Chapter 179: Chapter 179: Poisonous Stiff Creates Chaos (Part 2)
After dealing with one of the black Poisonous Stiffs, Shi Xiaole immediately rushed to the other side. With his intervention, the pressure on the grey-haired old man and the Qi Absorption seventh stage initial phase expert significantly lessened, and it wasn’t long before they successfully killed the second black Poisonous Stiff.
"We owe a lot to the young hero."
The grey-haired old man caught his breath, showing his gratitude with a salute.
The swordsmen and others also stepped forward to give their thanks.
A look of lingering fear was evident on everyone’s faces.
If Shi Xiaole hadn’t arrived in the nick of time, they would have either been dead or forced to abandon the safety of the villagers in Peach Forest Town to escape, neither of which were options they wanted to consider.
"No need for formalities, everyone."
Shi Xiaole looked at the group and noticed that only the grey-haired old man and the two Qi Absorption seventh stage initial phase masters were still capable of fighting. He said, "Elders, I have a request. There is a small path leading to the town ahead, could the three of you go and guide the villagers back here?"
The swordsman was puzzled. "Young hero, wouldn’t it be better to let the villagers escape as quickly as possible?"
Shi Xiaole shook his head. "For now, they cannot leave."
Everyone was confused.
A girl named Fang Yao, who had a charming apple-shaped face, had been observing Shi Xiaole closely. Upon hearing his words, she looked towards the small path between the mountains and pondered, "Young master, are you afraid that the path might be contaminated by poisonous gases?"
The places where the Poisonous Stiffs passed would be contaminated with their poison, spreading it into the air. This wouldn’t be a problem in open areas, but the small paths of Peach Forest Town were very narrow, and the enclosed environment made it difficult for the poison in the air to dissipate.
Any villager who passed through this area risked being poisoned!
Everyone exchanged glances, taken aback by Shi Xiaole’s caution and meticulousness. Without hesitation, the grey-haired old man said, "If that’s the case, I will immediately go to the outskirts of the town. We’ll leave this area in your hands, young hero."
Shi Xiaole nodded.
The grey-haired old man and the two Qi Absorption seventh stage initial phase experts hasty left. The six others, led by the young man wearing a golden crown, sat down and began to purge their bodies of the absorbed poison.
A wave of crying echoed in their ears.
Many villagers of Peach Forest Town who were gazing at the bodies on the ground were filled with sorrow and despair. Among the sprawled bodies were their husbands, wives, and children. Fortunately, others still had their wits about them and knew not to touch the bodies to prevent infection, pulling back those villagers who wanted to throw themselves onto the bodies.
Feeling a lump in his throat, Shi Xiaole commanded, "Everyone, this place is not safe. Please retreat back into the town."
"Ah, my dear daughter, your mother can’t afford to lose you. Please don’t scare your mother."
"My dear father."
"Dear mother."
The villagers who had lost their loved ones could only weep and wail, they couldn’t hear anything else.
Suddenly, one man looked at Shi Xiaole and gave a bitter laugh. "Young Master Shi told us to leave earlier, but none of us listened to him. I regret it so much...everyone, if we don’t want our loved ones to die horribly, we need to listen to Young Master Shi now and stop causing a stir."
"Yes, Young Master Shi, an outsider, is willing to stay here to protect us. We can’t burden him anymore."
With that man taking the lead, more people came to their senses, helping those nearby retreat back into Peach Forest Town. Gradually, the noise subsided.
After casting a glance at the young man in the golden crown and the other five people, Shi Xiaole dashed towards the small path. He planned to scout the surroundings; if he came across any black Poisonous Stiffs, he would react promptly.
As luck would have it, Shi Xiaole didn’t find any black Poisonous Stiffs all the way to the end of the path, so he had to turn back.
Late at night.
Flickering lights could be seen around Peach Forest Town.
Shi Xiaole and others remained at the two ends of the town. In addition to the nine warriors who were present during the day, several more experts arrived come evening, splitting into two groups.
Shi Xiaole, the grey-haired old man, the swordsman, and Fang Yao took responsibility for guarding the rear path.
The rear path was divided into outer and inner ends.
Shi Xiaole and the others chose the inner end in order to use the geographical advantage of the terrain to block the advance of more Poisonous Stiffs. If they had chosen the outer end, they would have been exposed to attacks from the Poisonous Stiffs on all sides.
The grey-haired elder was talkative and curious about Shi Xiaole, frequently asking about his background. Everyone was surprised when they found out that Shi Xiaole came from the Cloud Triangle.
Who would have thought that such a remarkable individual would be born in a place like the Cloud Triangle?
"I never thought we’d have to face the Poisonous Stiffs. A black Poisonous Stiff is challenging but can be eliminated. But what I am worried about is the rumor that there’s also a red Poisonous Stiff making its way here out of the three that escaped from the Array System. Let’s hope it’s not true."
The grey-haired elder stared at the stars in the sky and sighed.
The others had heard the rumor earlier and though they were pale, they didn’t say anything. Shi Xiaole, on the contrary, was taken aback by these words.
According to what he knew, a red Poisonous Stiff was a creature evolved from a black Poisonous Stiff. Its toxicity was ten times more potent.
A black Poisonous Stiff at most could only wear down an ordinary Qi Absorption seventh stage initial phase expert, but a single red Poisonous Stiff could easily kill a peak Qi Absorption ninth stage expert.
It was said that the body of a red Poisonous Stiff was incredibly resilient, and could not be penetrated by anything less than a Xuanqi Realm expert.
Shi Xiaole couldn’t even begin to imagine the consequences if a red Poisonous Stiff reached Peach Forest Town.
"Red Poisonous Stiffs are far beyond our ability to fight, luckily there are also several Xuanqi Realm experts from the martial world rushing over. As long as we can hold out for a few more days, we should be fine," Fang Yao cautiously said, her gaze frequently landing on Shi Xiaole.
As they were speaking, suddenly a gust of wind sounded from a distance followed by a shout, "Friends! There are six Poisonous Stiffs up the town path and our defenses won’t hold much longer."
Shi Xiaole and the grey-haired old man exchanged glances, then said, "Elder, please stay here."
The old man wanted to object, given that he was more skilled and could move faster. But before he could say a word, Shi Xiaole had already leapt into the air, traveled several tens of feet, and in a flash, vanished into the night sky.
The grey-haired old man was stunned, all his words caught in his throat.
"Brother Shi truly hides his abilities well. He’s probably not much weaker than Brother Xin," he finally managed to mumble.
Fu Yusheng, the golden-crowned young man, sighed with admiration.
"Considering his age and strength, it’s too early to put him on the list of heroic youths now, but he has a good chance of being selected in the second next one," said another young man, his tone full of admiration.
On a path in front of the town, a fierce battle was in progress. When Shi Xiaole arrived, several experts were already seated and adjusting themselves. The others were struggling to hold on. The situation was not optimistic.
"Only one person has come?"
Seeing Shi Xiaole arrive alone, many experts revealed expressions of surprise and dissatisfaction. However, that surprise and dissatisfaction soon turned into shock.
After Shi Xiaole joined in, everyone’s pressure greatly decreased. Half a 2-hour period went by, and six black Poisonous Stiffs fell under Shi Xiaole’s sword.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Everyone just breathed a sigh of relief when the ground violently shook, and along with it, a putrid stench spread. The appearance of this stench caused many people’s internal power to stagnate, left them dizzy, and almost made them fall.
"What’s going on?"
"Such a strong poison gas. Could it be..."
In the moment that everyone was slightly bewildered, a scene that made their scalps tingle occurred.
They saw a large group of black Poisonous Stiffs rushing into the path around the corner hundreds of meters away. They were exuding a poison strong enough to wither the grass and trees and resembled a surging black mire.
"This isn’t possible. How could there be so many black Poisonous Stiffs?"
Someone’s face turned exceedingly pale, their mouth a patch of discolored blue and purple.
In the previous towns and villages, the most Poisonous Stiffs found were just over twenty, and others were around ten or so. Why were there nearly a hundred upon arriving in Peach Forest Town?
"I see! The rumors must be true - a red Poisonous Stiff has arrived. Its aura can attract black Poisonous Stiffs."
Another person seemed to remember something and shouted. His voice was filled with extreme regret. If he had known this would happen, he would never have come to risk his life.
"Run!"
Without any hesitation, the man endured the discomfort and gathered his strength to turn and flee, intending to leave through the path at the back of the town.
The others followed suit, and in a blink of an eye, only Shi Xiaole and five other people were left at the scene.
"A bunch of cowards! We, as martial artists, should assist the needy and perform righteous deeds. How can we behave like those who fear death?"
With a nonchalant look, the man in the blue robe grasped his spear and charged towards the black Poisonous Stiffs.
"Well said. I have no regrets even if I die today."
Not one of those who dared to stay feared death, learning from the man in the blue robe to advance instead of retreating.
Clang!
A cyan sword light lit up in the darkness, faster than anyone else. While Shi Xiaole was mid-air, he shouted, "Two of you, take the town’s people to the other end and escape."
Initially, they were worried about the poisonous gas in the path and planned to wait a few more days before leading people to leave. Now they can’t care about that anymore. If they stay, their entire force will be annihilated.
Boom!
A violent surge of energy collided with the charging black Poisonous Stiffs head-on, causing the latter to roar and fall back, crash into the Poisonous Stiffs behind and rush forward again after losing most of its power.
The two staying behind exchanged glances and then turned to leave.
Both of them were seasoned veterans. They knew very well this wasn’t the time to act on impulse. The safety of the people in Peach Forest Town was the most important thing.
"Four brave gentlemen, please take care."
"We hope you can all survive."
Gazing at Shi Xiaole and the others who blocked the way of the black Poisonous Stiffs, the two men left their blessings behind. However, they knew in their hearts that if no other experts showed up, these four men were doomed.
"Furious Quintuple Spears!"
The man in the blue robe laughed wildly, his iron spear making five illusions, each striking a black Poisonous Stiff.
However, there were too many black Poisonous Stiffs. They barely fended off the ones in the front when those at the back pounced on them. They found it hard to substantially damage any single black Poisonous Stiff.
What was worse was that some Poisonous Stiffs followed their instinct and went around the back of Shi Xiaole and others using the hillside. Suddenly, the four were surrounded and had to stop the Poisonous Stiffs from rushing towards the town. It was a bitter struggle.
Just as he repelled one black Poisonous Stiff, another one attacked him from behind. A black claw reached out towards the man in a blue robe.
Bang.
Sword light rose, and the black Poisonous Stiff was flung away. The man in the blue robe turned his head to look and saw that it was Shi Xiaole. He couldn’t help but laugh and say, "Thank you, young man!"
Shi Xiaole didn’t speak, he continued to fight the black Poisonous Stiffs.
He knew better than anyone how grim the situation was. With the Bird Crossing Skill, he could easily fly away, but if he did, it would be the same as signing a death sentence for the other three.
At least before he had exhausted all his options, Shi Xiaole didn’t want to give up on the three.
Whatever many he could kill, he would.
His eyes burned with a fighting spirit. As he raised his sword with a cyan-purple glow, Shi Xiaole drew his left-hand knife and brought forth a flurry of white lights, like snow. Within the light of the blades, several black Poisonous Stiffs were thrown back.
Shi Xiaole’s strength lied in his swordsmanship, but in the midst of the Poisonous Stiffs, wielding a sword in one hand and a knife in the other was much more effective. Not only could he deflect attacks from all sides, but also attack more targets.
As for the Moon Concealing Sword Technique, although it was powerful, it consumed too much internal power and was not suitable to be used at this time.
"He wields a sword in his right hand and a knife in his left?"
The man in the blue robe and the others caught sight of this and looked somewhat surprised.
