“Is he mad?”
“He’s literally asking to die!”
While the crowd buzzed with comments, serpentine shadows had already surrounded Ling Xiao. Poisonous gleams flickered endlessly in the air and rained down upon him.
Ling Xiao did not block. He moved on mysterious footwork and effortlessly dodged what looked like an impenetrable, overwhelming barrage of deadly strikes.
Where the venom landed, the ground hissed and corroded.
The bluestone pavement was soon pocked with small, smoking craters.
Yet not a single attack touched Ling Xiao.
He did not flee. He simply shifted within a radius of two or three metres, yet every time he avoided the enemy’s strikes with perfect precision.
Such movement skill was simply unrivalled.
“Hiss~~”
Suddenly, a snake tail burst from the ground and coiled tightly around Ling Xiao’s body.
“Let’s see you dodge now!”
High above, the one-eyed dragon dove down. His hands joined together like a venomous stinger and stabbed straight at Ling Xiao’s head.
On the ground, Ling Xiao was firmly bound by the unexpected snake tail. He could not move at all. He had become a complete living target.
“Sigh, this time Ling Xiao is finished. His movement was brilliant, but they found his weakness and broke it. Now he can’t even run.”
“Exactly. Unless someone saves him, he’s definitely dead.”
What the onlookers saw and thought was not wrong, but most of them overlooked a crucial detail in Ling Xiao’s attack.
Even Princess Yun Ya could not understand how Ling Xiao had fallen into such a predicament.
She and Hua Luoying both rushed forward, trying to rescue him.
However, in that instant, Princess Yun Ya caught sight of the victorious smile on Ling Xiao’s lips. She abruptly grabbed Hua Luoying.
“What’s going on? If we don’t save him now, he’ll really be killed!”
Hua Luoying shouted anxiously.
Yet in the next moment, she suddenly shut her mouth and froze completely.
The one-eyed dragon in mid-air plummeted straight to the ground as though possessed, having completely lost control of his body.
As for the snake tail that had emerged from underground, since it was also under his control, it was now ruined. The high temperature released from Ling Xiao’s body had burned it to ashes.
The martial artists watching secretly were stunned. They could not comprehend what had just happened. How had the one-eyed dragon suddenly fallen from the sky?
That was not a mistake a peak half-step Cave Heaven realm expert should make.
“Why? Why is this happening?”
Lying on the ground, racked with heart-piercing pain, the one-eyed dragon could not figure out when he had been poisoned. He could only roar at Ling Xiao and demand an answer.
“You think you’re the only one who can use poison?”
Ling Xiao smiled faintly. “If you really knew me, you would know I am an apothecary!”
What he had used from the very beginning was the Poison Shadow Awl strengthened with white-blood poison.
Originally, he had only tried it to see whether white-blood poison could breach the one-eyed dragon’s defence. He had never expected it to actually succeed.
The penetrating power of white-blood poison was truly terrifying. Even he was somewhat surprised.
Unfortunately for the one-eyed dragon, despite possessing a powerful defensive treasure, it was utterly useless in front of him.
“How vicious. Not only is his martial talent outstanding, he’s actually a formidable apothecary too. I wonder what grade.”
“I heard that Ling Xiao has been going in and out of the Black Python family residence lately. Apparently he’s treating Elder Ancestor Changle of Changle Immortal Island.”
“So impressive!”
“Yes, they say even a yellow-grade apothecary couldn’t solve the problem, yet he did. Terrifying.”
Among the crowd there were still some who understood. Ling Xiao’s repeated visits to the Black Python residence could not be hidden from everyone.
Hua Luoying was also dumbfounded. After a long while, a helpless, wry smile appeared on her face.
She now somewhat understood why Ling Xiao refused to join their faction.
An apothecary, especially an outstanding one, would always be fought over by every major power.
By not joining any side, he avoided becoming their enemy. Everyone could use his services without needing to eliminate him.
Once he joined one faction, the others would want him dead immediately.
That was the clever approach.
She had actually laughed and said Ling Xiao would regret it. Now it seemed Ling Xiao was the one with true foresight and thorough planning.
“I won’t fall just like this. Never!”
The one-eyed dragon on the ground suddenly revealed an extremely ferocious expression. Several more snake tails shot out from underground.
This time, however, they did not attack Ling Xiao. They targeted the pirates he had brought with him.
The instant the tails wrapped around those men, they acted like straws and frantically drained their life force.
In the blink of an eye, the dozen-odd pirates were reduced to desiccated corpses and died on the street.
As for the one-eyed dragon himself, he moulted!
He shed the husk filled with white-blood toxin and emerged as a brand-new self.
Although Ling Xiao could tell the white-blood toxin had not been completely removed, it was now suppressed by that tenacious life force.
“Even if I die, I’ll drag you down with me!”
The freshly moulted one-eyed dragon glared at Ling Xiao with icy hatred.
“The white-blood toxin inside you is not yet severe. If you apologise to me now and pay me to remove it, you can still live. Otherwise, or no one in this world will be able to save you.”
Ling Xiao looked back at him and spoke calmly.
“Hahahaha, think you can take advantage of me? Think I’ll apologise to you? Not a chance! If I can’t obtain the Gluttonous Martial Soul today, I’ll destroy it!”
The one-eyed dragon laughed madly. He had clearly lost all reason.
“If you truly wish to die, I cannot stop you.”
Ling Xiao said indifferently, his face expressionless.
He had already given this one-eyed dragon far too many chances, yet the man refused to cherish them.
“Me, die? Heh heh, you will die before me! Brat, have you ever heard of domain prime force?”
“Yes. The Cave Heaven domain can convert heavenly prime force into the far stronger domain prime force, thereby affecting the surrounding space and elements.”
How could Ling Xiao not know? He had already killed several Cave Heaven realm martial artists. Although those battles had occurred under special circumstances, he had still gained some experience.
“Good that you know. A peak half-step Cave Heaven realm martial artist is completely different from those of lower cultivation, because the peak stage possesses domain prime force. In front of my domain prime force, your heavenly prime force is worthless.”
Had he not reached a dead end, the one-eyed dragon would never have willingly revealed that he possessed domain prime force.
But at this moment, he had no choice.
