Poison God's Heritage

Chapter 919: Introduction

Once I was done with the Blue Sun, I hurried out, grabbing my ship and leaving for the Confederation.

There was no lingering, no drawn-out farewell, just a quick shift from one urgency to the next.

My body had recovered enough to move decisively, and my mind, though still carrying the residue of everything that had happened, had already locked onto the next task.

The air around the pagoda still carried the faint echo of power from the recent tribulation, but I didn’t stay long enough to let it settle.

I stepped into the ship, sealed it, and pushed off with a sharp burst of force, leaving the structure behind as space swallowed it whole.

The region outside of Solarous was still encased in the God Slaying Formation, its presence unmistakable even from a distance.

It wasn’t visible in the conventional sense, but the distortion it created in space gave it away, a faint warping like heat haze stretched across a planetary scale. It was still active, still humming with restrained power, set there as a final precaution. For the small chance that a few Rakshasas were still alive and running about, it would serve as a deterrent, a prison wall preventing escape.

As I guided the ship forward, carefully threading through the safe pathways left open by the formation, I couldn’t help but think how ironic it was. Even in victory, caution lingered. That was the nature of things like Rakshasas. You didn’t assume they were gone. You made sure they had nowhere left to exist.

But I did notice one thing while I drove away. It wasn’t immediate, not something that struck the eye at first glance, but once seen, it became impossible to ignore. Several of the corpses were missing, and many more were in the process of being eliminated. The space around Solarous, once littered with remains, had begun to thin out in a deliberate and organized way. That absence carried weight.

The corpses themselves weren’t much of an issue on their own, but someone with nasty intentions like Tao Yang’s uncle could see a different angle. That thought came uninvited but stayed. I had already seen what could be done with those bodies, how they could be twisted, repurposed, turned into something worse than their original forms. Leaving them behind would have been a mistake.

Cultivators were moving from one corpse to the other, pushing collected Soulsteel Poison on them, which soon melted their corpses. The process was methodical. No hesitation. No ceremony. They worked in teams, spreading the poison across remains, watching as it ate through them with quiet efficiency. Flesh dissolved. Bone followed. What had once been terrifying enemies were reduced to nothing more than residue. There was a grim sense of completion in that. No second chances. No hidden threats.

As I moved away, I heard a yawn behind me, it almost made me jump. The sound was so out of place it cut through my focus instantly. Turning, I saw Law, drowsy, barely awake, his posture slouched in a way that would have been comical under different circumstances. Which was frankly strange for a cultivator to experience. Fatigue at that level wasn’t normal.

"What are you still doing here?" I asked. My tone carried genuine confusion. I hadn’t expected anyone else aboard.

"I don’t know, I woke up and found myself here, what’s going on? Where are we going?" His voice was thick with sleep, his eyes barely open, as if his body hadn’t fully caught up with his consciousness yet.

"You don’t know?" I raised a brow at him, studying his expression more carefully. There was no deception there, just confusion.

"For real, last I remembered I was with Dao Shen and Zhang Tian, then something something, and the world turned dark... and I woke up here." He rubbed his face as he spoke, still trying to piece together his own memory.

"Where is senior brother?" I aksed. The question came quickly, concern threading into it before I could suppress it.

Law shrugged. That simple gesture carried more weight than any explanation could have.

I feared that they might have died in the last battle, Zhang Tian was powerful, but unfortunately not powerful enough to be unlucky. That thought lingered longer than I liked. Strength didn’t guarantee survival, especially not in a battle like that.

I pulled my bracelet and contacted him, focusing my intent as the connection formed. The response came quickly, his image stabilizing in front of me.

"Junior brother, good to see you well and healthy."

"Same here, I was wondering what happened to you guys. You and Dao Shen." Relief slipped into my tone without permission.

"We remained next to the Blue Sun during the battle, I have to say though, seeing you push yourself like that... I was not pleased." His expression tightened slightly, concern clear in his voice.

I smiled faintly, though he couldn’t see the full extent of it. "It is the way of cultivators, senior brother. It was something that had to be done." I replied. There was no point pretending otherwise.

"Good, at least you know it was not safe." His response came with a small nod, though the worry didn’t fully leave his face.

"What about Dao Shen, is he with you?" I asked, shifting focus.

"Not right now, I’m with the Red Sun... well, I don’t know if he should be called that now he’s a Yin stage, something about secluded training. I’m guessing Dao Shen is with the Wisest Sun now."

"I see, I’ll contact him later, good luck on your training." I replied.

Zhang Tian nodded to me and ended the conversation.

I then pushed the ship to its maximum limit, making sure we reach the confederation fast. As fast as possible, something about what the Dusking Sun wanted from me seemed... urgent. The engines roared to life, energy surging through the vessel as it cut through space with increasing speed. The stars stretched slightly at the edges of vision as acceleration built. I leaned into it, letting the ship respond to every adjustment, every correction.

It didn’t take long to arrive at the outpost that could teleport us deeper into the confederation territory.

"Am I coming with you?" Law asked.

"If you want, but I’m here for business." I said.

"Then I’ll just stay here," he yawned again, "I’ll go back in and continue sl... cultivating."

I frowned a bit, but didn’t really think much of it, deep down Law was... well, just Law. He’s a weird guy, powerful beyond belief, and incredibly lucky. Yet I’ve never seen him cultivate seriously. Something that I’ll file away for now, and think about later. I have matters to tend to.

Once my ship landed, Jian arrived first. He approached quickly, his posture straight, expression respectful but carrying a trace of excitement.

"Good to see you Master Shen Bao, I’ve seen your advent personally back at Solarous, everyone here on this asteroid would like to meet you."

"I wish I could oblige, but I have other important matters to tend to, send my regards to the guards and the settlers here." I said. There was no time for ceremony.

"Follow me then, The HQ I assume?" he asked.

"Yes."

Soon we arrived to the teleportation after going through the fortress like building built atop the stationary asteroid.

The structure was massive, layered with defenses and reinforcement arrays, its design clearly meant to withstand far more than simple attacks. Inside, movement was constant. Cultivators, guards, officials, all moving with purpose.

And inside there, we were promptly ushered and given way to head first. Some people did voice complain, but seeing my robes, and the rumors of the cultivator who singlehandedly brought down the thorn that’s been stuck in the confederation’s throat for more than thirty thousand years, no one dared say anything out loud. Whispers lingered, but distance kept them harmless.

"Good luck to you, Master Shen Bao."

I nodded to Jian and headed first.

Just as I walked in, I found myself in the familiar hall of the Confederation HQ. The transition was immediate, the environment shifting from the rigid structure of the outpost to the expansive interior of the headquarters. An old man immediately appeared right next to me when I showed up in the hall.

I cupped my hands to him, "Elder Tonfa."

"I’m pleased that you remember this one’s name."

"How could I forget, that ring you gave me was pretty memorable." I replied, a faint hint of humor in my tone.

"I see you put it to good use," the Elder said as he squinted his eyes. There was something probing in that look, as if he was trying to measure what had changed.

He probably thinks I used those materials to get to the Heaven Stage. He’s completely wrong.

"Something like that," I said, letting the ambiguity stand.

"And what brought you here? Did you hear the rumors?" he asked.

I frowned slightly. "Nothing in particular, I just woke up..."

"Then if it’s not that..." he didn’t specify, "Then what brought you here?"

"I need to converse with the Dusking Sun, he seems to have something to tell me. Also I need to see Tao Yang."

"About her uncle... those matters could wait."

I frowned, what does that mean? The hesitation in his words carried implication, but not explanation.

"There is someone here to see you..." he didn’t seem too happy about giving me that news.

"Try not to be... too eccentric when you meet them," he said.

Just as I was about to ask who, a rumbling voice threatened to break my very mind spoke in the hall. The sound wasn’t just loud, it carried pressure, like it pressed directly against thought itself.

Every other cultivator, people who were here to do paperwork more than battle the heavens, people who were just passerby and others who seemed to have no intention of carrying a cultivator’s will were all knocked unconscious. Bodies dropped where they stood, minds overwhelmed instantly.

"SO THIS IS THE ONE?"

Looking up, a man who felt like the embodiment of arrogance appeared at the upper floor, looking down on us from the perch that overlooked the hall. His presence filled the space in a way that made everything else feel secondary.

Gold and black robes, a red mark on his forehead, and with slit eyes and long black hair. Every detail was sharp, deliberate.

"A mere heaven stage?" he said as he jumped down and landed without a single strand of his hair fluttering in the air, both his hands were behind his back as he approached me.

He took a sniff and said, "This isn’t even potent poison you have on you," he turned his head to Tonfa, "Is this the one you recommended? This weakling?"