Poison Genius Consort

When Bai Yanqing first received the letter of challenge, his first thought was to abandon Hundred Poisons Sect. But Emperor Kangcheng and Long Tianmo’s actions had given him a reminder. Cloud Realm Trade Consortium had made a big deal out of the whole affair so that the world knew it was happening, while Emperor Kangcheng had used his status as a host to invite various guests to attend. With the world watching, he had to seize the chance to embarrass Han Yunxi, thus sinking East and West Qin further into conflict! He had carefully thought it over and planned this huge chessboard, but wasn’t able to break apart Han Yunxi and Long Feiye. Who knew the pair would turn around and give him such a brilliant chance?

Since the two of them dearly wanted to know the reason behind the Great Qin Empire’s civil war, he’d tell them and their factions loud and clear. He’d tell the whole world even, that there was no misunderstanding in the first place, and that the enmity came from the fact that East and West Qin refused to exist under the same sky. Long Feiye and Han Yunxi could never be together!

He had long steeled his heart before coming to Hundred Poisons Sect. No matter how Long Feiye and Han Yunxi attacked the sect or provoked him, he wasn’t going to do anything but stand here in public. If he had to sacrifice the sect, so be it! But after losing his last doubts about Baili Mingxiang, he didn’t hesitate to chase them up the mountain! Currently, he was still rational despite his ascent. For the sake of Baili Mingxiang, he was willing to gamble a turn. Killing her before going back down could lure Long Feiye and Han Yunxi to him all the same! The importance of Baili Mingxiang surpassed that of permanently separating Long Feiye and Han Yunxi. He didn’t even want to risk using the girl to threaten Long Feiye, but wanted to kill her outright! No matter what, he would never allow Long Feiye to pass the third obstacle of the Lustbite Seal energy. Never!

Despite having the Poison corpses cover their retreat, Baili Mingxiang and Xu Donglin couldn’t flee far. Very soon, Bai Yanqing caught up with the pair and easily disposed of the Poison corpses with his own toxins. He somersaulted in the air and soon landed in front of Baili Mingxiang with his sword drawn. Long on guard, Xu Donglin quickly shielded Baili Mingxiang behind him. After all, Bai Yanqing’s poison was far quicker than his sword! They were still on the mountain slopes; fortunately, Xu Donglin had avoided the stone steps of the main road to travel these concealed side paths instead. It would be hard for anyone off the mountain to know what was going on here. Yet despite everything, Xu Donglin had still underestimated Bai Yanqing’s speed. He and His Highness had agreed to meet up a little farther from here!

Or rather, maybe it was more accurate to say that he’d done his best to deal with Bai Yanqing’s speed. His abilities were only enough to lead them this far. As Xu Donglin retreated step by step with Baili Mingxiang behind him, Bai Yanqing simply pointed his sword at the pair without following. Neither Xu Donglin nor Baili Mingxiang could tell whether Bai Yanqing had already used his poisons, so their only option was to delay.

“Bai Yanqing, do you know how Lady Tianxin died?” Xu Donglin managed to drag out a topic.

Ordinary topics wouldn’t interest Bai Yanqing, so Xu Donglin could only think of Lady Tianxin. It was very possible that Bai Yanqing was the West Qin princess’s father--Lady Tianxin’s man. He should at least be willing to chat a few lines about her!

Xu Donglin had good ideas, but Bai Yanqing was quick and to the point. Without a word, he crossed swords with Xu Donglin at the same time a strange scent filled the air. The two of them had no time to hold their breaths.

Poison!

It had to be poison!

If His Highness and the princess could make it here, then he and Baili Mingxiang would be saved; otherwise, their survival depended on the number one assassination weapon in Baili Mingxiang’s hands, the Raging Flame Lotus!

“Xu Donglin, you go first! His target is me!” Baili Mingxiang was risking it all.

“I’ll work with you!” Xu Donglin muttered back before he charged forward without reservations. “Miss Mingxiang, hurry and run away! His Highness is by the Poison Corpse Lake!”

He’d hardly spoken when he fell listless to the ground. Because he was standing in front of her, he’d inhaled the brunt of the poison powder. Now the poison was reacting inside his body!

Bai Yanqing stepped on Xu Donglin’s head and ground him against the dirt a few times. Then he looked coldly at Baili Mingxiang while raising his sword. Poisoning might be faster than sword strikes, but murdering someone with a sword was quicker than poisoning them to death! Bai Yanqing wanted to kill Baili Mingxiang in one strike!

Yet just before he could stab her, Xu Donglin grabbed Bai Yanqing’s feet with both hands and held him in place. “Baili Mingxiang, hurry!”

Although he was already out of strength, he was still holding onto Bai Yanqing’s feet with all his might. Blood had long started pouring from Xu Donglin’s seven orifices. He was using his life to buy time for Baili Mingxiang’s own!

Rather than “run away,” he’d said “hurry.” Baili Mingxiang immediately understood what he meant.

He wanted her to attack! As long as Baili Mingxiang used the Raging Flame Lotus, there wouldn’t be a skeleton left of Bai Yanqing!

What was the Raging Flame Lotus? A weapon that caused a human being to spontaneously combust! There was no need for Baili Mingxiang to find a chance to snipe Bai Yanqing now, because her poison would react very soon. She had no more chances, she had to move now!

Despite that, Baili Mingxiang didn’t budge.

Xu Donglin flew into a rage. “Baili Mingxiang, don’t forget your place!”

His Highness and the princess had yet to find them. If they died at Bai Yanqing’s hands and he went down the mountain, how was His Highness supposed to trick him back up? Their status as subordinates meant they had to obey orders utterly. That meant throwing away their lives as a sacrifice if the circumstances demanded!

Baili Mingxiang hadn’t forgotten, but she couldn’t shoot Bai Yanqing. If she did, Xu Donglin would die too!

In her second of hesitation, Bai Yanqing had already broken free from Xu Donglin’s clutches! As Xu Donglin rolled to one side, he lost consciousness while blood poured from his orifices. At the same time, Baili Mingxiang’s poison reacted. Sapped of all strength, she collapsed to the ground. She didn’t even have the strength to use the Raging Flame Lotus anymore.

Without a single moment’s delay, Bai Yanqing strode in front of her body. “Baili Mingxiang, I regret to say I didn’t get a chance to see your true skills. How’s the feeling of this poison?!” With a cold smile, he wrapped his hands around his sword and stabbed down.

Clang!

With a bright clatter, Bai Yanqing’s blade broke into pieces, sparing Baili Mingxiang from death. She looked at the broken length of the sword in shock, but Bai Yanqing simply tried to stab her with the remaining fragment instead!

Abruptly, a powerful sword qi blasted in front the sidelines like an arrow loosened from its quiver. Its force was powerful enough to topple mountains and overturn seas! Not only did it knock the sword out of Bai Yanqing’s hands, but it also forced the man back a few steps. Baili Mingxiang turned and saw two figures nearby. Despite this, she couldn’t make them out past a blur. Still, it was clear between the elegance of one and the towering strength of another that they were the princess and His Highness.

They had finally made it!

Bai Yanqing didn’t even bother looking at the newcomers. His first instinct was to reach for Baili Mingxiang, but Long Feiye had his eye on him! His sword qi struck at Bai Yanqing’s arm while Han Yunxi was already rushing to treat Xu Donglin’s poison. Bai Yanqing avoided the blow and tried again, but Long Feiye’s sword qi was far quicker than his hands. This time, it blasted against his entire body. Such massive power forced Bai Yanqing to evade the blow and keep a healthy distance from Baili Mingxiang.

His eyes grew cold as he flew towards Han Yunxi and Xu Donglin next, but Long Feiye’s power went beyond his expectations! The sword qi he blasted this time was multiple times stronger than the last! Although Bai Yanqing managed to evade the blow, he was still injured by its effects. Half of his wide sleeves had been torn clean to tatters.

Finally, Bai Yanqing tossed his sword aside and stood there with both hands behind his back. After making a few strange gestures, a sudden wind started up in the air. Although the breeze wasn’t very strong, it could still buffet their faces. Now he was planning to use poison!

Han Yunxi had just finished treating Xu Donglin’s poison and now returned to Long Feiye’s side without hesitation. At the same time, Bai Yanqing turned tail and dashed for Baili Mingxiang again. Luckily, Long Feiye was watching him. Nor had his sword stopped moving!

“Xu Donglin’s fine now, but Baili Mingxiang can last fifteen minutes max. Fight a quick battle,” Han Yunxi murmured.

Long Feiye circled his hand around her waist and took to the skies with his other wielding his sword. He cut a handsome arc through the air, sending another blast of sword qi towards Bai Yanqing. Pinned down by the blasts, Bai Yanqing found it impossible to touch either Baili Mingxiang or Xu Donglin. Meanwhile, his airborne poisons were completely nullified by Han Yunxi. As long as she existed, he couldn’t use any toxins!

The tag-team efforts of Long Feiye and Han Yunxi made victory impossible for Bai Yanqing. He knew this well, but he wasn’t planning to win in the first place! He’d only chased up here because of Baili Mingxiang. Now he’d changed from offensive to defensive. Avoiding multiple strikes from Long Feiye, he hesitated briefly before fleeing back down the mountain.

“Bai Yanqing, if you want to kill yourself, this crown prince can leave you with an intact corpse!” Long Feiye called out coldly. Simultaneously, an iridescent surge of sword qi hit the ground in front of Bai Yanqing, forcing him to retreat uphill. He landed on his feet but remained quite calm.

“As expected, the Lustbite energy is extraordinary!”

Long Feiye landed with Han Yunxi in his arms. “Speak, just what happened between East and West Qin? Did your Wind Clan do anything? And where is the Black Clan now?”

Bai Yanqing laughed out loud. “Long Feiye, the Baili Army and Cloud Realm Trade Consortium are both at the base of the mountain. It’s quite interesting that you’re asking this old man such questions here!”

Long Feiye and Han Yunxi had already transferred regiments of poison guards and poison mercenaries from the City of Daughters to stand guard around the place. Leaving aside those people down the mountain, even disciples of Hundred Poisons Sect would find it hard-pressed to approach them here. Whatever Bai Yanqing said today would be known to the two of them only!

“You don’t have to say a thing, but this crown prince will definitely make you regret it!” Long Feiye warned.

Bai Yanqing only laughed louder. “Long Feiye, I’ll talk, but don’t you dare regret! Haha!”