「The reed marsh, East River Port of Yuan Guang County.」
Zou Feng, having made a quick trip to the Ghost Market to buy the trinkets he needed, was now hidden among the dense, towering reeds.
As it turned out, during his trip to the Ghost Market, someone had taken a liking to him and tried to hire him as an assassin again.
This wasn't really surprising. Poison Cultivators were naturally suited for assassinations, and they could easily make a death look like an accident or illness.
Furthermore, Poison Cultivators were rare, and those who had achieved a certain level of mastery in their Poison Skills were even rarer.
They were a scarce commodity.
However, the person who wanted to hire Zou Feng this time wasn't that clueless fool who had coveted his sister-in-law.
It was a member of the Black Flood Dragon Gang who intended to establish a long-term partnership with him.
It was a model where the gangster would act as a middleman, and Zou Feng would be responsible for taking on jobs.
Zou Feng didn't need to ask to know that such an arrangement would come with huge restrictions, and it would likely become very difficult for him to hide his true identity.
So, for now at least, even though he knew this line of work was very profitable, he couldn't do it.
'Time to focus on breaking through with my Five Poison Palm...'
Taking a deep breath, Zou Feng began Cultivating with all his might. His palms turned a purplish-green, with faint specks of golden light flickering within.
The help from those few Golden-Scaled Plague Serpents was the main reason he could break through so quickly.
A light breeze swept by, carrying a faint, sweet fragrance.
This faint fragrance quickly intensified, soon becoming so thick that an ordinary person wouldn't be able to bear it.
The next moment, Zou Feng felt something, and he immediately squatted down, slamming both hands viciously into the ground.
BANG!!
The dense poison gas lingering around him seemed to have its fuse lit by the impact, and it exploded violently.
A cloud of black, poisonous smoke rose up, enveloping Zou Feng's entire body.
At that moment, Zou Feng was incredibly thankful he hadn't chosen to break through inside the Yang Mansion.
Otherwise, with a commotion like this, he wouldn't have been able to hide anything.
Yang Yanpeng had disappeared for a while before; he probably went into hiding to achieve his own breakthrough.
After a long moment, Zou Feng puffed out his cheeks and took a sharp breath in.
He inhaled almost half of the poisonous smoke back into his body.
"Five Poison Skill (Integration and Mastery), Progress: 3%"
On the panel, Five Poison Palm had changed to Five Poison Skill.
This clearly meant that after reaching the Realm of Integration and Mastery, Zou Feng had finally merged the Five Poison Pile Skill he'd been longing for with his Five Poison Palm.
He cracked his neck and fixed his gaze beyond the reeds.
Zou Feng was surprised to discover that he now possessed a degree of Night Vision.
No, it wasn't just Night Vision. All five of his senses, including hearing and smell, had been greatly enhanced once again.
Even his physical strength, which didn't increase much from cultivating the Five Poison Palm, had grown.
'Could it be that absorbing too much poison has caused my body to mutate?'
But this Realm of Integration and Mastery was truly comfortable, completely on another level compared to his previous Realm.
No wonder most Martial Artists could attempt the Chong Meridian Entry as long as they cultivated their Skill to the point of "Integration and Mastery."
And so, Zou Feng's breakthrough was completed smoothly, without any interruptions.
Afterward, Zou Feng threw away the clothes that had been contaminated by the poison gas.
He then jumped into the East River to wash himself, changed into a fresh set of clothes he had prepared beforehand, and only then did he return to Hengyu Building.
Since Zou Feng couldn't "spend the night" and had to rush back for his patrol, he directly shook Sister Zhang awake.
He hadn't used much of the Confusion Poison on her earlier.
"Sir, you... you're leaving already?"
Sister Zhang groggily straightened her clothes.
Zou Feng just nodded, then tilted his head back and downed the fine wine he had paid extra for in one gulp.
Now that he had the Five Poison Skill, he couldn't neglect his Cultivation of the Drunken Immortal Moon Gazing Step either.
Whenever he had a spare moment, he still had to drink heavily.
Sleeping with the cheapest girl, yet drinking the finest vintage...
But what kind of eccentricities didn't the clients of the brothel have? There were plenty whose behavior was far more outrageous than Zou Feng's.
For example, insisting on pouring wine over a girl's feet and catching it in their mouth below was considered just a minor quirk.
As Sister Zhang got up, she looked at Zou Feng again through the flickering candlelight and revealed a look of astonishment.
Before, she had only thought this young man was quite handsome.
But now, he possessed a certain indescribable quality about him.
It couldn't be helped. As his Cultivation Technique Realm advanced, so did his personal aura.
Of course, once Zou Feng adapted to this Realm, or after he returned to the Yang Mansion, he would do his best to disguise and conceal it.
After staring blankly at Zou Feng for a moment, Sister Zhang couldn't help but give a self-deprecating smile. "Sir, really... you should be with a more beautiful girl..."
By now, Zou Feng had finished the pot of wine. He stood up and placed two maces of broken silver on the table.
"I'm leaving!"
With that, he pushed the door open and left without another word.
Sister Zhang stared at the two maces of broken silver, knowing that Zou Feng most likely wouldn't be coming to see her again.
Upon returning to the Yang Mansion, Zou Feng rested for a bit before it was time for his routine night patrol.
'What kind of "Exotic Poison" will I catch tonight?'
Zou Feng was very excited about this. Catching the Five Poison Creatures every night was like opening a blind box that was guaranteed to contain something good.
Although he didn't know what he'd get specifically, it was always a good haul.
"Brother Feng, it's time for patrol."
Xu Haoran's voice came from outside the door.
Ever since being taught a lesson and warned that night, Xu Haoran had reverted to his initial respectful attitude toward Zou Feng.
He hadn't tried any more suspicious little tricks, either.
The vast difference in their strength had forced him to accept reality.
At the same time, Xu Haoran had also become suspicious about why he had received the Five Poison Palm manual in the first place...
As it happened, Zou Feng was planning to lay his cards on the table with him right now.
"Come in first!"
Xu Haoran immediately answered and walked into the woodshed.
"Haoran, I'm sure you've noticed that there's something not right with the Third Young Master's gaze whenever he comes to the front courtyard to watch us practice, right?" Zou Feng said, getting straight to the point.
Startled, Xu Haoran nodded vigorously.
You couldn't really blame Yang Yanpeng for being too careless. As the mastermind, he believed he was always in control from a higher level.
Every time he saw the "masterpiece" of his meticulous planning, it was inevitable that his ego would swell with pride.
Next, Zou Feng explained Yang Yanpeng's scheme as concisely as possible.
After hearing it all, Xu Haoran was, as expected, first stunned, then overcome with uncontrollable fear.
"Gu? I... I'm a... a Gu being raised by Yang Yanpeng!?"
"Once I mature, he's going to... Refine me?" Xu Haoran was instantly panic-stricken. "Then I have to... I have to run away, or else..."
Zou Feng said calmly, "Where could you run? Are you sure you won't be caught by Yang Yanpeng?"
"He can even use the power of the Government Office to easily capture a runaway Household Slave like you."
This was a world where a Martial Artist could go from Extraordinary to Saint. There were Entering Grade Martial Artists among the constables, and their Cultivation Skills were undoubtedly specialized for tracking.
"Then what do I do, Brother Feng? I don't want to die!" Xu Haoran cried out, his voice choked with sobs.
"Calm down. I was also targeted by Yang Yanpeng, so we're in the same boat."
"But you should already know that I'm a genius when it comes to Poison Skills, and I've already cultivated the Five Poison Palm to a Realm that Yang Yanpeng could never have imagined..."
"So, when the time comes, you just need to cooperate with my plan!"