Within the Spirit Realm Pearl, Lan An sat in a circle with his beloved women. Even Su Yan was present, all eyes drawn to the bewitching allure of Liu Yuqing.
Upon entering the pearl, both Liu Yuqing and Su Yan had been momentarily stunned by its splendor. Yet their natures cared little for ostentatious luxury, so the shock passed swiftly. Su Yan claimed a palace on the second tier, dubbing it Hundred Flowers Palace.
The women obediently arranged a residence for Liu Yuqing on the third tier, naming it Venom Palace. The name was crude, but Liu Yuqing adored it—she was poison incarnate.
Only Wu Sanniang paid no heed to such trifles. The iron-willed woman stood arms crossed beneath the colossal stele of the Giant Race, eyes blazing with manic excitement as she devoured the sight of the Eight Gates Evasion Armor. She had even lunged at Lan An in a frenzy, planting a fierce kiss that left him dizzy to this day.
When he gifted her the Heaven-Splitting Gauntlet, a peak True-Grade treasure, she had barely blinked. But the Eight Gates Evasion Armor—legendary across the Savage Desolation Star, the supreme body-tempering secret art that sparked war among the three great races—now rested in Lan An's hands. Even Wu Sanniang cursed his dog-shit luck under her breath.
Yet on Yue Long Star, mastering it would be no easy feat. Wu Sanniang was already itching to drag him into brutal training.
Liu Yuqing's smile bloomed like deadly nightshade as she regarded Lan An and the women. Her voice, soft as silk yet laced with venom, drifted forth:
"The tale is long, but it was the greatest fortune of this mother's life."
Lan An and the women leaned in, rapt. Even Jin'er pricked her ears—how had Liu Yuqing forged such a terrifying physique?
"Nearly twenty years ago, after I secretly fled the Liu Clan…" Liu Yuqing's eyes glazed with memory. "To conceal my identity and avoid attention, I destroyed my own beauty. I mutilated my face and figure, turning myself into a hideous crone."
The women's hearts clenched. Lan An's fists whitened.
Liu Yuqing's original countenance rivaled celestial maidens. To keep it would have painted a target on her back—either the Lacs would seize her, or countless others would hunt her. Destruction was logical.
But logic did not dull the horror. How many women could mutilate their own faces? All for the day she could save her son.
The women gazed at her in awe. Beauty was a woman's most treasured jewel—many would kill for it. Yet she had shattered hers without hesitation.
"Gravely wounded, I hid to heal," Liu Yuqing continued calmly. "Then I set out to seize power."
"My cultivation was merely Nascent Soul Perfection. I joined hunter bands, taking high-risk missions for resources while scouring rumors of secret realms and fallen experts' caves—anything for an inheritance."
"Alas, even when I found treasures, they never reached my hands. The captains distributed everything. An ugly hag like me received only scraps."
The women bristled with fury.
Liu Yuqing merely smiled. "After two years as a hunter, I broke through to Spirit Transformation. I left Ice Heaven Continent to avoid the Lac Clan's eyes…"
"My first destination: Sea Continent, richest in races and ocean-born fortunes. A lone mercenary, I took jobs at trade hubs—harvesting spirit herbs, slaying sea beasts, chasing tales of sunken merchant fleets and perished paragons…"
"Nearly a year later, I located a Void Refining Perfection expert's underwater grotto. Six months inside earned me mid-Spirit Transformation… only to be captured by pirates the moment I emerged."
Lan An's face darkened, but he held his tongue.
"The Iron Blood Pirates, led by Tie Sha, early Void Refining. He stripped my gains but spared me for my cultivation, forcing me to serve as his enforcer. For over two years, I burned villages, slaughtered innocents—countless lives stained my hands. Kill or be killed. I am sorry."
Liu Shiquan pulled her into a comforting embrace. In the cultivation world, the weak were meat. No one blamed her—least of all Lan An. She had endured hell for him.
"But I defied Tie Sha once," Liu Yuqing said, pride flickering. "The wisest choice of my life."
"The Iron Blood Pirates raided a wealthy merchant vessel. All crew died—save one adorable girl, kept for Tie Sha's lust."
"Worse than beasts!" the women hissed.
"I thought of Little An's age. If I save her, perhaps the heavens will repay my son. I smuggled her out and cast her into the sea—better than Tie Sha's clutches. Foundation Establishment—she could survive."
Liu Yuqing smiled warmly at Lan An, believing her kindness had blessed him.
Lan An returned the smile, but his heart bled. There is no heaven's reward. The real Little An died long ago.
"My betrayal was uncovered. Tie Sha imprisoned and tortured me near death… until a miracle."
"The girl belonged to an Eighth-Rank power. Rescuing her from the waves, they annihilated the Iron Blood Pirates—tens of thousands drowned the sea red. I was saved by her clan."
"Heaven's will!" the women sighed in relief.
"They rewarded me richly, pushing me to late Spirit Transformation. I journeyed to Desolate Sand Continent, feeling my fate with Sea Continent spent."
"Sister, you suffered…" Liu Shiquan buried her face in Liu Yuqing's chest, sniffling.
Liu Yuqing stroked her hair tenderly. "En route via inter-city arrays, a malfunction hurled me into the void storm—barely clinging to life…"
Lan An and the women fell silent, hearts aching.
"Yet the heavens favored me again." Gratitude filled Liu Yuqing's eyes. "A senior couple, explorers of ancient ruins, pulled me from the abyss."
Lan An and Diyama Yueqi exchanged odd glances.
"Mother, was the man missing an arm, the woman slightly hunched?"
Liu Yuqing blinked. "Exactly. You know them?"
Lan An laughed, recounting the Kao Clan Elders.
"So that's it. The Kao seniors truly command respect," Liu Yuqing murmured, nostalgia softening her gaze.
"They're tied to our Liu Clan by fate," Liu Shiquan said gratefully. "They saved Little An by leaving him with us—now they saved Elder Sister too."
Lan An nodded. The Kao Elders were the seniors he revered most.
"More than saving my life—they rewrote my destiny." Liu Yuqing caressed her striking violet-green hair. "Hearing our tragic tale, they sympathized… yet bound by some code, they could not intervene directly. Instead, they gifted me a fragment of an ancient ruin map—warning it was a place even they dared not enter."
The women leaned closer. Here it comes.
"Ecstatic, I bid them farewell and pursued power. Nearly a year of travel led me to a hidden subterranean ruin near Spirit Flame City, under Bright Flame Sect jurisdiction."
The group nodded—origin of the feud between Poison Human and Bright Flame Sect.
But with her face ruined, how had she caught that young master's eye?
"Was the ruin a chance to restore your beauty?" Liu Shiquan blurted.
"It was merely a cavern," Liu Yuqing intoned. "Containing only a vortex."
"A vortex?" Curiosity piqued.
"A vortex piercing infinite void—linking Yue Long Star to another world!"
Gasps erupted. Jaws dropped—except Jin'er, who merely frowned in thought.
"Ancient records speak of Primordial Era geniuses who forged planet-spanning arrays," Dan Mengji breathed. "But none confirmed. Survivors stayed silent."
"What's the shock?" Wu Sanniang snorted, snapping them awake. "Isn't this brat coming with me soon?"
Lan An swallowed. "Master, you can build such arrays?"
Wu Sanniang rolled her eyes. "This old woman lacks the skill. Planet-crossing arrays are rarer than phoenix feathers—ancient beyond reckoning. Likely built by outsiders seeking Yue Long Star."
The implication chilled them.
"You're right," Liu Yuqing nodded. "The array led to Myriad Poison Star, secretly crafted by a long-dead paragon. I stepped through…"
"Mother, what did you face on Myriad Poison Star?" Lan An pressed, unable to wait.
Her journey rivaled even Wu Sanniang's—both had walked alien worlds.
Liu Yuqing's voice dropped to a grave whisper:
"No life. No pure qi. No clean water. No fertile soil. Only endless poison. Poison as far as the eye could see…"
The women shivered.
"Myriad Poison Star was destroyed by its own cultivators. Across eras, they worshipped poison, researched poison, built empires on poison. Wars raged until poison choked the heavens, poisoned the earth—leaving only poison. No life remained."
Even Wu Sanniang grew solemn.
"I died the instant I arrived," Liu Yuqing said, gazing fondly at Lan An. "Flesh and soul corroded, bones melted—only a wisp of will for Little An lingered."
Lan An's heart shattered. He crushed her in his arms, trembling at the thought of losing her.
Liu Yuqing nestled against him, voice soft yet strange:
"The heavens truly favored me. That lingering will… moved the poison. Myriad poisons gathered, forged bone from venom, flesh from toxin, blood from ichor, soul from miasma, organs from sludge. Will returned to the new body. After countless years… I became who I am today."
"I returned through the vortex, hid in Spirit Flame City to consolidate. The rest… you know."
Even she could not explain it. She only knew: after near-death, she became immune to all poisons. Nearly all of Myriad Poison Star's venom sealed within her Venom Heart. She needed no cultivation—refining the heart's poison skyrocketed her realm.
Lan An and the women sat stunned, finally grasping the hell Liu Yuqing endured for two decades—and the birth of an unparalleled Poison Human.
Perched on Lan An's shoulder, Jin'er muttered, words for his ears alone:
"Immortal Realm legends say: When all life on a world perishes to poison, the final survivor who endures the Myriad Poisons Devouring Body with unbreakable will… may forge the Apocalypse Poison Physique."