Starting as a supporting character in Doupo

Page 227

Yun Yun determined the direction and spoke to Xiao Fan beside her.

Xiao Fan had never been to the Chuyun Empire, and Yun Yun had only visited the Chuyun Empire once with Yun Shan, but that was a brief trip more than ten years ago. Therefore, Yun Yun was not particularly familiar with the current situation of the Chuyun Empire.

Xiao Fan nodded slightly upon hearing Yun Yun's words, then looked ahead, pondering deeply about the Izumo Empire.

In Xiao Fan's memory, the Izumo Empire appeared only a handful of times, and he obtained very little information about it.

Firstly, within the Izumo Empire, everyone cultivates poison-based fighting techniques, and poison masters are everywhere. In addition, the Izumo Empire doesn't have any resources that outsiders would covet, so outsiders are extremely rare.

Once you engage in combat, they can easily discern whether you are from the Izumo Empire or not.

Even if their identities were exposed, it wouldn't affect Xiao Fan and his group much. However, being in the open or in the dark each has its advantages. Only by hiding in the shadows can they find a way to get the information they want.

Apart from that, Xiao Fan only knew of one force within the Izumo Empire: the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect and the Poison Sect founded by Little Fairy Doctor. However, he didn't know whether the Poison Sect still existed or had even been established at all.

As dusk fell and a crimson sunset painted the horizon, Xiao Fan and Yun Yun arrived at the border of the Izumo Empire, about to enter the empire.

Before them lay a vast plain, but strangely, there was no living creature on it, only a bizarre, pitch-black weed growing there.

"What's happening here?"

The two landed on the last hilltop. Xiao Fan looked at the strange plain stretching as far as the eye could see, and the outline of a city that was vaguely visible. He looked at Yun Yun with curiosity.

Upon hearing Xiao Fan's words, Yun Yun pondered for a moment before explaining, "This was the work of the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect of the Chuyun Empire."

"Back then, the Izumo Empire committed countless atrocities within the territory of the Gama Empire. Later, in order to prevent the Gama Empire from making a desperate gamble and fighting to the death, the Izumo Empire's royal family, on the advice of the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect, sprinkled a large amount of poison on the plains in the direction of the Izumo Empire towards the Gama Empire, killing all the plants there. This area was not originally a plain, but a forest, but it was completely turned into a dead zone under the corrosive effects of the poison."

Yun Yun looked at the plain with a complicated expression and stretched out her hand to draw a boundary for Xiao Fan.

"From here all the way to another border city of the Izumo Empire, a stretch of over a hundred miles was transformed into a lifeless dead zone under the arrangement of the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect. For the first ten years, this entire area was devoid of life. Even if a Great Battle Master entered it and stayed for more than a certain period of time, he would be left with inescapable poison gas in his body and suffer from it for the rest of his life."

"As for fighters and masters, it's even less likely they'll leave here alive. However, over the next few decades, the Izumo Empire continuously poured poison into this place, which in turn gave rise to this black weed. It gradually absorbed the poisonous gas, and this black weed became highly toxic, and was used as a common poison by the Izumo Empire."

"Sigh~"

Upon hearing Yun Yun's explanation, Xiao Fan looked at the pitch-black plain before him with some surprise. "By turning such a vast expanse of land into a poisonous dead zone, isn't the Izumo Empire afraid of reaping the consequences and affecting their future generations?"

The plains, stretching for hundreds of miles, had been transformed by the Izumo Empire into a toxic dead zone where no one could linger. Xiao Fan simply couldn't understand why the Izumo Empire's royal family would agree to such a suggestion from the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect.

Although poison masters are prevalent in the Chuyun Empire, the art of poison is dangerous. If something goes wrong, it could create a poisonous field that stretches for hundreds of miles, and it might even spread into the territory of the Chuyun Empire. At that time, countless people would lose their lives. Xiao Fan really couldn't understand why the Chuyun Empire would make such a decision.

Is it really necessary to go to such lengths just to guard against a mere Gama Empire?

Imagine you have a conflict with your neighbor, and you're afraid they'll retaliate while you're asleep, so you plant landmines all around your doorway. That's truly outrageous.

"So how do we get there now?"

Xiao Fan stared blankly at Yun Yun and asked a somewhat idiotic question.

As expected, when Yun Yun heard Xiao Fan's words, she looked at him with a puzzled expression, seemingly not understanding why he would ask such a question.

As soon as Xiao Fan finished speaking, he realized that his question was a bit stupid. Putting aside whether the plain could affect the two of them, even if it could, they would just fly there directly. What was he worried about?

In fact, Xiao Fan was just so shocked by the news that he made a slip of the tongue.

Xiao Fan's question about the desolate plain was merely out of curiosity, but now that he has learned such news from her, he can't help but sigh that the people of the Yun Empire are all madmen.

If you're not crazy, you wouldn't choose to cultivate properly instead of spending your childhood immersed in poison tanks, putting yourself in a life-ending shackle; if you're not crazy, you wouldn't create a dead zone that ordinary people can't pass through, just to stop an enemy country from invading.

Although this thing seems to be able to stop the army of the Jia Ma Empire, it is completely useless to those above the Dou Wang realm, since Dou Wang can fly.

Xiao Fan flew through the air with Yun Yun in his arms. Looking down, he saw an endless expanse of black weeds, which made him even more curious about the Chuyun Empire.

The two quickly flew across the dead zone and appeared above the border city of the Izumo Empire.

"Guard the mountain city."

Xiao Fan looked down at the city below, his soul sweeping over Shoushan City, and then he frowned slightly.

Logically, a city standing on the border should be heavily guarded, but in Xiao Fan's perception, there was only an army of about three hundred people in the city, and they were loosely organized and restless, not at all like an army.

Each of them was more or less tainted with different kinds of poison, and even the energy within the city contained some subtle poisonous gas.

Living in such an environment for a long time is essentially a form of slow death. The toxic gases in the air are clearly caused by the influence of the dead zone, which is gradually spreading in this direction.

Apart from the garrison, there were basically no outsiders in the city. The strongest person there was only a barely Grand Master. It was hard to imagine that the Izumo Empire would allow such a small team to guard the border of the Izumo Empire.

On second thought, it seems that the dead zone outside gave the Izumo Empire great confidence, so the army guarding this mountain city was just for show.

Shaking their heads, Xiao Fan and Yun Yun did not linger there and sped towards the interior of the Chuyun Empire.

About fifty miles behind Shoushan City, Xiao Fan and Yun Yun saw a second city called Liuguang City. Compared to Shoushan City, this was a truly formidable border fortress.

Although the architecture of Shoushan City looks more imposing and grand, its army is just a bunch of undisciplined guys. On the other hand, in Liuguang City, people come and go, and the army standing guard at the city gate is very dignified.

"It seems this is the true border of the Izumo Empire."

Xiao Fan looked down at the city below, which was much more prosperous than Shoushan City, and smiled at Yun Yun beside him.

The border on the surface is just a facade of the Izumo Empire. This Flowing Light City is not far from Shoushan City. If anything happens on the border, we will get the news here quickly. Most importantly, there is no trace of poison gas in the air here. Living here will not be affected by the Dead Zone Plain at all.

Since he was not familiar with the Izumo Empire and it was getting late, Xiao Fan brought Yun Yun into the city of Liuguang.

P.S. The previous story has come to a temporary end. Next up is the Izumo Empire arc!

Chapter 2 The Cleverness of Small People

Xiao Fan and Yun Yun did not enter Liuguang City through the city gate, but instead concealed themselves and landed directly inside Liuguang City.

On the streets of Flowing Light City, there are many mercenaries from the Izumo Empire coming and going, and you can occasionally hear them complaining.

Yun Yun didn't want to attract attention, so she wore a white veil to cover her face. Although some mercenaries passing by would still glance at Yun Yun's graceful figure, most of them would only glance at the two of them and then look away after a brief pause.

"Let's go, let's find a lively place to check things out first."

Xiao Fan and Yun Yun chose a nicely decorated restaurant, selected a window seat, and ordered a table full of good dishes. As the waiter brought the food, Xiao Fan tapped the table and asked, "Waiter, do you know if anything big has happened around here recently?"

Xiao Er was pulled back by Xiao Fan. He glanced at Xiao Fan, his gaze sweeping over Xiao Fan and the other person before he gave a fawning smile and returned.

"Sir, you've come to the right place. Our restaurant is frequented by many mercenaries. Whenever something major happens, they talk about it. We've been exposed to all sorts of things here, so we know everything about it."

Xiao Fan listened to the waiter's words, a smile flashing in his eyes. He then tossed him a gold coin and said, "Could you please explain in more detail?"

The waiter caught the gold coin that Xiao Fan threw to him, quickly glanced at it, and after finding that no one was paying attention, he hurriedly put it into his pocket. Then he cupped his hands towards Xiao Fan and said, "Since you want to hear it, sir, I will naturally tell you everything I know."

"Within this empire, there are two major events that have occurred recently."

"The first is the Imperial Family. Some time ago, they announced that they would be hiring a group of powerful poison masters. Once they pass the Imperial Family's test, they can be directly regarded as royal poison masters, and they will never have to worry about the resources for cultivation from now on. The second major event is related to the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect. I heard that some time ago, several hall masters of the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect were found dead in their own homes, which made the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect extremely angry."

"The Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect has even made a threatening statement: once the murderer is caught, they will imprison him in their Ten Thousand Poison Valley. You should know that the Ten Thousand Poison Valley is the most terrifying place in their sect. It is home to countless poisonous creatures. Only sect disciples who have committed serious crimes or the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect's mortal enemies will be thrown into it. Legend has it that no one who enters the Ten Thousand Poison Valley has ever come out alive."

"Furthermore, the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect has spread the word that anyone who can provide information about the murderer and help them catch him can take two rare medicinal herbs from their sect."

Xiao Fan never expected that simply asking a waiter for information would lead to such a bombshell.

Seeing the surprised expression on Xiao Fan's face, the waiter glanced around before quietly approaching him and whispering, "Sir, it's obvious you two are new to the Izumo Empire..."

If Xiao Fan was only slightly surprised by the waiter earlier, he was now looking at him with curiosity.

"How did you know?"

Although the cultivators of the Cloud Empire all cultivate poisonous battle qi, the attribute of their battle qi can only be discerned when they make a move. Xiao Fan and his companions never revealed their aura from beginning to end. Besides, he didn't believe that the waiter in front of him could see through his strength, so he was very curious about what the waiter said.

"hehe."

Upon hearing Xiao Fan's words, the waiter raised his face and smiled before speaking, "Although you two look exactly like people from the Izumo Empire, anyone from within the empire can tell at a glance that you are not locals."

"Within the empire, although everyone may seem unremarkable, they are all skilled in poison techniques because they have cultivated poison fighting skills since childhood. Poison masters have countless ways to poison others, so in order to prevent themselves from being poisoned by others without their knowledge, everyone basically has some means of identifying poisons."

"But I have never detected any trace of poison on either of you."

Xiao Fan looked at the waiter in surprise upon hearing his words, and then realized just how common poison masters were in the Izumo Empire, and how everyone was always on guard against enemies in their daily lives.

Xiao Fan did not refute the waiter's words.

Because under his powerful soul perception, the details he hadn't noticed before now confirmed that what the other party said was true.

The mercenaries at the table to Xiao Fan's left each had different methods of identification.

The floral pattern on one of the people's sleeves was actually drawn with the bile of a first-tier magical beast, the Swamp Serpent. This swamp serpent bile has a special function: upon contact with poisonous substances, the originally pale green bile turns red. The guest three tables behind Xiao Fan wore a ring on his right index finger adorned with a turquoise gemstone, which also served to detect poisonous gases...

Moreover, besides their ability to identify poisons, these people also seemed to have some other tricks up their sleeves.

For example, the mercenary whose sleeve was painted with patterns made of swamp snake bile. Who would have thought that under his wrist was a layer of fake skin that was no different from his real skin? And hidden in the fake skin was the stinger of a second-tier magical beast, the Tyrant Bee. The Tyrant Bee's stinger was arguably the most poisonous part of its body. Even an ordinary Grand Battle Master would feel dizzy if he was stung by it.

Who would have thought that the mercenary with the ring on his index finger was actually a prosthetic limb with a hollow mechanism inside, concealing a small cluster of powder powerful enough to instantly knock out a high-level Battle Master?

Xiao Fan would never have noticed such a trick if the waiter hadn't pointed it out.

It must be said that ordinary people also have their own ways of surviving.

Although these methods are ineffective against experts above the Dou Wang level, Dou Wang experts no longer bother with such crude poison techniques. They are useless in combat but have excellent effects in other aspects, such as distinguishing whether someone is a strongman from the Izumo Empire.

As Xiao Er said, such methods would not be noticed by the powerful figures of other empires at all. After all, these methods are useless to them. If they want to kill someone, they can do it directly with their own strength.

As for the people of the Izumo Empire, you had already developed the habit of carrying these little tricks with you when you were weak. Do you mean that you will just abandon them once you have improved your strength?

In this way, as long as experts from other empires enter the Izumo Empire, they will be right under the Izumo Empire's nose. If you want to hide your identity, it's not like others won't be able to tell unless you take action.

In other words, Xiao Fan and Yun Yun thought they had hidden themselves very well, concealing their identities from other countries while infiltrating the Izumo Empire. However, to others, it was immediately obvious that these two were not powerful figures from the Izumo Empire. They could even deduce that they had only recently entered the Izumo Empire. After all, such methods would be readily apparent after spending some time in the Izumo Empire.

Just like those people who glanced at Xiao Fan and Yun Yun on the street earlier, were they not interested because Yun Yun was wearing a veil that covered her face, or because they couldn't see Xiao Fan and his companion's aura and didn't have any of the tricks that came from outside the Yun Empire, so they didn't dare to cause trouble?

There are plenty of fools in this world, but those who have survived to this day all have their own little tricks up their sleeves.

Although Yun Yun concealed her face, she did not hide her figure. If others hadn't been unable to figure out Xiao Fan and his group's identities, they wouldn't have been able to travel so smoothly.

Of course, such methods are not always effective. Just like now, once Xiao Fan and the other person found out, they could have completely avoided it.