Chapter 154: Immune to All Poisons, Practicing the Secret Art of Poison Transformation

After escaping that section of the Transverse Mountain Range, Cao Chengyu proceeded directly to the 25th level and dug a cave at the edge.

While ordinary cultivators usually lived in mountain caves, he preferred to be cautious and lived in a subterranean burrow.

Each had its own advantages and disadvantages. Merely in terms of a temporary hiding spot, an underground burrow was much safer. Furthermore, the fifth version of the Wall-Passing Technique was now very similar to the legendary Earth-Evasion Technique. Except for the slightly excessive consumption of magic power—where expenditure outpaced recovery—its practicality remained extremely strong.

Igniting a stick of Calm Spirit Incense, Cao Chengyu slowly calmed his mind and immersed himself in cultivation.

This trip was clearly meant for investigation and rescue, yet he had encountered fortuitous encounters time and again. As for the delay in rescue time, he was currently unsure whether Chi Jiuxiao and the others were actually in danger. Even if they were in danger, having lasted this long, a little more time should not make a difference.

Therefore, after adjusting his state, Cao Chengyu swallowed the entire Crystal Fire Jujube whole.

In an instant, he felt a wave of scorching heat rush straight to the back of his head, accompanied by a tingling sensation all over his body. The Fire-Devouring Glazed Body technique operated at full capacity, and a sizzle-like sound emanated from within his body, resembling the rendering of oil, as pale liquid began to ooze from the pores of his skin.

Gradually, a layer of pale, paste-like cocoon enveloped him. His body was being endowed by the essence of heaven and earth with a constitution immune to all poisons, while his physical tempering progress was continuously propelled forward.

This immunity to all poisons did not mean that once acquired, Cao Chengyu would instantly fear no poison whatsoever. Rather, it required a process of transformation. The simplest and most effective method was to experience trial poisonings, slowly allowing the poison-immune factors within his constitution to evolve.

His original plan was to unlock the internal space of the Lifeless Poison Pupils and store toxins directly within his eyes. In this way, as long as nothing surpassed his poison, no poison could possibly harm him. It was an extremely overpowered ability. Moreover, unconstrained by spatial limits, the covert poisoning capability of the Lifeless Poison Pupils would become even more inescapable. It was only natural that it would become his very first spell to transcend the supreme-grade tier.

Roughly three hours later, the effects of the Crystal Fire Jujube gradually dissipated, and the pale, paste-like cocoon on Cao Chengyu's skin peeled off in flakes.

His body had become sturdier, and his skin looked as though it had been scorched by fire, glowing somewhat reddish. When it finally cooled down, his skin had darkened by five shades, yet it looked much more natural.

Feeling the explosive strength within his body:

His physical body refining realm, the Four Poles Stage, had also reached its absolute limit at 99%. And this was still the result of his deliberate suppression; it could be said that as long as he wished, his physical cultivation could immediately advance to the Dharma Image Realm.

Similarly, the physical Dharma Image Realm was equivalent to the cultivators' Core Formation Realm, requiring one to survive a heavenly tribulation to achieve fruition. A body cultivator's heavenly tribulation was extremely targeted at the physical body; if a magic cultivator were to undergo a physical tempering tribulation, the only outcome would be turning to ashes. The same principle applied to body cultivators undergoing magical tribulations.

The Core Formation heavenly tribulation targeted not only magic power but also the soul and divine sense. If the palace of the sea of consciousness was not stable enough, then you were finished.

He certainly could not undergo the tribulation within the Heavenly Ruins Mountain Range. There were far too many demonic beasts here, and it was inevitable that he would be ambached by them. Whether he succeeded or failed, he would end up being killed afterward, so Cao Chengyu temporarily suppressed the breakthrough.

After briefly familiarizing himself with his body and mastering the strength of the peak Four Poles Stage, Cao Chengyu began attempting to evolve his poison-immune constitution.

This operation was very simple.

It involved releasing a wisp of toxin from within the Lifeless Poison Pupils, allowing it to leak into his eyes, and then controlling it to circulate throughout his entire body.

Yet this single wisp of Lifeless Toxin nearly caused Cao Chengyu to "expire on the spot."

Pain amplified to the extreme descended upon his body, especially his eyes, which felt as though they were being dug out piece by piece. His vision blurred, his body went numb, and he even began to shake uncontrollably.

The reason it had such a massive effect was that he did not use his magic power to resist, relying entirely on his own physical constitution to endure. If he had used magic power to neutralize it, he could have weathered it with ease. But that was not the effect he was after.

After enduring bitterly for an entire hour, Cao Chengyu's blood underwent a peculiar transformation. His blood was now laced with golden threads; this was the substance capable of neutralizing all poisons. Having absorbed the Lifeless Toxin, it grew even more powerful.

Cao Chengyu then gradually released more toxins to circulate within his body. Slowly, as the toxins within the Lifeless Poison Pupils diminished, they were eventually consumed completely.

It took him a full four days to drain the poison pupils dry, leaving behind only the derivative toxic mist of the Crystal Fire Jujube stored within. The blood inside his body had also completely transformed into a pale gold.

His resistance to poison achieved an epic, leapfrog upgrade.

The first wave of constitutional evolution thus concluded. Cao Chengyu retrieved several tail stingers of crystal scorpions from his storage pouch, drawing their crystalline toxins into the internal space of his poison pupils. The original Lifeless Toxin was also recovering.

When the three poisons fused completely during the next cycle, it would trigger the next stage of constitutional evolution.

Taking a few deep breaths, he stood up and stretched his stiff limbs before sitting cross-legged once again.

He took out the Hook-Serpent Myriad-Poison Fruit he had obtained back then in the ancient immortal city ruins. This item was a requisite for cultivating the Poison-Transformation Divine Ability.

Originally, he had planned to cultivate this divine ability only when breaking through to the Core Formation stage, merely comprehending it in daily life without actively practicing it. This time, having acquired the poison-immune constitution, he could finally begin cultivation.

With his mental preparations complete, Cao Chengyu took a bite of the Hook-Serpent Myriad-Poison Fruit, swallowing it down in a few mouthfuls.

His body immediately began to operate in accordance with the circulation routes of the Poison-Transformation Secret Technique. The medicinal power of the Hook-Serpent Myriad-Poison Fruit was extremely fierce, but it was temporarily restrained by his pale-golden blood, preventing it from directly harming his body.

As the Poison-Transformation Technique operated, its toxic potency gradually converged toward his liver.

Cao Chengyu practiced the Five Elements Rotating Dao Body. Through physical tempering and devouring the Yin-Polarity Yang Fire, his physical body had acquired Yin-Yang attributes, encompassing the Five Elements Rotation, effectively evolving into the Yin-Yang Five Elements Rotating Dao Body!

As for the Hook-Serpent Myriad-Poison Fruit, regardless of how strong its toxicity was, it fundamentally belonged to botanical poison rather than the beast venom found inside venomous snakes.

Within his body, the liver belonged to the wood element, so practicing the Poison-Transformation Secret Technique naturally caused the toxicity to converge there.

Generally speaking, the human liver ought to be responsible for detoxifying. Because Cao Chengyu had a fondness for the Dao of Poison, the functions of his wood-attribute liver naturally underwent a transformation.

As the Poison-Transformation Secret Technique gradually took shape, the appearance of the Wood-Element Organ Deity also underwent certain changes. Its skin became fairer, its grass-green divine robe turned dark green, and dark green eye shadow was outlined at the corners of its eyes. Coupled with its appearance, which was identical to his own physical form, the entire organ deity looked quite malevolent.

The five elements within his body were slightly out of balance, but wrapped within the Yin and Yang, nothing untoward happened for the time being.

Cao Chengyu could sense that the wood attribute showed signs of mutating toward the poison attribute, yet it fundamentally remained wood. If he wanted the five elements to maintain their balance, he would need to enhance the quality of the other elements. Water could mutate toward ice, cultivating a divine ability similar to the Poison-Transformation Technique; fire could mutate toward magma; metal toward the sword; and earth toward rock.

Of course, this was merely a metaphor; finding fifth-grade spiritual herbs similar to the Hook-Serpent Myriad-Poison Fruit carried an extremely high coefficient of difficulty.

Regardless of whether he chose to deeply excavate the five elements in those directions or abandon the poison-transformation divine ability in the future to keep things as they were, Cao Chengyu intended to wait until after reaching the Core Formation realm before deciding.

Once this trip concluded, he would go to Heavenly Ruins Mountain and rent a tribulation-crossing platform. There was no place safer than directly under the watchful eyes of a Nascent Soul True Monarch.

The strength of Heavenly Ruins Mountain was also not to be underestimated, boasting nearly five hundred Core Formation cultivators. When he underwent his tribulation, it should not attract too much attention.

This time, the cultivation of the Poison-Transformation Secret Technique proceeded exceptionally smoothly, succeeding almost without making him taste hardship.

Simultaneously, apart from the toxins, the Hook-Serpent Myriad-Poison Fruit contained a massive amount of spiritual energy. After refining it and integrating it into the ocean of magic power within his dantian, his magic power thoroughly reached the peak of the Purple Mansion stage, advancing no further.

Among the three treasures of essence, qi, and spirit, only the spirit was still some distance away from the peak of the Purple Mansion stage.

Yet it was drawing close.

The divine soul palace within his sea of consciousness had been built all the way up to the roof. On the Dao platform at its inner center, the Yin-Yang Five Elements Divine Wheel rotated, while a phantom image was being outlined right at the center.

It was precisely Cao Chengyu's human soul.

Due to the peculiarities of the Immortal Human Soul Chapter, the human soul he had cultivated was blood-red, looking even more malevolent than the poison liver.

Speaking of which, his personal style used to be quite upright, but following a series of recent changes, he possessed the potential of a demonic cultivator.

Shaking his head, Cao Chengyu completely emerged from secluded cultivation.

The entire process took seven days. Because he was more familiar with the Hook-Serpent Myriad-Poison Fruit and the Poison-Transformation Secret Technique, it only took him three days to complete, much faster than he had anticipated.

With a thought, Cao Chengyu's body instantly transformed into a cluster of colorless mist, which even possessed a stealth effect within the mountains—truly wondrous.

He could feel as though his body had scattered completely, and his perspective had even shifted to a full 360 degrees. The sensation was extremely marvelous.

The colorless mist drifted, and the moment it touched the soil, a large swath of it was silently corroded. Such might—could even soil be corroded by it...

"As expected of a power at the divine ability level. Whether used for sneak attacks, concealment, or combat, the effects are outstanding."

Cao Chengyu opened his status sheet and glanced at it.

[Cao Chengyu]
Age: 18.8
Cultivation: Purple Mansion Stage Mid-Stage (90%), Four Poles Stage (99%)
Cultivation Techniques: Yellow Court Scripture, Azure Dragon Yin-Yang Dao Repository, Immortal Human Soul Chapter, Fire-Devouring Glazed Body.
Crafts: Profound Yin Pill Scroll (Grade 4 Initial 18%), Vast Sun Artifact Scroll (Grade 4 Initial 23%), Spiritual Plant Genesis Canon (Grade 3 High 31%), Living Puppet Art (Grade 3 Mid 30%), Universe Array Canon (Grade 4 High 1%)
Spells: Twin Dragons Coiling Disk (Supreme Grade 43%), Five Elements Dragon Controlling Art (Supreme Grade 72%), Endless Heavenly Water Shield (Supreme Grade 32%), Cloud-Treading and Mist-Riding Art (Supreme Grade 86%), Arrogant Nine Songs (Supreme Grade 50%), Curse-Binding Yin Claw (Supreme Grade 8%)
Secret Techniques: Lifeless Poison Pupils (Supreme Grade 99%), Qimen Bagua (Supreme Grade 93%), Heaven-Locking Technique (Supreme Grade 98%), Yin Seal Condensed Sword Travel (Supreme Grade 67%), Five Thunders Heavenly Prison Tribulation (Supreme Grade/Proficient), Vast Sun Meteoric Gold Bow (Supreme Grade 6%)
Martial Skills: Eight Poles Mountain-Uprooting Gua (Spirit Martial 4%), Divine Elephant Suppressing Prison Might (Spirit Martial 1%)
Divine Abilities: Dharma Derivation (?), Yin-Yang Five Elements Divine Wheel (Temporary Use), True Form Transformation (Lesser Divine Ability/Perfection), Poison-Transformation (Divine Ability/Proficient)
Magical Artifacts: Grieving Sword (Grade 4 Initial), Jade Pure White Lotus Platform (Grade 4 Initial), Yin-Yang Flute (Grade 4 Initial), Yin-Yang Dragon Pattern Needles (Grade 4 Initial), Six-Eyed Flying Snake Sash (Grade 5 Mid), Demon-Binding Chain (Grade 3 High), Full Set of Attire (Grade 3 Initial)
Exotic Flame: Yin-Polarity Yang Fire (Yin-Yang).

[Evaluation]: You are anticipating a heroic rescue of a damsel in distress, capturing the heart of the empress dowager baby...

"..." Cao Chengyu.

Regarding the evaluation of his subconscious mind, he was beyond retort and simply let it be.

When he burst forth from the earth, two pairs of eyes—one large and one small—stared at him in utter bewilderment...