Chapter 27: The Intermediate Secret Art of Poison Eyes

A bamboo-leaf-shaped magical implement, only of the lowest first grade, took little effort to refine. After finishing the process, Cao Chengyu made a visit to the suburban stables. Little Wind was thriving there, well-fed and robust.

He took the opportunity to experience the exhilaration of flight. Once infused with spiritual energy, the spindle-shaped bamboo leaf expanded rapidly, easily bearing the weight of a single person. It could ascend to about five hundred meters and moved at a pace comparable to riding a bicycle—rather more underwhelming than Cao Chengyu had imagined.

Still, a flying magical implement was a flying magical implement; it could fetch around fifty spirit stones if sold. He savored the sensation of soaring through the air, though some dissatisfaction lingered. If only he could ride a sword through the sky—that would be true ecstasy.

He indulged in flight all afternoon. In the evening, he returned to his dormitory and resumed his rigorous cultivation. He had only just begun practicing the Scripture of the Yellow Court, but with his focus and the method’s effective circulation, his progress was swift. Coupled with the assistance of the Golden Sprout Pill, his cultivation advanced at a breathtaking pace.

In less than half a month, having consumed half of the Golden Sprout Pills, his cultivation had surged to forty-three percent of the mid-phase Spirit Refining Realm. The vast majority of this progress stemmed from the effectiveness of the Scripture of the Yellow Court. His aptitude and comprehension grew ever more formidable, and even his mastery of spells improved considerably.

Spells: Object Manipulation, Wind Step, Azure Flood-Dragon Sleeve (mid-grade, 1%), Fivefold Blazing Fire Technique (mid-grade, 11%), Black Tortoise Shield (low-grade, 62%), Yellow Cloud Art (mid-grade, 33%).

Secret Techniques: Venomous Gaze (mid-grade, 3%).

Through deliberate study and considerable effort, he had begun to refine and upgrade the Azure Flood-Dragon Sleeve. All his other spells had likewise shown progress. Most importantly, his Venomous Gaze secret art had successfully advanced to the mid-grade level. Such a technique was typically wielded by cultivators at the Dao Body Realm; its power far exceeded that of lower-grade arts.

The uniqueness of Venomous Gaze lay in the ability to poison invisibly through eye contact—hence the saying “kill with a glare.” Its flaw, however, was that the poison itself was not potent enough to kill a cultivator.

Cao Chengyu directed his efforts toward enhancing the potency of the venom, raising the limit of toxins his eye-space could store by absorbing various poisons. Accordingly, the Human Poison Pills he refined through Venomous Gaze would also become more effective.

In other words, his value to Luo Yuzhu had grown even greater. With him as a walking, talking poison pill, Luo Yuzhu might ascend to the Purple Mansion Realm within a few years, forever altering her status. In turn, he could ride her coattails to new heights, leveraging her position to gather resources for himself.

Because he only accepted poison-testing missions at the Task Hall, rumors of his intimate connection to Luo Yuzhu had spread widely. He did not much mind—if anything, such talk merely complicated his pursuit of other targets. For now, he had no plans to consider anyone else within the Skywatch Tower. As for those outside, there were always excuses: perhaps he was under the influence of toxins, perhaps someone had leverage over him, perhaps he was being coerced...

Bang, bang, bang!

“Who’s there?”

The door was knocked, disrupting Cao Chengyu’s cultivation. It was Liu Yun once again.

Noticing the deep furrow in Cao Chengyu’s brow, Liu Yun quickly spoke up.

“Brother Cao, do you remember the poetry gathering at the Garden of Fragrance?”

“Are you talking about Brother Luo’s incident? Or that kid surnamed Xiao?”

“That penniless fellow,” Liu Yun paused, then continued, “He drew Young Master Zhao’s attention last time, and now, in less than half a month, he’s broken through again. He got into a fight with Young Master Zhao’s guards outside the city and, in a fit of rage, killed them all.”

“Young Master Zhao, unable to tolerate the insult, relied on his Dao Body cultivation to suppress him. Everyone thought the outcome was settled.”

“Who could have guessed that Elder Chen from the Five Elements Sect intervened and saved that Xiao fellow? Not only did he leave the Skywatch Tower, but he joined the Water Meridian of the Five Elements Sect and became Elder Chen’s disciple—an overnight rise!”

Cao Chengyu fell silent. Chen Yuqing was the head of the Water Meridian in the Five Elements Sect, a major figure at the Purple Mansion level. To protect a Spirit Refining cultivator was a trivial matter for her. Clearly, this likely protagonist enjoyed extraordinary fortune—by every sign, he was a man of great destiny.

Cao Chengyu could not help but grow curious about his “golden finger.” It might be the remnant soul of an old master, a treasure like the Heaven-Grasping Bottle, some sort of mystical farming space, or even a system.

“The Water Meridian of the Five Elements Sect... When it comes time to forge my Dao Body, I might have to deal with them. I’ll wait until then to interact with that kid.”

With that decision made, Cao Chengyu and Liu Yun settled in for a long, meandering conversation. Through Liu Yun, he could learn about almost every recent event in the capital. This was just Liu Yun’s way.

From tales of hard-boiled eggs hatching chicks, to the scandalous affairs of noble wives, to the meteoric rise of fresh talents—and of course, every rumor about Cao Chengyu himself—Liu Yun recounted them all with relish.

But most importantly, a major event had recently occurred: the Skywatch Tower’s master had fought a battle with a blue flood dragon. He slew it while sustaining only light injuries and brought its body back, but its scales, blood, flesh, and other remains were scattered throughout the Blackwind Mountains during the fight.

Many cultivators had rushed there, hoping to scavenge a bit of blood or even a scrap of flesh just to taste dragon soup.

Cao Chengyu’s heart stirred at the news.

“A blue flood dragon? A wind-attribute golden core dragon?”

“Yes! The rogue cultivators have gone mad. They’re all searching the Blackwind Mountains by now. Many colleagues from the Skywatch Tower are tempted as well.”

“But it’s different for us. The master will likely put some of the dragon materials in the treasury for the Crimson Guards to exchange. We don’t have enough contribution points, so we can only look, not touch.”

From this conversation, Cao Chengyu gleaned much. Notably, his Azure Flood-Dragon Sleeve had only just been fully developed and now required the scales of a flood dragon to craft a special sleeve. Wind attributes were a perfect match. He realized he, too, would have to make a trip to the Blackwind Mountains.

A single golden core flood dragon scale would suffice for his needs.

Three days had passed since the master had slain the dragon. With this in mind, Cao Chengyu hurried off, stopping at the Spring Blossom Hall to spend a day refining a new Human Poison Pill for Luo Yuzhu. In exchange, she gave him a large quantity of rare toxins to further empower his Venomous Gaze.

He then mounted his bamboo-leaf magical implement and flew toward the Blackwind Mountains. Though the speed was only that of a bicycle, flight allowed him to take a straight path, much faster than traveling by land.

In earlier years, the Blackwind Mountains had been the lair of the notorious Blackwind Bandits. Being too close to the capital and a threat to the main trade routes, they were eradicated by imperial forces. Apart from a few low-level demon beasts, the area was generally safe.

Now, however, the greatest danger came from the adventurers scouring the mountains for dragon remains.

On his first treasure-hunting expedition, Cao Chengyu prepared meticulously. The toxins he had acquired from Luo Yuzhu each held unique effects, suited for any situation.

After more than half a day’s travel, Cao Chengyu finally arrived at the Blackwind Mountains.