of the purple gold alms bowl, his face changed suddenly: "A person of Buddhism?!"

"Benefactor, turn back to the shore."

Xuanzang's voice was gentle but carried unquestionable majesty, and the Buddha light surged like a tide toward the corpse of Marquis Zhenbeis formal name on the altar.

The bumps under the skin of the corpse squirmed wildly, as if trying to break free from the shackles of the Buddha light, but were tightly suppressed by the Buddha light, emitting a "sizzling" burning sound.

A ruthless look flashed in the Black-Robed State Preceptor's eyes, and he took out a larger black pottery bottle from his bosom: "Since you are here, stay and be a sacrifice!"

He slammed the pottery bottle to the ground, and countless golden Gu insects flew out from it, covering Xuanzang like a black cloud.

Xuanzang was unhurried, holding up the purple gold alms bowl, and chanting the mantra in his mouth.

A powerful suction force was instantly generated in the alms bowl, the golden Gu insects changed direction one after another, drilling into the alms bowl like moths to a flame, and after a while, there was no movement—obviously, they had been refined.

"Impossible!" The Black-Robed State Preceptor exclaimed in shock; he had never seen anyone who could so easily restrain the mother-child heart devouring gu.

Jun Xiaoyao in front of the water mirror watched this scene, his fingertips tapping lightly on the armrest of the black iron chair.

Xuanzang's Buddha light just happened to restrain the evil spirits of the "Nether" faction.

Great Doctor Ping could crack the poisonous things of the Myriad Gu Valley, Never Seeking Defeat could check the connection between the Snow Wolf Clan and the Gu insects... the chess pieces had landed one after another, and next, it was time to wait for the Ten Thousand Gu Assembly to start.

The wind outside the hall blew with the miasma of the Western Regions and the bloody smell of Southern Chu, but it was blocked outside by the barrier of the core hall, leaving only a faint exotic fragrance.

Jun Xiaoyao leaned on the black iron chair, his gaze as deep as an abyss, as if he had already seen the bloody storm about to be set off in the Myriad Gu Valley, and the greater conspiracy hidden in the Netherworld Valley.

But he was not in a hurry; the code of conduct of Beyond Heaven had always been "when the snipe and the clam grapple, the fisherman profits."

Whether it was Madam Scorpion's Ten Thousand Gu Assembly or the blood sacrifice of the "Nether" faction, it would ultimately only send more resources and chess pieces to Beyond Heaven.

The light of the summoning array gradually subsided, but left faint golden patterns on the ground, indicating that the next summoning was not far away.

Jun Xiaoyao knew that with the clues of the Netherworld Valley and the Nether Lord emerging, this storm sweeping the continent had just entered its climax.

And he, this Young Master of Tianwaitian, only needed to sit quietly in this core hall, watching the chess game move step by step toward the ending he wanted.