Chapter 57: Poison—Illusory Thousand Mechanisms
At first, those who came to kill Dugu Feng did so simply to take advantage of him—thinking a newcomer would be easy prey.
Instead, they found only death.
After that, unless there was clear conflict of interest, no one was foolish enough to come seeking their own end.
In the City of Slaughter, soul skills could not be used.
Although soul power levels varied between individuals, the gaps weren't insurmountable. Even the strong could fall in an instant.
Without understanding how Dugu Feng killed, none of these veterans dared risk it.
Anyone who had survived long in this city was no fool.
That was precisely why Dugu Feng hadn't rushed to enter the Hell Slaughter Arena. He wanted to remain a mystery.
Once he fought, his Jade Phosphor Twelve Fingers and poisons would surely be exposed.
But for now, no one knew his methods.
All they knew was this—anyone who entered his room never came out. There weren't even screams or signs of struggle. The unknown itself was terrifying.
And for the first time, Dugu Feng's name began spreading within the City of Slaughter.
Through these encounters, he also gained a thorough understanding of the place.
Darkness and corruption tainted every corner—behind it all was an unseen power: the King of Slaughter.
Aside from the Hell Slaughter Arena, which every citizen was required to participate in, there were endless places of indulgence and depravity.
The currency was the same everywhere: Bloody Mary.
The city's slow-acting poison left every soul master restless, forcing them to drink Bloody Mary to maintain lucidity.
But the more they drank, the deeper their addiction. Eventually, all lost control of their killing intent—dying either in madness or at the King's hands.
No wonder the Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King never saw them as humans—only as sustenance for its power.
Knowing this, Dugu Feng grew even more patient.
A deep glint flashed in his eyes as he continued cultivating.
Time flew by.
Half a year later, one night in an unknown residence—
Inside, a burly man lay naked on a bed, his eyes wide open, pupils bulging. Streams of blood flowed continuously from his body into a wooden barrel beside him.
"So, you're Mo Li, the Devil Tiger Martial Soul user?" Dugu Feng said, smiling faintly. "Quite arrogant of you—sending your men to kill me the moment I arrived."
He lightly patted Mo Li's head, his tone casual.
"Spare me! Spare me, I didn't know your strength! I swear, I'll never offend you again!"
Mo Li—once a domineering overlord—was now trembling, his words spilling out shamelessly.
The more men indulged in power and pleasure, the more they feared death.
Now, he looked pitiful, even worse than his subordinates Wolf Two and Hou Three.
"This time, I'll drain only half your blood," Dugu Feng said with a cold laugh. "Remember that poison in your body—I've set it to kill you at midnight. You won't live past dawn.
And if you speak a word about me to anyone… heh."
With that, Dugu Feng collected the blood into his soul guide and left the room.
The moment he was gone, Mo Li's expression changed.
He struggled to his feet, swaying, then sat cross-legged, channeling his soul power.
It took half an hour before some strength returned.
When he finally stepped outside, he froze.
Lying across the ground were more than a dozen of his subordinates—every one dead, their blood drained completely.
Even for someone as ruthless as Mo Li, the scene was horrifying.
He had assumed his men were slacking off, allowing Dugu Feng to sneak in.
But no—the poison had incapacitated them first. Then they'd been methodically drained like livestock.
A chill ran down his spine. He actually felt relieved the young man had spared him.
A true demon has come to the City of Slaughter… damn it, why did I ever provoke him?!
That night, Dugu Feng walked alone through the dim streets of the city, reflecting on the past six months.
Mo Li had been his first deliberate target.
A direct assault would've been foolish. Poison worked far better—silent and invisible.
If not for concern about the King of Slaughter's attention, Dugu Feng would have killed them all.
From the start, he knew that every person here was already poisoned—with a chronic spiritual toxin that corrupted the mind.
So, could he exploit that poison?
Could he create a new type of venom that, when mixed with the city's miasma, spread through the air—one that interacted with the toxin already inside every resident?
His idea was to forge a poison that linked to the existing corruption within each soul master—ready to ignite on his command.
Like a prelude to Poison Explosion, he would quietly plant the toxin inside them, then detonate it during combat.
After four months of experimentation, he succeeded.
He named it Illusory Thousand Mechanisms.
This poison could trigger the latent mental toxins within a soul master, releasing them explosively under his control.
It was the perfect fusion of his Jade Phosphor Violet Venom's third-stage technique.
He still couldn't spread poison silently through every pore—but after months of training, his hands could do it flawlessly.
Once perfected, he spent two further months releasing Illusory Thousand Mechanisms throughout the City of Slaughter's air.
Then he began testing it. The first subject—Mo Li himself.
The longer a soul master stayed in the city, the more toxins accumulated in his body—and the easier he was to affect.
Soul Masters below the Soul King level collapsed instantly, their minds shattered as their own inner toxins exploded.
Even higher-ranked cultivators, like Mo Li—a Soul King—could resist only briefly before falling unconscious.
The results thrilled Dugu Feng.
In battle, unleashing such poison to detonate the enemy's own venom could easily decide life or death.
"No rush," he murmured to himself. "When Illusory Thousand Mechanisms fully fuses into the air of this city, that's when I'll begin fighting in the arena. It still needs time."
Returning to his quarters, Dugu Feng found an unexpected visitor—the same black-veiled girl who had once guided him.
"Seven-Six-Zero-Three," she said coldly. "Half a year has passed. You've neither fought nor observed a match.
Let me remind you—if you do not obtain a single victory within one year, you'll be expelled to the outer city and must repay the Bloody Mary you've consumed during your stay."
Her tone was frost itself.
(END CHAPTER)
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