BOOOOOOMXu Linyun was fighting the seventh-tier Fiery-Scaled Serpent, her sword slicing through the air as she stood atop her white crane. Within a few rounds of attack, the seventh-tier snake was already at a disadvantage, yet it seemed that Xu Linyun wouldn’t be able to overpower it within a short period of time. She was in the eighth tier and thus had a higher combat power than the snake, but this kind of beast enjoyed living in molten rock to bathe in fiery heat and cultivate its poisonous fire; its actual battle power was easily higher than a normal seventh-tier beast, and it was not so easy for Xu Linyun to take down. Regardless, judging from the current situation, this would still end in her certain win.
At this moment, however, loud noises thundered out once more as another Fiery-Scaled Serpent showed itself. It stopped halfway in the air, its eyes glancing about before it chose to head in Xu Linyun’s direction instead of towards the other disciples.
Xu Linyun was slightly surprised, her expression hardening. "How dare you! Take my Qing-Yun Nine Swords!" A pale-blue longsword flew out of her sleeves and—as she took hold of it—a graceful flicker of sword light lit up the sky like a magnificent bolt of lightning as it moved towards the two snakes. With only a few seconds, the sword had once again claimed the advantage against the two snakes.
Fang Xing stood with the rest of the group and held his head up to watch. "She’s learned the Qing-Yun Nine Swords too?" he sighed.
Xu Linyun’s battle prowess increased more than threefold with only a single sword in hand, making it quite obvious just how powerful this Qing-Yun Nine Swords was. Furthermore, Xu Linyun’s main focus was still in alchemy, and the Qing-Yun Nine Swords she studied was merely a minor focus of hers; she would not have spent more than thirty percent of her time studying it. If Xiao Jianming—who had the Qing-Yun Nine Swords as his main focus—was up there right now, just what sort of power would he be showing?
Hssssss….
Just as Fang Xing began to get lost in his thoughts, another one of these snakes appeared. This time, it burst out from the ground, crus.h.i.+ng numerous rocks and the soil before leaping up into the air. With a quick twist, it shot itself like an arrow right at Xu Linyun as well.
SWISH
The white crane beneath Xu Linyun let out a crisp cry as it sharply turned, dodging the attack by a narrow margin. However, a small area on its feathered wings was burned, and more poisonous flames were shot at Xu Linyun’s flank at the same time. Without any other options, Xu Linyun made a hand seal to create a barrier before returning her focus back to her longsword.
The fluid movements of her sword also managed to sweep the third snake into the battle, but even she could feel a dangerous amount of pressure when facing three of them at once.
"We need to have someone help s.h.i.+jie Linyun!" Shuwen Valley’s Pi Junzi suddenly yelled after killing a beast in front of him. "These snakes are rare fire-type tier-seven beasts, but with its fire element and the Demonic Qi from the surroundings, its actual power is very close to being tier eight. If anything happens to s.h.i.+jie Linyun and all three of the snakes come for us instead, no one here will survive."
Fang Xing wasn’t the only one who had been observing the overarching situation. Each valley’s lead disciple seemed to be doing exactly the same.
Pi Junzi also noticed that the beasts on the ground had become somewhat settled as corpses scattered the area, and some of the beasts had even started to quietly retreat without their original madness. The most dangerous place right now was no longer on the ground where most of the people were, but up in the air instead, where Xu Linyun was facing three Fiery-Scaled Serpents alone. If she were to be wounded, everyone else below would be in grave danger as well.
Shanhe Valley’s Feng Qingwei replied with worry, "But each of these snakes has the combat power of at least the peak of tier seven as well as the poisonous flames around them. Even if the two of us were to join forces against one, there’s still the chance of being killed in one strike."
Pi Junzi agreed. "We need to find at least one other person. With the three of us together, we don’t need to kill any of these snakes. As long as we can keep the attention of one of them away from s.h.i.+jie Linyun, she will be able to kill the other two by herself before coming back to help us!" He then steered his gaze towards Fang Xing, who did not reply. Pi Junzi and Feng Qingwei had the highest combat prowess aside from Xu Linyun, but if there was anyone else who would be able to match them and fight against the snake, it would be Fang Xing. His cultivation level might be on the low end, but his battle prowess was well-known. That he was able to wound Murong Ying so easily back at the Duanzhen Valley was more than enough proof.
Besides, Fang Xing was the lead disciple of Duanzhen Valley; it was only natural that he should lend a helping hand at a critical moment like this.
Fang Xing gazed coldly to where Xu Linyun was tangled with her battle against the snakes. "Sure, I’ll join you two," he calmly replied. Seeing Fang Xing reply without hesitation, both Pi Junzi and Feng Qingwei felt as though a boulder had been lifted from their chests; the boy may be stubborn and mischievous, but he didn’t hide from his responsibilities.
"There are clouds of poisonous flames surrounding these Fiery-Scaled Serpents. Considering your cultivation levels, are you sure just the three of you will be able to handle it?" a Danxia Valley disciple suddenly questioned.
The disciple’s words caused Feng Qingwei and Pi Junzi to appear slightly apprehensive. The poisonous flames of these snakes were rather peculiar; not even Xu Linyun dared to take it on without her protective barrier, and it would be even more dangerous for them. It might be possible to use spirit weapons to last quite some time when fighting these snakes, but when those earth-shattering poisonous flames come, even just breathing in the smoke alone could be life-threatening.
"If someone is able to obtain a sample of its poisonous smoke, I will be able to ident.i.ty its toxins in order to craft detoxifying pellets for the three of you!" one of the Danxia Valley disciples volunteered. When everyone had first arrived at Mount Desolation, he was the one who had identified the toxins of the smog covering the basin. It was only natural that he would lend a hand once more this time.
However, all the snakes were in a heated battle with Xu Linyun, and no one was able to even get close; how could anyone be able to obtain a sample of the smoke?
"I have a way!" Wu Xiangtong yelled, still panting. He didn’t have time to explain what the plan was, but instead took out a long black stick with strings neatly rolled around it—a fis.h.i.+ng rod, with seals and symbols etched on its surface showing it to also be a spirit tool of some sort. Wu Xiangtong then took out a china vase to attach to the fis.h.i.+ng hook before casting it out a hundred feet into the air.
When the vase returned with a sample of the poisonous smoke within, it was quickly given to the Danxia Valley disciple to study. The disciple didn’t dare to sniff or touch the smoke directly and instead used his Qi for this step. After a few moments, he began to command, "Use top-grade mother pellet, one third of the Golden Leaf Herb, two petals of the Black-Rooted Purple Stamen Flower, one-tenth a tael of Jade Rhinoceros blood…. Then use three turns of your spirit fire before rinsing it with the water from the Hua-Qing springs. Make no mistakes!"
"Yes!" the Danxia Valley disciples responded, no one daring to delay with such an urgent task. Including the disciple that had just identified the toxins and the ingredients required for the detoxifying pellet, all nine disciples sat down in groups of three. One person would primarily look after the furnace, while the other two would induce the growth of the necessary herbs and prepare them, their hands moving so quickly that they didn’t even leave behind a shadow.
Within seconds, the spirit fire had been lit, the mother pellets had been placed inside the furnaces, and the ingredients were added. Flames could be seen coming from the furnace, and after three cycles and a rinse, everything was completed within nine breaths. The detoxifying pellets were complete.
"Thank you!" Both Pi Junzi and Feng Qingwei placed the pellet beneath their tongues as soon as they received it, readying to help s.h.i.+jie Linyun.
It was also at this time that "short legs" from Danxia Valley handed Fang Xing his detoxifying pellet on a small jade plate. Despite the urgency of the matter, Fang Xing’s face distorted as soon as he saw the pellet, a trace of fury appearing in his gaze as he slapped the woman in front flying. Her mouth was covered in blood with at least two teeth splattering out as Fang Xing grabbed his saber and leveled it right at her. "You bi*ch! How dare you try to harm me with a poison pellet!"
"Short legs" fell to the ground, her whole body shaken as the "detoxifying pellet" rolled to the side. Her mind was frozen, especially after seeing Fang Xing pointing his saber right at her. "I… I didn’t!" she suddenly cried out.
Pi Junzi immediately blocked Fang Xing’s saber with his Flying Sword. "What exactly is going on?" he asked, astonished.
Fang Xing didn’t actually use much force in this strike, as he suddenly remembered that this "short legs" was likely not the person who wished to harm him—it would actually be the main person in charge of his pellet. As he moved to look, he found that the person in charge of his pellet was none other than Lin Qinxue. There was even a hint of disappointment in her eyes that was quickly covered up with her usual coldness.
"At such an urgent moment, you’re still trying to kill me with a poison pellet. Bi*ch, this was your idea, wasn’t it?" Flames of fury rose within Fang Xing as he looked sharply at Lin Qinxue.
Everyone else was surprised, and they followed Fang Xing’s gaze towards Lin Qinxue. The grudge between Fang Xing and Lin Qinxue was well-known, but a sense of disbelief still rose amongst the thoughts of the other disciples. Could it truly be that Lin Qinxue had actually tried to take this chance to poison Fang Xing? If that was truly the case, this woman would have definitely failed to see the larger picture at hand.
Lin Qinxue’s expression did not change. She slowly picked up the "detoxifying pellet" from the ground and answered slowly, "What a stupid excuse. You say this is a poison pellet? I’ll eat it, then, and then you tell me if I have died from its poison!" Then, before anyone was even able to stop her, she threw the pellet into her mouth and swallowed it down before looking calmly at Fang Xing.
"Are you trying to destroy the evidence?" Fang Xing was expressionless, both of his eyes as sharp as swords as they stabbed right at Lin Qinxue. Her tricks might be able to fool others, but not Fang Xing. Since this woman was daring enough to hand him a poisonous pellet, she must have also prepared an alternative plan in case of failure. She would have taken its antidote in advance and—if things didn’t go the way she had originally planned—she could simply "test" the pellet herself.
Such a trick had been used many, many times in the world of mortals.