It's Time to Act

5 AM. You Tao was on the ground, vomiting non-stop. She had reached her limit.

"No, I have to go down the mountain..." You Tao struggled to get up, trembling as she left the woods.

Ever since Li Banfeng left, You Tao had also thought about going down the mountain, but every time she saw others still picking flowers, she couldn't bear to leave.

Affected by the poisonous mist, You Tao's efficiency had plummeted. In the past eight hours, she had only picked three Snake Spot Chrysanthemums, spending most of her time resting.

Even though she knew she was dizzy and had trouble walking, seeing others still picking flowers made You Tao feel uneasy.

That's how people are. Seeing others make money makes you feel like you've suffered a great loss, as if a golden pool is right in front of you, and you can grab a little more if you just grit your teeth.

But she couldn't hold on any longer.

Walking along the mountain path, she faintly heard footsteps behind her.

You Tao was startled, covering the pouch at her waist, and turned back abruptly.

The turn was too sudden, her vision swayed, and You Tao fell to the ground.

There was indeed someone chasing her from behind, it was the little girl Cao Ye.

Cao Ye stepped forward and helped You Tao up, taking out a small porcelain bottle from her bosom and giving it to You Tao: "Sister, I have Cooling Powder here. Take a bite, it will make you feel better. If you don't trust it, I'll take a bite first..."

You Tao smiled, took the porcelain bottle, took a bite, and after resting for a moment, she indeed felt much better.

"I've eaten a lot of your Medicine Candy and medicine powder today, Sister truly feels indebted to you," You Tao opened her cloth bag and took out five Snake Spot Chrysanthemums. "Don't dislike them, Sister doesn't have many either, just take them."

Cao Ye shook her head and said, "I picked more than Sister, I have sixty-one stalks. I don't want Sister's. Sister, let's go down the mountain together. I'll rely on Sister to take care of me on the way."

You Tao pinched Cao Ye's cheek and said with a smile, "Let's go, together."

The two walked down the mountain. After less than an hour, a figure blocked their path ahead.

Cao Ye was startled and shrank behind You Tao.

You Tao had been in the jianghu and was still somewhat composed.

She first observed the condition of the mountain path, then shouted at the person blocking the way: "Brother, are you looking for Snake Spot Chrysanthemums? I can show you a way, it's a good place, there are plenty of good flowers."

In the thick mist, the man laughed and said, "I think this is a good place right now, I think you two flowers are quite good."

The voice sounded a little familiar.

You Tao smiled upon hearing this: "Brother, your mouth is really sweet. If you say I'm a flower, I'll shamelessly admit it, but how old is this little girl? At most, she's a flower bud, and you can still lay your hands on her?"

As she spoke, You Tao reached out to Cao Ye, signaling her to hand over the Cooling Powder.

After taking a bite of the Cooling Powder, You Tao's condition improved slightly. She realized that this obstacle was probably unavoidable.

The man took two steps forward, and in the night, his shiny bald head was visible.

It was that bald guy again!

"I won't waste my breath with you two," the bald man wiped his machete. "Leave the flowers and I'll let you two live."

As he spoke, his three followers appeared from behind him.

Cao Ye was very scared, tightly clutching the cloth bag at her waist.

You Tao patted her, signaling her not to panic.

Medicine Cultivators can't fight, but they should know how to use medicine. She wondered if this girl had brought any poison.

But why didn't You Tao listen to the bald man and leave the Snake Spot Chrysanthemum to save her life?

Because she had traveled the jianghu and knew what kind of people these were.

This was a desolate mountain wilderness, and they were two women.

Even if they left the flowers, they might not be able to save their lives, and they wouldn't die simply.

You Tao chuckled softly, winked at the bald man, and said with tenderness, "Big brother, look at what you're saying. A big man like you bullying us two weak women, can you really bear it?"

The bald man laughed, "I really can't bear it. How about this, you two serve me together. Whoever serves me well, I'll reward her with a flower."

"Big brother, how is one flower enough! I'll work harder, can't you reward me with more?" You Tao twisted her body, her curves fully displaying her charm.

Especially her voice, it was like a goose feather dipped in honey, brushing back and forth on one's spine.

The bald man's heart rate quickened, and so did the heart rates of his three followers.

"Stinking slut, so you're the Joy Cultivator, you were the one who did it during the day!" The bald man spat. "Trying these tricks on your grandpa? Grandpa will let you have a good taste today!"

The four of them rushed forward together. You Tao pulled out two short knives from her waist.

In the small woods, Old Smoke Cannon put the last bit of tobacco from his pipe into the pipe, lit it, and took two deep drags.

"I've got enough too. Everyone, we'll meet again." Old Smoke Cannon had collected a total of ninety-one Snake Spot Chrysanthemums. Among this group, he had earned the most.

But he couldn't hold on any longer.

He had used tobacco oil to protect his throat, filtering out a lot of the poisonous mist, but he was old after all. He had spent nearly twenty hours in Bitter Mist Mountain and had reached his limit.

Old Smoke Cannon got up and was about to leave when Hu Gaozi stepped forward and stopped him. "Old man, don't be in a hurry. It's not dawn yet, wait a bit longer before leaving."

Old Smoke Cannon saw that something was wrong and looked Hu Gaozi up and down. "What, trying to pull a fast one?"

Hu Gaozi smiled, "Old man, don't speak so harshly. We're partners, shouldn't we look out for each other along the way? You're going down the mountain with so many good flowers, something is bound to happen halfway. Why not let us keep them for you and return them after we get down the mountain?"

"Let you keep them?" Old Smoke Cannon laughed. "Thank you for your kindness. We met by chance, and our fate ends here."

Hu Gaozi blocked Old Smoke Cannon's path. "Old man, leave the bag behind. I'm truly doing this for your own good."

The old man sneered, "Little brat, I knew long ago that you and the one wearing glasses weren't good people.

When that bald man came just now, you two only made noise and didn't do anything, playing along and putting on a crosstalk show.

The fight was almost over, and then you two rushed over to pretend to be good people. You're with the bald man, aren't you!"

These words were meant for Qin Xiaopang.

Qin Xiaopang stood there dumbfounded, still not understanding why Hu Gaozi and Old Smoke Cannon were arguing.

After hearing Old Smoke Cannon say that, he understood a little.

Old Smoke Cannon continued, "When we went up the mountain, that bald guy robbed us once. When we got to the flower-picking spot, he robbed us again. You acted like a good person inside, but you actually wanted the bald guy to test our skills.

If our skills weren't good, you'd let the bald guy rob us first. After we lost the flowers, we'd definitely fight desperately to get them back. Then, in the evening, you'd collect everything.

If our skills were decent, you wouldn't let the bald guy act. In the evening, after we dispersed, you'd deal with us one by one.

Little Fatty, that guy named Bai Sha who came with you is probably already dead on the way. Those two girls are likely dead too. If we don't act now, we'll also die at the hands of these two bastards."

Hearing this, Little Fatty quickly put away his pouch and picked up his axe.

The man with the gold-rimmed glasses adjusted his glasses, looked at the two, and said with a smile, "Don't be impulsive. Listen to my advice.

Old Smoke Cannon, you have good eyesight, but unfortunately, you're too greedy. With your cultivation, if you had gone down the mountain earlier, we wouldn't have been able to stop you.

But you insisted on staying until now. You probably can't even stand steadily, right?

It's clear you've been around, but this should be your first time on Bitter Mist Mountain.

Do you think your smoke oil can block all the poisonous mist of Bitter Mist Mountain? If that were the case, Bitter Mist Mountain would be the domain of you Smoke Cultivators!"

Old Smoke Cannon laughed, "Smoke oil can't block all the poisonous mist, but it can block at least half. It's much better than you guys enduring it until now. If you don't believe me, try it."

The man with the gold-rimmed glasses sighed, took out a handkerchief, and wiped his lenses. "I shouldn't talk to a fool like you. It's too much effort."

Hu Gaozi pulled out his dagger and said, "Just finish him off. If he wants to die, can we stop him?"

Old Smoke Cannon looked at Little Fatty.

Qin Xiaopang was still thinking about the right time to strike.

Unexpectedly, Hu Gaozi suddenly jumped over and kicked Little Fatty in the face.

Food Cultivators, when full, have extraordinary physical talent. They can run, fight, are very resistant to blows, and have a certain resistance to poisons.

But if you single out any one talent, he is not the best.

Just like the fighting talent, he is clearly not as good as Hu Gaozi, because Hu Gaozi is a Martial Cultivator.

This kick landed on Little Fatty's face. Little Fatty was completely unprepared. Hu Gaozi stepped forward and stabbed Little Fatty in the stomach with another knife. Little Fatty barely managed to dodge this time.

But after dodging the knife to his stomach, he took a punch to the jaw from Hu Gaozi. Little Fatty couldn't stand steadily and fell to the ground. Hu Gaozi kicked him in the face, directly knocking Little Fatty unconscious.

Hu Gaozi was about to deliver the finishing blow when he suddenly saw a burst of yellow smoke appear behind him.

Hu Gaozi quickly dodged the smoke, and a shower of sparks flew onto his face.

Hu Gaozi and the man with the gold-rimmed glasses both claimed to be first-level cultivators, but this was actually a bluff. They had no levels, while Old Smoke Cannon was a genuine first-level cultivator.

The man with the gold-rimmed glasses couldn't deal with Old Smoke Cannon alone, and Old Smoke Cannon didn't give Hu Gaozi a chance to finish off Little Fatty.

Old Smoke Cannon greatly admired Little Fatty because when they fought the bald guy earlier, only Little Fatty had truly taken action.

After dealing with the man with the gold-rimmed glasses and Hu Gaozi, they might encounter the bald guy on the way down the mountain. Having this Little Fatty would be a good helper.

Seeing that he couldn't kill Little Fatty for the moment, Hu Gaozi quickly joined the man with the gold-rimmed glasses in attacking Old Smoke Cannon. Old Smoke Cannon used his pipe, with both smoke and fire, to deal with the two. At first, he had the upper hand. Old Smoke Cannon thought he could finish off these two in the time it took to smoke a pipe.

But when this pipe of smoke was finished, Old Smoke Cannon hadn't won, and his situation was not good.

A Smoke Cultivator without smoke has their combat power reduced by one level.

The old man fought and retreated, while the man with the gold-rimmed glasses brandished his folding fan, his attacks becoming increasingly fierce.

This shouldn't be happening. The man with the gold-rimmed glasses has also been on the mountain for a day, so why doesn't he show any signs of poisoning?

Old Smoke Cannon was trapped between the two, with no way out. He exhaled the last bit of smoke he had held in, and the smoke shot towards the face of the man with the gold-rimmed glasses like a sharp blade.

The man with the gold-rimmed glasses waved his folding fan, scattering the smoke.

Scattering it was useless; the smoke was poisonous. Old Smoke Cannon also sprayed out the poison hidden in his false teeth along with the smoke.

Hu Gaozi covered his mouth and nose, retreating repeatedly, tears and snot streaming down his face.

The man with the gold-rimmed glasses coughed twice but wasn't significantly affected.

Old Smoke Cannon was stunned. Why didn't this puff of poison smoke take him down?

Could it be that he's a Poison Cultivator?

This is bad!

The last puff of smoke was also used up, and Old Smoke Cannon didn't manage to create an opportunity to escape.

The folding fan fanned vigorously in front of him, causing Old Smoke Cannon to smell a strange fragrance.

Not good!

His fan is poisoned!

Old Smoke Cannon's vision blurred, and he realized he had been poisoned!

PS: There will be another update at noon, twelve o'clock. Dear readers, please vote and leave more comments.