Hei An couldn’t help laughing madly in the face of Tianming's pursuit.

"What gives you the right to laugh?” Tianming smiled.

"You’re too arrogant. You think you’re the protagonist of this world, capable of changing everything and crushing everyone. So I’d like to tell you this: the moment a man dies, the story is no longer his. Once you die, I can also think of myself as the protagonist and consider this world designed for me. Do you understand what I’m trying to say? Li Tianming, don't overestimate yourself.” Hei An laughed.

"What gives you the courage to say all that?” Tianming narrowed his eyes.

"Because you’re poisoned!” With a wave of his hand, Hei An smiled.

Tianming stopped and looked down. His chest was filled with black ki. It was as Hei An said—the poison had already attacked his heart. When he finally composed himself, he found that his internal organs had been filled with a poisonous mist.

The poisonous mist resembled little insects that multiplied in his heart and lungs, so small they were imperceptible. When they began traveling along his blood vessels and uncontrollably breeding, Tianming's flesh, muscles, bones, and internal organs began withering and the shadow of death descended upon him.

Although Ying Huo, Meow Meow, Lan Huang, and Xian Xian had shields that resist poisons, they were all somehow infected by the toxin. The living poison was so tiny that no one could detect it. It all happened in an instant. What a nightmare!

It was impossible to find at first, and by the time Tianming discovered its existence it was too late. It sucked away at his flesh and blood, crazily reproducing. The more it spread, the more of them there were. There was no way he could kill them all. Tianming's body had become a nest for these creatures.

His expression turned ugly and Hei An laughed even more presumptuously.

"Do you now know what a dead end is? Are you still the protagonist of the Flameyellow Continent? How does it feel to watch your life slowly disappear? Who hasn’t thought of themselves as protagonists? And then what happens? Still got your arrogance? Your astonishment makes you look stupid.” Hei An burst into laughter.

Delighted, he began chattering, "Now let me formally introduce myself to you. My name is Hei An. I was born with an extremely rare poison body. Because of that, I can coexist with all sorts of poisons, and even gradually enhance them within my body. I’ve consumed poison as food since I was a child. I am the source of all poisons. Can you compare to me? Who do you think you are, shooting your mouth off? I admit you’re strong. If I hadn’t absorbed this liferot toxin over the past few days, I wouldn’t be able to deal with you. Liferot toxin is practically a deadly poison tailored for me. Can you feel it? It’s as if they’re alive. They were released from my body and exist around me. They’re tiny, silent, and invisible as they enter your body through your eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. There, they take root and multiply inside of you. When you finally discover them, you’ve already been turned into a breeding ground of toxins. In the days to come, I’ll be able to kill you all with the liferot toxin in my hands. No one can stop my living poisons. And you’re just the first of my children’s food. Such an ending is an honor. Doesn’t it feel wonderful? The protagonist of Archaion? The eminent’s disciple? What other titles do you have? I’ll announce them all for you.” 

Hei An was a little crazy. After being infected with the liferot toxin, shocking changes had taken place. He was the natural host of living poisons. With the liferot toxin, he would be a great slayer of the Nonahall Divine Realm. Wherever he went, people would die—especially the ordinary ones; they couldn’t stop it at all. 

"With this toxin, I will slaughter the people of Archaion and let this plague kill everything in its wake. It's just a pity that you won’t be able to witness it.” Hei An convulsed with laughter.

He came from a humble background, and wasn’t of high standing in the Nonahall Ghost Sect. However—

"From today onward, this liferot toxin will make me superior. One day I will stand at the top of the Flameyellow continent, and the powerhouses of the world will kneel when they speak to me!” 

His eyes turned red. He opened his arms, feeling the liferot toxin multiplying and spreading everywhere. 

There was no hope for Tianming, wasn’t it?

"Aren’t you now an empty shell?” Hei An asked with a smile.

Tianming stared at him blankly with a look that made Hei An want to laugh. 

However, Tianming immediately put away his dazed look and asked coldly, "Are you done? Time to hit the road. I’ll send you to the gates of hell. You can dream all you want there.” 

"Are you still trying to fight?” Hei An sneered.

"Trying to fight?” 

Tianming couldn't help but laugh.

"Do you know what Primordial Chaos Beasts are?” 

Tianming uttered these words in a very low voice, so the others couldn’t hear him in the cacophonous battlefield.

"What?” Hei An was confused.

"We might be nothing—even weak—and afraid of many poisons. But your living poisons want to eat us?!” Tianming laughed.

In the beginning, they’d fallen short on defense and had indeed allowed this liferot toxin to invade and breed within their bodies. At the time, it was uncomfortable and despair seemed natural. Ying Huo and the others could feel it as well, and they were afraid. The panicked Xian Xian had even begun to cry.

However, Tianming rose up. He wasn’t a man who was used to giving up. Together with his lifebound beasts, Tianming used his own power—in particular tribulation force from his lifesbane—to cleanse himself and fight against the liferot toxin.

There was no fear, only the desire to fight! They couldn’t lose, nor would they be allowed to die!

In fact, he had to thank Hei An for spouting a bunch of nonsense and giving him time to fight the toxin. When they fought together with one heart and combined their tribulation forces, the blood of the Primordial Chaos Beasts exploded. These so-called living poisons went from multiplying uncontrollably to being struck by lightning, then finally disappeared.

Their physiques had played a part, but their determination and confidence were the defining factors to quickly destroying the toxin. Hei An might have chosen them as his first opponent, but had ended up kicking an iron plate.

At that moment, the poison dissipated and its intended targets were seething with fresh rage and killing intent. 

Having personally experienced it, Tianming knew that the liferot toxin would be a terrible thing for ordinary disciples. Silent and invisible, it lived on flesh and blood, multiplying without a trace until it would spread across the entire divine realm!

"Hei An, you must die!” 

Tianming and his four beasts attacked at the same time. Ying Huo burst into flames, exploding with tens of thousands of sword ki strands that stabbed the myriadeyes bloodbat’s remaining wing.

Lan Huang slammed the eight-armed rakshasa into the sea of poison. When the roots of the Radix World Tree entangled the rakshasa, Lan Huang sank its teeth into the bat head. With one bite, its dragon teeth were deeply embedded into the beast’s flesh and tearing it apart. The rakshasa’s head ripped into two. This was the ultimate counterattack! At the same time, Tianming and Meow Meow took Hei An on together.

Hei An didn’t believe that the liferot toxin could fail. In his opinion, this was their dying struggle. However, he had never expected Meow Meow's lightning could contain so much power.

Tens of thousands of lightning bolts rained down. Meow Meow trapped Hei An in its Myriad Thundernet, electrocuting him until he was scorched and foaming at the mouth.

Hei An was dumbstruck. He looked up and saw Tianming surging with a murderous aura. The power of his two swords was unparalleled as the Imperealm Sword Formation and tribulation sword ki accumulated.

"What about the liferot toxin? This is just a dying flash!” Hei An's eyes widened.

Filled with disbelief, he became even more frantic. He struck with the weapon in his hand.

Stygian Club—Skydevourer! The short stick in his hand turned into a black torrent and shot into the sky with a momentum capable of devouring the heavens.

"You say you were born for poison and can’t be killed by them?” There was only indifference in Tianming’s eyes.

Hexapath Samsara Sword—Animacorpus Eradication!

"I’ll show you what a real god of death and evil spirits looks like!” 

Animacorpus Eradication embodied the path of slaughter. With a swing of the sword, waves of evil spirits surged, their roars of resentment echoing. The sky was filled with ghosts, millions and millions of them gathering amidst the power of his sword, heading for Hei An.

The sword and rod collided. Struck by Meow Meow’s lightning, Hei An was half dead and numb all over. He actually still believed in the liferot toxin. But what made him uncomfortable was the fact that Tianming's attack was far more terrifying than he had expected.

With the whistle of the sword ki, a murderous aura pierced through the air and death descended. The golden Grand-Orient Sword split open Hei An's head while the black sword sank into his chest. 

Screaming miserably, Hei An died instantly. 

"You’re the source of all poisons?” 

As soon as the words left his lips, a flame lotus burned Hei An's body. Infernal Blaze engulfed the corpse, burning all poisons to ashes. 

"Won’t they all die as long as I incinerate you?” 

The snow fell heavily, burying the black blood. Hei An’s body quickly burned into ashes and disappeared in the wind. Amid the blazing flames, the myriadeyes bloodbat and eight-armed rakshasa also turned to dust.

"There is no poison that can kill the Archaion Sect!” 

The snowstorm raged on until the flames finally died out and all the toxins were covered by the snow. The world returned to a sheet of white.

On the snowy battlefield, Tianming turned and left with his four lifebound beasts.

The young man’s valor was unparalleled!

For a moment, the entire world shook. Deathly silence enveloped the Specter Mountains in the distance.

...

Tianming returned to Xuanyuan Dao. Upon seeing the smiles and marvel on their faces, he felt content.

A man charged in right then.

"Sect masters, there’s been an assassination attempt on Her Eminence!”