"If I threw this compressed Gu poison onto the Red Line, it might effortlessly kill the Five Elders and others," Daniel Davis thought as he examined the highly concentrated Gu poison he had extracted from Chen Duo's body.
In the world of One Piece, despite the overwhelming physical strength, resistance to toxins was notably low. Fire Tank Pirates' Capone Bege once attempted to assassinate Big Mom with poison via a rocket launcher, which, while somewhat outlandish, wasn't entirely impossible.
Even powerful figures like the Duke of Zou's Mink Tribe, Inuarashi and Nekomamushi, who fought evenly against Jack the Drought for days, eventually succumbed to poison. In Impel Down, the warden Magellan used his Doku Doku no Mi poison powers to subdue all the prisoners, even managing to nearly wipe out Blackbeard's crew if not for the intervention of traitor Shiryu.
"I might give it a try if the opportunity arises," Daniel mused as he stored the Gu poison away.
"The Gu poison has been completely removed from her body. She can now start training in other energy cultivation methods," Daniel said.
"Really? That's such a relief. Thank you so much!" Liao Zhong expressed his deep gratitude after checking on Chen Duo's condition.
"Alright then, farewell," Daniel replied, not particularly moved by the gratitude. He hadn't done it for thanks. With a brief wave, Daniel disappeared, leaving Liao Zhong to handle the aftermath.
Now that Chen Duo was no longer the Gu Queen Child, the company wouldn't give her too much trouble, especially with support from Liao Zhong, possibly even aided by one of the seven top agents, Old Meng, the very person who had rescued Chen Duo from the Yaoxian Society in the first place. As a biomancer, Old Meng had immense influence in the modern world, able to control bacteria, and had played a crucial role in the company's successful eradication of the Yaoxian Society.
"Old Liao, what's going on over there? How's Chen Duo?" The company higher-ups on the other end of Liao Zhong's call were shouting in frustration. The danger posed by the Gu Queen Child was too great to ignore, forcing the company's leadership to take drastic measures. Even though Chen Duo was an innocent girl trained by the Yaoxian Society, the company had no choice but to adopt what could be called a "Kiritsugu-style justice."
"Zhuge Qing, this is what you wanted." At Biyou Village, after speaking with Zhuge Qing, Ma Xianhong handed him a storage pouch (Shi Nang) and then proceeded to smash the Xiushen Furnace with a large iron hammer.
"You're really giving this to me?" Zhuge Qing looked at the Shi Nang containing the Shenji Bailian technique, one of the Eight Wonders, in disbelief. Countless people had sought this precious secret with no regard for the cost, yet it was now handed to him so easily.
"I've memorized everything in the manual. It's useless to me now. Keep it if you want, or destroy it. But in return, I'll need your help with something," Ma Xianhong said as he destroyed the Xiushen Furnace with ease, aided by his strength and several Ruhua helpers who began clearing the wreckage.
"You're really grinding this hard, huh?" Zhuge Qing muttered, shaking his head at Ma Xianhong's work ethic. Since he had already promised to help, he had no choice but to assist in rebuilding the furnace.
"They've arrived." Eight figures walked into Biyou Village—the temporary workers and, joining them, Wang Ye.
"We're just hikers looking for a place to stay for a few days," Zhang Chulan and his group explained as they approached Chou Rang. They were all dressed as hikers, complete with large backpacks and trekking poles, making them look the part.
"Let the so-called leader come out; I'm here," Wang Ye stated, not hiding his identity. He was here because Ma Xianhong had once promised to deal with those who coveted his Eight Wonders, including Zhuge Qing.
"The leader is busy at the moment. If you want to see him, you'll have to wait," Chou Rang replied. Ma Xianhong was in the middle of reconstructing the Xiushen Furnace, and despite Wang Ye's presence, Ma Xianhong wouldn't show himself until the furnace was finished.
"I really didn't expect him to be a guy." Of all the temporary workers, the one Daniel was most curious about wasn't Zhang Chulan or Feng Baobao, whose secrets he knew well, but Wang Zhenqiu. Initially, Daniel had assumed he was a girl due to his stunningly beautiful appearance. Wang Zhenqiu's looks alone could make some women feel insecure.
Not only was Wang Zhenqiu beautiful, but he was also incredibly smart, matching Zhang Chulan in terms of intelligence. He had nearly uncovered Zhang Chulan's secret several times.
After briefly observing the arrival of the temporary workers and Wang Ye, Daniel shifted his focus back to the reconstruction of the Xiushen Furnace. Ma Xianhong kept its core mechanism hidden, but everything else was laid bare, allowing Daniel to learn how to build one for himself.
About three days later, Ma Xianhong finally completed the new Xiushen Furnace, which, thanks to Zhuge Qing's sorcery skills, was even more powerful than the previous one.
"Master Ma, this thing shouldn't have been brought into the world," Zhuge Qing sighed as he looked at the completed furnace.
Zhuge Qing's sentiment stemmed from the furnace's overwhelming abilities, which could upset the balance of the exorcist world. He was well aware of the population limits within the community. Had it been someone like Wang Ai or Lü Ci, they would have seized the furnace for themselves, but Zhuge Qing wasn't interested in monopolizing such power.
"I didn't expect you to think like this," Ma Xianhong said, shaking his head in disappointment.
"Well, it's your problem, not mine. I've done what I promised." With a yawn, Zhuge Qing headed back toward Biyou Village. He had barely rested during the three days spent assisting Ma Xianhong, and even as an exorcist, he was feeling the fatigue.
"Take care of this. I have to meet them," Ma Xianhong said, preparing to greet Zhang Chulan and Wang Ye.
Though stubborn, Ma Xianhong wasn't foolish. He knew the group's claim of being hikers was just a cover for the ordinary and transformed people in the village. The higher-ranked exorcists were well aware that these were people from the community.
"Master, do you mind if I use this to craft some artifacts?" Daniel asked after nodding in acknowledgment of Ma Xianhong's plans.
"Go ahead," Ma Xianhong replied, never doubting those he trusted.
"Let's start with a few spatial rings," Daniel thought. He had previously suggested modifications to the Shi Nang, and Ma Xianhong had created three new versions: the original spherical shape, a ring, and a bracelet.
While the space inside the rings and bracelets was smaller than the traditional Shi Nang, they were still incredibly useful.
"Master Ma is still a bit too poor." After spending several days in Biyou Village, Daniel realized that despite having such a powerful tool in the Xiushen Furnace, only Chou Rang had a significant number of artifacts, and that was due to the lack of materials.
Being a forgemaster was an expensive profession, similar to alchemy. While modern society made it easy to purchase materials like steel and alloys, Ma Xianhong simply didn't have the funds to buy what he needed.
To gather the necessary materials for forging, one might need to process a ton of raw metal to extract only a small amount of usable material. The furnace alone required a large amount of special materials that Ma Xianhong could barely afford without Qu Tong's financial support.
"I heard the Tang Sect has a fascinating artifact called Guan Yuan, which functions like GPS. Forgemasters are basically the scientists of the exorcist world." Fascinated by the intricacies of artifact-making, Daniel had spent a lot of time researching it.
The information available about artifacts on the exorcist network was scarce, which made sense, given that artifacts could drastically enhance an exorcist's power. If sold at auction, even a low-grade artifact could easily make someone a millionaire. However, few people were willing to part with them.
Daniel had learned much about artifact crafting, including some secrets about the Tang Sect, thanks to Yuan Tao, a forgemaster himself. While not as skilled as Ma Xianhong, Yuan Tao's extensive experience had made him privy to many secrets of various exorcist sects. One such secret was the Guan Yuan, an artifact that, while not powerful in combat, was extremely practical. Yuan Tao had tried multiple times to obtain its crafting method but had been thwarted by the Tang Sect's strength.
Guan Yuan wasn't just a GPS-like system; when combined with other devices, it could display enemy and ally positions on a minimap, much like a video game.
The Tang Sect's defensive capabilities were nearly impenetrable, thanks in part to the Guan Yuan system, which alerted them to intruders entering their territory.
"There's even a communication ring that allows users to talk via qi. If this thing became widely available, people wouldn't even need to pay for phone service." Among the various ring-based artifacts, there were spatial rings, communication rings,
and defensive rings like the jade thumb ring.
Modern society had largely moved away from wearing thumb rings, but rings and bracelets were still common. In fact, such artifacts could easily be disguised as watches or other accessories.
"It's a pity there's so little time. If I had more, I could craft all of Ma Xianhong's high-tier artifacts, fully equipping myself." Daniel glanced at the rings on his fingers and the bracelets on his wrists, feeling a twinge of regret.
Artifacts like the Three Treasure Pearls, the Wu Dou Armor, and the Liuhe Pearls were extremely powerful, but their creation required not only time but also rare and precious materials.
"President Zhao, we've completed the investigation. What are your orders?" a phone on speaker sat in front of Zhang Chulan and the rest of the temporary workers.
"So, you're playing dumb, huh? Well, if you want a direct order, I'll give you one: I authorize you to use lethal force when necessary. Is that clear enough for you?" came the voice of another board member on the other end.
"Mr. President, you're too kind. I just didn't want to misinterpret leadership's intentions. Now that you've said so, there's no issue," Zhang Chulan responded smoothly.
The biggest problem with dealing with Biyou Village was the presence of regular people and transformed individuals. In modern society, causing too many casualties could lead to a PR disaster, something even the company couldn't handle.
During the chaos of the Jia Shen rebellion, it would have been simple to eliminate all witnesses, but times had changed. There were no secrets in a world with exorcists, and the company had to avoid creating scandals. Initially, the higher-ups had left it up to the temporary workers to handle the situation as they saw fit, allowing them to take the blame for any fallout.
However, Zhang Chulan and his team had played dumb, forcing the company to give them clear instructions. Although the leadership was frustrated, they had no choice but to grant their request.
"Alright, now we have the green light. Time to act."
"Don't tell me you're actually planning a massacre," Feng Baobao asked, her voice calm but concerned.
"Of course not. I just wanted to make sure we had permission in case things got messy. There aren't really any bad people in Biyou Village. The less bloodshed, the better," Zhang Chulan reassured her before laying out his plan.
"We'll move at night. Don't worry about the rest of the villagers; just focus on taking down Ma Xianhong."
"Fire! There's a fire!" Late at night, the villagers of Biyou Village were awoken by the sound of alarms and shouting. Zhang Chulan's plan was simple: force the villagers to evacuate by setting fire to the area. If that meant a few acres of forest burned, so be it. The lives at stake were far more important than concerns about environmental damage.
"What's going on?" Some of the stronger villagers, including the transformed ones, rushed to try and extinguish the blaze, but since they were on a mountain, the water source was far away. Without any water-based exorcists, there was little they could do but watch the flames spread.
The fire hadn't started naturally, either—it was Wang Zhenqiu, spitting fire as he moved through the village.
"They're the outsiders who started this fire!" Soon, some of the villagers noticed Wang Zhenqiu's actions and charged toward him, not realizing that Feng Baobao was silently knocking them out from behind, one by one, dragging them away before they even knew what hit them.
Feng Baobao had become quite adept at sneak attacks, thanks to Xu Si's training. If the other temporary workers hadn't made so much noise, distracting the more powerful exorcists, they might not have noticed that their ranks were steadily dwindling.
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