Poison pill?

Guan Liang, who had turned around midair, gasped as he saw the figure behind him, taking a long breath to calm his violently pounding heart.

He had long heard the adults say this Zhao Ping'an was skilled in lightness techniques, but he never imagined they were this formidable.

Being able to appear silently behind him without detection meant he could just as easily drive a blade into his heart.

"As expected of a Perfected Human-grade Lightness Skill—truly impressive!"

Gazing at Zhao Ping'an, who made no move at all, Guan Liang exclaimed in admiration after steadying himself.

"Follow me. The daren is waiting inside."

Guan Liang flashed to a spot one zhang in front of Zhao Ping'an, stopped, gave the absurdly young figure a curious once-over, then tossed out a word and turned to head into Thousand Guts Valley.

"Daren? A Great Grandmaster?"

Watching Guan Liang leave, Zhao Ping'an immediately fell in behind him, muttering to himself about this so-called daren.

Someone who could command a Grandmaster Peak was at the very least a Great Grandmaster, and the strongest in the entire Profound Water Dynasty was only a Great Grandmaster. Even if that daren turned out to be a Martial Venerable, he had nothing to fear.

As for a Martial King—forget it. Not only would such an expert have no interest in the techniques he held, but with that status, how could they stoop to kidnapping a Houtian Martial Artist? They could simply descend upon Wu'an Mountain and take the cultivation art by force.

Within the mist, a purple light flickered in Zhao Ping'an's eyes. In an instant, the impenetrable fog turned semi-transparent, and everything within thirty zhang became crystal clear.

What he had activated was the Yellow-grade Martial Art Purple Light Ghostly Eyes, which he had already mastered to perfection.

It not only allowed him to attack opponents through his gaze but also greatly enhanced his vision.

Following behind, Zhao Ping'an clearly saw that the figure ahead checked his palm every so often, then adjusted his direction accordingly.

"Is that... a bug? Interesting..."

Zhao Ping'an murmured to himself but made no move.

The two of them wound through narrow, twisting passages for over a kilometer before arriving before a massive bonfire.

The blazing heat of the flames directly dispelled the mist within twenty meters, creating an open ground free of fog.

There, over a dozen figures stood silently—thirteen, to be exact, plus Guan Liang who had led the way, making fourteen.

They had arrived.

In Zhao Ping'an's eyes, there were three Grandmaster Peaks, one Great Grandmaster at the sixth level, and ten Black Underworld Guards.

The only woman among them, Scorpion Woman Qian Yingying, and the remaining ten Black Underworld Guards were not present.

They had clearly stayed behind in the Stone Cave, guarding Zhao Ping'an's Mistress, Zhao Xiuyun.

"Daren, Zhao Ping'an has been brought."

Guan Liang, visibly relieved at the sight of the firelight, quickly strode up to the bonfire and bowed respectfully to the Great Grandmaster among them.

"Mm, good."

The Great Grandmaster nodded at him and waved a hand, signaling Guan Liang to step aside.

"Who are you people? Where is my Mistress?"

Zhao Ping'an, following behind, also hurried forward to stand before them, his eyes icy as he fixed them on the lead Great Grandmaster and demanded loudly.

"Zhao Ping'an? Truly, heroes emerge from youth. To reach Grandmaster Peak at just eighteen—in another two years, you might even make the main Latent Dragon Ranking. Then countless forces will fight over you!"

The Great Grandmaster studied Zhao Ping'an carefully before answering with an irrelevant compliment.

Yet deep in his eyes, barely concealed jealousy blazed, as if he wished to burn Zhao Ping'an to ashes.

He, Shui Gaoge, as the foremost of the four princes of the Profound Water Dynasty, had lived a smooth and carefree life, lacking nothing.

Heavenly treasures, divine weapons, gold, and beauties—he had enjoyed them all without end. But what he lacked was a top-tier cultivation method.

Now past a hundred years old, he had been stuck at the peak of Great Grandmaster sixth level for thirty years without making any progress. The root cause was that the technique he cultivated was merely a fragmentary Yellow-grade Art.

And how many centuries does a man have? Even a Great Grandmaster's lifespan was only two hundred years at most, and any injury or illness would shorten it. Few lived to a hundred and seventy. He had little time left.

This filled him with resentment. He was clearly gifted, with the best martial talent among his brothers, yet because he was born of a concubine, he had only been taught the incomplete Startled Emperor Art, forever barred from reaching Great Grandmaster seventh level or above.

But now, the opportunity had finally come—better than ever before.

"Where is my Mistress?!!"

Staring at the rambling old man before him, Zhao Ping'an demanded again, his voice cold as ice.

"Young people are so impatient, no patience at all. Fine. Did you bring what I want?"

"Is this it? I'll only hand it over after I see my Mistress. Otherwise, we both lose."

Zhao Ping'an pulled from his bosom the Four Symbols Gathering Essence Art he had copied earlier, wrapped tightly in Qi condensed from the ambient heaven and earth energy he had absorbed, making it clear that at the slightest provocation, he would shatter it to dust.

Seeing the crudely made technique manual in Zhao Ping'an's hand, Shui Gaoge's eyes lit up with terrifying intensity. This was the Profound Grade Art countless people dreamed of, far surpassing the incomplete Startled Emperor Art he practiced.

"Good, hahahaha! Give it to me! Give it to me now!"

"Don't move. I won't give it to you until I see my Mistress. Take one more step, and I'll destroy it."

Watching the old man try to approach, Zhao Ping'an stepped back and shouted loudly.

Human nature could not withstand temptation. He was ten-tenths certain that once the other party got the technique, they would turn on him without hesitation, and then his Mistress would be in danger.

"Don't, don't, don't! Guan Liang, send word to Scorpion Woman—tell her to bring the person over."

Shui Gaoge quickly waved his hand, then turned sharply to Guan Liang beside him and issued an order.

"Yes, sir!"

Guan Liang immediately took out an exquisite whistle, placed it to his lips, and began blowing in a rhythmic pattern. The sound rose and fell, melodious and lingering, rapidly transmitting in all directions.

Soon, a figure swiftly approached, carrying the unconscious Zhao Xiuyun on their back.

"Mistress! What did you do to my mistress?"

Seeing his mistress lying motionless, Zhao Ping'an stared at Shui Gaoge with a dark expression and asked coldly.

"Don't worry. She was just being unruly, so we gave her a bit of sleeping powder. I can hand her over to you now, but you—you need to swallow this first."

A black, thumb-sized round pill appeared in Shui Gaoge's hand, and he spoke to Zhao Ping'an with a smile.

"A poison pill?"

Zhao Ping'an frowned, looking at the obviously abnormal pill, and asked.

"Correct. This is the Thousand Strands Soul Attachment Pill. After taking it, you simply can't fully use your Qi. Otherwise, the poison will invade your dantian's qi sea, destroy it, and turn you into a cripple."