Poison Cultivators

Jiang Lu cradled a jar in her arms, walking carefully toward her courtyard.

Her three little spirit beasts followed at a safe distance, their fur bristling slightly.

Although the venomous insects inside lacked spiritual energy, just looking at them made one's skin crawl.

“Junior Sister Jiang, Junior Sister Jiang!”

Before she had gone far, Jiang Lu heard someone calling her from the distance. She stopped and looked toward the approaching figure.

The face before her was somewhat unfamiliar.

She ran over, panting, and was about to lean in to say something to Jiang Lu when she caught sight of the jar in her arms.

She stopped dead in her tracks, nearly losing her balance from running too fast.

After wobbling for a moment, she raised a hand, pointing first at the jar in Jiang Lu's arms, then at Jiang Lu herself.

She swallowed hard, her words catching in her throat.

Jiang Lu blinked, noticing the girl's gaze locked onto the jar.

She lifted the jar slightly.

“Senior Sister, is there something you need?”

The disciple took a step back. Poison cultivators were not to be trifled with, but remembering her purpose, she braced herself and spoke up:

“Junior Sister Jiang, my name is Yingchun. You can call me Senior Sister Yingchun. Senior Sister Cheng Xin said she couldn't reach you through your communication token, so she sent me to ask if you'd like to go to a secret realm for a trial.”

Huh?

Jiang Lu realized she had indeed been too busy lately and hadn't checked her token in ages. Her main concern had been getting addicted to the forum and neglecting her cultivation.

Other disciples: Drag this grind king out and execute her!

She hastily pulled out her token to check, and sure enough, there were quite a few unread messages. She gave a guilty smile.

Seeing this, Yingchun didn't say much. Senior Sister Cheng Xin had already told them that Yuhua Peak had welcomed a grind king who could rival Eldest Senior Sister, so it was only natural she hadn't checked her messages.

“I'd love to go. What kind of secret realm is it, and who else is participating?” Jiang Lu nodded and asked.

“You might not know this, Junior Sister, but this is a grand secret realm that opens only once every ten years. It requires the joint efforts of the Three Great Sects and the Medicine King Pavilion to open, and it serves as a place for cultivators to train and gain experience.

“Only Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment cultivators can enter. Inside, there are countless demon beasts and spiritual plants. Once you come out, you only need to hand over spiritual plants or treasures of equivalent value to the three sects and the Medicine King Pavilion.

“However, although it's a training ground for sect disciples, smaller sects, clans, and rogue cultivators are also allowed entry. Naturally, it holds no small amount of danger, and countless people have perished inside. If you go, Junior Sister, you must be extremely careful.

“You can choose to form a team or go alone. Everything depends on how you want to handle it.”

After saying this, Yingchun blinked at Jiang Lu. Yingchun was definitely going to team up with other senior brothers and sisters. However, Jiang Lu's late-stage Qi Condensation cultivation was too weak in their eyes, so she didn't ask if Jiang Lu wanted to join them.

Jiang Lu nodded, asked for a few more details, and accepted the entry token. The two then parted ways.

Seeing Jiang Lu cradling the jar like a precious treasure, Yingchun shuddered. She resolved to warn everyone to avoid provoking Junior Sister Jiang if they could help it.

Poison cultivators were not to be messed with; their group of spell cultivators would definitely be no match for her.

Jiang Lu watched her hasty departure with confusion. She was a bit baffled—was she really that terrifying?

She shook her head. How could someone as cute as her be terrifying? Senior Sister Yingchun must have just been too busy, which was why she ran off so quickly.

Humming a tune, she skipped back into her courtyard.

The three spirit beasts: Just the thought of living with those bugs in the future makes our skin crawl.

She placed the jar on the table and opened the lid. A thin layer of spiritual energy covered the opening to prevent the venomous insects from crawling out.

These were venomous creatures she had spent a fortune on at the market outside the sect.

Despite the jar's small size, it contained over a hundred kinds of venomous bugs. It was a pity they were living creatures and couldn't be raised inside her space; otherwise, she would have definitely had Linglong set aside a plot of land for them.

“Master, Master! I have great news for you. Soon, the space will be able to hold living things!”

Speak of the devil.

Jiang Lu was pleasantly surprised to hear this.

“Linglong, really? Why is that?”

Linglong's light orb zipped back and forth inside the space before finally settling on the Jianmu.

“Because of the Jianmu, Master! It possesses boundless vitality, filling the entire space with spiritual energy. With its nourishment, the space will repair itself. Once it's restored, living things can come in.”

That's wonderful!

Jiang Lu thought excitedly. But then, who would help her raise these bugs?

If only she had a spirit beast to raise the bugs for her, just like how Ling Xi helped her plant spiritual plants.

She reached out, her hand enveloped in a strand of black spiritual energy, and reached into the jar to pull out a centipede.

These venomous insects looked no different from the ones she had seen in her previous life, but here in the cultivation world, nourished by natural treasures, their toxicity was far more potent.

Even some Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators ran the risk of perishing if bitten by certain terrifying venomous insects without an antidote. This showed just how frightening they were.

Furthermore, the poisons crafted by cultivators also contained spiritual energy. With toxins infused into spiritual energy, purging them from the body was no simple task.

Fortunately, poison cultivators were rare, so others would naturally steer clear of them.

Both poison cultivators and medicine cultivators belonged to the same lineage. Thus, although neither was as prestigious as elixir cultivators, they were still highly respected for this very reason.

Recalling the methods of refining poison from the books she had read, and combining them with the steps she had seen other disciples use during the tournament, Jiang Lu merged the techniques and set to work.

“M-Master...”

Chi Li's voice trembled, tinged with a crying tone. Although it and Cang Chen weren't afraid, looking at the writhing mass still made their skin crawl. It was just too densely packed and rather disgusting.

“What's wrong?”

Jiang Lu turned to look at it, her lips completely black.

“Your mouth... you've been poisoned.”

Jiang Lu was taken aback. With a wave of her hand, a mirror appeared in front of her. Staring at her pale face and pitch-black lips in the reflection, she blinked.

She circulated the dark spiritual energy within her body, breaking down the toxins and expelling them.

Before long, her rosy complexion returned.

Looking at the table piled with poison powders, poison pills, and poison liquids, she burst into laughter. She had succeeded! What's more, they were all completely colorless and odorless.

Becoming a poison cultivator was as easy as pie!

Other cultivators: Are you even speaking human?

Humming a tune, she carefully put them all away, coating her hidden weapons in the toxic liquid.

Whoever crossed her would have to watch their step.

Furthermore, after these past few days of poison-making, she was now practically immune to a hundred poisons. Any venomous bugs she encountered in the wild from now on would just be little cuties.

Other cultivators: Little cuties my foot!

After packing her things and gathering her three little spirit beasts, she waved her hand to summon a spiritual crane and headed out of the sect.

Quite a few cultivators were entering the secret realm this time, and the sect had prepared a spiritual boat to transport them.

As Jiang Lu boarded, she spotted Liu Qingqing's figure once again.

Only this time, she wasn't surrounded by the direct disciples, but rather by other inner sect disciples.