Red, yellow, green, blue, purple, and black.
The Treasure Pearl was crystal clear and translucent like glazed glass. The six colors flickered and swirled within it, creating a breathtakingly beautiful sight.
Gu Zhao reached out, beckoning with his hand, and the Treasure Pearl flew into his grasp.
With a probing sweep of his Divine Sense, he could feel that the interior of this seemingly gorgeous and magnificent pearl was actually brimming with highly toxic poison.
Even with Gu Zhao’s current Dao Practice and Divine Sense, his probing senses were rapidly corroded the moment they entered the Treasure Pearl. In the span of a single breath, they were weakened by half. After circulating inside once, they were completely worn away.
"Incredible. Is this considered entering the Dao through poison?" Gu Zhao clicked his tongue in amazement.
No wonder that black-clad youth had been so brimming with confidence. Not to mention the giant spider’s original body and Magical Power, just this terrifying poisonous qi alone would be unbearable for an ordinary person even if they were slightly tainted by it.
Fortunately, the Thunder Power was fierce and violently explosive, and Gu Zhao had immediately trapped the giant spider with the Eight Gates Golden Lock Array. All the poisonous qi released by the enemy had been destroyed by endless thunderbolts, preventing it from posing any threat to them.
"This should be the Inner Pill of the Six-Headed Divine Monarch. That Spider Spirit used it as the core for this zombie," Gu Zhao said, toying with the Treasure Pearl. "He didn’t have the capability to refine the corpse of the Six-Headed Divine Monarch into such a Treasure Pearl."
The poisonous qi within this Treasure Pearl was so intense and concentrated that even Gu Zhao would find it difficult to condense. How could that black-clad youth, who only had over two thousand years of Dao Practice, possibly forge such a Treasure Pearl?
Gu Zhao channeled his Magical Power, causing the Treasure Pearl to emanate a cloud of six-colored mist.
Even just being illuminated by this mist made the four old Daoists standing nearby feel dizzy and lightheaded.
The mist released by the Treasure Pearl itself was even stronger than the six-colored poisonous fog previously unleashed by the giant spider.
With another surge of his Magical Power, Gu Zhao retracted all the mist on the pearl’s surface.
At the same time, the residual poisonous qi that had yet to dissipate in the lake water was completely drawn into the Treasure Pearl, as if a giant whale was sucking in water.
"This Treasure Pearl can not only release poisonous qi, but also absorb it." Gu Zhao nodded. "It makes one invulnerable to all poisons!"
"What a treasure!" The eyes of the four old Daoists lit up.
As they traveled the world, they had encountered demons transformed from venomous insects and ghosts skilled in using poison. However, most of them had amounted to nothing and were easily slain by the Daoists.
But that didn’t mean they were ignorant of how formidable poison could be.
Some exotic toxins could devour the mind or corrode the bones. They posed an even greater threat than ordinary Yin Qi and Demon Power, taking root like a lingering plague that was extremely difficult to eradicate.
Originally, they had only come to the Poison Dragon Swamp to clear out the Demon Realm. Unexpectedly, they ended up killing the last disciple of the Six-Headed Divine Monarch and acquiring his final Magical Treasure.
The Body Seal.
Gu Zhao stored the Great Seal back into his gourd, planning to head back and see what would happen when all six Magical Treasures were brought together.
The group returned to the stone hall once again and opened the statue’s base, releasing a dense wave of Demonic Qi that swept outward.
There was no need for Gu Zhao to intervene. The four old Daoists cast their spells in unison, using their Taoist True Qi to form a new seal that blocked the entrance to the Demon Cave and completely intercepted the Demonic Qi.
Next, the group entered the Demon Cave. They discovered that this Demon Cave was not as large as the one at the Cloud Celestial Divine Palace. It was roughly the same size as the Demon Cave beneath Black Rock Mountain of the Nether Fire Sect, spanning over two hundred miles in circumference.
"Without a Demon supporting it and relying solely on self-evolution, its growth speed isn’t very fast," Taoist Yan Ling analyzed.
"With the four of us working together, we can clean this place up in at most two months," Taoist Qingwei stated.
Consequently, the four old Daoists remained in the Poison Dragon Swamp to refine the demons, while Gu Zhao journeyed back alone.
Upon returning to Cyan Hill Mountain, Gu Zhao could see from afar that there were people accompanying Ye Ruyan and Miaoyun Princess on a nature stroll, others drinking with Hou Hao and Yuan Lin, and still others playing with the Silk Embroideress and Bai Ke.
Seeing Gu Zhao return, Bai Qianzhu came out to welcome him personally. "Did everything go smoothly?"
"Everything went perfectly," Gu Zhao replied with a smile. "The Demon Cave isn’t large. It can be completely cleared out in a month or two."
Bai Qianzhu’s eyes flickered, her heart filled with shock.
Although there hadn’t been many Demon Cultivators over the past ten thousand years and they hadn’t amounted to much, Demonic Qi was universally acknowledged as incredibly troublesome to deal with. It would often turn an entire area into a dead zone that would take decades or even centuries to recover.
Yet, with the Daoists of Daluo Palace taking action, they could completely clear out a Demon Cave built by a Demon-possessed Great Demon with thousands of years of Dao Practice in just a month or two?
"That’s wonderful news," Bai Qianzhu said with a grin. "I sent greeting cards to a few friends, inviting them to Cyan Hill Mountain for a meeting. If Brother Gu has some free time, you should stay for a few more days."
"Cyan Hill Mountain is comfortable and pleasant. I’d love nothing more than to stay for a while longer," Gu Zhao laughed.
Just then, a wisp of Divine Thought arrived abruptly. Had it not been for Gu Zhao’s profound Dao Practice, he likely wouldn’t have even sensed it.
No, rather, Gu Zhao probably shouldn’t have been able to sense it in the first place. However, there was a faint, almost imperceptible aura within it that he had just experienced that very morning, making it somewhat familiar.
Bai Qianzhu’s gaze shifted slightly, and she turned to Gu Zhao. "I have some business to attend to. Brother Gu, you can go find the Silk Embroideress and the others."
Seeing that Bai Qianzhu was turning to leave, Gu Zhao pulled her back. "Was that the Celestial Fox Ancestor just now?"
Bai Qianzhu looked back in astonishment, entirely not expecting that Gu Zhao could actually sense the Ancestor’s Divine Thought. "That’s right. The Ancestor is looking for me."
"When the Celestial Fox Ancestor fought the Six-Headed Divine Monarch back then, she went into seclusion for a hundred years and has yet to fully recover. I’m afraid she didn’t just suffer internal injuries, but was also inflicted with the Six-Headed Divine Monarch’s lethal poison, wasn’t she?" Gu Zhao asked.
The Divine Thought from earlier carried a faint trace of Soul-Devouring Poison Qi, aside from its subtle Spiritual Power.
This type of poisonous qi was precisely one of the kinds contained within the Six-Headed Divine Monarch’s Treasure Pearl, specifically targeting the Divine Soul.
Furthermore, this poison was extremely well-hidden. If Gu Zhao hadn’t sensed it previously from the Six-Color Treasure Pearl, he might not have noticed it just now.
Therefore, Bai Qianzhu was deeply shocked that Gu Zhao had managed to discover this. One must understand that the matter of the Ancestor being poisoned was not known to everyone, even within Cyan Hill Mountain.
Everyone only knew that the Ancestor had suffered internal injuries during her battle with the Six-Headed Divine Monarch and had been in seclusion for a hundred years.
As for the extent to which her injuries had healed by now, no one truly had a clear idea, and there was plenty of speculation in the outside world.
Some even guessed that the Ancestor had long since fully recovered and was merely waiting for Ascension. The only reason she remained in Cyan Hill Mountain was because there was currently no one capable of taking charge of the territory.
They believed that once Bai Qianzhu achieved six to seven thousand years of Dao Practice, combined with Cyan Hill Mountain’s foundational strength, she would be capable of protecting the Celestial Fox Lineage, and the Ancestor would finally Ascend and depart.
However, only Bai Qianzhu knew that after a century of seclusion, the Ancestor’s injuries hadn’t improved at all. On the contrary, the poisoning had deepened. The toxin had seeped into her very bones and Divine Soul, taking root like a lingering plague that was nearly impossible to eradicate.
Even with the capabilities of the Celestial Fox Ancestor, she could only manage to barely sustain herself and prevent the poison from spreading further. Attempting to purge the poison or achieve full recovery was exceedingly difficult.
This was the greatest secret of the Cyan Hill Mountain lineage. Even within the Celestial Foxes, very few were aware of it. How did Gu Zhao find out?
A flash of wariness instinctively crossed Bai Qianzhu’s eyes.
"Sister Zhu, don’t misunderstand." Gu Zhao also noticed the wariness in Bai Qianzhu’s eyes. "I only just obtained the Inner Pill of the Six-Headed Divine Monarch and sensed the same source of Soul-Devouring Poison Qi. That is what led me to this speculation."
Bai Qianzhu froze upon hearing this. "Huh?"