Jiang Chen expanded his consciousness to the fullest once he entered the copse of trees and carefully surveyed his surroundings.

This was clearly Shi Qinglu’s territory. There was a drastic change to the environment. Outside, the poison formations were seamlessly chained together, but still there were paths purposefully left open to lure in and trap victims.

Here in the core area, the formations were carefully placed all around the woods. The design was so cleverly devised that even Jiang Chen had to admire the obvious craft on display.

“Shi Qinglu is indeed a natural talent in poison. The variety of applications here is impressive.” Jiang Chen clucked his tongue.

What set the formations apart was the fact that every blade of grass and every leaf could be poisonous. The formations could be anywhere. Even the air was filled with all kinds of poison.

A novice in poison wouldn’t notice anything wrong. Nothing actually seemed unnatural and out of place in the woods.

Those who knew a thing or two about poison might be able to pinpoint a few of the sources of the obvious threats, but those were merely smokescreens Shi Qinglu had purposefully employed.

Even masters of poison who would be able to spot many threats might overlook some of the extremely well-hidden sources.

Jiang Chen was heads and shoulders above any poison master on the Divine Abyss Continent. He kept his consciousness expanded to the fullest as he navigated the woods. Nothing artificial could escape his attention. With his consciousness scanning the area, he soon zeroed in on Wu You. 

The man was hung on an ancient tree, his expression dull. He’d been subdued, his consciousness broken and body weakened by poison.

Jiang Chen stood tall and still, looking at Wu You from afar. Wu You’s body swayed slightly whenever wind swept through the woods. He looked as pathetic as a dead dog.

Rage boiled in Jiang Chen’s heart. He didn’t consider his peers from Eternal his family, but Wu You and Gan Ning had voluntarily joined his team. To put it plainly, they were under his protection.

He’d always been protective of his own. He wouldn’t tolerate any abuse to anyone under his wing. Naturally, he was furious at seeing Wu You tortured.

He heard the low hum of a flute. The sound was faint, almost silent. He wouldn’t have sensed it if he hadn’t been paying attention. It was followed by an unknown rustling sound - like silkworms devouring mulberry leaves. The sound was quiet, but clear.

Jiang Chen frowned and swept the area with his consciousness. All around him were swarms of snakes of different colors. They emerged from the bushes, writhing and squirming like a single entity. Anyone else would have been paralyzed with terrified horror.

The snakes came toward Jiang Chen in waves, surrounding him in only a few breaths of time.

Among the snakes were scorpions, centipedes, and many other strange poisonous creatures.

Jiang Chen looked at the dense mass of creatures calmly, an amused smile tugging his lips.

“The reputation of the poison consort is well deserved, Miss Shi.” Jiang Chen laughed brightly. “However, these things serve no purpose other than to disgust me.”

If these creatures had been released to attempt him harm, then there was no threat to him here. 

He had many ways to scare them off.

Shi Qinglu had manipulated the creatures with her flute, stimulating their neurological systems. It wasn’t that impressive of a technique. She had simply entranced them and hadn’t even really tapped into their base instincts.

Shi Qinglu stayed hidden. Her voice floated out from somewhere in the empty space. “This is merely my first trial, Jiang Chen. If you can’t overcome this challenge, you don’t deserve a chance to see me.”

Jiang Chen smiled slightly. He channeled his inner energy and took in a deep breath. A roar rushed out of his mouth like a crushing tide.

He’d long since incorporated the true dragon bloodline. As he gave voice to the dragon roar, the aura of his bloodline radiated outwards.

The venomous snakes that had gotten close fled like they’d hit a scorching iron plate.

Terror spread through the masses. The ones in the outer ring made a one-eighty and fled with higher velocity than they had in attacking.

Dragons and snakes were of the same origin, and snakes had always been considered the lowest of all dragon descendents.

Of course, there were other theories, but it was an undeniable truth that snakes were naturally terrified of dragons.

Jiang Chen’s dragon howl and aura evoked the snakes’ instinctual fear, turning things completely around. The snakes were too terrified to get close to him!

In a blink of an eye, the snakes had all retreated.

Jiang Chen chuckled and stopped roaring.

His form flickered. “Miss Shi, you’re cutting corners by manipulating the snakes with your flute. It’s the most basic of all manipulation techniques. There’s nothing impressive about it. It only makes you look bad before a real expert.” Jiang Chen was deliberately provoking Shi Qinglu. He moved toward Wu You.

Shi Qinglu had witnessed Jiang Chen disperse her snakes without breaking a sweat. It disappointed her deeply. She’d anticipated that Jiang Chen would be able to deal with the snakes, but had thought it’d take him some time and effort to kill them.

Once he was exhausted, she’d enact the rest of her moves and take him down.

Unfortunately, things hadn’t gone according to expectations.

Jiang Chen had driven away the snakes with a few measly howls, catching Shi Qinglu off guard.

She sighed inwardly. Jiang Chen does live up to his widespread fame. He’s not to be underestimated.

Shi Qinglu had rarely shown her face to the youths in recent years, considering most of them unworthy of her attention. She didn’t think any young cultivators deserved to be her opponent.

It turned out that she’d made an error in judgement.

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