Chapter 28: You Cannot Even Save Your Own Life
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“Mind your own business!”
The stranger finally spoke. Though she had deliberately disguised her voice, Yun Zhao could still tell that she was a woman.
Remembering how the woman had held back with her sword earlier, a flicker passed through Yun Zhao’s eyes, and she charged forward once more, engaging her in close combat.
This time, she did not defend herself but attacked with all her might.
The woman was momentarily thrown off by Yun Zhao’s reckless fighting style. She promptly strengthened her defenses while searching for an opportunity to knock Yun Zhao unconscious.
But she was too late. Seizing her chance, Yun Zhao produced the Immortal-Binding Rope. Facing the woman’s spirit sword, she did not dodge at all, instead deliberately moving into its path.
The woman instinctively tried to withdraw her spirit sword, but it was too late.
The spirit sword struck Yun Zhao at the neck, while the Immortal-Binding Rope in Yun Zhao’s hand wound tightly around the woman.
Not far away, Qi Yan happened to witness the scene and immediately panicked.
He wanted to rush over, but the two people he was fighting blocked his way. In desperation, Qi Yan swung his sword.
“Get lost!”
A gale rose from nowhere, sending the two opponents flying. Blooddrinker seized the opportunity to emerge and enlarge its body. With one claw for each, it pinned both men firmly to the ground.
Qi Yan paid them no attention. Taking three steps in two, he ran to Yun Zhao’s side, only to find that she was unharmed.
Qi Yan stared at her in astonishment. “You…”
Yun Zhao shook the Immortal-Binding Rope in her hand. “Don’t worry. I’m not hurt.”
She pointed to her neck, and only then did Qi Yan notice that the defensive spirit artifact she had been wearing there had shattered.
The sword strike had not injured Yun Zhao. The defensive artifact had blocked it.
“Did you deal with those two? Hurry and bind them too. Don’t let them escape.”
With that, Yun Zhao handed the Immortal-Binding Rope to Qi Yan, then went into the tent to check on Mu Qianqian and the others.
All four had been rendered unconscious by drugs. Yun Zhao had no antidote, so after confirming that they were still breathing, she had no choice but to go outside and question the other three.
When she emerged and saw their familiar faces, she cried out in surprise, “It’s you!”
The three people bound tightly by the Immortal-Binding Rope were clearly Gu Dinghan, Meng Wenchang, and…
Yun Zhao guessed, “You’re Bai Lingxiao of the Heavenly Sword Sect?”
Bai Lingxiao closed her eyes briefly. “Yes.”
Yun Zhao said coldly, “Where is the antidote? Hand it over!”
Bai Lingxiao opened her mouth, but Gu Dinghan spoke first. “If you want the antidote, release us first—and give us the Dragon Saliva Grass.”
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Yun Zhao sneered. “You certainly have a lot of demands. But get one thing straight: I’m ordering you, not negotiating with you.”
“The three of you attacked disciples of the Qingyun Sect. Was this your own idea, or were you acting on the orders of your sect master?”
“Either way, once we leave this place, I will ask our sect master to seek justice from your sect!”
The three men’s expressions changed. Before they could answer, Yun Zhao continued, “But if you hand over the antidote, I can let you leave.”
The three exchanged glances. Gu Dinghan gave a mocking laugh. “Are you threatening us? Once tonight passes, not even a mighty immortal descending from the heavens will be able to save those four.”
“Don’t think you can crush your jade token and leave to find an alchemist to make an antidote. The drug they were given is my family’s exclusive formula. Other than me, no one has the antidote.”
“If you want to save them, do as I say.”
Yun Zhao’s expression darkened. “You!”
Having seized Yun Zhao’s weakness, Gu Dinghan remained completely composed despite being bound. “It’s only one spirit herb. Four lives belonging to your senior brothers and sisters—surely you know which matters more…”
“I have the antidote. I’ll give it to you.”
Before Gu Dinghan could finish, Bai Lingxiao’s clear, cool voice rang out beside him.
Yun Zhao looked surprised, while Gu Dinghan and Meng Wenchang stared at Bai Lingxiao as though they had seen a ghost.
“Bai Lingxiao!” Gu Dinghan roared. “Whose side are you on? You were holding back the entire time, and now you’re betraying us outright!”
Bai Lingxiao ignored him and said to Yun Zhao, “The antidote is in my storage bag. Untie me, and I’ll take it out for you.”
Yun Zhao eyed her warily. “Really?”
Bai Lingxiao nodded. “I was the one who drugged them. The antidote is with me as well.”
Yun Zhao hesitated and had just started forward when Qi Yan seized her hand.
“Don’t go.”
She looked at him. “But…”
Qi Yan summoned Blooddrinker and patted it. The creature ran to Bai Lingxiao’s side and clawed her storage bag free.
Bai Lingxiao frowned. “What are you doing?”
Qi Yan took the storage bag and extended his divine sense into it. A sense of foreboding flashed through Bai Lingxiao’s heart. The next second, she spat out a mouthful of blood.
“You!”
He had actually erased her divine sense imprint and forcibly opened her storage bag!
Normally, a storage ring bore its owner’s divine sense imprint, making it impossible for outsiders to open. If the owner suffered severe injuries, however, the connection between them and the storage ring would weaken, allowing someone else to force it open.
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But Bai Lingxiao was not injured, let alone severely wounded!
“There’s one other possibility,” Meng Wenchang said after swallowing nervously. “His cultivation is higher than yours.”
That was only possible if the outsider’s cultivation was far above the owner’s. Bai Lingxiao was at the sixth level of the Golden Core Realm, higher than her, so then…
Gu Dinghan abruptly turned toward Qi Yan. “Did the Qingyun Sect use some forbidden technique? The Hidden Dragon Secret Realm only permits cultivators below the mid-stage of the Golden Core Realm to enter!”
Yun Zhao could not be bothered to answer him. She found the antidote in Bai Lingxiao’s storage bag and fed it to Mu Qianqian and the others. Only then did she finally relax.
“You three…”
Yun Zhao returned the storage bag to Bai Lingxiao and said, “You should be grateful that the four sects stand united. I will not kill you.”
“But once we leave, I will report everything you have done to the four sect masters.”
Yun Zhao was furious. “For the sake of a single spirit herb, you were willing to do something like this. You are unworthy of being called righteous sects!”
Gu Dinghan and Meng Wenchang lowered their heads, their thoughts unreadable. Bai Lingxiao, however, let out a sigh.
“I told you from the beginning that this plan would never work.”
“How would we know without trying?” Gu Dinghan snorted. “If you hadn’t held back at every turn, how could we have failed?”
A flicker passed through Yun Zhao’s eyes. She asked, “I want to know why you held back. You were trying to capture me and exchange me with Qi Yan for the Dragon Saliva Grass, weren’t you?”
Bai Lingxiao seemed about to say something, but her expression suddenly changed. She vomited a mouthful of blood, then her body went limp and she collapsed. Blood continued to trickle from her mouth.
Gu Dinghan panicked. “Quick, untie me! She’s in danger!”
Bai Lingxiao’s condition was extremely serious. Without hesitation, Yun Zhao immediately released Gu Dinghan.
He took out a pill and fed it to Bai Lingxiao. The bleeding gradually stopped, but Bai Lingxiao remained unconscious.
Yun Zhao asked, “What happened to her?”
A trace of anguish crossed Gu Dinghan’s face. “She…”
“Dinghan.”
Bai Lingxiao’s weak voice sounded. Gu Dinghan forgot all about speaking to Yun Zhao and hurriedly asked how she was feeling.
“I’m fine.” Bai Lingxiao tugged faintly at the corner of her mouth. “I’m not going to die.”
“You won’t die, but you’re practically no different from the dead,” Meng Wenchang mocked, still the only one who remained bound. “Look at the state you’re in, and you’re still worrying about others. You can’t even save your own life!”