This was a Rogue Cultivator whose strength surpassed Mi Xiaojing’s but fell short of Yong Ji’s, possessing the cultivation level of the early Foundation Establishment stage.
Rogue Cultivators are always on high alert. The moment he saw Xiaojing, he recognized him as a disciple of the Heart Sect and felt a surge of joy, thinking he could rob him. But then he saw Yong Ji and immediately abandoned the idea of robbery. Not only that, but he also put on a friendly smile.
Xiaojing found it amusing inside. This man was playing a game of changing faces. When he first landed, his eyes were filled with excitement and greed, like a starving ghost who had seen a plate of food. But in the blink of an eye, upon seeing Yong Ji, his face broke into a smile as if he had seen an old friend.
“Hey, friend, what happened here? Why are so many people dead?”
Neither Xiaojing nor Yong Ji spoke; they just coldly watched him. Both had no fondness for Rogue Cultivators, especially after the actions of some during the recent sect wars, which were truly detestable.
The man slowly backed away, still wearing a deceptive smile, but his hand was already on his storage bag, clearly ready to strike at any moment.
The two of them watched him as if he were a clown. Xiaojing even shook his head, his eyes conveying an inexplicable meaning, as if he were looking at a dead man, which made the Rogue Cultivator even more vigilant. He kept retreating, saying, “Heh, I won’t disturb you any longer.”
Yong Ji’s face showed an even stronger taste of mockery, his lips curling slightly in a look that said you don’t know how close you are to death.
Xiaojing said indifferently, “Stop backing up, or you’ll be unlucky.” He couldn’t help but give a warning.
The man finally couldn’t maintain his smile, and his face turned cold: “What do you want? You want to keep me here? Then let’s see if you have the ability!”
Xiaojing replied, “No one wants to keep you. Are you feeling guilty like a thief?”
The man was extremely wary: “Humph, let me tell you, I have a powerful Gang Thunder in my hand that, once detonated, will finish us all!”
Yong Ji said impatiently, “Get lost! Stop your babbling and just go!”
Xiaojing said, “Idiot, look behind you!”
While retreating, the man said, “You want me to look back so you can attack, huh? Ah! What is this?” He stepped on a Poison Lotus behind him.
Xiaojing was a bit puzzled and asked, “Why didn’t he believe me?”
Yong Ji said calmly, “Because he had ill intentions from the start, so he thought your words were also ill-intentioned!”
The man stepped on the Poison Lotus, a thing not even a Cultivator at the Elemental Infant stage could withstand, let alone him, a mere early Foundation Establishment Cultivator. Instantly, the Poison Lotus penetrated his body.
With no defense, the Poison Lotus invaded directly, and his leg began to rot upwards at an alarming rate, leaving no time to react.
In just a few breaths, the Poisonous Thread had reached his waist, and the man fell to the ground, howling, “You’ve tricked me!”
Xiaojing sighed and said, “To tell you the truth, you wouldn’t listen. You’ve dug your own grave.”
Despair filled the man’s eyes, and suddenly he slapped his storage bag, and a Magical Sword slashed towards them: “Then let’s die together!”
Yong Ji sneered, and his spiritual sword flew out. With a clang, it shattered the opponent’s Magical Sword. It was pitiful, really; even at the Foundation Establishment stage, this man still wielded a Magical Sword, and not even a top-tier one, which was pulverized by the Qianyang Sword in one strike.
Yong Ji couldn’t be bothered to continue attacking. With a thought, the spiritual sword hovered in front of him, saying, “Die together? You wish!”
Xiaojing had wanted to save the man, but seeing how malicious he was, he immediately dismissed the thought. He now understood that in the Cultivation World, not everyone deserved to be saved; those who should die must be allowed to die.
The man watched as his body turned into a pool of blood. Cultivators have an astonishing vitality; even with half his body gone, his Golden Elixir destroyed, he was still stubbornly clinging to life.
He had come to pick up an easy advantage but never expected to lose his life. He was truly unwilling, and it was only at this moment that he finally realized that Xiaojing had been telling the truth all along.
He truly hated himself to the extreme. If Xiaojing had lied, he felt he might still have hope of living. It was because of the truth that he refused to believe.
“I hate this so much!”
Finally, the man couldn’t hold on any longer, completely digested by the Poison Lotus.
The Poison Lotus turned from purple-red to dark purple, even growing larger in size. Not only was the man’s body melted away, but even his clothes and storage bag were completely digested by the Poison Lotus.
Yong Ji said, “Don’t move!”
Xiaojing sat cross-legged on the ground, staring intently at the Poison Lotus. He was not unfamiliar with it; he even had four Poison Lotuses within his own body.
Yong Ji, as if facing a great enemy, had an extremely ugly expression. He had a feeling that he couldn’t expel this Poison Lotus, nor could he avoid it. If he were to fly with his sword, the wind generated would be enough to allow the Poison Lotus to catch up, which is why he cautioned Xiaojing not to move.
The Poison Lotus seemed as light as a feather, ready to pounce at the slightest disturbance.Yong Ji’s face was etched with caution, even a hint of nervousness. He was not confident in dealing with the Poison Lotus and could only hope that it would drift away on its own. Mi Xiaojing, however, appeared quite relaxed, simply observing the Poison Lotus.
The Poison Lotus was gently bobbing, and with each tremor, Yong Ji’s brow would furrow. His spirit sword floated beside him, ready to be abandoned should the Poison Lotus approach. If he could just entangle the Poison Lotus, he and Mi Xiaojing could make their escape.
But the Poison Lotus did not drift away; it merely floated up and down in place, causing Yong Ji’s eyelids to twitch uncontrollably.
Meanwhile, Mi Xiaojing was discussing with Wang Weijun.
“Old man, do you think I can subdue this Poison Lotus?”
The reason he dared not try was the sheer toxicity of the thing. The Mantra Poison that Mi Xiaojing had previously neutralized was brought out by the Poisonous Thread, not a complete Poison Lotus. He feared he wouldn’t be able to neutralize it and would end up harmed by the Poison Lotus, which would be a loss indeed.
Wang Weijun replied decisively, “I do not know! I have little experience with things of Evolutionary Immortality; you must judge for yourself!”
Mi Xiaojing was hesitant. He truly wanted to give it a try. The previous Poison Lotus had formed inexplicably, and he could find no basis for it; it had just appeared out of nowhere.
He was unaware that within him was the Evolutionary Sect’s treasured Mantra Banner, which allowed him to neutralize the poison of the Poison Lotus and even replicate it. Although the replicated Poison Lotus was not as powerful as the real one, its might was still considerable.
It was the Poison Lotus that had helped him escape danger when he first encountered Chen Shouyi.
Thus, he was quite interested in the Poison Lotus. Faced with a complete one, Mi Xiaojing truly did not want to give up. If he were to leave now, he would surely regret it.
Moreover, Mi Xiaojing felt that since he had a Poison Lotus within him, he might have a chance to subdue this one!