Volcanic Age

Insect King doubted his eyes.

"What, what…?"

The bugs he had treated like his own hands and feet weren't just any insects. They contained the deadliest poisons, poisons lethal even within the Land of Ten Thousand Poisons.

The truly terrifying part was that it wasn't just one or two of them, but thousands.

The Insect King wasn't called the Insect King for nothing.

He was the king of bugs and the Southern Jungles' king of poison.

"Ptooey!"

Zhou Xuchuan spat out the bugs that had entered his mouth.

"Ugh, gross."

Zhou Xuchuan stamped his feet in irritation. Waves of qi surged out of his Yongquan acupoint and swept away the bugs that clung to his body. The Insect King's poisonous bugs shook a few times before losing their strength and falling to the ground.

Thousands of bugs fell to the ground, blanketing the dirt like a dark cloud. Even those with strong stomachs couldn't hide their disgust at the sight.

"Insect King! What's going on?!" Au Yeu shouted in an urgent tone.

"Thousand Poisons Immunity…?"

The Insect King momentarily set aside his confusion, thought about Zhou Xuchuan's question, and frowned.

"Impossible! The Thousand Poisons Immunity isn't enough to block my insects!"

A constitution that can stop a thousand poisons. While it certainly wasn't common, it wasn't enough to explain what had just occurred.

The poisons he used couldn't be stopped by a mere thousand poisons immunity constitution. The Insect King himself had the Thousand Poisons Immunity, so he was sure of it.

"Have you really trained in poison arts… huh?"

The Insect King's gaze shifted to Zhou Xuchuan's left eye. It was dim, so he couldn't see clearly, but he could still make out a faint green light.

"The Green Eyes Ten Thousand Poisons Art?"

"Huh?"

A familiar name slipped out from the Insect King's lips.

The Insect King was also shocked by Zhou Xuchuan's reaction.

"That's impossible!"

The Insect King's voice was filled with disbelief. Although he was surprised, something compelled him to continue to deny what he saw.

"To think what that elder accomplished throughout his life is being learned by some scum from the Central Plains and not a person from Dai Viet. Are you trying to insult me?"

How does he know that?

Zhou Xuchuan's expression was also filled with surprise.

The creator of the Green Eyes Ten Thousand Poisons Art, the Poison Demon, wasn't from the Central Plains but from the Southern Jungles. Moreover, he was a soldier and poison master of the Dai Viet Dynasty. �

Long ago, a renowned general of the Dai Viet Dynasty, Tran Hung Do, who had repelled the Yuan invasion, recognized the value of the Poison Demon.

The Poison Demon pledged his loyalty to Tran Hung Do, who had noticed him when he had been nothing more than a nameless researcher and devoted himself to poisons in the general's name. His research expanded far beyond the Southern Jungles, reaching the Central Plains. He even went to the murim to investigate the Righteous Faction, Evil Faction, and Demonic Path.

Thanks to his various experiences and research, he was able to complete the Green Eyes Ten Thousand Poisons Art. However, problems arose during that process, and he eventually became the murim's public enemy.

Despite his attempts to return to the Southern Jungles, he couldn't escape the relentless pursuit of the martial arts world and died without fulfilling his long-cherished wish.

However, putting the Green Eyes Ten Thousand Poisons Art aside, no one actually knew that the Poison Demon had originally come from the Southern Jungles, not the Central Plains.

This fact was unknown even decades after his passing, making it natural for the Insect King, as one of the few privy to this information, to be curious.

"What's your relationship with the Poison Demon?"

Zhou Xuchuan asked directly.

"...!"

When the Insect King heard the word "Poison Demon" come out of Zhou Xuchuan's mouth, he fell silent, his mouth closing as though lost in deep thought.

The Insect King seemed trapped in his own thoughts. His face twisted, turning into that of a guai as his gaze shifted to Au Yeu.

"Chief of the Au Co. What's going on here?"

"Huh?"

"Don't act like a fool!"

The Insect King gnashed his teeth furiously.

"Isn't this different from what those guys from the Central Plains proposed?!"

Proposed?

Zhou Xuchuan listened intently as the Insect King spoke, the atmosphere growing increasingly tense.

"I'm talking about the divine pill of the Au Co!" the Insect King shouted.

A swarm of insects poured from his sleeve, splitting into two streams that rushed toward Zhou Xuchuan and Au Yeu.

"That physician of the Central Plains should have made the divine pill by now. You should have had the divine pill by now, and we should have had the Divine Art! So, why? Why does that unknown bastard from the Central Plains have the Divine Art?!"

Divine Art? Is he talking about the Green Eyes Ten Thousand Poisons Art?

Zhou Xuchuan's mind raced as he pieced together the Insect King's words.

The Divine Physician of the Central Plains.

The Divine Pill.

The Divine Art.

The physician the Insect King was referring to must be the Divine Physician. As for the Divine Pill, Zhou Xuchuan wasn't entirely sure. However, the Divine Art must be the Green Eyes Ten Thousand Poisons Art.

… if I had to guess, the Au Co Tribe must have forced the Divine Physician to make the Divine Pill. Moreover, it seems as though they needed poison to do so, so they must have used the Green Eyes Ten Thousand Poisons Art as bait to request cooperation from the Poison Insect Tribe. Wait, did he say that the one who proposed the cooperation was from the Central Plains? Was it the Divine Physician?

By this point, even the Divine Physician's identity was questionable.

It wouldn't have been surprising if the Divine Physician had mistaken the Divine Pill for some new medicine and agreed to create it out of sheer medical curiosity.

However, it was suspicious that he would have promised the Green Eyes Ten Thousand Poisons Art in exchange. The manual had been in the Poisonblood Valley until Zhou Xuchuan himself discovered it, memorized it, and then destroyed it. There was no chance anyone else could have found it.

"Insect King. You're misunderstanding something now."

Au Yeu frowned, sensing something was wrong.

"If you played me for a fool, I'm not going to let that Central Plains person, you, or your tribe go unpunished. I'll throw half of you to the insects as food, and slaughter the other half to extract poison."

The Insect King's voice was sincere as his venomous eyes continuously radiated bloodlust.

"You fool! Now isn't the time for this!"

Au Yeu clutched her right chest with her hand and let out a pained groan.

"Look around you! If we leave things like this, we're going to lose!"

Zhou Xuchuan had taught the others how to deal with the Au Co Tribe's heat. That was the cause of their trouble. The Central Plains' search party pressed forward, clashing with the Au Co warriors.

Seeing this, the Qinghua Allied Forces launched a counterattack.

Each and every member of the Au Co Tribe was 'One Who Can Combat a Hundred.' They were strong, even without their heat. However, the difference in numbers was far too great.

Most importantly, since their fighting style was based on the heat, their strength was drastically reduced, leaving them helpless.

The Poison Insect Tribe had joined the battle a little late, but their poison wasn't as effective as expected.

"What is this?!"

"Why is our poison only… ugh!"

"Agk!"

The Qinghua Allied Forces had the Tang Family by their side.

A few days before, during the strategy meeting, the Tang Family prepared several antidotes and antivenoms to counter the Poison Insect Tribe's poisons.

Some of what they had was prepared beforehand, anticipating the journey into the Southern Jungles. Additionally, since arriving at the Great Forest, they had steadily looked for antidotes and antivenoms, preparing for any potential threats.

The Southern Jungles was a paradise of poisonous plants and animals. That meant that for those who practiced poison arts, there were treasures everywhere.

Since they had come all this way, they spent their time studying not just the poisons, but also the antidotes related to them.

Just from this, anyone could see that Tang Hui, the Poison Phoenix of the Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes, was not only a genius, but also a hard worker.

"You better not change the subject, Au Co Chief. You should know what that Divine Art means to us, right?" the Insect King growled, dismissing everything else as nonsense.

"Whether it's an explanation or whatever, I'm not hiding anything from you. In the first place, wasn't it that bastard of the Central Plains who offered that Divine Art to you, not me?!"

"And how am I supposed to believe that?!"

The Insect King's suspicion showed no signs of easing.

"We're just called the major tribes, wasn't this alliance supposed to benefit all of us?"

"Don't push it, you idiot!"

"If you were thinking of conquering the Great Forest after obtaining the Divine Pill and gaining power…"

"Aren't you questioning the wrong person? If you're really that suspicious of it, then ask that bastard from the Central Plains, or that bastard in front of you with the Divine Art, not me! You idiot!" Au Yeu screamed in return. Her blood seemed to boil even as she bled, as though she could no longer contain her anger.

Only then did the Insect King notice how agitated she was. He took a deep breath, his expression shifting slightly, before turning his glare toward Zhou Xuchuan.

On the other hand, Zhou Xuchuan licked his lips, feeling slightly regretful that the internal division that had started on its own had stopped even without his intervention.

Seeing the Insect King's eyes still burning with a mixture of suspicion and bloodlust, Zhou Xuchuan decided to speak.

"As I thought, now I understand. General Tran Hung Do was said to have created a special unit for someone before… Was that you?"

"...!"

Tran Hung Do had supported the Poison Demon in using poison and infectious diseases in war. Part of that support was creating a personal unit for the Poison Demon.

Some of them had probably followed the Poison Demon to the Central Plains. No matter how capable the Poison Demon was, it was impossible for him to investigate the entirety of the vast Central Plains on his own. He needed subordinates.

But, what happened to those who had been left behind?

Naturally, they would have participated in the war under Tran Hung Do using poisons and infectious diseases, following the directive of the unit's creation.

Fortunately, they succeeded in blocking the Yuan invasion with their power, using what the Poison Demon had left behind. But, strangely, the Yuan Dynasty ended up getting destroyed by the Ming, and their Dai Viet Dynasty soon followed.

"I never imagined that a unit that was over a hundred years old would still exist. More precisely, are you its descendants?"

When the Dai Viet and the dynasty fell, the military was also abolished. Zhou Xuchuan had assumed that the unit would have disappeared.

He never could have imagined that they would live on and continue their lineage as tribesmen.

"Very well, Insect King. I have a proposal."

Zhou Xuchuan put away his sword and raised his index finger.

"You've lost your sense of fear, to spout such nonsense."

The Insect King didn't hold back his hostility. Poison seeped from the thousands of bugs crawling on the ground.

"I already feel like I got screwed over by that offer, and now you're offering me another one?"

"Well, that's because you were fooled by someone from the Central Plains who you don't even know. I'm the real deal."

"Haven't you realized that you're also someone from the Central Plains who I don't even know?"

"No, that's a bit different. I think you were fooled by the Poison Demon's relics with the other person, but I'm different."

"..."

The Insect King didn't know who the man from the Central Plains in front of him was. However, he was certain that the man knew about the Green Eyes Ten Thousand Poisons Art and the Poison Demon.

Other than the descendants themselves, almost no one knew about the Poison Demon or his unit.

Because of the unit's various confidential clearances, only military officials and leaders at that time had any knowledge of them, and they had all disappeared alongside the Dai Viet.

Thus, the man in front of him had to have a direct or indirect relationship with the Poison Demon. The Poison Demon had been in operation in the Central Plains murim for quite some time, so it wasn't something unbelievable, either.

"Poison Insect Tribe. Surrender and follow me. In return, I'll teach you half of the sutras for the Green Eyes Ten Thousand Poisons Art right here, right now."

"Insect King!"

Au Yeu's urgent voice rang out.

"… and the rest?"

"You wouldn't ask for that without actually helping in any way, would you? After all, weren't we just pointing our swords at each other?"

In this situation, getting the Poison Insect Tribe to surrender wouldn't be bad.

The defeat of the Au Co Tribe, or rather the major tribes, would become certain, and unnecessary sacrifices could be prevented.

Most importantly, it gave him the power to fight them, and at the same time, he could learn the whole story of the incident.

They're here.

They were always there.

They never revealed themselves in the open, but rather existed behind others.

They looked down arrogantly on the Central Plains and the world from above.

The Dark Heavens Association.

Cyncoco's Thoughts

It's me, Cyncoco!

This is more of a request rather than a note, but, fam. There are 13 THOUSAND comments as of the day I'm translating this, most of which are NOT mentions of typos.

I saw that new review about not addressing the typos and mistakes ㅠㅠ I'm sorry, I'm only one smol translator, and I almost died (again LMAO) a little while ago. I cannot scan through all the comments even though I want to (I try to!)

If you see a typo, can you please put it in the discord? There are fewer comments there, so that I can scan through it better.

Also, once again, if there are mistakes, it's me, not the editor. Be glad the editor fixes my mistakes bc I am glad they fix mine.

If you're going to say mean things, make sure you're saying it to the right person.

Thanks!

Love you all.