“Wait.” The youth who had been staring at Jing Hengbo’s chest suddenly reached out and tugged at Yélu Qi.

Yélu Qi’s smile showed a hint of helplessness.

“Sixth Young Master,” he said, “please remain calm…”

“You’re going to kill such a beauty? Wouldn’t that disappoint Master Yélu’s well-known reputation for cherishing and protecting beautiful women?” The youth looked sideways. “Gong Yin fell from above with tremendous force, and this net has already been coated with moonlight sand specifically to restrict his martial arts. He’s now just a cripple—what are you still afraid of? Is it worth letting such a beauty die with him?”

This youth spoke to Yélu Qi without much courtesy. Jing Hengbo secretly speculated about his identity while flashing him a bright, encouraging smile.

“Gong Yin is full of tricks and schemes—we can’t be too careful,” Yélu Qi frowned.

“If that’s the case, just kill Gong Yin first!” the youth said impatiently.

Yélu Qi still hesitated somewhat. “It would be best to obtain the military talismans and loyalty contracts of the six kingdoms from Gong Yin’s hands…”

“Then just add another layer of restriction!” The youth flicked his hand, and two streams of light shot from his fingertips. With two whistling sounds, they had already passed through the gaps in the large net and embedded themselves in Gong Yin’s shoulder blades.

Jing Hengbo’s heart shook. She turned her head with difficulty and saw two black long needles, each inserted in Gong Yin’s left and right shoulders. Gong Yin still seemed unconscious, frowning slightly in his stupor as if he too felt pain. In the torrential rain, his black hair appeared even blacker, making his complexion all the more pale. His chin drooped slightly, close to the large pale gold pearl at his collar, making his thin lips appear even more faintly red, like scattered cherry blossoms after rain.

A faint bloody scent forced its way into her nostrils—even the heavy rain couldn’t wash it away. Jing Hengbo’s heart trembled slightly as she turned her eyes away.

“How’s that?” The youth was ruthless and black-hearted, his expression nonchalant. “These are the renowned secret techniques of my Zhanyu tribe—one needle enters the bone, two needles lock the soul. Gong Yin can’t even move a finger now. What are you still afraid of?”

Without waiting for Yélu Qi’s answer, he had already changed his expression and approached with a smile, holding his umbrella.

“Beauty,” he moved the umbrella above Jing Hengbo, propping his arm against a nearby tree and leaning down with a grin. “Shall I help you get untied?”

He spoke of untying the net, but his gaze fell on her clothing. His intentions weren’t on drinking—they were full of undisguised flirtation.

Jing Hengbo was also smiling, her gaze flowing like water across his face, her smile blooming like a rose: “Sure, I knew little brother would be the most caring.”

Take a good look at your face—after calling you little brother, I won’t be getting intimate with you!

“What a delightfully understanding enchantress. I never expected that accompanying State Preceptor Yélu on this trip would yield such a harvest…” The youth smiled even more proudly, reaching out to untie the net knots, but his fingers intentionally or unintentionally pinched toward Jing Hengbo.

“Be careful!” Yélu Qi suddenly swept over.

At the same time, Jing Hengbo turned her face aside.

Gong Yin beside her suddenly opened his eyes!

The youth was startled into a daze by his clear, cold, piercing gaze.

In that instant, Gong Yin tucked his chin inward, and the large pale gold pearl that had been pressed tightly under his chin suddenly exploded!

“Whoosh.”

A ray of pale gold light, thin as rain silk, shot into the youth’s fingertip!

“Ah!” The youth cried out and retreated, instinctively shaking his hand quickly.

“Don’t shake it!” Yélu Qi called out, but was a step too late. The golden thread was actually shaken out, carrying several drops of black contaminated blood, shooting upward against the pouring rain and plunging into that strand of enemy-luring pale red smoke from before.

“Terrible!” Yélu Qi stamped his foot in frustration, instinctively looking up at the smoke. Just then, the youth stumbled and spun around, bumping into his arm.

Yélu Qi’s attention was all on the smoke. He casually steadied him, but after helping, suddenly felt something was wrong and immediately pushed the youth away.

These changes happened like lightning. The archers in the distance hadn’t noticed yet when suddenly there was a “boom” from above—the persistent pale red smoke had suddenly turned golden!

Jing Hengbo stared up in astonishment, thinking: Was this caused by that golden thread just now? What kind of amazing thing was that?

Yélu Qi looked up at the smoke with an ugly expression—the message had still been sent out! Gong Yin’s guards would be coming soon!

He suddenly felt his arm alternating between cold and hot. Looking down, he saw that half his arm had somehow turned pale gold, especially the middle of his forearm, where pale gold fingerprints were particularly obvious.

It was where the youth had grabbed him just now.

Looking again at the youth, he had already collapsed, his face pale gold.

In the heavy rain, Yélu Qi’s face also seemed to be turning yellow.

Jing Hengbo watched with repeated gasps. She had only felt Gong Yin suddenly pinch her, sensed he was about to make a move, and immediately dodged, but who knew so many things would happen afterward.

This guy was amazing—with one pearl he injured two enemies, and could even bounce it into the smoke as a warning signal, immediately turning the tables and establishing himself in an invincible position. But thinking carefully, had he been playing dead all along? How did he know that youth was lustful? How did he calculate that he would approach? How did he predict that the youth would shake his hand? And that after shaking, he would touch Yélu Qi? And the angle of shooting the pearl—was that also calculated?

Everyone’s attitude, reactions, and movements—if any had differed slightly, it would have been impossible to achieve such an effect. How did he do it?

Could it be that everything today was actually within his calculations from the beginning?

The more she thought about it, the more terrifying it became.

Suddenly, only the sound of heavy rain remained in the mountain valley.

With two “whoosh” sounds, the black long needles that had been embedded in Gong Yin’s shoulders were expelled, piercing through the rain curtain and disappearing.

From the corner of her eye, Jing Hengbo glanced at Gong Yin’s shoulders. In the holes where the long needles had been embedded, she could vaguely see a deep, blackened wound that stood out prominently against his jade-like skin. But then she widened her eyes—the wound’s color was becoming lighter and lighter, shallower and shallower, actually healing at a visible speed!

What kind of martial arts was this guy practicing? So miraculous?

Jing Hengbo recalled hearing the three words “Prajna Snow” from Yélu Qi’s mouth—they sounded very sophisticated and carried a hint of Zen Buddhism. Gong Yin was also like snow and ice, even his skin seemed transparent.

Gong Yin slowly sat up in the net. Even at this moment, he maintained his composed and clear appearance, his calm expression containing hidden disdain, as if he were the one giving instructions from above while the other two were the prisoners bound by the net.

“Half a quarter-hour more, and they’ll arrive,” Gong Yin spoke, his tone as light as casual conversation.

“So what?” The youth lying on the ground sneered through gritted teeth. “Your subordinates have been ambushed by us all along this route and are mostly injured. Their combat effectiveness has greatly decreased. Even if they come, can they match us?”

Gong Yin didn’t even glance at him, only saying to Yélu Qi: “To be honest, your plan was quite good. The smoke column in mid-air could be called masterful. It’s just a pity you’re working with Zhan Jue.”

Yélu Qi smiled bitterly.

Jing Hengbo deeply sympathized—you don’t fear god-like opponents, you fear pig-like teammates.

Of course, Yélu Qi, who had pig teammates and encountered a divine opponent, was even more unlucky.

“The Zhanyu tribe is near the border with easier travel routes. They often engage in secret trade with neighboring countries, making them very wealthy and well-connected. I needed their power to intercept and kill you in a foreign land,” Yélu Qi explained to Gong Yin calmly after his initial setback.

Within Dahuang Kingdom, attempting to strike at Gong Yin was almost impossible. The only opportunity was to take advantage of when he left his sphere of influence and was far away in another country. But Gong Yin’s influence in other countries was insufficient, and Yélu Qi’s was equally lacking. To intercept and kill Gong Yin, he naturally had to ally with others.

Yélu Qi’s alliance with the Zhanyu tribe, the wealthiest of the eight tribes, should have been good news. Unfortunately, the third-generation direct youngest son Zhan Jue, whom the Zhanyu tribe sent to oversee this matter, had a noble status and decent martial arts, but had the flaw of being lustful.

With Zhan Jue’s noble status, Yélu Qi couldn’t command him, making him the biggest variable in this interception.

“You… have been waiting all along, haven’t you,” Yélu Qi’s tone became increasingly certain. “You even knew Zhan Jue was coming and had already investigated him.”

“Do you want the antidote?” Gong Yin directly changed the subject.

“It’s said that the poisons you use never have antidotes,” Yélu Qi sneered. “You don’t give enemies a chance to survive.”

“You’re wrong,” Gong Yin’s lips curved in a faint smile. “All my poisons have antidotes. It’s just that no one has ever been able to obtain my antidotes.”

“Then what conditions do you require?” Yélu Qi’s gaze burned. “If you produce the antidote, I’ll immediately withdraw. How about that?”

Gong Yin’s lips curved with faint, mocking amusement.

“Or do you need me to pay some other price?” Yélu Qi casually pointed at the net. “Don’t forget, you’re also injured. My antidote isn’t that easy to obtain either. If you push me too far, I’ll order your execution. Later I’ll search for the antidote on your corpse—at worst, I’ll have people try them one by one!”

“If you kill me, you’ll never obtain the antidote,” Gong Yin said lightly. “Because the antidote is the fresh blood taken from three points on my wrist pulse for the first time.”

Yélu Qi was stunned.

“However, I don’t need you to pay a price, nor do I need you to exchange for the antidote.”

Yélu Qi was stunned again.

“Knife.”

Yélu Qi raised his finger and shot over a knife. Gong Yin caught it and lightly pressed it against his wrist pulse, then said: “Bottle.”

Yélu Qi raised his hand and flicked over a bottle. Fresh blood flowed from Gong Yin’s wrist, filling the bottle. He casually threw it back.

Yélu Qi caught it, his expression finally showing a trace of bewilderment, as if he couldn’t believe he had obtained the antidote so easily.

The blood in the bottle was bright red—it couldn’t possibly be poisoned. The bottle and knife were both his own, so naturally they weren’t poisoned either.

He had also vaguely heard that Gong Yin’s martial arts were unique and that he particularly protected his own vital blood. People had long speculated that his blood was extremely important.

Then Gong Yin’s next words made his face change color.

“Only fresh blood taken for the first time has the effect of an antidote. Blood taken within the next three days is ineffective.” His dark, clear eyes still gleamed in the heavy rain, sparkling with a layer of faint purple radiance. “This bottle is the only antidote.”

Yélu Qi stepped back, his face instantly turning iron blue.

Jing Hengbo thought for a moment, then hissed through her teeth.

So ruthless.

One antidote, two poisoned people—who gets it?

Moreover, the antidote couldn’t produce a second dose until three days later. Yélu Qi knew with his toes that this second dose was unobtainable, meaning the antidote was unique.

To get the antidote, they couldn’t kill Gong Yin, and Gong Yin had already placed himself beyond harm.

Therefore, for this sole antidote, Yélu Qi and Zhan Jue would inevitably turn on each other. Generally speaking, Yélu Qi should have the upper hand, but if he seized the antidote from Zhan Jue, causing Zhan Jue to die from the poison, the hard-won alliance between the two families would inevitably turn into enmity.

And if he disregarded Zhan Jue’s life to seize the antidote, to eliminate witnesses, he would naturally have to kill all of Zhan Jue’s people, thus greatly reducing his own forces.

With his forces greatly reduced and having offended the Zhanyu tribe, while he himself was poisoned and injured, the pursuit dynamic between him and Gong Yin would immediately reverse. Whether he could return to his country safely would become his concern.

Even if he returned safely to his country, his alliance with the Zhanyu tribe would be destroyed, and Gong Yin could use this matter to make further moves.

Extrapolating from this, Gong Yin could do many things, with far-reaching influences. This was more than killing two birds with one stone—one stone could damage seven or eight birds.

And achieving such an effect couldn’t be done on a whim. Could it be that…

Suddenly there were shouts from overhead. Jing Hengbo struggled to look up and vaguely saw figures flying over the mountain wall, rapidly rappelling down. Yélu Qi’s warriors stepped forward to intercept but were no match. Shadows kept falling, people kept collapsing, splashing brilliant blood flowers in the rainwater.

Jing Hengbo was dumbfounded once again—this group of people coming down had fierce combat power and amazing speed. Where was the exhausted, wounded appearance from a few days ago?

“I’m done for!” she sobbed.

Damn, her premonition was right! The great god was indeed ruthless enough!

What consecutive battles? What frequent injuries? What combat loss?

Gong Yin!

Had been!

Luring the enemy!

All along!