First-rank Pills, Hope

Tie Wuqing's movement technique was exceptionally profound, and she quickly caught up to the Horned Demon.

At once, crimson light flared from her palm. With a forward push, a palm print containing terrifying power of qi and blood struck toward the Horned Demon's back.

The Horned Demon disregarded everything, pouring all the black qi and blood within its body into its back to withstand Tie Wuqing's full-force blow.

The Horned Demon spat black blood, madness appearing on its face. Borrowing the force of Tie Wuqing's palm print, it shot toward Ye Xiaofan at even greater speed.

"Fuck!"

Ye Xiaofan was speechless. Tie Wuqing was also stunned for a moment, a trace of embarrassment flashing through her beautiful eyes. She no longer dared strike carelessly and chased after the Horned Demon at full speed.

Wherever the Horned Demon passed, humans and beast-shaped demons fighting in its path were sent flying.

At once, wails and roars rang out without end.

Some unlucky demons were even trampled apart by the Horned Demon.

Ye Xiaofan glanced back at the Horned Demon from the corner of his eye, calculating the distance between them. Even if he used the Wind God Steps with all his strength, he was still far slower than this demon.

He could only rely on agility and take a gamble.

Thirty feet.

Ten feet.

Every hair on the back of Ye Xiaofan's neck stood on end, as though an icy hand had clamped around it.

Now!

Ye Xiaofan roared inwardly. Just as the Horned Demon's huge hand was about to seize his neck,

he stomped heavily, coming to an instant stop. Using his foot as an axis, he lowered himself and spun ninety degrees. Then he stepped forward with his other foot, borrowing the power of the wind to leap thirty feet ahead.

The Horned Demon's eyes bulged wide. It seemed unable to believe that, with its Ninth Level Body Refinement strength, it had personally tried to capture a human at the Body Refining Third Level—and failed.

The Horned Demon wanted to strike again, but Tie Wuqing had already arrived.

Baleful Intent filled Tie Wuqing's eyes. She pushed the qi and blood throughout her body to the limit, her entire form seeming to ignite with the power of qi and blood, like wolf smoke.

Qi and Blood Wolf Smoke!

Tie Wuqing was actually a genius cultivator who had cultivated a qi and blood phenomenon.

Her pair of slender jade hands, white as scallion stalks, struck out in anger.

A palm print two feet wide shot toward the Horned Demon at lightning speed.

Horror filled the Horned Demon's eyes. It did not dare be careless in the slightest, turning around and gathering black qi and blood around its fists as they smashed into the scarlet palm print like rolling thick smoke.

It was like war drums shaking the heavens, and like thunder exploding upon level ground.

The surrounding people were briefly deafened. Then terrifying energy aftershocks spread outward like ocean waves.

Wherever they passed, people and demons were thrown into disarray, vomiting blood.

Ye Xiaofan swung his sword, slashing at the energy aftershock. The recoil split the web between his thumb and forefinger, numbed his arm, and nearly made him lose his grip on the treasured sword.

He was flung away like a kite with its string cut, only stopping when he crashed into a towering ancient tree.

"Pfft!"

His five viscera shook violently. Sweetness rose in his throat, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

The residual poison, which had not acted up before, seemed to have found an opportunity and erupted like a volcano at that moment.

Ye Xiaofan spat three mouthfuls of blood in succession. Threads of black qi tinged the blood, and when it fell to the ground, it corroded it and sent up wisps of green smoke.

His vitality plummeted at high speed. His face instantly turned deathly pale, and he slumped weakly against the tree like someone recovering from a serious illness, gasping for breath.

Time returned to the instant Tie Wuqing and the Horned Demon clashed head-on.

The moment human and demon exchanged blows, the terrifying palm force sent the Horned Demon flying.

Black blood sprayed from its seven orifices as though it cost nothing.

"Human, I'll remember you. You ruined Lord Mountain Monarch's good deed. You will not meet a good end."

Though the Horned Demon's aura had fallen to rock bottom, it did not forget to spit out a threat.

The instant it landed, it immediately used the Blood Burning Secret Technique and charged into the forest.

Tie Wuqing's willow-like brows furrowed slightly. She pursued it for a stretch, but returned without success.

Elsewhere,

"Grass is a plant."

Seeing the Horned Demon flee, the Unicorn Demon cursed under its breath and turned to flee in another direction.

One had already escaped. If another got away, her Dao heart would become unstable.

Tie Wuqing pushed her movement technique to its limit and chased after the Unicorn Demon.

The Unicorn Demon was merely at the Body Refinement Seventh Layer. How could it outrun Tie Wuqing, who already excelled at movement techniques?

In only a few breaths, Tie Wuqing caught up to it.

Within two or three moves, she smashed its head apart.

Tie Wuqing dragged the headless demon back by its ankle.

A demon's entire body was treasure. It could not be wasted.

"Gang Leader Tie, hurry and take a look at Xiaofan."

Luo Ming's anxious voice rang out. Tie Wuqing's willow brows creased slightly. Using her movement technique, she arrived before Ye Xiaofan, grabbed his wrist, and sent a warm current through his arm and into his body, through his five viscera, six bowels, limbs, and bones.

As she sensed the state of Ye Xiaofan's body, Tie Wuqing's brows beneath her mask nearly twisted into a single line.

"Gang Leader Tie, can you tell what is wrong with Xiaofan?"

Seeing that Tie Wuqing remained silent for so long, Luo Ming could not help asking.

"It should be poison. The toxin is attached to his five viscera. Even I can only vaguely detect it."

Tie Wuqing's tone was grave.

"What? How could Xiaofan have been poisoned?"

Luo Ming cried out in alarm, looking at Ye Xiaofan with worry written all over his face.

"You can actually tell that I've been poisoned."

A trace of shock appeared on Ye Xiaofan's face, pale as gold paper. Even Sai Hua Tuo, the Old Chinese doctor, had been unable to detect even the slightest trace of this poison.

"You knew you were poisoned."

A strange glint flashed through Tie Wuqing's beautiful eyes. But when she recalled his heaven-defying combat power, she found it reasonable.

After all, every monster among geniuses had something unique about them.

"That's right. But even Sai Hua Tuo of the Demon Suppression Division could not identify this poison, and Detoxification Pills have no effect on it. I can only suppress it with qi and blood."

Ye Xiaofan nodded as he spoke.

Tie Wuqing released Ye Xiaofan's arm and fell into thought.

She seemed to be searching her mind for what kind of poison Ye Xiaofan had suffered.

Luo Ming and the others did not dare disturb her. They could only watch Tie Wuqing anxiously.

Ye Xiaofan was not too worried. The first time was unfamiliar, the second time routine. As long as the qi and blood within him recovered, he could suppress the residual poison again and cheat the lifespan tyrant once more.

"I can't tell what poison it is. I have a Low-grade First-rank Detoxification Pill. Take it and see whether it can remove the poison."

As Tie Wuqing spoke, she took a jade bottle from her robes and poured out a jade-green pill.

"Gang Leader Tie, there's no need to spend so much. This poison won't take my life."

Although Ye Xiaofan had only cultivated for a few days, he still knew how precious pills were.

The Blood Qi Pills they normally used in cultivation were merely medicinal herbs kneaded together. They could not be considered genuine pills at all.

Even the lowest-grade ranked pills, Low-grade First-rank Pills, could only be refined by Foundation Establishment cultivators who had cultivated divine sense.

As for Ninth-rank Pills, legend had it that only immortals could refine them.

"Quit dawdling!"

Tie Wuqing was not a foolishly kind person. She had her own considerations. Perhaps there would come a day when she needed his help with her own affairs.

Investing in him while he was still weak would not be a loss.

So she grabbed Ye Xiaofan's jaw and stuffed the pill into his mouth.

The pill dissolved the moment it entered his mouth. An incomparably pure energy instantly swept through his entire body. Ye Xiaofan only felt warm all over, just like when he had first broken through to the Body Refinement First Layer.

He immediately stopped caring about anything else and shut his eyes, pretending to cultivate.

There was no helping it. No one would believe that he could cultivate simply by breathing, so he could only put on a show.

At this time, the others finished clearing out the remaining demons. After helping their severely injured comrades aside, they gathered around.

Although many demons had attacked this time, thanks to Ye Xiaofan's terrifying strength, no one had died.

Those who were severely injured had only been caught in the aftermath when the humanoid demon pursued Ye Xiaofan.

After half an incense stick of time,

Ye Xiaofan opened his eyes and suddenly spat out a mouthful of black blood. Color visibly returned to his face.

On the panel,

Lifespan: Three days (mild poisoning) (suppressed; using qi and blood power allows thirty percent of full power)

"How do you feel?"

Luo Ming immediately asked.

"Very good."

Ye Xiaofan rose to his feet and solemnly bowed to Tie Wuqing.

"Gang Leader Tie, great kindness needs no words of thanks. From this day onward, wherever you have need of me, Ye Xiaofan, simply give the order."

"Your poison hasn't been completely removed, has it?"

Tie Wuqing ignored Ye Xiaofan's words and instead scrutinized him as she asked.

"That's right. But I have a feeling that once I break through to the Body Refinement Fourth Layer and undergo Marrow Cleansing and Tendon Washing again, I'll be able to remove it completely."

Ye Xiaofan was in a good mood. After all, he would soon break through to the Body Refinement Fourth Layer.

Without Tie Wuqing's ranked pill, he felt that he would have needed to break through to the Body Refinement Seventh Layer and undergo Marrow Cleansing and Tendon Washing for the third time before he could completely eliminate the residual poison.

That was under the condition that the poison did not flare up again. Otherwise, every flare-up would add much more residual poison.

Now, with the aid of the ranked pill, he was confident that he could use the second Marrow Cleansing and Tendon Washing after his breakthrough to eradicate every last trace of the residual poison.

Tie Wuqing nodded and said nothing more. She turned and walked toward her horse, took down her Wine Gourd, and drank deeply from it.

Ye Xiaofan could not make sense of Tie Wuqing's thoughts. She had simply given him such a precious pill.

But he had already made up his mind that he would repay this favor many times over in the future.

As for why that humanoid demon had tried to capture him at the end, how could he know?

He could only assume that the other party had something wrong with its head.

Still, he remembered all of this in his heart. Once he had sufficient strength, he would settle every score one by one.

Luo Ming gave the dazed Ye Xiaofan a worried look. Although he had been fighting demons just now, he knew that the powerful humanoid demon's target had been Ye Xiaofan.

However, Luo Ming said nothing. He turned to the people gathered around them and said,

"This is not a place to rest. Let's reach the mining camp first."

The other side had failed this time. They might return again.

And when they did, there might be more than one Ninth Level Body Refinement demon.

The mining area had Ninth Level Body Refinement experts stationed there. With them joining forces with Tie Wuqing, they would be much safer.