Helm Master Shi Boyu returned to the helm platform and sat in the hall without uttering a word.
Zhong Desong’s incident had irritated Shi Boyu quite a bit.
With another leader lost from the Second Helmsman, it made it difficult for him to hold his head high in front of the Hall Master.
But it was just irritation. Shi Boyu wasn’t really angry; in his register, these leaders were bound to be eliminated sooner or later.
Hong Gun Xiang Guicheng had openly crossed him; this man deserved to die the most.
Xunfeng Du Hongxi wasn’t much better than Xiang Guicheng, and he was already dead.
Sage Zhong Desong seemed calm and collected on the surface. However, when it came to recommending talents, he never consulted with Shi Boyu. This showed that he didn’t really respect the Helm Master.
Shi Boyu couldn’t even fully trust his assistant Sun Xiao’an. Every time he saw Sun Xiao’an puffing on his Water Smoke Pot, Shi Boyu couldn’t guess his thoughts.
All these men had been poisoned with Shi Boyu’s slow-acting poison. Those who obeyed might live a few more years, but the disobedient ones would soon be on their way.
However, Zhong Desong’s sudden mishap puzzled Shi Boyu greatly.
The bombing at the Xianle Dance Hall led the Hall Master of the Medicine King Hall of the Jiang Xiang Gang to believe that it was not the doing of Yu Nan, nor was it Qin Tianjiu.
The true culprit behind this possessed tact and schemes that Yu Nan and Qin Tianjiu simply could not match.
Shi Boyu, following the orders of the Hall Master, quickly calmed the situation and began to secretly investigate for clues to the murderer.
According to the Hall Master’s prediction, the murderer was expected to make a mistake soon by lowering his guard.
Instead of slipping up, the perpetrator had directly drawn a knife.
And now, before the murderer had shown himself, Zhong Desong had run into trouble first.
While pondering, Shi Boyu suddenly felt a sweltering heat and ordered his attendant, Xiao Yao—the Helm Master’s lackey—to open a window.
A Xiao Yao went to the window, stretching out his hand, but he could not seem to touch it.
He did not dare to speak and could only struggle to push against the invisible wall.
Impatiently, Shi Boyu looked towards the window as a Big Nine—one of the Helm Master’s leaders—scolded, "I asked you to open a window! Why is it taking so long? Can’t you do anything right..."
Before he could finish his sentence, the Big Nine suddenly noticed a patch of water on the ground.
"What’s this water..."
Smelling the liquid, a Xiao Yao shrieked, "This is tea! This is Old Zhong’s Magical Treasure!"
Shi Boyu had never seen Old Zhong’s Magical Treasure but had heard Sun Xiao’an mention it.
This Magical Treasure was extremely powerful. Zhong Desong had once used it to kill a Third Layer Cultivator and severely wound a Fourth Layer cultivator—obviously, it wasn’t something to face head-on.
Shi Boyu hastily yelled, "Quick, get outside and hide!"
His subordinates, hearing this, did not budge.
Shi Boyu shouted angrily, "Are you all deaf?!"
As he tried to leave the hall, he was blocked by an invisible wall at the door. In his shock, he heard a Xiao Yao behind him say, "Helm Master, we’re trapped by Old Zhong’s Magical Treasure! We can’t get out! His..."
Before he could finish, the Xiao Yao wailed and jumped onto a table, his feet scalded by the boiling tea.
Over a dozen subordinates howled, some jumping onto sofas, others onto tables.
Shi Boyu was a bit slow to react. By the time two subordinates pulled him onto a table, his feet had already blistered.
Perched on a beam, Li Banfeng found the scene quite strange.
According to Shopkeeper Feng, Shi Boyu had a Hong Gun background and had taken over as Helm Master at Medicine King Valley.
Hong Guns handled combat.
Shi Boyu’s cultivation level was not low; he was a Third Layer Cultivator.
But he was not a Martial Cultivator, Traveling Cultivator, or Body Cultivator—types known for good combat skills. He was a Third Layer Poison Cultivator.
Standing atop a table, Shi Boyu shouted, "Does anyone know how to counter this Magical Treasure?"
The Big Nine shouted, "Find the person with the Teapot! Seize it from them! Don’t let them keep rubbing it, or there’s no way to break its effect!"
Sun Xiao’an had previously told Shi Boyu how to counter it, but in his panic, Shi Boyu had forgotten.
Upon hearing the Big Nine’s words, Shi Boyu remembered.
Shi Boyu didn’t know.
"Kou Zhu, listen for any sounds!"
Shi Boyu had a personal guard named Kou Zhu, a First Layer Peeping Cultivator.
After listening for a long time, Kou Zhu heard nothing.
Li Banfeng was a Second Layer Home Cultivator. He used the inherent talent of Home Cultivators to be easily overlooked, evading detection by Kou Zhu’s Favorable Wind Ear.
The water level kept rising. It scalded the feet of the disciple standing on the sofa, which were already badly burned.
Amidst howls of pain, a disciple fell into the tea. He struggled a couple of times, and as flesh peeled off his body, he quickly went silent.
The water was about to reach the edge of the table. While the Big Nine had initially protected Helm Master Shi Boyu, seeing that Shi Boyu had no idea how to escape, he had to start thinking about himself.
A red, spotted hard shell suddenly appeared on the Big Nine’s back, and beneath it, two black wings emerged.
BUZZ!
The Big Nine transformed into a ladybug, lifted off the ground, and took flight.
He could save himself; he would not die.
Unless Li Banfeng kept the water level rising until it submerged the room all the way to the ceiling.
The person using the Teapot was also trapped in the enclosed space. If the water level kept rising, Li Banfeng would scald himself to death.
From above, the Big Nine looked down upon the already dead Kou Zhu and the Helm Master, who was about to be scalded to death.
"AHHH—" Kou Zhu let out a wail of anguish and died in the boiling water.
The Big Nine sighed, then suddenly felt his wings growing heavier and heavier.
He could no longer fly.
The Big Nine focused his gaze on the Helm Master.
Helm Master Shi Boyu was releasing poison.
Shi Boyu’s tactic was very clear.
But by releasing poison, he would kill everyone in the room.
To Shi Boyu, it didn’t. The lives of others had never been important in his eyes.
SPLASH!
A noise came from the roof.
Shi Boyu looked up and saw a woman with garish makeup, dressed in men’s clothing, squatting on a roof beam.
This wasn’t Yu Nan; it was Li Banfeng.
Li Banfeng, who had been squatting on the roof beam, could no longer hold on and nearly fell.
He had been poisoned. The technique of a Third Layer Poison Cultivator almost caused Li Banfeng to lose consciousness.
Using his Traveling Cultivator talents, he struggled to remain perched on the roof beam while ceaselessly rubbing the Teapot.
Li Banfeng’s intention was clear: it was now a matter of who could hold out longer, him or Shi Boyu.
The Teapot continued to spray water, and the water level in the room kept rising. The scalding tea had already submerged the table and seeped into Shi Boyu’s shoes.
Shi Boyu endured the intense pain and ordered the Big Nine to kill the woman on the roof beam.
The Big Nine’s face turned a sickly green. He glanced at Li Banfeng, his wings suddenly ceased flapping, and he plunged headfirst into the tea.
Home Cultivators have some resistance to toxins. Even with his Second Layer Home Cultivation, Li Banfeng found it arduous to resist. The Big Nine, merely a First Layer Body Cultivator, couldn’t hold out at all.
Seeing the Big Nine fall near his feet, Shi Boyu single-handedly scooped him out of the hot water, placed him on the table, and then stepped on the Big Nine’s body to buy himself some time.
Li Banfeng pulled a pair of blood-stained scissors from his waist and threw them at Shi Boyu.
This was a weapon with Spirit Attribute. As long as it didn’t miss by too much, it could cut off Shi Boyu’s head.
Shi Boyu fished another corpse out of the water and used it as a shield.
The scissors decapitated the corpse; both the head and the scissors fell into the steaming tea.
This was the difference between a Spirit Attribute weapon and a Magical Treasure.
The scissors considered its job done once a head was cut off, regardless of whose head it was.
Shi Boyu spat a mouthful of poisonous fog towards Li Banfeng.
Li Banfeng jumped and dodged on the roof beam, but soon realized that dodging was futile.
The Magical Treasure was still active. Within the confined space beneath the invisible wall, the poisonous fog quickly spread.
The feeling of being poisoned on Kuwu Mountain returned: dizziness, exhaustion, blurred vision, deteriorating coordination...
Li Banfeng dared not move carelessly; he might fall off the roof beam at any moment.
Little Fatty’s blood was in the Clock Pendulum. Li Banfeng unscrewed the Clock Pendulum and drank the blood straight down.
The dizziness noticeably eased, and Li Banfeng frantically rubbed the Teapot.
The water level continued to rise, submerging the Big Nine’s body. Shi Boyu dragged another corpse over to place under his feet and continued to release poison towards Li Banfeng.
Li Banfeng continued to drink the blood, but this time the effect was not as pronounced.
Little Fatty was a First Layer Food Cultivator. His blood could strengthen one’s physique but couldn’t remove toxins.
There was a huge gap between the First and Third Layers. The rate at which the physique was strengthened couldn’t keep up with the speed of the toxin’s erosion.
Shi Boyu continuously retrieved surrounding corpses to stack under his feet. The pile of bodies grew higher and became unstable.
Watching Shi Boyu stagger, Li Banfeng considered seizing the opportunity to get close and kick him into the water.
A stream of green liquid seeped from Shi Boyu’s body, pooling at his feet and spreading across the corpses.
The corpses seemed to be coated in a layer of glue, sticking tightly to each other.
Li Banfeng was greatly alarmed.
This wasn’t Glue Cultivation. It was the poisonous liquid Shi Boyu had released that corroded the corpses, causing their flesh and bones to stick together.
Shi Boyu, a veteran of countless battles, had still managed to devise a counterstrategy even in such a dire situation.
The poisonous liquid was much more formidable than the poisonous fog. If Li Banfeng dared to get close and even a bit of it touched him, he would drop dead on the spot.
As Li Banfeng drank the last of the blood from the Clock Pendulum, Shi Boyu grabbed the last corpse he could reach.
Li Banfeng’s complexion turned a sickly green; he couldn’t hold on any longer.
Shi Boyu smiled.
Seeing the speed at which the water level rose, Shi Boyu was certain that this garishly made-up woman would fall from the roof beam before the water submerged the last corpse.
"If you don’t want to scald yourself to death, put away the Teapot. It’ll be too late for regret when you fall," Shi Boyu said with a smile, looking at Li Banfeng.
Li Banfeng didn’t put away the Teapot; instead, he threw it into the water.
Shi Boyu was taken aback, not understanding what Li Banfeng was doing.
His gaze was fixated on the Teapot, wishing he could immediately fish it out.
Li Banfeng seized the opportunity, took out a key, and returned to his Portable Residence.
The Teapot was too far away; Shi Boyu couldn’t reach it.
He looked up, only to find Li Banfeng gone.
Shi Boyu looked down at his feet; the water level was still rising.
Indeed, the Teapot had fallen into the water. However, it would take another five to six minutes before it stopped spouting water; that was a characteristic of this Magical Treasure.
Shi Boyu began to cry out in desperation, "Someone, quickly! Is anyone there? Quick! Get the Teapot for me! Hurry!"
He was a core member of the Jiang Xiang Gang who had risen to the Third Layer in his early thirties and become a Helm Master with boundless prospects.
Enjoying deep trust from the Hall Master, he believed he was destined to achieve great things in Medicine King Valley.
The boiling tea submerged the corpses and then lapped over his feet.
Shi Boyu, unable to endure the searing pain, jumped up.
With that jump, the pile of corpses stuck together beneath his feet collapsed.
Shi Boyu fell into the scalding tea.
The pain was unimaginable, as if he had plunged into a pool of molten iron.
Relying on the resilience of his Third Layer physique, he struggled to swim towards the table. The moment he touched it, the skin on his hands sloughed off.
Shi Boyu lost consciousness in the boiling water.
Li Banfeng, inside his Portable Residence, kept vomiting.