The steps extended downward step by step, disappearing into the chaotic mist.
Qin Tiexin walked in front, with steady steps and his right hand held on the handle of the knife behind his back. Liu Qing followed half a step behind, with his left hand naturally hanging by his side. There was a weak five-color spiritual light flowing on his fingertips, and he was obviously vigilant.
The passage is not long, about ten feet. At the end is the familiar platform on the edge of the Five Domains Square. The five-color light ball above the platform is still suspended, emitting a soft light.
The two stepped out of the passage almost at the same time.
The moment Qin Tiexin stepped onto the bluestone floor of the platform--
A sickeningly sweet smell hit my face.
It's not the fragrance of grass and trees, nor the stench of blood and rot, but a weird smell mixed with honey, pollen and some kind of putrid sweetness. The smell is so strong that it almost condenses into substance and goes straight to the nose.
Qin Tiexin's pupils shrank and his figure retreated sharply.
It's too late.
A cloud of gray-green smoke surged out from behind the stone pillar on the left, rolling toward the two of them like living creatures. As the smoke rolled, tiny insect shadows could be vaguely seen inside.
The sound of breaking through the air sounded almost at the same time.
"Whoosh--whoosh--whoosh--"
Three jet-black wooden arrows were shot in a Z-shaped pattern. The arrows were extremely fast. The arrows were wrapped with a dark green aura, and the air wherever they passed was slightly distorted.
"Cang! Cang!"
Qin Tiexin reacted very quickly, Edgeless already had the heavy knife in hand, swinging the blade horizontally, accurately splitting the first two wooden arrows. The huge force contained in the arrows made his jaw numb, and Edgeless Saber's whole body trembled slightly.
The angle of the third arrow is too tricky.
It shot diagonally from the lower right and went straight to his chest.
Too fast.
Qin Tiexin's body turned sharply, and the tip of the arrow reached half a foot to his chest.
At this moment, the black silk inner armor next to the chest suddenly became hot.
A light blue transparent mask instantly condensed in front of Qin Tiexin. There was a soft "pop" sound, and the third wooden arrow hit the mask. The arrow shattered inch by inch and turned into a cloud of black powder, scattered on the ground.
The mask then dissipated.
Qin Tiexin Before he could think too much, the spiritual patterns of the wind-chasing boots under his feet lit up, and his body moved three feet to the right like the wind, out of the scope of the smoke.
He looked sideways.
Liu Qing had also reacted. He held up a green wooden shield with his left hand. The surface of the wooden shield was covered with a thin layer of earth-yellow light mask. But at this moment, the light shield was dimmed, and there were two broken wooden arrows stuck on it. Liu Qing was half-kneeling on the ground, his face turned blue, and a trace of dark red blood oozed from the corner of his mouth.
"Poisonous!" He looked up at Qin Tiexin, his voice hoarse.
Poison?
Qin Tiexin immediately looked inside himself. The rotation speed of the five-color cyclone in Dantian obviously slowed down, and there was a sense of stagnation in the movement of spiritual power, as if the meridians were mixed with sticky colloid. However, Qin Tiexin had already been tempered and had a high resistance to poison, so it did not fall down immediately. He immediately took out a light cyan detoxification pill from Storage Bag and put it into his mouth.
The elixir melts instantly in the mouth, and the cooling power spreads quickly. After three breaths, the spiritual power returns to smooth operation.
So risky.
If the mysterious silk inner armor given by Nangong Yao hadn't had the function of automatically protecting the master, the arrow just now would have at least seriously injured him. If he hadn't been accustomed to carrying the detoxification pill with him, he would have been like Liu Qing, half-kneeling on the ground and losing most of his combat power.
"You're very responsive, little guy."
A gloomy voice came from deep in the smoke.
The gray-green smoke slowly dispersed, revealing the figure behind it.
He was a middle-aged monk in gray robes with an ordinary face, the kind of appearance that would be forgotten in a blink of an eye if thrown into a crowd. But Qin Tiexin recognized him at a glance - it was the Rogue Cultivator in the Wood Domain who used poison to kill the ancient tree guards and finally obtained the Aoki Bow.
At this moment, he is holding the green wood bow in his right hand, and the bow is filled with dark green aura. There are more than a dozen Storage Bag of different colors hanging on his waist, and some of the bag mouths are stained with dark red blood.
What made Qin Tiexin's heart sink the most was the aura exuding from this person -
Foundation Establishment Early Stage.
How is that possible?
The monks who enter the ruins can only reach the ninth level of Qi Refining. This is a clear rule.
Could it be...
"Junior Brother Qin, be careful!" Li Yun's anxious shout came from afar.
Qin Tiexin looked in the direction of the sound.
In the center of the square, more than a dozen disciples of Liuyun Sect and Jinyang Sect were unconscious on the ground, lying in various directions. They were shrouded in a light blue translucent shield, and ripples continued to appear on the surface of the shield, obviously resisting something.
Inside the shield, Li Yun and the woman in red stood side by side. Li Yun formed a seal with his hands, and aqua blue spiritual power was continuously injected into the shield; the woman in red's red sword was inserted into the ground, and the sword ignited a red gold flame. The flame turned into a barrier and merged with Li Yun's water shield, barely holding up this safe zone.
Both of them looked ugly, and there was sweat on their foreheads. It was obvious that they were struggling to hold on.
Li Yun's voice continued, with urgency. "This person is very good at using poison. He is half-Foundation Establishment Realm cultivation level! He took Foundation Establishment pill here and forced a breakthrough!"
Qin Tiexin suddenly realized.
Half-Foundation Establishment Realm - refers to those monks who took Foundation Establishment pills and failed to attack Foundation Establishment, but their cultivation level is far beyond the peak of the ninth level of Qi refining. They are in the fuzzy zone between Qi refining and Foundation Establishment. Their strength is stronger than the ninth level of Qi refining, but they are not really Foundation Establishment.
This person sneaked in with a cultivation level of half Foundation Establishment, and then took the second Foundation Establishment pill in the ruins to force a breakthrough to Foundation Establishment Early Stage.
He took advantage of a loophole in the ruins rules.
Seeing that Li Yun was safe for the time being, Qin Tiexin breathed a sigh of relief.
"Boy, do you still care about your little lover?"
The middle-aged poisonous cultivator smiled sadly and walked forward slowly. Every time he took a step, the bluestone ground under his feet turned a faint gray-green color, as if it had been corroded by something.
"Hand over what's inside," he stared at Qin Tiexin, his eyes like poisonous snakes, "I'll give you a happy reunion underground."
As soon as he finished speaking, the black silk inner armor on Qin Tiexin's chest became hot again.
Another layer of light blue light mask condensed instantly.
"Pfft."
There was a small, almost inaudible crack.
On the surface of the photomask, a small gray-black insect the size of a grain of rice exploded into a ball of black mist. The bug was too small and too dark in color. If the photomask hadn't revealed itself, it would have been impossible to tell when it was approaching.
Surprise flashed in the poisonous cultivator's eyes. "Your equipment is good, my hidden poisonous insects can be discovered."
His face darkened and his voice became even colder. "You, a large sect disciple, are all well-equipped and have countless resources. You deserve to die."
"Let's see how many times your baby can block it?"
After speaking, he raised his left hand and spread his fingers.
Five black poisonous needles as thin as cow hairs were shot out from between the fingers, silently and as fast as lightning, directly hitting Qin Tiexin's five vital points on the face, throat, chest, lower abdomen, and knees.
The tip of the needle glowed with a faint green light.
Qin Tiexin's wind-chasing boots shined brightly again, his figure retreated quickly, his eyes glanced at Liu Qing, he was already half-kneeling on the ground, his protective shield was crumbling, and he could no longer cooperate with him. What should he do?
Although he can use the moving talisman to escape, everyone here will not escape death.
In just one breath, Qin Tiexin made a decision:
You can't hide, you have to take the initiative!