Turtle

The Lord of Radiant Moon City nodded casually. Remembering why he had come today, he grabbed the clothes at his side, put them on, and headed out.

Bai Suji clutched the storage pouch tightly in her hand, nervously staring at his departing back. Why hasn't the poison taken effect yet?

Just as the Lord of Radiant Moon City was about to step out of Fragrant Blossoms Court, the medicine finally took effect. One hand clutched his chest while the other braced against the courtyard gate.

Feeling the agonizing twist in his heart, the Lord of Radiant Moon City realized he had been poisoned. Thinking of the pill he had just taken, he turned and glared viciously at Bai Suji.

"You—you bitch! You actually dared to poison me!"

His rage accelerated the poison's effects. His heart hurt even more than before, so badly that he bent over and circulated his spiritual power to suppress the toxins in his body.

Knowing he had no time to deal with her now, Bai Suji took out the signal flare Feng Wuhen and the others had left behind. Standing in the courtyard, she pulled the fuse. With a whoosh, a red firework blossomed in the sky.

After pulling the fuse, she tossed the spent signal tube onto the ground and turned to run back into the room to hide.

Feng Wuhen had instructed her beforehand that once she pulled the fuse, she was to hide inside immediately. They would arrive soon, and when the fighting began, she might be caught in the crossfire. She had to hide in advance.

Not long after Bai Suji hid inside the cabinet, she heard the Lord of Radiant Moon City roar outside. "Who are you people? How did you get into my residence? Mo Qingran? Are they the reinforcements you brought? No, that can't be right. If you could bring reinforcements, they should have come from Divine Physician Valley, not several Nascent Soul Realm cultivators and one Golden Core Realm cultivator—there are even several Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators.

Could it be..."

The Lord of Radiant Moon City swiftly realized what was happening. Shock filled his gaze as he looked at Feng Wuhen and the others. "You are the people investigating the missing children case. You found that place and came here through the secret passage.

"If you could appear here, that means all the people I stationed to patrol the secret passage are dead!

"You little brats have some nerve, coming here to make trouble for me. Did you really think that poisoning me a little would leave me helpless against you?"

Feng Wuhen had no interest in wasting words with him and reminded his senior brothers, "Senior Brothers, don't waste time talking to him. He's stalling for time so he can circulate his power and force out the poison. Let's attack now—strike him while he's down and take his life!"

Before Feng Wuhen had even finished speaking, everyone drew their natal weapons. This time, Meng Hongying and Qin Leyan could finally join the battle.

A clear, ringing bird cry opened the battle. The ancient, desolate notes of a clay xun threaded through the entire fight. Sword light and needle light glittered in varying brilliance; a fiery-red whip, a chill-laden wind vortex, and scarlet flames lit up half the small courtyard.

The Lord of Radiant Moon City had been poisoned, but dealing with them was clearly no problem for him. He took out a black array disk and formed several hand seals. The array disk flashed with golden light and flew above his head, while a protective barrier of golden light enveloped him.

Feng Wuhen and the others' attacks slammed into the barrier without producing the slightest effect. The barrier merely flickered a few times before steadily protecting him once more.

Seeing this, the Lord of Radiant Moon City threw back his head and laughed. "Hahahaha! You little brats actually want to make a move against me? Do you know who I am? Though I, Liu Yong, may not be equal to those geniuses of my generation, I am still in the Void Refinement Realm.

"You received a few words of praise from others, were called geniuses, and now you think joining forces lets you deal with me? How naive! You cannot even break through the first layer of formations engraved on my array disk, yet you want to kill me? What a fool's dream."

Seeing him hide behind that golden shell while spouting nonsense at them, Bing Ling mocked him, "You make it sound so grand, but aren't you just hiding in a turtle shell? If you've got the guts, come fight us!"

As he spoke, Bing Ling turned around and pointed his backside at Liu Yong, insolently patting it while making faces at him.

Feng Wuhen and the others knew they should not laugh in such a serious situation, but Bing Ling's appearance was simply too much to bear.

Feng Wuhen restrained himself somewhat. His shoulders shook fiercely, but not a sound escaped his mouth.

Meng Hongying was not so reserved. Her hearty laughter rang throughout the courtyard. "Hahahaha! Bing Ling, you couldn't be more right! Isn't that exactly a turtle shell? Then that makes him a turtle that pulls its head into its shell!"

Bing Ling felt that Meng Hongying truly understood him. She had said exactly what he had been thinking!

Meng Hongying and Bing Ling's words enraged Liu Yong so badly that he stamped his feet within the array disk, yet even as he fumed, he could not go out and fight them.

He did not know what poison he had taken, but its effects were astonishingly potent. At this moment, not only did his heart ache, but his other internal organs also hurt. Even his spiritual power was faintly collapsing. He had to quickly find a way to force out the poison or cure it.

Otherwise, once he could no longer use his spiritual power and his natal array disk failed, these people would likely skin him alive.

Mo Qingran estimated that the Spirit-Collapsing Pill he had added should already be taking effect, so he said to Feng Wuhen and the others, "Let's do it again. The Spirit-Collapsing Pill I added should have taken effect already. His spiritual power is collapsing, and he can't sustain the array disk. One more attack will definitely break it!"

Mo Qingran said this only to bluff Liu Yong. The Spirit-Collapsing Pill had indeed taken effect, but it would not disperse all of the spiritual energy Liu Yong had stored so quickly.

He did this only to make Liu Yong voluntarily withdraw the array disk and attack them. Only then would they have a chance to take him down.

Liu Yong had already been panicking because of this chain of events, especially since he could feel the spiritual power in his body disappearing bit by bit. He feared that the array disk really would break under their combined assault, leaving him at a disadvantage.

It would be better to withdraw the array disk first, then seize the initiative by attacking. These brats might be formidable, but his Void Refinement Realm cultivation was no empty show.

Thus, he withdrew the array disk and took the initiative to attack Feng Wuhen and the others. He threw out several array disks, surrounding them in a triangle. When the array disks reached the three points of the triangle, they simultaneously shot out beams of light, intending to trap them inside.

Just as the three beams were about to converge, a golden sword light cleaved through all three.

One Sword Splits the Clouds!

Xia Jingcheng possessed a metal spiritual root, and his sword was the sharpest. Before him, those three beams of light were like paper mache, shattering into scraps that drifted through the air.

Liu Yong had heard of their reputations. They were the foremost geniuses among the great sects. He had never expected the triangular formation to hold them back; he only used it to buy time for what he planned to do next.

The moment Xia Jingcheng shattered the three beams, he saw a poisonous palm imprint radiating purple light rushing toward them. Mo Qingran stepped before them, sneering. "You dare play with poison before me? Do you take me for dead?"

Vine Guard!

Bone-Piercing Green, coiled around his wrist, flew out. Countless vines intertwined, weaving themselves into a shield of vines.

That palm strike slammed into the vine shield. Though the shield cracked from the impact, Bone-Piercing Green had already absorbed the poison.