An Open Stratagem

Han Kun smiled, patted the black cat's head to let it leave on its own, then stood up and said, "Judging by the time, it's about time to end this game. First, clip Third Brother's wings and give him a warning. Considering our brotherhood, if he can put away his inappropriate thoughts in time, I might forgive him."

"Your Highness possesses great magnanimity."

"Go contact the Remote Heaven Society and tell them that I will grant their request if they can kill Yan Jinghong."

Chapter 494 A Wise Plan

—To deal with a seasoned veteran like Yan Jinghong, poisoning, sneak attacks, and traps will not succeed. Only by issuing a fair and square challenge can success be achieved, because he is both a hero and a gentleman. Therefore, even if he knows that there are mountains of knives and seas of fire ahead, he will definitely jump in.

Su Yingtao recalled what Xia Guanxue had told him, took a deep breath, and knew that what followed was the biggest challenge of his life so far. Even Yan Jinghong, who had fallen into a trap, was not someone he could easily deal with.

About fifteen minutes later, Yan Jinghong arrived at the agreed location, glanced discreetly at the dense, gloomy forest around them, and asked Su Yingtao, "What do you want with me?"

"Knowing that I lured you to this desolate place with the intention of harming you, you still came. Are you too confident in your abilities, or do you completely disregard me?"

Yan Jinghong opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Su Yingtao interrupted her, "No need to answer! I have a feeling your answer will only make me angrier. I'm already fed up with this entanglement with you. I never get the response I want. Do you think that constant forbearance will quell the hatred in my heart? No, it will only make me more aware of your arrogance!"

I didn't...

"No need to explain! I wouldn't believe you even if you did. I asked you to come here today to settle this matter!"

Su Yingtao spread his five fingers, and a colorful pill appeared in his palm, clearly a highly poisonous substance.

Sure enough, he said, "This is the Hundred Poisons Sinew-Eroding Pill, made from a mixture of one hundred non-confrontational poisons. Even the poison master doesn't know the final toxicity of the pill, so there's no specific antidote. However, the poison master did an experiment: he soaked a bowl of water with the residue from the pill-making process, then diluted the poison a hundredfold. He gave an elephant just a sip, and the elephant died in less than three minutes. Moreover, its blood vessels were corroded and riddled with holes. If you swallow this pill..."

At the same time, Su Yingtao drew his sword and said, "Then, if you can withstand the attacks of me and another victim who has also been persecuted by you for half an hour, our grudges will be settled. I will never bother you again, nor will I ever mention Sister Yinglan in front of you again. So, do you have the courage to accept this challenge?"

Yan Jinghong glanced at Su Yingtao's expression, and after confirming that the other party was serious, said, "If this is what you expect..." He reached out, took the poison pill, and swallowed it in one gulp.

The other party's decisive action filled Su Yingtao with admiration. Even from the opposing side, he had to admit that this magnanimity and breadth of mind were truly outstanding. If they were in each other's shoes, he would absolutely not dare to take this poison pill—at the same time, he had to admire Xia Guanxue's accurate judgment.

Even setting aside his martial arts skills, Yan Jinghong's personal charisma alone was enough to inspire admiration in even complete strangers, who would believe he was no ordinary person.

The more outstanding Yan Jinghong was, the more irritated Su Yingtao became. He was clearly the victim, possessing a natural sense of justice, so why was he being portrayed as a despicable clown?

"You chose this yourself. Half an hour, no questions asked, Xia Guanxue, attack together!"

Su Yingtao called out towards the dense forest on the other side, but the response was from an unfamiliar voice.

"Hahaha, Yan Jinghong, today is your death day!"

Faster than the sound of maniacal laughter, a figure darted out of the dense forest, leaving a series of afterimages. At first glance, the figure seemed to have six legs and was not human. The air currents generated by its forward rush were like a storm, pushing the trees to the sides and bending them, creating a straight passage in the dense forest.

This imposing aura clearly indicates a Spirit Transformation expert!

Yan Jinghong's expression changed slightly. He drew his divine sword and swung it horizontally. The sword and palm clashed, and thunder roared, startling everything. Yan Jinghong, who was under the influence of the poison, was immediately blasted away, spitting out blood. The blood he spat out also had an unusual color.

"The Vicious Qi Evil Spider Tang Jing!"

Su Yingtao was even more surprised than Yan Jinghong: "Why is it the Vicious Qi Evil Spider? Where is Xia Guanxue? Where did he go?"

The incident happened so suddenly that I couldn't process what was happening for a moment. I was filled with doubts and wondered if Xia Guanxue had been Vicious Qi Evil Spider.

"The Sword Rises, Wind and Clouds Move!"

Yan Jinghong suppressed the toxins in her body, absorbed the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi into her sword, and unleashed a sharp Sword Qi that followed the wind and clouds, piercing straight through the sky.

"Useless!"

The Vicious Qi Evil Spider roared, and suddenly a pair of thick, long arms appeared from behind it, as thick and long as elephant legs. With a powerful clamping motion, it crushed the Sword Qi energy. At the same time, it spread its ten fingers forward, and its True Qi condensed into a net that covered the sky and the earth.

Yan Jinghong rode the wind backward, his Sword Qi crisscrossing and severing the approaching net, but his speed inevitably slowed down, and he was caught up by the Vicious Qi Evil Spider.

"Mad Spider Chaotic Strikes!"

The Vicious Qi Evil Spider rubbed its palms together to form blades, then unleashed a barrage of slashes that covered Yan Jinghong's entire body. The attack appeared chaotic, but in reality, it blocked all escape routes.

"The Nüba Droughts the Eastern Wilderness!"

Yan Jinghong unleashed his fiery power with his palm, and a phantom of Drought Demon appeared behind him. Wherever he passed, flames flickered and the temperature soared. The earth within a hundred meters was scorched into dust, and the fire continued to spread with his movements, resembling a human-shaped fire.

While his imposing aura was indeed frightening, it was precisely a sign that Yan Jinghong was unable to control the Primal Qi within his body. Under normal circumstances, he could control all his fiery energy within a radius of three meters. Now, however, he also had to suppress the deadly poison within his body, making it difficult for him to control his strength freely.

"Hahaha, Yan Jinghong, where did that fierce spirit you had when you chased me down to the ends of the earth go? What goes around comes around. Did you ever imagine you'd end up like this? Run, run! Run for your life! Let me see your pathetic, pathetic state!"

The Vicious Qi Evil Spider pressed forward relentlessly. Although Yan Jinghong used the Dunjia Heavenly Movement to move and shift without a trace, the Vicious Qi Evil Spider's Movement Method were equally unpredictable and elusive. If it encountered an opponent who was not Movement Method, it would likely create a scene of countless afterimages surrounding it. It was precisely because Yan Jinghong was so Movement Method that he could only follow behind and could not flank it from the front.

The two fought as they marched, their powerful residual energy spreading out, displaying the destructive power of Spirit Transformation level, ravaging the roadside scenery. In the blink of an eye, they had traveled twenty miles. Fortunately, they were in the suburbs; if it had been in the city, the property damage caused along the way would probably have been in the hundreds of millions.

Unable to break free, Yan Jinghong realized that defeat was inevitable if things continued this way. Su Yingtao's poison pill was extremely potent, requiring 40% of his power to completely suppress it. It should be noted that after a martial artist advances to the Nascent Spirit Transformation, they have already undergone a complete transformation, and ordinary poisons are ineffective. Even when faced with a deadly poison that kills on contact with blood, they can use their True Qi to envelop it and expel it from their body. After all, blood circulation takes time. As long as the poison is controlled before it reaches vital organs, it is not difficult to eliminate it. Even if they encounter a particularly troublesome corrosive poison, they can simply sacrifice a portion of their flesh and blood to regenerate.

However, the poison pill that Su Yingtao gave him was like a living thing, circulating in his body and extremely difficult to control. Moreover, this poison was harmless to flesh and blood, but it could corrode True Qi and rapidly deplete his power. This was the first time he had encountered such Anomalies poison. The only thing he was sure of was that it was definitely not the "Hundred Poisons Sinew-Eroding Pill" that Su Yingtao had mentioned. This kid must have been deceived.

With Yan Jinghong distracted by two things, her True Qi was depleted far more than her opponent's. The result of a prolonged battle would either be that she would be unable to suppress the poison or that her opponent would seize an opening. She made a decision immediately: she would stop moving and running away, stay firmly in place, and switch to a full defensive stance, devoting most of her energy to neutralizing the poison.

"Stop running? Are you resigning yourself to death? No, that's not what I want. I'm not satisfied yet. This little bit of pleasure is far from enough. Keep running!"

The Vicious Qi Evil Spider's eyes revealed a crazed state, its four arms swung like hammers, its force like a waterfall, far exceeding its previous power. The trajectory of its palm blades almost tore space apart, and wave after wave of powerful force crushed over it, like a wall of air.

Yan Jinghong slowly turned to the right, raised the wooden sword in his right hand, held it horizontally in front of his chest, and held both palms facing each other as if holding a ball. He slowly slashed the sword forward in an arc, the sword force continuous, protecting his whole body without leaving any gaps. At the same time, the sword tip trembled and shook at high speed, dispersing the opponent's force, like a fish swimming upstream. With the swaying of its scales and tail, it parted the oncoming torrent to both sides.

The violent force bombarded Yan Jinghong from all directions, constantly compressing the space, but when it came within five feet of Yan Jinghong, it seemed to have reached its limit and could not penetrate it no matter what.

Although Yan Jinghong was at a disadvantage, he did not reveal any flaws. He drew a flawless sword circle with a perfect defensive stance. No matter how much the continuous punches hit him, they could not get through the protection of the sword circle. Even though he felt great pressure, he did not retreat a step. Not only did he defend perfectly, but he also did not move his feet even an inch. Moreover, because he constantly channeled the enemy's force into the ground, his feet sank deeper and deeper.

With three parts deflecting the force, three parts dispersing the force, and three parts drawing the force, Yan Jinghong used only the last part to forcefully resist. He was multitasking, and although he only had 30% of his strength used in the fight, he made up for the deficiency with skill. Although he was struggling at this moment, he did not show any signs of defeat, demonstrating the powerful resilience of Spirit Transformation Grandmaster.

"That's it! That's it! This is the process I wanted to enjoy! Yan Jinghong, struggle desperately, don't die so soon!"