But even if it meant drinking poison to quench her thirst, she had to step inside.
"Little sister... did I frighten you?" Li Piaoqing forced a smile, struggling to straighten her back and lean against the wall again.
"That [Quail Head] spirit invocation you prepared certainly caught me off guard, big sister. I truly never imagined you could master this art mere moments after entering the realm. Unfortunately... even after I told you about the Heart Poison, you still failed to find a way to defeat it, didn't you?"
Li Piaoqing panted, waiting for Yi Chengxin to say a few more words, but the girl seemed to have seen right through her.
"When I inscribed the Candle Sword's Heart Poison before you, I never imagined something learned and peddled on the spot could defeat it." Yi Chengxin watched her impassively. "Even if you truly mastered the Five Poisons Heart Candle, you would merely die a little more slowly. Let alone now, when you've placed yourself on the edge of a cliff."
"Though you look about to fall off all by yourself, big sister, I'll give you another push, just to be safe."
Li Piaoqing finally recovered some connection with her body. Looking at Yi Chengxin, she said softly, "I already relied entirely on your help for the first four candles, little sister. Give me another push, and perhaps I'll master it."
"Mm, perhaps." Yi Chengxin watched her coldly. "But I've already finished first."
She stared straight into Li Piaoqing's eyes, her pupils like a star-filled abyss.
Under that gaze, Li Piaoqing's mind, already invaded several times, abruptly shuddered with the terror of being looked down upon and driven to her death, almost curling into a ball.
With difficulty, she shifted her gaze behind the girl and saw that all ten