Chapter 9- Poison forest

The sun had barely risen when Lucifer left the hidden valley behind. The wind carried the lingering stench of demon blood, but he paid it no mind. His steps were silent, steady—carved with purpose.

The arranged marriage between the Bone and Azure Clans was only a few days away. And while he wasn't heading to the Azure Clan just yet, he needed to prepare.

The Azure Patriarch was said to be in the Third Claw Ninth Realm—a level Lucifer couldn't yet challenge. Not unless he wanted to throw himself into a pit with no escape.

So before anything else, he needed power. Real, biting power.

That's why he came here.

To the Poison Forest.

He stopped by a quiet stone outpost on the edge of Scarlet City, finding a map vendor surrounded by flies and old scrolls. Among them was a rolled-up, wax-sealed map—aged and stained, but marked in red ink with beast territories.

Lucifer's eyes locked onto one note:

"Eight-Armed Poison Ape – Heart Reborn Realm – Canyon Sector."

It was a place most Second Claw cultivators wouldn't dare approach.

The wind carried the stench of rot and venom.

I stood before the edge of the Poison Forest, map in hand, cloak tight around me to keep the biting wind from lifting it. The parchment crackled in my grip—old, faded, but accurate. It marked everything I needed: danger zones, beast territories, cave systems… and most importantly, the location of the Eight-Armed Poison Ape—a Heart Reborn Realm monstrosity that ruled the deepest canyon.

No intention of going there yet. Not suicidal.

The marriage between the Bone and Azure Clans would happen in a few days. I had time, but not much. And if I wanted to exploit the Bone Clan's plot, I needed to stand on equal ground. The Azure Patriarch was Third Claw Ninth Realm. I wasn't even Second Claw yet.

I looked down at my hand.

A faint shimmer of demonic energy still lingered beneath the skin. Residue from Yuan Xuelan's corrupted blood. I had purged most of it. But what remained reminded me of how easy it is to fall... and how close I was to the edge.

That's why I need this forest.

Not just for strength—but for control. For poison resistance. For experience. A crucible.

And maybe, if I was lucky… an evolution.

I folded the map and stepped into the forest.

The Poison Forest was alive with hissing, scratching, and the occasional scream of prey—beast or human, hard to tell. The canopy was thick enough to strangle sunlight, and every breath tasted like rotting herbs and wet copper.

I moved carefully.

The first threat came from the treetops—a cluster of Winged Fang Vipers. Their scales shimmered green-blue, their fangs dripping paralytic venom. One swooped low, fangs bared.

I caught it mid-air.

My fingers crushed its windpipe before it could bite. I devoured its qi and soul in one motion—tasted the venom in its essence, noted its resistance to acid. Weak… but useful in layers.

The others fled into the dark.

Later, I was ambushed by a Burrowing Skull Beetle, almost as wide as my torso. It tore through soil like water. I let it lunge before impaling it on a sharpened root, then siphoned its soul as it twitched.

That night, I meditated high in the trees, body trembling with devoured essence.

My cultivation surged.

First Claw Ninth Realm became unstable—on the verge of cracking open.

I swallowed a pill I'd made from the herbs found near a dead Scorched Thorn Hog, and pushed deeper.

The second day was worse.

The forest thickened, and the qi turned bitter. Poison seeped into the air like mist. Even breathing without filtering it through qi became dangerous.

I fought a Spineback Panther—its claws coated in paralytic poison. Its speed surprised me. I took a wound to my shoulder before crushing its ribs and tearing out its heart.

It took me an hour to purge the venom.

I didn't eat its flesh.

Only its qi and soul. Only what was pure.

The soul fragments built within me, swirling like smoke around a core of hunger and power.

That night, I felt my breakthrough.

Second Claw—First Realm.

Then Second. Third.

One after another, each barrier thinned and cracked, like ice under fire.

I found it near a murky pond—half-buried in algae, unmoving. A Six-Eyed Frog, barely half my size. Not strong. But when it blinked, all six eyes focused with eerie clarity. And its qi… was something else.

Bloodline.

I leapt to strike—and it dodged. Spat venom like liquid metal.

It melted half the tree behind me.

I smiled.

The battle was brief but intense. It was smarter than the other beasts—its eyes let it predict movement. But when I caught it mid-leap, I crushed its spine and pulled its soul free.

And drank deep.

Poison immunity.

And… something more.

A technique etched into its essence. Qi Conversion. It allowed me to twist normal qi into venomous forms. Subtle… deadly.

That changed everything.

Now, I didn't need to dodge every venom-spitting rat or back away from toxic pools.

I became the toxin.

By the end of the third day, I stood atop a cliff of petrified stone, staring over the toxic fog that clung to the deeper layers of the Poison Forest.

I had climbed through battle and blood.

Second Claw—Ninth Realm.

One step from the Third Claw.

I breathed in the bitter air. My body no longer flinched. My veins ran hot with venom and power.

But then…

A scream.

High. Sharp. Human.

It tore through the forest like a knife through silk.

My heart stopped. Not out of fear—but because the qi around me shifted. Suddenly.

Wild. Chaotic.

The beast qi surged like a storm. My meridians pulsed—out of rhythm. My control fractured.

What the hell was that?!

Why now?

I dropped to a knee, teeth clenched.

My chest burned. Qi thrashed inside me like rabid animals fighting for space. My vision blurred.

I tried to regulate it—breathe through it—but it was like trying to cage fire.

What… what's going on?

I coughed. Blood spilled onto the stone. Thick. Blackened.

My thoughts raced.

That scream… it triggered something. Some resonance in the forest. Or something deeper.

I wiped my mouth, eyes scanning the trees.

I didn't feel alone anymore.

Something had changed.