Poison Removal

Chu Ning weighed the matter carefully.

He knew nothing about the prefectural city he was heading to, and with the Azure Cloud Arena about to open, forces from all sides would gather there. The waters ran deep as the sea. If he traveled with people from Marquis Wu's Estate, it might save him quite a bit of trouble.

Besides, just now, on the inner side of that Heavenly Thunder Sect disciple's Lightning Pattern Ring, he had seen a blood-red inscription:

"Jinghong appears, and Azure Cloud falls into chaos."

Jinghong was clearly connected to Xie Mingli's elder brother, Xie Jinghong. And with the Azure Cloud Arena about to begin, those six words could not have been written without reason. If he took the opportunity to investigate, he might be able to uncover the secret hidden within.

Furthermore, although Xie Mingli was the precious daughter of Marquis Wu's Estate, from that fierce clash just now, he had already noticed that she was gravely wounded, and the Yin Sha Thunder Poison had not been completely cleared. If she continued forcing herself onward, she likely would not even make it through the gates of the prefectural city.

Thinking this, Chu Ning slowly nodded. "I can."

Xie Mingli's eyes brightened slightly, and the corners of her lips curved into the faintest arc. "Thank you, Young Master."

"Miss!"

At that moment, the guards who had been silent until now finally could not hold back. One guard clad in black armor and covered in blood stepped forward, his face filled with struggle.

"With Miss's noble status, how could she travel together with some wandering martial artist?"

His tone was hostile, and his eyes held a trace of wariness and displeasure toward Chu Ning. To guards like them, the status of Marquis Wu's direct line was supreme. How could they allow an outsider of unknown origins to approach at will?

Moreover, Xie Mingli's identity was special. If anything went wrong, none of them would likely survive.

"And you still care about this at a time like this?" Xie Mingli's tone turned cold. Enduring the erosion of the Yin Sha Thunder Poison, her gaze sharpened like a blade. "Move!"

The black-armored guard froze slightly, then gritted his teeth and finally lowered his head. "...This subordinate obeys."

Chu Ning took in all their reactions. These people from Marquis Wu's Estate had truly carved their notions of hierarchy into their bones.

But he did not care.

The cold wind of the wilderness threaded through the mountains and forests, whipping up flying snow in a bleak and murderous scene.

Chu Ning and Xie Mingli sat together in a carriage, hurrying along the official road.

Inside the carriage, Xie Mingli sat cross-legged, slowly circulating her Ice Soul True Qi in an attempt to suppress the remnants of the Yin Sha Thunder Poison.

Chu Ning glanced at the girl beside him from the corner of his eye. Her face was pale as paper, and cold sweat seeped from her brow. She was clearly enduring terrible pain, yet her posture remained upright and composed, without the slightest disarray.

Chu Ning's gaze swept lightly over the faint black lightning patterns emerging between her brows. In a low voice, he said, "Forcing yourself to suppress the injury will only make things worse."

Xie Mingli's expression paused for the briefest moment, but she immediately returned to normal.

"You're skilled in medicine too, Young Master?"

Chu Ning neither confirmed nor denied it. He said indifferently, "I don't understand medicine. I merely discovered while fighting that Heavenly Thunder Sect disciple just now that my Thunderous Force seemed capable of restraining his Yin Thunder."

Xie Mingli's brows lifted slightly, and surprise flashed through her eyes. "Your Thunderous Force can restrain Yin Thunder? Could it be... that you cultivate Yang Thunder?"

Chu Ning frowned slightly at this, a trace of puzzlement in his eyes. "Yang Thunder? Yin Thunder? What's the difference?"

Xie Mingli looked at him, her expression somewhat complicated. "You really don't know? In thunder arts, Yang Thunder can restrain Yin Thunder."

Chu Ning shook his head. "I practice the 'Thunderclap Saber Art.' As for anything else... I've never heard anyone mention it."

"'Thunderclap Saber Art'?" Xie Mingli's pupils contracted slightly, and her tone carried a hint of probing. "Are you referring to the Thunder Saber Sect's 'Thunderclap Saber Art'?"

Chu Ning was slightly taken aback, then slowly nodded. "You know about the 'Thunderclap Saber Art,' Miss?"

Xie Mingli pondered for a moment, her gaze deep. "They say the highest reward of this Azure Cloud Arena will be the remnant scroll of the 'Nine Heavens Thunder Canon.' The 'Nine Heavens Thunder Canon,' the 'Thunderclap Saber Art,' and the Heavenly Thunder Sect's 'Yin Thunder Heavenly Canon' all come from the same lineage. There are even rumors that if the three can be united, one may glimpse the ultimate mysteries of thunder arts."

She paused, then slowly continued, "As for their exact connection, I don't know either. But one thing is certain: this Azure Cloud Arena... is destined not to be peaceful."

Why had the Thunder Saber Sect been destroyed? Why had the Hall Master made him enter the Azure Cloud Arena? What secret was the 'Nine Heavens Thunder Canon' hiding? Chu Ning sank into thought.

These questions were like thunder gathering in the clouds, concealing a storm.

Suddenly, the clash of metal rang out from the southeast beyond the carriage window. The pursuers had arrived half an hour earlier than expected.

The true qi within Xie Mingli had already fallen into chaos. A cold, baleful thunderous force rampaged through her dantian. Each time she circulated her cultivation method, that sinisterly cold Thunderous Force raced wildly through her meridians, devouring her inner strength.

Her hand clenched slightly, and beneath her sleeve, her knuckles turned white from the force.

We can't delay any longer!

"Need help?" Chu Ning suddenly asked, his deep gaze fixed on her.

Xie Mingli hesitated, then finally let out a soft sigh. "I need to find a concealed place to regulate my breathing and control the Thunder Poison."

"In this desolate wilderness, what place could be more concealed than the depths of the mountains?" The corner of Chu Ning's mouth lifted. "Don't worry. I'll help you remove the poison. Consider it an 'extra gift' for saving you just now."

Xie Mingli looked at Chu Ning, her gaze flickering slightly.

But at this moment, she had no time to think about anything else. The Yin Sha Thunder Poison was accelerating its erosion, and she had to deal with it as quickly as possible.

"Alright." She nodded in agreement.

The two quickly climbed down from the carriage, left the official road, and hurried toward the depths of the dense forest.

The thick night wrapped around their speeding figures. Suddenly, Xie Mingli stumbled and crashed into a charred rock wall.

As Chu Ning reached out to support her, his five fingers brushed the pulsing purple-black lightning pattern around her wrist.

In an instant, the three-inch-long lightning pattern suddenly surged to her elbow.

Xie Mingli seized the vital point at his wrist with her backhand. The cold glint in her eyes was even icier than the soft sword at her waist. "Don't touch me. If you're a clever man, Young Master, then keep walking forward."

The purple-black patterns suddenly forked. One streak shot straight toward her heart meridian, while the other darted toward her dantian.

Xie Mingli suddenly coughed up bloody foam threaded with lightning, and her soft sword clattered to the ground.

Chu Ning flashed forward and caught her falling body. His palm touched the blister of scorching Thunder Poison on her back.

"Why are you being so attentive, Young Master? Could it be that you're from Li Fire Palace?" Yet a cone of ice quietly gathered at her fingertip.

"I wish I were." He pressed two fingers together like a blade and sliced open his own wrist. A bead of golden-red blood dripped onto the point where the lightning patterns intersected. "After all, Li Fire Palace wouldn't use the 'Thunderclap Saber Art'."

The instant the blood bead touched her skin, Xie Mingli's entire body shuddered violently, and the ice cone she had accumulated instantly vaporized.

A moment later, they stopped before a stone cave.

The stone cave was not large. The moment Xie Mingli entered, she could no longer suppress the changes within her body. Her delicate frame jolted violently, and a mouthful of black blood gushed out, staining the front of her clothing crimson.

"Hey!" Chu Ning hurriedly stepped forward and supported her shoulders, only to discover that her skin carried a strange chill, as though her entire body had been frozen solid.

"Hiss—" He sucked in a breath of cold air.

Below Xie Mingli's neck, pitch-black lightning patterns spread like venomous snakes. They followed her collarbone and arms toward her limbs, and signs that her meridians were about to be completely severed had already appeared.

When Chu Ning's palm touched the lightning patterns, the Ice Soul Cold Marrow suddenly bloomed with purple splotches.

Xie Mingli let out a muffled groan. The lightning patterns that had originally receded suddenly began corroding the Ice Soul Cold Marrow in reverse, staining the ice-blue crystal a filthy purple.

"Miss, hold on!" Chu Ning's pupils contracted.

The Thunder Poison suddenly split into seven venomous serpents, each burrowing toward one of Xie Mingli's seven orifices.

Frost chains burst from her crown, but when they bound the venomous serpents, they were counterattacked into spiderweb-like cracks.

When the gigantic Thunder Poison serpent lunged for her heart, Xie Mingli suddenly opened her eyes. Lightning patterns swirled through her pupils. "Three steps from the Kan position, with the Zhen Palace as the guide!"

She seemed to be directing Chu Ning in forming the array. Chu Ning instantly understood and thrust the Rusty Saber into the rock fissure she indicated.

The Earth Vein Thunder Spirit was drawn forth. With the saber as its center, lightning patterns bloomed like fiery lotuses, enveloping the two of them in a scorching vortex.

If the Thunder Poison was not removed, she truly would not survive another fifteen minutes.

"Quick, take off your outer clothes!" Chu Ning's tone was more solemn than ever.

Xie Mingli struggled to remain conscious, and her expression stiffened.