Poison Water

"Kill!"

Qin Bei raised his Yamen Saber and let out a cold shout.

Then he stepped forward, taking the initiative to meet the surging tide of rats.

As a dignified Flesh Tempering Initial Accomplishment warrior whose Saber Force had reached Perfection, he naturally had no fear of mere Gray-skinned Rats. No matter how they had mutated or how much larger they had become, they were still only rats. With a flash of saber light, blood immediately splashed everywhere.

At the same time.

Xiao He also made her move. The soft sword in her hand resembled Xu Hongyu's. As she turned and flicked it, it was like a fine drizzle falling in scattered drops. Each flash of light shattered the skull of a Gray-skinned Rat, precise and fierce.

Chen Mu, on the other hand, appeared rather unremarkable. Unlike Xiao He and Qin Bei, who charged straight into the rat tide, he merely held his ground and unleashed the Gale Saber Intent, cutting apart every Gray-skinned Rat that came near.

At a glance.

Within the chaotic prison, Xiao He's figure was the most eye-catching. Sword light scattered like raindrops, and with every sweep, a great swath of Gray-skinned Rat heads burst apart. Not a single rat could approach within a radius of ten feet.

"That should be the Dripping Rain Sword Intent. Her Body Tempering Method has likely reached Flesh Tempering Perfection as well... She truly is no weaker than Min Baoyi. If I did not use Multiple Saber Force, it would not be easy for me to defeat someone like her."

Chen Mu silently observed Xiao He's movements.

His judgment of his current strength had largely come from Min Baoyi's attack in the alley during that earlier ambush. In truth, he knew very little about figures like these, who had reached Flesh Tempering Perfection and formed Intent through their techniques.

Now, judging the power of the swordsmanship Xiao He displayed, her strength and agility were probably not much different from his. But his Copper Steel Skin was far tougher than that of ordinary people. If they fought to the death while using only a single Intent, he would most likely be the one left alive.

But if he used Dual Power of Intent... even if it was not outright crushing, it would still be absolute suppression!

Chen Mu had roughly grasped his current level of strength. In terms of power and agility, he was nearly equal to an ordinary Flesh Tempering Perfection warrior. In technique, however, he had mastered two Intents. Among those at the Flesh Tempering level, there were likely exceedingly few who could defeat him.

The Copper Steel Skin and abundant vitality forged through three Mo Pi Fa truly brought extraordinary changes. Even at Flesh Tempering Great Accomplishment, they gave him strength comparable to Flesh Tempering Perfection figures like Xiao He and Min Baoyi.

Though the Gray-skinned Rats were numerous, they could not withstand the slaughter of Xiao He, Qin Bei, and Chen Mu. The Yamen Runners who had followed them were mediocre in strength, most of them knowing only crude moves of horizontal chops and vertical slashes, but with Yamen Sabers in hand, dealing with Gray-skinned Rats was not a problem.

But just as the number of Gray-skinned Rats began to dwindle rapidly.

More than ten people clad in Black Crow Sect cloaks appeared behind the countless Gray-skinned Rats. Each carried a device made from metal and wood. As they approached, they aimed those devices at Xiao He and the others.

"Not good!"

The moment Xiao He saw the devices in their hands, her expression changed sharply. She immediately abandoned the Gray-skinned Rats, leaping forward as her sword drew a glimmer of rainlight and lunged toward the Black Crow Sect members.

But before she could reach them, the dozen or so Black Crow Sect members simultaneously sprayed a sheet of black-and-red liquid from their devices. It came crashing down over their heads, accompanied by a pungent odor—it was the Poison Water they had encountered in the passageway.

Whoosh!

Xiao He retreated without hesitation. Her sword formed a curtain before her as she withdrew, blocking a small amount of the black-red Poison Water.

When the black-red Poison Water splashed onto the ground and drenched some Gray-skinned Rats, they immediately squeaked and writhed. Their bodies twisted, gradually corroding into a pitch-black color.

The dozen or so Black Crow Sect members simply held their Poison Water devices and continued to press closer.

"This is troublesome."

Qin Bei's expression immediately turned ugly.

If this were an open area, these Poison Water devices would not be difficult to handle. Their spray range was no more than ten feet, making them easy to evade, and they were even less threatening than bows and crossbows. But now, the passage behind them was blocked. Within this prison, their enemies had formed a line and were advancing step by step. There was almost no room to maneuver, making them more dangerous than bows and crossbows instead.

Earlier in the passageway, they had relied on Xu Hongyu's personal martial strength. Her soft sword had swept up a curtain that was almost an absolute barrier, truly achieving a state where not even a drop of water could pass through. She had pushed forward all the way. That had not merely been the power of the Dripping Rain Sword Intent, but also the foundation of her Yi Jin Realm physique, allowing her swordsmanship to reach such a level.

But Xu Hongyu was not here.

His saber technique was the heavy Mountain Splitting Saber Technique, and his Saber Force was likewise of the heavy type. He was not suited to dealing with Poison Water. Xiao He came from the same school as Xu Hongyu, but judging from her earlier reaction, she clearly could not charge through the Poison Water head-on.

The dozen Black Crow Sect members pressed forward step by step, while Xiao He and Qin Bei retreated with grim faces. Before long, they had fallen back into a line with Chen Mu, with dozens of City Guard Yamen Runners behind them.

There was nowhere nearby suitable for shielding their bodies. Qin Bei's expression flickered between light and dark as he began eyeing the Yamen Runners behind him. If it came to it, they could only use those Yamen Runners as human shields. As long as their bodies blocked even part of the Poison Water, they could force their way through and scatter the enemy with slaughter.

"Qin Bei, Chen Mu, move!"

Seeing that there was no room left to retreat, Xiao He suddenly spoke in a low voice and charged forward again.

Her swordsmanship was inferior to Xu Hongyu's, and she could not block the Poison Water sprayed by more than a dozen people. But if Chen Mu and Qin Bei restrained part of them from both sides, she was confident she could take some risks and rush through. As long as they broke into the enemy ranks, attacking from front and rear and turning it into a melee, this Poison Water Squad of more than ten people would immediately lose formation and be left at their mercy.

Qin Bei hesitated slightly, but still charged forward from the left. Several people ahead immediately turned their Poison Water toward him. Chen Mu charged from the right as well, drawing away part of the firepower, while Xiao He raised a curtain of sword light and attacked through the middle.

Qin Bei was the first to retreat.

Almost the moment the Poison Water sprayed toward him, he symbolically swung his saber a few times before swiftly backing away. He could not block it head-on, but his action had still drawn their fire, greatly reducing the number of Poison Water devices attacking Xiao He. Sheets of black-red Poison Water were blocked by the sword curtain she raised, as though pouring onto an umbrella.

With a crashing sound, countless streams of Poison Water were scattered by Xiao He's sword curtain. She forcibly charged into the Poison Water Squad's formation, and with a sweep of sword light, the two nearest people were immediately separated from their heads.

At the same time.

Xiao He suddenly felt numbness at her waist, followed by a burning pain. In the end, a little Poison Water had still slipped through her defense. But with her Flesh Tempering Perfection Body Tempering realm, such a tiny amount would not be too serious.

What surprised Xiao He, however, was that as she swung her sword and killed, she caught sight of the right side out of the corner of her eye. Chen Mu had actually charged into the Poison Water Squad's formation just like her. Every saber strike drew blood, and in an instant, several people lay dead on the ground.

He was too rash...

Xiao He's heart sank slightly.

Even she had failed to block all the Poison Water and had been splashed by a little. Chen Mu's situation was likely far from good.

Moreover, she had the realm of Flesh Tempering Perfection and could withstand a tiny amount of Poison Water. But Chen Mu had practiced a Body Tempering Method for only half a year. His Skin Tempering was likely not even at Perfection yet. The consequences of being splashed with Poison Water could be quite severe.

Even if he received prompt treatment afterward, it would certainly greatly delay his Skin Tempering cultivation, leaving his future dim.

Whoosh! Whoosh!!!

Sword light scattered from Xiao He's hand. Having already killed her way into the Poison Water Squad, the Poison Water was no longer threatening in close combat. In moments, seven or eight people died by her sword, while the remaining few on the other side all fell beneath Chen Mu's saber.

After wiping out the Black Crow Sect's Poison Water Squad, Xiao He immediately reached out and tore away the portion of clothing around her waist that had been soaked in Poison Water. She quickly treated the affected area. When she saw that the patch of fair skin beneath was only slightly red, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief. This degree of injury was not serious; she would not even need special treatment or detoxification afterward.

Then.

She quickly came before Chen Mu. With one look, she froze.

There were only two faint traces of black-red Poison Water on Chen Mu's body, one on the upper part of his thigh and one on his lower abdomen. His condition was far better than she had expected.

While inwardly breathing a sigh of relief, she did not wait for Chen Mu to react. She immediately reached out and tugged at the cloth covering those two spots.

"Wait..."

When Chen Mu saw Xiao He coming up and tearing at his clothes, the corner of his mouth twitched. He dodged her grab at his thigh, but the part of his Yamen uniform over his lower abdomen was still ripped apart by her small hand, exposing the skin beneath.

The subtle abdominal muscles revealed there were a healthy wheat color, no different from the skin elsewhere. There was almost no obvious change or injury. Only upon close inspection could one see a faint, nearly negligible outline of pale red.

This time, Xiao He was completely stunned in place.