Those words from Chu Feng struck Liu Chengkun like a bolt of thunder, jolting him wide awake in an instant.
"Young friend Chu Feng, say that again." Liu Chengkun asked.
"I was poisoned by that maid of yours." Chu Feng said calmly.
"Poison? What poison?" Liu Chengkun pressed urgently. He could tell Chu Feng was not joking — poisoning was no small matter, and how could he not be anxious?
"A poison that restrains barrier power. It has already entered my body and fused with my soul. Even if you destroyed my physical form, it still couldn't cleanse this poison."
"Fortunately, the poison won't activate on its own for now. It only triggers when I circulate my barrier techniques."
"But even when it activates, it won't threaten my life — it will only restrict my barrier power. Simply put, when the poison takes effect, my barrier techniques can only exert one-tenth of their full strength." Chu Feng said.
"Damn it — who would give you such a poison? It must be Zhao Ruofan. He's definitely behind this." Liu Chengkun said through gritted teeth.
"It was him. At today's banquet, there was an uninvited guest. Though he disguised himself well, I still recognized him — it was Zhao Ruofan's son, Zhao Xiao's father." Chu Feng said.
"You mean Zhao Xuan?" Liu Chengkun asked.
"That's him. He slipped in and kept watching me from the shadows until he saw me drink the poison. Only then did he leave in peace." Chu Feng said.
"So it really is Zhao Ruofan. To resort to such underhanded tricks just for tomorrow's competition — I'll make him pay for this!" Upon learning the full story, Liu Chengkun flew into a rage and turned to leave.
"Elder Liu, wait." Seeing that Liu Chengkun intended to confront Zhao Ruofan, Chu Feng quickly spoke up. "There's something I must tell you."
"Chu Feng, what is it?" Liu Chengkun asked.
"Before the poison even entered my body, I had already detected it in the wine. So I drank it deliberately." Chu Feng said.
"Deliberately?"
"Young friend Chu Feng, why on earth would you willingly drink poison?!" Liu Chengkun's face was filled with shock — he was practically dumbfounded, unable to understand what Chu Feng could possibly be thinking.
"The reason I drank it was to let Zhao Ruofan and his people believe their scheme had succeeded."
"And the reason I dared to drink it is that my body is immune to all poisons. At least his poison can't actually harm me." Chu Feng said.
"Young friend Chu Feng — immune to all poisons!" Upon learning this, Liu Chengkun was even more astonished.
"Elder Liu, tell me — do you want to get rid of Zhao Ruofan?" Chu Feng asked.
"I do. I've always despised Zhao Ruofan, but Xiao Li she…" Liu Chengkun fell into a dilemma, seemingly burdened by something difficult to say.
Without needing Liu Chengkun to explain, Chu Feng could already guess that the "Xiao Li" he referred to was none other than the president of the Red Butterfly Society.
But that wasn't the point. The point was that now they had an opportunity to eliminate Zhao Ruofan, so Chu Feng said without holding back: "This is exactly a prime chance to take down Zhao Ruofan — at the very least, we can strip him of his authority and current standing within the Red Butterfly Society."
"So, Elder Liu, all you need to do right now is have that maid who poisoned me detained, and for the time being, don't tip anyone off."
"We just need to get her to confess the truth. Then tomorrow… we'll expose Zhao Ruofan's wicked deeds for good." Chu Feng said.
"Why wait until tomorrow? Why not right now? Young friend Chu Feng, if we expose Zhao Ruofan now, then tomorrow's barrier technique competition can simply be called off." Liu Chengkun said.
"No — I want to compete. I want Zhao Ruofan to know, and I want everyone to know, that I have more than enough qualification to go to Cloud Crane Mountain."
"Even without any of this, I could still defeat Zhao Ruofan and earn the right to cultivate at Cloud Crane Mountain." Chu Feng said.
"Very well then. I'll trust your judgment, young friend Chu Feng." Seeing that Chu Feng was so resolute, Liu Chengkun dropped any further objection and went to find the maid.