Exorcising Demons

He stretched out his right hand and grabbed at the air. Five beams of light formed at his fingertips, converging into a cone-shaped point. With a bang, it collided with the scorpion's venomous stinger. Amid the crowd's startled cries, the stinger was knocked aside. Everyone breathed a quiet sigh of relief. On that day, Tie Wushuang, the Black Wind Stronghold chief, had been killed by a single strike from that very stinger. But just then, the poison scorpion's two front pincers stabbed toward him.

Yan Chihuo swept his long sword across. With a clang, the two pincers struck the blade. The impact flipped him forward, sending him leaping into the air as his sword came down in a smooth follow-through. The whole sequence flowed seamlessly, giving the poison scorpion no chance to counterattack. Oddly enough, although the scorpion's cultivation was higher than his and it darted about like the wind, he could always spot an opening in an instant.

He had always been exceptionally good at seizing the moment. In his battle with Gao Kun, dozens of strikes had all landed on the spine of his opponent's sword, not one missing. Back then, however, his cultivation had been a level higher. Now it was thanks to his bodily abnormality and exceptionally keen eyesight; otherwise, with the Ice Poison Scorpion darting about like lightning, he would have lost long ago.

The poison scorpion spewed another stream of freezing breath, which formed an ice wall. At the same time, it shifted its body and barely managed to dodge several feet to the side. The ice wall shattered with a series of cracking sounds. Even though the scorpion had dodged quickly, the sword's edge still left a wound on its body.

Stung by the pain, the poison scorpion reared up, ready to attack again. But Yan Chihuo had seized the upper hand. He grabbed at the air with his right hand once more, sending five beams of light piercing five finger-sized holes through the scorpion's body. Then he sprang forward and brought his long sword straight down.

The Ice Poison Scorpion had suffered one setback after another and was beside itself with rage. It opened its mouth and spat, this time launching a glob of freezing liquid: its innate venom. The Ice Poison Scorpion lived in Ice Snow Valley, and the poison coursing through its body was all cold venom, fearsomely potent. But using its innate venom would badly deplete its vital energy, so it had never been willing to resort to it lightly.

Yan Chihuo was in midair and had no time to dodge. He could only use Stone Armor Art again. The freezing liquid drenched him completely and, in an instant, froze him into a pillar of ice. With a bang, he crashed to the ground. Still not satisfied, the scorpion continued spitting freezing liquid onto him.

At first, Xuan Ming and the others had thought Yan Chihuo would escape just as he had the last time. But after a while, he showed no sign of movement, while the ice kept thickening as the scorpion continued to spew its freezing liquid.

A little later, the Ice Poison Scorpion stopped spitting and turned its gaze toward Xuan Ming and the others. They knew they were in trouble. The scorpion was blocking the temple entrance, making escape difficult.

Seeing that the Ice Poison Scorpion was merely posturing and refused to advance, Xuan Ming's thoughts stirred. "Don't be afraid! This monster was badly wounded a few days ago, and it just expended a great deal of vital energy. This is our best chance to kill it. Even if we get through today, failing to gather the Snow Soul Essence means certain death."

His companions saw the sense in this and suppressed their urge to flee, preparing to kill the scorpion. Though they knew its strength had greatly diminished, none dared make the first move.

Xuan Ming gritted his teeth and flicked his long sword forward in a thrust. The scorpion knocked the blade aside with one pincer but did not counterattack. Rather than fear it, Xuan Ming was delighted. The scorpion was even weaker than he had imagined. Ordinarily, even without using its spells, it would surely have struck back.

He shouted, "This monster's finished! Everyone, get in here and give it all you've got. Otherwise, once it recovers its strength, we're all done for."

The others also saw how much weaker the scorpion had become. They worked up their courage and rushed forward to attack. Xuan Ming took a deep breath and silently began chanting an incantation. Seeing this, the others intensified their attacks, afraid the Ice Poison Scorpion would escape while he was casting.

A moment later, a stream of freezing breath burst from the tip of Xuan Ming's sword and swept toward the scorpion. To the crowd's cheers, it wrapped around the creature. But contrary to his expectations, the scorpion did not freeze into a pillar of ice as they had imagined. It was merely covered in a light layer of frost.

The scorpion shook itself, and the frost fell to the ground. It was not injured; if anything, it seemed even more invigorated. Xuan Ming immediately realized that the Ice Poison Scorpion was a creature of ice, and had already reached the Body Tempering Middle Stage. Though gravely wounded, it was up against cultivators at the Body Tempering Initial Stage who practiced the same elemental arts. Their low-level ice spells could not hurt it—in fact, they might even give it a boost.

The others understood as well. They all came from the Black Wind Stronghold and practiced ice-element techniques. Realizing this, they were filled with bitterness, and two immediately turned to flee.

But the scorpion seemed to have recovered a little of its power. With a single leap, it landed behind the two men and raised its tail stinger. Pfft, pfft! The venomous stinger pierced their backs and came out through their chests. Their bodies fell to the ground, covered only by a thin layer of ice—clear proof that the scorpion's strength had greatly diminished.

Even so, the others were still thrown into panic. Just then, a long howl rang out, and a streak of sword light shot forth, transforming into a white rainbow several yards long. The scorpion raised its tail stinger to meet it, but with a sharp crack, the sword light severed both the stinger and its head.

The others turned to look and saw that it was Yan Chihuo. The ice covering his body had vanished, and he stood with his long sword in hand. The scorpion was still writhing, so he slashed it several times, cutting it into pieces.

Only then did Xuan Ming and the others breathe a sigh of relief. They all fell to their knees. "Thank you, senior, for saving our lives."

Yan Chihuo merely nodded, then said to the man in black, "What's your name? Come with me and help me find the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon."

The burly man in black replied, "This humble one is called Shi San. But, senior, if I go with you, I'll miss the gathering of the Snow Soul Essence. The poison in my body will flare up, and that would be worse than death."

Only then did Yan Chihuo remember that they had discussed this before he arrived. "What poison did you ingest? Let me take a look."

A glimmer of hope rose in the man's heart. Ever since he had been poisoned, he had lived in constant fear of the poison flaring up. He had seen with his own eyes how one of the Black Wind Stronghold disciples had failed to complete his mission, and Ru Shuang had given him no antidote. When the poison took effect, he had wailed for three days and nights, then torn the flesh from his own body in strips before finally dying. Whenever Shi San thought of it, it felt as if three feet of ice had formed along his spine.

He stepped forward and said, "I don't know what kind of poison it is. It was planted in my forearm." As he spoke, he rolled up the sleeve on his right arm. A black swelling the size of a pigeon's egg marred his forearm, and it gave off a faint stench.

Yan Chihuo pressed his hand against the black lump. Shi San felt a stream of true energy enter his body and circulate through it. The black swelling vanished in an instant, and the poison in his body disappeared completely. Yan Chihuo then placed two fingers on his pulse. After a moment, he said, "The poison is gone. You can come with me now, right?"