In a daze, looking at Zou Feng’s "benevolent" smile, Xu Haoran finally had a thought: ’This man might be even more terrifying than Yang Yanpeng...’
The reason he’d chosen to be a turncoat, aside from his own corrupt nature, was mainly that he had witnessed Yang Yanpeng’s great power.
Yang Yanpeng, after all, had cultivated the complete version of the Five Poison Palm to the Realm of Synthesis and Mastery.
He was absurdly strong!
’How could he and Zou Feng, who’d only practiced an incomplete version of the Five Poison Palm, possibly fight Yang Yanpeng?!’
"Brother Feng, you... you can’t blame me..."
"A wise man knows when to bend to the circumstances. I had no choice!"
Before the words were even out of his mouth, Xu Haoran began to struggle, trying to break free from Zou Feng’s grasp.
At the same time, he channeled energy into his other hand and struck out at Zou Feng, using the Broken Face technique from the Five Poison Palm.
Of course, he didn’t expect to defeat Zou Feng. He just wanted to buy himself enough time for Yang Yanpeng to rescue him.
"AHH—"
Zou Feng had barely used any force, yet he twisted the hand Xu Haoran held the dagger in, snapping the bones.
He simultaneously caught the man’s incoming palm strike and crushed the bones in that wrist as well.
Then, he followed up with a kick to Xu Haoran’s knee, shattering the kneecap and rendering him completely immobile.
He didn’t kill him yet, only because Zou Feng still hadn’t figured out how the "Refinement" process worked.
’I’ll have to ask Yang Yanpeng about that...’
The entire room was instantly filled with Xu Haoran’s bloodcurdling screams.
"You did have a choice. You just made the wrong one." After speaking, Zou Feng ignored Xu Haoran and turned to face Yang Yanpeng.
"Interesting!"
Yang Yanpeng’s eyes lit up, and he suddenly shot up from his rattan chair, standing bolt upright.
At the same time, a fresh fragrance emanated from his body, completely different from the one Zou Feng produced when Cultivating.
"You certainly have a great Talent for the Cultivation of Poison Skills..." Yang Yanpeng shook his head with mock pity. "What a shame. In the end, you’ve only practiced the incomplete Five Poison Palm!"
"Now then, I shall allow you to witness the true Five Poison Palm!"
The moment he finished speaking, Yang Yanpeng exhaled sharply and fell into a stance.
As he stomped into position, the entire room trembled.
His palms turned a deathly shade of purple-green, wreathed in a constantly swirling poison mist.
Peering at the palms through the mist, one’s vision would blur and the mind grow dull.
One didn’t even need to smell them; the mere sight of those Poison Palms was enough to lull a person into a stupor.
The sheer spectacle of him just taking a stance was terrifying.
If Xu Haoran weren’t in too much pain to do anything but scream, he would have likely been shouting things like, "Long live the Young Master!" to cheer him on.
Even Zou Feng, upon seeing this pair of meticulously honed, deadly Poison Palms, nodded in approval.
"Not bad!" He cracked his neck. "This should be fun!"
Taking a step forward, Zou Feng also began to circulate his power at full force.
But his movements weren’t so much a fighting stance as they were a form of Pile Skill.
"GROAK—"
He puffed out his cheeks, and a low, rumbling exhalation with incredible Piercing power sent invisible ripples spreading through the air.
This was the Toad Stance from the Five Poison Pile Skill that Zou Feng had created himself.
While Cultivating, each exhalation mobilized his entire body’s power, Gathering Strength for a powerful Burst. It was perfectly suited for delivering short, explosive damage.
With each of his rumbling exhalations, the entire house began to tremble in a steady rhythm.
"GROAK!"
With that final sound, several porcelain bowls on the table shattered.
In all his time of Cultivation, Zou Feng had never once used his full strength.
He had been holding back for far too long.
His Strength fully gathered, Zou Feng slowly extended a hand. Then, with a savage grin, he made a provocative gesture at Yang Yanpeng, beckoning him to attack.
But by now, the smile on Yang Yanpeng’s face had completely frozen.
A moment ago, he had been waiting with leisurely composure for Zou Feng to finish Cultivating.
He’d been all ready to spit a few taunts, allow Zou Feng the first move, and then crush him with overwhelming, thunderous force.
He would make Zou Feng understand in his final moments of despair: ’You’re nothing but the Gu I’ve been raising, destined to be used for my Refinement!’
But while he had the whole script written in his head, his opponent was refusing to follow it.
’Wait... Did I let this get out of hand?’
Yang Yanpeng’s opening stance grew increasingly stiff. How could he possibly dare to strike like thunder now?
’What the hell? Is this really the incomplete version of the Five Poison Palm I gave him!?’
It wasn’t just the shocking effect of those few exhalations. In Yang Yanpeng’s eyes, the Zou Feng who had finished Gathering Strength was like a completely different person.
For one, his muscles had swelled, and he even seemed to have grown taller.
His smile was indescribably savage and terrifying, like a vicious beast that had locked onto its prey.
His palms were a deep purple-green, but they also held a faint shimmer of gold specks. One look was enough to know they were lethally poisonous.
Moreover, the fresh fragrance emanating from Zou Feng’s palms was much fainter than his own.
But even though the scent was fainter, its dizzying potency—felt even from a distance—was somehow even greater...
Swallowing hard, Yang Yanpeng blinked vigorously.
He was beginning to wonder if he was opening his eyes incorrectly.
Impossible. Absolutely impossible!
How could the manual for an incomplete Five Poison Palm possibly create such a monster?
At that moment, Yang Yanpeng felt as if he had been casually raising a Gu, only to accidentally create a Gu King that he was completely unable to control...
"Wait!"
"Zou Feng, as fellow Poison Cultivators, I think we can sit down and talk this over first!" Yang Yanpeng coughed, his expression turning solemn.
Zou Feng’s pupils contracted. His anger flared and then exploded.
’I’ve already got my pants down, and now you’re telling me to wait!?’
"Talk to my ass—!"
"BOOM!"
The ground shattered as Zou Feng shot toward Yang Yanpeng like a toad pouncing on its prey.
Yang Yanpeng’s legs trembled with fear. His first instinct was to run, but the room was small and Zou Feng was blocking the only exit. Where could he possibly go?
Fortunately, he had, after all, cultivated the Five Poison Palm to the Realm of Synthesis and Mastery. Seeing that battle was inevitable, he gritted his teeth and put his life on the line.
His palms pushed forward, seeming slow but moving with incredible speed. With a howl of wind, Yang Yanpeng unleashed the complete version of the Five Poison Heart-Pushing Palm.
As he struck, he was already prepared to smash through the door and escape the moment Zou Feng dodged.
But the result... was that Zou Feng didn’t dodge or evade in the slightest. He chose to meet the attack head-on!
’So tough!’
The thought flashed through his mind, and Yang Yanpeng’s jaw dropped so wide you could have fit three duck eggs inside.
"Is that it?"
"Your Five Poison Palm is a complete mess!"
Zou Feng grinned, his massive, fan-like hand reaching for Yang Yanpeng’s neck.
Choosing to take the blow head-on wasn’t an act of reckless arrogance on Zou Feng’s part.
Rather, he knew full well that the Five Poison Palm’s strength lay in its Poison Attachment, not its striking power.
As it happened, Zou Feng’s current body of Mixed Poison could no longer be harmed by the mere "Five Poison Creatures."
Moreover, boosted by three great Evil Skills, his physical constitution alone gave him a crushing advantage.
Seeing Zou Feng’s hand reach for him, the hairs on Yang Yanpeng’s body stood on end as he dodged in a panic.
His palms began to shake frantically, a clear sign he was preparing some kind of Big Move.
In Zou Feng’s eyes, however, the man just looked like he’d been scared into a panic and had started frantically performing the Shaking Flower Hand.