Nine Venoms Sect Founder

Infamous and loathed Agiri may be, but God Emperor he still was. Whoever the Censorate or Divine Army caught publicly disparaging him was doomed to destruction. Don't even mention a tiny city registrar, if exposed, even a Celestial Marquis couldn't survive such words.

How was this a nephew? Clearly, this was a mass murderer attempting to wipe out his bloodline! Wronged, in his 2,000 years of life, Gerden never felt so wronged!

"Guards! Take away and give this fool 360 Thunder Whip Lashes!" Gerden bellowed for the guards outside to hear, forcing the still jesting bunch to lurch in. At first, they believed he targeted Harun, but when they saw his finger pointing at Dilsad, they instantly gawked.

"Sir, are you serious? 360 Thunder Whip Lashes is the capital punishment for Celestial Guards. Don't say 360, your nephew can't take 20," the most serious of the guards probed, not wanting to handle a self-harming job.

"I didn't ask you to cite me the penal code! If I want a dead nephew, give me a dead nephew!" Gerden exclaimed, and waved for the four guards to take Dilsad out.

"Uncle! You can't do this to me! Uncle! Think about my mom!" Dilsad pleaded for mercy while thrashing against the guards—to no end.

"You shut up to me! Your mother, that whore, must have peddled her ass to all the vandals of the street to give birth to you, this dog of a son! The first thing I will do when I see her is to punish her through family law!" Gerden's eyes went red, and he struck out, releasing a vast surge of Heavenly Qi that crushed all of his nephew's resistance.

This time, even Harun was speechless. A second prior wasn't this same man seeking justice for his "beloved nephew?" Why was the change so radical? If he didn't know better, he'd think Dilsad was his sworn enemy. Then again, considering the words' implications, many would follow the same attitude change.

"Brothers, I beg you to let this matter rest. From now on, if I can assist you in any way, I shall not shirk from fire and storms. What is mine is yours, what is yours is still yours. Please show some mercy," Gerden dropped onto his knee and begged the two, swaying to and fro as if at any moment, the weight of the situation could knock him down. Satisfied by Gerden's words, custodian and sheriff exchanged complicit gazes. The times of chaos approached. Faced with an additional source of resources, who could resist?

They couldn't.

"Hey, you can't say things like these. After all, together we've handled this city for centuries. Our bonds run deep, thicker than blood brothers. Even without the offer, we'd still help you," the custodian said while reaching for Gerden's cosmic pouch.

"Well said. It's in moments like these that brotherhood shines. Gerden, have no fear, your secret is safe with us," the sheriff approved, and slashed opened Gerden's left hand to unlock the cosmic pouch with his blood. Though aggrieved, Gerden kept a forced smile on his face, letting the two rob him of all he carried. For the sake of face, they left him clothes and underpants, then swaggered off.

Now, only Harun and Gerden remained. Enraged, Gerden leaped to his feet, but before he could channel his fury at Harun—"Sniff, Sniff"—the latter broke into warm tears. Startled, Gerden frowned.

"What are you crying for? I was robbed till I can't even afford to compare wealth with a death-row inmate, and will now have to send monthly bribes to those greedy pigs. My wife will probably leave me too, but I am not crying. So what are you crying for?!" Gerden asked, aggressive like a beast ready to pounce at the tiniest flaw.

"I cry because I regret. This is all my fault," Harun lamented, and hearing this, Gerden slapped his thigh, "Damn right! Wait what?" then realized that something was off. Why was the boy suddenly admitting his wrongs? Or was he just afraid of retaliation and trying to weasel his way out of it?

"When I arrived in the Fourth Heaven, I was insensible, rash and undisciplined. If not for Your Eminence giving me your guidance, who knows how many top characters I would offend? With one lesson you allowed me to avoid centuries of mistakes and an untimely death. But I...I…" Harun's voice broke, and biting his lower lip, he smashed his balled fist into the ground.

"I actually caused you to get humiliated by those ruffians! I deserve death! I truly deserve death!" Rhythmically smashing his fists alongside his words, Harun seduced Gerden with his sincerity. Facing the teenaged-looking lad's bleeding fist and tear-drenched face, even the old bully softened. Such innocence, such heartfelt emotions, really made men feel ashamed of their unsightly hearts. And as Gerden floundered, Harun pulled out his killing mace.

"This is a pill I refined with my life's worth of skills. I initially hoped to save it until I reached the upper levels of the Celestial Kin Realm. But now, I can't. Since I caused you to lose everything, If you allow me sir, I will dedicate my life to paying you back!" Harun proclaimed with overflowing zeal while presenting the grape-sized pill to Gerden's eyes. Feeling the rich Heavenly Qi undulating in that pill, Gerden forgot everything that happened moments before, and greed flashed in his gaze.

Snatching the pill from Harun's hands, Gerden brought it to his eyes, using his Divine Sense to analyze it with scrutiny.

"A top sixth-star Qi Pill. Enough qi to take me to the peak of the Celestial Kin Realm. Once my insight reaches the required level, I can even rise to Celestial Guard. Holy shit, you're a sixth-star Alchemist?"

"Yes sir!" Harun didn't lie. Or more accurately, he was a sixth-star Plaguebringer.

Alchemy was a foundational skill for poison makers. A true master of the craft also had to be a master alchemist. As the Overlord of Poisonous Arts, Harun naturally was a master. A pity that with Gerden's eyesight, he couldn't spot the pill's hidden attribute.

Too eager to wait, Gerden swallowed the pill, letting it dissolve in his body and his strength rise alongside it. Eight white blood drops soared from his chest, with a ninth taking shape and liquefying beside them. As the ninth drop condensed, Gerden reached the pinnacle of the Celestial Kin Realm, his long-awaited ninth level. Better, he could feel himself backed by enough energy to start attacking the next Realm. True, he didn't have the required insight yet, but the feeling left him full of hope.

A new path had opened before him, and with the services of a growing Divine Alchemist, perhaps in the future, he could even rise to the Celestial Knight Realm!

"Hahahaha! From now on, you must refine one such pill every month!" Unable to restrain his delight, Gerden burst into laughter. But at the same time, Harun beamed and stood up. A dark-green ray flew out of his chest, piercing through Gerden's without a wound and latching onto his heart.

Again, Gerden's blood drops emerged. But this time, the ninth and latest drop burst into a hurricane of Heavenly Qi that flooded Harun's body like a tidal wave. Splitting the qi wave into two, Harun fed half to the Decaying Flower in his soul, and with the other half condensed two more Blood Drops.

The dark-blue cobra image again flickered in his eyes, with a seemingly larger and more imposing frame.

Gerden's cultivation shrank back to the eighth-level, and Harun's stabilized at the fourth. Instantly, Gerden's world collapsed.