Chapter Thirty-Nine: If Your Mouth Is That Filthy, Shut It.

"What is it?"

The man in black's expression darkened.

"According to my information, the siege of the Five Poisons Sect by the major sects of Yunzhou this time didn't happen suddenly; it was for a peerless opportunity. Tell me, what exactly is this opportunity?"

Chen Xuan's tone dropped. "Don't try to lie to me, or don't blame me for what I might do."

The man in black felt a jolt of alarm and looked at Chen Xuan. How did he know about this? Even she had only just begun to understand it.

"You're right. It is for an opportunity, but it hasn't appeared yet. I don't know the details either, only that it might emerge near the Five Poisons Sect, but the truth of that remains unverified," the man in black said.

"You don't know either?" Chen Xuan frowned.

"No." The man in black nodded. "It is said to be the cave dwelling of an ancient master, though some say it's a peerless manual that can only appear after a certain period."

Chen Xuan pondered. Was this person lying to him? He suddenly wondered what she would look like as a burly, muscular man...

"Damn it, why am I so twisted? It must be the influence of Teacher Da Qiao," he cursed inwardly.

"What is your name, and which sect have you infiltrated?" Chen Xuan asked. He needed more information to ensure she wouldn't turn on him later.

"Gao Ziling. My cover identity is a disciple of the Sword Washing Pavilion," she replied.

Chen Xuan nodded slightly. If she were lying, there didn't seem to be much he could do about it. He suddenly felt a headache coming on.

Gao Ziling looked at Chen Xuan and said, "Junior Brother Chen, the sect is facing internal and external troubles right now. This is no time for us to turn on each other. I admit my attitude earlier was poor, and I hope you can forgive me."

"You are too kind, Senior Sister Gao." Chen Xuan smiled, then suddenly added, "Senior Sister Gao, for the sake of our Five Poisons Sect, I hope you can cooperate with me a little."

Gao Ziling looked surprised. "Cooperate how?" Did he have a plan?

"Help me poison the Ten Great Elders," Chen Xuan whispered.

Gao Ziling's eyes widened. She stared at Chen Xuan and blurted out, "Are you insane?"

"What? Are you afraid?" Chen Xuan frowned.

"Do you have any idea who the Ten Great Elders of the Righteous Alliance are?" Gao Ziling's tone sharpened. "The alliance selected these ten to act as one. The three great families of Yunzhou hold six of those seats. Add Wang Hongtian of the Six Fan Gates, Shangguan Han of the Sword Washing Pavilion, Fang Xuanwen of the Longteng Martial Arts Hall, and Liu Tianjian of the Liuyun Sword Sect—they are all at least peak Pulse-Opening realm experts with unfathomable internal energy."

"Which six people are from the three great families of Yunzhou?" Chen Xuan asked.

"Wang Jingkun and Wang Jinde of the Wang clan, Li Zehai and Li Zetian of the Li clan, and Cui Xiongjiang and Cui Xiongren of the Cui clan," Gao Ziling said.

"The three heads of the families, Master Beiku, and Daoist Qingxu aren't among them?" Chen Xuan asked, surprised.

"The three family heads serve as the overall leaders, while Master Beiku and Daoist Qingxu serve as accompanying advisors," Gao Ziling explained.

I see. Chen Xuan nodded. Still, he wanted to see if he could poison one or two of the elders. After all, each one was worth 200 experience points.

"Senior Sister Da Qiao, for the sake of the Five Poisons Sect's grand cause, please give it a try. The peak of the Pulse-Opening realm isn't truly invincible. If they are struck by a deadly poison, they are just as likely to be finished off!" Chen Xuan said.

"Senior Sister Da Qiao?" Gao Ziling was stunned again. Was he calling her that? Since when did she have that name?

"Ahem, actually, I find that you look remarkably like my first love. Her name was Da Qiao. Whenever I see you, I can't help but think of her. Alas, the past is like the wind; I hope you don't mind," Chen Xuan said, rubbing his eyes.

Gao Ziling looked at him with bewilderment. She hadn't realized that Chen Xuan was such a sentimental person.

"We can talk about poisoning the Ten Great Elders later. If there's an opportunity, I'll take it without you having to ask," Gao Ziling said.

"Good. I hope you won't forget, Senior Sister Da Qiao," Chen Xuan said.

Gao Ziling nodded and stood up from the ground, bracing herself against her injuries. She had taken a palm strike from Chen Xuan infused with poison and had only survived due to her deep internal energy, but she had still broken a rib. Every movement sent sharp stabs of pain through her chest.

"Are you all right, Senior Sister Da Qiao? Would you like me to rub it for you?" Chen Xuan asked.

Gao Ziling felt a surge of anger and glared at him. "Enough. This is no place to linger. We should leave." She vanished into the darkness.

"Damn, did Teacher Da Qiao cross over here too?" Chen Xuan watched the direction she had vanished in before quickly departing. She looked more like her the more he saw, stirring up memories of his passionate, youthful days.

...

The night passed quickly. The next morning, the Righteous Alliance held a grand assembly. Everyone gathered in the villa's square. Just as Gao Ziling had said, the alliance decided to launch a full-scale attack on the Five Poisons Sect, splitting their forces into four groups with adequate water supplies.

At the front, the leaders of the three great families were speaking righteously, issuing orders. Chen Xuan scanned the crowd and finally spotted Gao Ziling. She had indeed infiltrated the Sword Washing Pavilion, and her status didn't seem low.

Chen Xuan nodded inwardly. The Gao Ziling of now looked completely different from the one he saw last night. She stood behind a middle-aged beauty, dressed in white, pristine and untouchable, holding a long sword. She looked cold, like eternal black ice—a true ice-cold beauty.

But the moment he thought of Teacher Da Qiao's films, a strange grin spread across Chen Xuan's face. Holiness and wickedness combined; coldness and temptation in one. Tsk, tsk, indescribable.

The assembly ended quickly. All the forces were divided into four paths, covering the east, west, south, and north. Except for the eastern force, which was led by the three leaders and the two advisors, the other three paths were led by the elders. Chen Xuan's group was assigned to the southern path.

The leaders were Li Zehai, Cui Xiongren, and Fang Xuanwen, three of the Ten Great Elders. In addition, several acquaintances of his, the 'Four Heroes of Yunzhou,' were also assigned to this group. Gao Ziling was assigned to the northern path.

"Everyone, move out!" At the command of the three family heads, the entire force set off.

...

The path was filled with miasma, dense forests, and abandoned villages. Everywhere, there were waist-high weeds and, lurking within them, countless poisonous snakes and insects.

Chen Xuan and four young men and women were cautiously scouting through the dense forest. They all wore special sachets that emitted a strange scent, ensuring that the venomous creatures would not attack them.

Just as planned with 'Teacher Da Qiao' the previous night, Chen Xuan had volunteered to be part of the scout team. The others were three men and one woman, all young heroes with their own reputations, each possessing the strength of the ninth level of Qi Accumulation.

"This damned Five Poisons Sect—I don't know why they even exist, living in such a barbaric, savage place. I imagine the people there are just bloodthirsty monsters; no one would feel sorry if they all died," a young woman with a beauty mark said coldly. She was tall with sharp lips, and her constant venomous remarks throughout the journey had already made Chen Xuan despise her.

"And that 'Chen the Exterminator,' just hearing his name tells you he's no good. If we catch him, I'll carve him up piece by piece and let him suffer the pain of a thousand cuts. And his family—it would be best to root them out entirely. Don't you agree, Senior Brother Zhou?" She looked at a young man beside her.

The young man had eyes like distant stars and a sharp nose, a sword at his waist. He maintained a cold, indifferent expression throughout, as if everyone owed him a fortune.

"That Chen killed my cousin, Cui Qingzheng. This is a feud that can never be reconciled. If I catch him, I have my own ways to make him wish for death!" the young man said coldly.

Chen Xuan, who had been scouting ahead, felt a jolt of surprise. Cui Qingzheng's cousin? What a coincidence.

"Everyone, there's a ruined temple ahead. Should we go check it out?" Chen Xuan asked with a calm smile.

The young woman glanced at Chen Xuan and mocked, "Hero Sword, you've walked the martial arts world for a while, don't you have a brain? What if there's an ambush by the Five Poisons Sect in there? Wouldn't we be walking straight into a trap? Or are you a mole for the Five Poisons Sect yourself?"

Chen Xuan had stolen the spotlight at the villa, which had made her resentful, and now that they were alone, she couldn't help but ridicule him.

"Heroine Jiang is right. Hero Sword, since you found the temple, why don't you go explore it first?" A young man in green robes looked at Chen Xuan coldly.

Chen Xuan's eyelid twitched. He smiled thinly and said, "Everyone, what is the meaning of this?"

"No particular meaning. Capable people should do more work; we're just letting Hero Sword work a little harder," another person said coldly. "Of course, that's just polite talk. If Hero Sword doesn't want to, then I'll have to teach you a lesson." They stood with their arms crossed, looking at Chen Xuan coldly.

They were all at the ninth level of Qi Accumulation with unfathomable internal energy, and having been overshadowed by Chen Xuan, they naturally wanted to take him down a peg.

Chen Xuan suddenly laughed. "Working hard is fine; that’s no problem. But there is one thing I find annoying."

"And what would that be?" the young woman asked coldly.

Chen Xuan looked at her and said calmly, "Did you eat excrement today? You've been yapping the whole way. Who were you saying didn't have a brain just now?"

The young woman's face changed, and she shouted angrily, "How dare you insult me!"

"If your mouth is dirty, keep it shut. No one will think you're a mute!" Chen Xuan said indifferently, turning and walking toward the temple.