Infinite: Starting from Resident Evil

Although it was an auction house, its decor was completely different from the grand and luxurious setups of later generations. The spacious hall contained a dozen or twenty long wooden tables surrounding a round table, with a huge, pale white candle lit on each table. The combined candlelight illuminated the entire hall as if it were daytime.

Led by a pretty Miao girl, the group found a table and sat down, then waited for the auction to begin.

Not long after, when the pale candle had burned down to about a tenth of its length, a large, middle-aged Miao man, surrounded by a group of experts, walked into the auction house and immediately announced the start of the auction.

Next, the auction items were brought to the center of the round platform, where a Miao girl with a red line drawn under each eye displayed and explained them, followed by a chorus of bids.

Shen Ye's target was the Poison-Avoiding Pearl, and he wasn't very interested in the other auction items. Lu Linxuan and the others next to him were the same, so they chatted while waiting for the Poison-Avoiding Pearl to appear.

As each item was brought to the stage and sold, a box eventually appeared in the hands of the Miao girl.

"Poison-avoiding pearl, starting bid 100 taels of silver."

The Miao girl opened the box, revealing the emerald green beads inside, and her gentle voice filled the hall that had instantly fallen silent.

Then, in the next second, the quiet hall suddenly became lively again, with voices and bids getting louder and louder, almost lifting the roof off.

Shen Ye didn't immediately join in. Instead, he rested his chin on his hand, idly sipping his tea while comforting the somewhat nervous Chi Meng.

"Don't worry, I'll make the final decision."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a merchant from the Central Plains shouted out six thousand taels of silver, which eased the tense atmosphere in the hall considerably.

This price is already very high.

Although the Poison-Avoiding Beads are very rare, they are not something you only see once every few years. There are usually four or five of them every year. Moreover, they are not very useful. Apart from some people who want to enter the Ten Thousand Poisons Cave to learn skills, many people just want to keep them as collectibles.

So for a long time afterward, no one raised the price anymore.

Just as the Central Plains merchant stood up with some pride to retrieve his auction item, Shen Ye uttered five words indifferently.

"One thousand taels of gold."

……

Since they arrived in Miao territory ahead of time, the little episodes in the original drama were naturally impossible. There was no so-called Dan people stealing the antidote beads, nor did they have any interaction with Xiao Weng, the manager of Gui City.

The whole process was uneventful and easy. Even Shen Ye's final bid increase didn't cause much of a stir. At most, it made the beautiful Miao girl with wheat-colored skin glance at him a few more times, but there was no further development.

This left Shen Ye, who had some ulterior motives, feeling a little disappointed, but he didn't dwell on it for long because important matters needed to be addressed.

Afterwards, under the curious gazes of Hou Qing and his sister, who wondered where he had gotten so much gold, Shen Ye paid a full thousand taels of gold, accepted the poison-avoiding pearl personally delivered by the Miao girl, and left Gui City with the others.

……

After leaving Guishi, it was already late at night. Since they hadn't brought much luggage, Shen Ye and his group naturally couldn't head straight to the Ten Thousand Poisons Cave at this time. So they returned to Qianshan Village to rest.

Then, on the second day, after breakfast, the group set off for the Cave of Ten Thousand Poisons.

Speaking of the Myriad Poison Cave, it is mysterious, but it is not that its location is difficult to find, it is just difficult to enter. In fact, as long as you go to the place with the most miasma, you will reach the Myriad Poison Cave.

Of course, this is on the premise that one has the art of using Gu worms or a poison-avoiding bead; otherwise, one will die from the highly poisonous miasma after only a few steps.

Shen Ye and his group, who had set off from Qianshan Village, soon arrived at the outskirts of a deep, old forest filled with miasma.

Even though they were still more than ten meters away from the endless green miasma, the foul smell emanating from it made Lu Linxuan and Miaoxuan, who were only at the Lesser Heavenly Realm, feel dizzy and lightheaded. They quickly circulated their internal energy to regulate their breathing before they felt a little better.

Shen Ye could smell it too, but he didn't feel any physical reaction. However, just to be on the safe side, he held his breath and then took the poison-avoiding bead out of the box.

Swish!

As soon as the Poison-Avoiding Bead appeared, the almost invisible green miasma that permeated the surrounding area quickly disappeared like melting snow.

After estimating the effective range of the poison-repelling bead to be about seven or eight meters, Shen Ye nodded in satisfaction, thinking that the effect was quite good and that it could probably hold thirty or fifty people without any problem.

However, just in case, before setting off, he still instructed everyone around him to stay close to him.

then……

"set off!"

……

(This is a transitional chapter; it's quite bland, mainly because there's not much conflict to write about.)

Chapter 458! The Cave of Ten Thousand Poisons

……

The Miao region is vast, with countless mountains.

Although the Ten Thousand Poisons Cave contains the word "cave," it doesn't mean it's located in a specific cave; it's also quite large.

Therefore, after passing through that layer of highly poisonous miasma, Shen Ye and his group still had to traverse one forest after another.

They walked for an unknown amount of time until the sun was high in the sky before they finally saw signs of human habitation.

"That place... is the true location of the Cave of Ten Thousand Poisons."

Looking at the Miao village not far away, Chi Meng lifted the cloak that covered her face. She was the Holy Maiden of the Ten Thousand Poisons Cave. Outside, not many people knew her, but inside the Ten Thousand Poisons Cave, almost everyone knew her.

Now that her father, the Gu King, is imprisoned, and most of the forces within the Ten Thousand Poison Cave have submitted to the Witch King, she naturally cannot appear openly as before.

She added, "When we sneak in, we mustn't wander off. Be careful of the Witch King's spies. We need to find my father first."

Listening to Chi Meng's words, Shen Ye and the others also looked at the seemingly ordinary Miao village. Of course, it was considered ordinary because it was almost no different from other Miao villages outside the village. The only difference was that it was quite large, resembling a county town in the Central Plains.

Shen Ye observed for a while, then looked away and said calmly, "No need for all that trouble. Let's just charge in and kill all those who have sided with the Witch King."

Chi Meng said anxiously, "That won't do. My dad said that every insect master is a treasure of Miao territory. It's very troublesome to train an insect master. If you want to kill, kill the Witch King."

"Ok."

Shen Ye nodded helplessly, but thinking about it, it made sense. Chi Meng was the Holy Maiden of the Ten Thousand Poisons Cave, so naturally she didn't want to see blood flowing like a river in the Ten Thousand Poisons Cave. Besides, if he killed everyone, then the Ten Thousand Poisons Cave would have no reason to exist, and the Holy Maiden Chi Meng would probably become a commander without troops.

"Then let's go in and take a look at what this Ten Thousand Poisons Cave is like."

After Shen Ye finished speaking, he took the lead and walked over, while the others followed behind him, curiously looking around.

The group quickly arrived at the entrance of the Miao village, but there were no guards there, so they went straight in.

"It seems even more lively here than outside!" Lu Linxuan, holding Shen Ye's arm, looked curiously at a Miao person climbing a mountain of knives in the distance. Dozens of Miao people were gathered at the foot of the mountain of knives, which resembled a centipede with many knives stuck in it, and people cheered from time to time.

"It's completely different from what I've heard."

As soon as they entered the Cave of Ten Thousand Poisons, they discovered that it was completely different from the legendary Cave of Ten Thousand Poisons in the Central Plains. It was neither gloomy nor terrifying, and there were no poisonous insects or snakes crawling all over the place. Instead, it was just as ordinary as it looked from the outside, no different from most of the Miao villages they had visited, and even more lively.

“Of course, Insect Masters are human too, not ascetic monks. They need to eat, have fun, earn money, and live.” Chi Meng swam ahead with her hands behind her back, then turned around and said proudly, “Actually, the Ten Thousand Poison Cave wasn’t like this before. I heard from Brother You Chuan that the Ten Thousand Poison Cave used to be crawling with poisonous insects and snakes. Later, after my father became the Gu King, the environment here gradually improved.”

Looking at the Miao holy maiden who was proud of her father's achievements, Shen Ye naturally did not hold back his praise: "My future father-in-law is truly remarkable."

"whee……"

Chi Meng smiled so much that her eyes narrowed.

Of course, this was followed by several cold snorts.

However, Shen Ye counted and there seemed to be five sounds. What about the extra one?

He turned his head and looked at the older sister who was biting into a sugar figurine with a puzzled expression, but the older sister looked at him with even more puzzlement, and then held up the sugar figurine in her hand to him: "Kid, do you want to eat one too?"

That's what I gave you, okay?

Shen Ye immediately stopped looking at her and turned his head back, but he didn't notice the flash of bloodlust in his sister's eyes.

Next, the group continued deeper into the Miao village.

Along the way, the group saw many people with "unique skills" performing for money. Putting aside acrobatics like walking on knives and through fire, there were also people performing special skills such as retrieving money from boiling oil, rolling needles, and swallowing hot coals. This made the group, who were in the most mysterious Ten Thousand Poison Cave in Miao territory, feel relaxed. The youngest sister even excitedly dragged Lu Linxuan over to give him some tips.

However, as the group continued to venture deeper, the true Cave of Ten Thousand Poisons gradually came into view.

On a wooden frame by the roadside, a person with bound hands and feet, emaciated and covered in scorpions and centipedes, was being swarmed by an insect master nearby who was chanting incantations in a barely audible voice. The emaciated person then let out a series of chilling screams.

Aside from Chi Meng, the other girls, both young and old, were startled by the scene, and their faces turned pale. Even Shi Yao couldn't help but touch her face, as if she had thought of something bad.

"Master, what are they doing?" Hou Qing asked, frowning. He was a germaphobe, and his complexion wasn't much better than the girls', but being a man, he didn't react as strongly.

"They must be selecting Insect Masters, right? But it's not the promotion tournament on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, so why are there so many unfamiliar Insect Masters from other places participating in the competition? Could it be that Poisonous Turtle is up to some kind of conspiracy?" Chi Meng answered Hou Qing's question first, then frowned and looked at the hundreds of Insect Masters gathered not far away. None of them looked familiar, and they were definitely not from out of town.

“It’s obvious.” Shen Ye’s gaze shifted from the person on the wooden frame. It was a young man, thin as a rake, but judging from his hair, he should not be over thirty years old. He was not Chi Meng’s father.

Then, he looked behind the group of insect masters participating in the competition. There were hundreds of wooden frames there, and inside each frame was a person who was as thin as a rake.

After thinking for a moment, Shen Ye said to Chi Meng, "Meng'er, take a look, is there anyone you recognize in there?"

Chi Meng glanced at them and shook her head: "None of them are familiar faces, they're all new faces. Besides, the people used to screen insect masters are usually heinous criminals who have committed unforgivable crimes against the Ten Thousand Poison Cave. It's cruel, but they deserve it."

Clearly, Chi Meng was speaking according to the previous code of conduct of the Ten Thousand Poisons Cave.

Shen Ye frowned, but did not respond to Chi Meng's words. Instead, he scanned the people in the wooden frames again, but he did not see his future father-in-law.

"Could it be that the Gu King is still imprisoned by the Witch King?" Although the plot has changed, Shen Ye still thought of the best-case scenario and dared not consider the other possibility.

That is, because of his appearance, and the possibility that Yuan Tiangang might be planning something against him in Miao territory, the Witch King took action against the Gu King ahead of time.

Thinking of this, Shen Ye sighed inwardly: "I hope my future father-in-law is still alive."

……

Chapter 459! Prince Qi