Poison Lingers for Ten Miles

"Ha! Threatening me!"

Gu Sheng swung his saber backward, cleaving straight into the clown who had jumped out to make a scene. He was no saint. He had the upper hand now and could kill Liu Sanlong whenever he wished. The other side had no leverage that could move him, so talking with these people would only waste his breath.

"Wait!"

Seeing the murderous look in Gu Sheng’s eyes, the Silver-Haired Elder shouted, "Hero, think this through! You can indeed kill everyone on our side, but there are three thousand of us here. Can you really kill them all at once?

"It’s true that we aren’t your match, but what about the convoy below? There are quite a few family members, aren’t there? If you really refuse to leave us a way to live, then we’ll see whether you’re fast enough.

"With so many of us, at least a few will be able to escape down there. By then, I wonder whether you’ll still be able to stop them all!"

The Silver-Haired Elder pointed at the Li family convoy below. He had already discovered its weakness. Its top-tier combat power was formidable, but it lacked manpower. Aside from Gu Sheng and a few Demon Beasts, no one could stop the bandits’ charge.

Gu Sheng and the Demon Beasts had already climbed the ridge and were too far from the convoy. If these bandits truly charged the convoy without fear of death, the Li family’s weak defenses might not hold until Gu Sheng could get there.

Gu Sheng stopped and looked back. Several bandits had already gone around him and the Demon Beasts, descended halfway down the mountain, and were heading toward the foot. Judging by their clothing, they closely resembled the guards beside the Silver-Haired Elder. Needless to say, that old sinister ghost had arranged this.

"You’ve given me a reminder!"

Gu Sheng’s eyes turned cold. He looked at the Silver-Haired Elder with chilling killing intent. "You people shouldn’t be left alive!"

"Qing Ling!"

The corners of Gu Sheng’s lips curled into a smile. Then he flicked his sleeve and called out.

"Hiss~"

A streak of azure light flashed. The three-foot-long Jade Azure Serpent coiled and glided around Gu Sheng’s shoulder.

"This is—"

The Silver-Haired Elder stared blankly, then noticed the Jade Azure Serpent Qing Ling on Gu Sheng’s shoulder. When he saw the silver horn, his expression changed drastically, and his entire body went limp as he collapsed to the ground.

"Black Wind, Blood Shadow! Raise the wind for me!"

At Gu Sheng’s command, the Black Wind Leopard and Blood Shadow Wolf began racing around the ridge with howls. In an instant, they stirred up a gigantic Eye of the Wind, and terrifying wind pressure spread across the entire Iron Cloud Ridge.

"You’re truly lucky to be able to die beneath the Dragon Serpent Venom!"

Gu Sheng gave the Silver-Haired Elder a vicious smile. He grabbed the Jade Azure Serpent Qing Ling and squeezed a drop of venom from its serpent body. The brilliantly glowing Serpent Venom had barely appeared when wisps of azure vapor rose in midair, and a dizzying sweetness filled everyone’s noses.

"Boom~"

Gu Sheng thrust out a palm. The drop of Serpent Venom shot rapidly into the center of the Eye of the Wind. A bright azure tornado quickly took shape, and then the pale azure poisonous mist spread outward along the whirlwind.

"Run!"

The bandits were not fools. After seeing this, they immediately fled on foot, trying to evade the bright, spreading poisonous wind.

"Whoosh~ whoosh~ whoosh~ whoosh~"

Unfortunately, they could never outrun the gale. The pale azure poisonous wind rapidly wrapped around everything atop Iron Cloud Ridge. The Jade Azure Serpent’s venom, powerful enough to kill a Golden Core expert on the Heavenly Rankings, took effect instantly.

"Ah~"

"No~"

"Help~"

The bandits wailed and screamed. Their bodies instantly lost all strength and collapsed, hunched over and twitching violently. Before three breaths had passed, most of them had gone still and breathed their last. Only a few experts with considerable Inner Force remained barely alive.

"Come here!"

Gu Sheng beckoned to the Black Wind Leopard and Blood Shadow Wolf. Then he took out Serpent King Balm from his robes. Once they came over, he applied a layer around each of their mouths and noses.

Although Demon Beasts had far greater resistance to poison than humans, the Jade Azure Serpent was extraordinary. Even though the venom had been diluted and its power greatly reduced, the mouth and nose were weak points. A moment of carelessness could allow the poison to enter their bodies. It was better to be prepared and apply some antidote to them.

"What is that?"

In the Li family convoy, the young Li Jun was extremely curious when she saw this.

"Oh no~"

Li Qingyu (Chu Xin), who was riding in the same carriage, instantly paled. She realized that the situation was slipping out of control. Countless wisps of heavily diluted pale azure wind and mist had begun drifting down from the mountaintop, and they were already close to the official road.

Chu Xin hurriedly turned around, took a large black jar from inside the carriage, and called out to Li Yuan, who was sitting beside the carriage with his horse reined in. "Lord Li, the mist is poisonous! Have everyone come over and apply some balm around their mouths and noses. Apply some to the horses’ mouths and noses as well."

"Oh, all right!"

Li Yuan was startled when he heard this. Iron Cloud Ridge was so far away, yet even the lingering poison had made Miss Li so solemn. What kind of poison had Brother Teng released, for it to be so powerful? Though astonished, he did not slow down. He called his servants over to carry down the jar and distribute the balm for everyone to apply.

"Whoosh~"

While the Li family convoy was scrambling about, the faintly azure poisonous wind drew near. But at that moment, several figures descended from the mountaintop like divine soldiers from heaven. A great gust of wind blew, sending the poisonous mist toward other directions.

"Whoa~"

Gu Sheng let out a long breath. After turning around and confirming that no one had been injured or poisoned, he finally relaxed.

After being threatened, his mind had heated up. To keep these people from continuing to harm others, he had directly used the Jade Azure Serpent’s venom for the first time, joining forces with the Black Wind Leopard and Blood Shadow Wolf to unleash a storm of deadly poison.

Only after finishing did he realize that he had acted impulsively. He had forgotten to leave an antidote for Li Yuan and the others. Without even having time to confirm whether the enemy was completely dead, he hurried over and blew away the poisonous mist.

Iron Cloud Ridge had fallen utterly silent. The bodies lying facedown, along with some grass and trees, continued twitching beneath the azure poisonous mist. Gradually, horrifying black droplets appeared on their surfaces.

"Sizzle, sizzle~"

Sounds of corrosion constantly issued from Iron Cloud Ridge, shrouded in azure mist, while wisps of white smoke rose from every part of the ridge. Under Gu Sheng and the others’ watchful eyes, the trees began to wither one after another. Their green leaves yellowed and fell, after which the entire trees began losing their moisture and turning black. Once they reached a certain point, they snapped into sections.

And this was not an isolated case. Trees toppled in entire patches, and the whole Iron Cloud Ridge became completely barren in an instant. The corpses on the ridge underwent an even greater change. Their flesh dissolved into pus, leaving behind only tattered leather garments and stark white bones.

The once-boisterous Iron Cloud Ridge transformed in less than an hour into a desolate Asura deathland stretching for a thousand miles, with white bones covering the ground.

"Ugh~"

The people of the Li family were all dumbstruck when they saw this. The women could not bear the sight and began vomiting one after another. It was as if their nausea were contagious. The men, who had been forcing themselves to hold it back, could no longer suppress their retching after hearing the vomiting, and they clung to the carriages as they threw up.

"The poison lingers for ten miles!"

Gu Sheng did not know what to say when he saw this. Although only most of the uninhabited mountaintop of Iron Cloud Ridge had become a deathland, the poisonous mist would affect the surrounding ten miles to some extent.

Fortunately, the area nearby was unsuitable for long-term habitation. After being diluted repeatedly, the lingering poison was not nearly as potent and should not cause any civilian deaths.