“ qián bèi ruò shì tí zhè xiē wú lǐ de yāo qiú ， ná zài xià kāi shuàn 。 nà shù bù fèng péi le 。” lín xuān shuō wán zhè huà ， xiù páo yī fú 。 jiù yào zhuǎn shēn lí kāi 。
“前辈若是提这些无礼的要求，拿在下开涮。那恕不奉陪了。”林轩说完这话，袖袍一拂。就要转身离开。
"Senior, if you insist on making such impolite demands and mocking me, I will not accompany you any further," Lin Xuan said as he swept his sleeve. He was about to turn and leave.
“ xiǎo zi 。 děng děng ！” jiàn lín xuān yào zǒu 。 bǎi dú shén jūn dà jí 。 kě tā de cán qū 。 míng xiǎn bèi xià le shén me jìn zhì 。 jìng rán wú fǎ lí kāi nà lǜ sè dì yè tǐ ， ér lín xuān qù yì shèn jiān de yàng zi ， yí bù yí bù yǐ yuǎn lí le shí shì 。
“小子。等等！”见林轩要走。百毒神君大急。可他的残躯。明显被下了什么禁制。竟然无法离开那绿色地液体，而林轩去意甚坚的样子，一步一步已远离了石室。
"Boy! Wait!" Seeing Lin Xuan's intention to depart, the Poison God King grew anxious. However, his weakened body seemed to be under some kind of restriction, unable to escape from the green liquid. Lin Xuan's determination was evident; he had already moved away from the stone chamber.
“ nǐ zhēn dì yào zǒu 。 nán dào bù xiǎng zhī dào wǒ mò yuè zú zhèn zú zhī bǎo dì mì mì ？”
“你真地要走。难道不想知道我墨月族镇族之宝地秘密？”
"Do you really want to leave without knowing the secret behind our clan's treasure?"
“ zhèn zú zhī bǎo ？” lín xuān tíng xià le jiǎo bù 。 hào tiān guǐ dì jiù shì yīn wèi zhè ge cái xiàn rù kùn jìng dì ， cǐ wù kěn dìng fēi tóng xiǎo kě ， lín xuān zì rán shì yǒu nà me yì diǎn xìng qù 。
“镇族之宝？”林轩停下了脚步。昊天鬼帝就是因为这个才陷入困境地，此物肯定非同小可，林轩自然是有那么一点兴趣。
"Clan treasure?" Lin Xuan paused as he realized that this item must be significant, given how the Heavenly Ghost Emperor had been trapped by it. He naturally had some interest in it.
“ qián bèi jiū jìng shì shén me shēn fèn ， nà suǒ wèi de zhèn zú zhī bǎo ， nán dào bù yīng gāi jiāo yǔ lián méng dà zhǎng lǎo ， hùn yuán lǎo zǔ bǎo guǎn de ma ？” lín xuān huí guò tóu ， miàn dài yí huò de kāi kǒu 。
“前辈究竟是什么身份，那所谓的镇族之宝，难道不应该交予联盟大长老，混元老祖保管的吗？”林轩回过头，面带疑惑的开口。
"What is your identity, senior? Shouldn't such a clan treasure belong to the Alliance's Great Elder and Primordial Essence Ancestor for safekeeping?" Lin Xuan turned around with a puzzled expression.
“ lián méng dà zhǎng lǎo ， ruò fēi nà jiān zéi àn hài běn shén jūn ， qǐ huì lún dé dào tā zuò zhè ge wèi zhì 。 hùn yuán lǎo zǔ 。 bù guò shì yī wàng ēn fù yì de fèi wù 。” bǎi dú shén jūn qíng xù fēi cháng jī dòng 。 ruò fēi bèi kǎn qù le shuāng zú 。 kěn dìng yǐ jīng tiào jiǎo dà mà le 。
“联盟大长老，若非那奸贼暗害本神君，岂会轮得到他坐这个位置。混元老祖。不过是一忘恩负义的废物。”百毒神君情绪非常激动。若非被砍去了双足。肯定已经跳脚大骂了。
"If not for that traitor's treachery against me, how could he have taken this position. The Primordial Essence Ancestor is just a worthless ingrate," the Poison God King was visibly agitated. If his legs hadn't been cut off, he would have jumped up and down in anger.
lín xuān tīng dé mù dèng kǒu dāi 。
林轩听得目瞪口呆。
Lin Xuan stared wide-eyed at him.
suī rán cóng duì fāng de yāo qiú 。 tā hěn róng yì jiù pàn duàn chū liǎng rén yǒu chóu 。 kě jiān zéi yě hǎo ， hùn zhàng yě bà ， zǒng zhī zhè fèi wù dì mà fǎ yě tài qí tè de ba 。 ér qiě kàn duì fāng yī liǎn bù xiè dì yàng zi 。 dào zhēn de xiàng shì shā yǒu qí shì 。
虽然从对方的要求。他很容易就判断出两人有仇。可奸贼也好，混账也罢，总之这废物地骂法也太奇特的吧。而且看对方一脸不屑地样子。倒真的像是煞有其事。
Although it was easy to deduce their enmity from his demands, the way this traitor or scoundrel insulted himself as a waste of space was peculiar. Moreover, the Poison God King's expression suggested that he was indeed serious about his claims.
lín xuān yě bù chā kǒu 。 tā zhī dào děng duì fāng jī dòng wán bì le 。 kěn dìng huì gěi zì jǐ yí gè hé lǐ de jiě shì 。
林轩也不插口。他知道等对方激动完毕了。肯定会给自己一个合理的解释。
Lin Xuan did not interrupt but knew that after his outburst, he would give him a reasonable explanation.
guǒ rán 。 duì fāng mà le shù fēn zhōng hòu ， liǎn sè jiàn jiàn píng jìng xià lái ， chuǎn le kǒu qì ：“ xiǎo zi ， nǐ kě zhī lǎo fū shì shì shuí ， yǔ nà hùn yuán lǎo zéi yòu yǒu hé guān xì ？”
果然。对方骂了数分钟后，脸色渐渐平静下来，喘了口气：“小子，你可知老夫是是谁，与那混元老贼又有何关系？”
Sure enough, several minutes later, the Poison God King calmed down and took a deep breath. "Boy, do you know who I am and my connection to that traitor?"
“ wǎn bèi bù zhī ， qián bèi yǒu huà jǐn guǎn míng shuō jiù shì ， zài xià kě bù xǐ huān guǎi wān mò jiǎo 。 yě méi yǒu duō yú de shí jiān zài zhè lǐ dān gē xià qù 。” lín xuān méi tóu yī tiāo ， dàn dàn de dào 。
“晚辈不知，前辈有话尽管明说就是，在下可不喜欢拐弯抹角。也没有多余的时间在这里耽搁下去。”林轩眉头一挑，淡淡的道。
"I do not know, senior. Please speak your mind directly; I dislike beating around the bush and have no time to waste here," Lin Xuan raised an eyebrow and spoke in a calm tone.
“ nǐ ……” bǎi dú shén jūn yǐn xiàn nù sè 。 dàn hěn kuài ， yòu xiàng pí qiú yàng dì xiè le kǒu qì ：“ bà le 。 hǔ luò píng yáng bèi quǎn qī 。 lǎo fū xiàn zài zhè fù yàng zi ， yě bù néng zài yǔ nǐ jì jiào shén me ， xiǎng dāng nián ， lǎo fū fēng guāng zhī shí ， hùn yuán nà jiān zéi 。 yòu suàn shén me dōng xī ？”
“你……”百毒神君隐现怒色。但很快，又像皮球样地泄了口气：“罢了。虎落平阳被犬欺。老夫现在这副样子，也不能再与你计较什么，想当年，老夫风光之时，混元那奸贼。又算什么东西？”
"You...!" The Poison God King showed signs of anger but quickly deflated like a balloon: "Forget it. A tiger in its declining years is bullied by dogs. In my current state, I can't argue with you anymore. Back then, when I was at the height of my glory, what did that traitor, Primordial Essence, amount to?"
“ nǐ xiǎng zhī dào wǒ men shén me guān xì ， gào sù nǐ 。 xī rì lǎo fū céng shì tā de shī dì 。”
“你想知道我们什么关系，告诉你。昔日老夫曾是他的师弟。”
"You want to know our connection? Tell you, back then, I was his junior disciple."
“ shī dì ？” lín xuān wēi wēi yǒu xiē chà yì 。 tā xīn zhōng yǐ jīng zuò le cāi cè 。 dàn què yǔ zhè ge bù tài xiāng tóng 。
“师弟？”林轩微微有些诧异。他心中已经做了猜测。但却与这个不太相同。
"Junior disciple?" Lin Xuan was slightly surprised. He had already made some guesses but they were different.
“ méi shén me hào qí guài dì ， xī rì lǎo fū yǔ nà jiān zéi yì qǐ 。 bài zài tóng yī shī fù mén xià 。 yě jiù shì bù luò lián méng dì xiān dài dà zhǎng lǎo ， nà jiān zéi rù mén suī rán bǐ wǒ zǎo ， dàn bù lùn zī zhì hái shì cái zhì ， dōu yuǎn bù jí lǎo fū 。 bì jìng xiàng lǎo fū zhè zhǒng qí cái 。 kě shì wàn nián nán dé yī yù ……” bǎi dú shén jūn shuō dào zhè lǐ ， jiàn lín xuān liǎn shàng de biǎo qíng pǒ wèi guài yì 。 bù yóu de tíng le xià lái ， hěn shēng dào ：“ zěn me ， nǐ bù xiāng xìn ？”
“没什么好奇怪地，昔日老夫与那奸贼一起。拜在同一师傅门下。也就是部落联盟地先代大长老，那奸贼入门虽然比我早，但不论资质还是才智，都远不及老夫。毕竟像老夫这种奇才。可是万年难得一遇……”百毒神君说到这里，见林轩脸上的表情颇为怪异。不由得停了下来，狠声道：“怎么，你不相信？”
"There's nothing strange about it. Back then, me and the traitor studied under the same master—our predecessor Great Elder of the tribal alliance. Although he entered earlier than me, in terms of talent and intellect, he fell far behind me. After all, talents like me are a rarity that comes once every ten thousand years..." The Poison God King paused when he noticed Lin Xuan's expression was peculiar. He stopped and glared: "How do you not believe it?"
“ bù 。” lín xuān yáo le yáo tóu ， liǎn shàng dì biǎo qíng wú bǐ chéng kěn ：“ ruò shì huàn yí gè rén ， rú cǐ chuī xū zì jǐ ， wǎn bèi zì rán chī zhī yǐ bí ， kě qián bèi dāng nián chuǎng xià hǎo dà de míng shēng 。 shèn zhì yǐ níng dān qī de xiū wèi 。 huǒ bìng yuán yīng qī dì tài xū zhēn rén ， bié shuō wàn nián yī yù 。 jiù suàn shuō shì bǎi wàn nián yī yù de qí cái 。 yě bù suàn kuā dà qí cí 。”
“不。”林轩摇了摇头，脸上地表情无比诚恳：“若是换一个人，如此吹嘘自己，晚辈自然嗤之以鼻，可前辈当年闯下好大的名声。甚至以凝丹期的修为。火并元婴期地太虚真人，别说万年一遇。就算说是百万年一遇的奇才。也不算夸大其词。”
"No," Lin Xuan shook his head with an extremely sincere look on his face. "If anyone else boasted like this, I would have dismissed them out of hand. But your reputation back then was impressive enough that even at the Condensation Core stage, you could challenge the Elder Immortal Tai Xu. Even if it's a once-in-a-million-year talent, exaggerating is not an overstatement."
tīng lín xuān shuō qǐ zì jǐ dì dé yì zhàn jì 。 bǎi dú shén jūn shèn wéi shòu yòng ：“ nǐ zhè xiǎo zi ， dào yě pǒ yǒu jiàn shí ， lǎo fū dāng nián 。 què shí qù zhōu héng xíng le yī fān 。 bù guò yǔ tài xū nà lǎo guài wù néng gòu píng fēn qiū sè ， què shì lìng yǒu yuán yóu ， yě yǔ wǒ mò yuè zú de zhèn zú zhī bǎo yǒu guān 。”
听林轩说起自己地得意战绩。百毒神君甚为受用：“你这小子，倒也颇有见识，老夫当年。确实去州横行了一番。不过与太虚那老怪物能够平分秋色，却是另有缘由，也与我墨月族的镇族之宝有关。”
Hearing about his own achievements, the Poison God King seemed pleased: "You're quite knowledgeable for a young man. Back then, I did indeed roam across the state. But my ability to match Elder Immortal Tai Xu was due to our clan's treasure and had nothing to do with him."
“ yǔ zhèn zú zhī bǎo yǒu guān ？” lín xuān xīn zhōng yī dòng 。 àn zì jì le xià lái 。
“与镇族之宝有关？”林轩心中一动。暗自记了下来。
"Connection with the clan treasure?" Lin Xuan's interest piqued as he noted this down.
“ zǒng ér yán zhī 。 lǎo fū dāng nián de zī zhì 。 jué duì shì qián bú jiàn gǔ rén ， hòu bú jiàn lái zhě ， nǐ kě zhī dào wǒ cóng xiū xiān dào níng chéng jīn dān gòng huā qù le duō zhǎng dì shí jiān ？”
“总而言之。老夫当年的资质。绝对是前不见古人，后不见来者，你可知道我从修仙到凝成金丹共花去了多长地时间？”
"In short, back then, my talent was unparalleled in history. Do you know how long it took me to form a golden core from cultivation to condensation?"
“ zhè ge …… wǔ liù shí nián ba ！” lín xuān shuō chū le yí gè zì jǐ yì xiǎng dì shù zì ， yì bān shuō lái 。 bǎi nián zuǒ yòu néng gòu níng chéng jīn dān ， jiù yǐ jīng shì yōng yǒu shèng líng gēn dì qí cái ， yǎn qián zhè lǎo guài wù jì rán shǔ yú nì tiān jí bié dì ， lín xuān jiù gěi tā suō duǎn le yí bàn 。
“这个……五六十年吧！”林轩说出了一个自己臆想地数字，一般说来。百年左右能够凝成金丹，就已经是拥有圣灵根地奇才，眼前这老怪物既然属于逆天级别地，林轩就给他缩短了一半。
"About fifty or sixty years!" Lin Xuan guessed a number based on his imagination; generally, taking around a hundred years to form a golden core meant one had a Saintly Spirit Root, and the old monster in front of him was an anomaly, so he shortened it by half.
“ bú duì ！” bǎi dú shén jūn yáo le yáo tóu ， liǎn shàng lù chū yī sī ào rán ， shēn chū liǎng gēn shǒu zhǐ tou ：“ lǎo fū zhǐ huā le èr shí zài 。”
“不对！”百毒神君摇了摇头，脸上露出一丝傲然，伸出两根手指头：“老夫只花了二十载。”
"That's not right!" The Poison God King shook his head with a look of pride. "It only took me twenty years."
“ èr shí zài ？” lín xuān tīng dé shì mù dèng kǒu dāi ， biàn shì zì jǐ 。 yǐ zēng jìn fǎ lì dì dān yào dāng táng wán ， zhè zhǒng kuáng chī làn bǔ dì qíng kuàng xià 。 yě yòng le jiāng jìn sì shí nián ， duì fāng bù kě néng yě yǒu lán sè xīng hǎi 。 zhè zhǒng dān kào zì jǐ kǔ xiū ， jū rán cái yòng le yí bàn dì shí jiān ， zhè yě wèi miǎn ……
“二十载？”林轩听得是目瞪口呆，便是自己。以增进法力地丹药当糖丸，这种狂吃滥补地情况下。也用了将近四十年，对方不可能也有蓝色星海。这种单靠自己苦修，居然才用了一半地时间，这也未免……
"Twenty years?" Lin Xuan was stunned. Even he, using medicinal pills to boost his cultivation and indulging in excessive intake, had spent nearly forty years. It was impossible for the other party to have Blue Star Sea and achieve such results in half the time.
“ lǎo fū xiū liàn dì sù dù jí kuài ， suī rán rù mén bǐ hùn yuán nà jiān zéi wǎn ， dàn hěn kuài jiù yuǎn yuǎn de jiāng tā pāo zài le hòu miàn ， nà jiān zéi shì yī fù hēi yīn xiǎn de rén wù 。 biǎo miàn shàng ， duì lǎo fū bì gōng bì jìng ， suī shì shī xiōng 。 què cóng bù bǎi jià zi ， fǎn ér duì lǎo fū zhí yǐ dì zǐ zhī lǐ 。 lǎo fū yě shì yī shí yǎn xiā ， jìng rán xìn le zhè jiān zéi dì xū qíng jiǎ yì ， duì tā dà jiā tí xié ， xiū liàn shàng yǒu shén me bù dǒng de yě dōu jìn xīn zhǐ diǎn 。 wǒ shèn zhì jiāng zì jǐ xiū liàn dì yī xiē dú tè jiàn jiě yǔ tā fēn xiǎng 。 fǒu zé nǎ huì yǒu zhè xiǎo zi dì jīn tiān ……” shuō dào zhè lǐ 。 bǎi dú shén jūn nù mù yuán zhēng 。 yī fù fèn nù wú bǐ de biǎo qíng 。
“老夫修炼地速度极快，虽然入门比混元那奸贼晚，但很快就远远的将他抛在了后面，那奸贼是一腹黑阴险的人物。表面上，对老夫毕恭毕敬，虽是师兄。却从不摆架子，反而对老夫执以弟子之礼。老夫也是一时眼瞎，竟然信了这奸贼地虚情假意，对他大加提携，修炼上有什么不懂的也都尽心指点。我甚至将自己修炼地一些独特见解与他分享。否则哪会有这小子地今天……”说到这里。百毒神君怒目圆睁。一副愤怒无比的表情。
"My cultivation speed was extremely fast; although I entered later than that traitor, I soon left him far behind. That traitor is a cunning and vicious person. He showed respect on the surface but never treated me as his senior. Instead, he treated me like a disciple. I was blinded by my own foolishness and believed in his false sincerity, promoting him excessively in cultivation. Whenever there were questions, I would guide him with all my heart. I even shared some of my unique insights with him; otherwise, how could this boy be here today..." At this point, the Poison God King's eyes bulged, showing intense anger.
lín xuān zé tàn le kǒu qì ， yǎn qián zhè wèi běn yě shì jí cōng míng zhī rén ， kě qià qià jiù yīn wèi tā tiān zòng qí cái ， qián bàn shēng tài guò shùn lì 。 suǒ yǐ yǎng chéng le jiāo ào zì dà ， mù kōng yī qiè de xìng zi 。 fǒu zé zǐ xì xiǎng xiǎng 。 suǒ wèi wú shì xiàn yīn qíng 。 fēi jiān jí dào ， hùn yuán lǎo zǔ míng míng shì shī xiōng 。 què duì tā zhí dì zǐ zhī lǐ 。 zhè běn shēn jiù tài guò qí guài le xiē 。
林轩则叹了口气，眼前这位本也是极聪明之人，可恰恰就因为他天纵奇才，前半生太过顺利。所以养成了骄傲自大，目空一切的性子。否则仔细想想。所谓无事献殷情。非奸即盗，混元老祖明明是师兄。却对他执弟子之礼。这本身就太过奇怪了些。
Lin Xuan sighed. This man was once very intelligent but had developed a proud and arrogant nature due to his exceptional talent and early success in life. Otherwise, considering the saying "a gift horse must be examined," it would have been obvious that an elder treating him like a disciple was suspicious.
ruò jǐn jǐn shì xiǎng yào dé dào xiū liàn shàng de zhǐ diǎn ， tí xié 。 dà kě bù bì rú cǐ 。 zhè me zuò hái yǒu yī céng yì yì 。 jiù shì bó qǔ bǎi dú shén jūn dì xìn rèn le 。
若仅仅是想要得到修炼上的指点，提携。大可不必如此。这么做还有一层意义。就是博取百毒神君地信任了。
Unfortunately, as the saying goes, being too close can blind one's judgment; this genius failed to notice such a clear logic.
kě xī 。 dāng jú zhě mí 。 zhè wèi qí cái jìng rán yì zhí méi yǒu zhù yì dào zhè me míng xiǎn de dào lǐ 。
可惜。当局者迷。这位奇才竟然一直没有注意到这么明显的道理。
"After I formed my golden core, it took me another twenty years to reach the peak of the realm. Originally, I should have closed myself in for cultivation and formation. But you know how it is when we cultivators push through barriers—besides cultivation, one also needs mental fortitude. My master advised me to go out and experience the world,"
“ lǎo fū níng chéng jīn dān yǐ hòu ， yòu huā le èr shí nián zuǒ yòu de shí jiān 。 jiù jiāng jìng jiè tí shēng dào le dà yuán mǎn 。 běn lái gāi shì shí hòu bì guān jié yīng le 。 kě nǐ yě qīng chǔ 。 wǒ men xiū xiān zhī rén zài chōng jī píng jǐng dì shí hòu 。 chú le xiū wèi 。 hái xū yào xīn jìng ， shī zūn jiàn yì lǎo fū chū qù lì liàn yī fān 。”
“老夫凝成金丹以后，又花了二十年左右的时间。就将境界提升到了大圆满。本来该是时候闭关结婴了。可你也清楚。我们修仙之人在冲击瓶颈地时候。除了修为。还需要心境，师尊建议老夫出去历练一番。”
"Experience?"
“ lì liàn ？”
“历练？”
"Yes, before, our witchcraft training was merely wandering around Qu Yin Mountain and eliminating some beasts. The refinement of the mind was limited. However, the vast landscapes of You Zhou were all occupied by your Qin clan, making it a forbidden area for our Murmur Clan witches. I refused to believe in this nonsense and came out of the mountain..."
“ bù cuò ， yǐ qián wǒ men wū shī lì liàn 。 bù guò shì zài kuí yīn shān mài yóu dàng ， miè shā yī xiē yāo shòu ér yǐ 。 duì yú xīn jìng dì mó lì ， zhe shí yǒu xiàn ， ér yōu zhōu dì dà hǎo hé shān ， quán bèi nǐ men qín zú zhàn jù ， duì wǒ men mò yuè zú de wū shī 。 zé biàn chéng le jìn qū 。 lǎo fū piān bù xìn zhè ge xié ， yú shì biàn lái dào le shān mài zhī wài ……”
“不错，以前我们巫师历练。不过是在奎阴山脉游荡，灭杀一些妖兽而已。对于心境地磨砺，着实有限，而幽州地大好河山，全被你们秦族占据，对我们墨月族的巫师。则变成了禁区。老夫偏不信这个邪，于是便来到了山脉之外……”
The rest of his story, Lin Xuan had read from ancient texts; hearing it directly from the Poison God King added more horror to the tale.
hòu miàn dì shì qíng 。 lín xuān cóng diǎn jí shàng yě dōu kàn guò le ， zhè wèi bǎi dú shén jūn 。 pǎo dào yōu zhōu dà kāi shā jiè ， zhǐ bù guò cóng dāng shì rén dì kǒu zhōng tīng lái ， gèng duō le yī fèn cǎn liè 。
后面地事情。林轩从典籍上也都看过了，这位百毒神君。跑到幽州大开杀戒，只不过从当事人地口中听来，更多了一份惨烈。
"The cultivators of the Qin clan are merely a bunch of waste. Even Elder Immortal Tai Xu's abilities were not extraordinary. He only injured me with his Core Formation stage cultivation. But wanting to keep me... dreaming!"
"Senior, if you insist on making such impolite demands and mocking me, I will not accompany you any further," Lin Xuan said as he swept his sleeve. He was about to turn and leave.
"Boy! Wait!" Seeing Lin Xuan's intention to depart, the Poison God King grew anxious. However, his weakened body seemed to be under some kind of restriction, unable to escape from the green liquid. Lin Xuan's determination was evident; he had already moved away from the stone chamber.
"Do you really want to leave without knowing the secret behind our clan's treasure?"
"Clan treasure?" Lin Xuan paused as he realized that this item must be significant, given how the Heavenly Ghost Emperor had been trapped by it. He naturally had some interest in it.
"What is your identity, senior? Shouldn't such a clan treasure belong to the Alliance's Great Elder and Primordial Essence Ancestor for safekeeping?" Lin Xuan turned around with a puzzled expression.
"If not for that traitor's treachery against me, how could he have taken this position. The Primordial Essence Ancestor is just a worthless ingrate," the Poison God King was visibly agitated. If his legs hadn't been cut off, he would have jumped up and down in anger.
Worthless?
Lin Xuan stared wide-eyed at him.
Although it was easy to deduce their enmity from his demands, the way this traitor or scoundrel insulted himself as a waste of space was peculiar. Moreover, the Poison God King's expression suggested that he was indeed serious about his claims.
Lin Xuan did not interrupt but knew that after his outburst, he would give him a reasonable explanation.
Sure enough, several minutes later, the Poison God King calmed down and took a deep breath. "Boy, do you know who I am and my connection to that traitor?"
"I do not know, senior. Please speak your mind directly; I dislike beating around the bush and have no time to waste here," Lin Xuan raised an eyebrow and spoke in a calm tone.
"You...!" The Poison God King showed signs of anger but quickly deflated like a balloon: "Forget it. A tiger in its declining years is bullied by dogs. In my current state, I can't argue with you anymore. Back then, when I was at the height of my glory, what did that traitor, Primordial Essence, amount to?"
"You want to know our connection? Tell you, back then, I was his junior disciple."
"Junior disciple?" Lin Xuan was slightly surprised. He had already made some guesses but they were different.
"There's nothing strange about it. Back then, me and the traitor studied under the same master—our predecessor Great Elder of the tribal alliance. Although he entered earlier than me, in terms of talent and intellect, he fell far behind me. After all, talents like me are a rarity that comes once every ten thousand years..." The Poison God King paused when he noticed Lin Xuan's expression was peculiar. He stopped and glared: "How do you not believe it?"
"No," Lin Xuan shook his head with an extremely sincere look on his face. "If anyone else boasted like this, I would have dismissed them out of hand. But your reputation back then was impressive enough that even at the Condensation Core stage, you could challenge the Elder Immortal Tai Xu. Even if it's a once-in-a-million-year talent, exaggerating is not an overstatement."
Hearing about his own achievements, the Poison God King seemed pleased: "You're quite knowledgeable for a young man. Back then, I did indeed roam across the state. But my ability to match Elder Immortal Tai Xu was due to our clan's treasure and had nothing to do with him."
"Connection with the clan treasure?" Lin Xuan's interest piqued as he noted this down.
"In short, back then, my talent was unparalleled in history. Do you know how long it took me to form a golden core from cultivation to condensation?"
"About fifty or sixty years!" Lin Xuan guessed a number based on his imagination; generally, taking around a hundred years to form a golden core meant one had a Saintly Spirit Root, and the old monster in front of him was an anomaly, so he shortened it by half.
"That's not right!" The Poison God King shook his head with a look of pride. "It only took me twenty years."
"Twenty years?" Lin Xuan was stunned. Even he, using medicinal pills to boost his cultivation and indulging in excessive intake, had spent nearly forty years. It was impossible for the other party to have Blue Star Sea and achieve such results in half the time.
"My cultivation speed was extremely fast; although I entered later than that traitor, I soon left him far behind. That traitor is a cunning and vicious person. He showed respect on the surface but never treated me as his senior. Instead, he treated me like a disciple. I was blinded by my own foolishness and believed in his false sincerity, promoting him excessively in cultivation. Whenever there were questions, I would guide him with all my heart. I even shared some of my unique insights with him; otherwise, how could this boy be here today..." At this point, the Poison God King's eyes bulged, showing intense anger.
Lin Xuan sighed. This man was once very intelligent but had developed a proud and arrogant nature due to his exceptional talent and early success in life. Otherwise, considering the saying "a gift horse must be examined," it would have been obvious that an elder treating him like a disciple was suspicious.
Unfortunately, as the saying goes, being too close can blind one's judgment; this genius failed to notice such a clear logic.
"After I formed my golden core, it took me another twenty years to reach the peak of the realm. Originally, I should have closed myself in for cultivation and formation. But you know how it is when we cultivators push through barriers—besides cultivation, one also needs mental fortitude. My master advised me to go out and experience the world,"
"Experience?"
"Yes, before, our witchcraft training was merely wandering around Qu Yin Mountain and eliminating some beasts. The refinement of the mind was limited. However, the vast landscapes of You Zhou were all occupied by your Qin clan, making it a forbidden area for our Murmur Clan witches. I refused to believe in this nonsense and came out of the mountain..."
The rest of his story, Lin Xuan had read from ancient texts; hearing it directly from the Poison God King added more horror to the tale.
"The cultivators of the Qin clan are merely a bunch of waste. Even Elder Immortal Tai Xu's abilities were not extraordinary. He only injured me with his Core Formation stage cultivation. But wanting to keep me... dreaming!"