A Chaotic World

Not to mention the Seventh Cycle Origin Core realm martial artist on the opposing side, even Ruan Ling and Longshao Wenqin had absolutely no idea what was happening. In fact, it was only when the Seventh Cycle Origin Core realm martial artist questioned Nanlan Qianxue that they finally realised their companion was the one responsible for the current situation.

Even so, none of them had a clue as to how this Second Cycle Origin Core realm martial artist managed to pull it off.

Incapacitating eight martial artists at the Fifth Cycle Origin Core realm and four at the Sixth Cycle Origin Core realm, and all without anyone noticing... this was something that should have been impossible for anyone of her cultivation level!

The only way they could think of was through the talismans that she had been throwing out earlier, but the power behind these talismans were obviously lacking, so that alone was far from enough.

Since that was the case, there was only one possibility left – the talismans must have contained poison!

That was the conclusion that all three of them came up with at the same time, and they were absolutely right.

Back on Wondertrap Mountain, Elder Ximo of the Healer Circle had mistaken Nanlan Qianxue for an Overlord realm powerhouse and ended up giving her three bottles of concentrated poison as a friendly gesture.

The poison contained within these three bottles had been concocted by Elder Ximo himself, which he proudly named the Nine Revelations Toxin. According to him, the lethality was so great that it could take down even a Ninth Cycle Origin Core realm martial artist if applied directly.

Nanlan Qianxue had never tested this Nine Revelations Toxin, so she had no idea if he was speaking the truth. Nevertheless, there was nothing else that she could fall back upon in this desperate situation.

Because of that, she used all three bottles of the Nine Revelations Toxin at once, secretly adding them to her last flurry of talismans to spread the toxin throughout the entire area.

The Seventh Cycle Origin Core realm martial artist might have mocked Nanlan Qianxue for the lack of control over her previous flurry of talismans, but this had actually provided her with the perfect means of delivery for the poison, applying it to everyone present under the guise of a huge cloud of white frost.

As if that was not enough, Nanlan Qianxue had deliberately thrown out numerous talismans before this just to make the dark figures get used to the strength of the talismans and slowly let their guards down.

It was only after she was sure that they were no longer evading her talismans that she finally threw out the talismans containing the Nine Revelations Toxin.

Just as she had hoped, the dark figures did not bother to avoid the last flurry of talismans.

And from the looks of it, the Nine Revelations Toxin was just as potent as Elder Ximo had claimed!

As for why Ruan Ling, Longshao Wenqin, and herself were not affected, that was because Elder Ximo had not only given her three bottles of Nine Revelations Toxin, but also three pills that were the antidote to the poison.

These were naturally the pills that she had passed to her companions earlier.

And as the Nine Revelations Toxin took effect, the tables turned in an instant.

Now, the Seventh Cycle Origin Core realm martial artist was the only one remaining who was still capable of fighting!

Nevertheless, he was still someone at the Seventh Cycle Origin Core realm. Even if the three of them joined forces, they might not necessarily be a match for him.

As if that was not bad enough, Ruan Ling finally reached her limit at this point and fell to her knees. Without the support of her Essence energy, the figure of light summoned by her Soft Stream Command dissipated as well.

"Shit!" Longshao Wenqin cursed before stepping forward.

The fact that the figure of light had disappeared meant that Ruan Ling must be completely spent. With her out of the picture, he was the one with the highest cultivation level, so it was now up to him to bear the brunt of the Seventh Cycle Origin Core realm martial artist's attack.

At his will, the Cauldron of Draconic Force flew in front of him. He wanted to use it to block the bolts of lightning coming from the opponent's wooden box.

It might be lacking in comparison to Ruan Ling's Soft Stream Command, but it should at least be able to block the first wave of lightning!

After the first wave of lightning, well... he would just have to see what happens then.

But just as he was bracing himself for the inevitable clash, the bolts of lightning coming from the Seventh Cycle Origin Core realm martial artist suddenly disappeared as well.

Cough-!

The Seventh Cycle Origin Core realm martial artist finally could not suppress the poison any longer, and joined his companions as he lost all the strength in their body.

"This..." Longshao Wenqin was at a momentary loss as he looked at the scene unfolding before him.

More than a dozen dark figures, all at the Origin Core realm, were grovelling on the ground as they held their chests and coughed out blood.

Who would have thought that from a situation as hopeless as before, things would suddenly take a drastic turn, resulting in the scene before him right now?

It was surreal to say the least.

Of course, Longshao Wenqin did not take his time relishing in this feeling.

After just a moment of hesitation, he immediately dashed forward and punched out with all his might.

He did not know how long the effect of the poison would last, but he definitely was not intending to wait and find out!

"You– cough!" the Seventh Cycle Origin Core realm martial artist saw him coming and wanted to defend himself, but he simply could not muster any strength under the effect of the poison.

Bang-!

Without the protection of his Origin Force, the Seventh Cycle Origin Core realm martial artist was no stronger than someone at the Essence Condensation realm. Facing Longshao Wenqin's all out punch, he was killed in a single blow.

Even in death, his eyes remained wide open with indignation.

Seeing how their leader was killed, the others immediately tried to crawl their way out of here. But how could Longshao Wenqin allow that?

It did not take long for him to dispose of them all, quickly relieving them of their spatial rings before returning to Ruan Ling and Nanlan Qianxue.

"Senior, here are their spatial rings," Longshao Wenqin handed over the spatial rings to the weakened Ruan Ling.

Ruan Ling shook her head weakly before pushing the spatial rings into Nanlan Qianxue's hands. "The only reason we survived is because of Sister Qianxue. I did nothing but to buy us some time."

She understood that despite all that she and Longshao Wenqin had done, it was just delaying the inevitable. In the end, it was Nanlan Qianxue who bailed them out of this seemingly hopeless situation.

"This... okay then," Nanlan Qianxue hesitated for a moment before finally deciding to accept it.

"Then that's settled," Longshao Wenqin turned to look at the corpses on the ground. "Let's get out of here as soon as possible. Who knows if there are any more of them?"

Nanlan Qianxue nodded and went to free Bo'er from the ice dome. Thankfully, the fight had not lasted too long, so Bo'er was still in a rather good condition, albeit feeling rather cold.

"Let's go. My clan house is not too far from here. We will be able to have a good rest there," Ruan Ling said.

The territory of the Timeless Flame Sect was too far away. Given the current situation, it would be far too risky to make their way back there tonight.

They had no idea who these dark figures were, so who knew if there were anymore of them hiding in the shadows?

On the other hand, the Soft Stream Clan which Ruan Ling came from was much nearer to where they were.

Even though it was not as powerful as the Timeless Flame Sect, it could still be considered a rather prestigious influence within Eternal Flame City. As long as they made it into its grounds, it would be difficult for any pursuers to continue targeting them.

"About that, I'm afraid that I would have to decline," Longshao Wenqin said with a smile. "I have been gone for a while now, so my companions must be worried. I should probably get back to them."

"But we have not even thanked you for your help yet," Ruan Ling said. "Without you, we might not even be alive right now."

"There is no need for that," Longshao Wenqin shook his head. "What I did is purely of my own accord, and not because I am hoping for any form of rewards."

"Regardless of your motive, it will not feel right if I don't thank you for this," Ruan Ling replied. "How about at least letting me treat you to a meal?"

"If you insist, then fine," Longshao Wenqin nodded. "There is still some time until the Inscription Meet, so we might as well do so. How about two days later then? That should give us enough time to recover."

"Two days later it is then," Ruan Ling replied. "As for the details, we can finalise it through our communication rings."

With that, Longshao Wenqin left the group to rejoin his companions, while Ruan Ling brought Nanlan Qianxue and Bo'er back to her Soft Stream Clan.

***

Back at the Timeless Flame Sect, Elder Cuixiong stood behind his desk as he calmly sifted through some strange powders.

The door slid open, and Xuan Junwei hurried in before anxiously closing the door behind him.

"What's wrong? You looks like you have seen a ghost," Elder Cuixiong commented without even looking up at him.

"Grandfather! I'm afraid I bear bad news!" Xuan Junwei said with a pale expression.

"Calm down and elaborate," Elder Cuixiong paused what he was doing and looked his grandson in the eye. He could not help but have a bad feeling about this.

"I just received a message from Gate Master Xileng of the Jade Shadow Gate," Xuan Junwei said. "He said... he said that..."

"Stop wasting time and be out with it. What did he say?" Elder Cuixiong snapped.

"He said that out of the teams he sent out tonight... all of them perished without exception!" Xuan Junwei finally plucked up the courage to say it.

"What did you say?!" Elder Cuixiong froze. "He really said that?"

"Not just that, but he is also furious right now, saying that we must have provided him with false information to have resulted in something like this!" Xuan Junwei said with a trembling voice.

"Ridiculous!" Elder Cuixiong bellowed. "How can our information be wrong? If the plan really failed, then his Jade Shadow Gate must have botched it up somehow!"

"What should we do? He said that he will be waiting for us to give him an answer..." Xuan Junwei said.

Even though the Jade Shadow Gate was subordinate to the Timeless Flame Sect, it was still an established influence in its own right. There might not be dire consequences if they fell out with the Jade Shadow Gate, but Xuan Qinshang would definitely pursue the matter to find out why.

Moreover, falling out with them would also mean losing a strong ally and supporter, which would negatively impact his eventual fight for the position of heir!

"Don't worry about that. I will deal with him directly!" Elder Cuixiong snapped. "I don't know how those brats did it, but they are truly lucky to have survived this time. However, this luck will not last forever. Before long, be it Xuan Hao or his friends, I will show them just what the result is for someone who dares to stand in my way!"