Calculating (Part Two)

Outside Qianxiu Pavilion, Ning Ye sat quietly in a little pavilion, drinking tea. Every so often, sounds of pleasure drifted down from upstairs.

The timing was about right. Ning Ye rose and headed upstairs.

As he passed the room where Li Baidao was staying, he discreetly slapped several talismans onto the wall.

Qianxiu Pavilion was also protected by the Immortal Sect. Monitoring and defensive measures had been set up everywhere. But the talismans Ning Ye used weren't attack talismans; they were Aphrodisiac Talismans.

This kind of talisman could stir up desire, making people more excited and vigorous, with seemingly endless stamina. They were often used in Qianxiu Pavilion, so the protective formation wouldn't stop them. The Yin Talisman Scripture didn't contain this kind of talisman; Ning Ye had obtained it from the Extreme Joy Sect.

Under the effects of several Aphrodisiac Talismans, Li Baidao's desire grew ever stronger. He thrust with all his might, until Ding Xiaoxiang cried out again and again, saying she couldn't take any more.

Seeing she really couldn't go on, while he was still in the heat of the moment, Li Baidao pushed open the window and shouted, "Send three more over!"

The attendant replied, "Right away, sir. What kind would you like?"

"Any kind! Hurry!" Li Baidao yelled.

In a flurry, the attendant hurriedly arranged for three more women to enter the room.

As the three women entered, Ning Ye discreetly sprinkled medicinal powder over them.

This time, it was a powder that could bolster yang energy. It wasn't poison either; it simply allowed a man to regain his vigor. He had also gotten it from the Extreme Joy Sect.

Bliss Powder to heighten pleasure, Aphrodisiac Talismans to inflame desire, and now this powder to stimulate the blood and strengthen yang energy. None of them was poison, but together, they would keep Li Baidao in that room until his body was completely drained.

With that done, Ning Ye finally left Qianxiu Pavilion.

After leaving Chess Player City, Ning Ye found a roadside pavilion and sat down to wait.

He waited there for most of the day.

Night fell.

Li Baidao came staggering over.

Seeing him approach, Ning Ye put on a bamboo hat and stepped out of the pavilion. "Li Baidao."

"Hm?" Li Baidao looked at Ning Ye. "Who are you?"

"A descendant of Yuliu. You slaughtered the people of Yuliu back then. You never thought one of your victims might have survived, did you?"

"Yuliu?" Li Baidao thought for a moment. He seemed to recall killing the people of a village in Yuliu. Then he shook his head. "Too many people have died by my blade for me to remember them all. You've got some nerve, kid, coming after me! If I'm not mistaken, you're barely at mid-stage Cang Xiang, right? There's a whole major realm between us, and you still dare come for revenge? Ha! You must be tired of living."

Ning Ye nodded slowly. "That's true. But you're not in such great shape yourself, are you? Four women in a row, four hours of exertion—you've worn yourself down. How much of your strength can you still muster?"

Li Baidao froze. "So you were the one who left the Bliss Powder?"

Ning Ye nodded. "People know to guard against attacks, but they have no defense against flattery. If I'd used poison or set a trap, you would've noticed. Even if you'd been caught, you would've called for help. I'm no match for you, so killing you quickly would've been impossible. I'd only have alerted you and let you escape. But if I offered you Bliss Powder, you'd gladly take it."

Li Baidao laughed loudly. "Interesting. Your methods aren't bad. But against absolute strength, they're not much use!"

"That's assuming you really have absolute strength."

Before Ning Ye could finish speaking, a flash of blade light erupted.

Li Baidao struck.

Li Baidao had a wealth of combat experience. He didn't even wait for his opponent to finish speaking. His blade moved like a swimming dragon, its gleam gathering a murderous aura. He looked nothing like a man whose body had been drained.

The blade light swirled, enveloping Ning Ye entirely.

Thud!

The force of the blade pierced straight through Ning Ye's body.

Li Baidao's blade was venomous.

Not poisonous in the sense of deadly toxins, but venomous in the way it carved through flesh and bone—sinister and cruel.

Those struck by his blade suffered such excruciating pain that the fainthearted could even lose their ability to fight.

The Soul-Severing Demon Blade severed the soul with a single strike—not life, but the soul, the will to fight.

This was the method of the Soul-Severing Human Demon. Zhang Liekuang had once said, "When dealing with Old Chang, you have to finish the fight quickly. If it drags on, the advantage will be his."

For Zhang Liekuang to give him such high praise showed just how sinister and vicious the Duanhun Blade was—a path utterly opposed to the Seven Kill Blade.

Li Baidao had taken the Duanhun Blade's venom to its extreme. Those he killed died in unbearable agony.

But after Li Baidao's strike, there was no effect at all. Ning Ye still stood unharmed, as though he hadn't been the one struck.

What was going on?

Li Baidao froze, then realized. "Illusion?"

A talisman technique attacked from behind and struck him. A black shield appeared around Li Baidao, blocking it.

He turned around with a ferocious grin. "So you're one of those unorthodox fighters. No wonder you used women to wear me down first."

Li Baidao had overindulged in lust and was short on energy. On top of that, he had no powerful perception technique. Under these circumstances, breaking the illusion was no easy feat.

Still, Li Baidao laughed. "Too bad for you—you ran into me, and illusions are what I fear least. Hundred Hands Thousand Blades!"

At his shout, light burst around Li Baidao, countless blade gleams streaking in every direction.

Li Baidao needed a hundred blades to kill a man, but he was never slow about it. With a single strike, he could unleash hundreds or even thousands of blades.

Against an illusionist, Li Baidao didn't need to find his target. He simply unleashed the Thousand Blade Technique, sweeping in every direction.

Wherever you were, once his blades flew, everything lay beneath their edge.

Puff, puff, puff, puff!

A burst of explosions erupted all around them. Waves rolled through the air, and as the surging currents churned, blood flashed into view.

Ning Ye grunted and staggered backward. It seemed he'd been wounded.

Li Baidao was overjoyed. He unleashed a fierce barrage at the sound, his blade reaching its most chilling edge. Everything around him was swept up in its light, annihilated until not a blade of grass remained.

He could even feel his blade tearing through his opponent's body, hear the splatter of blood and the low groans as his foe tried to suppress the pain.

Good!

The more an opponent fought like this, the more it stoked Li Baidao's fighting spirit.

He attacked frantically, throwing himself into the assault with all his might. His blade qi surged, his blade intent dominated, his blade's momentum roared, and his technique was fierce.

He kept hacking and hacking. He could feel his opponent growing weaker, yet he kept holding on, refusing to fall.

At last, Li Baidao sensed something was wrong.

Hadn't his opponent taken more than a hundred of his strikes? It must have been a thousand, ten thousand by now.

Why was he still fine?

No, this was still an illusion!

Li Baidao abruptly stopped and glared in every direction.

"You finally figured it out?" Ning Ye chuckled.

Li Baidao looked around in alarm. "What's going on? It's obviously just an ordinary play of light and shadow. How did it fool my spiritual sense? That's impossible!"

At last, Ning Ye's figure appeared.

Wearing the Death Soul Mask, with only his face exposed, he held the Floating World Bead in his palm and watched Li Baidao with cold indifference.

He had never fought Li Baidao at all. Li Baidao had only been fighting the air.

"The Death Soul Mask?" Li Baidao began to understand how his opponent had evaded his spiritual sense, but it still didn't make sense. The Death Soul Mask could conceal one's aura, but it couldn't create that kind of illusion.

The Floating World Bead could strengthen an illusion, but fooling him would still be difficult.

"Still haven't figured it out?" Ning Ye chuckled.

"Bliss Powder? It was the Bliss Powder!" Li Baidao finally realized.

The Bliss Powder could bewitch the mind, and its effects centered on fulfilling a person's inner desires. So all the illusions Li Baidao had experienced had come from the Bliss Powder. The best part was that he'd used it earlier, and its effects still lingered. When Ning Ye used it again, Li Baidao hadn't even noticed.

"Finally figured it out?" Ning Ye smiled. "I told you. People can never resist beautiful things."

From beginning to end, Ning Ye hadn't used any poison or traps. Li Baidao had too much combat experience to fall for them easily.

But there was no way he could avoid the Bliss Powder.

Li Baidao hadn't expected that combining Bliss Powder with a few low-level illusions could have such an effect. After a whole battle, he'd simply wasted his own strength. But he was still a Hualun cultivator, powerful as ever. He grinned viciously. "Even if I've got only one breath left, I can still kill you!"

As he spoke, he swung his blade again.

Extreme Path True Qi, Soul-Extinguishing Blade!

It was the mightiest killing move in the Duanhun Blade Scripture.

Boom!

Countless giant trees crashed in from all directions. Li Baidao's legs buckled, and countless talismans attacked him as well.

"The Yi Wood Formation? The Yin and Yang Talisman Scriptures? Who are you?" Li Baidao cried in alarm.

"The one who's going to kill you." Countless talismans thundered toward Li Baidao.

This time, Ning Ye truly used everything he had, releasing all his Seventh-Rank Human Grade Talismans. They were powerful, and, more importantly, he unleashed a whole mass of them at once, plainly intending to bury his opponent beneath a pile of money.

Li Baidao roared like a tiger, like thunder. His voice cut like a blade, his saber whirled like a wheel.

The whirling blade swept backward, grinding every giant tree to dust and blocking most of the talisman techniques, fully displaying the strength expected of a Hualun cultivator.

But just then, a thick stone spike burst from the ground and struck Li Baidao, gravely wounding him. A storm of sand followed, every grain striking like a steel needle. Even with Li Baidao's cultivation, he couldn't withstand it.

Not good—this was Hualun-level fighting power.

Li Baidao knew he'd misjudged the situation. He wouldn't have feared an ordinary early-stage Hualun cultivator, but he'd already exhausted himself twice over, his strength and magical energy spent. His opponent had two powerful fighters on his side. Knowing he was outmatched, Li Baidao let out a long whistle and leaped away.

Whoosh!

Giant trees surged after him, sand and stones exploded upward. In an instant, who knew how many spells struck Li Baidao? He cried out in pain. His back looked as though someone had scraped away a whole swath of flesh with an iron brush—bloodied and mangled beyond recognition.

Yet the man was fearsomely tough. Despite his grave injuries, he struck back with his blade.

He hadn't been trying to flee at all; he'd used a dragging-blade feint. That showed just how ruthless he was.

The sudden strike gathered most of his strength. Wherever its edge passed, the earth split open. Li Baidao had locked onto Ning Ye's figure; this time, he would not let him escape.