CFSMS -Chapter 28 No Way, Your Imagination Is Seriously Toxic

Qin Zhan’s expression was one of absolute righteousness.

This wasn’t an excuse.

According to the Bun Sect’s admission procedures, any under-the-table dealings or backdoor arrangements were strictly forbidden. Once discovered, the offender would be expelled from the Bun Sect.

As for the elder position his master mentioned? Even more impossible.

He had joined the sect before his master. If anyone was going to become an elder, it should be him first!

He absolutely had no intention of betraying his master or overturning tradition.

“Then do outer disciples have a chance to eat that pork knuckle?”

Seeing that Qin Zhan wasn’t lying, Daoist Tianfeng took a huge step back after some thought.

No problem. He could just enter under a different identity.

After all, when wandering the cultivation world, how could one survive without a few alternate identities for murder, arson, and robbery?

“Yes!”

And so, the Bun Sect gained three more outer disciples: Daoist Tianfeng and the husband-and-wife pair from the Lou family.

Lou Xiaotian’s experiences resonated deeply with Qin Zhan’s. When the two eventually met, they hit it off immediately and became sworn brothers despite sharing neither blood nor surname.

They shared the same painful lesson.

Namely—

These old geezers were absolutely shameless!

The two families staged an entire palace-intrigue drama over half a pork knuckle, while Grandpa Li happily enjoyed four whole pork knuckles by himself at home.

As for Lu Wu, after checking the time, she set off for Ten Thousand Poisons Valley.

The road was easy to travel, and the place was easy to find.

The entrance to the valley resembled a giant crack in the heavens. Towering cliffs stretched upward on both sides, leaving only a passage about three meters wide.

There were no fragrant grasses or falling blossoms here like some hidden paradise. Nor was there any sudden broadening of scenery after walking deeper inside.

The further one went, the stranger and more sinister the environment became.

Unlike the lush green of ordinary forests, every flower, plant, and tree around Ten Thousand Poisons Valley was stained with a bizarre, colorful blackness.

The flamboyantly vibrant vegetation made people instinctively keep their distance.

They were all poisonous.

Someone had once tested it and discovered that even the soil contained enough toxins to kill a person with ease.

Fortunately, the toxins in the soil only worked if ingested.

Presumably no fool would come here to eat dirt.

The system-designated stall location was situated in one of the safe zones on the outskirts. Nearby poisonous plants had been cleared away, allowing travelers a temporary place to rest.

As a result, quite a few people were gathered there.

When they noticed Lu Wu’s arrival, they examined her with mildly warning gazes, but made no further moves.

Out in the wilderness, murder and robbery were commonplace.

Especially when dealing with strangers, one needed eight hundred tricks up their sleeve.

Still, Lu Wu looked far too harmless.

Even without the concealment of the Ruyi Hairpin, a newly initiated Qi Refinement Third Layer cultivator posed no threat to these people.

Lu Wu looked around but found no familiar faces.

She pulled her snack stall from her storage bag.

The stall had undergone some modifications. A large pot was embedded atop a stove, specifically designed to keep the pork knuckles warm.

The moment the stall appeared, it unsurprisingly attracted numerous looks normally reserved for idiots.

Those entering Ten Thousand Poisons Valley were never good people.

Most lived with blades at their throats and weren’t easy to get along with.

There had once been vendors here before.

Unfortunately, human nature was complicated. Whenever a stall owner earned something valuable, accidents would somehow occur, causing them to lose their profits.

The prevailing attitude was simple:

If I can’t have a good time, neither can anyone else.

Over time, people abandoned the idea of setting up stalls here altogether.

Occasionally, a few stubborn fools would still try.

Without exception, they disappeared after only a few days.

So everyone regarded Lu Wu’s actions as little more than entertainment.

By now, Lu Wu had become accustomed to strange looks.

She calmly hung up her menu.

“Love the Pork Knuckle Even in Death — Ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones Each.”

The rustic yet eye-catching name immediately drew more attention.

Lu Wu heard plenty of snickering.

Ignoring the various gazes, she took out the pork knuckles she had prepared in advance and placed them into the pot to keep warm.

This wasn’t the kind of novel where faces got slapped every chapter.

But Lu Wu was confident that a classic face-slapping moment was about to arrive.

The still-warm pork knuckles freely displayed their charm.

A rich, soul-stealing aroma drifted outward on the winds surrounding Ten Thousand Poisons Valley.

Anyone nearby could smell it effortlessly.

Though invisible, several people suddenly felt as if a peerless beauty were dancing before them.

Her smooth skin and mouthwatering appearance tempted them to draw closer.

Even though her complexion possessed an unusual honey-glazed color, they still wanted to lose themselves in her embrace.

Saliva began to flow.

Their hearts started to stir.

Smack!

“An illusion! This is an illusion!”

A middle-aged man struggled free from the aroma’s influence and slapped himself hard across the face.

It was obvious he hadn’t held back.

His cheek visibly swelled.

The pain restored his clarity.

The honey-glazed beauty vanished from his mind.

But the aroma lingering in the air remained, proving it was all real.

“Impossible!”

“I must’ve been poisoned!”

The man shouted hysterically, refusing to believe that a mere pork knuckle could affect him this much.

He hurriedly pulled an antidote pill from his storage bag and swallowed it.

After convincing himself the medicine had taken effect, his tense body relaxed.

The very next moment, the meat fragrance invaded his senses again.

The aroma seeped into every crack and crevice.

Even the honey-glazed beauty threatened to reclaim her place in his thoughts.

“Could this be some rare toxin…?”

The man nearly choked.

His face turned bluish-purple, his eyes filled with terror.

When the antidote failed to work, all strength seemed to leave him.

He collapsed onto the ground.

His eyes turned dull and lifeless, as though awaiting inevitable death.

Everything had happened too quickly.

The man seemed completely convinced that he had been poisoned.

And not just poisoned—

Poisoned beyond saving.

The hatred in his gaze toward Lu Wu was obvious.

Yet he seemed wary of something and didn’t dare approach.

The hopeless, lifeless expression left Lu Wu dumbfounded.

!!!

Brother, seriously?

Wasn’t this a little too dramatic?

She had heard that cultivators here were cautious.

But surely they wouldn’t imagine things this far based on the slightest sign of trouble?

A single pork knuckle had somehow become a deadly poison in his imagination.

Watching the man slowly crawl away to find a shaded spot where he could lie down and await death, Lu Wu felt her heart sink halfway into her stomach.

Because after seeing his reaction, everyone else—

Though still attracted by the fragrance—

Completely lost any desire to buy.

Instead, they became even more wary of Lu Wu herself.

It seemed her pork knuckles weren’t going to sell at all.

Lu Wu was utterly bewildered.

At that moment, she suddenly missed the enthusiastic customers of Smoke-Willow Street who would surround her stall in layers.

Waaah…

Dear customers, where are you all?

No battle broke out.

In everyone’s eyes, someone capable of silently spreading such terrifying poison wasn’t someone to provoke without absolute certainty of victory.

“My pork knuckles aren’t poisonous.”

Lu Wu offered a weak explanation.

Unfortunately, nobody believed her.

“My stomach…”

From the shaded area, the man clutched his rumbling abdomen.

Believing the poison was finally taking effect, his face grew even paler.

He curled into himself and turned his back to the crowd.

That desolate silhouette seemed to convey a warning to everyone present.

The wind howls, the Yi River runs cold;

The warrior departs and never returns.

Brother…

Farewell.