The cold glint flashed by, and almost at the same moment, both individuals made their move against the Fire-controlling Old Woman and Boss He beside them, snatching away the maps in their hands.
Behind them, Crown Prince Hong and Chen Tuo also dashed forward aggressively, seizing the map from Bo Qing's hands.
The four acted quickly, with lightning-fast speed, clearly a well-planned strategy that caught everybody off guard.
Having grabbed the maps, they retreated swiftly, while all the guards unsheathed their swords, menacingly surrounding the remaining people.
"Heh heh, the Nirvana Cauldron has nothing to do with you anymore." Crown Prince Hong and the people from the Kaijiang Prince Manor had secretly come to an understanding; they had conspired to deceive the other major forces into handing over the maps before they would rob and kill.
The map of the Taiyi Secret Realm not only marked all the routes and shortcuts within the secret realm but also served a very important purpose as the tool to open the entrance and exit of the secret realm.
With people like Crown Prince Hong having snatched the treasure map of the secret realm, it meant that Ye Lingyue and others could no longer leave the Taiyi Secret Realm.
"Despicable, you so-called representatives of the noble Righteous Path and great orthodox nation, your deeds are simply worse than those of the Demon Sect." Bo Qing spat disdainfully.
"Witch, our actions are called fighting fire with fire. Against those of you on crooked and evil paths, we don't need to use any fair and just methods. Those who know better should roll away on their own and find the secret realm's exit themselves. I wouldn't deceive you, we carry a large quantity of Thunder Bombs made from Black Medicine Powder on us. If you don't stay far away, don't blame us for starting a massacre." Crown Prince Hong and people from the Kaijiang Prince Manor also knew that they might not have the upper hand in a real fight, so they all concealed Thunder Bombs on them.
Even Reincarnation Three Paths or Four Paths experts like the Elder Huo Yan and Boss He would struggle against a large number of Thunder Bombs with their flesh and blood bodies.
"You think we will be scared just like that? Before you threaten us, you better take a good look at your own hands."
Just as Crown Prince Hong and others were proudly gloating, Ye Lingyue, who had been watching indifferently from the side, suddenly spoke.
Their hands?
It was only then that Elder Yue, Duke An, Chen Tuo, and others realized that something was wrong with their hands.
Apart from Crown Prince Hong who was lucky to have snatched the map from the Fire-controlling Old Woman and had nothing wrong with his hand, the hands of the others had already swollen to two or three times their original size, turning black and swollen, accompanied by a numbing sensation. This numbness was spreading rapidly through their blood and meridians throughout their bodies.
"Poisoned!"
Like they had seen a ghost, Duke An and the other two let the maps in their hands fall to the ground with a snap.
"Ha ha, had I not been foresighted and listened to Thirteen's advice, soaking all the maps in poison, we would really have let you despicable and shameless dogs of the court take advantage of us for nothing." Bo Qing hocked a loogie, pleased to see Duke An and others holding their hands in pain.
It turned out that on the way to the Taiyi Secret Realm, Ye Lingyue had suggested soaking all three maps in poison to prevent any changes en route. At the time, Bo Qing had murmured, not knowing what was the purpose of this.
Now, it seems that Hong Shisan's foresight was exceptional. It's called preparing not only for the gentleman but for the villain as well.
"Third Young Master, quickly take the Detoxification Medicine."
Although Duke An and Elder Yue's cultivation was high, allowing them to temporarily confine the poison to their palms, Chen Tuo, the son of King Kaijiang, was done for. His cultivation was only at the Elixir Realm level, and once agitated, the poison entered his system, even Detoxification Medicine couldn't help him.
Not to mention ordinary Detoxification Medicine, it is impossible to suppress the unique poison of the Jade Hand Poison Master.
"Quick, hand over the antidote." Elder Yue watched as Chen Tuo's face grew worse and worse, and the poison had spread throughout his entire body, causing him to lay on the ground convulsing as if having a seizure.
In just a short while, what was originally a living person turned into a puddle of corpse water, not even a single bone left behind.
Such a domineering poison.
The spectacle caused the faces of Duke An and Elder Yue to turn green and pale.
Now they understood why Boss He would bring a young man with only Innate Cultivation along.
In fact, not only Duke An and the rest, but even Boss He and Third Brother He were also frightened out of their wits.
Especially Third Brother He, he now understood why Ye Lingyue previously spent a hefty sum to purchase Lai Gu's Poison Grass.
With just a little bit of poison, they managed to reduce an Elixir Realm expert to blood-water in an instant and scare two Reincarnation Realm Experts to the point they wouldn't dare to let out a fart. Such a skill, under the heavens, could only belong to Hong Shisan.
"What exactly do we have to do for you to tell us the antidote?" Duke An and Elder Yue were infuriated to the extreme.
But they couldn't intimidate Ye Lingyue. Even though they were using their Primordial Power to push the poison to their palms for now, they didn't know what substance was used to refine this intensely fierce poison.
They could at best resist for two hours, and after two hours, the poison would undoubtedly erupt, and they would end up as nothing but two puddles of blood-water.
"Bring back the maps, and remember, it includes the two maps you have as well." Ye Lingyue raised her eyebrows.
Bo Qing, Elder Huo Yan, and Boss He all kept silent, as they naturally handed over the authority to speak to Ye Lingyue.
Because they also knew that even they, when faced with such a domineering poison, had no option but to obediently exchange the maps for the antidote.
Elder Yue and Duke An, both ruthless figures on the court and the mainland, who would have thought that they would fall into the hands of a youngster much younger than their own sons and grandsons today.
If glares could kill, Ye Lingyue would have been executed a thousand times over by now.
After confirming all four maps were free of errors, Ye Lingyue's gaze fell on the map in Crown Prince Hong's hands.
Crown Prince Hong felt like he was being watched by a venomous snake. He hesitated briefly before ultimately choosing not to offend Hong Shisan. Who knew whether the other party had any more underhanded tricks up their sleeve?
The six maps were successfully in hand.
"You have the maps now, give us the antidote!", demanded Duke An and Elder Yue, looking at their hands in distress.
"The antidote is simple, chop off the hand you got poisoned with. I'm sorry, the antidote we had has just been eaten by each of us." Ye Lingyue said casually, as if chopping off a hand was as simple as chopping a piece of wood in her eyes.
"Hong Thirteen, you dare play us!"
Elder Yue and Duke An's eyes blazed red, both driven mad.
"If I were you two, I would just obediently chop off the hand. One hand in exchange for a life is worth it. By the way, I should tell you, you cannot circulate energy with the poison on your hand. Otherwise, for every bit of energy you circulate, the poison will corrode a bit of your cultivation." Ye Lingyue sneered coldly.