Scheming (Part 2)

In a small pavilion outside Qianxiu Pavilion, Ning Ye sat quietly drinking tea, the sounds of pleasure from the floors above drifting into his ears from time to time.

Calculating that the time was about right, Ning Ye stood up and headed upstairs.

Passing the room where Li Baidao was staying, he calmly and discreetly cast several talismans, sticking them onto the wall.

Qianxiu Pavilion was protected by an Immortal Sect, and all areas were equipped with monitoring and defensive measures. However, the talismans Ning Ye used were not offensive; they were Aphrodisiac Talismans.

This type of talisman art could stimulate lust, making a person more excited and vigorous with endless stamina. They were often used within Qianxiu Pavilion, so the protective formations would not block them. The Yin Talisman Scripture did not contain such talismans; Ning Ye had acquired this technique from the Extreme Joy Sect.

Under the influence of the Aphrodisiac Talismans, Li Baidao's lust surged ever higher. He thrust frantically, causing Ding Xiaoxiang to wail repeatedly, claiming she could no longer take it.

Seeing that she truly couldn't handle any more, and being at the height of his own excitement, Li Baidao pushed open the window and shouted, "Call three more over!"

The attendant replied, "Very well, sir. May I ask what kind you would like?"

"Anything, hurry up!" Li Baidao roared.

In the ensuing scramble, the attendant hurriedly arranged for three more women to enter the room.

Just as the three women entered, Ning Ye discreetly sprinkled medicinal powder onto them.

This time, it was a powder that could bolster masculine energy. It was still not a poison, but rather something that could restore a man's vigor, also obtained from the Extreme Joy Sect.

With Bliss Powder to heighten the mood, Aphrodisiac Talismans to stimulate lust, and this powder to stir the blood and bolster masculine energy—none of these were poisons, but they would certainly ensure Li Baidao would not leave the room until his body was completely hollowed out.

Having finished this, Ning Ye finally left Qianxiu Pavilion.

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

This wait lasted for the better part of a day.

Night fell.

Li Baidao came staggering over.

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

"Hmm?" Li Baidao looked at Ning Ye: "Who are you?"

"A descendant of Yuliu. You slaughtered the people of Yuliu that day; did you expect that a soul lost under your blade would still remain?"

"Yuliu?" Li Baidao thought for a moment. It seemed he had indeed killed people in a village in Yuliu, but then he shook his head: "Too many people have died under my blade; I can't remember that clearly. You brat, you've got guts to come looking for me? If I'm not mistaken, you're barely at the mid-stage of the Cang Xiang Realm, right? We are separated by a major realm, yet you dare to seek revenge? Haha, I think you're truly tired of living."

Ning Ye nodded slowly: "That's true, but you aren't in very good shape yourself, are you? You've taken on four women, fought for four hours, and exhausted yourself greatly. How much of your strength can you still exert?"

Li Baidao was stunned: "So, you were the one who left the Bliss Powder?"

Ning Ye nodded: "People will defend against attacks, but they have no resistance to praise. If I had used poison or traps, you would have surely sensed it. Even if you had been caught, you would have called for help. My strength is inferior to yours, so killing you instantly is impossible; I would only have alerted you and let you escape. But by offering you Bliss Powder, you were bound to accept it gladly."

Li Baidao laughed heartily: "Interesting, and your methods aren't bad either. But in the face of absolute strength, these tricks of yours are of little use!"

"That is assuming you truly possess absolute strength."

Before Ning Ye finished speaking, the blade light had already risen.

Li Baidao struck.

Li Baidao had rich combat experience and did not wait for his opponent to finish speaking. His blade moved like a swimming dragon, its brilliance condensing into an aura of grim slaughter. He looked nothing like a man whose body had been hollowed out.

The swirling blade light completely enveloped Ning Ye.

Thwack!

The blade energy pierced through his body, running Ning Ye through.

Li Baidao's blade was venomous.

It was not a toxic poison, but a venom that shaved muscle and cut bone—a sinister, soul-corroding venom.

Those struck by his blade would suffer excruciating pain, and those with weak wills would even be paralyzed in battle.

The Soul-Severing Demon Blade did not sever life, but the soul—the very will to fight.

This was the method of the Soul-Severing Human Demon. Zhang Liekuang had once said, "To deal with Old Chang, one must finish the fight quickly. If the battle drags on, it becomes his domain."

To earn such high praise from Zhang Liekuang showed just how sinister and ruthless the Soul-Severing Blade was, following a path completely opposite to the Seven Kill Blade.

Li Baidao had pushed this soul-severing venom to the extreme; those killed by him died in unbearable agony.

However, after this strike, Li Baidao saw no effect. Ning Ye stood there perfectly fine, as if he hadn't been struck at all.

What was going on?

Li Baidao was startled, then realized: "An illusion?"

A talisman art struck him from behind. A black protective barrier appeared on Li Baidao's body, blocking the talisman.

He turned back with a ferocious expression: "So you're someone who plays dirty. No wonder you had to use women to drain my energy first."

Li Baidao was exhausted from overindulgence and lacked any powerful insight techniques; in this situation, breaking an illusion was no easy task.

However, Li Baidao still laughed: "Too bad for you, your luck is poor. You ran into me, and the thing I fear least is illusions. Hundred Hands Thousand Blades!"

With a shout, a vast expanse of light and shadow erupted around Li Baidao, and countless blade beams flew in all directions.

Li Baidao needed a hundred blades to kill a man, but his killing speed was never slow. This was because he could unleash hundreds or even thousands of blades in a single strike.

Facing an opponent who used illusions, Li Baidao did not need to find them; he simply unleashed the Thousand Blade Technique, sweeping across all directions.

No matter where you are, once the blade is drawn, everything falls beneath its edge.

Puff, puff, puff, puff!

A series of explosions erupted in the surroundings, sending rolling waves through the air; as the tides surged, blood light appeared.

Ning Ye groaned and stumbled back, appearing to have been wounded.

Li Baidao was overjoyed and launched a frenzied assault toward the source of the sound. His blade was chilling to the extreme, and everything in the vicinity was shredded and annihilated by his blade light, leaving not a blade of grass standing.

He could even feel the sensation of his blade tearing through his opponent's body, hearing the sound of flesh spraying and the low, pained groans of his opponent struggling to suppress their agony.

Very good!

The more challenging the opponent, the more Li Baidao's fighting spirit was ignited.

He attacked madly, surging with full power, pushing his fighting spirit to the limit. His blade qi surged, his blade intent was tyrannical, his blade momentum was torrential, and his blade technique was ferocious.

He kept hacking and slashing, feeling his opponent growing weaker and weaker, yet they persisted, refusing to fall.

Li Baidao finally felt that something was wrong.

How many of his blades had the opponent taken? Surely it was thousands, if not tens of thousands?

Why were they still unharmed?

No, it was still an illusion!

Li Baidao suddenly stopped and glared in all directions.

"Finally noticed?" Ning Ye chuckled.

Li Baidao looked around in a panic: "What is going on? It was clearly just a common light-and-shadow illusion, so why could it deceive my spiritual sense? This is impossible!"

Ning Ye's figure finally manifested.

Wearing the Death Soul Mask, with only his face exposed, he held the Floating World Bead in his hand, watching Li Baidao with cold, heartless eyes.

From beginning to end, he had never crossed blades with Li Baidao; Li Baidao had been fighting the air the entire time.

"Death Soul Mask?" Li Baidao somewhat understood how the other party had bypassed his spiritual sense, but it still didn't make sense. The Death Soul Mask could only mask one's own aura, but it couldn't create such illusions.

The Floating World Bead could indeed enhance illusions, but it would still be difficult to deceive him.

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

"Bliss Powder? It's Bliss Powder!" Li Baidao finally realized.

Bliss Powder possessed mind-altering effects, and the effect of bliss was to satisfy a person's inner desires; thus, all the illusions Li Baidao experienced were brought about by the Bliss Powder. The most brilliant part was that he had used Bliss Powder before, and the lingering effects remained, so when Ning Ye used it again, he hadn't even noticed.

"Finally discovered it?" Ning Ye smiled: "I told you before, people have no resistance to beautiful things."

From start to finish, Ning Ye had not used any poison or traps, because Li Baidao was too experienced and would be hard to catch with them.

But the Bliss Powder was something he could not avoid.

Li Baidao had not expected that the combination of Bliss Powder and some low-level illusions could achieve such an effect, causing him to waste all his energy in a pointless fight. However, he was a Hualun Realm cultivator after all, with formidable strength, and he sneered: "Even if I have only one breath left, I can still finish you!"

As he spoke, he slashed out once more.

Extreme Path True Qi, Soul-Extinguishing Blade!

It was the ultimate killing move from the Duanhun Blade Scripture.

Boom!

Countless giant trees crashed in from all directions, Li Baidao's footing faltered, and countless flying talismans launched a fierce assault.

"Yi Wood Formation? Yang Talisman Scripture? Who exactly are you?" Li Baidao was shocked.

"The one who kills you." Countless talismans flew toward Li Baidao with a thunderous roar.

This time, Ning Ye was truly using all his means, releasing every Seventh-Rank Human Grade Talisman he had. Not only was the power immense, but the key was that he unleashed them in a massive wave, intending to literally bury the opponent with money.

Li Baidao howled like a tiger and roared like thunder; his voice was like a blade, and his blade was like a wheel.

The wheel-blade spun in reverse, grinding all the giant trees into powder and blocking most of the talisman techniques, fully displaying the strength expected of a Hualun Realm cultivator.

But just then, a thick stone spike erupted from the ground. Li Baidao was struck by this spike and suffered heavy injuries. Immediately after, sand and dust filled the sky, each grain hitting like a steel needle, which even Li Baidao's cultivation could not withstand.

Not good, this is Hualun Realm combat power.

Li Baidao knew he had misjudged the situation. He certainly wouldn't fear an ordinary early-stage Hualun cultivator, but he had exhausted his physical strength and mana twice over, and there were two opponents. Knowing he was outmatched, Li Baidao let out a long howl and leaped away.

Whoosh!

Giant trees surged in opposition and sandstorms erupted. In an instant, countless techniques and methods landed on Li Baidao. He screamed in agony as his back was shredded as if by an iron brush, leaving his flesh mangled and a horrific sight to behold.

Yet, this man was incredibly tough; despite his severe injuries, he turned back and swung his blade.

He wasn't actually running away; he had used a feigned retreat, showing just how ruthless his nature was.

This strike was sudden and condensed most of his remaining power. Where the blade passed, the earth cracked open. Li Baidao had locked onto Ning Ye's figure, determined not to let him escape again.