Chapter 38: Purpleveil Poison
Numerous though the crow spirits might be, there were few of them at Immanence, and the hundred Taiqing disciples were clearly the superior force.
Ye Sanshui's longsword, which had been strapped to his back, surrounded by a chilly aura, flew in a long arc straight toward the golden crow spirit.
The golden crow spirit's feathers puffed up as it extended its wings and clawed at the flying sword, summoning huge patches of flame as it did so.
The flying sword was knocked back by the crow's astounding force. It cawed in rage, commanding its forces to kill these upstart humans.
The crow spirits immediately stopped feasting on the fallen villagers. They cawed, stretched their wings, then bore down on the gathered disciples.
"Kill!" The Taiqing disciples charged forward fearlessly, swords and blades in hand. Their combined attack formed a tsunami of force, scraping a layer of dirt off the ground and sending boulders flying.
The golden crow spirit cawed ferociously, flapping its wings and swooping straight for Ye Sanshui.
"Die, foul beast!" Ye Sanshui called out, slashing at it with his sword.
The golden crow avoided the sword slash and spat out a huge fireball straight at Ye Sanshui. It moved so rapidly that it looked like a meteor from the heavens. Ye Sanshui cut apart the fireball in a huge explosion that sent him stumbling back.
The golden crow roared and swooped toward him once again, engaging in close combat against him.
Sword met claw in a spray of blood. The fighting grew heated everywhere.
"Senior Sister Yu'er, you don't have to keep guarding me. Go slay the beasts!" Xiao Nanfeng urged from the back.
"If I go, what will you do? There aren't that many Immanence-realm crow spirits, but there are plenty of Acquisition-realm ones. You won't be able to fend them off," Yu'er warned.
"Don't worry, I intend on doing my fair share. I anticipate I'll kill more crows than the average disciple," Xiao Nanfeng replied confidently.
"You? You didn't even bring your sword with you! Are you going to rip the crows apart with your bare hands?" Yu'er frowned at him dubiously.
Xiao Nanfeng revealed a fist-sized purple orb in his palm.
"Before we set off, I bought this purpleveil poison orb to defend myself," Xiao Nanfeng explained.
"Purpleveil poison? What will you do with it? It's not something you can ingest, and it's filled with toxic poison! You spent three thousand taels of gold on this?" Yu'er rolled her eyes.
"As long as it'll be useful. Please, don't stay too close to me. I'm about to make my move." Xiao Nanfeng consumed the antidote as he walked forward.
He activated the pill with his qi. The purpleveil poison orb immediately emanated a huge cloud of purple mist that surrounded Xiao Nanfeng.
"Senior Brothers, Senior Sisters, watch out! I'm coming!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted.
Many disciples turned toward the voice.
"Purpleveil poison? Who would buy something so costly? It's three thousand taels of gold an orb! We might not even manage to make that much from a single raid," a senior disciple cried out.
"Nanfeng, did you hear that? They're calling you a wastrel!" Ye Dafu shouted in glee.
Xiao Nanfeng ignored their words and ran straight to where the crows were most densely located. The purpleveil poison orb was rather expensive, but its effects could be incredible if used appropriately.
Dozens of crow spirits swooped toward Xiao Nanfeng, but their eyes began bleeding the moment they headed into the fog. Subsequently, they dropped to the ground headfirst, dead by the time they made contact.
The purple mist that hung around Xiao Nanfeng was a lethal poison. The disciples around him quickly made way.
The crow spirits had developed intelligence; upon seeing their brethren killed en masse, they immediately began to flee. Xiao Nanfeng chased after them with all his might, leaving countless crow carcasses in a trail behind him. Hundreds of ordinary crow spirits perished to the poison.
"This is ridiculous! He's killing them by the dozen!"
"Purpleveil poison is... surprisingly useful?"
"Three thousand taels of gold was a worthwhile investment!"
The senior disciples glanced at the scene with shock.
"All you can do is deal with Acquisition-realm crows. What can you do against Immanence-realm ones?!" Ye Dafu called out from nearby, envy distorting his features.
Just then, an Immanence-realm crow spirit cawed as it dove toward Xiao Nanfeng.
"Be careful, Nanfeng!" Yu'er cried out.
The Immanence-realm crow spirit was half as tall as an ordinary human. It dove into the purple mist and, resisting the effects of the poison, flew straight toward his front.
"Hegemon's Fist!" Xiao Nanfeng punched forward, the fist blurring into three as it shot forward.
He took a few stumbling steps back from the force of the impact, and the crow itself froze for a few moments. It tried to continue attacking Xiao Nanfeng, but it suddenly spasmed as it moved. Its eyes wide with fear, it turned tail and tried to run.
"The poison's taking its toll on you now—but it's too late to run!" Xiao Nanfeng leapt forward and grabbed onto its wing.
The Immanence-realm crow spirit flapped its wings desperately, but the poison running through its body sapped it of its strength. It was pulled to the ground. Xiao Nanfeng stepped on its body and tore off its wing as it shrieked.
Yu'er watched on flabbergasted. "He really can tear a wing off a crow spirit...?"
Well, there was nothing for her to worry about, then! She charged forward, swinging her blade.
Xiao Nanfeng's impressive feat caused many disciples to toss him surprised glances.
"Purpleveil poison can be used in this manner...? It's an amazing tool for mass combat! You'd be able to make back three thousand taels of gold in no time at all. It's an easy way to make profit!" An insightful disciple goggled at Xiao Nanfeng's actions.
Xiao Nanfeng continued chasing after the crow spirits. Ordinary ones fell to the poison on contact, and even Immanence-realm crows would fall after an initial attack.
Within a short period of time, Xiao Nanfeng had managed to kill five Immanence-realm crow spirits. After seeing how vicious he was, the crow spirits began to flee at the sight of the purple mist that surrounded him.
When no other crow spirit dared draw near, Xiao Nanfeng stopped channeling his qi into the purpleveil poison orb.
The crow spirits circled in the air, cursing and cawing at Xiao Nanfeng, but none dared to get in his way. Xiao Nanfeng had left two thousand Acquisition-realm carcasses in his wake, and he had torn six Immanence-realm ones wing to wing.
"I can't believe it! An Acquisition-realm disciple managed to do this much?!"
"I have to buy a purpleveil poison orb for myself next time. I can't believe what Nanfeng just did!"
"Junior Brother Nanfeng is truly incredible!"
The senior disciples around him were all gobsmacked by Nanfeng's display of wit and strength.
"What's so impressive? If I had a purpleveil poison orb, I could do even better!" Ye Dafu murmured, trying to console himself.
Meanwhile, Xiao Nanfeng sighed in exasperation. He had made such a big commotion that the crow spirits were now staying far away from him!
He glanced at the purpleveil poison orb in his hand, which had shrunk to half its original size. Xiao Nanfeng winced. "These crows had better be worth over 1,500 taels of gold, or I'll have lost out..."
Seeing that no crows were willing to appear around him, Xiao Nanfeng made his way into the village instead.
Several senior disciples had already arrived at the scene, expelling the remnant crow spirits and helping to clean up the corpses. However, the corpses had largely been mangled by the crow spirits.
Xiao Nanfeng helped the senior disciples cover up the corpses with bedsheets, a palpable heaviness hanging over them all.
"I have to thank all of you for helping me subvert Ye Sanshui. None will underestimate me after this fight, and neither will Ye Sanshui dare command me at will, but if I had a choice, I'd rather that your entire village be well!" Xiao Nanfeng sighed as he covered up the corpses.
"There's still a living child here!" one senior disciple suddenly called out.
"There are survivors? Quick, Senior Brothers, would you please check all the houses around? Rescue the living and confirm if these bodies scattered all around might still be alive. If they have a heartbeat, rescue them at once!" Xiao Nanfeng cried out.
"Understood!" a group of senior disciples chorused, almost by instinct.
After they did so, they suddenly frowned. Who had given that order? They looked toward Xiao Nanfeng. It was him?
The senior disciples felt a little annoyed to be commanded by their junior, but there was no time to be concerned about that now. They ran all about the village, trying to save whatever survivors there were.
Very quickly, children were fished out of rice vats, underground cellars, bed bottoms, and wardrobes. The children were all crying in fear; some parents, worried about exactly this outcome, had even gagged their children's mouths with cloth and tied them up in order to hide them from the crow spirits.
Fifteen children had been found throughout the village.
The Taiqing disciples sighed in relief as they looked at the crying faces.
"If not for Nanfeng's determination, these children would surely have been discovered and consumed by the crow spirits."
"Nanfeng was right to have been so persistent. Imagine if we hadn't listened to him!"
The senior disciples looked at the children they had saved in relief. Unconsciously or otherwise, everyone began to approve of Xiao Nanfeng.
Xiao Nanfeng himself was beyond relieved. Thank goodness Ye Dafu had tried to cause trouble for him. Thank goodness he had tried to challenge Ye Sanshui's authority!
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