Poisoned?

A red arc of blade qi more than twenty meters long surged and flared continuously as it sliced into the air. Three consecutive strikes fell with barely any distinction between them. In the blink of an eye, the colossal palm was carved into six or seven pieces. Immediately afterward, a low, drawn-out grunt echoed: "Nghhh..." Yet an illusion was ultimately not solid matter. Once the blade qi swept past, the severed palm merely squirmed for a brief moment before instantly knitting back together. Although its chilling aura diminished slightly and its silhouette faded a fraction, as the palm contracted, it appeared even more solid! The inner breath channeled into the blade's glow still wasn't enough! Emotionless, Wu Youren swung his blade down viciously once more. This time, the blade qi was exceptionally radiant red, and far thicker. Yet it still made little difference. The hand was sliced apart again, squirming as it fused together while continuing its downward grasp. "I'll bet it all!" Wu Youren slammed his inner breath violently into the blade. In an instant, the long saber shattered, turning into countless specks of fiery light that shot toward the palm. "Wroooar—!" The muffled grunt instantly transformed into a piercing shriek, agonizing and ear-splitting. The cry pierced through the low, pervasive wailing in the air, echoing far into the distance and shaking the soul! "Holy shit!" Over two kilometers away at the military checkpoint, several soldiers shuddered, their postures slipping out of form. "Damn it, I almost dropped my sword!" "That guy... did a grand knight just detonate his blade?" With the blade's detonation and the piercing shriek ringing out, the colossal palm could no longer hold together. It wobbled twice and rapidly grew faint. The next moment, the hand shattered into countless small pieces! Yet at the exact moment of its collapse, a human-head-sized dark shadow shot with incredible speed toward the youth in the center of the clearing! "Fuck you!" Without even a saber left, Wu Youren drew the greatsword from behind his back with his right hand. From his left hand flared a mass of crimson fire larger than a wagon wheel, which he slammed viciously toward the dark shadow. The shadow crashed straight into the fiery mass. "Wroooar!" The shriek grew increasingly shrill as the shadow thrashed violently inside the fireball. "Hm?" Seeing this, Wu Youren turned his right hand sideways and clamped the greatsword directly in his mouth. Thrusting both hands out together, he unleashed a flurry of fireballs. They weren't as massive as the first—each about the size of a fist—totaling more than a dozen. The shadow continued to struggle, but its strength had weakened drastically. "It works!" With his right hand, Wu Youren took out a biguijue—the jade one. It was time to clean up the battlefield! Directing fireballs at the shadow with his left hand, he simultaneously activated his senses, probing the surroundings. If nothing else, six whole ghost-destroying mines would cost twelve hundred coins even at fair market value! Having gone through the instructor's connections, he still had to pay around three hundred and fifty apiece. That alone totaled twenty-one hundred! Not to mention his saber had shattered. Although its durability had fallen quite a bit, it could have fetched at least three thousand. Oh, and the faint bodily strain he had incurred... Although this battle had been thoroughly exhilarating, the cost was truly not low. He had to scavenge as much as he could. In the past, whenever he used ghost-destroying mines, regardless of whether the Guizu aura mounted a retaliatory counterattack, he would always choose to slip away immediately. As for the drop rate of Guizu relics after detonating ghost-destroying mines, or whether Guizu relics could drop at all, he genuinely had no idea! This time, he finally had a chance to verify it for himself. In the rush, he spotted two items that looked like Guizu relics, along with a resentment crystal... which was shrinking rapidly. No wonder it was difficult to find Guizu relics after using ghost-destroying mines—so that was the reaction! Flicking his body in several swift dashes, Wu Youren stowed the three prizes into his leather pouch. The dark shadow inside the fireball had ceased thrashing, its color faded to almost nothing. Meanwhile, the Guizu aura in the distance continued to surge forward—whether seeking vengeance or simply unable to brake in time, who knew! If not running now, then when? Wait... hm? Wu Youren suddenly noticed an object drop out of the fireball and hit the ground, roughly the size of a fist! "One last thing!" Clutching the biguijue in his left hand and grabbing a piece of leather in his right, he flashed over, scooped up the item, and immediately bolted! The object was quite hot, and fortunately he had cushioned it with the leather, but he had a hunch—this was definitely good stuff! He hastily rolled up the leather around the object, stuffed it into his tunic, and dashed toward the shrubs three hundred meters away. "Hm?" Right at that moment, an immense aura swept over, radiating an inherent majesty. "Which house do you belong to? Halt right there!" Bah, who do you think you are! Wu Youren scoffed disdainfully in his heart as he righted the motorcycle, kicked the ignition, and twisted the throttle. Amid a deep roar, the motorcycle accelerated rapidly and surged into the distance. "Insolent!" The aura fluctuated, shouting in furious indignation, "I told you to halt!" It was clearly perceptible that the pursuer was closing in, speeding up fast. The motorcycle was accelerating quickly as well, yet the pursuer was still gaining on him. What the hell is this guy? Wu Youren was sorely tempted to swing the handlebars around, burst onto the main road, and head straight into the mountains. However, the main road had multiple military checkpoints; getting in or out was far from easy, and rashly crashing through them would easily draw concentrated fire. Crucially, Wu Youren couldn't be certain whether this person was the mastermind controlling the corpse Guizu! If they truly were, then even if he managed to rush into the mountains, the other party might hold an even greater home-field advantage. With no other options, all he could do was toss hand grenades behind him, occasionally tossing an explosive pack... or even a ghost-destroying mine. The motorcycle roared across the terrain as a string of explosions resounded behind him, stirring up half the wasteland. Nearly a hundred martial artists witnessed this astonishing spectacle with their own eyes. Whether the pursuer behind was simply stubborn or enraged by the blasts, they kept up a relentless pursuit. Wu Youren had ridden seven or eight kilometers on the motorcycle, yet the other party remained stubbornly clamped onto his tail. He was genuinely furious now. Estimating the distance, he steeled his heart. "Fuck it, let's give you a big one!" Steering with one hand, he set a delay fuze with the other and shoved it into a sharply angular explosive pack. He only had two of these slightly unusual-looking explosive packs, and this one was the large version. A little over a minute later, a thunderous boom erupted behind him. He immediately flipped a switch on the motorcycle, instantly shifting it into silent mode. The charge had been plenty heavy this time, and his distance estimation reasonably precise; it had detonated square in front of the pursuer. The massive roar and shockwave briefly disrupted the other party's perception. In the next instant, that aura swept outward, extraordinarily enraged. "Bastard! You dared use poison?!" "Wait, where did he go?" Wu Youren pulled in his aura, holding his breath and focusing his concentration as he drove the motorcycle. He didn't care about high speed, choosing only smooth, level ground. This minimized bumps as much as possible, reducing the pursuer's ability to notice him. He wasn't sure if it would work, but if he could hold out for another ten kilometers or so, there was an ambush perimeter he had set up. It was specifically designed to handle potential human pursuers. Otherwise, had his days of rushing across the wasteland merely been for digging holes to stash supplies? As the saying went: for anyone who knew of the Kanglian guerrillas, there was no way they wouldn't prepare a few traps! The rest of the ride went exceptionally smoothly. In a dozen-odd minutes, he reached the ambush perimeter. Wu Youren deliberately stopped and waited for over half an hour, but... no one showed up! He wanted to wait a little longer. After all, the pursuer had suffered a blow and even cried out in anger, so they had likely raised their guard. Traps were fine for catching people off guard, but against an entity of that cultivation level, once they got serious, pulling it off became far more difficult. Wu Youren had already braced himself mentally to wear the opponent down over time. After all, once he left this ambush site, his ability to set traps would diminish significantly. Fortunately, winter was already setting in and the nights had grown longer; he still had nearly three hours to spare. If the other party truly never showed... He looked at the motorcycle beside him. Such a fine machine would be a pity to destroy. Choosing a spot, he began quietly digging a hole: Might as well bury it shallowly first. Maybe no one will find it. Of course, a self-destruct mechanism had to be set. He didn't mind someone scavenging it, but what if they followed the clues back to him? Chen Quanxu had explicitly warned that this motorcycle couldn't withstand scrutiny! As he tiptoed through his digging, a dark shadow silently appeared above his head. "What are you doing? Why did you run over here?" "Burying the motorcycle!" Wu Youren tossed aside the entrenching shovel. "Look at what you did—you screwed me over big time... Where's Xiao Ha?" "It makes too much noise," the horned owl said, landing soundlessly. "I choked it unconscious and tossed it into the cellar. What did you run into?" Chen Quanxu did have a sense of responsibility. After hearing the full account, he flew off immediately. "Wait here, I'll go check the situation." Twenty-odd minutes later, the horned owl flew back. "Found out. People from the Hall of Esoteric Masters—an ability master and a grand knight guard." "Not sure what they're plotting. Want to take them on?" Wu Youren had originally been feeling relieved—an ability master plus a grand knight... it was fortunate he hadn't acted on impulse. Yet hearing Chen Quanxu's suggestion, he was dumbfounded. "Take... take them on?" "Yeah," the horned owl nodded. "Then interrogate them to see if we can get the truth." "Take them alive, too?" the youth muttered softly, then nodded slightly. "We could give it a shot... Which one are you taking?" The horned owl spread its wings and gave them two flaps. "With my current strength, you think I can fight? At most, I can bully Xiao Ha!" Wu Youren blinked. "Let me confirm first: do you have other helpers nearby?" "Nope," the horned owl answered briskly. "In Liang, I have no helpers... except you." The youth couldn't help rolling his eyes. "So I'm responsible for fighting one-on-two, and you're responsible for cheering me on?" "I don't have to cheer," Chen Quanxu coughed dryly. "Never mind, just a joke." "Still, with your strength, a one-on-two gamble has a shot. What if it works?" "That mindset of yours is a bit dangerous," Wu Youren replied solemnly, straightening his face. "If you want to go crazy, go ahead. I'm not joining you." "But that's an ability master from the Hall of Esoteric Masters," the horned owl said. While its owl voice carried no inflection, its phrasing was filled with regret. "And one separated from the rest. The opportunity is truly too rare... What if I told you he and I have a grudge?" "Well, whenever I have a grudge, I settle it myself," the youth chuckled wryly. "Stop messing around. I'm really exhausted tonight." "Then let's go," Chen Quanxu said briskly. "The ability master was poisoned, and with only one grand knight guard left, they won't dare give chase!"