Chapter 272: The Real Poison Was The Friend We Made Along The Way
At the center of the attention of thousands, Qing Hua’s ’breakthrough’ phenomenon grew stronger and enveloped the entire dueling field under its violent aura.
The details were so convincing that, other than a few Elders who, in the past, had assisted numerous disciples ascend to the Soul Reformation realm, everyone was convinced of its authenticity.
A breakthrough in the middle of a battle while facing a superior enemy... Were they witnessing the birth of a legend?
Of course, not every disciple was hypnotized by the grandeur. Those who were familiar with Qing Hua naturally felt something amiss. Even Chen Yan gradually realized that something wasn’t right.
Considering the fact that Qing Hua has shown the ambition of entering the Inner Court of the Crimson Snow Sect, she would not jeopardize her chances of ascending to the Soul Reformation realm.
Suppressing her realm of cultivation just to break through in the middle of the battle was a move far too risky with very little benefit. Other than restraining Chen Yan from attacking her, what else could she achieve?
What preparations did she take for the breakthrough? Where were the medicines? Where was her weapon? Why was the Elder in charge of the Salted Fish Mountain Peak not here to act as her Dao protector?
It wasn’t as if she were a rogue body cultivator who had to bear the lightning tribulation by herself! It didn’t make sense.
But Chen Yan could not find any flaws in the phenomena of the breakthrough. So, even when the possibility of it being staged crossed his mind, he set it aside for a more likely conclusion.
She must be desperate, at the end of her rope! Yes, that’s it!
She probably had no idea that her opponent today would be at the Soul Reformation realm. So she never actually planned to start her ascension here.
’But facing me at my strongest, she fears an immediate loss!’
That means this breakthrough attempt might be forced. It is a do-or-die measure for her. But...
Chen Yan’s gaze unconsciously fell on Han Xuhan in the distance, seated in the front row of the gallery.
Knowing that brat, no scheme arranged by him would be so simple. There had to be a hidden layer that he was missing.
Outcomes speak for themselves—this was a saying he frequently heard from Elder Shen. At this moment, with no clues to deduce Han Xuhan’s scheme, he could only judge it by the outcome.
In this case, the outcome of Qing Hua’s breakthrough attempt was to prevent Chen Yan from attacking her. Going by the rules of conduct in the vicinity of a fellow disciple breaking through, he was even barred from moving conspicuously, lest it should distract her.
Regardless of her success in this attempt to ascend to the Soul Reformation realm, what would be Qing Hua’s strategy to defeat Chen Yan in the third round?
Since Han Xuhan had gone through so much trouble to force Chen Yan into discarding his protective means against poison, Qing Hua was likely to resort to poison.
Chen Yan recalled the numerous forced duels Han Xuhan had with his juniors throughout the last month. His formula of using poison in those battles was very consistent.
Set it up beforehand, gradually weaken the opponent without letting them realize it, and by drawing them into a false sense of security, trap them during a crucial move and land a deadly blow.
If Qing Hua intends to repeat that formula in this duel, the ideal opportunity should be...
Chen Yan’s pupils suddenly shrank. He sniffed the air and inspected his meridians in a hurry. Sure enough, he discovered an anomaly!
In some parts of his meridians, the flowing qi was being corrupted by some invisible substance, rapidly transforming into a black, sticky material that was starting to accumulate and clog the rest of the stream.
If this went on for a few minutes, his body would be rendered completely incapable of absorbing or using any Mystic Qi!
So his suspicion was right! Unbeknownst to him, Qing Hua had already poisoned the air of the dueling field!
Chen Yan didn’t have the luxury to deduce how, why, and when exactly it had started. Having already fallen inside the trap, the only thing he could do right now was to clear up the blockages inside his meridians.
If the clogging crossed a critical threshold, he’d not be able to keep up with its speed, and once that happened, being beaten by Qing Hua would be just a matter of time.
Shooting a death-glare at Han Xuhan in the distance, Chen Yan immediately sat down and closed his eyes, entering a state of deep focus.
Just a dozen meters away, shrouded under a storm of qi and chaotic spiritual aura, Qing Hua’s dazed eyes suddenly regained their sharpness.
The bait and the distraction have both been a success!
Time to deliver the killing blow!
The mobilization of her own internal qi was concealed by the chaos around her. Even as she launched her spell, it didn’t trigger Chen Yan’s alarm.
Divine Physique Manifestation Mystic Art: Fox Demon’s Gaze!
This Mystic Art was very well known in the outer court of the Crimson Snow Sect. Cultivating it was a constant gamble.
There was no guarantee that the rare ’Divine Physique’ awakened by the practitioner wouldn’t end up doing them more harm than good. The list of its victims was not small.
But a few, like Qing Hua, did benefit from it, gaining some extremely powerful innate spells associated with their awakened physiques.
The Fox Demon’s Gaze was capable of interfering with its targets’ mental and spiritual capabilities. It weakened their minds and obstructed their thoughts with barriers of confusion, preventing them from making quick decisions or performing any intensive mental tasks.
At this moment, Chen Yan was the target of her gaze. He needed to invest the entirety of his concentration on purifying his meridians. A spell like this would make his job a hundred times more difficult!
Even more insidious was the fact that Chen Yan would never realize that he was under the influence of a Mystic Art spell. From his perspective, how could Qing Hua, busy with her breakthrough, have the opportunity to cast spells at him?
He’d mistake the brain fog and mental weaknesses as the effects of the poison!
Having cast her spell, Qing Hua’s gaze remained glued to Chen Yan’s body. Although she couldn’t see his face because of the mask he wore, she could see the signs of frustration building up. Twitching fingers, bulging neck muscles, sudden trembling...
The more frustrated he became, the more effort he’d put in the purification process. And then...
Qing Hua mobilized another cycle of qi.
Unblemished Nine Steps Mystic Art!
This was not an offensive spell. It affected her own body, turning it even more ethereal than qi, beyond the reaches of the five senses. Only a highly refined spiritual vision could trace her movements if one knew what to look for.
With nine long and slow steps that were akin to floating with the wind, she reached Chen Yan’s side.
A fine needle coated in poison appeared between her pinched fingers. Gently, she drove it into Chen Yan’s neck. A breath of relief escaped her lungs as it punctured the skin and sank an inch deep easily.
Not even a body refined through the tribulation lightning of the Physique Transformation realm could withstand this poison. Chen Yan was done for!
She immediately backpedalled, fearing his final stand. But even as she retreated inside the shroud of her staged breakthrough phenomenon, Chen Yan showed no reaction.
A trace of doubt crossed Qing Hua’s mind.
No matter how absorbed Chen Yan was with the purification of his meridians, he couldn’t possibly ignore the sensation of being stabbed by a needle, could he?
It was one thing to not be able to sense her movement technique, but to not even open his eyes after the attack...
While Qing Hua fell into a rabbit-hole of confusion, outside the dueling field, Elder Shen sighed.
He had watched the whole scene unfold like a tragic classic tale, knowing what was coming yet helpless to stop it. Against Han Xuhan’s arrangements, Chen Yan simply didn’t stand a chance.
But it’d be wrong to call him incapable. After all, it looked like he still had a card to play!
Elder Shen was no expert in the field of rare physiques, but through his superior spiritual perception, he had figured out one thing. Chen Yan’s innate defenses against poison of any kind were unnaturally powerful!
So this was why he had agreed to discard the external defenses after the second round!
The pill fog had barely managed to affect his meridians. The corruption of his internal qi was so slow that he could actively fight against it. Even after being spiritually injured by Qing Hua’s Mystic spell, he wasn’t out of the race!
And now, even though Qing Hua had directly injected a far more potent dose of poison into his body, he could still suppress the symptoms and continue to purify himself!
An absolute freak! What kind of benefits did his physique gain during his breakthrough?
Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to turn the tide of the battle. It could only delay the inevitable by creating a long deadlock.
And that wasn’t conducive to the plan of insurrection. So it left Elder Shen with only one choice.
His Shadow of Falsehood finally left Han Xuhan’s side, entered the dueling field through the arrays under the control of his Body of Truth, and came up behind Chen Yan.
With a peak Soul Reformation realm expert spiritually attacking a rookie, there was no room for Chen Yan to put up a fight. His nascent spiritual form was corrupted almost instantly. The poison suppressed inside his body could finally show its fangs.
Soul in disarray, spirituality polluted, qi corrupted, body poisoned, mind unconscious, and Dao heart cracked, Chen Yan finally crumpled like a lifeless doll.
He didn’t even get the opportunity to open his eyes and see that his end had been brought by his own ally.
