To the Nine Poison Gang Leader, this was the biggest joke he had ever heard. He burst into loud laughter, followed by the other black-clad men around him, their eerie and harsh laughter sending chills down one's spine.
"If your father had come quietly, only then would we have suffered great losses. If we had been prepared, he would have died long ago. But now that you've come while we're ready, your death is certain," the Nine Poison Gang Leader sneered sinisterly.
"You managed to get here without encountering Song Nanming, right? You got lucky, but coming here still means your death! Of course, I won't let you die too easily. I'll use poison to slowly torment you, and maybe even use you to threaten the Shen family…"
Shen Xiang interrupted, "I've already met Song Nanming and experienced the so-called proud tactics of your Nine Poison Gang. But it didn't seem very impressive."
His words instantly froze the smug expression on the Nine Poison Gang Leader's face. He stared in disbelief. "Kid, I know you're skilled, but surviving within the encirclement of hundreds from my Nine Poison Gang—are you at the tenth level of the Mortal Martial Realm?"
"I'll admit, your little embroidery needles are dangerous, but to me, they're just child's play!" Shen Xiang's smile disappeared, replaced by a face full of murderous intent. "I'm not at the tenth level of the Mortal Martial Realm, but I can kill someone at that level!"
The moment he finished speaking, Shen Xiang's arm suddenly surged with an invisible energy force, formed by his Qiankun True Qi. Those without strong divine senses would never detect such terrifying Qi.
Before the members of the Nine Poison Gang realized what was happening, Shen Xiang's fist shot out, crashing through the air with such speed and power that the force created a deafening boom, shaking the entire palace as the ground beneath them shattered from the impact.
Shen Xiang's punch had been unleashed in an instant, and it accurately struck the chest of the Nine Poison Gang Leader. However, to Shen Xiang's surprise, the gang leader didn't fly back. In that brief moment, he released a protective Qi shield that resisted Shen Xiang's tremendous force.
"You…" The Nine Poison Gang Leader never expected such a sudden and terrifying strike. In his view, the power was comparable to someone at the tenth level of the Mortal Martial Realm. A mouthful of blood spurted from his lips as Shen Xiang's heavy blow left him gravely injured.
"Attack! Kill him!" he ordered.
Before the words had fully left his mouth, Shen Xiang's fist suddenly turned golden, with veins bulging as golden True Qi flowed through them. The ground beneath his feet cracked under his immense strength, and his powerful Qi surged wildly as he unleashed another heavy punch.
"Dragon Fist!" This was from the Dragon Slayer Divine Art, and its power was immense, especially when enhanced by the Qiankun True Qi.
"Stop! I am from the Hundred Poison Sect—" Before the Nine Poison Gang Leader could finish his sentence, Shen Xiang's fist shot toward his head like a fierce, radiant golden light.
The destructive True Qi in Shen Xiang's punch exploded upon contact, reducing the leader's head and upper body to a bloody pulp. At the same time, countless poison needles shot toward Shen Xiang.
This wasn't the first time Shen Xiang had dealt with such hidden weapons. He knew that these were infused with True Qi and released with specific techniques. To counter them, one needed to either repel them with strong True Qi or control them directly.
Thanks to his powerful divine sense, Shen Xiang could detect exactly how many poison needles were flying toward him. In his eyes, they seemed to move much slower.
This time, instead of using True Qi to block the needles, he employed his divine sense to directly stop the incoming poison needles, suspending them all in mid-air.
"Hmph, is this the best you've got?" Shen Xiang snorted coldly. Suddenly, a surge of intense heat emanated from his body, and flames erupted all around, instantly incinerating the poison needles.
The remaining members of the Nine Poison Gang were stunned. Their supposedly formidable hidden weapons had been effortlessly neutralized. Just as they were preparing for a second round of attacks, Shen Xiang vanished into the sea of flames.
When they looked up, a massive flaming palm surged down from above like a scorching mountain, radiating intense heat!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The giant fiery hand crashed down, causing a series of violent explosions. The hundreds of gang members inside the main hall were instantly crushed into meat paste, and their remains were engulfed by the flames.
Once again, Shen Xiang unleashed all of his Vermillion Bird True Qi, transforming it into a massive palm that wiped out every single member of the Nine Poison Gang in the hall.
In the eyes of a tenth-level Mortal Martial Realm expert, ordinary people were like ants. The power of a tenth-level expert was not exaggerated. Even those at the eighth level were already extremely formidable. Though Shen Xiang was only at the eighth level of the Mortal Martial Realm, his strength far surpassed those at the ninth level, and he could even fight to a draw with a perfected tenth-level expert.
Shen Xiang rushed out of the hall, and with his mountain-crushing strength, he obliterated the peak of Chaoswind Mountain!
Descending from the mountain, Shen Xiang immediately activated his Taiji Divine Art to suppress the violent killing intent that lingered within him. After all, he had just massacred a group of people and now looked like a bloodthirsty demon god.
Just as he entered the forest at the foot of the mountain, a thin, middle-aged man appeared in front of him. The man wore clean white robes, had an ordinary appearance, and sported a bit of stubble on his chin. At first glance, he seemed like an average, nondescript middle-aged man.
However, when Shen Xiang saw him, his heart tightened. This man had appeared silently, and Shen Xiang couldn't gauge his strength. His intuition told him that this man was extremely dangerous.
"I didn't expect to find such a genius in the mortal world—someone not only capable of mastering wing-based True Qi martial skills but also possessing incredible alchemy talent and formidable personal strength. If you reach the True Martial Realm, you'll undoubtedly be the most promising young man in history," the middle-aged man said, his voice emotionless and his face expressionless.
"Who are you?" Shen Xiang asked cautiously.
The man's stiff smile appeared. "I am called Nine Poison Master. The Nine Poison Gang you just destroyed was my creation. So, who do you think I am?"
Shen Xiang's heart skipped a beat. He realized that this Nine Poison Master must have been watching him for some time, deliberately choosing not to intervene as his gang was annihilated.
It was clear what the Nine Poison Master's goal was—he had been waiting for Shen Xiang to exhaust his True Qi, making him easier to deal with. This showed just how much he valued Shen Xiang.
"Tenth level of the Mortal Martial Realm!" Shen Xiang said seriously.
"You have a good eye," the Nine Poison Master sneered, looking disdainfully at the burning palace on the mountain peak. "At my level, I couldn't care less about something like the Nine Poison Gang. It was just a toy I created for amusement."
"Your True Qi must be nearly depleted by now! But don't worry, I won't kill you. I'll take you back to the Hundred Poison Sect as a gift to offer to the elders. They'll love you. But before that, you'll have to hand over a few things—otherwise, I'll make your life worse than death." The Nine Poison Master's face twisted into a malicious grin as he spoke.