Chapter 36: Chapter 36: Decisive
Jin Shu never imagined that he would one day fall at the hands of a Cultivator in the Early Stage of Qi Refining.
Two Fireballs smashed toward him. Despite using all his strength to escape the mud, he was too slow, and they struck him head-on.
SPURT—
The sensation of being burned by the flames was agonizing.
As someone in the Qi Refining Middle Stage, one Level higher than Song Jiulai, he held a natural advantage.
But after taking two Fireballs head-on, that advantage was completely gone.
"You!"
Jin Shu’s face was twisted in a snarl. "You actually dared to trick me!"
He’d seen that Song Jiulai was already poisoned by the Demon Horned Snake and had carelessly entered her attack range.
What he hadn’t expected, however, was for a Cultivator in the Early Stage of Qi Refining to dare attack one in the Qi Refining Middle Stage.
"So what if I tricked you?" Song Jiulai didn’t waste any more words, immediately firing off a third Fireball.
This constant expenditure was a significant drain on her Spiritual Energy.
But she had to seize the initiative. Her opponent was in the Qi Refining Middle Stage, after all; a second’s delay could spell her doom.
She quickly swallowed two Second Order Blood Replenishing Pills, halting the decay of her wound.
The horrifying pain was quickly neutralized by the effects of the Blood Replenishing Pills.
She had guessed he would come for her. The scent of the venom had grown stronger, confirming he was nearby, which was why she’d lured the Demon Horned Snake in this direction.
’Someone like him is more likely to take the bait if I look this pathetic.’
’He already tossed out one Earth Spirit Mushroom. Would he really be willing to give it up for good?’
Jin Shu grew even more furious and alarmed. He circulated his Spiritual Energy to dodge the third Fireball, but the effort caused his energy to destabilize.
He’d never seen a Cultivator in the Early Stage of Qi Refining like her. Her proficiency with the Fire Manipulation Skill was on par with, if not better than, his own.
Besides, she had just dealt with the Demon Horned Snake and was already in such a wretched state.
’She actually still has an unused Third-stage Qi Replenishing Pill?’
’What prominent disciple is she? Which Sect sent her out with so many resources?!’
Jin Shu cursed inwardly. He realized Song Jiulai was dead serious, and with no more Qi Replenishing Pills on him, his first instinct was to flee.
As long as there’s life, there’s hope.
However, the Fireball seemed to have accelerated the rate at which his Spiritual Energy was being consumed. The Demon Horned Snake’s venom, which he had suppressed, began to corrode his body once more.
The poison caused his Spiritual Energy to deplete at an alarming rate.
As a result, when he tried to circulate his energy to escape, he was half a beat too slow.
Song Jiulai used the Water Manipulation Technique again, turning the ground beneath his feet to mud.
Combat always has a way of unlocking one’s potential. Song Jiulai found that her command of the mental methods for these two basic techniques was growing more fluid with every use.
Trapped in the mud again, Jin Shu realized Song Jiulai was going for the kill. He turned, his face a mask of fury. "You chose the hard way!"
With a wave of his hand, an Ice Blade materialized and shot toward Song Jiulai.
He also cast the Water Manipulation Technique, trapping Song Jiulai.
His Water Manipulation was more effective than Song Jiulai’s mud. He ensnared her directly with water, leaving her no room to dodge.
The Ice Blade closed in.
BOOM—
The Ice Blade pierced Song Jiulai’s body. Her Spiritual Energy erupted into chaos, and this time, she truly coughed up blood.
The System was getting genuinely anxious now. "Should I send it? I’m just gonna send it, okay?"
Song Jiulai coughed. "...Wait..."
The closer she came to defeat, the more unwilling she was to give in.
Song Jiulai downed several more Elixir Pills bought by the players in the Sect.
Aside from the one Third-stage Elixir Pill that Fan Guzhou had bought for her, it would take time to sell her other materials for Spirit Stones.
The Sect’s treasury wasn’t large enough to buy another Third-stage Elixir Pill; all she had left were second-tier and first-rank pills.
Every little bit helps.
After she took them, the faint bit of Spiritual Energy they provided managed to stabilize her worsening injuries. She spat out two mouthfuls of blood, but at least she wasn’t going to die yet.
She could also see that Jin Shu was a spent arrow. The wound on his face was beginning to corrode again, his skin as pale as a vengeful spirit’s.
Jin Shu was truly about to have a mental breakdown.
Especially the way Song Jiulai was popping pills like candy.
And yet, Song Jiulai could still force herself to conjure one last, massive, all-or-nothing Fireball for him.
Jin Shu’s Spiritual Energy was in turmoil; he could only watch helplessly as the ball of fire smashed into him.
"AHH!!"
The flames seared his face, and Jin Shu let out a bloodcurdling shriek, like that of a vengeful spirit.
With a "BLEGH," he also spat out a mouthful of blood.
The Demon Horned Snake’s venom was spreading rapidly. With his Spiritual Energy in turmoil, he could no longer heal himself, nor could he stop the festering poison from advancing.
The blood he spat was already tainted a deep black.
It was bubbling, a truly horrifying sight.
With a look of utter unwillingness, Jin Shu raised his hand—
Song Jiulai sensed something was wrong and immediately rolled away.
A second later, SWISH! Several Ice Blades erupted from the ground where she had just been, narrowly grazing her body.
Of course, she was also suffering from the festering poison. Fighting like this would be her undoing as well. A sudden, sharp pain lanced through her head—a sign that her Spiritual Energy had reached its absolute limit.
Her only advantage was that she’d taken so many pills; she could still catch her breath for a moment.
Jin Shu’s hope was completely extinguished. He didn’t know who Song Jiulai was, and he’d never imagined he would be killed here. His eyes, full of resentment, fixed on her.
In the end, the festering poison rapidly spread throughout his body.
Even though the Demon Horned Snake was dead, if its poison wasn’t treated or neutralized in time, the venom would continue to eat away at a Cultivator’s body.
Song Jiulai watched Jin Shu’s eyes slowly flutter shut and saw his life force gradually fade. Her heart gave a single, heavy thud.
Her fingers trembled uncontrollably for a few seconds.
Then, she let out a long, heavy sigh, finally allowing her body and mind to relax.
She fell back onto the ground, looked up at the sky, closed her eyes, and began frantically absorbing nature’s spiritual energy to counteract the poison spreading through her body.
[Player Zhou Xiao has completed the task of purchasing Second-tier Elixir Pills...]
SWISH. Song Jiulai’s eyes snapped open. She quickly pulled out an elixir pill and swallowed it.
’Good, I can breathe a little easier now.’
The price was that the Sect’s assets were now completely depleted.
Her entire body was wracked with pain; she didn’t have an ounce of strength left.
Fortunately, even at a time like this, she could still joke with the System in her head. ’System, if it weren’t for you, I’d be a goner today.’
’If I couldn’t get pills delivered remotely, I would have had to run from the Demon Horned Snake, let alone Jin Shu.’
The System was silent for a long moment before it suddenly said, "You killed him so decisively. I didn’t think you would ever get used to this world."
"..."
Song Jiulai said softly, "There’s nothing to get used to. I knew what kind of world this was the moment I arrived."
’The Cultivation World... survival of the fittest. A day like this was bound to come sooner or later.’
’If the players die, their accounts might get banned, but they can still live perfectly fine in another world.’
’If I die, I’m really dead.’
’When faced with a threat, of course I have to eliminate it completely to prevent future trouble.’
She didn’t feel panicked or afraid for killing a person like Jin Shu. He had lured the Demon Horned Snake to her, which was a death sentence.
But she didn’t feel any excitement, either.
She took a ragged breath. "I don’t like the feeling of killing... but when my life is on the line, I won’t hesitate to do it."
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