Two Women

Xuan Ming and the others immediately dropped to their knees again. "Senior, please dispel the poison in our bodies, too!"

Yan Chihuo frowned slightly. So the method for dispelling the poison was the Poison Dissolving Art. When the Ice Poison Scorpion had frozen him just now, he'd felt waves of cold seep into his body, and he hadn't been able to resist them. That was when he'd thought of the Poison Dissolving Art.

The scorpion's poison was a cold poison. He hadn't been sure whether the Poison Dissolving Art could dispel it, but things had come to this, so he could only give it a try—and he'd succeeded at once.

Still, he understood that this had made the poison in his body even more potent, which might not be a good thing. So when these people asked him to dispel their poison, he hesitated. Then he thought it over: their poison wasn't strong, so it wouldn't affect him much. And though absorbing it would make the poison inside him more violent, it would also let him suppress the Demon Immortal Fruit's toxicity for longer.

He used the same method to dispel all the poison in their bodies, but left Ice Snow Valley with only Shi San. Xuan Ming and the others naturally gave up on gathering Snow Soul Essence and scattered like birds and beasts. All the way, Yan Chihuo walked in silence, repeatedly recalling the sword strike that had killed the Ice Poison Scorpion.

At the time, he'd simply swung his sword with all his strength, yet it had transformed into a streak of sword light. He'd never managed that before. That strike had allowed him to faintly touch a new realm: Sword Qi.

Strictly speaking, Sword Qi wasn't a realm of swordsmanship, but it was what distinguished sword cultivators from martial artists and other cultivators. Only when one could unleash Sword Qi and use it to wound others could one be called a sword cultivator, though only a beginner.

Yan Chihuo knew that cultivating Sword Qi would be much harder for him than for an ordinary sword cultivator. First, his Soul-Breaking Sword had no Restriction patterns; it was only a Talisman Artifact Primordial Embryo. Second, he'd always lacked a master to teach him swordsmanship. Ping Qi's cultivation wasn't weak, but he hadn't put much effort into swordsmanship and didn't approve of Yan Chihuo spending too much time on it.

Still, he'd been deeply interested in swordsmanship since birth and wasn't willing to give it up. Besides, if he fully mastered Sword Qi, it would be no less useful than an ordinary low-tier spell. It was another means of attack for him. On the road, he couldn't draw his sword to test it, but he kept pondering the strike he'd made, and he was even more eager to refine the Soul-Breaking Sword into a Talisman Artifact. If the sword became one, the power of his Sword Qi would rise to another level.

Although he had the Snake Scale and could use low-tier earth-element spells, the Snake Scale wasn't a Talisman Artifact and consumed too much magical energy. Even after all his practice during this time, he was much stronger than he'd been at first, but he knew he could cast a low-tier spell at most three times before his magical energy was completely depleted.

The town wasn't close by. The two of them walked for half a day. Yan Chihuo saw that most of the people in town looked as ferocious as fiends, and frowned slightly.

Shi San was quick-witted. He lowered his voice and said, "Senior, this town is close to Ice Snow Valley, so many cultivators and martial artists pass through. Unless you're a tough character, it's hard to make a living here—let alone stay alive."

Yan Chihuo said quietly, "My surname is Yan, and I'm younger than you. You don't need to call me Senior. Have you found that person?"

Shi San said, "The town may not be large, but we can't find someone that quickly." In his heart, he thought, Did you think I had a dog's nose? That I could smell the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon from this far away?

Yan Chihuo let out a laugh, realizing he'd been too impatient. "We've walked for half a day, and I'm getting hungry. Let's have a meal at the tavern." The town had only one tavern. It wasn't very large, but it looked clean enough.

The two of them went up to the second floor and saw that only three tables were occupied. At the first sat a Daoist, with a white jade Whisk beside him. His cultivation was surprisingly no weaker than Yan Chihuo's. At the second sat a burly man with his chest bared and a sharp knife tucked into his belt. Though he'd concealed his aura, he hadn't escaped Yan Chihuo's notice. He was also at the Body Tempering Middle Stage, but still a little weaker than the Daoist.

At the third table sat two beautiful young women, both around twenty-three or twenty-four. One wore white, the other red. Yan Chihuo glanced at them and thought, These two are tough opponents. Their ability to conceal their auras is even better than that burly man's, and their cultivation is no weaker than his.

To his surprise, when Shi San saw the woman in white, his face changed dramatically. He was about to pull Yan Chihuo downstairs, but the woman in white had already spotted him. Shi San hurried over and bowed. "Greetings, Miss Ru Shuang."

Only then did Yan Chihuo realize that the woman in white was Ru Shuang. He couldn't help taking a closer look.

Ru Shuang arched her willow brows. "Shi San, what are you doing here? Where are the others? How much Snow Soul Essence did you gather?"

"Miss Ru Shuang, the chief and the others have gathered more than twenty pieces of Snow Soul Essence, which should be enough. But they encountered an Ice Poison Scorpion. They managed to kill the beast, but suffered some injuries, so they're treating them in Ice Snow Valley. I came to the tavern for food and drink first, then I'll take some back to the chief and the others." He was quick-witted enough to make up this whole story on the spot.

Ru Shuang looked doubtful. "Who's the man who came in with you?"

Shi San silently cursed his bad luck. If Ru Shuang had been alone, Yan Chihuo might not have feared her, but there were two of them, and Yan Chihuo might not be their match. Yet he might not be willing to back down, either. If Shi San made Yan Chihuo sound too weak, he might refuse to cooperate. But how could Shi San come up with a way to satisfy both sides in an instant?

Unexpectedly, Yan Chihuo spoke first. "I'm Jia Shi, a Rogue Cultivator. I've known Brother Shi for a while. We happened to run into each other downstairs just now."

Seeing Yan Chihuo cover for him, Shi San breathed a sigh of relief. Ru Shuang said, "I didn't know you had a friend like that. All right, eat quickly, then go with your chief and bring the Snow Soul Essence here as soon as you can."

"Yes." At this point, Shi San didn't dare turn and leave. He found an empty seat far from Ru Shuang. As he passed her, Yan Chihuo noticed Ru Shuang's brow twitch ever so slightly. It was such a subtle movement that most people wouldn't have noticed, but after years as an assassin, Yan Chihuo's powers of observation were far beyond the ordinary.

He immediately realized that Shi San had given himself away. Had it been someone else, Ru Shuang might have continued questioning him, but in her eyes Shi San was no more than an ant. She would simply seize him at once.

He reacted in a flash, grabbed Shi San, and darted past the table, then sprang out the window. The two women gave a sharp cry and leaped through the window after them. Yan Chihuo turned and ran, with the two women in hot pursuit.