Chapter 333: Chapter 332 Poison in the Tea! (Please Subscribe)
Jiulong City.
A heavily guarded underground base.
Inside a secret chamber.
Du Hao walked back and forth with his hands behind his back.
"Strange, that guy just let my clone go like that? Last time, he wasn’t so easy to talk to."
He muttered to himself, "Could it be that he’s genuinely afraid, worried that I’d bring people over for revenge again, so he did this?"
It’s not impossible.
Because behind him stands the entire Jiulong City!
And he also knew that this guy most likely lived around Anshan City, perhaps even within Anshan City!
"Hmph!"
Thinking of this, a cold smile appeared on his face.
Do you think that by letting my clone go this time, we can just write off our past grudges?
Wishful thinking!
Last time, you killed my kin, and I haven’t avenged that yet. If I let you off so easily, won’t others in Jiulong City think they can mess with my clone too?
"You can only blame yourself for not cherishing the chance I gave you the first time."
Du Hao grinned wickedly, took out his phone, found the pinned number, Xiang Long, the City Lord of Jiulong City.
"I can only ask Brother Xiang to step in. Otherwise, it won’t be so easy to kill that guy."
With a determined look, Du Hao dialed the number.
"Ring, ring, ring..."
The phone gave a busy signal.
"Sorry, the user you are calling is busy. Please try again later."
Du Hao’s face changed at that.
What a coincidence? Could it be that Brother Xiang is in seclusion or out hunting with a team?
These two possibilities are indeed quite significant.
"Let’s try again."
Unwilling to give up, he hung up and dialed again.
The result was the same as before.
After a few more attempts with no difference, Du Hao could only set down his phone, thinking that he could try calling again later or hope that Brother Xiang would return the call after seeing his missed calls.
Hopefully, there won’t be too long of a wait.
Tomorrow is the day the Celestial God Fruit ripens.
To Brother Xiang, a dozen Celestial God Fruits might not be too precious; with some time, he could easily get them. But to Du Hao, they were extremely important.
If he missed the precious time tomorrow and went the day after, it might already be too late.
"It’s all that bastard’s fault. If it weren’t for his interference, I would already know the location of the Celestial God Tree by now."
Thinking about it made Du Hao incredibly angry.
Suddenly, he sensed something and muttered to himself, "The clone is at the door already? The timing seems about right. Just to be safe, I should check if that guy did anything to my clone."
Though he said that, he wasn’t really convinced. Even if the other did something, he’d detect it immediately.
Above, a figure identical to Du Hao walked forward.
"Brother Du!"
"Brother Du!"
The guards greeted him respectfully.
"Hm."
The clone of Du Hao nodded slightly and came to an alloy door, scanned his retina, and checked his fingerprint. Only then did the metal door slowly open.
After repeating this process three times, he finally reached the elevator doors.
Taking the elevator down and passing another check, he eventually arrived at the secret chamber, standing straight in front of the real Du Hao, looking forward with a dazed expression.
Du Hao carefully examined him, touching here and there, finding nothing unusual.
He also opened the Spatial Ring on his clone’s hand and saw nothing unusual inside either.
"Seems like I was overthinking. If he really did something to my clone, how could I not detect it at all?"
Du Hao shook his head with a smile.
He glanced at his phone, seeing that Brother Xiang hadn’t called back yet, probably because he hadn’t checked his phone.
Forget it, rather than waiting anxiously, he might as well do his own things. He might receive the call soon.
"Sit down, meditate, and cultivate."
He spat out a few words.
The clone, as if receiving a command, walked straight to a cushion and sat down, cultivating Spiritual Power.
Du Hao nodded.
With his current strength, the clone he condensed could follow some simple instructions like traveling or fighting, but not independently. He had to split some of his mind to remotely control it.
It’s said that if his strength reached B-level or even A-level, he could not only conjure multiple clones, each with its own thoughts.
However, given his current circumstances, that opportunity would likely never come in his lifetime.
"I should cultivate too."
He sat back down on his cushion, closed his eyes, and meditated.
A minute passed,
Two minutes passed,
Before long, he felt increasingly restless.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t continue meditating.
He couldn’t help but open his eyes, picking up a cup of tea beside him and taking a couple of sips, only to find it empty.
"Clone, brew me a cup of Calming Tea."
He set down the cup and closed his eyes, giving the order.
The clone immediately opened his eyes, a strange light flashing in them.
He rose slowly, picked up some Anshan Tea, and put it into the cup, all while a small packet slipped into his hand unnoticed.
"Gurgle."
Hot water poured into the cup, releasing a fragrant aroma.
Without expression, the clone brought the freshly brewed tea over, took the empty cup from the floor, and placed it on the table.
After doing all this, he silently returned to his cushion and continued cultivating.
About half an hour passed, and Du Hao’s brows gradually furrowed.
Time ticked by, and beads of sweat appeared on his previously smooth forehead.
After a minute or two, he had to open his eyes and exhale deeply.
"Cultivation is becoming more and more difficult. I remember when I started; a couple of sips of Calming Tea could keep me focused for almost half a day. Now, I can barely last an hour."
His gaze fell on the Calming Tea the clone had just brewed.
Indeed a good thing. But as the saying goes, all medicines have some poison, even elixirs.
However, he had no other choice. His cultivation speed was already slower than others. Without ample resources, how could he catch up?
He reached out, picked up the cup, and lifted the lid, a refreshing fragrance immediately calming his spirit.
After blowing on it lightly, he took a few sips before setting it down slowly.
But as soon as the cup was placed down, a sharp pain surged from his organs, almost tearing his whole body apart.
"What’s happening?"
Du Hao’s face drastically changed.
He felt a burning sensation rising up his throat.
Then, with a splash, he vomited a large mouthful of black blood!
"This!"
Du Hao was utterly shocked.
What the hell is going on?
He had drunk countless cups of Calming Tea without ever encountering such a situation.
This black blood, and the excruciating internal pain?
Could it be poisoned tea!
The thought flashed in his mind.
But still, if the Calming Tea was the problem, why had he never encountered this before?
Moreover, in this heavily guarded place, it was impossible for anyone, even a fly, to get in and poison his tea.
Where exactly went wrong?
"Splurt!"
Du Hao spewed out another mouthful of blood.
This time, with bits and pieces of his organs mixed in.
He tried to get up and press the button to call for help, but to his despair, his body wouldn’t obey him.
Fortunately, he had a clone.
"Quick, call for help."
He turned to his clone with all his remaining strength.
Hearing this, the clone immediately stood up and pressed the button.
A piercing alarm broke the silence.
"What’s going on?"
"That sound! Damn, something happened to Lord Du Hao!"
"Quick! Quick!"
Outside the secret chamber, hurried footsteps converged from all directions. Faces filled with worry and urgency.
In their memory, Lord Du Hao had never pressed that button.
But today, he did. What did it mean? It was clear as day.
However, within the secret chamber, Du Hao was already bleeding from his seven orifices, his vision gradually fading.
"Am I... dying?"
He thought to himself.
He felt the pain in his body slowly lessening, which seemed good, but reason told him it was terrible.
The only good news was the clone had pressed the alarm, and help would arrive soon.
"No, wait."
Suddenly, his eyes fixed on the clone.
He remembered. He had asked the clone to brew the Calming Tea, meaning the poisoned Anshan Tea he drank was brewed by his clone.
Why?
Why?
His once dimmed eyes suddenly widened.
In theory, anyone might betray him, except his clone.
For the clone was him, and he was the clone.
If he died, the clone wouldn’t survive either.
So why, why would the clone poison his Calming Tea? Why!
"Could it be, could it be him..."
Chen Fan’s image floated into Du Hao’s mind.
Earlier, his clone had passed out for a minute or two. In that brief moment, could that guy have done something to his clone, leading to this scene?
"How, how could, splurt!"
Both fearful and resentful, Du Hao vomited another mouthful of black blood and collapsed backward.
And as he fell, the clone beside him also dropped to the ground, lifeless.