Chapter 68 – Dok Go-pung
If you thought the Poison Demon’s birthday banquet would be a stiff, solemn gathering of a cranky old man, you’d be dead wrong.
The Poison Demon was what you'd call a "foreign-educated elite," soone who had traveled outside the Cult and encountered all sorts of worldly cultures. As such, his banquet hall was decorated not in the somber tones typical of the Cult, but in the vibrant, trend-following flair of the Martial World.
The atmosphere was festive and lively.
[Looks like these are your companions.]
“Yeah, that’s right.”
At the front of the hall, jesters were performing. Fire-breathing acts, blindfolded dagger throws, and other stage tricks were on full display.
As we walked past them, I saw a middle-aged man seated on a raised platform in a large chair. Attendants in lavish attire were fanning him with giant feather fans.
Dok Go-pung, the Poison Demon.
His hair was dyed a dark green color, said to be a side effect of the poison arts he had mastered. Although he was a fearso elder over eighty years old, he looked like a well-maintained middle-aged man.
‘Is it the power of poison cultivation techniques?’
Even Dok So-gong, who was over thirty, still had the appearance of a young boy.
For a ti, the Poison Demon’s martial arts were rumored to hold the secret to eternal youth, making him quite popular among the female cultists. But because he was both prideful and possessive, he wouldn’t allow just anyone to learn his martial arts. Those who tried to approach him recklessly were said to have ended up as puddles of blood.
So when Dok So-gong turned out the way he did, the Poison Demon’s fury had been inevitable.
In any case, the Poison Demon now held up a golden goblet and looked ecstatic.
“Is that really okay?”
[What do you an?]
“He’s acting like he’s a king or sothing.”
[And what’s wrong with that? He’s proven his strength, so who’s going to stop him?]
That was true. This wasn't a world where seniority or rank mattered—it was the Cult, where as long as you were strong, almost anything went. Despite being called a “Cult,” it actually felt remarkably free.
“Hahaha! Thank you! Enjoy yourselves!”
Below the Poison Demon’s platform, a long line had ford with people waiting to offer their gifts. Even if they had made way for us outside...
[Looks like various factions and families are going all-out to win his favor. None of them can be ignored.]
...in here, even the Sado Family’s delegation had to wait in line like everyone else.
Eventually, after a long wait and formal greetings, it was finally our turn.
The Poison Demon and I locked eyes. He smiled cryptically and stood up from his seat.
“Look who it is!”
He pointed at dramatically.
“Isn’t this Sado Hwan, Young Lord of the Sado Family, one of the great Six Demon Families! I can’t express how honored I am to have the most talked-about rising star in the Cult attending my humble banquet!”
With those words, the eyes of everyone in the hall turned to .
“Rumor has it you've been recognized by the Supre One as a Transcendent Peak expert? Reaching that level at the age of thirty—what a blessing for the Cult! Am I wrong?”
The crowd nodded in agreent, voicing their approval.
“Therefore...”
The Poison Demon continued,
“I would like to personally offer this young master a drink. Will you accept it?”
A collective gasp spread through the room.
To receive a drink from a master of poison arts—who could say what was actually in that cup? If he wanted to, he could slip in a deadly poison so subtly that no one would notice.
“I heard the Black Shadow Corps Master and the Poison Demon have had bad blood ever since that disciple matter...”
“Then he must be here for revenge?”
“That kid’s got guts. Kills the master’s disciple, then shows up to his birthday party?”
The murmuring reached my ears. There wasn’t a single weakling in attendance, so even whispers carried clearly.
‘Looks like you’ve earned a few enemies.’
[Not . You.]
Pacheon corrected .
[Even if you’re not the youngest, being recognized as a Transcendent Peak at your age—and recently summoned by the Supre One to the Heavenly Demon Palace—well, it’s no wonder you’re being talked about.]
‘I guess my na is starting to spread outside the family.’
The Sado Family had risen rapidly to beco one of the Six Demon Families, evolving from a mid-tier household in just a few years.
And I was known as their Transcendent Peak expert.
Naturally, the old guard didn’t look kindly upon soone like .
It seed so of them were quite enjoying the show.
‘So the Clan Head and the First Elder sent here fully knowing this might happen. Bastards.’
With the Poison Demon’s temperant, if he was in a good mood, this might end with just a public shaming. If not, I could be seriously injured.
Even if I had been recognized by the Supre One and entered the Heavenly Demon Palace, it didn’t matter to the Cult. If I lost here, I’d just be another pathetic loser.
That was the logic of the Cult.
But while that was their problem, the Sado Family had its own. If you destroy your clan’s greatest asset for the sake of internal politics—then you clearly don’t care about the future of your family.
For now—
“Sado Hwan, Master of the Black Shadow Corps, greets the Poison Demon.”
I bowed my head.
The Poison Demon twitched his brow.
I had subtly indicated: “I am here not as the Sado Family’s Young Lord, but as the Black Shadow Corps Master.”
“Very well, Corps Master. So, will you accept my drink?”
“Gladly. But shouldn’t proper manners be observed? I’ll pour for you first, then accept your drink.”
“Manners, is it…? Hahaha!”
Etiquette belonged to the Martial World, not the Cult. But the Poison Demon, who had traveled widely, was quite familiar with such customs.
“Fine, then let’s see you try.”
He downed the remaining liquor in his golden cup and handed it to .
“Cho Ryang.”
“Yes!”
Cho Ryang handed a pouch. The Poison Demon’s eyes widened.
“That’s… a Tang Clan poison pouch?”
It was a poison pouch carried by martial artists of the Sichuan Tang Clan.
“Yes. I figured the Poison Demon would recognize it.”
“Judging by the color and texture… it’s even from a direct-line mber. How did you get this?”
“I heard the tale of your duel with the Tang Clan’s Poison King.”
A smirk crept across his face.
“Ah, yes. That’s how I brought back the Black Crow Fan to the Cult.”
The Black Crow Fan was a complicated item—originally belonging to the Eastern dicine Immortal, it passed to the Poison King, and then into the hands of the Poison Demon.
The two had made a wager, and the Poison Demon had won.
They were always ntioned together in debates over who was the true master of poison. The day he took the Black Crow Fan was the day the Poison Demon was judged superior.
“I took it because people were spouting nonsense that the Poison King was the true master of poison.”
“Hahaha!”
The Poison Demon burst into laughter.
“You know how to butter soone up, Corps Master. However…”
His eyes grew cold.
“Isn’t that still too little to honor the soul of my disciple?”
It wasn’t that he genuinely cared about his disciple. He just needed a poison-resistant errand boy. The fact that one he’d raised for years had defected from the Cult wounded his pride—and now he was taking it out on .
I said nothing. Instead, I took out a small vial from the pouch. Not really a liquor bottle—just a little glass container filled with a clear liquid.
“A Tang Clan poison liquor. I thought it would suit you.”
“Ah… it’s been a while. I’ll enjoy it.”
The Poison Demon drank it down in one go.
“I’ve received your gift. Now let offer you a drink.”
He poured a cup. Unlike the clichés of wuxia, he didn’t infuse the cup with energy to pressure . He simply seed to enjoy the mont, returning to his seat and looking down at .
The liquor in the cup shimred clear and pure.
The problem was not knowing what was in it. A man like him didn’t need to add poison manually. Just infusing it with his energy could make it deadly.
“Not that I’m completely defenseless.”
My body carried the qi of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
It rejected all other internal energies. That was why I couldn’t learn other techniques, and elixirs didn’t affect well.
It also ant poison had little effect.
Even Dok So-gong’s Rotten Lung Poison—strong enough to kill Peak experts—had no effect on .
So I figured I’d have so resistance to most poisons. But if the Poison Demon went beyond “ordinary,” it could still be dangerous.
Clearly, my plan to please him with the Tang Clan pouch had failed.
Which ant, the best option was to not drink the poison at all.
“I brought a gift for you, but before that… I’d like to show a small trick.”
The Poison Demon tilted his head in amusent.
“Cho Ryang.”
I called Cho Ryang again. He pulled a snake from a cage.
“One-Horned Blossom Serpent?”
As expected of a master of poisons, the Poison Demon identified it instantly—but his expression was unimpressed.
“I’ve got a few in my storage. Their venom is used to make antidotes, after all.”
One-Horned Blossom Serpent produced deadly venom, but when mixed with other toxins, it could neutralize them. Hence, it was often used in antidotes.
“But to extract that venom… the snake must be killed. Are you saying you’ll kill it before ?”
The venom was only secreted in monts of extre distress—right before death. That’s why it was considered a rare mystic beast.
But I had the animal prodigy, Cho Ryang.
Who could ta even feral mystic beasts with a single gesture.
After capturing the One-Horned Blossom Serpent in the disciplinary cave, I had ordered Cho Ryang to ta it—to obey one command perfectly.
I brought the poisoned cup to the snake’s face and said,
“Spit.”
At that mont, the snake let out a sharp kyaak! and spat venom—yet it remained completely unhard.
“!?”
The Poison Demon waved his hand. The cup flew from my hand and into his. He drank it.
“This is genuine One-Horned Blossom Serpent venom… it’s real…”
“It’s been trained to understand human speech.”
“It’ll take ti to produce more venom, but… if it doesn’t die, it can keep making it. That’ll save ti, reduce costs… and let experint more freely…”
“Other poisonous creatures can be trained too.”
“?!”
The Poison Demon was greedy—I could see his thoughts clearly.
He was already weighing Dok So-gong against the One-Horned Blossom Serpent.
It was obvious which way the scale would tip.
“Shall we talk more inside, Corps Master?”
***
“Wh-what!?”
A martial artist from the Gwak Clan was flustered.
“We’re up next—what are we supposed to do if he just skips us!?”
“…Goddamn, that was cool…”
“Huh?!”
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