A Long and Arduous Journey

But he had no idea that Yi Feng hadn’t even recognized him.

The two had merely played a single game of chess together—Yi Feng had played against countless people, so how could he remember every old man he’d faced?

In Yi Feng’s mind, since the poison had no effect on him, it meant the toxin wasn’t potent enough to threaten someone in the Dao-Unity Realm. Logically, it shouldn’t have affected the old man either.

Yet here he was, looking half-dead…

That left only one possibility: this old man hadn’t actually reached the Dao-Unity Realm. That would explain everything.

“Right, old man? You’re not actually in the Dao-Unity Realm, are you?” Yi Feng said with a look of seeing through the truth.

“You—”

“Pfft.”

Fu Nantian felt deeply insulted, his face flushing red.

Seeing the old man’s expression of shame at being exposed, Yi Feng nodded knowingly.

Still, he couldn’t help but admire the old man’s sense of righteousness.

He’d seen people lie about their cultivation to avoid death, but never someone who lied just to rush toward it.

If there was ever a paragon of virtue, this old man was it.

That’s why Yi Feng decided to save him.

Of course, it was more of a last-ditch effort—whether the herbs would work was anyone’s guess.

But judging by the old man’s complexion, they seemed to be having some effect.

Yet Yi Feng couldn’t help but feel disheartened.

Not only was he completely unharmed, but the herbs he’d prepared could even counteract the poison. The outcome of this so-called “Path of Death” was obvious.

The poison masters of Heavenly Poison Island were utterly useless.

His face fell, filled with despair.

Though the medicine Yi Feng gave Fu Nantian worked, the backlash from his destroyed avatar was too severe.

The heavy injuries slowly dragged him into unconsciousness.

When he woke again, he was lying in a room.

Several poison masters from Heavenly Poison Island surrounded him, examining his condition.

Their faces were grim, not a trace of joy in sight.

“Hero Fu, you’re finally awake?”

Seeing him stir, the poison masters forced weak smiles.

But beneath their brows, frustration and defeat ran even deeper.

They, too, felt like failures.

Dozens of poison masters had gathered in a spatial treasure, researching for three whole years—yet not only had they failed to kill a Dao-Unity Realm cultivator, they couldn’t even keep this fake Dao-Unity Realm Fu Nantian down.

The sheer scale of their failure was undeniable.

Of course, they didn’t actually want Fu Nantian to die—but the life of the test subject and the success of the poison were inherently contradictory.

“Hero Fu, regarding your concealment of your cultivation… Hero Yi has already explained it to us,” one of the poison masters said softly. “Please don’t feel ashamed. On the contrary, we at Heavenly Poison Island are deeply grateful for your dedication to humanity’s future.”

“Take your time to rest and recover. Once you’ve healed, we’ll arrange for your departure from the island. Additionally, if you have any requests or desires—within reason—Heavenly Poison Island and the Universal Society will do our best to fulfill them.”

“We won’t disturb you further. We must return to refining the poison-mist space capable of threatening the Dao-Unity Realm.”

“The dream is beautiful, but reality is harsh. Crafting a poison-mist space lethal to the Dao-Unity Realm is far, far more difficult than we imagined…”

“The road ahead is long and arduous. Frankly, it’s uncertain whether we’ll even succeed in our lifetimes.”

“But even so, for the sake of humanity’s future, we must keep trying.”

“Rest well, Hero Fu. We’ll take our leave.”

With that, the poison masters trudged away, dejected.

Fu Nantian, still groggy from waking up, was utterly baffled by their words.

“What concealment of cultivation?”

“What dedication to humanity’s future?”

“And what’s this about a poison-mist space threatening the Dao-Unity Realm? What long and arduous road?”

“Come back here! Explain yourselves!”