"What are you standing around for? Run!"

Seeing Teng Cave Master still in a daze, Zou Feng backhanded her across the face, finally snapping her to her senses.

Then, the two of them went all out, moving so fast they were practically flying.

The behemoth, whose shape was still indistinct, must have realized it couldn’t catch them. It let out a piercing shriek before spewing a "shockwave" of venom.

This "shockwave" erupted straight up, just like a volcanic eruption.

Except this "magma" was a slick, greasy green.

Xiaolv, however, adored this greasy green "magma," joyfully bathing in it.

But Zou Feng and Teng Cave Master weren’t having such a good time.

Trapped in the forbidden pit, they had no way to dodge and could only brace for the venom’s impact.

Their clothes dissolved in an instant, and the Body Refining Skills they each cultivated were put to a severe test.

’Iron Block—Steel!’

Zou Feng activated his Tribulation-Indestructible Body. While resisting the venom, he was also cultivating the Skill.

His Tribulation-Indestructible Body had not yet reached the Peak of Perfection, and its progress toward Refined Skill wasn’t very high, so he was clearly struggling to withstand the assault.

He had originally planned to wait until his newly cultivated Scorpio Demon Armor Technique reached Refined Skill, then merge it into his Tribulation-Indestructible Body to attempt a breakthrough to the Peak Realm.

He never thought he’d run into a situation where his Body Refining Skill was insufficient.

Fortunately, since he was in a state of Cultivation, he could transfer the side effects. It wasn’t a huge problem.

’This is a perfect chance to cultivate. A rebirth through fire!’

BANG!

With another Giant Dragon Impact, the black bear exploded, finally finding release.

Staring at the black bear, now reduced to scattered pieces, Gongsun Ye stood in a daze, his expression one of bewilderment.

He hadn’t meant to kill the black bear.

After all, in their brief time together, he had actually grown somewhat fond of it.

But his body had suddenly acted up again. An inexplicable, excruciating pain shot through him, forcing him to circulate his True Qi to fight the discomfort.

And when his True Qi flared up, the black bear, of course, met its end by exploding on the spot.

"No..."

Wiping the blood from his face with a hint of regret, Gongsun Ye quickly pulled himself out of the pain of losing his beloved.

Because he suddenly remembered that this mountain forest should have no shortage of black bears.

There might even be Demon Bears around...

So, Gongsun Ye quickly composed himself, cleaned himself up with True Qi, put on a fresh set of clothes, and prepared to begin a new hunt.

For someone of his status, discovering a new hobby wasn’t easy.

So Gongsun Ye decided that while the novelty was still fresh, he had to have his fun!

"Tribulation-Indestructible Body (Refined Skill), Progress: 57%"

Having escaped the forbidden area, Zou Feng had not only harvested the Poison of the Gu King but also received an unexpected bonus.

The Cultivation progress of his Tribulation-Indestructible Body hadn’t seen such a huge jump in a long time.

It seemed a breakthrough to the Peak Realm for this Skill was just around the corner.

"Teng Cave Master, are you all right?"

Because their clothes had been completely dissolved by the "shockwave," Teng Cave Master was now in a rather embarrassing situation.

Fortunately, her Gang Qi could form a Gang Qi Armor, so the awkwardness didn’t last long.

As for the giant monster, after its shockwave failed to hit its mark, it had stopped its pursuit.

Perhaps due to some special Restriction, the monster couldn’t leave the entrance of the forbidden area.

In fact, Zou Feng had known this all along. After all, the forbidden area was filled with too many poisonous creatures. If they ever rioted and swarmed out, Biyou Palace would be annihilated instantly.

At this moment, Teng Cave Master was filled with gratitude for Zou Feng.

Teng Cave Master knew very well that the recent blast was no small matter; her Body Refining Skill couldn’t have withstood it.

If she had taken the full brunt of it just now, she might not have died, but she would have definitely been severely injured.

But now, she was only lightly injured. The reason was simple: Zou Feng had shielded her from below, taking most of the damage.

In an Evil Sect like Biyou Palace, it was extremely rare for a fellow member to risk their life to save another, especially since Zou Feng had no obligation to risk himself for her.

This gratitude caused Teng Cave Master’s gaze toward Zou Feng to gradually grow sultry...

But of course, she had no idea that Zou Feng hadn’t intentionally blocked the attack for her. He had simply wanted to use the venom shockwave more directly to cultivate his Tribulation-Indestructible Body.

"I’m fine. What about you, Elder Zou?" Teng Cave Master asked with concern.

Zou Feng waved his hand. "It’s nothing serious. I’ll be fine after some rest. Now, about this Spider Gu King Poison..."

Next, it was naturally time to divide the spoils.

For Zou Feng, the amount of Spider Gu King Poison they’d obtained was more than enough; he couldn’t use it all himself anyway.

Besides, they had only managed to harvest this poison by working together, so Teng Cave Master deserved a share.

They quickly returned to Teng Cave Master’s room, where she immediately took out a special bottle to store the Spider Gu King Poison.

Having learned a harsh lesson before, Teng Cave Master didn’t dare to rashly attempt the Refinement of the Spider Gu King Poison again.

She would have to make thorough preparations before trying to refine it, bit by bit.

As for Zou Feng, he had already completed the Refinement of a portion of it. He just needed to go back and properly absorb the rest.

"That monster just now, what kind of strange creature was it? I’ve never heard my master mention such a terrifying existence down there..." Even now, Teng Cave Master was still shaken by the thing the Poisonous King Spider had summoned.

"I didn’t get a clear look. It was probably just an absurdly large spider."

"Don’t worry about it. As long as nothing unexpected happens, I’m not going down there again..." Zou Feng suddenly thought of something and continued, "By the way, are the other forbidden areas in Biyou Palace all this dangerous?"

Teng Cave Master shook her head. "Not necessarily. While the Valley of Ten Thousand Snakes and Hundred-legged Ridge also have unique environments, I haven’t heard of any unknown dangers there."

"However, the forbidden areas of Golden Toad Pool, Scorpio Cave, and our own Silk Cave have never been fully explored."

Hearing this, Zou Feng quickly understood why.

’Places like the bottom of a pool or deep within a cave could all lead to even stranger locations. Even a True Qi Realm powerhouse wouldn’t take such a massive risk to explore them unless absolutely necessary.’

’Therefore, if I want to obtain the other types of Poison of the Gu King, just exploring the forbidden areas is clearly unreliable and far too dangerous.’

’I’ll have to think of another way to get my hands on the remaining Poisons of the Gu King...’

Zou Feng didn’t stand on ceremony. He stayed in Teng Cave Master’s room and continued the Refinement of the Spider Gu King Poison.

The night passed, and he finally finished the Refinement.

During the Refinement process, Zou Feng didn’t make the Third Grade powerhouse, his good man Gongsun Ye, bear the side effects the entire time.

Instead, he sacrificed a Fourth Grade "big brother."

Even if he had let Gongsun Ye continue to shoulder the burden, it wouldn’t have caused the Third Grade Powerhouse to drop dead.

But Zou Feng had other plans for these Third Grade "big brothers."

In truth, just the Refinement of the Poison of the Gu King wasn’t enough to cause serious harm to his Third Grade patsies.

But in the future, once he gathered the poisons from all five Gu King species and refined the gift from the Iron Blood Gu Poison Group, he would need to push his Five Poison Skill toward the Realm of Transcendence and Sanctity.

At that point, a single Third Grade "big brother" might not be able to handle it.

After all, breaking through to the Realm of Transcendence and Sanctity was equivalent to breaking through to the True Qi Realm.

His Cultivation Technique Realm and Martial Arts Realm would likely shatter their shackles and break through at the same time.

’Entering the Dao through the Path of Poison, ascending to the True Qi Realm, and doing it in a state of being Extraordinary to Saint...’

’With all factors maxed out, the horror of the resulting side effects is enough to make one shudder just thinking about it.’

’All in all, I need to keep at least three Third Grade "big brothers" in reserve to feel at ease.’

"Five Poison Fire Lotus Skill (Peak of Perfection), Progress: 66%"

After successfully completing the Refinement of the Spider Gu King Poison, the progress increase was still gratifying.

At the same time, Zou Feng could clearly feel that his ability to weave nets with Gang Qi using "Love That Can Stretch and Contract at Will" had been greatly enhanced.

When he activated the "Spider Stance," his Concealment was stronger, and the instantaneous Burst of an assassination attack was also greatly improved.

But an even bigger surprise was yet to come.

"Great Universal Hand (Peak of Perfection), Progress: 25%"

His Great Universal Hand, which hadn’t shown any significant progress in a long time, had suddenly shot up by twenty points!

But thinking back on the strangeness of the Poisonous King Spider, it was incredibly adept at influencing emotions, making one reluctant to feel any hostility toward it.

Therefore, the creature’s venom was a perfect match for the emotion-influencing requirements of the Great Universal Hand!