The rustling sound was incessant. Nan Shiying cocked her ear, listening. The sound didn't seem to be coming from outside, but rather from within Gongzi Xun's body.
She narrowed her eyes, focusing her gaze on Gongzi Xun. She saw something beneath the clothes on his back wriggling.
The next moment, all his veins suddenly bulged, his blood boiling and surging madly towards his heart.
"Ah!"
He let out a tearing roar, and the skin exposed to the air began to be covered by scales at a speed visible to the naked eye.
They resembled fish scales, or perhaps the markings of a viper. Only in Nan Shiying's pupils did their original appearance reflect—they were tiny, imperceptible-to-the-eye greenish-grey worms, one after another, clinging to Gongzi Xun's body, forming armor that looked like scales.
Gongzi Xun yanked Chi Zu away with one hand and lunged at the soft sword. The soft sword's blade was blocked by the tightly connected worms. Ying Yi rotated the sword hilt, and the blade spun like a gyroscope. As it spun, it dispersed the closely knit worms. The worms were not flesh and blood, but rather something resembling metallic insects. As they collided with the blade, sparks flew.
The sword's edge acted like a drill, and the worms on Gongzi Xun's body were like an onion, with one layer after another being broken, endlessly.
Nan Shiying suddenly smelled a sweet,腥 scent, like poison mixed with fresh blood.
Her eyes sharpened, and she shouted, "Hold your breath!"
Upon hearing this, Ying Yi immediately held his breath. After stopping the rotation of the soft sword, he gripped the hilt again and flicked upwards. The blade brushed past Gongzi Xun's hair. Then, with a flick of his wrist, the blade curved,繞 around Gongzi Xun's neck, and struck the connection between his second and third cervical vertebrae.
The blade touched and withdrew like a dragonfly skimming water. This strike posed no threat to Gongzi Xun; he didn't even retreat. In the next second, the blade changed direction, using the force of the slight touch on his spine to nick the artery on Chi Zu's neck at an extremely tricky angle.
As blood flowed from the wound, the hot, viscous blood dripped into her collar, moistening her clothes and sticking to her skin. Only then did Chi Zu look down with a look of shock. She raised her hand to cover the bleeding wound, and until this moment, she still hadn't felt the slightest pain.
Gongzi Xun turned abruptly, his greenish-grey pupils reflecting Chi Zu's figure. Blood splattered into his eyes, and his gaze was indifferent. Even the burning blood couldn't dispel the coldness in his eyes.
He reached out, detached a scale from his body, and pressed it onto Chi Zu's wound. The scale began to wriggle, eagerly burrowing into Chi Zu's body through the wound. It multiplied rapidly and then gathered around the wound, densely covering it.
In an instant, it stopped the torrent of blood gushing out.
Ying Yi withdrew, observing Gongzi Xun with deep thought.
Ghost Fiend Gate, Ten Thousand Caves Tower!
The two forces rose almost simultaneously. Ten Thousand Caves Tower had always been low-key, not as ostentatious as Ghost Fiend Gate. However, in terms of current influence in the martial world, Ghost Fiend Gate and Ten Thousand Caves Tower were the only two forces comparable to the Cang Mountain Sect and the Frontier Alliance, both considered first-rate. Ju Dezhuang was second-rate, and those present were third-rate martial artists.
Ten Thousand Caves Tower attracted experts from all over the world. Although most were honored guests, Ten Thousand Caves Tower still had its own disciples. The maids around Gongzi Xun were all second-rate masters, and Chi Zu, who protected them secretly, was even ranked among the first-rate masters. As for the楼主 of Ten Thousand Caves Tower, Gongzi Xun, people only knew that his martial arts had reached the pinnacle of perfection but had never seen him act.
Ying Yi had never encountered such a capable individual. Could the scales condensed on his own body be used for healing?
Nan Shiying watched clearly. She saw the worms burrowing into Chi Zu's wound and into her blood vessels, their greenish-grey color gradually changing to red. After absorbing the blood, their bodies grew several times larger, and then they split into more worms identical to the originals.
Did these worms change color due to environmental changes, or was greenish-grey not their true color, and red was?
Nan Shiying remembered the sudden sweet,腥 scent that had wafted out. She picked up Xiao Man and leaped, her movements as graceful as a dragon on the sea or a phoenix in the sky. In an instant, she appeared beside Ying Yi and the others.
The group took half a step back and bowed, "Young Master!"
Nan Shiying's eyes twitched slightly. With this seniority, should she call Ji Jinmo "Father King"?
Muttering to herself, she nodded at Ying Yi and the others and then took a porcelain bottle from her embrace, tossing it into his hand. "Eat this!"
Ying Yi uncorked the bottle, poured out the pill, and swallowed it without hesitation.
After everyone had taken the antidote, Nan Shiying looked at Gongzi Xun's greenish-grey eyes. She leaned forward slightly, sniffing Gongzi Xun carefully. Indeed, there was a faint sweet,腥 scent.
"So, you can force out the poison!"
As Nan Shiying spoke, her eyes curved, looking at him with the curiosity one might reserve for a novel toy. "Then, the color of my poison appeared as greenish-grey? But when I refined it, it was a white powder. Did it undergo some transformation after entering the body and merging with the blood?"
In this tense, frozen moment, she was discussing academic matters with the very person who had been attacking her just moments before.
Question marks appeared in everyone's minds. They couldn't quite understand this person's thought process. Seeing her warm, bright smile, they couldn't reconcile it with the cold, ruthless demeanor she had shown moments ago when she had cut someone in half without batting an eye.
They found her eccentric and perverse.
Her emotional shifts were as rapid as a demon filled with malice internally but cloaked in purity, surpassing even those from the Ghost Fiend Gate.
When had such a living Yama appeared in this martial world?
Everyone kept their eyes down, minding their own business. Even the scholar-like Feng, who had drawn his sword moments ago after a disagreement with Kuang Dao, wisely closed his mouth, tucking his head between his legs like an ostrich.
He mumbled, "Don't see me, don't see me!"
Fearing retribution!
Gongzi Xun's greenish-grey eyes shifted slightly, his gaze settling on Nan Shiying. The worms attached to his body rustled and stirred, their patterns flowing. Xiao Man's eyelids began to droop. She struggled to stay awake, but ultimately couldn't resist the overwhelming drowsiness. Before her eyelids fell and she succumbed to sleep, Xiao Man couldn't understand why she was so sleepy.