C9 Counterattack

Out of the blue, Yin Jue was overcome with an inexplicable itching sensation all over his body!

Moreover, this itch seemed to emanate not from the surface of his skin but from deep within his flesh and blood!

He instinctively scratched at his skin, but it was to no avail.

"How odd," he murmured, then attempted to harness the vitality within his middle elixir field to alleviate the internal itch.

Upon reaching the Veil Breaking Realm, a cultivator could open what is known as the Profound Gate within the middle elixir field, allowing them to condense life power—the force of vitality.

Situated in the chest, the middle elixir field is connected to the eight extra-channels, which can transfer the refined vitality to invigorate the flesh, blood, and internal organs, thus fortifying the physique.

Only those cultivators who have ascended to the Veil Breaking Realm can enhance their life power and extend the boundaries of their lifespan.

Below the Veil Breaking Realm, whether one is a mortal or a cultivator, the lifespan is typically capped at just over a century.

However, upon entering the Veil Breaking Realm, one's lifespan can significantly increase, making it effortless to add several decades or even a century to one's life.

With further advancement in their realm and refinement of life power, cultivators can gain even more years, with lifespans of a millennium or even ten thousand years within reach.

"Ah!"

In the midst of trying to utilize the vitality from his middle elixir field to dispel the itch, Yin Jue suddenly emitted a low howl.

The howl came to an abrupt halt!

Yin Jue, his hand clamped over his mouth, was horrified to discover that as he opened his middle elixir field, a tiny foreign object had swiftly entered it through the eight extra-channels!

The sea of vitality within his middle elixir field was thrown into tumultuous upheaval!

His vitality spiraled out of control!

An unspeakable agony radiated from the middle elixir field, rapidly spreading to every part of his body!

His blood flow accelerated exponentially, his vitality rampaging uncontrollably like a wild horse breaking free, inflicting unbearable pain.

Yin Jue found himself unable to sustain the casting of "green light fire" any longer.

His body was drenched in a cold sweat as he curled up, trembling, and slowly crouched down.

"Awoo!"

A sound akin to a dying beast's painful cry, mournful and laced with fear, escaped through the gaps between his fingers that covered his mouth.

Before the pain clouded his consciousness, he caught sight of the pavilion's tightly shut door being gently opened.

Bathed in moonlight, a figure both familiar and foreign approached him with a leisurely gait.

The man wore a faint smile, and his eyes shone with a brightness that rivaled the cold moon hanging in the night sky.

"Yu Yuan!"

Despite the excruciating pain, Yin Jue found it hard to believe the identity of the figure before him.

This was the very person he had sought to kill ever since he joined the Yu family, the one he thought he had successfully dispatched.

Yet here stood the foolish young master, who should have been long dead in his mind, alive and looking at him with a gaze that unsettled even a heart as hardened as his.

"Why would I fear this fool?!"

Yin Jue gasped for air, his pained expression suddenly overtaken by a fierce and menacing look. "It must be the uncontrolled vitality causing this bizarre pain that's provoking these strange emotions!" he reassured himself silently.

"The toxin of the Lizard Blood Pill is particularly potent for those at the Veil Breaking Stage who have opened their Profound Gate."

Yu Yuan spoke, then cast a meaningful glance at Ann Ziqing, who lay encased in ice. His experience told him that the cold had not reached her internal organs, suggesting that Yin Jue's intent was not immediate death but something else.

After a brief reflection, he understood and made his decision.

"The Lizard Blood Pill's toxin corrupts the vitality. It has seeped into the middle elixir field, where vitality is stored. From there, it can quickly spread through the eight extra-channels to the organs. The stabbing pain it causes will only intensify!"

Upon hearing this, Yin Jue's eyes widened in horror as he glared at Yu Yuan, as though he had seen a ghost in the full light of day.

His shoulders jerked as he abruptly summoned his spiritual energy, ready to execute Yu Yuan on the spot. But then, a more intense pain tore through his insides with explosive force!

Yin Jue collapsed to the ground, shivering uncontrollably. He discovered that both the vitality in his middle elixir field and the spiritual energy in his lower elixir field were raging, violently ripping through his flesh and organs. Terrified, he tried to scream with the last of his strength, hoping to alert the rest of the Yu family.

In the blink of an eye, he sensed Yu Yuan materialize behind him and quietly crouch down. A pair of slender, pale hands appeared just beneath his nose and firmly clamped over his open mouth.

"Mmmph! Mmm!"

His calls for help were muffled by the firm press of those hands, rendering him effectively mute, unable to convey his voice.

Though his mouth was sealed, his nostrils still drew breath.

"The night is deep; there's no need for all this noise," Yu Yuan said from behind him, pressing harder over his mouth, yet speaking in a soothing tone. "I suspect the toxin from the Lizard Blood Pill has permeated your organs. Your insides must feel as though they're being gnawed on by tiny venomous creatures, causing you immense pain, right? Yes, yes, I understand. I know you're already wishing for death."

"Just be patient, wait a bit longer, and really let yourself feel it."

"See, I didn't cover your nose. I didn't let you suffocate to death instantly. Isn't it to grant you more time to experience this?"

Yu Yuan's voice was calm and deliberate, a stark contrast to the devilish sting of his words that pierced Yin Jue's heart and soul with each syllable.

The pain surging through Yin Jue's body seemed to amplify with Yu Yuan's every word. The sensation of his organs being shredded and his blood vessels and meridians contorting in agony intensified.

Blood began to seep from Yin Jue's eyes, nostrils, ears, and mouth, presenting a ghastly sight. Then, the bulging veins in his neck burst. In an instant, his face and neck were drenched in crimson. His distended chest slowly deflated, as if his organs were being devoured from within, shrinking away.

Incapable of ending his own life, Yin Jue gasped for air through his nostrils, enduring an agony beyond measure.

After a considerable amount of time had passed, Yu Yuan removed his blood-stained hands from his mouth and deftly searched for wood. Using a Fire Crystal, he kindled a fire and burned the body of Yin Jue, who had been fatally poisoned by the Lizard Blood Pill, right there on the spot.

Meanwhile, Ann Ziqing, who was encased in ice nearby, had no idea what had transpired from start to finish.

...

"Yin Jue is dead!"

"He was poisoned to death last night, just outside Yu Yuan's loft."

"Yu Yuan and the Yu family claim that Yin Jue got into a conflict with a Poison Master and was subsequently killed by poison."

"They say that after Yin Jue was poisoned, the toxin ignited within his body, reducing him to ashes."

"The young master of the Yu family and the maidservants witnessed it all. They also mentioned that the Poison Master admired Yu Yuan's potential and had secretly come to take him on as an apprentice."

After enduring a lengthy scolding from Lin Zhuyun, her maidservant Han You finally regained her composure and relayed the information provided by the Yu family with precision.

Once she finished, Han You watched her mistress cautiously.

Overcoming her initial shock, Lin Zhuyun swiftly regained her composure, her brows furrowed in deep thought, yet she remained silent.

Yin Jue's presence at Yu Yuan's residence in the dead of night was suspicious, to say the least.

She was well aware that Yin Jue was likely sent by the Winter's Bite elders to seek out Yu Yuan with ill intentions.

As Yin Jue's master, Lin Zhuyun couldn't deny her association with his actions.

But now, Yin Jue was dead.

Killed by a mysterious Poison Master's lethal toxin.

Was it possible that the Poison Master genuinely admired Yu Yuan's abilities and had sought him out in the night to discuss apprenticeship?

Could it really be such a coincidence?

What was the hidden truth behind all this?

Lin Zhuyun's mind raced with countless thoughts, yet she found no answers. Given the suspicious circumstances of Yin Jue's nocturnal visit to Yu Yuan, she lacked the moral high ground to confront the Yu family and demand justice.

"He's been resurrected from the dead, and now a Poison Master has taken an interest in him. How odd, truly odd." A thought abruptly surfaced in her mind, "Could it have been you who killed him? No, that's impossible! You couldn't possibly have the skills to take down Yin Jue!"

...

Yu Yuan completed another prolonged session of focused meditation.

Exhaling a breath of stale air, the ninth meridian within his body was suddenly flooded with divine force.

"I've done it! I've reached the ninth level of the Spirit Channel!" Reveling in the flow of spiritual energy, he cracked a smile and remarked, "The Channel Opening Pill really does the trick!"

In the wake of the events that night, his urgency to advance his cultivation grew exponentially.

Three days had elapsed since the news of Yin Jue's death reached his betrothed, and as he had predicted, there was no significant upheaval.

Yet he was acutely aware that this was merely the calm before the storm.

"Huh?"

Out of nowhere, a bewitching red lotus drifted toward him like a flame.

It came without warning.

As he focused intently on the red lotus, his head began to spin and his consciousness blurred. Internally he cursed, "This is bad."

The red lotus abruptly swelled and engulfed him like a crimson maw.

Seconds later, the red lotus contracted, dimmed its brilliance, and vanished without a trace.

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