A Small Accident

The corpse of the dead scorpion slowly began to bubble. Once the colorless, odorless poison gas spread into the air, it left no trace to follow.

Ye Xiu could feel the flow through his meridians suddenly becoming sluggish, and even drawing in spiritual energy seemed as difficult as climbing to heaven.

He gasped for breath, only getting up from the ground after a long while to pick up the scorpion's tail pincer.

That tail pincer alone accounted for more than half the Soul-Extinguishing Scorpion's body length. Ye Xiu weighed it in his hand—it was nearly two meters long. Without spiritual energy to assist him, even lifting it took some effort.

"At last, we have it."

Ye Xiu wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at Fang Ye and the others before him, his face still carrying lingering fear.

"If that beast had held on a little longer, my spiritual energy probably wouldn't have been enough to kill it."

Fang Ye, who had been slumped on the ground, slowly felt his way to his feet, a smile on his face as well.

He looked at Ye Xiu, who seemed ready to collapse at any moment, while silently hiding one hand behind his back.

"Yes, that beast really did put in a great deal of effort."

Just as Ye Xiu reached out to hand over the tail pincer, a chill suddenly rose in Fang Ye's eyes.

"If not for it, I never would have known Senior Brother Ye still had so much strength left!"

"What do you mean?"

Ye Xiu froze, as though he had not yet grasped the situation.

"It means that if it hadn't drained all the spiritual energy from your body, how would we kill you?"

Pshh!

Fang Ye directly threw out a small pellet. Before it had even fully crossed the air, it suddenly burst apart. Green poisonous smoke exploded in an instant, swallowing the entire area.

Through the blur before his eyes, Ye Xiu only felt a hand seize the tail pincer in his grip.

"Do it!"

At Fang Ye's command, whooshing sounds rang out from outside.

Crossbow bolts rained into the poisonous fog as though they cost nothing.

The other three stood in a triangular formation, sealing off every route of retreat available to Ye Xiu!

"Ah!"

Caught completely off guard by this sudden turn of events, Ye Xiu had no time to react. Fang Ye felt the tail pincer being yanked from his hand, and immediately afterward, the sound of crossbow bolts sinking into flesh came from within the poisonous fog.

Success!

A flash of delight crossed Fang Ye's face. Without hesitation, his body twisted across the ground like a fish swimming through water. He slipped past the incoming bolts as though by perfect calculation and darted out of the poisonous fog.

"Boss, you really thought of everything!"

Seeing Fang Ye emerge, the people outside all revealed delighted expressions.

This was a killing trick the Punishment Hall had practiced for a long time. Both the poison gas and the crossbow bolts were specially made. Even ordinary Qi Condensation cultivators would suffer badly if caught by them, let alone Ye Xiu, whose spiritual energy had been exhausted and who could not recover it within?

Now that Fang Ye had come out with the tail pincer in hand, even the mission target had not been lost. There would still be mission rewards afterward. They had truly made off like bandits.

"Hmph. The reason I've been able to hold my position in the Punishment Hall for so long is because I act with caution."

Fang Ye's face was equally full of smug pride. "Even if the plan to have that fellow die directly beneath the Soul-Extinguishing Scorpion's claws failed, I still had a backup plan ready."

"In this demonic sect, you need to be bold and meticulous. That is the only way to live long."

At those words, the three lackeys naturally rushed to flatter him again.

Within the poisonous fog, Ye Xiu watched Fang Ye coldly as he basked in their praise.

His body was densely covered in crossbow bolts. Yet although those bolts had struck his skin, they had only sunk in halfway. Not even their arrowheads had fully embedded themselves.

His drained spiritual energy truly prevented Ye Xiu from maintaining his protective spell, but who said that was his only means of defense?

The physical enhancement brought by his ability had long given him a physique far beyond that of Qi Condensation cultivators. Ye Xiu had even been able to withstand Zhou Xuan's Bonefire, and Zhou Xuan was an inner sect disciple. If Ye Xiu had not deliberately loosened his defense to make these people lower their guard, those crossbow bolts would not even have been able to pierce his skin.

As for the poison smeared on them, since it had not entered his flesh, it naturally could not affect Ye Xiu either.

Seeing Fang Qiong and the others excitedly preparing to gather up the Soul-Extinguishing Scorpion's corpse, Ye Xiu's lips curved into a cold smile.

He had launched the first attack against the Soul-Extinguishing Scorpion. Afterward, the frenzied beast had driven Fang Qiong's group into a scattered flight, causing them to miss one crucial piece of information;

There was more than one Soul-Extinguishing Scorpion.

Screech!

As Fang Ye and the others, unable to use spiritual energy, manually began cutting apart the Soul-Extinguishing Scorpion, they suddenly heard a shrill screech from behind them.

"Wait, that sound?"

Fang Qiong's expression changed. They knew that sound all too well;

Half an incense stick ago, they had been fighting this thing in a life-or-death struggle!

A fierce howl of tearing wind rang out. From within the poisonous fog, an enormous tail pincer came crashing toward them amid an ear-piercing shriek.

With the poisonous fog sealing away their spiritual energy, Fang Ye and the others could not use their divine sense to probe their surroundings. Added to that, the poison-fog pellet they had thrown had mixed with the poisonous mist already in the air, rendering everything around them a complete blur.

By a convergence of circumstances, no one had even noticed that this monster had already crept to their side!

Seeing the tail pincer shooting straight for his heart, a fierce glint flashed through Fang Ye's eyes.

He suddenly reached out and dragged the lackey holding the tail pincer directly in front of himself as a shield.

"Ah!"

The man clearly had not expected Fang Ye to use him as a sacrificial pawn. Before he could even say a word, he was disemboweled and skewered upon the tail pincer.

Taking advantage of that opening, Fang Ye and the others hurriedly pulled back.

"W-what is going on? Didn't they say there was only one nearby? Why is there another Soul-Extinguishing Scorpion?"

The lackey beside him stared in terror at the faintly visible shadow of the Soul-Extinguishing Scorpion within the poisonous fog. Fang Ye's face darkened to the extreme.

"Stop spouting nonsense. If we don't deal with this thing, none of us are leaving today!"

He had figured it out. This new beast that had come knocking was clearly connected to the previous one. Soul-Extinguishing Scorpions held grudges. They were still suffering from the residual poison of the first one and could not recover their spiritual energy. Escape was absolutely impossible.

Hearing Fang Ye's words, the two people beside him wore troubled expressions.

"Boss, our spiritual energy is exhausted. How are we supposed to deal with this beast?"

If they could use spells, the three of them would naturally still have the strength to fight. But the problem was that they had already used up all their spiritual energy in the previous battle!

"Idiots, at a time like this, you're still reluctant to use your talismans?"

Fang Ye's gaze turned ruthless. Facing the scorpion pincer that came lunging at them once more, he fiercely flung out a handful of talismans.

The talismans flew out, and a ball of flame sprang into being from thin air, forcibly driving back the Soul-Extinguishing Scorpion's attack.

Yet though the move had worked, Fang Ye and the other two showed not the slightest joy on their faces.

Instead, Ye Xiu, hidden within the poisonous fog, smiled.

Because he had clearly seen that where the Soul-Extinguishing Scorpion had been struck by the flames, not even the faintest mark had been left behind.

Talismans were limited, while the Soul-Extinguishing Scorpion, consumed by fury, would not retreat because of such a minor setback.

Ye Xiu stared through the poisonous fog at the three men before him.

Whatever trump cards you have left, bring them all out.

He was very curious about the methods of other demonic cultivators.