Heavenly Baleful Gyroscope

"You two are truly slow. If you neglect your duties again next time, you'll pay for it!" At that moment, a figure slowly emerged from the darkness by the wall. The person wore a conical hat and was dressed entirely in black. Chen Fan was secretly alarmed. Even with his current perception, he had failed to detect this person. Either this person cultivated some special concealment technique, or their cultivation realm far surpassed his own. He did not dare let down his guard in the slightest, holding his breath and focusing as he listened in on their conversation.

"This subordinate understands. There will absolutely be no next time. Reporting to the Deputy Gang Leader, all those assigned to this mission have now arrived in the city. We can act tomorrow during the day," one of the men said.

"There is no need. I have received an urgent secret order. This operation has been completely canceled. Everyone is to lower their banners and still their drums, then return whence they came," the man in black said coldly, his tone filled with unquestionable authority.

"Why is that?" The two men exchanged suspicious looks.

"You need only carry out your orders. Inform the others to withdraw from the city before dawn. Otherwise, bear the consequences yourselves."

"Yes, sir! We obey!"

The two were just about to leave when the man in black suddenly gave a soft cry of surprise and said, "You two worthless dogs, you were being followed and didn't even know it? Who's there? Come out! You dared follow us here, so stay here forever!"

Chen Fan was greatly startled and was about to flee.

"Hehe, what a joke. And you think you can make me stay?" A cold female voice rang out. Immediately afterward, a powerful surge of Origin Qi between heaven and earth spread outward. The woman revealed herself, wielding a sharp sword as she thrust directly at the man in black.

The man in black was also slightly startled. He had clearly sensed that there should only have been a cultivator at the third realm at most nearby. Why was the person before him so imposing, as though her cultivation was not weaker than his at all?

When the other two men saw the woman, one of them suddenly cried out, "It's you? I saw you at the brothel just now. Were you following us all the way here?"

The man in black cursed inwardly. Two idiots—did they really need to ask? They had been watched since the brothel and still had not realized it. But he had no time to reprimand them now. With a flip of both hands, a long saber appeared in each, and he slashed at the woman.

With a clang, saber and sword collided. After separating slightly, the two attacked again at the same time. This time, the woman's sword momentum surged in power at lightning speed. In an instant, she unleashed several streaks of sword light. There was no flashy flourish to them; each streak contained immense might and moved incredibly fast. For a moment, the man in black felt Sword Qi enveloping him from every direction. He could neither dodge nor defend against so many streams of Sword Qi in an instant. He could only cross his twin sabers before his chest to shield his heart, then gather all the Origin Qi in his body to resist.

Several muffled tearing sounds rang out. The black-clothed man's garments split in many places, and blood instantly gushed from wound after wound. He was severely injured at once. This was already the result of abandoning offense and defending with all his strength. Terror filled his heart. Just who was this woman? He was already an Internal Qi fourth-realm cultivator, and his saber technique had long reached the third realm, yet he did not even have the strength to fight back. No wonder this operation had suddenly been called off. It seemed they had already been exposed.

Ignoring his injuries, he gritted his teeth and held both sabers horizontally. Then his body began to spin, like a gyroscope. As he rotated, the two sabers followed the motion and flung out waves of saber light. Clearly, this was a move that consumed a great deal of Origin Qi within his body.

It seemed the man in black intended to exhaust his final thread of Internal Qi to unleash this move. But would it work? The woman was obviously much stronger than him. If he drew the firewood from beneath his own cauldron like this and failed to defeat his enemy in one strike, he would have no strength left to fight again. He probably would not even be able to escape.

Watching everything unfold in the courtyard, Chen Fan understood that the man in black had actually discovered him earlier. He simply had not expected another person to be here, someone who seemed to be a friend rather than an enemy. Moreover, this woman's voice sounded somewhat familiar.

Seeing the man in black make his move, the woman's delicate brows furrowed slightly. She asked in puzzlement, "Heaven and Earth Gate's Heavenly Baleful Gyroscope? I never expected this matter to be connected to Heaven and Earth Gate!?"

The black-clothed man's rapidly spinning body stalled for a moment. He had not expected the technique he had used out of desperation to be recognized. That was rather troublesome. Yet he had no intention of stopping and continued spinning. The waves of saber light struck at the woman, but she neutralized every one with her sword, unable to harm her in the slightest. However, this also prevented her from gathering force for another attack for the moment.

Suddenly, a shadow shot out from the black-clothed man's spinning body. It could not be seen clearly in the darkness. It did not seem to be a hidden weapon, nor any cultivation technique or skill. The streak of light flew toward the woman and scattered into a cloud of specks before her, seemingly some kind of powder.

Oh no! He's using poison! Chen Fan inwardly cried out, already preparing to act.

The woman reacted swiftly as well. She quickly turned around, presenting her back to the powder, and continuously swung her sword behind her to prevent the poison from getting close. Yet she still inevitably inhaled some. In an instant, turmoil erupted within her body. Her five viscera and six bowels felt as though they were being scorched, while the Origin Qi in her dantian lost control and raced wildly through her body.

Seeing the poison powder take effect, the man in black stopped spinning and said to the other two, "She has been poisoned by Blazing Dragon Powder, and it looks like it has taken effect. Attack together! Capture her, and there will surely be a great reward from above!"

The three immediately rushed at the woman together. Behind them, another figure moved as well. The instant Chen Fan rushed out, he finally saw the woman's face under the moonlight. That was right—it was Ye Wan, one of the objects of his youthful longing. He had found the cold voice familiar when he first heard it, but seeing her now still left him deeply surprised. Then realization dawned upon him. Immortal Ye must have traced the investigation into the missing children here as well.

The three were about to reach Ye Wan, yet she had not recovered from the effects of the poison. The situation was perilous beyond measure. Chen Fan no longer hesitated. With a light flick of his wrist, three darts appeared in his hand—the Venomheart Darts.

At that moment, all three men had their attention fixed on Ye Wan. Coupled with the depths of night, it was undoubtedly the perfect opportunity for Chen Fan to use hidden weapons.

Three flashes of light tore across the night sky. The necks of the two lower-realm cultivators were pierced directly, each with a poison dart lodged in it. The two let out pained, low growls. After merely two more breaths, they collapsed to the ground, their fate unknown.

As for the man in black, his cultivation was ultimately a notch higher. Just as the poison dart was about to strike, he twisted slightly aside. Yet the dart had come too fast, and he had been wholly unprepared. It still lodged in his back. He then felt threads of poison drilling into his body. His expression changed instantly, and he stopped attacking Ye Wan. Had he been at his peak, even if struck by this poison dart, he could have barely held on, dealt with this woman first, and then escaped. But now, he had first been wounded by Ye Wan's sword, then struck by the poison dart. If he forced himself to continue fighting, even if he won, the poison attacking his heart along with these injuries would likely leave him with slim odds of survival. With that thought, the urge to retreat arose in him. After all, he was merely a tool in these affairs. There was no need to sell his life for someone else.

He steadied himself and looked behind him. Only then did he realize this was the presence he had sensed earlier. So that was it. He had still been too careless. But he no longer wished to entangle himself further. Some doubt remained in his heart as he said, "Hmph! Even people from Black Dragon Pool have come? Very well, consider me unlucky today. What I have suffered today, I will repay tenfold another day!"

His final sentence was directed at both Chen Fan and Ye Wan. Then his figure darkened and merged into the night, vanishing without a trace.

He really was bizarre! Watching the man in black disappear and confirming that his aura had completely left the area, Chen Fan hurried toward Ye Wan.

Ye Wan was sitting on the ground now, her treasured sword tossed aside. Her expression was filled with agony, and both hands kept tugging at her collar as though she wanted to tear it open. She panted and moaned continuously, "Hot... so hot... I can't take it... hot..."

This... Chen Fan rapidly recalled the contents of the Treasure Record. The Blazing Dragon Powder mentioned by the man in black was indeed recorded there. It was not an especially high-grade poison, refined from seven substances of extreme yang. To ordinary cultivators—or rather, to all male cultivators and most female cultivators—it merely caused the Origin Qi in their bodies to become turbulent. But for women whose primordial yin had not been broken, its effect was exceptionally fierce.

So Immortal Ye was still a virgin... Pah! What am I even thinking? A person like Immortal Ye must have studied martial cultivation diligently from childhood to reach such a realm at her age. As for men, she probably had never entertained such thoughts. Besides, with her icy personality, it would be difficult for anyone to even approach her.

Seeing Ye Wan in this state, fury surged in Chen Fan's heart. That man in black—sooner or later, he would kill him! At the same time, he was extremely anxious. Never mind, he would use that method. He took out a medicinal pill, one of the universal antidote pills he had refined. He considered this pill to be the highest quality among all his pills, so he placed it into Ye Wan's mouth.

Ye Wan was still in the midst of the poison's onset, her consciousness unclear. Her body swayed constantly, and she had already torn open part of her clothing herself. She continued crying out that she was hot. Only after the pill entered her mouth did her condition stabilize somewhat. Chen Fan hurriedly picked her up, retrieved her treasured sword as well, and swiftly left the area.

A short while later, he carried Ye Wan to an inn. The innkeeper took one look at the situation and seemed long accustomed to such scenes. He tossed Chen Fan a key and said, "Go on in. Second floor, third room. Settle the bill tomorrow morning." After saying that, he even winked at Chen Fan.

Chen Fan inwardly thought, Damn! What does he take me for? Still, this was good. It spared him a great deal of unnecessary trouble.

Watching Chen Fan carry Ye Wan upstairs, the innkeeper muttered to himself, "Sigh, this world is becoming harder and harder to understand. Doing this at such a young age, tsk tsk."

Inside the room, Chen Fan had just placed Ye Wan on the bed when he suddenly saw her grow restless and agitated again. It seemed this poison was extraordinarily peculiar. Strictly speaking, it was not truly poison in the conventional sense, which was why his pill had completely failed to achieve the expected effect. What should he do now? If this continued, the high temperature generated within her body might burn all her meridians and even damage her mind. At this moment, he could no longer worry about propriety between men and women. Chen Fan sat directly on the bed, helped Ye Wan sit up, pressed both palms against her back, and circulated his cultivation, sending Origin Qi directly into her body. He did not know whether he would suffer any backlash, since Ye Wan's Internal Qi realm was higher than his. But the only method he could think of was to use the Origin Qi transformed by his Golden Wheel Scripture to help Ye Wan suppress the poison.

Yet just as his Origin Qi entered Ye Wan's body, her entire body trembled. Like someone who had suddenly gone mad, she turned around and threw her arms around him. Chen Fan only felt as though he had been engulfed by a massive furnace. The temperature of his body surface abruptly soared, and a current of heat surged within him straight to his head. His throat became parched as well. At his inexperienced age, how could he withstand such a sight? His mind instantly went blank.

Before Chen Fan had time to make any other move, a lovely and captivating face suddenly pressed against his. He was about to evade, but Ye Wan immediately held him in place. Chen Fan's entire body shook, his blood and qi surged wildly within him, and he could no longer resist...

(Two thousand words omitted here)

After a long time, the two separated. Chen Fan, exhausted, lay down and fell asleep immediately. Ye Wan looked much calmer, though she had not awakened either. Having expended too much strength earlier, she also fell asleep.