Removing Poison

Chu Ning weighed the options in his mind.

He was heading to the prefectural city with no prior knowledge of the place. With the Azure Cloud Arena about to commence and various factions converging, the situation was as deep as the sea. If he could travel with someone from Marquis Wu's Estate, it might save him a lot of trouble.

Moreover, he had seen the blood-red inscription on the inside of the Heavenly Thunder Sect disciple's Lightning Pattern Ring earlier:

"Jinghong appears, Qingyun descends into chaos."

Jinghong was clearly related to Xie Mingli's elder brother, Xie Jinghong. With the Azure Cloud Arena approaching, these six words were not spoken without reason. If he could use this opportunity to investigate, he might uncover the secrets hidden within.

Furthermore, although Xie Mingli was the esteemed daughter of Marquis Wu's Estate, Chu Ning had sensed during their recent intense confrontation that she was severely injured, and the Yin Sha Thunder Poison had not been completely cleared. If she continued to push herself, she might not even make it to the gates of the prefectural city.

With this thought, Chu Ning slowly nodded and said, "Alright."

Xie Mingli's eyes brightened slightly, and the corner of her lips curved into a very faint arc. "Thank you, Young Master."

"Miss!"

Just then, the previously silent guards could no longer hold back. A guard clad in black armor, covered in bloodstains, stepped forward, his face etched with struggle.

"Miss, how can your noble personage travel with a commoner?"

His tone was unfriendly, his eyes holding a hint of wariness and dissatisfaction towards Chu Ning. To these guards, the status of the direct lineage of Marquis Wu's Estate was paramount. How could they allow an outsider of unknown origin to approach so casually?

Moreover, Xie Mingli's status was special. If anything were to go wrong, they, the guards, would likely not survive.

"What time is it, and you're still concerned about such things?" Xie Mingli's voice turned cold. Enduring the erosion of the Yin Sha Thunder Poison, her gaze was sharp as a blade. "Let's go!"

The black-armored guard paused slightly, gritted his teeth, and finally lowered his head. "...Your subordinate obeys."

Chu Ning took in their reactions. These people from Marquis Wu's Estate truly had class consciousness ingrained in their bones.

But he didn't care.

The cold wind of the wilderness whistled through the mountains and forests, stirring up snow, desolate and solemn and murderous.

Chu Ning and Xie Mingli shared a carriage, traveling rapidly along the official road.

Inside the carriage, Xie Mingli sat cross-legged, slowly circulating her Ice Soul True Qi, attempting to suppress the remaining Yin Sha Thunder Poison.

Chu Ning's peripheral vision swept over the young woman beside him. Her face was as pale as paper, cold sweat beading on her forehead. It was clear she was enduring intense pain, yet her posture remained upright, showing no sign of distress.

Chu Ning's gaze lightly swept over the faint black lightning patterns appearing between her brows and said in a low voice, "Forcing yourself to suppress your injuries will only be counterproductive."

Xie Mingli's expression faltered slightly but quickly returned to normal.

"Does Young Master also have expertise in medicine?"

Chu Ning neither confirmed nor denied. He said lightly, "I don't. It's just that when I fought with that Heavenly Thunder Sect disciple earlier, I found that my Thunderous Force seemed to restrain his Yin Thunder."

Xie Mingli's brow twitched, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes. "Your Thunderous Force can restrain Yin Thunder? Could it be... you cultivate Yang Thunder?"

Hearing this, Chu Ning frowned slightly, a hint of confusion in his eyes. "Yang Thunder? Yin Thunder? What's the difference?"

Xie Mingli looked at him, her expression somewhat complex. "You don't even know? In thunder techniques, Yang Thunder restrains Yin Thunder."

Chu Ning shook his head. "I practice the 'Thunderclap Saber Art.' I've never heard of anything else."

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

Chu Ning was slightly taken aback and slowly nodded. "Does Miss know about the 'Thunderclap Saber Art'?"

Xie Mingli pondered for a moment, her gaze deep. "It is said that the highest reward for this Azure Cloud Arena is a fragment 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 originate from the same source. There are even rumors that if the three can be combined, one can glimpse the ultimate mysteries of thunder techniques."

She paused and slowly said, "As for their specific connections, I am also unaware. But what is certain is that this Azure Cloud Arena... is destined not to be peaceful."

Why was the Thunder Saber Sect destroyed? Why did the pavilion master tell him to participate in the Azure Cloud Arena? What secrets did the 'Nine Heavens Thunder Canon' hide? Chu Ning mused to himself.

These questions gathered like thunderclouds, brewing a storm within.

Suddenly, the sound of clashing metal and iron came from the southeast outside the carriage window. The pursuers had arrived half an hour earlier than expected.

Xie Mingli's True Qi had already become chaotic. A cold Thunder Fiend force was rampaging in her dantian. Every time she circulated her technique, that chilling thunderous force would surge wildly along her meridians, devouring her internal energy.

Her hands clenched slightly, her knuckles turning white from the force beneath her sleeves.

She couldn't delay any longer!

"Need some help?" Chu Ning suddenly asked, his gaze deep as he looked at her.

Xie Mingli paused, then finally sighed softly. "I need to find a secluded place to recuperate and control the lightning poison."

"In the middle of nowhere, isn't the most secluded place the deep mountains and old forests?" Chu Ning's lips curved slightly. "Don't worry, I'll help you detoxify. Consider it an 'extra gift' for saving you just now."

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

But at this moment, she had no time to think further. The Yin Sha Thunder Poison was accelerating its invasion; she had to deal with it quickly.

"Alright," she agreed with a nod.

The two quickly got out of the carriage, left the official road, and hurried towards the depths of the dense forest.

The thick night enveloped their rapidly moving figures. Xie Mingli suddenly stumbled and hit a scorched rock face.

The moment Chu Ning reached out to help her, his fingers touched the pulsing purplish-black lightning patterns on her wrist.

Instantly, the three-inch-long lightning patterns suddenly expanded to her elbow.

Xie Mingli grabbed his vital point with her backhand, her eyes colder than the soft sword at her waist. "Don't touch me. If Young Master is smart, he should keep walking forward."

The dark purple lines suddenly forked, one heading straight for her heart meridian, the other surging towards her dan tian.

Xie Mingli coughed out blood foam laced with lightning, her soft sword clattering to the ground.

Chu Ning flashed forward, catching her as she fell, his palm touching the burning lumps of lightning poison on her back.

"You're so attentive, Young Master. Did the Li Fire Palace send you?" she asked, subtly condensing an ice cone with her fingertip.

"I wish they had," he replied. He sliced his own wrist with two fingers like a blade, and golden-red blood dripped onto the intersection of the lightning patterns. "After all, the Li Fire Palace wouldn't use the Thunderclap Saber Art." The moment the blood touched her skin, Xie Mingli's body convulsed violently, and the accumulated ice cone instantly vaporized.

A moment later, they stopped before a stone cave.

The cave wasn't large. As soon as Xie Mingli entered, she could no longer suppress the changes within her body. Her delicate form trembled, and she vomited a mouthful of black blood, staining the front of her clothes.

"Hey!" Chu Ning quickly stepped forward to support her shoulders, only to find her skin unnaturally cold, as if she were frozen solid.

"Hiss—" He gasped.

Beneath Xie Mingli's neck, dark lightning patterns spread like venomous snakes, creeping along her collarbone and arms towards her limbs. The signs of severed meridians were already apparent.

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

Xie Mingli let out a muffled groan. The lightning patterns that had receded were now eroding the Ice Soul Cold Marrow in reverse, dyeing the ice-blue crystals a dirty purple.

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

The lightning poison suddenly split into seven venomous pythons, each burrowing into one of Xie Mingli's seven orifices.

Ice and frost chains erupted from the crown of her head, but as they tried to bind the venomous pythons, they were repelled, leaving spiderweb-like cracks.

When a giant python of lightning poison lunged for her heart, Xie Mingli suddenly opened her eyes, her pupils swirling with lightning patterns. "Three steps in the Kan position, using Zhen Palace as a guide!"

She seemed to be directing Chu Ning to form a formation. Chu Ning instantly understood and plunged his rusty saber into the rock crevice she indicated.

The Earth Vein Thunder Spirit was roused. With the saber as the center, lightning patterns bloomed like a flaming lotus, enveloping them both in a scorching vortex.

If the lightning poison wasn't removed soon, she wouldn't survive another quarter of an hour.

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

Xie Mingli struggled to maintain her consciousness, her face stiffening.