C15 - Nine Yin Intoxicating Mushroom

Sometimes, when a great treasure of Heaven and Earth is being formed, it will take the qi from the objects of related nature in its surroundings to sustain itself.

However, such treasures are often accompanied by various perils, most often in the form of a guardian beast.

Yin Kai looked ahead. In the middle of a sudden clearing, a Nine Yin Intoxication Mushroom was growing on a fallen cedar.

Yin Kai thought about finishing the growth process with his poison qi, but ultimately decided it would be better to check his surroundings first.

Checking the trees, he circled around the clearing.

"Strange…" He muttered to himself. Normally a treasure like this would cause several of the monster beasts in the surrounding area to fight for it, with the victor guarding it until it was ripe.

Sensing nothing in the surrounding area, Yin Kai cautiously moved towards the center of the meadow.

With no danger appearing in his proximity, he began to pour his poison qi into the mushroom. It began to greedily devour it. Soon, Yin Kai felt his qi reserves begin to lessen.

Even with the Poison Rebirth art, a Qi Transformation disciple was still just at Qi Transformation.

Luckily, the rate at which the mushroom was devouring his qi began to slow. It seemed it was about to ripen.

An incense stick later, the qi absorption finally stopped. A calm chill released through the meadow, reaching into the forest.

Yin Kai immediately snatched it and threw it into his mouth. After absorbing the mushroom, his Myriad Poisons Body Constitution was strengthened.

According to his mother's teachings, he would now be able to use the Nine Yin Toxin as well as the poison ivy toxin as an external force.

The reason he was eating the poison ivy was as a quantitative growth, whereas the Nine Yin Intoxicating Mushroom was more qualitative in measure.

A low creak came out of the surrounding area. Yin Kai dipped.

Whatever it was, it began to chase him. He heard 'whipping' noises strike the trees behind him, but he made sure to take a path using the trees as long-range cover.

It had come from the north. To evade it, he decidedly ran west.

Unfortunately, a cliff loomed ahead and he was forced to make a decision. As the area to the south was lined with grasslands, he decided to run north.

He looked behind him. Whatever it was was keeping up, but not fast enough to overtake him.

It was a mistake. Behind him was a large, 10-foot spider. Eight golden legs pierced the ground as it rose its back for yet another web attack.

Yin Kai rolled to the ground to avoid it. Luckily, it missed, but the spider was even closer.

Yin Kai continued to dodge through the trees. At this point he was a fair degree north of the original clearing.

"Damn it! When will this spider give up?!" Yin Kai shouted.

Suddenly, he cane into yet another clearing. Opposed to the last, this ones had clear signs of struggle.

A series of webs surrounded the area. Half-broken trees mired the environment, and it seemed to lead further north.

Yin Kai quickly turned back into the forest to regain his cover, and began to take off.

If the spider had been fighting something earlier, he might as well see if he could get them to fight each other again.

Albeit being slow, the spider was not something he could easily face in his current realm.

Yin Kai continued to run through the trees. Then, he saw it. A large python was coiled around a boulder, it's face clubbed to death.

'Wait. How did it get clubbed?' Yin Kai thought to himself.

A shadow appeared above him. "Shit!" Yin Kai yelled as he rolled for cover.

The spider fell down butt-first onto where he had just been standing. Instinctively, Yin Kai hit the spider's back with one of his strongest moves.

"Seven Fists of Fury!"

…

…

…Nothing happened.

The spider turned and bared its fangs at the intruder.

Undeterred, Yin Kai spit a heavy dose of the Nine Yin Toxin directly into the spider's mouth.

The spider began to wave.

Yin Kai spit again.

As the monster began to accumulate the toxin, it began to stumble around as if drunk.

Yin Kai smiled. If he was given enough time, he might be able to find a countermeasure.

If he couldn't break through the spider's shell, then maybe the snake could.

He rushed over to the snake's head, alert for any incoming attacks.

At this point, he was sure. The snake was definitely dead.