Two Women

Xuan Ming and the others saw this and immediately knelt down again, saying, "Senior, we beg you to also resolve the poison within our bodies."

Yan Chihuo frowned slightly. The method he had used to detoxify was the Poison Dissolving Art. Just moments ago, when he was frozen by the Ice Poison Scorpion, he felt waves of coldness invading his body. Unable to resist it, he had recalled the Poison Dissolving Art.

The poison of this scorpion was a cold toxin. He had no certainty whether the Poison Dissolving Art could neutralize it, but with the situation as it was, he had no choice but to try—and he had succeeded in one go.

However, he understood in his heart that by doing this, the toxicity within his own body had become a few degrees more intense, which was not necessarily a good thing. Therefore, he hesitated when these people begged him for a cure. Yet, upon further thought, the toxins in these people were not strong and would have little impact on him. Furthermore, after absorbing these toxins, while the toxicity in his body would indeed become more severe, it would also allow him to suppress the Demon Immortal Fruit's toxicity for a longer period.

Thus, he followed the method and resolved all the poison within their bodies, but he only took Shi San with him when leaving Ice Snow Valley. Xuan Ming and the others naturally had no desire to continue gathering Snow Soul Essence and scattered like birds and beasts. Along the way, he walked in silence, but in his mind, he kept replaying the sword strike that killed the Ice Poison Scorpion.

At that time, he had simply swung with force, yet it transformed into a streak of sword light—something he had never achieved before. This strike allowed him to vaguely touch upon a new realm: Sword Qi.

Strictly speaking, Sword Qi is not a realm of swordsmanship, but it is the distinction between a sword cultivator and a martial artist, or other types of cultivators. Only by manifesting Sword Qi and using it to harm others can one be called a sword cultivator, even if it is only a beginner-level one.

Yan Chihuo also knew that it was much harder for him to cultivate Sword Qi than for an ordinary sword cultivator. Firstly, his Soul-Breaking Sword lacked cloud-pattern restrictions and was merely a Talisman Artifact Primordial Embryo. Secondly, in his pursuit of swordsmanship, he had always lacked a master. Although Ping Qi's cultivation was not weak, he had not put much effort into swordsmanship and did not approve of Yan Chihuo spending too much time on it.

Yet, he was born with a deep interest in swordsmanship and was unwilling to give up. Moreover, if he could fully master Sword Qi, it would be no less powerful than ordinary low-level spells, serving as an effective means of attack for him. On the road, although it was inconvenient to draw his sword to practice, he spent every waking moment contemplating that strike, while also hoping more than ever to refine the Soul-Breaking Sword into a true Talisman Artifact. If this sword became a Talisman Artifact, the power of his Sword Qi would reach a new level.

Although he had the Snake Scale in his possession, which could trigger low-level earth-attribute spells, the Snake Scale was not a Talisman Artifact and consumed too much mana. Despite his hard training during this period, which had made him much stronger than at the start, he knew that he could cast at most three low-level spells before his internal mana would be completely exhausted.

The small town was not close, and the two walked for a full half-day. Seeing that most of the pedestrians in the town looked like fierce and malevolent characters, Yan Chihuo could not help but frown.

Shi San was quite clever and whispered, "Senior, this town is close to Ice Snow Valley, so many cultivators and martial artists pass through here. If one isn't a ruthless character, it's hard enough to find a meal here, let alone survive."

Yan Chihuo said in a low voice, "My surname is Yan, and I am not even as old as you. You don't need to call me Senior. Have you found that person?"

Shi San replied, "Although this town isn't large, it isn't something one can find so quickly." He thought to himself, Do you think I have a dog's nose? Can I sniff out the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon's scent from this far away?

Yan Chihuo laughed despite himself, realizing he was being too impatient. He said, "We've been walking for half a day, and I'm a bit hungry. Let's go to the tavern and have a meal." The small town had only one tavern; while not large in scale, it looked clean enough.

As Yan Chihuo and Shi San went up to the second floor, they saw only three tables occupied. At the first table sat a Taoist with a white jade horsetail whisk beside him; his cultivation was actually not below Yan Chihuo's. At the second table was a burly man with his chest exposed and a sharp knife tucked into his waistband. Although he had concealed his aura, he did not escape Yan Chihuo's eyes; his cultivation was also at the Body Tempering Middle Stage, though a notch weaker than the Taoist.

The third table held two young women of great beauty, both around twenty-three or twenty-four years old. One wore white, the other red. Yan Chihuo glanced at them and thought, These two women are tough opponents. Their methods of concealing their aura are even better than that burly man's, and their cultivation is no weaker than his.

Unexpectedly, when Shi San saw the woman in white, his face changed drastically. Just as he was about to pull Yan Chihuo downstairs, the woman in white spotted him. Shi San hurriedly stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Greetings, Lady Ru Shuang."

Hearing this, Yan Chihuo realized that this woman in white was the Ru Shuang he had heard of, and he couldn't help but take a few extra looks.

The woman in white, Ru Shuang, arched her willow-leaf brows and said, "Shi San, why have you come here? Where are the others? How much Snow Soul Essence have you gathered?"

Shi San replied, "Lady Ru Shuang, the Chief and the others have already gathered over twenty pieces of Snow Soul Essence, which is enough. However, we encountered an Ice Poison Scorpion. Although we managed to slay the beast, we sustained some injuries and are currently healing in Ice Snow Valley. That is why I came to the tavern for food and drink first, intending to deliver it to the Chief and the others afterward." He was quick-witted and immediately fabricated this lie.

Ru Shuang was half-convinced and asked, "Who is the person who came in with you?"

Shi San cursed inwardly. If it were only Ru Shuang, Yan Chihuo might not be afraid, but with two of them, Yan Chihuo might not be a match. Furthermore, Yan Chihuo might not be willing to lower his head. If he described Yan Chihuo as weak, he might not cooperate, but in such a short time, how could he find a foolproof plan?

To his surprise, Yan Chihuo spoke first, "This Humble One is a rogue cultivator named Jia Shi. I have had some past acquaintance with Brother Shi and just happened to run into him downstairs."

Seeing Yan Chihuo take the initiative to cover for him, Shi San felt a wave of relief. Ru Shuang said, "I didn't expect you to have such friends. Very well, finish your meal quickly and then follow your Chief to deliver the Snow Soul Essence as soon as possible."

Shi San replied, "Yes." Having reached this point, he naturally dared not turn and leave, so he found an empty seat far away from Ru Shuang. However, as he passed by her, Yan Chihuo noticed Ru Shuang's eyebrows twitch slightly. The movement was extremely subtle, something an ordinary person would not notice, but having been an assassin for many years, Yan Chihuo's observation skills were far beyond the norm.

He immediately knew that Shi San had revealed a flaw. If it were someone else, Ru Shuang might have continued to probe with words, but in her eyes, Shi San was no more than an ant, and she would only move to capture him immediately.

Reacting with lightning speed, he grabbed Shi San, swept past the table, and bolted out the window. The two women let out a sharp cry and leaped out of the window after them. Yan Chihuo turned and ran, with the two women in hot pursuit.