With a casual flick, he shook off the bloodstains on the iron wire.

Although the iron wire had an ugly shape, its weight and lethality were far more terrifying than an ordinary sword. Glancing around, he looked at another person holding a magic treasure; they too were at the Foundation Establishment Peak, yet someone just flashed a smile.

In that instant, he only felt a chill, his legs going weak.

"You dare kill people from our Lou Family Village, you're courting death! The Village Chief won't..."

He stammered a sentence in that special accent of the Central Plains, bringing a sense of nostalgia. When Mr. Jiang was in college, he often bantered with his roommates who spoke broken Mandarin in the dormitory.

But...

"Heh heh, your Village Chief can't beat our Sect Master."

Before he even finished speaking, his vision blurred, and that face with a mocking smile appeared in front of him without any warning.

He raised his hand and struck again.

Bang—

His whole body was sent flying over a dozen meters, even thrown into the air before crashing heavily to the ground.

Clutching a bronze mirror, if not for the protective dharma treasure, this blow could have taken his life. Clearly, there wasn't much difference in their cultivation realms, but once they clashed, he realized the monstrous strength of his opponent's physical body. The terrifying force was insurmountable.

In an environment like Purple Cloud Palace, Jiang Feng was near invincible within the Core Formation Stage, at most challenged by a few Peak Master disciples at the Peak of Core Formation. Those at Foundation Establishment Peak and newly at the Core Formation Stage were no different from chickens before him.

The only question was how long it would take for him to kill them all.

"Wow—"

A mouthful of blood was spat out.

The others frantically summoned their magic treasures and divine weapons, attacking wildly from behind, but their speed was agonizingly slow in Jiang Feng's eyes.

A toxic mist spread, hidden weapons flew, and most of the Southern Border Disciples' strength lay in their gu worms and venom. The dark mist stretched in the air, and even the tribesman being pursued opened his mouth wide.

In an instant, the mist entered his body completely.

"Poison."

The foul stench was nauseating.

The breath passage tingled and went numb; it was clear the venom and gu worms were taking effect. Yet the man stood in the poison mist, making no rash moves, a suicidal act unbelievable to the four still alive. Is there actually someone seeking death?

Even a buffalo couldn't last long in this poisonous mist, yet Jiang Feng stood there for a while, even opening his mouth voluntarily.

"Whoosh—"

He took a few deep breaths, feeling the burning pain slowly infiltrate his chest, abdomen, the searing sting persisting, even causing a state of confusion, but Jiang Feng didn't step back. Instead, he closely observed the changes within him.

A touch of pink near his dantian and joints seemed to sense something, slowly awakening, squirming.

No form, no characteristics, the pink substance resembling quicksand climbed upward along his meridians, wrapping the scorched respiratory tract from bottom to top.

The pink began to awaken, wriggling faster, entering his mouth from the airway, enveloping and devouring the poison mist and gu worms within.

The throat's stinging pain gradually subsided, the wounded inner walls recovering at an astonishing speed. Mr. Jiang didn't seem surprised by this scene, neither using Daoist skills nor sword qi, just holding the iron wire.

To the stunned gaze of everyone, he walked slowly out of the poison mist.

"The taste is mediocre."

Four words shattered their psychological defenses on the spot.

This was far more shocking than Jiang Feng earlier clubbing someone to death, because in the minds of the Southern Border people, gu worms and poison were their means of survival, their entire cultivation system revolving around these two.

Useless, but why?

The ever-effective venom and gu worms had no effect on Jiang Feng. Especially since he let the poison mist enter his body, the dormant gu worms inside him were awakened, rejoicing, spreading throughout, pink liquid trickling from his mouth.

The Southern Border Disciples widened their eyes, full of expectation and luck, as spitting blood usually meant damaged organs, poison had penetrated deeply, incurable, but...

"The blood" bizarrely flowed upward.

Yes, some blood flowed up, some down, completely wrapping the liquid splattered on Jiang Feng earlier and slowly dissolving it, even the spreading poison mist shrank visibly, both sides staring at each other in an uncanny stillness.

Under everyone's gaze, the gu worms and poison mist they released were devoured clean by the pink blood.

"This, this is... Xu Huoyao, where did you get the mother insect!"

A near-shrill wail.

"Oh, you're quite knowledgeable. A gift, part of a dowry. You see, hadn't I asked earlier about your relations with the Cen Family Village? If you were smart enough to say it's good, nothing would've happened."

Still wearing that infuriating expression.

Secretly proud, three years ago, Cen Yueyue planted an improved Xu Huoyao in his body to prevent being poisoned or ensnared by gu worms.

This thing was originally developed to counter the other Southern Border Disciples' poison insects, known for devouring and assimilating. Speaking of which, Cloud Fairy had a hand in this, as joining the Cen Family Village, she proposed a strategic shift to abandon competing in "poison" and "gu".

When initially proposed within the family, it caused a huge stir, many accused Cloud Fairy of ill intentions, forsaking ancestral ways. Her answer silenced countless people.

The reason was, while everyone was caught up in the race for "toxicity", they overlooked the original skills cultivators should have. Preserving basic gu techniques and poison insect cultivation, treating them as derived "Daoist Skills" rather than the core pursuit in their cultivation path.

Focus on resisting "poison" and "gu", achieve these two points and they would have no rival in the Southern Border.

First, dominate internally to be unbeatable, then gradually expand, extend reach, build alliances through marriages, slowly transform the whole family's future beyond being trapped in the Southern Border, shackled by mere "gu worms".

Nobody knew the shock on the elders' faces during the meeting when the young Village Chief's Wife proposed this theory.

A century later, the family's rise proved her unique vision, and now within the Southern Border, they could withstand most poison mists and gu worms. Moreover, the Village Chief's daughter even became the Saintess, succeeding the Lihuo.

Incorporating all things that best counter gu worms and poisons into their hands. External strength was unknown, but internally, they were invincible, with 90% of Southern Border Disciples' strength reliant on poison and gu; it was akin to chopping off their arms.

Stretching his body, the Xu Huoyao snuggled against Jiang Feng's cheeks like a sentient creature, brushing affectionately. Three years ago, his internal gu worm wasn't perfected; it was during the last stay in Country Liang, during intimate moments at night, that she personally planted it in Jiang Feng.

It resided near the dantian, dormant, unless stimulated by external forces it wouldn't awaken, nor harm him, needing occasional nourishment with a bit of blood and spiritual energy.

This external stimulus wasn't physical assault, but intrusion of another gu or poison gas, which would, in turn, instantly awaken the mother insect.

Dense pink blood crawled from Jiang Feng's mouth and nostrils. Though unskilled in gu, he sensed the eagerness of these creatures, pointing at those before them, considering the Southern Border Disciples delicious morsels.

The man simply scratched his head, casually plunging the iron wire into the ground's soil.

"Go ahead, I'm not stopping you..."

Not waiting for another word, the pink gu worms covering Jiang Feng's body instantly swarmed forward!

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