December. Night at Jiang State Capital.
Liu Qiyue waited in one of Meng Manor’s halls.
“Oh?” Liu Qiyue sensed something and looked outside the hall. She saw Meng Chuan walking across the snow.
“You haven’t slept yet?” asked Meng Chuan with a smile.
“Of course. I have to wait for you,” said Liu Qiyue with a smile. “You rushed out in a hurry. Were you out on a rescue?”
Meng Chuan shook his head. “No. An Earth Net spy discovered a demon monarch lair. He immediately reported it. Archean Mountain arranged for me to go. There were five third Firmament demon monarchs, 17 second Firmament demon monarchs, and some ordinary demons.”
“How far away were they from us?” asked Liu Qiyue.
“2,600 kilometers,” said Meng Chuan. “In An State.”
“You went so far?” Liu Qiyue frowned.
“First of all, I’m very fast. Traveling that distance isn’t much for me. We also can’t afford to wait or there might be some unpredictable changes. The faster I act, the better. Secondly, it’s hard to tell which demon monarchs reside in the demon monarch lair. It might even be a fourth Firmament demon monarch. It’s dangerous for weaker Marquis Godfiends to barge in,” said Meng Chuan with a smile. Although he was a newly-advanced Marquis Godfiend, Meng Chuan was capable of unleashing the strength of a peak Marquis Godfiend. His life-preservation means were also strong.
“Most importantly, in the six states, I’m the one that has the most spare time. I get a request for help once every ten days or so,” said Meng Chuan wistfully. Liu Qiyue couldn’t help but sigh. “I’ve looked into it. There are very few instances of elite demon monarch teams attacking in the surrounding ten states.”
“My rescue area spans 1500 kilometers, and Jiang State Capital is at the center. This is a secret. The demons aren’t aware of it, so they can only estimate my designated rescue range… Therefore, the elite demon monarch teams in these ten states are startled at the slightest sound. They are afraid that I will rush over immediately,” said Meng Chuan with a smile. “Archean Mountain is also cunning. Occasionally, they will send me to help areas that are over 1,500 kilometers away to confuse the demons.”
Liu Qiyue couldn’t help but say, “They actually made you travel more than 2,500 kilometers away.”
“If something is real, we should make it seem fake. If something is fake, then we should make it seem real,” said Meng Chuan with a smile. “This is a concept Archean Mountain abides by. It’s good that we can give the demons headaches.”
“You alone rescue 20 to 30 percent of the Great Zhou Dynasty’s cities. This will affect the surrounding areas as well. The demons will definitely treat you as a thorn in their side,” said Liu Qiyue. “You have to be careful. Last time, the demons sent Great Demon Monarch Blackrock to assassinate you. If you really provoke the demons, they might make a move on you in the future.”
Meng Chuan smiled. “Speaking of Greater Demon Monarch Blackrock, Archean Mountain gave me 50 million credits, and this was after the reward was shared equally with King Luyue. It looks like this Blackrock was worth 100 million credits.”
Meng Chuan chased and kept Blackrock at bay, and King Luyue captured him alive! According to Archean Mountain’s distribution rules, 50 percent of the rewarded credit would be given to those that discovered or tracked down demon monarchs. The other 50 percent of the rewarded credit was given to those responsible for killing or capturing said demon monarchs alive.
“A fourth Firmament demon monarch is worth ten million. It looks like it had treasures worth 90 million credits,” said Liu Qiyue.
“I don’t know what treasures it had, but they were worth so many credits.” Meng Chuan sighed. “In addition, I killed six elite demon monarch teams in the past two months and obtained quite a lot of spoils of war that I exchanged for credits. Now, I have nearly 90 million credits. I don’t even know how to spend it.”
“Look at how smug you are.” Liu Qiyue smiled.
“Here.” Meng Chuan flipped his hand and handed a brocade pouch to Liu Qiyue.
Liu Qiyue was stunned. “What’s this?”
“Open it and take a look.” Meng Chuan pretended to be mysterious.
Liu Qiyue opened the brocade pouch and saw ten crystals—which emitted a fiery red glow. This surprised Liu Qiyue. “Blood Fire Crystals?”
After becoming a Marquis Godfiend, Liu Qiyue needed resources to cultivate her Phoenix Divine Body. For example, the phoenix feather was something that could only be found by chance. As for Blood Fire Crystals, Phoenix Divine Body Marquis Godfiends historically used them for cultivation. Blood Fire Crystals could strengthen one’s phoenix bloodline. One Blood Fire Crystal cost three million credits. It was very expensive. Ten Blood Fire Crystals was 30 million credits.
“This is enough for you to cultivate for ten years,” said Meng Chuan with a smile. “Use them first.”
“Ah Chuan.” Liu Qiyue looked at him. She was touched, but she also exhorted him, “In the future, tell me first if you need anything. I’ll accumulate credit myself.”
Meng Chuan smiled and nodded. “Don’t worry. I understand.”
At this moment, a maid came in with a meal tray.
“I ordered someone to cook porridge,” said Liu Qiyue. “Have some porridge first.”
With that said, she placed one of the two bowls of porridge in front of Meng Chuan. She placed one bowl in front of herself before smiling at Meng Chuan.
She watched her husband eat first.
How fragrant! Meng Chuan held the bowl and drank half of the porridge in one gulp. He felt the fragrance of porridge fill his mouth. The lit candle beside him also emanated an odorless gas. As he breathed it in, the gas entered his body, mixing with the porridge… Liu Qiyue couldn’t help but smile as she watched Meng Chuan enjoy the meal. She picked up her spoon and began eating. “Don’t eat it.” Meng Chuan waved his hand. With a crash, the bowl of porridge in front of Liu Qiyue flew off the table and shattered on the ground.
Liu Qiyue was shocked.
Meng Chuan’s face had blackened. Blood-colored patterns surfaced on his body as though countless worms were wriggling.
“Ah Chuan!” Liu Qiyue was alarmed.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Meng Chuan immediately struck himself seven times as his Quintessential Essence surged violently.
Pfft
Meng Chuan opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of black blood. Organ fragments could be seen mixed in the black blood. A large mouthful of black blood landed on the ground, and a huge crater immediately appeared on the ground.
Chi! Chi! Chi
A black, sanguine mist rose from Meng Chuan’s body. The poisonous mist surged out from every pore on Meng Chuan’s body. Eighty percent of his blood instantly evaporated. Ordinary Godfiends wouldn’t have survived such serious injuries.
Pfft. Pfft.
Meng Chuan spat out two more mouthfuls of blood. His body became thinner as he closed his eyes.
His thin body and pale face began to recover at speeds visible to the naked eye. His body turned muscular again, and his face gradually turned rosy. What a powerful poison. Meng Chuan opened his eyes and looked at the corroded crater on the ground. He then looked at the bowl of porridge on the ground.“Ah Chuan, are you alright?” Liu Qiyue was a little flustered.
“It’s nothing.” Meng Chuan said, “Most Marquis Godfiends won’t be able to escape death after consuming this poison. It’s so potent that it’s unbelievably terrifying. Investigate what poison it is. The porridge and the candle on the ground have to be preserved properly. Let Archean Mountain’s poison experts investigate its origins.”
“Alright.” Liu Qiyue nodded. “Are you really alright now?”
“Don’t worry. I cultivate a physical body mystic technique. Even if the poison was five times more potent, it wouldn’t kill me,” said Meng Chuan. He immediately used his Quintessential Essence to cut and isolate all his poison body parts the instant the poison seeped into his body. He even sliced off parts of his organs. He lost over half his blood. After expelling all of the poison from his body, his powerful vitality restored his body rapidly. Meng Chuan looked at Liu Qiyue. “If you had drunk this bowl of porridge, you’d be in big trouble.”
Just the thought of it made Meng Chuan shudder. If his wife had consumed it, would her Phoenix Divine Body be able to withstand it? It was said that the Phoenix Divine Body was very powerful when it underwent Nirvana. It could be said to be an immortal’s body, but Meng Chuan wasn’t confident.
“Our food is repeatedly inspected from the moment it’s purchased. Even if it is poisoned during the cooking process, birds and beasts will sample it first. They actually managed to poison our food,” Liu Qiyue said solemnly. “I’ll get people from Earth Net to investigate carefully.”
Meng Chuan nodded. “Such lethal poison is definitely extraordinary. Those who are willing to pay such a huge price are most likely demons. Carefully investigate how the demons infiltrated. Also, I feel that the manor isn’t safe. It isn’t suitable for You’er and An’er to stay here.”
“You’er and An’er?” Liu Qiyue’s heart stirred.