Cursed apprentice! All the years of tutelage between Zhou Huan and him were wasted, for he released the Gu before the Poison King could act. The two centipedes, as if they’d encountered an immortal elixir, zipped out—two white streaks flying straight toward Zhou Huan.

"Crash!" With a sharp sound like shattering glass, the hospital room window was violently struck open, and two bats flew in from outside. Trailing behind them was a black owl. After swooping in, the two bats immediately hid behind Zhou Huan. The owl, spotting the two centipedes, snatched one in each claw, and began pecking away at the cursed apprentice's venomous creatures with its distinctive golden, hooked beak.

This owl possessed a majestic bearing; a circle of red fur ringed its eyes, suggesting boiling bloodlust and an even stronger killing intent. As it devoured the centipedes, the owl kept glancing at the people inside the room. The bird ate with growing delight, but as it did so, all the feathers on its body suddenly turned stark white, and a chilling aura began to emanate from it. Then, like a frozen chicken, the owl collapsed without even a chance to flap its wings, falling dead with a soft thud.

Zhou Huan knew things were turning bad. One of the centipedes remained unharmed and was still heading for him. Zhou Huan lunged out, grasping and rigidly fixing the centipede’s two pincers. A deathly, pale cold began to seep from his body. Zhou Huan started shaking violently. With his other hand, he clamped down on the pincer, pulled his hands apart, and instantly tore the venomous creature in half, tossing the pieces aside. Immediately, the hard, black skin on Zhou Huan’s hands began to peel away, each discarded piece falling like ice or porcelain.

The apprentice nearby stared, dumbfounded. What kind of technique was Zhou Huan using? Was his hand actually fine? His forehead flushed red, as if embarrassed, and beads of sweat rolled down his temples.

"Fool, you released them too early," the Poison King scolded his apprentice. Then, turning to Zhou Huan, he sneered, "Kid, you have a tough life. Seems your hand is okay, then. That was just a centipede; now let's see how you handle my venomous bees." The man was utterly despicable; before he even finished speaking, the venomous bees were already flying toward Zhou Huan, who was still tending to the peeling skin on his hand.

This time, Zhou Huan was caught off guard. He snatched a talisman, ignited it, and threw it at the swarm of bees. But the bees seemed entirely unfazed by the sparks; with a flap of their wings, the flames were scattered. Before the bees even reached Zhou Huan, they launched all their stingers simultaneously, sending them hurtling towards his body like a volley of 'Little Li Flying Daggers.'

Zhou Huan dodged several stings, and suddenly the buzzing sound near his ears vanished. A faint smile touched Zhou Huan's lips: "Are your little toys finished?"

The Poison King across the room laughed even harder. "Heh heh heh, not yet. Look at your thigh, boy."

Zhou Huan looked down. On his thigh, a single, living venomous bee, still carrying its stinger, was preparing to strike. Zhou Huan slammed his hand down, but a sharp, numbing pain shot into his chest, causing him to immediately collapse onto one knee.

"Hahahaha, how is it? Aren't the toxins from my Netherworld Bees quite potent? Soon your soul will leave your body, and getting it back will be quite difficult, I imagine," the Poison King boasted, exchanging smug glances with his apprentice as they both squatted down. "We just wanted to watch how you, Zhou Huan, slowly poison to death. Look at your leg, it’s already turning green. Soon, the venom will reach your heart and brain. To tell you the truth, even if your spirit returns, you’ll be a vegetable—one that can think but never move."

Zhou Huan felt an excruciating internal pain, and his vision began to blur. He struggled desperately to stay upright, watching the two scoundrels before him, feeling utterly incapable of fighting back.

Zhou Huan attempted to activate every nerve point in his body and found that his mouth could still move. He sucked in a deep breath, using sheer willpower to stand up. Then, biting his own lip until it broke, he used his qi to spit toward the two villains. Zhou Huan’s blood landed squarely on both of them.

"Damn it, spitting blood when you’re dying! Did you think we weren't prepared for that trick? Your blood is just an illusion to us." Before they could finish speaking, the two bats behind Zhou Huan suddenly soared up and dove straight toward the spots where Zhou Huan’s blood had landed, pouncing on the two villains before they could react. The bats dug their mouths deep into their hosts' bodies and began sucking out the vital qi.

Zhou Huan smiled faintly. "The only part of my body that isn't numb is my mouth, because I bit my finger earlier. My fresh blood is still in my mouth, enough to last a while. That’s why I can be a Funeral Master, a Master of the Soul. My blood can detoxify, expel ghosts, and nourish vile creatures. You cannot. That is the difference."

Zhou Huan shifted his body slightly and spat another mouthful of blood—this time, a large gush of black blood sprayed all over the two villains. At this, the two bats began biting wildly, tearing open the villains’ bodies until they were riddled with wounds, exposing their qi—which was their soul essence.

Soul qi is normally invisible energy, but once it adheres to a living person, it manifests as an ethereal light and shadow that most people can clearly perceive. For Zhou Huan, a Funeral Master, it was even clearer. At this moment, Zhou Huan felt confident; these two were essentially finished. Even if their souls were broken, they could no longer harm him in the slightest, because the two bats he nurtured were truly the supreme apex predators among mammals.

"Zhou Huan, I didn't expect you to keep such a trick hidden. Your technique resembles my own from Yunnan, the Poison King. Ha! I never imagined you could absorb my books so thoroughly in such a short time. I’m impressed, truly impressed," the Yunnan Poison King's soul managed to speak, channeling qi. As his words ended, his entire soul drifted out of its host body, completely devoid of qi, essentially rendered useless.

The apprentice’s soul qi had long since left his shell and lay slumped outside. The two bats moved to absorb it, but just then, Zhou Huan spat his last mouthful of toxic blood at his own feet and used his unique method to recall the bats.

Zhou Huan began tapping a rhythm with his hands, chanting: "Moonlight before my bed, I suspect it’s frost on the ground. Come, come!" The two bats seemed to receive their master's command and flew back to hide behind Zhou Huan. Next, Zhou Huan pulled out two talismans, quickly drawing Soul-Extinguishing symbols on them. He charged toward the two villains, pressing the first talisman onto the apprentice's exposed soul qi. "Let me teach you one last lesson, how to destroy a soul."

Zhou Huan's hands moved rapidly, tearing the apprentice's soul qi to shreds. Then he crumpled the talisman and ignited it with a snap of his fingers. "Go back and reincarnate. Stop causing trouble for your master." He then extended his left hand and pressed the second talisman precisely onto the Poison King’s head. "As for you, I can only destroy you on my own behalf."

"Hahahaha, go ahead and destroy me! Even if I reincarnate, I will still be the Poison King!" With a final shout, the Poison King’s soul qi suddenly condensed, then instantly exploded, scattering into fine threads of cold mist that dissipated into the air, vanishing bit by bit.

Watching the two men lying on the floor, Zhou Huan wearily dragged them outside. He then helped his disciples, who were all slumped against the wall, into the cross-legged sitting position. Zhou Huan bit his finger again and used his blood to dot 72 acupoints on each disciple. He then directed his bats to feed. Once the blood was absorbed, the two bats flew back behind Zhou Huan. However, Zhou Huan was now utterly depleted of energy. Seeing signs of movement in his disciples one by one, he collapsed into the chair beside the hospital bed, leaning his head onto Xiao He’s mattress and falling into a deep sleep.

The two bats, having consumed a great deal of poison, clung to Zhou Huan’s back, enjoying the sweet taste of victory. Shi Bingyuan was the first to stir. Dragging his weakened body, he saw his junior brothers struggling to sit up. He then looked toward Xiao He and finally noticed Zhou Huan, slumped over the bed. When Shi Bingyuan saw the bats behind Zhou Huan, he froze.

Dongzi rubbed his eyes, leaned against the wall, and stood up. He, too, saw the two bats behind Zhou Huan and suddenly shouted, "Holy hell, what kind of creatures are these that Master keeps?"

"What’s wrong... Ouch, my head!" Tian Xiong and Hong Kun subsequently pulled themselves up, rubbing their aching heads. They approached Zhou Huan and saw the bats, and all four stared blankly. As they looked at the bats, the creatures suddenly swooped out through the broken window glass with a soft whoosh, leaving the four of them stunned silent.

"Quick, check on Master! See how he is," the four rushed to Zhou Huan's side. Shi Bingyuan, being the most experienced among them, could roughly assess Zhou Huan’s condition.

Dongzi, visibly frantic, felt his usual hot temper flare up: "Uncle Shi, hurry up and look! What happened to Brother?"

"Don't rush. I think Master is probably fine, just completely drained of energy. His life force is very weak, looks like he lost a lot of blood. What exactly happened here? We’ll have to wait for Master to wake up," Shi Bingyuan analyzed. Dongzi scratched his head in agitation, watching Zhou Huan sleep soundly.

A moment later, the hospital room door opened, and Xiao Yan'er ran in from outside. She had fled when the others had collapsed. Why she ran, none of them knew.

Tian Xiong usually spent the most time with Xiao Yan'er, and she often favored him most, listening to his words above others. So, Tian Xiong gently pulled Xiao Yan'er close and asked, "Little Yanzi, where did you fly off to just now?"

Held in Tian Xiong’s arms, Xiao Yan'er looked around, seemingly searching for something she couldn't find. Finally, she pouted and murmured, "I saw something fun, so I followed it out."

"Tell Uncle what the fun thing was, and Uncle will buy it for you, as long as you don't wander off again."

"I wasn't wandering. I followed a pair of shoes. Then the shoes brought me back."

Hearing Xiao Yan'er's words, the four men froze in place.