Chapter 131: Chapter 131: Countering a Scheme with a Scheme

"This..." Feeling the Nether Poison stir within him, Yang Zhentian stared at Shen Haoran in disbelief.

’He really does have a way to deal with the Nether Poison in my body!’

"Old Sir, focus your energy and force the Nether Poison toward my palm!" Shen Haoran said in a deep voice, ignoring Yang Zhentian’s astonishment.

"Alright!" Snapped back to his senses by Shen Haoran’s shout, Yang Zhentian quickly began to cooperate. The Thousand Illusion Spirit Marrow on his chest emitted a soft, jade-like glow, forcing the black Nether Poison to converge toward Shen Haoran’s palm.

At the same time, a few wisps of flame danced in Shen Haoran’s hand. He looked at Yang Zhentian and said, "Old Sir, the next part might be a little dangerous. You need to be prepared!"

"Go ahead and do what you must, young man. This old life of mine was nearly over anyway. Don’t you worry!" Yang Zhentian boomed with a laugh.

Hearing this, Shen Haoran took a deep breath, then slapped the wisps of flame in his hand into Yang Zhentian’s body!

HISS... The terrifying heat of the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian made the meridians inside Yang Zhentian’s body shrivel instantly. A piercing pain made him suck in a sharp breath!

Pain was inevitable, so Shen Haoran paid no mind to Yang Zhentian’s reaction. He carefully controlled the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian, letting it course through Yang Zhentian’s body in search of the Nether Poison’s hiding place!

The black flames collided with the black poison, and a constant SIZZLING sound emanated from within Yang Zhentian. Time ticked by, second by second. Sweat beaded on Shen Haoran’s forehead; controlling the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian for so long had pushed him to his limit. His current Fire Manipulation Skill was not yet refined enough to support such a delicate process!

’Damn it, where is it?’ Shen Haoran roared under his breath, gritting his teeth and panting heavily.

After another full search, Shen Haoran’s Spiritual Thought was finally on the verge of collapse. His consciousness began to blur!

’I can’t hold on!’ Shen Haoran’s mind went hazy, and he was about to withdraw the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian from Yang Zhentian’s body. If the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian escaped his control, Yang Zhentian wouldn’t die from the poison—he’d be burned to death by the obsidian flame first!

"Hm...?" Just as Shen Haoran was about to pull out the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian, a cloud of utter black mist drifted past!

Seeing this black mist, Shen Haoran was overjoyed. ’I’ve finally found it! So the Nether Poison has been flowing throughout Yang Zhentian’s body this whole time! No wonder I couldn’t find it!’

"Hmph!" Shen Haoran snorted coldly. Fighting back the dizziness assaulting his mind, he sent dozens of streams of Black Flame surging into Yang Zhentian’s body to envelop the cloud of black poison mist.

As if sensing the threat, the black poison mist began to stir restlessly. Vipers formed from the Nether Poison struck out at the black flames!

The Fire Spirit Black Obsidian sensed the Nether Poison’s provocation. The Black Flame transformed into a long dragon, opened its massive maw, and swallowed the Nether Poison whole.

"Hmph, still trying to resist!" Shen Haoran snorted again. Dozens of Black Flame Giant Dragons trapped the Nether Poison as he formed a Seal Technique.

"Seal!" With a low roar, the Black Flame Giant Dragons charged into the Nether Poison mist all at once. The black mist churned violently before being devoured by the raging black flames, finally falling silent!

PHEW... Having done all this, Shen Haoran’s vision went black and he collapsed to the ground, only recovering a few breaths later.

"Old Sir, I’ve temporarily suppressed the Nether Poison in your body. You just need to force out the remaining toxins yourself," Shen Haoran said weakly.

Hearing this, Yang Zhentian closed his eyes to feel inside his body. Sure enough, the aura of death that had plagued him was gone. Traces of Spiritual Power began to circulate within him again, nourishing his ravaged body. It was a sensation Yang Zhentian hadn’t felt in three years. In that moment, two lines of tears couldn’t help but stream down his old face.

"Young man, thank you!" Yang Zhentian said from the bottom of his heart. One could say that Shen Haoran had given him a second life!

"Don’t celebrate too early, Old Sir. The Nether Poison in your body has only been temporarily suppressed. I don’t know how long it will hold. To eradicate it completely will take a considerable amount of time," Shen Haoran said with a wry smile.

"Time? Time is the one thing I don’t have right now! Chao Fei has already been making moves these past few days. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have risked the Refinement of this Thousand Illusion Spirit Marrow to deal with the Nether Poison!" Yang Zhentian said with a frown.

At his words, Shen Haoran also fell into deep thought.

"Old Sir, why don’t we make a deal?" Shen Haoran said softly after a moment.

"A deal? What kind of deal?" Yang Zhentian asked, puzzled.

"I’ll solve your problem with Chao Fei’s usurpation, and you give me that half piece of Thousand Illusion Spirit Marrow. What do you say?" Shen Haoran said, his gaze fixed fervently on the white, jade-like marrow.

That was Thousand Illusion Jade Marrow, something even rarer than the Thousand Illusions Spirit Potion. Shen Haoran hadn’t expected Black Wind Stronghold to be hiding Thousand Illusion Jade Marrow. No wonder what they’d sent to auction was the diluted Thousand Illusions Spirit Potion. If the Thousand Illusion Jade Marrow were to appear, even those reclusive old fossils would probably come out to fight for it!

"Alright, no problem! If you really have a way to help Black Wind Stronghold through this crisis, what’s the harm in giving this Jade Marrow to you!" Yang Zhentian readily agreed. Compared to the Thousand Illusion Jade Marrow, the Yang Family’s century-old foundation was far more important!

"But, what’s your plan?" Yang Zhentian asked.

"Old Sir, isn’t Chao Fei just waiting for you to die? Then let’s beat him at his own game! We’ll do this..." Inside the room, still filled with the black poison mist, the old man and the young man began to whisper to each other. An occasional, unsettling laugh would drift out, making the two Maids behind them tremble in fear...

Meanwhile, outside the Palace, Yang Yu and the others were all waiting anxiously.

"Several hours have passed already. Why hasn’t he come out?"

"I bet that kid is already dead in there. Not even a Spirit Aspect Powerhouse dares to cross that black poison mist, let alone some brat at the Spirit Pupil Tier."

"I’d guess so too. Sigh, poor Village Chief. Is he really beyond saving?"

Nearby, the old man surnamed Wu sneered, ’Hmph, what an arrogant, conceited brat. Did he really think he had what it takes?’

"He gave me a scare. Turns out he was just putting up a brave front. I really thought he was going to charge into that black mist!" one of the three Fifth Grade Alchemists said, his face full of contempt as he looked at the mist.

On the other side, Yang Yu’s brow furrowed even more deeply. He stared at the Palace, shrouded in black mist, a sense of unease rising in his heart.

"Young Master, is the Village Chief really beyond saving?" Yang Zhenlan said, his expression grim.

"No, I have to go in and see!" Yang Yu declared and made to charge into the black mist.

"You mustn’t! Absolutely not!" Seeing this, Yang Zhenlan hurriedly blocked Yang Yu. He himself couldn’t get through the black mist, let alone Yang Yu. If the old Village Chief was truly gone, and something happened to Yang Yu as well, Black Wind Stronghold would be finished!

"Second Uncle, don’t stop me! That’s my father lying in there!" Yang Yu roared, but no matter how he struggled, he couldn’t break free from Yang Zhenlan’s grip.

"Calm down, calm down..."

CREAK... Just as everyone was sinking into despair, the sound of a door opening rang out, and a thin figure walked out from the Palace.