zChapter 979 - The enigma of the Perplexing Butterfly Illusion
Chapter 979: The enigma of the Perplexing Butterfly Illusion
The south wall depicted the origins of Perplexing Butterfly Illusion. Hearing this, Han Yunxi and Long Feiye chorused, “What is it?”
Listening to Gu Qishao’s explanation would be faster than reading it for themselves. It still took effort to piece the words and paintings together. If they hadn’t learned some things about the Poison Sect beforehand, they would be completely lost.
Gu Qishao had rarely looked so studious. He remarked, “The Poison Sect really did find the formula for Poison Gu humans.”
Long Feiye and Han Yunxi had only started reading the beginning of the sect’s research into the formula, but never expected that they succeeded in their research. Han Yunxi stared at the paintings on the south wall as she asked, “What does that have to do with Perplexing Butterfly Illusion?”
“The Poison Sect members researched the toxicology from all 49 poisonous plants–including the 10 still alive in the color glazed wall–and created something call the Poison Pill. Anyone who took it would gradually turn into a Poison Gu human in the course of a year. They won’t die or decay, but they did age,” Gu Qishao began.
He looked at them next, and continued, “Perplexing Butterfly Illusion was the culmination of those 49 plants crushed into pieces and mixed with Ten-Thousand Year Corpse Water. It took three years to come to completion. Perplexing Butterfly Illusion is capable of nulifying–”
“Of nullifying the effects of the Poison Pill,” Long Feiye finished to himself as he studied the drawings.
Gu Beiyue and the rest turned heads at the remark, utterly astonished. Who knew that the antidote they were so desperately looking for turned out to be Perplexing Butterfly Illusion! Or that it would have such a close relationship with the Poison Gu humans.
“Just where did the 49 poison plant types in the Skypit come from? Do they still exist?” Gu Beiyue asked.
If they did, did it mean they could make even more Perplexing Butterfly Illusions or Poison Pills?
Immediately, Han Yunxi summarized what they’d read on the origins of the Snow Wolf Clan and its marriage alliances with the Poison Sect. Hearing this, everyone grew more stunned.
“Then we don’t need to fear Bai Yanqing!” Xu Donglin cried excitedly.
But Long Feiye only said, “Perplexing Butterfly Illusion can nullify the toxin of the Poison Gu humans, but it needs to be combined with the five elemental poisons and four poison bloodtypes.”
“So in short, we’re still helpless against Bai Yanqing!” Han Yunxi smiled wryly.
Although the Perplexing Butterfly Illusion was in their hands, they had only discovered the Water, Wood and Earth of Ten Thousands Poisons so far. Metal and Fire were still missing from the elemental poisons. With regards to the four poisonous bloodtypes, they had Poison Corpse and Beauty’s Blood. Blood of the poison beast had to wait until Lil Thing made a full recovery, and it was still in Bai Yanqing’s clutches.
Now everyone looked towards Gu Qishao. Long Feiye asked coldly, “Gu Qishao, how did you know the Perplexing Butterfly Illusion needed these things to break it down?”
Perplexing Butterfly Illusion was supposed to be an enigma. The famous saying went, those who possess the Perplexing Butterfly Illusion, possess the world. Where had that legend come from? How did Gu Qishao know how to break down its components by gathering poison of the five elements and four types?
“I dug it out from the site of Poison Sect’s Watercloud Hall,” Gu Qishao recalled. “I was only 15 back then and found lots of treasures there to sell to the black markets for silver. By chance, I unearthed a piece of sheepskin that had the details. Without poison of the five elements and four types, you can’t break through Perplexing Butterfly Illusion.”
“Could the Poison Sect’s descendants have left it behind?” Han Yunxi wondered.
Although they had no idea where they were, this couldn’t be the only place where the sect kept its secrets. Its history, the Perplexing Butterfly Illusion, and the secret of the Poison Gu humans would have to be passed down through successive generations in the direct bloodline. Perhaps Bai Yanqing knew everything as well, and was desperately searching for the Perplexing Butterfly Illusion at this moment. None of the paintings here had detailed recordings of poison prescriptions. Perhaps Bai Yanqing had gotten one into his hands and created his own Poison Pill with help from the fruit of the color glazed wall?
Moreover, Long Feiye’s imperial mother had exerted all effort and even suffered the sacrifice of his father to obtain the Perplexing Butterfly Illusion. Bai Yanqing was the direct bloodline descendant of the Poison Sect and knew how to control the poison storage space. Why hadn’t he gotten his hands on the Perplexing Butterfly Illusion instead?
There were too many mysteries associated with that man!
Naturally, Han Yunxi’s questions were everyone else’s too. Still, there was no time to dwell on them. Han Yunxi kept studying the records left behind but soon realized the southern wall had trailed off into useless information about sacrifice preparations for the altar.
“Your Highness, princess, come here and have a look. This mentions something about the wordless stele and the poison storage space,” Gu Beiyue said.
Han Yunxi had already learned of the rules and cultivation techniques of the space from her dreams, but since this wall held records too, it must be something different. Otherwise, why repeat themselves? She quickly ran to the northern wall. Over half of it was covering in painting and words, the characters written rather small. Only someone as smart as Gu Beiyue could disseminate them so quickly.
The north wall detailed the origins of the poison storage space. Not every member in the Poison Sect possessed one as it was an exclusive skill of the Snow Wolf Clan priests. Later on, when the Snow Wolf Clan intermarried into the Poison Sect, the bloodline of the priests became the direct bloodline of the Poison Sect, thus passing down the poison storage space to their descendants.
Only those with innate talent were capable of activating and controlling the poison storage space for their own use.
“In other words, Poison lass and Bai Yanqing aren’t just descendants of the Poison Sect, but Snow Wolf Clan as well!” Gu Qishao exclaimed.
“Obviously,” Long Feiye didn’t like the fact that Han Yunxi and Bai Yanqing hailed from the same ancestors.
Gu Qishao suddenly gave a start. “That’s not right! If the Snow Wolf Sect had descendants who didn’t marry into the Poison Sect, they could still pass on the poison storage space!”
His words reminded Long Feiye and Han Yunxi that it was a real possibility. If Han Yunxi and Bai Yanqing were each either a Poison Sect heir or Snow Wolf Clan descendant, they might not be blood-related at all.
“I hope so,” Long Feiye nodded in a rare moment of agreement with Gu Qishao. Although this was just a guess, it was better than nothing!
Gu Beiyue called back everyone’s attention to something more important. “Princess, Your Highness, look at this part.” His finger gently pointed at a section of painting depicting the wordless stele. A mess of words surrounded the picture, strangely shaped and impossible for Han Yunxi to read.
“What kind of characters are these?” Xu Donglin had never seen such words before. Neither did Baili Mingxiang, who only shook her head.
“This is ancient Sanskrit,” Gu Qishao might look like the careless type, but he was full of knowledge.
Without a word, Long Feiye had long started reading the lines. They detailed the secrets of the wordless stele. In the past, the Snow Wolf Clan had a Great Priest who cultivated to the third level of the poison storage space and kept going higher. Unfortunately, he ran astray in his cultivation and soaked the wordless stele in blood before dying at its side. Bizarrely enough, his poison storage space didn’t disappear with his death, but remained attached to the wordless stele. Anyone who possessed the bloodline of the priests were capable of entering the space through a door in the wordless stele. As it turned out, the poison storage space past the third level was nothing but a sealed stone room with nothing to do with toxins.
“You mean, here?” Han Yunxi couldn’t believe it.
Everyone else wanted answers too. Was this stone room none other than part of the dead Great Priest’s poison storage space?
“It should be here?” Long Feiye remarked.
“It’s definitely here,” Gu Beiyue affirmed.
When the Snow Wolf Clan later combined with the Poison Sect, they buried their past and changed their names in fear of being noticed by the person who had wiped out the snow wolves. All of their history and origins were recorded into this poison storage space in hopes that people of the future wouldn’t forget them. Naturally, only those of the priests’ bloodline could unlock the space using their blood as the key. Even then, not everyone was guaranteed a pass inside.
Multiple descendents of the priests’ bloodlines had ended up trapped by illusions of their attachments for seven days and seven nights before they were kicked out of the space. None of those had ever made it to this stone room. Those who did only had to leave a drop of their blood behind to re-open the door in the wordless stele.
“Attachments…” Han Yunxi muttered to herself.
She reviewed all the illusions. At first, she, Long Feiye, and Gu Qishao had all fallen prey to their own attachments and met with illusions. She and Long Feiye broke through it on their own, but not Gu Qishao. If they hadn’t woken him from his daze, he might have been trapped for seven days and nights before being kicked out. But whose attachments had created the mirror maze and the deep sea serpent?
Still, Han Yunxi figured that whatever the case, at least they’d broken through to this place now. There was plenty of information here, but also too many questions. They hardly had enough time to consider it all and chase after the details. The most important thing was to figure out everything on the walls first.
The group next moved to Baili Mingxiang’s wall in the east. She had already reviewed it once, but it was very simple and had no words. The only picture was of a person sitting in cultivation in front of the wordless stele.
“That’s it? What does it mean?” Gu Qishao asked curiously.
“Who’s that cultivating?” Gu Beiyue’s question was more pertinent.
The Poison Sect’s poison skills were gained through practical practice, not cultivation, so the subject of the painter had to be training the poison storage space. Was the painting telling them to pay attention to the meditation positions? Or the person in the painting? Or maybe the entire topic of cultivation?
Since the walls had recorded information about the Poison Gu humans, that meant people had still entered this space to leave historical accounts after the Snow Wolf Clan and Poison Sect joined as one. Had the work stopped after the Poison Sect was destroyed? Was that why this wall was so bare?
Han Yunxi’s group looked around for secret switches or triggers, but found none. Nor did they find any hidden messages. This was all they could learn from the stone room, even if it brought them more questions.
Long Feiye intoned, “Let’s leave first and discuss this later. It should be getting dark out.”
Han Yunxi understood. It really was time for them to leave…