Stranger Danger

Just like before, Ye Qing opened the door slightly before peeking outside with his demonic thought. A few breaths later, Sun Xuanzhen, Huo Linglong and Yue Juejiang left their rooms to collect their Profound Yellow Qi as normal.

Something was different, however. Compared to last time, the trio looked quite fatigued and tired. Clearly, even they had trouble weathering the Fire God Moth and the Purple Sun Trueflame.

Huo Linglong looked the worst out of all of them. Her sect was called Earthfire Palace of Demons, and her martial arts were all tied to fire to a certain extent. Normally, fire was the last thing she was afraid of. However, as a practitioner of the Dark Ways, her martial arts were as yin and evil as they could get, whereas the Purple Sun Trueflame was the complete opposite. In fact, one could say that it was the bane of her existence.

That was why her “Flames of Desire” was breached practically the minute the room started turning hot. If she didn’t happen to have an emergency item that could protect her under these circumstances, she would be one with the air already.

Sun Xuanzhen and Yue Juejiang looked much better than her, though they had used up a lot of energy as well. It was why the trio didn’t speak to each other this time. They went straight to the rooms to collect their due.

A lot of people died this time, so the trio visited quite a lot of rooms before they finally managed to gather three wisps of Profound Yellow Qi each. Only then did they return to their rooms to cultivate.

This time, Ye Qing and Yi Pin weren’t able to protect their Profound Yellow Qi. Too many people had died this time, and after searching a few rooms to no avail, Huo Linglong eventually made it to their room. And since the three of them were acting at the same time, the excuse Ye Qing prepared earlier was useless. Since he didn’t want to reveal his identity, he had no choice but to allow Huo Linglong to inhale the two Profound Yellow Qi into her stomach.

When Huo Linglong was leaving the room, she shot Yi Pin and Ye Qing a meaningful look and giggled, “Interesting.” It was only then she sashayed out of the room.

“What did she mean by that?” Yi Pin asked after Huo Linglong was gone. “Do you think she suspects something?”

“Have a little more confidence and remove ‘do you think’ from your sentence. She definitely suspects that something is afoot,” Ye Qing declared confidently.

“Why would she? We acted no different from how we acted before.”

“Because we’re too weak, of course.” Ye Qing said indifferently, “You’re a Vessel Augmentor, and I appear to be an early-stage Spirit Purifier. Many people who are stronger than us had died, and yet we weaklings are still alive. You especially look perfectly healthy and do not have a single scratch on your person. I would’ve suspected you if I were her.”

“Oh, so it’s my fault?” Yi Pin rubbed his nose. While Ye Qing’s words made sense, he absolutely refused to bear the blame alone. After all, the young man himself looked perfectly unharmed. “You don’t look worried though.”

Ye Qing replied, “That’s because Huo Linglong only suspects that we are hiding our strength, or we have some sort of treasure that shielded us from harm. No matter what it is, she is confident that we won’t be able to harm her. That is why she won’t raise the alarm or do anything to us—for now.”

In the future, Huo Linglong was definitely going to take some measures against them. That was fine though. When tomorrow came, there was a good chance that their roles would be reversed.

After the trio returned to their rooms, Ye Qing waited for about an hour before slipping out of his room and arriving at Sun Xuanzhen’s doorsteps. Then, he produced a single incense stick from Nine Heavens, ignited it, and waved it a few times. Finally, he planted the incense stick in a gap between the floor tiles.

“My respect for your power, brother Incense. Please,” Ye Qint muttered under his breath as he stared at the incense stick intently.

The incense stick burned and emitted a thick cloud of blue smoke. It circled around the air for a bit before slipping into Sun Xuanzhen’s room.

“Thanks, brother Incense!” Ye Qing relaxed when he saw this.

The incense stick he just lit was the Incense of Misfortune, of course. He would repeat the process and place another two Incense of Misfortune in front of Yue Juejiang and Huo Linglong’s door. After that, he went back to his room.

“You said you have a plan, and your plan is to take a stroll in front of their doors, brother?” Yi Pin asked in puzzlement after Ye Qing returned.

Ye Qing was shrouded by a layer of fog when he was outside, so Yi Pin couldn’t see what he was doing.

The corners of his lips curled into a devilish smirk. “Take a stroll? I suppose I had, but that’s not all I did. I also gave them a heartfelt gift.”

......

Inside his room, Sun Xuanzhen was refining the Profound Yellow Qi. He was at a critical moment of his refinement when suddenly, his nose suddenly became horribly itchy. It was so terrible that he couldn’t stop himself from sneezing.

Unfortunately, the sneeze also caused his energies to fall into disarray, and his vigor to surge chaotically. Before he knew it, he had spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, and everything he did to refine the Profound Yellow Qi was reset. He had no choice but to start over.

Sun Xuanzhen shook his head in annoyance and frustration, but what was done was done. He began soothing his energies and quelling his vigor.

He was about halfway done when suddenly, his stomach started hurting a little. It felt like he was having a stomach ache, but how was that possible when he hadn’t eaten anything?

A Spirit Master hadn’t yet transcended mortality, so he still needed to eat every once in a while. Even so, he could go half a month without a single drop of water.

He hadn’t eaten a single grain since he entered the Earthly Sovereign’s Coffin. He did enjoy a sip of wine here and there, but that was it. It should be impossible for him to have a stomach ache.

Groooooooooooowl!

He was still trying to puzzle things out when suddenly, his stomach started growling and rumbling like a series of mini thunderclaps. Sun Xuanzhen’s face immediately turned ugly. It was because he felt like taking a shit.

He was a Spirit Master and a swordsman. His willpower was tougher than most warriors, and the fact that he withstood the pain of the Three Swords of Punishment proved that. The stomach ache could have plagued him for days, no, weeks, and he might not even notice it until it made a noise.

Holding a shit was not the same, however. It was unbearable in a completely different way.

Sun Xuanzhen couldn’t understand why this was happening to him. Logically speaking, a Spirit Master could passively and actively control their qi, essence and spirit and prevent even illnesses from ailing them, much less the urge to shit. So what the hell was going on here?

His non-comprehension didn’t stop his stomach getting worse over time. It was to the point where large beads of sweat were rolling off his forehead.

Sun Xuanzhen hurriedly grabbed a couple of healing pills from his Nature’s Shell and swallowed them. This was not the way they were intended to be used, but who knows, it might help with his symptoms?

He was wrong. Almost as soon as the pills entered his stomach, the growling doubled in both volume and intensity. His face grew increasingly purple and contorted.

“I can’t hold it any longer!”

In the end, Sun Xuanzhen finally caved and grabbed a Strange Artifact that looked like a porcelain bottle from his Nature’s Shell. As soon as the Strange Artifact expanded in size, Sun Xunzhen pounced on it like it was his final lifeline.

And so the Strange Artifact suffered a kind of indignity it should never have suffered.

A teatime passed, and Sun Xuanzhen rubbed his tummy with an obvious sigh of relief. Sure, an indescribable smell was currently permeating the room, but it was an acceptable state of affairs compared to having to hold his shit in.

Unfortunately, right after Sun Xuanzhen cleaned up everything and got ready to resume his cultivation, his stomach began rumbling once more.

“What’s going on?”

Sun Xuanzhen’s face turned ugly again.

......

Inside her room, Huo Linglong was refining the Profound Yellow Qi and using it to nurse her injuries. She had just started for a moment when suddenly, she felt a little thirsty. In a daze, she opened her Nature’s Shell, grabbed a jar, and drank directly from the mouth.

She had just downed a few gulps when suddenly, she realized that the water didn’t taste right. When she looked down, she realized that it wasn’t water, but an extremely valuable poison.

The poison was named Peach Blossom Smile. It was a poetic name, but its substance was vicious beyond imagination. Colorless and odorless, the poison was capable of killing even a Spirit Master.

First, the victim’s body would be covered in small, fluid-filled blisters. If the victim failed to consume the antidote in time, then the blisters would pop, and the poison would seep into the victim’s body. They would die in two hours max. The bright red pus it left on the victim’s skin after the blisters popped left red markings that looked like blooming peach blossoms, which was why it was named Peach Blossom Smile.

In just the blink of an eye, Huo Linglong’s entire body was covered in reddish blisters. It looked horrifying to say the least.

“Ah!”

Stunned, Huo Linglong hurriedly grabbed the antidote and consumed it. She didn’t relax though. She immediately grabbed a mirror and started squeezing the blisters on her face.

Besides being poisonous enough to kill a Spirit Master, the Peach Blossom Smile possessed another difficult trait. Eating the antidote would cure the victim of the poison inside their body, but not the blisters on their face. If the victim didn’t squeeze out the poison and treat the blisters in time, they would transform into pus and leave pot-holes on the victim’s face at best, or disfigure them permanently at the worst.

A man might not care if they were disfigured or not, but Huo Linglong was a woman; a beautiful woman no less. There was no way she would allow even the slightest scratch on her face.

Someone might argue that she should focus on refining the Profound Yellow Qi right now as it was the opportunity of a lifetime. In her opinion, those people could go fuck themselves. The world could burn this instant, and her first priority would still be treating her face.

Power was ephemeral, but beauty was forever.

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