"Elder Zhang, you must not agree. This 'Elder Longjiao' is a being on the verge of reaching the level of a great grandmaster of alchemy. Compared to refining beneficial pills that aid cultivation, the 'Ghost Flood Dragon Clan' is more skilled at refining poison pills. He himself is the number one alchemy expert of the 'Ghost Flood Dragon Clan'!"
Su Yuan, of course, knew the situation of the "Ghost Flood Dragon Clan" even better. Fearing that Elder Zhang had overlooked this point after reading the information, he sent an urgent voice transmission.
The three of them, Wanxiang, focused their gazes on Li Yan, who had not spoken.
Then, it was the monk from "Longhua Temple," Wanzang, who spoke directly.
"Benefactor Zhang, the 'Ghost Flood Dragon Clan' is most skilled at refining poison pills and poisonous substances. Their poison pills are well-known among cultivators. Many poison pills are fatal upon contact. Even we Golden Cores cannot refine them in time. This old benefactor is an expert in this field. Amitabha!"
His words were actually no different from directly advising Li Yan not to fall for the trap.
Li Yan immediately felt a sense of goodwill towards this monk. He could feel that Monk Wanzang, as a human cultivator, was already being very considerate towards his own kind.
Seeing someone speak out to stop him, "Elder Longjiao" on the other side did not interrupt. Such words not only praised him, but also added a layer of shackles to Zhang Ming's heart.
So, it was only after Monk Wanzang had finished speaking that his gloomy voice slowly came over.
"Fellow daoists, you all know why we two sides are in dispute. Of course, it is most reasonable to use this method to gamble. Otherwise, there are many alchemists in first-rate sects. Why has the 'Sacred Demon Palace' still let the 'Ghost Flood Dragon Clan' provide a portion of the mid-to-low-grade pills for so many years? If it were really decided by ordinary duels, any first-rate sect could just send out a Nascent Soul and wipe us all out. What's the point of such a gamble, fellow daoists?"
As he spoke, he swept his gaze over everyone, and finally, as if intentionally, he looked at those Demon Guard soldiers.
The ten Demon Guard soldiers remained expressionless and silent, but their eyes were all looking at Li Yan's position.
And Li Yan, who was still half-suspended, his face was as calm as an ancient well, making it impossible for others to know what he was thinking. Seeing everyone's gaze fall on him, it was only after a few breaths that he slowly spoke.
"The method of dueling was agreed upon yesterday. How can you just change it as you please?"
As soon as he said this, Su Yuan and the other two behind him first breathed a sigh of relief. On the other side, "Elder Longjiao's" eyes flickered, and he did not answer.
He kept staring at Li Yan. The other party's expression was not as agitated as his tone, and his tone did not fluctuate much.
Sure enough, Li Yan's tone then changed.
"However, what you said is also right. Since this time the dispute is over medicinal pills, and there is no alchemy grandmaster trusted by both sides here to appraise a refining duel. At the same time, you also want to establish your might. A poison duel is also acceptable? It's just that I have two conditions..."
"Little Friend Zhang..."
"Elder Zhang..."
"Amitabha!"
This time, not only did Great Master Wanxiang move his feet slightly and couldn't help but give a reminder, but Su Yuan and the other two behind him could no longer bother with voice transmission and spoke out in a hurry.
Li Yan, however, raised his hand to signal Su Yuan and the other two not to interrupt, and then turned to bow slightly to Wanxiang and the other two.
"Fellow Daoist Zhang, what are your conditions, please state them!"
"Elder Longjiao," seeing that the other party's attitude had indeed changed, sneered in his heart. The other party obviously would not easily fall into his trap.
'Is he trying to find an excuse to back out?'
However, everything the other party did was still within his expectations.
Regardless of what reason the other party found not to choose a poison duel, his goal had already been half-achieved. At least he had let these Demon Guard soldiers know that the other party had a deficiency in alchemy.
The pills they provided were not only beneficial pills that aided cultivation, but also detoxification pills and poison pills.
A pill that one did not even believe could be detoxified, what would others think?
If this news was passed back to the "Sacred Demon Palace," even if that deacon in charge of medicinal pills had some relationship with "Falling Star Valley," the pressure on him would probably increase sharply.
And their "Ghost Flood Dragon Clan" had not directly conflicted with that deacon. If he went to give some more benefits afterwards, the result was not irreversible.
And then, they heard Li Yan's faint voice. But what he said was beyond everyone's expectations.
"My condition is... a poison duel is fine, but since you can change the content of the duel once, it may happen a second time, a third time... If I really win this round, and you propose other duels for some reason, do you think I should accept or not? So, if you want me to agree to your poison duel, all three of you must come up together. This way, there will be no subsequent possibilities. And, if you lose, the remaining twenty percent share of your esteemed sect's transaction with the 'Sacred Demon Palace' must also be given to us..."
At this point, Li Yan's gaze swept over the faces of the people on the other side one by one, deliberately slowing down his tone.
"How about it? If there is no problem, then the three of you, please come up together. I will issue three pills, one for each of you. And you can also give out one to three pills. It's no problem for me to take them all at once. Finally, we'll see who successfully detoxifies first. If both sides are fine, we will continue to take out poison pills and poison liquids for the other party to swallow, and so on, until one side admits defeat..."
Since the other party broke the agreement, Li Yan fought back without hesitation. He had many trump cards, but as long as he could solve the opponent with the least effort, Li Yan would never want to waste any more energy.
What's more, the more trump cards were exposed, the worse it was for Li Yan.
"Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win a hundred battles" meant this. The enemies he would face in the future were not just these few people.
As soon as he said this, the faces of the people on the other side immediately changed. Especially the three from the "Ghost Flood Dragon Clan." The female cultivator, Xi Ye, was the first to jump out.
"Fellow Daoist Zhang, you are quite calculating. You took the poison alone, but you also dragged the three of us along with you. You even vainly hope to take the remaining share. Why don't I have a fight with you first?"
She cursed in her heart. The other party made it sound nice, saying that their side could take out three poison pills or poison liquids for him to swallow at once, but that was not very meaningful.
But since it was a poison duel, even a fool knew that the first poison pill they took out must be the strongest poison pill or poison liquid on them. Since the great elder had proposed it, the poison pill or poison liquid must have been taken out by the great elder.
Just this one pill or one drop could take the other party's life. Why bother taking out any other pills?
But the other party wanted to poison the three of them at once. In order not to let their side win easily, the three pills the other party took out must be different.
So the three of them would have to detoxify separately, and could not communicate and detoxify all at once.
The other party was a Golden Core cultivator. Even if he was not good at refining poison pills, a Golden Core cultivator was definitely not lacking in things that could kill a cultivator of the same level.
"Fellow Daoist, you proposed the method. Now you're making excuses. What is this about having a fight first, and then proposing other competitions after losing? If you don't agree, then let me and Fellow Daoist Jiao have a duel to decide the winner. It's not that I'm unwilling to have a poison duel, but that you yourselves have no confidence!"
Li Yan sneered and retorted.
Originally, he was most wary of "Elder Longjiao," fearing that the other party would find some reason to personally intervene. Should he fight or not?
At that time, even if he used all his trump cards, he might not have much confidence.
But "Elder Longjiao" had to propose a poison duel, which made Li Yan secretly overjoyed.
Although he did not have the confidence to detoxify all the poisons in the world, he believed that with his past experience, it would not be an easy task to poison him to death.
His experience of swallowing other poisons and poison pills during the trials in the Malevolent Spirit Sect told him that the poison pills refined by Foundation Establishment cultivators could hardly harm him, and at that time, he was only a Qi Condensation cultivator.
'After reaching the Golden Core, although the Fragmented Poison Body only separated into one type of 'Illusion Poison,' I can feel that the strength of the Fragmented Poison Body has increased by at least four times. Now, even a Nascent Soul cultivator cannot easily dissolve it with their magic power.'
While the two sides were mocking each other, Great Master Wanxiang and the others behind Li Yan were all stunned. None of them had expected Zhang Ming to make such a proposal. This was a gambling method that was almost mutually destructive.
Then, Jie Fengkai looked at Li Yan with a wary gaze. He sent a voice transmission to the two monks.
"You human cultivators are getting more and more ruthless. This fellow daoist wants to drag the strongest fighting force of the other sect to be buried with him if he dies from the poison. Even if the other party can detoxify the poison, their strength will probably decline in a short period of time. Then if someone takes the opportunity to attack them, the entire 'Ghost Flood Dragon Clan' will have problems."
Wanxiang and Wanzang also nodded after hearing Jie Fengkai's voice transmission. They had also thought of this point. Wanxiang even re-examined Li Yan in his heart.
'Didn't they say this Little Friend Zhang is a body cultivator? And yesterday, he did indeed show his powerful physical strength. Could it be that he also cultivates the way of alchemy? Compared to dharma cultivators, body cultivators need more time to temper their bodies and constantly cultivate arduously. Where would he have time to cultivate the way of alchemy? Or is he trying to drag the other party to hell with him? I talked with him for a long time yesterday, but I didn't see any violent aura around him...'
Of course, these three were not the only ones with this thought.
"What? If you don't think you have the confidence to win against me, then let's stick to the previous agreement."
The other party's proposal was exactly what he wanted. With such an opportunity, how could Li Yan let the other party go? He continued to provoke the other party with his words.
"Elder Longjiao" had been observing the other party's expression and did not interrupt the verbal sparring between the two sides.
But he suddenly had a thought, because when Zhang Ming was speaking at the end, a trace of panic flashed in his eyes. Although it was extremely fast, he still caught it.
'He doesn't have the confidence to win. The other party is also extremely smart. He knows what my true intentions are. This is a counter-move out of desperation. If I don't agree, then these things will also be seen by the Demon Guard soldiers nearby. He can then turn the tables. This new elder of 'Falling Star Valley' is not a simple person.'
He knew Li Yan's information.
'From his attack against Wuxing yesterday, he is a rare body cultivator among the human race. He may know alchemy, but it definitely won't be too strong. The reputation of 'Falling Star Valley's' detoxification and poisoning pills is just so-so. I've never heard of them being very powerful.'
At this thought, "Elder Longjiao" raised his dragon-headed staff and pointed it at the levitating Li Yan.
"As you wish. Three will fight, and you get a twenty percent share. Lest you die unwillingly!"
He was very confident in his detoxification ability, and even more so in the power of his poison pills.
As soon as the other party took it, they might not even have time to react before the medicinal power directly broke through the protection of their spiritual power, instantly melting their mouth and tongue. And in the next moment, that Zhang Ming would become...
The "Pill Annihilation Powder" he was going to take out was refined by him fifty years ago. That furnace of pills had produced a total of five pills. Now, he only had two left on him.
And one of the main poisonous ingredients for refining the "Pill Annihilation Powder" might have already become extinct on the Forsaken Continent. At least in the past fifty years, he had not been able to find this main ingredient again.