Lu Yuan almost swore but managed to restrain himself. "It was you who poisoned them!"
Elder Xia smiled placidly. "Elder Lu, why the anger? We are merely returning the favor. Is it only permissible for Elder Lu to poison others, but not for anyone else?"
"You don't actually think poisoning can turn the tide, do you? You must realize our people are not just this few. This Wuji City has long been infiltrated by our men," Lu Yuan said calmly.
"Young Master Xiao Qin foresaw your forceful attack on the City Lord's mansion and knew you had planted many assassins in the city. Therefore, he prepared gifts for everyone long ago. Elder Lu, you can stop counting on reinforcements. The Old City Lord has left, and thus, there will be no one in Wuji City to rescue you!"
Within Wuji City, smoke billowed. After the Old City Lord departed, he scattered poisons everywhere, intending to incapacitate everyone in Wuji City. As for the subsequent antidote, that was Xiao Qin's concern!
Liu Han pursued relentlessly, but the Old City Lord did not engage him, constantly evading. Liu Han, filled with rage, shouted, "Yan Ze, you are a Golden Core cultivator, yet you scurry like a rat with its head tucked away. You truly disgrace the Golden Core cultivators!"
The Old City Lord scoffed. Who couldn't talk back? His mission was not to fight but to incapacitate all of the Five Poisons Sect's allies within the city. Afterward, it would be a confrontation between experts. The Five Poisons Sect had two Golden Core cultivators, and the City Lord's mansion also had two. In a one-on-one fight, they might not lose.
"You're not ashamed, are you? If you weren't ashamed, why are you still chasing me?" the Old City Lord called out nonchalantly. "If you're afraid of shame, then don't come out and make a spectacle of yourself."
"Old man, I want to see where you think you can run!" Liu Han urged himself forward. In his perception, the Old City Lord must still be recovering from old injuries, which was why he dared not face him head-on. If he fought with all his might, he was sure to capture him.
The Old City Lord did not entangle with Liu Han. As he fled, he seized the opportunity to spread poison. Citizens and cultivators from the seven sects alike were incapacitated. Liu Han, however, remained oblivious, solely focused on pursuing the Old City Lord.
The Old City Lord darted into a narrow alley. Liu Han followed close behind. As soon as he entered, he was kicked in the chest, crashing through a nearby wall. It took him a long while to crawl out from the rubble.
"Despicable scoundrel!"
"Thank you for the compliment."
The Old City Lord looked at the man before him, a stranger, with a mixture of confusion and wariness. "Who are you?"
"Old City Lord, I am Rebirth. On the orders of my master, Xiao Qin, I was waiting in the city. If smoke rose from the city, I was to assist the City Lord's mansion." Rebirth spoke unhurriedly. From the moment he underwent metamorphosis, Xiang Jian had died. The person who lived was Rebirth, and he was merely Rebirth.
Upon hearing this, the Old City Lord rejoiced. "Then I leave him to you. I will continue to spread the smoke."
"Please, Old City Lord, proceed."
Liu Han clutched his chest, coughed a couple of times, and swallowed the metallic sweetness in his throat. "The City Lord's mansion is now at its end. Esteemed fellow cultivator, a wise bird chooses its perch. You should carefully consider your path forward."
"Paths are forged by oneself, not given by others," Rebirth stepped forward swiftly, his attacks sharp and filled with killing intent. It was the Five Poisons Sect who had attacked them in the Roland Mountains; they had caused Zhou Yan's death. He would avenge this now!
Liu Han sneered as Rebirth charged at him. When facing a cultivator of the Five Poisons Sect, the worst thing you could do was engage in close combat, for you never knew when you might be poisoned.
However, Liu Han was unaware that before his own rebirth, Rebirth had fought countless times against Xiao Man and had been force-fed numerous potent poisons by her. His body had long developed immunity, and ordinary poisons could not affect him!
After a bout of combat, cold sweat beaded on Liu Han's forehead. The poisons that could incapacitate even Golden Core realm experts were utterly useless against Rebirth, who was also in the Golden Core realm. Moreover, this person grew stronger as he fought, possessing extensive combat experience. The cultivators of the Five Poisons Sect were accustomed to relying on the convenience of poisons and lacked much practical combat experience. In this exchange, Liu Han quickly found himself at a disadvantage!
"Wait... Ah!" Liu Han took a punch, and a front tooth rolled onto the ground. Rebirth's attack did not pause; he was upon Liu Han again. Liu Han turned and fled, no longer caring about the dignity of a Golden Core cultivator!
"Didn't anyone tell you never to turn your back on your enemy?" Rebirth took out an object, aimed it at Liu Han, and pressed the mechanism. A poison needle, enveloped by spiritual energy, shot out, turning Liu Han into a sieve.
Liu Han stopped, his body swaying slightly, staring down in disbelief. How was this possible? How could such a small silver needle penetrate the defense of a Golden Core cultivator?
Blood gushed from Liu Han's mouth. Rebirth slowly advanced, took Liu Han's storage bag, and gently pushed Liu Han with his finger. Liu Han's body crashed to the ground, his eyes wide with unwillingness to close.
"Unwilling to close your eyes?" Rebirth sneered. "Be content. You should be proud that I had to use the Boss's secret weapon to kill you. Now, I should go and see the City Lord's mansion."
Outside the City Lord's mansion, Elder Xia and Lu Yuan were locked in combat. The elders of the seven sects lay scattered on the ground, and the disciples of the Five Poisons Sect were also sprawled on the ground, their fates unknown.
A man in gray stood quietly by, observing the battle as if the events unfolding before him had nothing to do with him.
Rebirth, hidden in the shadows, fixed his gaze on the man. He could not discern the man's cultivation level, which meant the man's cultivation was higher than his. Rebirth was currently in the mid-stage of Golden Core, so the man was at least in the late-stage of Golden Core, or possibly even at the Nascent Soul stage.
Rebirth hesitated. If he charged out to save people now, he would attract the man's attention. If the opponent was a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, everyone present might perish.
After a moment of contemplation, Rebirth moved. He dashed towards the nearest elder, who was none other than Elder Xu of the Blazing Sun Sect.
Rebirth moved with extreme speed, grabbed Elder Xu's shoulder, and in a flash, shoved an antidote pill into Elder Xu's mouth. He retreated rapidly, putting distance between himself and the gray-clothed man before the latter could react.
The gray-clothed man's gaze fell upon Rebirth. "Who are you?"
Rebirth clenched his sword. "Rogue cultivator, Rebirth."
"Since you are not from the seven sects, you should not meddle in their affairs," the gray-clothed man said lazily. "Leave quickly."
"I apologize, I owe someone a debt of gratitude and must repay it." Rebirth's gaze swept over the other fallen elders of the seven sects. Si Kongmo secretly clenched an antidote pill that Rebirth had flicked to her as she rolled near her. This was given to her by Rebirth when he was saving others.
Si Kongmo, while no one noticed her, swallowed the antidote pill, waiting for it to take effect so she could assist everyone.