Poison God's Heritage

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"Thank you for catching him," I said to old Fu as I was still laying on the ground, gasping for breath.

Y's frame was dirtied, and had a few bends in the wrong areas, I guess I gripped him too hard with my fist in my giant form. However, nothing that an hour or two of hammering can't fix.

But the problem remains, Y's ability to protect me has incredibly reduced. Even X is in the same boat, they both need upgrades.

Something I'll need to get to fast enough.

"The hoverboard is also there," he added.

I stood back up and claimed both the board and Y into my holding bag then I headed to the General's palace. With many soldiers still mystified and stupefied at the giant who just turned back to man size. Still, with all the blazing flames surrounding the city, my small gesture was soon forgotten, as the threat of the desert storm had passed but the wake of it had yet to subside.

The scorpion must have been the most lethal and deadly thing about this storm, it was highly probable that the scorpion was the reason and source of the storm, however, even after it had gone by, the sandstorm was still ablaze. Blowing around the city and against the bleached bones that made its walls like an endless tide.

The dome itself was a formation that shined brightly against the sandstorm. I could even see the eccentricity of this formation. Beautifully done to be honest, however, it still lacks and leaves much to be desired in term of efficiency.

From where I stand I could already see leaks and points where the formation could be improved and revamped. The whole thing was using more saint Qi than needed to protect an entire planet in the Vast Expanse, but at the same time, it was exhausting and using a greater deal of Saint Qi stones than needed for no viable reason.

"Master Shen," one of the soldiers that followed us shouted to me, "The general is waiting for you, we'll excuse ourselves, we need to get back to our barracks," he added.

I soon arrived to the palace gate alongside old Fu. And in front, was the general, with both arms behind his back looking at us, "Amazing display of strength Master Shen, please follow me," he said

Soon, we got back inside the palace and he served us more wine.

"I would like a detailed report on what happened while you were journeying, but first a few things," he said as he slid forward two boxes, one for Old Fu, and the other for me.

"These are the rewards I promised you before," he said.

Old Fu opened the box in front of him, and from it came the turquoise colored bodhi roots. The Qi they were emanating was invigorating and slightly increased my cultivation base by just being next to it. Which was frankly interesting, since this never happened before.

I cannot consume or absorb natural Qi, so something is different about these Bodhi Roots.

As for the box in front of me, it was a small capped vial that had an emerald colored liquid inside it. I didn't even need to verify the quality of this thing as the moment my hand reached for it, I felt my own Veridian Heart Flame reacting to it.

I closed the box soon and placed it inside my holding bag.

"That was for having finished your missing, and this is from me," he said as he slid two more items my way.

One of them was a tube that seemed to hold a scroll inside it. I didn't need to open it to understand what it was. This was the item that drove us here from the lands of the Red Sun.

The painting he was looking for.

We didn't even need to go to the auction house to receive this. The general must have used his own funds to vie for this piece. Which is pretty damn convenient for us.

As for the other item, it was a small holding bag. Which seemed to be full of materials. The moment I touched it to see what was inside it, my eyes opened up wide.

Hundreds upon hundreds of tons of various metals and minerals, alongside with an enormous number of spiritual herbs and poisons.

"What is this for?" I asked.

"For saving my daughter, I have seen what you're capable of, and a few of the soldiers that accompanied you have informed me of your cultivation method. Poison Cultivation is one of the hardest to achieve success in, mainly due to the lack of resources. And the difficulty of it. So as a reward for helping my daughter survive a death sentence, and helping her regain her former appearance. I paid using my own savings for you to obtain these." He said.

"This is a bit too much though…"

"It isn't, I only have one daughter, and believe me when I tell you, this is a cheap price to pay for me to see her smile again. As for the metals, this was my own deduction, I've seen your puppet, and I've seen the tool you used to carry the soldiers. This means that not only are you proficient in Alchemy and Rceptarism, but also in metalwork and craftsmanship. The quality of the puppet you have is far too low for the intricate formation that is operating it. So use these tools to upgrade it." He said.

I nodded at the man and said, "You must be eager to hear what happened within the Sea of Demons," I said.

"Indeed, I've gotten the gist of things from the soldiers, but they were still in shock as they seem to be saying that they met with one of the Suns, which is absurd," said the General laughing the last part out.

However, when he saw my and old Fu's unmoving reaction.

"Really? You met with a Sun, and they allowed you to open their skull up?"

I nodded.

"I need more wine…"

The General placed another jug and poured himself and for us as he said, "Please, tell me in details what happened."

I took a sip from the wine presented and then began telling the story. Starting from how we left to the moment we were attacked in the desert, and all the way to the area where the trees underneath the mountain were built. The general cut me off several times to ask what we saw in details, and how does a tree have eyes for fruit. I explained to him to the best of my ability on what I presumed was happening.

Whoever those people were, they were using the parasite that turned people into walkers, efficiently at it too, and then creating those trees. I still have no idea the reason why they were making those trees.

Soon, I explained to him what was underneath the area and how we entered the Dark Garden.

This made the general more interested in the tale, as he began interjecting and asking questions on the area, the biome, the habitat and the people that lived there.

All came to a halt when I added that the usage of Qi was limited and restricted there.

"How did you survive if you couldn't even use Qi?" asked the old man.

"The atmosphere of the Sea of Demons seals Qi and immediately shuts down its generation. This was probably the case before it even evaporated. And it is still the case to this day. I don't know the reason why, but it seems that the Dark Garden underneath the Sea of Demons is also a part of this biome and not only the sea water. There were no walkers at the Dark Garden, but the creatures inside the Dark Garden however were infected with a parasitic creature that would turn them to the same state that the walkers are in. The only difference is, the Dark Garden seem to have no Qi in it, and the infected creatures usually die, but once the same parasite came in contact with mankind here, it morphed and took full control of their bodies." I explained.

"So this parasite, can it be stopped?" he asked.

"As far as I know it managed to infect one of the Suns, so, stopping it might be an issue that I have no answer to right now. However, that doesn't mean it isn't possible to combat. It couldn't survive some of my poisons," I said.

I continued explaining about the Dark Garden and gave more info, but at the end I had to ask.

"You're not planning on going there, or sending people there I hope," I said.

"The idea did cross my mind, it is a land and territory we don't know much about," he said.

"You might want to give up," I said. "Cultivators have no business going there, and even if you do find a way to get there and use your Qi, the creatures in it are far too monstrous and powerful for anyone to try and stop," I said.

"What my junior brother is saying is true, not even I was able to do much in there, and I was the one with the highest cultivation level there, I was rendered to the state of a Mortal. And for the beast and creatures there, some of them, even if I had full control over my cultivation, I doubt I would have survived the encounter," he added.

The general didn't ask how we survived even when we didn't have any Qi, there must have been a reason, and instead of offending us and asking us directly he would rather ask the soldiers.

"I see. I still have to give a detailed report to his majesty regarding the Dark Garden. Anyway, I have to go now, you may act as if you are at home, the servants here are ordered to adhere to your commands."

The general then stood up and hurriedly left the room.

"You want to bet that we'll somehow end up asked to go on another trip with them to the Dark Garden?" asked old Fu.

"That's a bet I could take, since I'll just leave next morning, we already got what we needed, and staying here is only a waste of time. I would rather head back to the Ant Cave and give that woman her painting to get people off our ass," I said.

"Then we're better off doing that fast, I have a very bad feeling about kings and new unclaimed lands… especially kings who don't quite value or understand the worth of a human's life," he said.

I couldn't agree more, greed is a nefarious thing.