......
"I want the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect thrown into utter chaos!"
"However, you must control the dosage carefully."
"Your Jade Phosphorus Serpent Emperor poison—even when diluted by a vast amount of river water—is still potent enough to kill Spirit Masters below the Spirit King rank, isn't it?"
"Rest assured, Your Excellency; there will be absolutely no problem!"
Dugu Bo smiled proudly, his face radiating absolute confidence in his mastery of poison.
"My Jade Phosphorus Serpent Emperor poison is the most lethal toxin in the world!"
"If I were to poison the source of their water supply, even if the toxin were diluted a hundred or a thousand times by the river water..."
"Any Spirit Master below the Spirit King rank who took even a single sip would succumb to the poison and die within three hours!"
"Not a single one would survive!"
Dugu Bo continued, "Even for Spirit Masters above the Spirit King rank, very few could withstand my poison through sheer spirit power alone!"
"Even the Elders with Spirit Emperor cultivation—once the toxin enters their bodies—would suffer excruciating agony, wishing for death rather than enduring such torment!"
"Very good." Luo Nan nodded in satisfaction.
"Doesn't Ning Fengzhi claim to be the world's number one support-type Spirit Master?"
"I'd like to see if his Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda can cure this 'world's number one' area-of-effect poison of yours!"
"Go now; I await your good news!"
"As you command! I certainly won't let Your Excellency down!"
......
Half a month later.
A sudden, horrific catastrophe—like a hurricane of apocalyptic destruction—swept instantly across the entire Heaven Dou Empire, shocking every faction on the Douluo Continent!
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect—a colossus renowned as the wealthiest sect in the world, possessing the premier support-type Spirit, boasting over ten thousand disciples, and holding a pivotal position across the entire continent...
...suffered a devastating, near-annihilating disaster overnight!
It happened without the slightest warning.
It was a seemingly ordinary morning within the headquarters of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Many outer-sect disciples and low-ranking deacons rose, washed up, and headed to the cafeteria for breakfast, just as they did every day.
However, less than an hour after the meal, a horrific scene unfolded.
Countless disciples suddenly clutched their stomachs, collapsing to the ground and writhing in agony.
Their complexions turned an eerie, dark green at a visible rate, while foul-smelling, blackish-purple blood gushed ceaselessly from their eyes, ears, nostrils, and mouths.
Piercing screams and wails of despair instantly shattered the morning tranquility of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, transforming this fairyland-like sect headquarters into a living hell!
Poison!
It was a deadly poison!
When Sect Master Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo Chen Xin sensed something amiss and rushed out of the main hall, the sight before them made their eyes bulge with rage and their hearts shatter with horror!
Across the sect's plazas, walkways, and even within the dormitories, the ground was littered with the bodies of disciples—convulsing in their final moments or already dead, their ends gruesome to behold.
Pools of green, toxic blood merged into streams, exuding a nauseating, pungent stench.
"Quick! Activate the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda! Use its full power to neutralize the poison!" Ning Fengzhi, his eyes bloodshot, frantically channeled his Spirit.
A massive, seven-colored pagoda soared into the sky, raining down beams of healing light upon the disciples who were still struggling for their lives.
Yet, it was already too late.
The virulence and insidious nature of this poison far exceeded anything Ning Fengzhi could have imagined.
Not only did it take effect with terrifying speed, but it also clung tenaciously to the victims' internal organs, refusing to let go.
Although Ning Fengzhi's Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda possessed formidable support and healing capabilities, it was no match for the venom of the Jade Phosphorus Serpent Emperor.
It could barely sustain the lives of experts at the Spirit King level or higher; for ordinary disciples with low spirit power, it was utterly useless!
In the span of a single day!
A mere day was all it took! As the twilight sun stained the sky above the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect a blood-red hue, the entire sect had been transformed into a city of the dead.
A grim tally revealed that over seventy percent of the sect's disciples—including a vast number of low-level deacons and outer-sect elders—had perished in this sudden, virulent poisoning.
The survivors were mostly powerhouses at the Spirit King level or higher, yet even they had suffered grievous internal damage from the toxin, leaving them with less than a tenth of their combat strength.
This catastrophe had not only cost the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect countless promising young talents and its foundational workforce, but had also shattered the very bedrock of the sect they held so dear.
Inside the sect's main hall, the atmosphere was so oppressive it threatened to drive one mad.
*Crash!*
Ning Fengzhi—a man usually known for his gentle, refined demeanor and an unshakable composure even in the face of calamity—
...now resembled a frenzied beast as he violently smashed an exquisite white jade teacup against the floor.
"No matter the cost! No matter who he is!"
"I, Ning Fengzhi, swear that I will hunt down this deranged murderer and bring him to justice!"
"I will tear him limb from limb—an eye for an eye, blood for blood!"
Ning Fengzhi's eyes were bloodshot, and his handsome features were twisted into a mask of ferocious rage and grief.
The legacy he had painstakingly built over the better part of his life had been obliterated overnight; the blow was enough to drive him to the brink of madness.
Beside him, Sword Douluo Chen Xin radiated murderous intent, the terrifying aura of a Titled Douluo raging through the hall.
"Sect Master, is there even a need to investigate?" Chen Xin roared, his teeth clenched. "Who else on the entire Douluo Continent could silently introduce a poison of this scale and potency into the water supply, other than that old monster who plays with toxins—Dugu Bo?!"
Ning Fengzhi clenched his fists so tightly that his fingernails dug deep into his palms, and blood began to drip from between his fingers. He knew, of course, that there was a high probability Dugu Bo was behind this!
He was even fully aware that this was Luo Nan's way of warning him—retaliation for his earlier attempt to use someone else's hand to eliminate him!
Yet, knowing the truth was one thing; being able to exact revenge was quite another.
"Without concrete evidence, on what grounds can we accuse an honored guest of the Moon Pavilion? Are we supposed to declare war on the Moon Pavilion directly?"
Ning Fengzhi's voice was terrifyingly hoarse, heavy with a profound sense of powerlessness.
"Luo Nan's strength is unfathomable. He has acted so brazenly, yet the Spirit Hall has made no move in response; this proves that even the Spirit Hall is wary of him!"
"If we were to mobilize our entire force now to fight him to the death in Heaven Dou City, not only would we fail to kill him, but we would also sacrifice the very last embers of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect!"
Ning Fengzhi closed his eyes in anguish.
The wisdom and strategic cunning he had always prided himself on seemed so feeble and insignificant in the face of absolute power and such an unreasonable, terrifying poison attack.
What made Ning Fengzhi feel even more despair and frustration was that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's devastated state was like a massive chunk of meat dropped into a wolf's den—instantly attracting countless greedy gazes from all around.
And the swiftest and most ruthless among them was none other than the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect—a clan that had just suffered a crushing defeat at the Moon Pavilion and was desperate to recoup its losses!
Heaven Dou City, Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect stronghold.
"Hahaha! Heaven favors me! Heaven truly favors me!"
......
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