Chapter 149 — Lethal Poison

Yun Yifeng said, "Then let us send a few disciples of high cultivation to follow quietly and scout it out."

Daoyan nodded. "Good. So it is decided."

At this Yun Yifeng seemed to recall something, and suddenly said to Daoyan, "By the way, there is another matter on which I must beg a favor of the Zhenren."

Daoyan started. "Valley Master Yun is too courteous. What matter? Speak freely."

Yun Yifeng smiled. "I hear that your sect's disciple of Xiaozhu Peak, Lu Xueling, has lately been punished to meditate in seclusion at the Moon-Viewing Terrace of Xiaozhu Peak. Hearing this, I was truly uneasy, and moreover..." He smiled. "My worthless disciple has come to me every other day these past days, pleading that he would not have Miss Lu punished on account of our request. And now the beast demons ravage the world, a time when talent is needed. Miss Lu is an outstanding disciple of Qingyun. So let me ask the Zhenren, for my sake, to lift her punishment for the time being."

Daoyan sighed. "It is my own failure in discipline that has given Valley Master Yun cause for laughter."

Yun Yifeng smiled. "What are you saying, Zhenren? It is only my worthless disciple's foolish hopes. And such matters between the young ones—let us simply leave them alone hereafter, to spare ourselves worry." With that he laughed heartily.

Daoyan pondered a moment. "Since Valley Master Yun pleads for her in person, I cannot possibly deny him this face. So be it: I will recall Xueqi this very day, and at the same time choose several disciples to go with her to scout the southwest—let it count as redeeming her fault by service."

A smile touched the corner of Yun Yifeng's mouth. "Ah! What a coincidence—I was just about to propose that my worthless disciple Li Xun be sent to the southwest as well, for training!"

Daoyan glanced at him and said mildly, "Then let them go together."

Yun Yifeng laughed aloud and cupped his hands. "Then I thank the Zhenren first on my worthless disciple's behalf."

Daoyan withdrew his gaze, took up the teacup from the table before him, drank slowly, and said, the light shifting in his eyes, "The Valley Master is too courteous."

The Viper Valley of the southwest.

Around this vast valley lay dense ancient forests. For most of the year, at dawn and dusk, a poisonous mist like miasma rose in the woods—in truth the gathered venom of the countless vipers that dwelt in the valley.

No one could say why so many vipers dwelt in this valley; their numbers had grown so great that they were everywhere, in the trees and under the earth. Only the cluster of dwellings of the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect within the valley was left untouched, for the sect's secret arts kept the venomous creatures at bay.

And these vipers, filling the hills and fields, had become both a natural barrier for the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect and an inexhaustible treasury of poison.

Now it was the early morning hour, and from the dense forest of the Viper Valley a faintly colored mist could be seen rising, like the first fog of dawn. But should the ignorant draw near, in but a moment the deadly venom would make them bleed from every orifice and die, to be buried at last in a serpent's kiss.

Ordinarily, besides these vipers guarding the valley, the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect kept disciples on patrol against outside foes. Yet these past days, for some unknown reason, none of these watchful disciples had come out—it seemed the factional strife within the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect had reached white heat.

"Pat." With a soft sound a small pebble rolled along, bounced twice on the one ruined, weed-choked ancient road outside the Viper Valley, rolled into the grass beside it, and vanished.

Then, with light footfalls, three tall and strange beasts appeared on the road, all with the heads of savage wolves but the bodies of tigers and leopards as commonly seen—a most grotesque sight.

These three monsters moved with great caution, their noses twitching constantly, sniffing at the air as they slowly approached the Viper Valley. All within the valley was quiet, as though wholly unprepared for these three uninvited guests.

Suddenly the wolf head of the middle monster jerked, as if it had found something, and it gave a low growl. The other two at once halted and looked to the strongest and tallest monster standing between them.

Fierce light flickered in the wolf-headed monster's eyes, its nose sniffing without pause, yet it did not go into the Viper Valley, but instead walked slowly toward a dense clump of grass beside the ancient road just outside the valley. A faint smell of blood drifted slowly from the grass.

The monster gave a low growl and stepped into the grass. From outside, its body could be seen moving ceaselessly, as though rooting for something within.

After a moment the grass shook again, and the strong monster leaped out, sprang back onto the ancient road, and in its mouth it held something strange.

It looked like a long whip, or the tail of some monstrous creature. The fur upon it had begun to rot, its color dim, and it gave off a ceaseless faint stench of blood.

The other two monsters roared at once, plainly startled and furious, fierce light flickering in their eyes.

The monster that had retrieved the tail set the thing upon the ancient road and suddenly raised its head and gave a long howl—a sound like a wolf's cry, shrill and piercing, rising straight to the clouds.

A moment later the monster took up the tail again, and heedless of the other two, flew off on all four legs, racing swiftly back the way it had come and away from the Viper Valley.

The other two, after a few roars, suddenly put forth their strength and charged into the Viper Valley. Within, the ancient road grew more twisted and narrow, winding onward, and on both sides the hills were thick with thorn and brake, among which drifted a faintly colored thin mist, there and yet not there.

The monsters charged straight on, and to judge by their gnashing jaws, anyone who appeared before them now would be torn to pieces on the spot.

The colored mist drifted lightly, gathering gradually in the woods. The two monsters roared again and again, looking at nothing, and charged straight in. At first there was no sign of anything amiss, but somehow their roars gradually fell, their pace grew slower, and after a moment their whole bodies began to tremble.

As though sensing danger, the two monsters halted, turned their heads with difficulty, and sought to leave the woods, but before they had gone a few steps they collapsed, and in an instant blood ran from every orifice of their faces. They were plainly dead.

Through the hills and woods, near and far, rose at once a dread "hiss, hiss, hiss" as countless serpents came surging toward the spot, and within moments innumerable snake heads appeared among the grass and treetops, hissing, great and small vipers alike all crawling near.

And just as these vipers happily fought over the food, many of the snakes suddenly froze, raised their heads warily, and then turned as one toward the entrance of the Viper Valley.

Far away down that desolate ancient road came what seemed the muffled, deep booming of war drums. The whole earth began slowly to tremble, and strange sounds came from the endless distance like the march of a thousand armies and ten thousand horses.

The morning valley suddenly fell into a silence like death.

"Huh!"

Letting out a long foul breath, Fan Xiong, the eldest disciple taken in by the Poison God in life, flung his hand savagely and cast aside the corpse of a Ten Thousand Poisons Sect disciple whose skull he had crushed. The body flew through the air and struck with a thud upon the offering table before the mourning hall, then fell.