Poison God's Heritage

"Yes, if you have factual and important information we can use it greatly. None of us wishes to see our fellows being herded and killed. Even though they're mortals. since we were forced to seal them. We didn't know what they were facing, and it was mortifying and dangerous, the fact that it could eat up an entire planet of mighty people means that the moment they find way to reach outside Solarous, the entire Confederation would be done for."

Bunch of bullshit, they were definitely happy that shit happened to Solarous, after all no one likes to see a kingdom thrive if it's not theirs. Then you locked them up to perish. Greed, envy, pride and hatefulness, the ugly side of human nature to always want more for yourself than onto others and hate those who have more than you and wish upon their downfall. Despicable…

"I see… I guess you're missing some parts, but they're not important," I said. If I were to mention that Tao Yang's uncle was the source of the rakshasa, that would only make them more vengeful and give them a sense of superiority of fake justice for having locked up an entire people. I'd rather not stroke their egos.

"What do you mean that we're missing some parts?" Wudong asked.

Explore more at empire

"As I said, nothing important. Now, for the knowledge you'll need I want to see your sincerity."

The elder's expression twisted with a subtle mix of frustration and contemplation as my words settled into the air. He drummed his fingers on the intricately carved table, his furrowed brows shadowing his eyes. It was clear he couldn't argue with my demand for compensation, even though he would have preferred to. The ring they'd given me was packed with Origin Qi stones, a hefty bribe to make amends for the initial hostility they'd shown. But that was just the price for crossing me. Any further collaboration, especially involving the mysteries of the Broodmother, would come at a much steeper cost.

Don Ma, one of the more calmer minds in the room, leaned forward. "We can discuss the incentive for your continued research once we see tangible results," he said with a shrewd smile.

I inwardly grimaced.

Damn it, he got me there

. I couldn't very well demand more without showing significant progress. After all, they were seasoned cultivators, and it wasn't like I could milk them indefinitely without giving them something worthwhile in return.

"Fair enough," I replied, hiding my irritation. "But if I'm going to help, I need to ensure we're not redundantly working on the same thing. Your research progress could either be a complement to mine or a hindrance. Share your findings."

Wudong, the loud and obnoxious one, narrowed his eyes. "And what guarantees do we have that you won't just take our research and claim it as your own? You could easily steal years of our efforts."

I sighed, rolling my eyes. "What purpose would that serve me?" I asked, shrugging. "Besides, you haven't even seen what I'm capable of yet." With a casual wave of my hand, I summoned a small, squirming fragment of the Broodmother from my Poison God's Book. The piece was grotesque, pulsating and shifting as if it were still alive, and the dark energy radiating from it made even these hardened cultivators flinch.

The elder's eyes widened, and his composure cracked, just slightly. "That foul essence… that's the Broodmother," he said, a note of disbelief creeping into his voice.

I nodded and pressed my index finger against the writhing flesh. The fragment hissed and writhed, recoiling from my touch. Black flames of corruption consumed it, and within moments, the hideous piece dissolved into fine ash, dissipating into nothingness.

Stunned silence followed. The elder and the other cultivators exchanged glances, their pride visibly wounded. They had been studying the Broodmother for millennia without making a dent, yet I had reduced a piece of her essence to ash with apparent ease.

"How long have you been working on this?" the elder asked, his voice a thin thread of composure.

I leaned back, allowing a smug grin to slip onto my face. "Two rotations of Solarous," I replied nonchalantly.

The room erupted into hushed murmurs and incredulous gasps. Wudong's mouth dropped open in genuine shock. "Two rotations? Impossible…" he muttered, not out of disbelief, but sheer astonishment.

"We've tried everything," the elder admitted, his voice heavy with the weight of past failures. "Every time the Broodmother surfaced, we expended enormous resources and power to test theories that led nowhere. Our mightiest Sun Stage cultivators have thrown everything they have at her armor, yet we never left so much as a scratch. Some even proposed detonating the entire planet, but we feared that would only set her loose in space, an indestructible monster beyond our control."

"Smart move," I said, nodding. "Even if you blew up Solarous, she wouldn't die. She'd become a wandering catastrophe, devouring worlds." I paused, letting the weight of my words sink in. "Plus, if she got close enough to your precious God Killing Formation, her ability to nullify Qi would leave your defenses in ruins. She'd obliterate you without a second thought."

An elderly cultivator with a long, braided white beard, cleared his throat. "We've managed to confine the First Borns in space using a combination of spatial and temporal locking techniques. Their minds are trapped in a loop, disoriented and unable to comprehend movement or passage of time," he explained.

"Master Tonfa had produced great results to our Confederation," The Elder declared his name and achievements.

I nodded in admiration. "A spatiotemporal cage, layered on their consciousness. Ingenious work," I complimented.

Tonfa's face flushed with a mixture of pride and embarrassment. "It wasn't easy," he said, glancing at the elder, who inclined his head in acknowledgment. "It took centuries to perfect, and even then, it requires constant monitoring and immense energy to maintain."

The elder's eyes settled back on me, narrowing slightly. "What you did just now," he said, "was that poison?"

"No," I replied. "Using poison on the Broodmother would be as pointless as trying to drown a fish. I discovered that the Broodmother isn't just a physical threat; she's a spiritual abomination. She stole a fragment of the Heavenly Dao itself and incorporated it into her being."

"We know that already," Wudong said.

I let out a sigh, annoyed that Wudong was interrupting again. Thankfully, the elder's stern glare kept him in check.

Wudong's scoff was audible, but he held his tongue. Instead, the elder urged me to continue. "Go on," he said.

"Because she stole and integrated that fragment of the Heavenly Dao, she became impervious to Qi. In essence, she's a part of the natural world, as much a force of nature as a storm or an earthquake. Attacking her with Qi is like trying to burn fire—it simply won't work."

"So how did you destroy that fragment?" Don Ma interjected, a spark of hope flaring in his eyes.

I allowed a moment of dramatic silence before smirking. "Simple," I said. "I scared it to death."

Don Ma's eyes widened as realization dawned on him. "Your soul," he murmured. "That dark, twisted essence I sensed when I tried to Soul Search you… It's more than just a soul... it's as if it's a Poison Soul."

A ripple of shock passed through the council. Don Ma leaned forward, the gears in his mind spinning. "That soul of yours… It can actually kill the Broodmother, can't it?"

I gave a solemn nod. "Yes, but it's not as simple as walking up to her and unleashing it. My soul is… an anomaly, a mutation. The Rakshasa crave souls because they were born without them, an emptiness left by the theft of the Heavenly Dao. When they sense a soul, they're filled with an instinctive, primal need to absorb it. But my soul isn't a gift; it's a curse. It invades their essence, making them believe they've finally acquired what they lack, only to destroy them from within."

Gasps echoed around the chamber, followed by a heavy, contemplative silence. Wudong's eyes glittered with newfound interest. "Then what are we waiting for?" he demanded, his voice almost eager. "We have the means to kill her!"n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Master Tonfa, who had remained silent throughout much of the conversation, shook his head. "No," he said. "It's not that easy."

Don Ma nodded in agreement. "He's right," he said. "Even with that soul of his, there's a problem. He's lacking strength."

"What do you mean?" another cultivator asked. "Are you suggesting we cultivate him to the Sun Stage or even Yin Stage? That would take centuries and an unthinkable amount of resources!"

"It's not about his cultivation level," Don Ma clarified. "His soul was already strong enough to harm me at the Yin Stage. The issue is delivering that soul into the heart of the Broodmother. He needs to weaken her defenses first, and that's where the strength comes in."

I inclined my head in agreement. "Exactly. The Broodmother is a fortress. To pierce her defenses, she needs to be beaten down, weakened to the point where my soul can slip in and do its work. Without that, we're back to square one."

The elder sighed deeply, leaning back in his chair, the weight of years pressing heavily on his shoulders. "So, we've finally found a potential weapon against her," he said, "only to realize we can't wield it. Not yet, anyway."

The room fell silent again, the air thick with frustration and the bittersweet taste of near-victory. We had the answer, but the path to it was treacherous, and the clock was ticking. For the first time in ages, hope had stirred, only to be tempered by the crushing reality of our limitations.