Heavenly Baleful Spinning Top

"You two are really slow. If you neglect your duties again next time, you'll regret it!" At that moment, a figure slowly emerged from the darkness by the wall. The person wore a bamboo hat and was dressed entirely in black. Chen Fan was secretly alarmed. Even with his current senses, he had failed to detect this person. Either this person cultivated some special concealment art, or his cultivation realm was far above Chen Fan's. 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 not be a next time. Reporting to the Deputy Gang Leader, everyone assigned to this operation has now arrived in the city. We can act tomorrow during the day," one of the men said.

"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—go back where you came from," the black-clad man said coldly, his tone filled with unquestionable authority.

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

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

"Yes, sir! This subordinate obeys!"

The two men were about to leave when the black-clad man suddenly gave a soft cry of surprise and said, "You two dog bastards, you were being followed and didn't even know it? Who's there? Come out! Since you dared follow us here, then stay here!"

Chen Fan was startled and was just about to flee.

"Heh, what a joke. You think you can make me stay?" A cold female voice rang out. Immediately afterward, a powerful surge of heaven-and-earth Origin Qi burst forth and spread outward. The woman revealed herself, wielding a sharp sword as she stabbed directly at the black-clad man.

The black-clad man was slightly startled as well. He had clearly sensed that there was only a cultivator at most at the third level 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 black-clad man cursed inwardly. Two idiots—did they even need to ask? They had been targeted at the brothel long ago and had not even realized it. But he had no time to reprimand them now. With a flick of both hands, a long saber appeared in each, and he slashed at the woman.

With a clang, sword and sabers collided. After separating slightly, the two attacked again at the same time. This time, the woman's sword momentum surged at an astonishing speed. In an instant, she unleashed several streaks of sword light. There was no flourish to them; every streak contained immense power and moved with incredible speed. In an instant, the black-clad man felt Sword Qi envelop his entire body. He could neither dodge nor block so much Sword Qi in a single moment. He could only cross his twin sabers before his chest to protect his heart, then gather all the Origin Qi in his body to defend himself.

Several muffled bursts sounded. The black-clad man's clothes were torn in many places, and blood instantly gushed from wound after wound. He was heavily injured. This was the result even though he had abandoned all offense and defended with his full strength. Terror rose in his heart. Just who was this woman? He was already a fourth-level Internal Qi cultivator, and his saber arts had entered the third level long ago, yet he did not even have the strength to strike 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 top. As his body revolved, the two sabers swept out wave after wave of saber light. Clearly, this was a move that consumed a massive amount of Origin Qi from within him.

It seemed the black-clad man intended to exhaust every last thread of Internal Qi to unleash this move. But would it work? The woman was clearly much stronger than him. If he drained the kettle from the bottom and still failed to defeat her in one blow, he would have no strength left to fight—he might not even be able to escape.

Watching everything unfold, Chen Fan understood that the black-clad man had actually detected him earlier, only to discover there was someone else here as well—someone who seemed to be friend rather than foe. Moreover, the woman's voice sounded somewhat familiar.

Seeing the black-clad man make his move, the woman's delicate brows furrowed slightly. "The Heavenly Baleful Spinning Top of the Heaven and Earth Sect? I never expected this matter to be connected to the Heaven and Earth Sect!"

The black-clad man's rapidly spinning body stalled for a moment. He had not expected the move he had used out of desperation to be recognized. That made things troublesome. Yet he had no intention of stopping and continued to spin. The saber lights struck at the woman, but she dissolved them all with her sword, unable to harm her in the slightest. However, this also prevented her from gathering momentum for another attack for the moment.

Suddenly, a shadow shot out from the black-clad man's spinning body. It could not be clearly seen in the darkness. It did not seem to be a hidden weapon, nor any martial technique. The shadow flew toward the woman and burst into scattered specks before her, seeming to be some kind of powder.

This is bad! He's using poison! Chen Fan inwardly cried out, already preparing to intervene.

The woman reacted with incredible speed. She swiftly turned around, presenting her back to the powder, and continuously swung her sword behind her to keep the poisonous dust from approaching. Still, she inevitably inhaled some. Instantly, 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 ran wildly through her body.

Seeing the poison take effect, the black-clad man stopped spinning and said to the two beside him, "She has been hit by Flame Dragon Powder, and it looks like it's taking effect. Attack together! Capture her, and there will surely be a great reward from above!"

The three of them immediately charged at the woman. Behind them, another figure moved as well. The moment Chen Fan rushed out, moonlight revealed the woman's face to him. That was right—it was Ye Wan, one of the girls who had set his young heart wandering. He had found the cold voice familiar earlier, but seeing her now still shocked him greatly. Then realization struck him. Fairy Ye must have tracked the investigation into the missing children all the way here as well.

The three men 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 hesitated no longer. With a light flick of his wrist, three darts appeared in his hand—the Poison Heart Darts.

All three men were focused entirely on Ye Wan, and in the depths of the night, it was undoubtedly the perfect chance for Chen Fan to use hidden weapons.

Three flashes of light tore through the night sky. The necks of the two lower-level cultivators were pierced directly, each with a poisoned dart embedded in it. The two gave low cries of pain. After only two more breaths, they collapsed to the ground, their life or death unknown.

The black-clad man, after all, was a level stronger. Just as the poisoned dart was about to strike him, he twisted slightly to evade it. But the dart came too fast, and he had been wholly unprepared. It still lodged in his back. He immediately felt threads of poison burrowing into his body. His expression changed at once, and he stopped attacking Ye Wan. Had he been at full strength, he could have barely endured even after taking the poisoned dart, dealt with this woman first, and then escaped. But he had first been wounded by Ye Wan's sword and now had been struck by this dart. If he forced himself to continue fighting, then even if he won, the poison attacking his heart along with these injuries would leave him with more ill fortune than good. With that thought, he began to retreat. He was merely a tool in those matters; there was no need to sell his life for someone else.

He steadied himself and looked to the rear, only then realizing that this person was the presence he had sensed earlier. So that was it. He had still been too careless. Yet he no longer wished to tangle with them further. Somewhat puzzled, he said, "Hmph! Even people from Black Dragon Pool have come? Fine. Consider me unlucky today. What I suffered today, I will repay in full another day!"

His final words were directed at both Chen Fan and Ye Wan. Then his figure darkened and merged directly into the night, leaving no trace to be found.

He truly was exceedingly strange! Watching the black-clad man vanish and confirming that his aura had completely disappeared from the area, Chen Fan hurried toward Ye Wan.

Ye Wan was sitting on the ground. Her treasured sword had been thrown aside. Her expression was wracked with agony, and both hands kept tugging at the collar of her clothes as though she wanted to rip it open. She continued to pant and moan, "Hot... so hot... I can't take it anymore. Hot..."

This... Chen Fan rapidly recalled the contents of the Treasure Record. The Flame Dragon Powder mentioned by the black-clad man was indeed recorded there. It was not an especially high-grade poison, refined from seven substances of extreme yang. For ordinary cultivators—or rather, for all male cultivators and most female cultivators—its only effect was to cause the Origin Qi within the body to become restless. Yet for women whose primordial yin remained unbroken, it possessed an exceptionally fierce effect.

It seemed Fairy Ye was still a virgin... Pah! What am I even thinking? A person like Fairy Ye must have devoted herself to studying martial arts since childhood in order to attain such a realm at this age. As for men, Fairy Ye had probably never entertained such thoughts. Besides, with that icy personality of hers, it would be difficult for anyone even to get close to her.

Seeing Ye Wan like this, rage surged wildly through Chen Fan's heart. Sooner or later, he would kill that black-clad man! At the same time, he was frantic with worry. Forget it, he would use that method. He took out a pill, one of the universal antidote pills he had refined. He considered this pill the finest among all the pills he had made, so he placed it into Ye Wan's mouth.

Ye Wan was still in the throes of the poison, her consciousness unclear. Her body kept swaying, and she had already torn open part of her clothing herself. She continued crying that she was hot. Only after the pill entered her mouth did her condition stabilize slightly. Chen Fan hurriedly picked her up, retrieved her treasured sword as well, and swiftly left the place.

A short while later, he carried Ye Wan to an inn. Upon seeing their condition, the innkeeper seemed thoroughly accustomed to such things. He tossed Chen Fan a key and said, "Go on in. Second floor, third room. Settle the bill tomorrow morning." As he spoke, he even winked at Chen Fan.

Chen Fan cursed inwardly, Damn it! What does he take me for? Still, this was good too—it spared them a great deal of unnecessary trouble.

Watching Chen Fan carry Ye Wan upstairs, the innkeeper muttered, "Ah, society 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 she suddenly became agitated again. It seemed this poison was exceedingly unusual. Strictly speaking, it was not truly poison, which was why his pill had failed to achieve the expected effect. What should he do now? If this continued, the heat generated inside her body might scorch all her meridians, even her mind. At this point, he could no longer care 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 a backlash, given that 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 the instant his Origin Qi entered Ye Wan's body, her entire body trembled. As though she had gone mad, she spun around and threw her arms around him. Chen Fan felt as if he had been enveloped by an enormous furnace. The temperature over his body abruptly rose, and a wave of heat surged through him straight to his head. His throat became unbearably dry. At his innocent age, how could he withstand such a sight? His mind instantly went completely blank.

Before Chen Fan could make any other move, however, a delicate and breathtakingly beautiful face suddenly pressed close before his eyes. He was about to dodge, but Ye Wan immediately held him down. Chen Fan's whole body shook, his blood and qi surging wildly. He could no longer resist...

(Two thousand words omitted here.)

After a long while, the two separated. Chen Fan, exhausted, lay down and fell asleep at once. Ye Wan looked much calmer, but she had not awakened either. Having expended too much strength earlier, she also drifted into sleep.