A Martial Saint Among Men: From Joining a Martial Arts School

Chapter 161 Poison Bone Stream

Chu Xuan swaggered away from the Xuan Yang Sect, and at the mountain gate, he even greeted several gatekeeper disciples in a very friendly manner.

After walking about ten miles, he suddenly darted out of the nearby forest.

About fifteen minutes later, Chu Xuan arrived at the cave where he had hidden the stolen goods.

After checking, they found no signs of anyone entering and all of their hidden items were still there.

Chu Xuan retrieved the octagonal purple-gold hammer hidden in the cave wall, and then his body crackled and popped. A moment later, he had transformed into a burly man with dark skin, and his height had increased by a full head.

His face resembled that of Wei Hong, his senior brother at the Lu Family Martial Arts School.

"Senior Brother, I'm sorry! I'll just have to use you temporarily!"

Chu Xuan smiled, then changed into a set of ordinary martial arts attire, carrying an eight-sided purple-gold hammer, and headed straight for Lingxiao City.

He didn't go directly to Wanbaolou, but instead went to the house he had bought to rest for a while.

When evening came, he took the octagonal purple-gold hammer and headed straight for Wuyi Lane.

Wuyi Lane.

It was still that dark tower, still that lifeless look.

The person guarding the counter was still that same rat-faced masked man.

"Does the customer want to sell or buy?"

The man with the rat-faced mask saw Chu Xuan, his eyes flashed for a moment, then returned to normal and asked.

Chu Xuan removed the black cloth covering the octagonal purple-gold hammer and said, "Give me an estimate!"

"An octagonal purple-gold hammer? Hehe, that's a good piece of stuff!"

The man with the rat-faced mask chuckled, weighed the mask in his hand, and said with a smile, "One hundred thousand contribution points!"

"Wow, it's so dark!"

Chu Xuan cursed inwardly.

Even though I was prepared to be taken advantage of, I almost broke down at this moment.

The starting bid for the octagonal purple-gold hammer at the Wanbaolou auction was 100,000 contribution points. But that price was clearly set too low; otherwise, how could it have attracted so many bidders?

Its actual price is around 150,000.

Whether it was intentional or unintentional, the other party actually offered a price of 100,000!

"Can!"

Chu Xuan nodded.

Let it be low!

Because this is a unique scorpion cake, he can't sell it anywhere except in Wuyi Lane.

Forget about Wanbaolou. Even if they were willing to accept it, Chu Xuan wasn't planning to risk being exposed by selling it to them.

"Here are 100,000 contribution points, please accept them!"

The man with the rat-faced mask casually opened the cabinet and handed a receipt to Chu Xuan.

Chu Xuan was somewhat surprised.

Is Wanbaolou really that wealthy and powerful?

A mere teller could casually produce 100,000 contribution points without even asking permission.

When the other party offered 60,000 contribution points last time, Chu Xuan felt something was off, but this time they were even more direct!

"What's wrong?" the rat-faced masked man asked in surprise.

"No!"

Chu Xuan took the money and shook his head, then asked, "Do you have the heart's blood of the Five-Tailed Golden Toad here?"

"A five-molted golden toad? Heart's blood?"

The man with the rat-faced mask looked at Chu Xuan with surprise, then laughed and said, "That's possible!"

What is that?

Chu Xuan stared blankly at the rat-faced masked man, then realized what he meant: "So that means there aren't any left?"

The man with the rat-faced mask chuckled, "As long as the customer can afford it, we can arrange for someone to hunt it down!"

"What's the price? How long will it take?" Chu Xuan asked.

If he could afford to spend some money to get the Five-Transformation Golden Toad, he wouldn't mind spending a little more to save himself the trouble of making the trip.

"100,000 contribution points! About six months?!"

Even the person wearing the rat-faced mask wasn't sure.

Damn it!

Chu Xuan cursed inwardly.

You just sold the Eight-sided Purple Gold Hammer for 100,000 contribution points, and you haven't even had a chance to enjoy it yet, and you're already trying to make it back?

And the price was set way too casually!

As for waiting for six months, that's even more impossible.

"Goodbye!"

He didn't say anything more and turned to leave.

I always felt that Wuyi Lane was a bit strange; it didn't seem like a place where people did legitimate business.

The rat-faced masked man chuckled as he watched Chu Xuan disappear, then clicked his tongue and said, "Tsk tsk, you've improved again!"

"Huh, an octagonal purple-gold hammer?"

At this moment, the withered old man came out from behind, holding a bamboo tube in his hand. When he saw the octagonal purple-gold hammer on the counter, he exclaimed in surprise.

Then he laughed and said, "It seems even the Pavilion Master can misjudge people!"

Since the octagonal purple-gold hammer was in the hands of this burly man, it naturally meant that it had nothing to do with Chu Xuan.

The Pavilion Master was so confident before, but now he's been proven wrong, hasn't he?

"Hehe~!"

The man with the rat-faced mask let out a strange laugh.

Hearing the laughter, the gaunt old man felt offended again and said angrily, "Master, you're not going to say this time that this burly man and Chu Xuan are the same person, are you?"

The rat-faced masked man laughed and said, "What else?"

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

The gaunt old man smiled smugly and handed the bamboo tube to the man with the rat-faced mask. "This is news that just came from the Xuan Yang Sect. Chu Xuan has already accepted a mission to go to the Azure Mist to find the Illusion Heart Fruit! He can't possibly be Chu Xuan!"

"Azure Mist?"

The man with the rat-faced mask was taken aback.

Chu Xuan was clearly going to buy the Heart's Blood of the Five-Transformed Golden Toad, so how did he end up accepting the Azure Mist Miasma quest?

There are no five-molted golden toads there!

Could it be that I've really made a mistake?

He looked at the bamboo tube dangling in the withered old man's hand, then suddenly seemed to realize something, narrowing his eyes and saying, "This news should be known to quite a few forces by now, right?"

"Of course!"

The gaunt old man said matter-of-factly, "The Xuan Yang Sect has been raising Gu for years, and its internal structure has long been infiltrated to the point of being riddled with holes! Moreover, the top ten geniuses on the Wind and Cloud Ranking have always been the focus of attention for various forces. Not to mention us, even the Blood God Sect and the first- or second-rate forces in Lingxiao City have probably received the news."

"Then there's no problem!"

The rat-faced masked man nodded, then chuckled, "This kid's cautious enough! But he's also ruthless enough to have chosen the Azure Mist Miasma; he's trying to kill someone!"

"What do you mean?"

The gaunt old man looked completely bewildered.

"Think about it yourself!"

The man with the rat-faced mask said irritably, too lazy to pay him any more attention, and instead sat down on the rattan chair next to him to think.

The top ten on the popularity list are all "Gu seedlings" recognized by the Xuan Yang Sect!

Although the Xuan Yang Sect forbids outsiders from interfering, it does not prohibit its members from killing each other. They even secretly instigate each other, with the aim of cultivating a "Little Gu King".

Among these ten people, Chu Xuan's background and resources are undoubtedly the weakest.

As for the Liu family, who have some connection with Chu Xuan, they are merely a second-rate family, too low-class to be of any level.

That old fellow from the Liu family, who's at the Core Formation stage, might be able to guess some of the Xuan Yang Sect's intentions, but he's unlikely to lower himself to approach Chu Xuan at this point.

In other words, without anyone reminding Chu Xuan, Chu Xuan realized something on his own, which is why he came up with this tactic of shifting the blame.

"He's cunning, a promising talent!" the rat-faced masked man chuckled.

Then, he thought of the blood from the heart of the five-transformed golden toad that Chu Xuan had just mentioned.

Although the Five-Transformation Golden Toad is a fourth-tier exotic beast, its value is too low, making it a disliked creature among fourth-tier exotic beasts.

Its only redeeming quality is that it was originally just an ordinary poisonous toad, which would molt five times in its life, undergoing five transformations before becoming a fourth-tier exotic beast, the Five-Morph Golden Toad!

This is extremely rare even among mythical beasts.

The key to its transformation lies in its heart's blood!

As for its toxicity, it's just so-so!

"So, this kid wants the heart's blood of the Five-Transformation Golden Toad to refine the Heavenly Essence Pill to improve his innate talent?"

The rat-faced masked man rubbed his chin. "Should we lend him a hand?"

Such promising talents are hard to find; we mustn't let the Xuan Yang Sect waste them!

In the end, he shook his head.

"Forget it, we can't force things to grow too fast. Let's wait and see!"

On the other side, after leaving Wuyi Lane, Chu Xuan returned to his residence in Lingxiao City.

The next morning, he changed back into his old clothes and went to Wanbaolou.

"Nephew Chu, you—why did you come in person?" Liu Donglin was taken aback when he saw Chu Xuan. He didn't expect Chu Xuan to be so bold. He knew that the True Essence expert of the Blood God Sect hated Chu Xuan with a passion.

"Uncle Liu, I won't explain this now; you'll understand in a moment."

Chu Xuan said, "Let's talk about the news about the Five-Transformation Golden Toad first."

Liu Donglin nodded upon hearing this, saying, "That's right, that's how it is. We really haven't found the heart's blood of the Five-Transformed Golden Toad. That stuff isn't very valuable and it's difficult to preserve. Basically, even if a martial artist kills a Five-Transformed Golden Toad, they won't specifically collect it to avoid getting poisoned."

However, I learned from Wanbaolou that someone had encountered a Five-Turned Golden Toad in Poison Bone Ravine. The person was an old bounty hunter named Shi Wanshan, who spent years roaming from the outer perimeter of the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain Range to the edge of the inner forbidden zone, and knew the distribution of various exotic beasts and spiritual herbs in Poison Bone Ravine like the back of his hand!

He's willing to lead the way to find the Five-Tailed Golden Toad, but he wants a fee of one thousand contribution points. If you agree, I can arrange a meeting between you two.

"Sure, please make the arrangements, Uncle Liu," Chu Xuan said.

"Perfect timing. Shi Wanshan is selling materials related to exotic beasts at Wanbaolou. I'll arrange for someone to invite him over right away," Liu Donglin nodded.

Chu Xuan nodded, and then, as he circulated his internal energy, a series of cracking sounds came from his body, and his flesh and skin twitched slightly.

The next moment, to Liu Donglin's astonishment, he transformed into Wei Hong's appearance.

"Uncle-Master Liu, please keep my identity a secret!"

Chu Xuan cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Liu Donglin, then his voice changed as he said, "As for my current identity, I am Xu Fengchu, a retainer of the Liu family!"

Liu Donglin was stunned for a long time before he came to his senses and finally understood what Chu Xuan meant by "you'll understand in a moment".

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed that the person in front of him was the same Chu Xuan from before.

No wonder Chu Xuan was so bold as to come down the mountain.

"It's just a disguise technique; I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Uncle Liu," Chu Xuan explained simply.

Liu Donglin, being a worldly man, nodded without saying anything more.

Liu Donglin called Liu Chengzhi in and gave him some instructions. Soon, Liu Chengzhi came in with one other person.

The man appeared to be over sixty years old, thin but with a straight back, dark and rough skin, a face full of deep wrinkles, and cloudy eyes that were as sharp as a hawk's.

His left hand was missing half of his little finger, which looked as if it had been injured by a ferocious beast; he had a beast tooth, a bone whistle, and a herb-gathering knife hanging from his waist.

This person must be the old bounty hunter that Liu Donglin mentioned.

"Greetings, Patriarch Liu!" Shi Wanshan bowed to Liu Donglin as he entered.

"Brother Shi, let me introduce you."

Liu Donglin smiled and introduced Chu Xuan, saying, "This is Xu Fengchu, a retainer of my Liu family. He's the one who needs the heart's blood of the Five-Turned Golden Toad. As for the specifics of the cooperation, you can discuss it yourselves."

Chu Xuan cupped his hands in greeting to Shi Wanshan: "Greetings, Senior Shi."

"I dare not accept such a title!" Shi Wanshan chuckled. "Brother Xu is so young, yet he has already reached the Gang Jin realm and become a guest of honor in the Liu family. His future is limitless. I cannot accept being called a senior by Brother Xu. Just call me Old Stone!"

As for my conditions, I'm sure Patriarch Liu has already told Brother Xu. I don't need to elaborate on how dangerous Poison Bone Ravine is; without a guide, even someone with the Qi Refining stage would find it difficult to make any progress.

I'll be heading to Poison Bone Ravine in a few days. If Brother Xu is willing, you can come with me. A guide fee of 1000 contribution points is required, no bargaining!

"Can!"

Chu Xuan nodded and asked, "When do we depart?"

Shi Wanshan said, "I still have a few teammates to recruit. How about we meet at Qingxi Ferry, about ten miles outside the city, in three days?"

"Can!"

Chu Xuan nodded.

After making an agreement with Shi Wanshan, Chu Xuan bought a large amount of information about Poison Bone Ravine from Wanbaolou, including details about the distribution of various poisonous insects and strange beasts.

Poison Bone Ravine was different from the Corpse Swamp he had visited before.

The Rotten Bone Swamp can only be considered the outer perimeter of the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain Range, while the Poisonous Bone Ravine is already close to the inner perimeter, and the danger is incomparable. There is even a possibility of encountering beasts at the True Essence Realm, so we must be fully prepared.

During this time, Chu Xuan went to the wilderness again, brought back the Karma-Slaying Blade, wrapped it tightly in cloth, and carried it on his back.

This can be considered one of his trump cards.

When you really need it, it's very convenient; a single burst of energy can shatter the cloth bag.

In the blink of an eye, three days have passed.

That morning, Chu Xuan arrived at Qingxi Ferry outside the city.

From afar, one could see a black iron waterwheel moored by the ferry. The hull was made of submerged ironwood, and it was wide and heavy. On each side was a black iron wheel, more than half a person tall, which was dark and heavy.

The cabin is also spacious, and it doesn't feel cramped even if more than a dozen people squeeze in. The stern is covered with a dense array of mechanisms and linkages, and with just one person stepping on it, the flywheel can spin rapidly in the water, propelling the hull through the waves.

At this moment, several people were already standing by the boat. Besides Shi Wanshan, there were four others. They included men, women, the old, and the strong.

To Chu Xuan's surprise, one of the women was wearing the robes of an inner disciple of the Xuan Yang Sect, embroidered with the words "Qing Mu".

"Brother Xu has arrived! Come, come, let me introduce you!"

When Shi Wanshan saw Chu Xuan, he immediately waved to him with a smile.

"This is Su Mei, a disciple of the Green Wood Peak of the Xuan Yang Sect, Miss Su."

He began by introducing the inner disciples of the Xuan Yang Sect.

Standing next to Su Mei was a young man with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, carrying a long sword on his back. He merely glanced at Chu Xuan before looking away and continuing to talk quietly with Su Mei.

The two are clearly together; judging from their intimate manner, they appear to be a couple or husband and wife.

"This is Young Master Liu Ming, an inner disciple of the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion!" Shi Wanshan introduced the man.

Inner sect of Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion?

Chu Xuan raised an eyebrow.

Actually, even without Shi Wanshan's introduction, he could have guessed it just by looking at the clothes of the inner disciple of the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion on the other party's body.

The remaining two.

One was a one-armed swordsman, who looked younger than Shi Wanshan, but not by much. He had a scar across his brow bone and his name was Guan Qi.

Although he only has one arm, he is the strongest among them, having reached the Great Perfection of the Gang Jin cultivation.

The last person was a burly man with a towering build, his muscles bulging like small mountains, and his skin bronze. He was a martial artist who had broken through the Gang Jin (罡劲) barrier through hard skills, named Zhao Meng!

After Shi Wanshan finished his introduction, Chu Xuan cupped his hands and said, "I am Xu Fengchu, a retainer of the Liu family. Greetings, everyone."

"Brother Xu, you're too kind!"

"Greetings, Young Master Xu!"

Everyone else responded politely.

Su Mei nodded to Chu Xuan as a greeting.

However, Liu Ming, an inner disciple of the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion, lost interest after hearing that Chu Xuan was merely a retainer of the Liu family.

"Alright, now that everyone's here, shouldn't we set off?"

Liu Ming said somewhat impatiently.

"No rush!"

Shi Wanshan smiled faintly, "There's still one person who hasn't arrived yet."

One more?

Everyone was taken aback.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, please forgive me!"

Just then, a slightly familiar voice rang out from behind them.

-

Chu Xuan's eyelids twitched suddenly. When he turned his head and saw the smiling, middle-aged fat man, his heart skipped a beat.

The person who arrived was none other than Steward Cui, the one guarding the gate of the Hidden Dharma Pavilion!

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