Song Ziqing gave a wry smile and said, “This poison seems to be the handiwork of Thousand Poisons. How did you manage to provoke him?”

Zheng Cong asked, “Who exactly is Thousand Poisons?” It was the second time he had heard this name.

Song Ziqing replied, “Little brother, you really are out of the loop. Don’t just think about earning Spirit Stones all day. Haven’t you heard the recent rumors?”

Sweat covered Zheng Cong’s forehead as he exerted all his strength to suppress the Poisonous Thread, which was extremely draining. He said, “I only know that the Heart Sect was destroyed! I’m not clear on the rest.”

Song Ziqing let out a cold laugh and said, “The Vast Gold Sect that attacked the Heart Sect was annihilated. Did you know that?”

Zheng Cong was stunned; he truly did not know.

“The Heart Sect had a super expert in the Body Fusion stage hidden away. Someone disturbed him from his critical seclusion, and upon emerging, he went on a killing spree. Did you think the Heart Sect was easy to bully?”

“What? Body Fusion stage? That’s terrifying.”

Zheng Cong was so frightened he could hardly speak. The concept of the Body Fusion stage was like a mortal facing a Cultivator in the Elemental Infant stage—worlds apart. He was stunned for a long while before he said, “Why would the Vast Gold Sect attack if there was such an expert? This… this doesn’t make sense!”

“Sense or no sense, the sect’s elder was in deep seclusion, suppressing the earth’s fiery magma, but those fools from the Vast Gold Sect broke the seclusion’s restrictions, leading to the emergence of this old monster. I heard that after coming out, he was so enraged he even killed many of his own people. Sigh, never mind, let’s not talk about it.”

Zheng Cong listened, dumbfounded. He was unaware of so many changes. Then, he thought of something: although the Heart Sect was destroyed, its foundation remained untouched. Not many of the higher-ups were killed, which meant that the latent power of the Heart Sect was still there, not to mention a Body Fusion stage expert. He didn’t know that the Ancestor had fallen from the early stages of Body Fusion to now being just a Cultivator in the Divided Spirit stage.

In any case, from Song Ziqing’s words, he concluded that the people of the Heart Sect were still not to be trifled with. It was laughable that he had been struck by a Poison Lotus from a junior and had foolishly shattered it himself. Now, deeply poisoned, a moment’s carelessness could lead to death. He began to regret his actions.

But regret was useless; what had happened had happened, and it had to be resolved. He asked, “Old Song, is there a way to deal with this poison?”

Song Ziqing held up two fingers and said, “Two methods!”

Zheng Cong’s eyes lit up. He had no solutions, but Song Ziqing actually had two.

“Which two methods?”

Song Ziqing said, “One method is to find an Elemental Infant stage expert to force the poison to your arm and then amputate it. If you can find a very powerful Elemental Infant stage expert, you might lose less. For example, if it can only be forced to the arm, then you amputate the arm. If it can be forced to the hand, then you amputate the wrist. If it can be forced to a finger, then you amputate the finger.”

The series of “amputate” made Zheng Cong’s vision darken as he gave a bitter smile and said, “What’s the other method?”

Song Ziqing said, “Find Thousand Poisons. He must have a way to solve it. This is the best method. Your poison cannot be cured by Spirit Pills. Well, to be precise, my Spirit Pills can’t cure it.”

Zheng Cong had only heard the name Thousand Poisons for the first time today. Where could he go to find him? The first method seemed more reliable, but he did not want to amputate his hand or arm. With a bitter face, he asked, “Is there another way?”

Song Ziqing said, “Actually, there is another method.”

Zheng Cong, who had completely given up hope, suddenly perked up. “What method?”

Song Ziqing said seriously, “Find the person who poisoned you. I believe he can cure it!”

Zheng Cong felt like a deflated ball, sighing, “Ah, how could that be possible!” After a long while, he gritted his teeth and said, “I won’t let them off!”

Song Ziqing said, “I’ll have someone send you back.” He couldn’t be bothered to say more.

Zheng Cong painfully took out a bag of Spirit Stones and placed them on the table, nodding and saying, “Old Song, thanks.” He got up to leave, grinding his teeth as he walked.

Yong Ji, leading Mi Xiaojing and Luo Bo, quickly approached Hidden Huo City and smoothly found Zhang Ke and the others along the way.

It took them over ten days to travel just a few hundred miles, as their pace through the forest was as slow as a snail’s.

Seeing Yong Ji and Mi Xiaojing return, everyone was excited.

Yang Shan said, “You’re finally back. I’ve noticed someone spying on us recently. The journey here has been uneasy, and I don’t know who it is.”

Yong Ji asked, “Oh, are they Rogue Cultivators or from a sect?”

Yang Shan gave a bitter smile, “I don’t know. It gives me a dangerous feeling, probably not from a sect. It’s more likely a Rogue Cultivator.”

Yong Ji said, “Don’t be afraid of Rogue Cultivators. If they come, we kill them!”

Yang Shan laughed, “It’s not that I’m afraid of them, it’s just hard to take care of everything.”

At this moment, Mi Xiaojing noticed that their group had grown significantly, with many being disciples who had escaped from the Heart Sect earlier, mostly Qi Refining Cultivators. He asked Zhang Ke, “Why are there so many more people?”

Zhang Ke helplessly said, “They followed us along the way. Since we’re all wearing the Heart Sect’s disciple uniforms, they just followed, and it didn’t seem right to drive them away. Besides, there’s safety in numbers, so I didn’t plan to send them away. Let them follow if they want.”

Mi Xiaojing thought for a moment and nodded, “Alright, let them follow. We’re stronger in numbers, and it’s safer for them too.”

Yong Ji turned around and said, “You’re really too soft-hearted. Well, let them follow. After all, we were once part of a sect. Even though the sect is gone, we should still look after each other.”

Mi Xiaojing said, “The small Flying Boat can squeeze in a few more people. Ask them if they want to go to the Tianyuan Market, and we can go together.”

Yong Ji said, “The more people, the more Spirit Stones it will cost. Are you willing?”

Mi Xiaojing nodded, “A few Spirit Stones don’t matter.”

Yong Ji nodded, “Alright, we’ll do as you wish. But a small Flying Boat can’t take everyone.”

“Take as many as we can, and if we can’t, then so be it. We’ll do our best.”

Mi Xiaojing looked around and saw that there were quite a few people. Zhang Ke’s group wasn’t large and consisted of people Mi Xiaojing was familiar with. However, not far away, there was a group of people who had also stopped to rest because of Zhang Ke’s group. Among them, there were even a few that Mi Xiaojing recognized.

In fact, there were some low-level Cultivators he had conflicts with in the past. When they saw Mi Xiaojing, their expressions changed, their eyes flickering and avoiding his gaze.

Despite Mi Xiaojing’s relatively short time in the Heart Sect and not having done anything significant, he held a mythic prestige among these low-level Cultivators because, in their eyes, Mi Xiaojing was an absolute genius.

Mi Xiaojing himself did not share this view. He was too busy to care about others’ opinions, and even if he knew, he wouldn’t mind. The story continues… Your support is my greatest motivation.