When he heard the words "Dragon Spring Pool," Li Shuidao kept his expression neutral, but inside, his interest was already piqued.
His Spirit Companion was the Jade Toad.
His first Divine Ability was Toad Poison, and his second was the Water Breath Technique.
Li Shuidao hadn't cultivated the Water Breath Technique. Instead, he had directly awakened a hidden Divine Ability: the Wind Catching Eye.
According to miscellaneous records, once a Five Poisons Sect cultivator reached the middle stage of the Spirit Channeling Realm and Mana formed within their body, they stopped training their Divine Abilities and focused wholeheartedly on cultivating the Dao.
Though Divine Abilities weren't as versatile as Dao arts, they could accompany a cultivator for their entire life.
Li Shuidao estimated that it would take him at least another year or two to advance to the middle stage of the Spirit Channeling Realm. Until then, he could still try to awaken the Water Breath Technique. After all, one could never have too many skills.
But he had always disguised his Spirit Companion as a gecko. Spending all day submerged in water to cultivate the Water Breath Technique would hardly fit the act.
"Is Dragon Spring Pool deep?" Li Shuidao suddenly asked, changing the subject so abruptly that Wang Tiankun was completely baffled.
He could only answer honestly. "Dragon Spring Pool is a deep pool, and no one knows how far down it goes."
"What's the surrounding area like?" Li Shuidao asked, his interest growing.
"It's secluded and peaceful, with burbling streams and scenery that's a feast for the eyes," Wang Tiankun described.
"Is it well hidden?" Li Shuidao pressed.
"Well..." Wang Tiankun didn't know how to answer at first. His eyes darted back and forth several times before he finally said, "More or less."
Seeing Wang Tiankun's eyes dart about, Li Shuidao furrowed his brow, instantly on guard. Then he smiled warmly. "You said Senior Sister is waiting for us at Dragon Spring Pool?"
"Yes?" Wang Tiankun nodded.
"Oh... then why aren't you taking me there?"
"Yes, yes... I'll take you there right now." Wang Tiankun's face lit up with delight as he turned to lead the way. Li Shuidao followed at an unhurried pace.
Wang Tiankun led from the front, glancing back at Li Shuidao now and then. Seeing him follow, he gradually quickened his pace.
"Junior Brother, Dragon Spring Pool is just ahead. We'll be there after we round the bend." After saying this, Wang Tiankun looked back again, only to find that Li Shuidao, who had been following right behind him, had suddenly vanished.
"Junior Brother?"
"Junior Brother, where did you go?" Wang Tiankun shouted.
The mountain path stood empty.
Just then, a man appeared at the far end of the road. It was Wang Xuanfeng.
"Cousin, Li Shuidao's disappeared. Didn't he follow you?" Wang Tiankun asked in alarm.
"I've been following behind the whole time! He ducked into the woods. After him!" Wang Xuanfeng charged into the trees, and sure enough, he spotted a figure fleeing.
The build looked just like Li Shuidao's.
"Cousin, you have to kill him. Otherwise, he'll go back and report us, and I'll lose my Spirit Companion." Wang Tiankun hurried after him, a vicious glint in his eyes.
"Don't worry. He's dead for sure today!" Wang Xuanfeng moved like a hunting leopard, quickly closing in on Li Shuidao. Then he flung a Flying Knife, sending it straight at Li Shuidao's back.
The wind howled behind him.
Still fleeing for his life, Li Shuidao glanced over his shoulder. The Flying Knife's trajectory entered his sight.
The Wind Catching Eye, dynamic vision.
The faster the projectile, the more clearly he saw it.
If he kept running forward, the blade would strike him squarely in the back. So he shifted his foot slightly, and at the same time, his body happened to move about three inches to the side.
Thwack—
The knife missed and lodged in a tree trunk.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh...
Several more hidden weapons tore through the air.
Every one was a poisoned Flying Knife, deadly enough to kill with a single drop of blood.
Yet every single one missed Li Shuidao.
Not one blade found its mark!
This left Wang Xuanfeng, who had practiced his Flying Knife technique for three years, completely dumbfounded.
Wang Xuanfeng: Was my Flying Blade technique really this pathetic?
Just as Wang Xuanfeng grew desperate to prove himself, Li Shuidao, who had been fleeing ahead, suddenly turned around. In his hand was a gleaming three-foot sword, its keen point aimed straight at Wang Xuanfeng.
Why had he stopped running?
Wang Xuanfeng saw a swift stream behind Li Shuidao.
That was why he had stopped!
A desperate counterattack. A cornered beast fighting back.
A sinister smile curled Wang Xuanfeng's lips, and he made no effort to hide his delight.
"Let's see how you escape now!" Wang Xuanfeng sneered. Suddenly, he seized his chance and flung a Flying Knife. It flashed coldly as it shot toward Li Shuidao.
Li Shuidao's gaze sharpened. He gripped his sword with both hands, as though holding on to his life.
The Wind Catching Eye, dynamic vision.
Li Shuidao accurately judged the Flying Knife's trajectory.
The long sword in his hands seemed to move—and yet, it seemed not to.
Clang!
The sword knocked the Flying Knife aside with pinpoint accuracy.
"Impossible!"
Furious and humiliated, Wang Xuanfeng reached into his clothes and pulled out eight Flying Knives.
Li Shuidao's gaze sharpened at the sight.
With the Wind Catching Eye, he could easily knock down even the fastest Flying Knife.
But if eight Flying Knives came at him all at once, his eyes might track them, but his sword might not stop them all.
After all, the light-steel sword in his hand was a heavy longsword, not a Bamboo Sword.
A Bamboo Sword was light enough, but metal overcame wood. It could never block Flying Knives forged from steel—unless it was a higher grade.
The sword is nature, nature becomes the sword. Still the heart and steady the breath. Guide the sword with the mind, strike the enemy unseen...
At this life-or-death moment, Li Shuidao kept repeating four words: mind and intent as one.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
The eight Flying Knives swept toward Li Shuidao like flowing clouds and water. He swung his steel sword to block them, the clanging ringing out as sparks flew.
He blocked three of the eight Flying Knives—the three most lethal ones, which would have pierced straight through his body. The rest tore through his clothes and broke his skin.
He had fended off all eight blades with the smallest possible movements. The price was being poisoned.
Scorpion Venom!
Scorpion Venom corresponded to Metal Poison. Influenced by his toad Spirit Companion, Li Shuidao had a Water-element Poison Body.
In the Five Phases, Metal gave birth to Water. So although the blades had grazed his skin and poisoned him with Scorpion Venom, it didn't affect him at all.
"Ha ha ha ha..." Seeing the Flying Knives cut Li Shuidao's skin, Wang Xuanfeng was certain he had been poisoned.
Certain of victory, Wang Xuanfeng reached for his waist again, only to discover that he had run out of Flying Knives.
Wang Xuanfeng was only in the early stage of the Spirit Channeling Mirror and hadn't yet acquired Mana. Without Mana, he couldn't use storage equipment. The dozen or so Flying Knives he carried on him were already gone.
Since that was the case, he drew the curved blade at his waist and charged in for close combat. Li Shuidao had been heavily poisoned by Scorpion Venom and was swaying. Wang Xuanfeng felt that one strike would be enough to chop off his head and take his Gecko Companion, advancing his Golden Scorpion Companion to the middle grade of the first tier. Then he, too, could acquire Mana and greatly increase his strength.
"Die!" Wang Xuanfeng leaped forward, swinging his blade as he soared high into the air.
Li Shuidao still held his long sword, but his body swayed like a drunkard's.
That was what being poisoned looked like!
Squelch!
The poisoned Li Shuidao suddenly thrust his sword into the right wrist of Wang Xuanfeng's sword arm.
He could have killed Wang Xuanfeng with one thrust, but the curved blade would inevitably have taken his own head in return.
Li Shuidao had no intention of dying with him, so he aimed for the wrist.
"Ah!" Wang Xuanfeng screamed. The gleaming curved blade fell from his hand.
But Li Shuidao didn't stop. He dragged his sword down through the pierced wrist. Its sharp edge sliced through the muscles of Wang Xuanfeng's arm, followed the gap between the bones, and cut straight through the joint of his right arm. The blow had nearly cleaved the arm clean off.
Before you continue