Xiao Yan didn't respond. He leapt toward the thick trunk of a distant tree, his palm brushing over the jade storage belt at his waist, pulling out dozens of medicinal herbs and a large clay jar.
This large clay jar and the clothes on his body were purchased from a small town outside the Star Dou Forest.
The Tang Sect wasn't just strong in hidden weapons; their research on poison was also incredibly advanced.
In fact, within the Tang Sect, poison was even more important than hidden weapons.
Mechanical-type hidden weapons had limited power, and hand-technique hidden weapons required strict talent and years of diligent training.
But poison, if used properly, could easily kill even a peerless master.
Knowing the Star Dou Forest housed soul beasts of up to a hundred thousand years, Xiao Yan wouldn't dare to just rely on his own strength to explore.
Poison was his ultimate trump card.
He just hadn't expected to encounter such "excitement" so soon after entering the forest.
He had originally planned to concoct medicines tonight…
In the hunting forest, he had found many long-aged medicinal herbs.
If used properly to poison this fifty-thousand-year-old Golden Silk Vine… Xiao Yan wasn't entirely confident.
After all, it was a plant-type soul beast.
If it were an animal soul beast, Xiao Yan would have been absolutely certain.
But animal soul beasts wouldn't sit still waiting for him to make poison.
Still, as long as the poison could restrict the Golden Silk Vine's movement, he would have absolute confidence in killing it.
Xiao Yan casually broke off a thick branch from the tree, ground dozens of medicinal herbs into a paste according to a specific ratio, sealed it in the clay jar, and stored it in his jade belt to allow the medicinal properties to fully blend and ferment.
While waiting, he began sharpening surrounding branches into the shape of syringes.
After preparing nearly a hundred, Xiao Yan finally leapt down from the tree and rushed toward the Golden Silk Vine.
The action was about to begin—
Activating his Purple Extreme Demon Eye, among the fifteen thick vines, Xiao Yan selected a relatively thin one, and from both hands, the Middle Pierce Sword shot out.
Ding ding — two sharp sounds as the Middle Pierce Swords struck the base of the vine.
Although they didn't sever the vine as thick as a small tree, the swords left thumb-sized wounds with powerful force.
Without stopping, Xiao Yan alternated between Middle Pierce Sword and Lesser Merchant Sword—both powerful moves—shooting eight wounds into that one vine.
These eight wounds weren't clustered but distributed precisely: four near the base and four evenly spaced along the vine.
Such precision would be difficult for most people, but with his mastery of hidden weapons, it was easy for Xiao Yan.
Repeating this process, taking occasional breaks to recover inner energy, it took him one or two hours to inflict eight wounds on each of the fifteen vines.
Watching the wildly flailing vines, Xiao Yan licked his lips, showing a sly smile.
Rubbing his hands, he pulled out the large clay jar and eight twig syringes from his jade belt.
Opening the jar lid, a strong fishy stench instantly escaped. The herbal paste inside had turned into a dark purple liquid.
Holding his breath, Xiao Yan inspected the poison with satisfaction and nodded.
"Corpses Rot Poison. Its infectivity is incredibly strong. Even the slightest contact can cause flesh to rot and bleed to death in moments. It's the strongest poison I can make right now. Lucky you, Golden Silk Vine."
This Corpses Rot Poison wasn't originally from the Tang Sect. It was a weakened version he developed based on the poison forged with the King of Hell Mark hidden weapon.
After personally studying some entries in the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record, Xiao Yan was amazed to discover his talent for herbs and medicine was extraordinary.
Even the elders of the Tang Sect and Tang San couldn't compare to his current understanding of poison and medicine.
He had taken the medical and poison knowledge recorded in the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record to a far deeper level.
In fact, the contents of the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record had almost been rewritten by him, losing their original form.
Aside from the Ghost Shadow Step and some hidden weapon techniques, the Mysterious Heaven Skill, Purple Extreme Demon Eye, and Mysterious Jade Hand had undergone massive changes.
Xiao Yan activated the Mysterious Heaven Body Refining Skill to ensure his whole body was immune to poison, took a syringe, and drew the poison from the jar.
Inside the syringe was a layer of Blue Silver Emperor grass, which temporarily resisted the poison's corrosion to prevent the syringe from breaking.
After filling eight syringes, Xiao Yan clamped them between his hands and fixed his gaze on the first chosen vine.
Holding his breath, he waved both hands, simultaneously shooting all eight syringes, which hissed as they pierced eight different spots.
"Such precise technique!" watched Tang Hao from the shadows, surprised. Even a Title Douluo like him would find it difficult to attack eight moving points on a dozen-meter-long vine at once.
The moment the syringes shot out, blue-gold light flickered between Xiao Yan's fingers, and eight small blue silver balls formed instantly, shooting after the syringes.
Their target was precisely the eight syringe wounds.
The immense impact caused the Corpses Rot Poison inside the syringes to spray rapidly into the wounds.
Xiao Yan didn't watch the poison's effect but quickly took more syringes and poison from his jade belt, shooting at the Golden Silk Vine without pause.
His speed was fast — in less than a quarter-hour, he had injected poison into all fifteen vines without missing a single one.
After such a long time, the poison's effect finally showed.
The first poisoned vine turned pitch black and flopped limply to the ground.
It was a complete contrast to its original amber-like, clawing elegance.
Yu Xiaogang stood dumbfounded nearby. Was it really possible to kill soul beasts like this?
"Xiao Yan, it seems like the Golden Silk Vine is about to be poisoned to death! Use the short sword I gave you to deliver the final blow."
Xiao Yan shook his head and quietly stood still, eyes focused on the Golden Silk Vine.
The centipede dies but never collapses.
As a super rare fifty-thousand-year plant soul beast, killing the Golden Silk Vine wouldn't be so simple.
After patiently waiting twenty minutes, all fifteen vines of the Golden Silk Vine turned pitch black, and a foul stench filled the air.
The surrounding fresh grass, touched by this aura, instantly wilted visibly.
This showed how potent the Corpses Rot Poison was against the Golden Silk Vine.
Feeling the time was right, Xiao Yan pinched a leaf of Blue Silver Emperor grass between his fingers, activated his inner energy, and launched it.
....
(End of Chapter)