Maiden! Poisonous Insects! Decapitation!

Jiang Ye's figure was like a wisp of light smoke merging into the night, landing silently behind a tree as thick as a man could embrace.

Never mind a person, even the most alert wild beast would struggle to detect his presence.

He tilted his body slightly, peering toward the direction of the commotion through the dappled light and shadows cast by the moon through the foliage.

His eyes narrowed slightly, and the scene in his field of vision gradually sharpened.

Two figures, one chasing and one fleeing, were locked in a chaotic battle across this wilderness.

The figure in pursuit was a young girl dressed in pale yellow martial attire.

Her features were delicate and pretty, yet between her brows lay a sharpness and heroic spirit that belied her age.

Judging by her years, she was similar to Liu Yiyi, but that figure...

Jiang Ye's gaze tightened slightly.

The girl's figure was exceptionally well-developed.

The tight-fitting attire outlined graceful curves; her chest was full, her waist as slender as a willow, and the arc of her lower body was breathtaking.

Despite her youthful years, she exuded a faint sense of ripeness, like a peach on a branch, ready to fall at any moment.

She held a long silver sword, the blade narrow and long, reflecting a cold, chilling light under the moonlight.

Her swordsmanship was tricky and fierce; with every move, not only did she unleash killing blows, but her graceful figure swayed in tandem, tracing dazzling arcs through the air.

Though it was a life-or-death struggle, it looked like a deadly dance.

What shocked Jiang Ye even more was her strength.

When the girl struck, the energy within her was shockingly thick, surpassing his own and faintly approaching that of Liu Qingshi.

Clearly, this girl was likely a martial artist at the Great Perfection of Transformation Strength.

"Is this the strength of a disciple from the Azure Sky Sect..."

Jiang Ye nodded to himself.

The other figure, the one fleeing, was a man as bloated as a ball, with dark skin, a face full of jowls, and hair so thick his features were barely discernible.

He wore blood-stained, tattered clothes, fleeing while turning back to counterattack, looking exactly like a demonic black wild boar—ugly and ferocious.

Black Old Five fought as he fled, occasionally using his bean-sized eyes to lecherously scan the girl's graceful body, sneering obscenely, "Heh heh, you little girl are truly stubborn. It seems you really want to be taken by me and played with for three days and three nights!!!"

"Presumptuous!" the girl shouted in anger, the momentum of her sword becoming even more fierce. "You're at death's door and still spouting such filth! Later, this young lady will surely cut out your tongue and feed it to the dogs!"

The battle intensified, with Black Old Five continuing to spew filth in an attempt to enrage the girl and disrupt her focus.

The girl was worthy of being a true disciple of a major sect; facing Black Old Five's verbal abuse, aside from the cold light in her eyes intensifying, her offensive remained completely steady.

After dozens more exchanges.

Puchi! Puchi!

Black Old Five finally seemed to reveal a flaw.

His heavy black saber was a beat too slow to parry, and the girl's long sword struck like a viper flicking its tongue, piercing him twice in succession.

The sword tip sank into flesh, and blood sprayed!

"Hmph! Die already!"

Seeing this, a flash of excitement crossed the girl's eyes.

She took a deep breath, pouring the internal strength within her body out without reservation, channeling it entirely into the long sword in her hand.

The blade hummed, its cold light flaring brilliantly; she intended to seize this opportunity to finish Black Old Five in one go!

Facing this fatal strike, Black Old Five dared not be the least bit negligent.

He also poured his internal strength frantically into the heavy saber, black light swirling across the blade as he met the incoming silver sword.

Clang!

A deafening sound of metal clashing exploded across the wilderness!

Sparks flew everywhere!

The heavy saber in Black Old Five's hand was actually notched by the silver sword!

The blade vibrated, nearly snapping in two!

Clearly, in this collision of power, he had fallen into an absolute disadvantage.

"I've won..."

Seeing this, a look of undisguised ecstasy appeared in the girl's eyes.

Eliminating this great scourge single-handedly would be a significant merit for her.

At this moment, there was no fear on Black Old Five's face; instead, a sinister look flashed across it, as if a scheme had succeeded.

The girl's brows furrowed slightly, an instinctive sense of unease washing over her.

The next instant.

A tiny black shadow suddenly darted out from the sleeve of Black Old Five!

The shadow was as fast as lightning, landing on the girl's sword-wielding right hand in the blink of an eye.

"Oh no, this is..."

The girl focused her gaze, and her expression changed drastically.

The tiny shadow was a pitch-black spider with faint, eerie patterns on its back; it was none other than the infamous Black Tooth Spider, a creature renowned for its toxicity.

She swung her left hand with thunderous speed, attempting to swat it dead.

But it was still a step too late.

Sss.

After the Black Tooth Spider bit her jade-white wrist, it leaped into the grass and vanished without a trace.

"Not good!!!"

The girl glanced at the black blood oozing from the wound on her wrist, and her heart plummeted to the bottom of a valley.

A sensation of electric numbness instantly spread from the wound, surging upward along her meridians.

Following that came a sharp pain, a mixture of icy cold and searing heat, like ten thousand ants gnawing at her bones, freezing her entire arm until it began to stiffen.

Clatter.

Her right hand lost the strength to even hold her sword, and the long blade fell heavily to the ground with a dull thud.

Seizing this golden opportunity, Black Old Five grinned and threw a heavy backhand punch into the girl's shoulder.

Crack!

The crisp sound of bone fracturing was exceptionally jarring in the silent night air.

The girl's body was thrown like a kite with a broken string, slamming into the ground as she spat out a mouthful of crimson blood.

She lay on the ground, her beautiful eyes filled with a look of incredulous despair.

She had been on the verge of victory; she had been just one sword strike away...

"Hahahaha! You dared to come alone to capture me without even knowing the background of Black Old Five."

Black Old Five sneered, his beady, mung-bean-like eyes scanning the girl's graceful figure as he couldn't help but lick his dry lips with his tongue.

Swept by that gaze, the girl's hair stood on end, and goosebumps broke out all over her body.

A chill, more terrifying than death itself, surged up from the depths of her heart.

If she were to be touched by such a hideous beast, she would rather die a thousand, ten thousand times!

"You despicable, shameless animal! To use a venomous insect for a sneak attack—if you have the guts, kill me now!!!"

The girl used every ounce of her remaining strength to shout, but her voice was as weak as a gnat's.

"Kill you? I couldn't bear to!" Black Old Five chuckled sinisterly. "After I take you down, I'll have to play with you non-stop for three days and three nights! A true disciple of the Azure Sky Sect—tsk tsk, I've never tasted what that's like in my entire life!"

As he spoke, he stripped off his blood-stained clothes, revealing his bloated, flabby body.

True to his reputation as a lecherous glutton, he ignored the two sword wounds on his body, intent on having his way right here in the wilderness.

"You animal... if you dare to touch me... you..."

The girl realized in despair that she no longer had the strength to even curse.

The toxin of the Black Tooth Spider had paralyzed most of her body in a very short time.

Black Old Five leaned down with a sinister grin, catching the faint, delicate fragrance on the girl's body. He took a deep breath, savoring it into his lungs, his face showing a look of intoxication:

"Good, good, good! Truly a virgin! Fifth Master loves virgins the most!"

"Come! Let Fifth Master have a taste first!"

Seeing Black Old Five closing in, two lines of tears streamed from the girl's eyes, and she closed them in despair.

As everyone knows, when a man is about to commit a wicked deed, he is at his most relaxed.

Black Old Five was just about to lower his head.

Whoosh!

A sharp, piercing sound suddenly tore through the silence of the night.

It was the flash of a blade.

A blade light that fell like moonlight, breathtakingly beautiful, yet chillingly cold.

It swept out from the darkness, tracing a perfect arc, and landed with precision upon the neck of Black Old Five.

A thin line of blood appeared.

The next instant.

Black Old Five's ugly head parted from his body.

Pfft!!!

Blood gushed out from the severed neck like a fountain, splashing across the girl's face.

The head tumbled twice in the air before landing on the grass beside her with a dull thud.

"Hmm..."

The young girl, who had kept her eyes tightly shut in anticipation of a horrific end, suddenly felt a few drops of warm liquid land on her face.

Suppressing her fear and despair, she slowly pried her eyelids open just a sliver.

Immediately after, she found herself unable to control the widening of her eyes.

What greeted her gaze was a scene she would never forget for the rest of her life.

The Black Old Five, who had been incredibly rampant just a second ago, was now separated from his body.

His head lay right beside her, and one could still faintly see the savage grin of his final moments frozen on his face.

And the culprit behind all of this was none other than a tall, thin old man with graying hair and a cold, rigid expression.

He stood there, gripping a curved blade shaped like a crescent moon, with fresh blood dripping steadily from its tip.

The girl's heart nearly stopped beating.

Seeing that the Black Old Five was dead, the girl let out a sigh of relief, yet the wariness in her eyes did not diminish in the slightest.

An old man appearing suddenly in this wilderness was impossible to categorize as friend or foe.

She was well aware of the temptation her body held for men.

Within the Azure Sky Sect, her suitors were countless.

Even if the other party was just an old man who appeared to be of advanced age.

What if he couldn't control himself...

Poisoned as she was, she remained in a perilous situation.

The girl stared fixedly at the old man before her, her heart in her throat.

However, it seemed she had worried in vain.

The old man merely glanced at her indifferently before shifting his gaze back to the headless corpse of the Black Old Five, his hands moving with practiced efficiency as he began to loot the body.

He had no intention of touching her whatsoever.

Of course, he had no intention of saving her, either.