Chapter 1394: Chapter 1394: I Hold No Grudge Against You, Do I?

"Let’s begin!"

Yun Xiao’s gaze first swept over the figure with a hint of resentment next to him, then glanced at a certain spot, as if intentionally or unintentionally, before softly speaking, grasping the black mist in his hand.

Swish!

As soon as Yun Xiao’s five fingers touched the black mist, the entire poisonous spirit Qi vanished instantly from sight. Witnessing this, a tinge of heartache appeared in the Moon Gazing Poison Demon’s eyes; it knew this human youth had started refining.

But aside from heartache, Moon Gazing Poison Demon’s gaze also harbored an expectation — longing for this human youth to fail in refining and suffer a backlash from the poisonous spirit Qi, giving it a chance to retrieve its belongings.

After all, the lifelong stored poisonous spirit Qi of Moon Gazing Poison Demon was far more powerful than the one it just unleashed, and it wasn’t impossible for this seemingly young and arrogant human to encounter a backlash when forcing refinement.

"Ha!"

Just as this thought arose in the Moon Gazing Poison Demon’s mind, it saw the human youth beside it tremble violently, his face turning extremely pale, provoking it to laugh out loud.

But it only laughed because of the fear Yun Xiao instilled earlier; Moon Gazing Poison Demon didn’t make any moves at that moment, perhaps because it had withdrawn all of its poisonous spirit Qi, rendering it incapable of action shortly.

Whoosh!

Yet, as the Moon Gazing Poison Demon remained motionless, a sudden sharp wind-breaking sound echoed in the forest clearing, seemingly piercing through the very air.

A flash of cold light emerged, and before the Moon Gazing Poison Demon could react, a tip of a sword had pierced the throat of that human youth beside it, emerging from the back of the neck.

"What..."

Seeing this scene, the Moon Gazing Poison Demon couldn’t quite grasp its feelings. However, moments later, its enormous eyes gleamed with excitement.

Earlier, Moon Gazing Poison Demon was compelled to submit under Yun Xiao’s dominance. As a Moon Gazing Poison Demon, having its lifelong poisonous spirit Qi snatched away invoked feelings of resentment. Now, the human who took its poison Qi had been pierced through the throat; from one perspective, it felt its great revenge had been fulfilled, naturally bringing joy.

It even thought, if it could regain some strength and seize its poisonous spirit Qi from the human youth’s body before the ambusher, it would truly be an unexpected joy.

"Huh? Something’s off!"

As the gleam of joy filled the massive eyes of Moon Gazing Poison Demon, contemplating certain plans, it finally noticed something unusual and uttered a surprised sound.

Because in its vision, the human youth with a pierced throat hadn’t shed a single drop of blood, as if it were merely an illusionary figure.

The Moon Gazing Poison Demon was correct; it was indeed a remarkably convincing humanoid illusion, and the seemingly celestial ambush with the sword ultimately hadn’t been able to completely kill Yun Xiao.

"Damn!"

Compared to the Moon Gazing Poison Demon, the ambusher realized something was amiss as soon as the sword tip pierced, resulting in a deep curse echoing from its mouth as its figure swiftly moved aside.

Swish!

At the same time, a wooden sword familiar to the Moon Gazing Poison Demon appeared where the ambushing figure had just been — a hair’s breadth away from a bloody pit.

It’s said that Yun Xiao’s methods were mysterious; the ambusher showed extreme speed in reaction, demonstrating top-notch offensive and defensive instincts among cultivators, impressively swift.

"You?!"

Using the shadow clone technique, Yun Xiao suddenly appeared behind the ambusher, delivering an empty sword strike. He exclaimed in surprise upon recognizing the ambushing figure and turned solemn.

Because the ambushing figure, equally standing with a sword, had a peculiar grace, it was Ghostly Poisonous Woman: Song Qiuchan, whom Yun Xiao had seen on the Meridian Refining Master Guild’s plaza.

"Song Qiuchan, I, Yun Xiao, believe we have no grievances; why ambush me?"

Yun Xiao asked coldly, pondering whether his luck was good or bad, just recently entering the Nine Realms Poison Tower. He had already encountered a powerful expert from Sky Thunder Valley, the Moon Gazing Poison Demon, and now even Song Qiuchan, making him quite frustrated.

"Since you managed to evade my attack, hand over that Poisonous Spirit Qi, and I might consider sparing your life!"

Song Qiuchan did not directly answer Yun Xiao’s question. Instead, she maintained a lofty attitude. With her cultivation at the Floating Life Realm Late Stage, she indeed had the qualifications to say such things.

To be honest, Song Qiuchan had no personal enmity with Yun Xiao, but the two were competitors. Moreover, she clearly recognized the identity of the Moon Gazing Poison Demon, knowing the enhancing effect that Poisonous Spirit Qi had on her Power of Soul.

At this moment, Song Qiuchan had already realized that Yun Xiao’s earlier act of beginning to refine the Poisonous Spirit Qi was merely a ruse.

If this youth had not known beforehand that someone intended to ambush him, how could he have dodged in time in such a situation? Song Qiuchan doubted that even another cultivator of the Floating Life Realm Late Stage could evade her strike.

As a renowned Heavenly Rank Low Level Stage Meridian Refiner on the Tenglong Continent, Song Qiuchan indeed possessed a sense of pride. Facing a young man around twenty years old, she relied on her status and did not launch a second attack.

Perhaps Song Qiuchan was also wary of Yun Xiao’s background. After all, this was Lianyun Mountain Headquarters. Apart from Qian Sanyuan and Qingmu Wu, the legendary President Lu Yanji was someone Song Qiuchan considered herself far from capable of confronting.

As the saying goes, it’s better to avoid trouble if possible. By saying this, Song Qiuchan thought she was already giving Yun Xiao face. When encountering a superior, shouldn’t he obediently hand over his treasures?

"You do have some insight, recognizing this as Poisonous Spirit Qi!"

Yun Xiao clearly understood the cause and effect. He extended his right hand, and a mass of black mist appeared out of thin air in his palm, making Song Qiuchan’s eyes light up.

Seeing Yun Xiao’s action, Song Qiuchan instinctively thought that the youth was compromising under her dominance, which was quite reasonable.

After all, once reaching the Heavenly Rank Third Realm, the gap between each small realm becomes immense. The concept of fighting across levels simply did not exist in Song Qiuchan’s mindset.

Even if this youngster had once killed Lu Tianrun on Impermanence Island, Song Qiuchan, as a top-ranked Heavenly Rank Poison Vein Master on the continent, would never consider herself weaker than Lu Tianrun without witnessing it personally.

Moreover, Poison Vein Masters are undoubtedly much stronger in combat than ordinary cultivators of the same rank. Upon sensing that Yun Xiao’s cultivation was only at the Floating Life Realm Middle Stage, Song Qiuchan felt extremely confident.

Within the Nine Realms Poison Tower, life and death are not constrained. This has been an unwritten rule in past Meridian Refining Conferences. Song Qiuchan believed that Yun Xiao could discern the importance of his life. In the face of a threat, what significance did a little Poisonous Spirit Qi hold?

"If you want it, come and take it yourself!"

However, just when Song Qiuchan thought that Yun Xiao was about to compromise under her intimidation, she was surprised by the statement from the youth not far ahead.

"Yun Xiao, I know you belong to Lianyun Mountain, but this is inside the Nine Realms Ten Thousand Towers. Do you really not want to advance further?"

Hearing Yun Xiao’s words, Song Qiuchan was momentarily stunned. Then she seemed to understand his meaning and thus spoke in words that sounded like both a threat and a temptation. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Song Qiuchan apparently thought Yun Xiao refused to hand over the Poisonous Spirit Qi, preferring to forgo the qualification to enter the second round of the Meridian Refining Conference, intending to shatter the Nine Realms Poison Jade and withdraw from the tower space before she acted.

"I advise you, it’s not too late to leave now if you don’t want to stop here!"

In truth, Yun Xiao also did not want to engage in a pointless battle here with a strong opponent of the Floating Life Realm Late Stage. If the other party was sensible, he might consider retreating.

Unfortunately, with his cultivation at the Floating Life Realm Middle Stage, how could he possibly make Song Qiuchan, at the Floating Life Realm Late Stage, retreat? Moreover, as a Poison Vein Master, there was no way Song Qiuchan would give up the Poisonous Spirit Qi.

Like Yun Xiao earlier, Song Qiuchan knew that the Poisonous Spirit Qi would greatly enhance her Power of Soul. If she could use this opportunity to break through to a Heavenly Rank Intermediate Soul, who could be her match in this Meridian Refining Conference?

With such temptation, Song Qiuchan was determined not to abandon the Poisonous Spirit Qi. Being a Heavenly Rank Low Level Poison Vein Master, nicknamed the Ghostly Poisonous Woman, Song Qiuchan was known for her ruthlessness.

"Yun Xiao, I gave you a chance, it’s you who don’t want it!"

Song Qiuchan was clearly angered by Yun Xiao’s "boastful" words. She believed he was merely relying on his Lianyun Mountain background, assuming she dare not kill here?

If this were elsewhere, or on the outer plaza, Song Qiuchan might indeed hesitate to act against Yun Xiao. But this was the Nine Realms Poison Tower, where life and death were unconstrained.

Killing someone in this place meant that even if Lianyun Mountain discovered Yun Xiao was killed by her, Song Qiuchan believed Qian Sanyuan, Qingmu Wu, and others couldn’t do anything to her.

Ultimately, in which Meridian Refining Conference were a few Heavenly Rank Poison Vein Masters not killed? The Poison Meridian Path contest is inherently perilous. How could competitors not clash fiercely upon encountering each other in the Nine Realms Poison Tower?