Chapter 712 - 712: Exchanging the Antidote

"Oh? It seems none of you Sect Disciples know about this…"

Seeing the astonished looks on everyone's faces, the envoy from the Martial Soul Hall couldn't help but laugh.

"But that makes sense. According to ancient records, the Blood Sect's rapid rise in the Northern Domain was all thanks to Venerable Thousand Blood. Their power was immense. You could say they stood alone, far surpassing the so-called Three Major Sects."

"Later, after Venerable Thousand Blood fell, the Blood Sect was besieged by the major sects. Nominally, it was under the banner of eliminating evil cultists, but in reality, it was for plunder. The biggest prize was Venerable Thousand Blood's corpse and his legacy."

"Your Saint Extreme Sect and Celestial Sword Sect were among them. The Purple Cloud Sect and Tianya Sect even used that opportunity to grow and establish themselves."

"Heh heh, it seems your sects not only kicked them when they were down, but also destroyed much of the evidence of the Blood Sect's existence afterward. No wonder that now, two thousand years later, almost no one knows about the Blood Sect of old…"

The Martial Soul Hall envoy said with a cold smirk.

He was trying to divert Chu Qingyun's attention, to keep him from probing into his true motives.

"Hmph. Enough nonsense. What does some dusty old tale from two thousand years ago have to do with us?"

"Second question, what happened to them?"

Chu Qingyun pressed on.

"They've been hit with Gu Poison. It's a poison I hid in Zhou Yongyang's palm. Once afflicted, it drastically weakens their physical strength and power, leaving them virtually unable to fight back."

The Martial Soul Hall envoy held nothing back, telling Chu Qingyun everything.

"So that's what happened…" Chu Qingyun nodded and asked, "Do you have the antidote?"

The Martial Soul Hall envoy smiled, taking a small bottle from his Storage Ring. "The antidote is right here. There's plenty of it. If you want it, trade that piece of Blood Origin for it."

A Storage Ring must be bound to its owner before use. Humans do this with a drop of blood. Since the people of the Martial Soul Hall have no blood, they use their Martial Soul Power instead. Both methods essentially leave behind the owner's unique aura as a mark, achieving the same effect.

After all, to human Martial Artists, Martial Soul Power is just a type of power.

But to the people of the Martial Soul Hall, their Martial Soul Power is a part of their body.

The sight of the antidote brought a fervent glow to many eyes. They immediately turned to Chu Qingyun, their expressions pleading, hoping he would trade for the antidote and save them.

"Chu Qingyun, we're all Sect Disciples! When facing the Martial Soul Hall, we should stand united against a common enemy. This is no time for internal strife!"

"That's right, Chu Qingyun! This is about facing the Martial Soul Hall—a matter of absolute right and wrong! You can't just abandon us!"

"If you don't save us, you'll be destroying our natural alliance against the Martial Soul Hall. When we get back, the Saint Extreme Sect won't let you off either!"

Many people spoke up.

However, the ones who spoke were from the Celestial Sword Sect, Purple Cloud Sect, and Tianya Sect, as well as those from the Saint Extreme Sect who sided with Zhou Jianxiong.

They were on bad terms with Chu Qingyun, so they were terrified he might not save them—that he'd let the envoy do his dirty work for him.

"So now you remember that we're all disciples of the Saint Extreme Sect, that we're all from the sects of the Northern Domain. Funny how you all forgot that when you were using that Array Platform to extort Saint Extreme Points from me."

"You're all quite skilled at selective amnesia, aren't you?"

Chu Qingyun sneered, his gaze sweeping mockingly over those who had spoken.

Instantly, they all lowered their heads, not daring to say anything more or offer any explanation. They didn't even dare to meet Chu Qingyun's gaze.

The situation was clear. Their lives were in someone else's hands. What could they possibly say? What would they dare to say?

Chu Qingyun snorted, turned to the Martial Soul Hall envoy, and said, "You can have this Blood Origin."

"But how can I be sure the antidote you're offering is real? How can I be sure you'll give me the antidote and won't attack again?"

In the end, Chu Qingyun still decided to save Ban Xing'an, Wan Jianxin, and the others.

On at least one point, they were right. When facing the Martial Soul Hall, human Martial Artists were natural allies.

If he simply watched them die at the hands of the Martial Soul Hall, it would indeed be detrimental to the bigger picture and would create rifts between the sects.

This was especially true now, with the Martial Soul Hall's activities becoming increasingly frequent.

Of course, while they might be spared death, they wouldn't escape punishment.

Even so, he wouldn't be saving them for free.

"I, Cao Zhixin, hereby swear a Martial Arts Oath: if Chu Qingyun hands over that Power of Origin from Venerable Thousand Blood, I will give him the true antidote. I also guarantee that no one from the Martial Soul Hall will attack Chu Qingyun before we leave the Blood Sect ruins. If I break this oath, may I never again break through in my Martial Arts Realm!"

"There. That should suffice."

The Martial Soul Hall envoy was quite decisive, swearing the Martial Arts Oath without hesitation.

For the people of the Martial Soul Hall, although their ultimate growth is limited by the rank of their Martial Soul, they still need to accumulate Primordial Power, refine their Martial Soul Power, and advance their Realm step by step within a given Grand Realm.

This envoy was only a sixth-level Martial King. He still had three more levels to advance, meaning his strength could still increase by a great deal.

To never be able to break through in one's Martial Arts Realm again was indeed a vicious oath.

No one would be willing to casually violate such an oath for a trivial matter.

Otherwise, if it left an obsessive fixation in one's mind and affected their Martial Arts Heart, it would be like a ticking time bomb.

The loss would absolutely outweigh the gain.

After hearing Cao Zhixin's Martial Arts Oath, Chu Qingyun silently replayed the words in his mind, making sure there were no clever loopholes or word games.

After all, with so many lives at stake, it was always right to be cautious.

"Hmph! His Excellency the Envoy is a great figure from the Central State! Now that he's sworn a Martial Arts Oath, do you really think he'd play such petty tricks on you?" one of the Martial Soul Hall members snorted.

"His Excellency the Envoy just tried to ambush me with an Illusion Skill. Is that a custom in the Central State, too?"

Chu Qingyun rolled his eyes, not bothering to spare him a glance.

In Chu Qingyun's eyes, putting himself and so many others in danger just to show off some supposed "magnanimity" was pure foolishness.

After confirming there were no issues with the oath, Chu Qingyun exchanged that half-piece of the Crimson Crystal for the bottle of Gu Poison antidote with the Martial Soul Hall's envoy.

With the coveted Blood Origin finally in his hands, the Martial Soul Hall envoy inspected it carefully. A satisfied smile spread across his face, his expression tinged with excitement.

The moment Chu Qingyun received the antidote, the Sect Disciples afflicted with the Gu Poison immediately crowded around him.

The members of the Martial Soul Hall didn't move to stop them, as they had no order from their envoy.