The Central Plains are truly vast.
But even in this expansive land, do you know which region can be called particularly insular?
That's right. It is Sichuan.
Whether it became this way due to its geographical features or because of the Tang Clan's machinations, no one truly knows.
Of course, people who try to uncover that secret appear every year.
Yet, strangely enough, their lives are generally cut short.
When their bodies turn blue and they die a horrible, gasping death, who would dare to ask questions about the Tang Clan?
Only a seasoned spy such as myself could manage it.
I have succeeded in infiltrating Sichuan Province.
I have recorded information on the poisons and hidden weapons they use on a separate sheet.
I have also obtained some additional information.
Normally, I would require payment in advance, but given the circumstances, I will write and send this first.
You are surely aware that poison can, in fact, also be medicine.
These Tang Clan bastards are said to inject themselves with poison to attain enlightenment.
Do not even think of imitating them. If you, a man of the Namgung Clan, were to die copying the ways of the Tang, what a disgrace that would be.
Although, I am aware that you are not one to be obsessed with enlightenment.
The reason I bring this up is that a master from the Demonic Cult has infiltrated this place, Tangjiatuo.
It is a major incident. However, word of it will not leak to the outside world.
This is because they failed to capture the Demonic Cult intruder and had an important item stolen from them.
That's right. The reason the fiend infiltrated was to steal something.
That something was spiders. Spiders with the potential to become human-faced spiders, at that.
Whether they will be used as ingredients for Gu-poison or to enhance internal energy, I do not know, but the blow to the clan will be significant. It is tantamount to having a spirit beast stolen.
And while investigating that incident, I also heard a story about a spirit beast of Sichuan.
I trust you won't think I'm trying to take credit for something as obvious as a Jinjo.
This was a name even I was hearing for the first time.
Dalopo (狚露暴)
Dew like a ferocious wolf.
To the Tang Clan, "dew" is synonymous with poison.
It means a ferocious poison.
It is a spirit beast well over two zhang in length and weighing seventy gwan. [Approx. 6.6 meters/21.6 feet and 262.5 kg/578.7 lbs]
There is a large, flower-shaped organ on its neck, rumored to spew ten thousand kinds of poison. Furthermore, there are tales that this spirit beast has reached the realm of a Poison Master.
Do you understand what I am saying?
The situation is far from ordinary.
Just like the Dragon Person of Mount Hua, the Tang Clan has a similar existence.
(Omitted)
This has gone on for too long.
I have also acquired a bottle of the rarest pufferfish wine, so let us share our thoughts together on the day I return.
「From the final secret letter of Cheongmurin (Deciphered Version)」
*
I felt an excruciating pain, as if my entire body was being torn apart.
It was on a completely different level from the ant poison.
The potency itself wasn't overwhelmingly higher.
The rate my HP was decreasing was about the same as back then.
But when I was hit by the ant poison, I was in the middle of a fierce battle.
With adrenaline pumping through me, I had no time to feel the pain.
Now, I was completely sober.
What's more, I knew the poison was coming.
The agony of poison being injected into my torn flesh was beyond imagination.
What if something goes wrong?
Right now, I could probably solve this just by cutting off my tail.
The poison hadn't spread throughout my body yet.
I raised my hand.
I gently pressed down on the head of the spider trying to pull its fangs out of my tail.
"Kieek!"
Crunch.
I felt additional poison being injected from the fangs already embedded in me.
If I can't even endure this, what can I possibly accomplish?
It was hard to even breathe.
And yet, my mind felt clearer than ever.
My body grew hot.
Something was flowing out from the area I could consider my dantian.
This sensation. I had felt it once before.
It was the same feeling I had when I coughed up blood after the turtle's interference.
The sensation I felt when I had been on the verge of succeeding at Qi cultivation.
I detached the spider from my tail and sat in the lotus position.
Perhaps because of the poison, my body's senses were sharper than usual.
The body of a Green Basilisk.
I knew how this body was made.
The moment I evolved, my bones were reconstructed, and flesh and skin formed over them.
I remembered how every single cell was configured.
A hot energy spread throughout my body.
The energy that radiated from my dantian circulated through my entire body before returning to its starting point.
Yes.
So this is Qi cultivation.
Once.
Then again.
I continued to circulate the energy.
A total of twelve cycles were completed.
[You have acquired 「Small Heavenly Cycle」.]
[Your level has increased.]
Countless messages appeared.
[You have acquired 「Poison Resistance LV1」.]
I had obtained the skill I was after from the start.
But it didn't end there.
[「Paralysis Resistance LV2」 reacts to 「Poison Resistance LV1」.]
[「Acid Resistance LV4」 reacts to 「Poison Resistance LV1」.]
[「Poison Resistance LV1」 evolves into 「Ten-Poison Immunity」.]
Just as Water-walking had evolved into the Soaring Dragon Steps, my poison resistance had also evolved.
[Your level has increased.]
Is this what it feels like to have your blocked meridians cleared?
All the levels I hadn't been able to gain rose at once.
[You have acquired 「Baekran Mental Cultivation Method」.]
With that final message, I finished my Qi cultivation.
[Green Basilisk LV5]
HP: 70/70
MP: 32/32
[Title]
「Beloved by the Spider」
The spiders stood on either side of me, holding strange poses.
Were they acting as my guardians? I couldn't help but chuckle.
Thanks, guys.
"Gek gek!"
Crack.
I moved my body.
My field of vision had widened.
I was definitely bigger.
In the spot where I had been sitting, there were three of my shed skins.
I nudged the skins aside with my tail.
"Kieek!"
Seeing my shed skins, the spiders rushed over excitedly.
They looked like fans who had just received a player's uniform.
Sure, take them. It's not like I can use them anyway.
The creatures began to chew and tear at my shed skins.
My next course of action was set.
It was one of the top three most exciting things for a Green Basilisk.
Time to check my new skills.
__________________________
[Skills]
「Tail Severance LV9」, 「Cold Blood LV1」, 「Predation LV1」, 「Wild Eyes LV2」, 「Tail Severance LV1」, 「Paralysis Resistance LV2」, 「Acid Resistance LV4」, 「Soaring Dragon Steps」, 「Small Heavenly Cycle」, 「Ten-Poison Immunity」, 「Baekran Mental Cultivation Method」....
__________________________
No, I should probably call them martial arts, not skills.
I read through the effects of each martial art, savoring them.
「Small Heavenly Cycle」
Circulates Qi through six of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, excluding the Ren and Du Meridians. Circulating Qi heals internal injuries and builds internal energy.
The Small Heavenly Cycle.
It was a type of Qi cultivation.
To be precise, Qi cultivation refers to the combination of the Small and Great Heavenly Cycles.
But just mastering the Small Heavenly Cycle was enough to go around bragging, "I know a thing or two about Qi cultivation."
Succeeding at the Small Heavenly Cycle for the first time was considered a minor accomplishment.
It was by no means a low-level achievement.
It was just a bit lacking compared to the Great Heavenly Cycle.
「Ten-Poison Immunity」
Ten types of poison dare not invade the body. You possess a strong resistance to poison.
It was probably a watered-down, watered-down, watered-down version of Myriad Poisons Immunity.
Still, it was something. It was ten times better than something like Poison Resistance LV1.
「Baekran Mental Cultivation Method」
A very basic internal energy cultivation method. It holds the potential to evolve into any other cultivation method.
I even got a mental cultivation method.
I was no longer the lizard I used to be.
A lizard that used martial arts, not just footwork, had been born.
Toad and Turtle.
Just you wait.
*
Before hunting the Star Turtle and Demon Toad, I worked on moving my home.
With a body that was immune to ten poisons, I could now resist the toad's venom, and I was confident I could somehow break the turtle's hard shell.
However, those creatures tended to live in groups.
The number I had seen was three of each.
Moreover, the fact that the turtles and toads were strangely friendly with each other bothered me.
They seemed to fight, but they never settled the score.
It was clear they had grown fond of each other through their squabbles.
Therefore, hunting them head-on meant I would have to fight six creatures on the same level as me.
One-on-one, maybe, but getting ganged up on would be tough.
In other words, moving my home could be seen as part of my turtle and toad extermination plan.
"Gegegek!"
The dream of owning my own home, something I couldn't even achieve in my past life.
I had finally done it here.
A very stylish, modern house.
It even came with an ocean view—no, a swamp view.
A natural fortress created by weaving spiderwebs and leaves into the base of a moderately grown tree.
Honestly, it looked a bit crude, but it was more than enough for a home.
First advantage:
It was vividly green.
And green was the color of a Green Basilisk.
Being at a moderately high position, I could hide my presence and sleep.
It would also be easy to hang from the leaves and ambush prey below.
Second advantage:
There was a pool of water right below.
In other words, it was an environment advantageous to me, one who could use footwork that moved between trees and water. The abundance of prey was also a plus.
Third advantage:
No noisy neighbors.
This was the biggest one.
Since I moved to get away from the toad and turtle, this was the greatest advantage of all.
There was nothing to disturb me when I practiced Qi cultivation.
Plus, it was reassuring that these little spiders acted as my guardians whenever I did.
"Kieek..."
The spiders were lying on their backs with their bellies exposed.
...I guess I did work them pretty hard.
I made them spit out tons of web and sent them to places my hands couldn't reach.
"Gek gek!"
I tossed a prepared diving beetle to them.
Hey, the benefits are good, right?
You guys like it too, don't you?
"Keeeng..."
For some reason, they seemed displeased.
They barely glanced at the diving beetle I threw and just rolled their bodies over.
"Keeeeeeeng..."
Have their tastes become more refined?
Geez, these were the same guys who used to be grateful for a single diving beetle.
Should I go catch some fish for them?
I'm starting to get hungry myself.
Tsk. But even I get tired of eating only piranhas.
Now, where can I find some decent prey?
"Kwaaaack!"
Tus.
Pus.
Let's get ready to eat.
Delivery's here.