Poison God's Heritage

"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you, ladies," said X, his voice carrying a tone of mild regret as he flew towards the palace. He effortlessly carried Liang Yu and the Ant Queen in his hands, while YuYu stood perched on his broad shoulder, her balance unwavering despite their rapid movement through the sky.

"Why is that?" YuYu asked, her curiosity piqued, though a sense of foreboding began to settle in her stomach.

"Lord Shen Bao is currently in secluded cultivation," X explained, his voice devoid of emotion but filled with the weight of the information. "Even his avatar, Shen Mo, is deep in practice, preparing for the upcoming battle."

Disappointment washed over YuYu's face, her expression reflecting the sting of unmet expectations. She had spent years waiting for this moment, yearning to finally meet him face to face, only to find him unavailable, locked away in isolation. The situation felt like a cruel twist of fate, a depressing irony that left her feeling hollow.

As X continued his flight towards the palace, he suddenly halted mid-air, his movements so abrupt that it caused the wind around them to shift dramatically.

"You noticed it too?" the Ant Queen asked, her voice calm but laced with a readiness for action.

"It didn't escape my attention the first time," X replied, his tone sharp and vigilant. "They're dangerous," he added, his eyes scanning the area as he slowly turned, his sensors on high alert.

"Reveal yourself and your identity, woman," X demanded, his voice taking on a commanding tone as he addressed the unseen presence.

"Oh?" A playful voice responded from the thin air, dripping with mockery and amusement. Suddenly, the air shimmered, and before them materialized a woman who appeared to be in her early thirties. Her beauty was striking, almost otherworldly, but her aura betrayed her true age—she was older than ten thousand years, her cultivation far beyond that of the ordinary.

The woman moved with an incredible, seductive grace, every gesture exuding a charm potent enough to enchant any man—or even woman—if she so desired. Her presence was magnetic, drawing the attention of several nearby cultivators who were flying through the centermost area of the capital city of the Sea of Demons.

"I would like to have a talk with the two of you," the woman said, her voice as smooth as silk but with an underlying hint of menace.

The Ant Queen's eyes narrowed, her instincts screaming that this woman harbored ill intentions. She had been spying on them, of that much the Ant Queen was certain. And now, she was intervening, likely because of their connection to Shen Bao.

"I will not ask again. Identify yourself," X repeated, his voice colder this time, his eyes glowing as they shifted from their usual blue to an ominous red.

"Oh, how frightening," the woman mocked, her lips curving into a sly smile. "But even if I were to tell you my name, you wouldn't know who I am. So, what's the point?" she added, covering her lips with a small, ornate fan, the action dismissive.

X didn't bother with further words; instead, he acted instantly. His shoulders opened up with a mechanical hiss, revealing two tubes that fired pellets with blinding speed toward the woman.

With a casual flick of her fan, the woman swatted the pellets away, the impact causing a tremendous shockwave that rippled through the air, alerting all nearby cultivators. It was a clear signal—this was no ordinary confrontation, a fight was about to erupt.

"Quite the kick in those tiny things," the woman remarked, a hint of genuine admiration in her voice. "Let me guess, they were made by Shen Bao? He's quite the interesting fellow," she added, taking a step forward, her interest in the situation clearly piqued.

"HALT!" A voice shouted from afar. A young-looking man wielding a spear rushed forward, his face set in determination.

The woman's lips curled into a sneer. "General of the Spear," she addressed him with a mocking tone. "How lowly has your status become that you now serve those weaker than you?" she taunted.

"Death Widow," the General of the Spear said, his voice trembling slightly as recognition dawned. His fear was palpable, even as he tried to maintain his composure.

The Ant Queen's face drained of color. "This is bad," she whispered, her voice tinged with dread. "This woman… she's far too strong for us," she admitted, the reality of the situation crashing down on her as she finally recognized who they were dealing with.

"Your cult should have long been eradicated. What is your purpose in coming here?" the General of the Spear demanded, his voice steady despite the fear gnawing at him. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Just because you dislike our Sun, you label him a cult leader," the Death Widow sneered, her tone filled with disdain. "How arrogant of you to undermine the prowess of the Death Sun."

"You speak of him as if he still lives," the General of the Spear probed, trying to extract more information, but the Death Widow wasn't interested in playing along with his weak attempt.

"Now, hand over those two ladies," the Death Widow demanded, her gaze fixed on YuYu and Liang Yu. "I failed to find Shen Bao, so I might as well make him come to me," she said, her voice dripping with malice as she addressed X.

X's eyes flashed with urgency as he responded, "Code Red, Code Red. Unidentified Target, cultivation level estimated to be at high Origin Shattering Realm, or Low Heaven Stage. Code Red, Code Red. Initiate retaliatory defensive mechanisms. Y's presence is demanded."

As soon as X finished speaking, the entire city began to transform. The very structure of the city shifted—walls rose from the ground, buildings sank into the earth, and the entire city was realigned, morphing into the shape of a giant arena. The formations above the city changed from their usual green to a deep, threatening red.

Dozens of turrets appeared atop the city walls, all aiming directly at the Death Widow.

"Cute," the Death Widow said, her voice filled with mock amusement as she surveyed the defensive measures. "You think these toys can stop me?" she smiled, utterly unphased.

"Maybe not for long," X admitted, his voice calm despite the escalating situation. "But they should stall you long enough," he added as thousands of puppets emerged from within the walls, their weapons drawn and ready.

The entire area began to fill with a potent, noxious poison, the air becoming thick with the deadly fumes. YuYu and Liang Yu exchanged confused glances, uncertain of what was happening, but they soon felt something strange. The tokens they carried began to vibrate before opening up, revealing a purple pill nestled inside.

The Ant Queen's golden token also revealed the same pill. She recognized its purpose immediately and swallowed it without hesitation. Seeing her do so, YuYu and Liang Yu followed suit, trusting in her actions.

The Death Widow noticed the pills and quickly deduced their purpose. "A pill to counteract the poison, how quaint," she murmured, clearly unimpressed. She waited for her token to open as well, but it never did. X had already taken control of the token's mechanisms, preventing it from releasing the antidote.

"Hah, how foolish," the Death Widow sneered. "If there's a pill inside these tokens, all I need to do is break it open," she said confidently.

But the moment she attempted to forcefully open the token, the pill inside exploded, spraying her with a vile liquid that immediately began to burn her skin.

"What the hell is this?!" she screamed, her voice filled with pain and rage as she tried to use her Qi to purge the liquid from her body.

"In case you forgot, you're in the territory of the Poison God," X said, his voice cold and unyielding. "Did you really think you could outsmart him?"

"What just happened?" Liang Yu asked, her voice trembling as she tried to process the events unfolding before her.

"Oh, it's a secret," the Ant Queen said with a smirk. "Shen Bao has turned all his cities into elaborate traps. In case of an emergency like this, a powerful sleeping and Qi-neutralizing poison is released into the city, rendering everyone unconscious. The only antidote is in the pills within the tokens given to everyone who enters.

The puppets can disable someone's token if they're deemed a threat, and if anyone tries to forcefully break the token open, the pill inside it will explode, transforming the antidote into a deadly poison."

YuYu's mind raced as she absorbed this information. Shen Bao had predicted things to this extent? The depth of his planning was staggering.

The Death Widow, now furious, began to galvanize her Qi with even more intensity, purging the poison from her system and healing the damaged skin. For a brief moment, her true appearance was revealed—an old, decrepit woman, her body ravaged by time, with one foot in the grave.

Realizing she had been exposed, she snapped, "DID YOU SEE?!"

"You mean your ugly old mug? Yeah, it's enough to give anyone nightmares for years," the Ant Queen taunted, her voice dripping with contempt.

The Death Widow's rage exploded, her fury knowing no bounds. She roared, charging forward with inhuman speed, her fingernails elongating into deadly claws. Her mouth opened wide, like a beast about to devour its prey.

The General of the Spear rushed forward, trying to intercept her attack, but he was no match for her strength. With a single blow, she struck him

down, his right arm and spear ripped apart as if they were nothing.

This was an instant wake-up call for the three women. They knew they were hopelessly outmatched.

Not a second later, hundreds of bullets rained down upon the Death Widow, targeting her chest and face. The sheer force caused her to stagger back, though the bullets couldn't penetrate her toughened skin.

"We need to leave, now," X said urgently. He realized that the poison would take too long to fill the upper part of the city and affect her. They would be destroyed before she succumbed to it.

The Death Widow roared again, swatting down with her elongated claws. The fingers sliced through the metal bodies of the puppets as if they were made of paper.

"You'll all die today!" she screeched. "I'll bathe in your blood and drink it to regain my beauty!" Her voice was filled with venomous promise.

Just as she lunged toward YuYu, her claws were stopped mid-air, clashing against a golden sword that appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

A woman with eccentric, foreign beauty, her hair golden as the sun and wearing a shining golden helmet, stood before the Death Widow. Her expression was one of calm disdain.

"For a moment, I thought you were a Rakshasa," the newcomer said, her voice cool and composed. "But even they aren't as ugly as you."