Chapter 80: Chapter 81 Soul Numbing Smoke
After Zhu Xiaojia smashed the jade bottle on the ground, she immediately charged toward the outside of the house, where Liu Yueqian was blocking the doorway.
“Hmph!” A cold snort emerged from Zhu Xiaojia’s mouth as she infused soul power filled with the sharp essence of metal into her palm, which she then struck toward Liu Yueqian’s chest.
Zhu Xiaojia’s sudden action took everyone by surprise. Liu Yueqian was caught utterly off guard; struck hard in the chest, she spat out a mouthful of blood and toppled to one side.
At the same moment, Zhu Xiaojia had already rushed out the door.
“Sister!” Ye Xin exclaimed in shock, quickly moving forward to support the collapsing Liu Yueqian.
By then, Lei Qian and the others had also reacted, intending to pursue, but their bodies suddenly weakened, and they half-knelt on the ground.
Only then did they realize that the jade bottle Zhu Xiaojia had smashed earlier was emitting a strange white smoke.
They had carelessly inhaled quite a bit without realizing it.
Lin Qian’s eyes narrowed. He had long become immune to all poisons, and so he remained completely unharmed, feeling no different in his body.
Nevertheless, like everyone else, he half-knelt on the ground, feigning poisoning, and quietly waited to see what would happen.
Zhu Xiaojia, having reached the doorway and seen this scene, did not continue to flee; instead, she turned around with a smug look to observe them.
“Sister, hang in there.” Ye Xin’s own body was somewhat weak, but the long dress she wore shimmered faintly with starlight, seeming to keep her in a slightly better state than the others.
Ye Xin took out various healing pills and quickly put them into the mouth of Liu Yueqian, who she held in her arms.
“Sister, it’s no use. My heart has been shattered by her,” Liu Yueqian said, grabbing Ye Xin’s wrist and gently shaking her head. “Don’t waste the pills on me.”
Although Liu Yueqian spoke with clarity, Ye Xin knew that this was only because she was a Soul Martial Artist of the Nirvana Realm, using her formidable strength to cling to her last breath.
“Hurry… flee!” After uttering these last three words and taking her final breath, Liu Yueqian’s eyes closed, her head lolled to the side, and she collapsed.
“Sister!” Ye Xin cried out in pain as she held Liu Yueqian, tears streaming from her eyes.
Ever since joining the Divine Sword Sect, Liu Yueqian had been tasked with looking after her. Over the years, Ye Xin had come to see her almost like a real sister.
“Why?” Ye Xin suddenly lifted her head, staring intently at Zhu Xiaojia, as if she wished she could tear her to pieces.
“Why? Isn’t it because of you, you little wench? Why should you have the fortune to be taken under the wing of the Sword Saintess? What’s so good about you? If it hadn’t been for all those resources invested in you, could you have advanced through the nine revolutions and broken through to the Nirvana Realm that quickly?”
“This Liu woman, always singing your praises, as if she really were your sister. She must have reaped many benefits from you, right? I’ve always disliked her, and this time I finally found my opportunity.”
Zhu Xiaojia spoke with a tone of triumph. Lin Qian, standing to the side, could see that her eyes were filled with envy, and even hatred—jealous hatred!
“I think just a small bottle of this poison mist shouldn’t be enough to take us down, right?” Lin Qian suddenly spoke up, looking at Zhu Xiaojia. “How did you do it?”
Zhu Xiaojia smiled and stretched out her hand, revealing another jade bottle in her palm: “Back in the Dead Tree Forest, I had already secretly made you all inhale it. With the dense white fog there, you didn’t even notice this small amount of white smoke.”
“Soul Numbing Smoke!” Lei Qian spoke in a deep voice, seriously adding, “This poisonous smoke can paralyze soul power, rendering it impossible to gather, leaving the limbs weak and numb.”
“Moreover, this smoke consists of two parts: numbing and softening. Neither the numbing smoke nor the softening smoke alone would do much. But if one inhales one after the other, it will paralyze the soul power and cause the limbs to weaken.”
Just after Lei Qian had finished speaking, the sound of clapping echoed from outside the door, and three figures walked in.
“Not bad, Soul Numbing Smoke is quite a rare and obscure poison, I didn’t expect you to recognize it,” the leader of the three praised.
“Fu Heng, it was all your doing!” Seeing the newcomer, Ye Xin was filled with indignant fury, grinding her teeth as she spoke.
The visitor was none other than Fu Heng of the Divine Sword Sect!
Fu Heng sneered as he looked at Ye Xin, nodding in acknowledgment, “Indeed, it was me. I must say, you all are pretty impressive, managing to find your way through the Dead Tree Forest without getting lost.”
Fu Heng was also aware of the deadly areas within the ancient ruins of the Middle Ages.
Enveloped in a thick fog, the Dead Tree Forest was extremely easy to lose one’s way in, and it often generated illusions that made it impossible to find an exit.
Those dead trees sometimes would even launch sudden attacks.
However, Lin Qian and his group were completely unaffected, heading straight for the ruins deep within.
If it hadn’t been for Zhu Xiaojia leading the way ahead, Fu Heng and his group wouldn’t have dared to follow.
What they did not know was that Lin Qian’s Thunder Soul Power could isolate that dense fog, preventing hallucinations until it had absorbed a certain extent of the fog.
As for avoiding being misled by the Dead Tree Forest, the Swift Soldiers of the Huaxia Empire were exceptionally professional scouts, powerful assassins and killers.
Moreover, they were only half-alive, governed by cold and emotionless artificial intelligence, and absolutely loyal to Lin Qian.
Therefore, they could not be confused or succumb to illusions.
That was how they could clearly scout the path, leading Lin Qian and his group to this place.
“Fu Heng, what do you want to do?” Ye Xin, holding Liu Yueqian’s corpse, asked coldly.
Fu Heng smiled, took out a jade bottle, and shook it towards Ye Xin, “What else can I do? Of course, I’ll force you to take the Slave Pill, and then kill everyone here to silence them.”
Hearing these two words, Ye Xin turned the ghost of white, and anger showed on Lin Qian’s face too.
The Slave Pill, once ingested, would damage the soul, turning the person into a slave marked by the soul imprint on the Pill, completely at the mercy of the Pill’s master.
“What’s wrong, you seem very angry?” As if noticing Lin Qian’s angry expression, Fu Heng stroked his chin with a smile, “Although I’m not particularly fond of Ye Xin’s type, it’s not bad to change up the taste from time to time.”
“We could keep him, let him watch, and see how his fiancée pleases another man, ha ha ha.”
With Fu Heng’s brazen laughter filling the air, Ye Xin’s expression grew incredibly dark. She grasped a piece of broken tile that had fallen from the roof to the ground, wrapped the feeble Soul Power she could muster around it, and slashed towards her neck.
However, as if Zhu Xiaojia had anticipated this move, she grabbed Ye Xin’s wrist in an instant, snatched away the tile, and then swung her hand towards her face, “You little tramp, thinking of suicide? Dream on!”
As the slap neared, Ye Xin had no strength to dodge and could only glare at Zhu Xiaojia right in front of her.
But at that moment, Zhu Xiaojia’s slap did not land on Ye Xin’s face, but was caught firmly by a hand.
Zhu Xiaojia looked at the person who had grabbed her in shock, locking eyes with a pair of cold pupils—it was Lin Qian.
“Ah!” Zhu Xiaojia cried out, leaping back in shock, staring unbelievingly at Lin Qian who could move freely, and helped Ye Xin up from the ground.