In just a few days, he had firmly reached the Qi Condensation Realm, and his True Qi was still growing rapidly. Seeing Chen Zheng's arrival, they all felt immensely delighted. After some idle chat and dinner, Chen Zheng left.

「The night passed in the blink of an eye.」

After washing up, Chen Zheng pushed open the door and froze. Yue Gao, whom he hadn't seen in days, was standing at his doorstep.

"There's big trouble!" A grave expression was on Yue Gao's face.

Chen Zheng was startled. Yue Gao seemed to have gone through many ordeals in the past few days.

"What happened?" Chen Zheng asked.

Yue Gao shook her head and said gravely, "The Gu Chi lineage has already taken action. You will find out soon enough. I am very curious how you will handle this crisis!"

With that, Yue Gao turned and left.

Chen Zheng was stunned again. That earlier feeling must have been my imagination. Yue Gao hasn't changed at all; she merely wanted to see how I would react.

"Brother Zheng!" Huang Hua's voice trembled with tension and anxiety.

Chen Zheng turned to see Huang Hua and Kuang Yuanyuan rushing toward him like the wind. Their figures leaped in the sunlight, and soon they were standing before him.

"What happened?" Chen Zheng asked with a frown, his gaze as deep as a lake, impossible to fathom.

"Brother, most people in the stockade woke up this morning with terrifying yellow spots all over them!" As he spoke, Huang Hua took out his phone and showed Chen Zheng the photos.

Chen Zheng took the phone, his brow furrowed. The villagers in the photos were covered in thumb-sized yellow spots, looking horrifying.

"Do you know what caused this?" Chen Zheng asked.

Huang Hua and Kuang Yuanyuan shook their heads, their eyes filled with confusion and fear.

"Quanhuang Gu Poison," Yue Gao's voice floated over like a stream in a secluded valley. "It is a mysterious poison from the Gu Chi lineage, made from the venom of countless Gu insects. A single drop is enough to annihilate an army of thousands in an instant."

"What?" Huang Hua cried out in shock upon hearing the name.

"You know about it?" Chen Zheng stared at him.

Huang Hua nodded. "Brother, I read about it in our clan's miscellaneous records. A hundred years ago, a place called Shanyun Village experienced a devastating incident with Quanhuang Gu Poison. That village was like a small city, home to more than two thousand residents. However, within just ten days, the vibrant place turned into a silent graveyard. Those once-vibrant people were reduced to horrifying corpses. Their bodies were completely rotted, with only their heads remaining intact."

"That's... That's horrifying!" Kuang Yuanyuan stammered, covering her mouth in terror.

Chen Zheng frowned. He had to admit that this so-called Quanhuang Gu Poison was truly terrifying.

"Is there no way to cure it?" Kuang Yuanyuan asked uncertainly.

Huang Hua shook his head helplessly. When it came to Gu poison, who could say for sure?

"It's incurable!" Yue Gao's voice was calm yet resolute, turning chillingly solemn. "With Quanhuang Gu Poison, every concoction is an unpredictable art. The Gu worm venoms are combined at random. If you can't solve the mystery of which venoms were used and in what amounts, creating an antidote is impossible—like trying to find water without a source. What's even more despairing is that the poison takes its course over six days. By the third day, it has penetrated the bone marrow and can no longer be expelled."

"Why is that?" Huang Hua asked, puzzled.

Yue Gao answered flatly, "Those afflicted by Quanhuang Gu Poison experience a countdown to death. On the first day, yellow spots appear. On the second, dizziness begins. The third brings blood decay. On the fourth, the internal organs start to fester. On the fifth, the flesh begins to rot."

"And on the sixth day..." She paused for a moment before continuing slowly, "Quanhuang Gu Poison is a demonic toxin that forces one to feel the agony of their body rotting away while fully conscious. Those consumed by this poison ultimately die in endless pain. This is also why the people of Shanyun Village were found with only their heads left."

"That is absolutely monstrous!" Huang Hua's eyes widened, and Kuang Yuanyuan's face was a mask of horror. They didn't think Yue Gao was exaggerating, as she had no reason to deceive them.

"The reality is even more horrifying," Yue Gao said indifferently. "This is the power of the Gu Chi lineage. If you don't kill them decisively, you will provoke their frenzied retaliation."

After saying her piece, Yue Gao looked at Chen Zheng and asked again, "You said you could resolve this. I'm curious, how do you plan to do it?"

"I've already summoned the Pure Cleansing lineage. They will arrive soon. I've also discovered the secret of the Quanhuang Gu Poison—it's in the spring's source, so stop drinking the water!"

With that, Yue Gao turned and left without waiting for a reaction. Despite her anger, she hadn't truly abandoned Nanhai Stockade.

Snapping out of his shock, Huang Hua quickly pulled Kuang Yuanyuan away.

Chen Zheng didn't follow them, walking toward the spring instead. What's done is done. The most important thing now is to solve the problem.

"The Gu Chi lineage... so cunning and deceitful," he cursed under his breath as he approached the spring.

At the edge of the spring, Chen Zheng gazed at the mirror-like surface of the water, which reflected a clear, deep light.

He gently waved his arm, and a jet of clear water leaped from the spring like a nimble white dragon, quietly circling before him. His gaze penetrated the water's surface, but he noticed nothing unusual. He leaned closer, inhaling deeply, but smelled nothing out of the ordinary.

Then, he began to probe the water with his Nine Yang True Qi. Finally, he discovered a trace of strange energy within it. He surmised this was the legendary Quanhuang Gu Poison. He increased the output of his True Qi, and the foreign energy was soon annihilated by the Nine Yang True Qi.

Is that all there is to it? Chen Zheng smiled in satisfaction, letting the water fall back into the spring.

Then, he drew forth a new stream of water.

The Divine Poison Scripture is said to devour all toxins in the world. Today, let's see if it can neutralize this Quanhuang Gu Poison! he thought, activating the scripture.

Almost instantly, he sensed the energy's presence. Immediately after, he felt his own True Qi surge forth like a tidal wave. In a flash, he swept the peculiar energy from the water.

However, a new type of True Qi formed within his body, one utterly different from his Nine Yang True Qi.

The Divine Poison Scripture is truly extraordinary, even more impressive than the Nine Yang Art!

Chen Zheng nodded in satisfaction and plunged his hand directly into the spring.

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