Luo Ke sneered relentlessly. Xiao Man was only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment. Even if she had the ability to kill cultivators at the middle stage, he was at the late stage of Foundation Establishment. There was a gap of two entire realms. Even if she was a peerless genius, she couldn't possibly kill him!
However, since she had taken the initiative to jump out and seek death, he would kindly send her on her way!
"Whether I'm arrogant or not will be known after the fight," Xiao Man tossed Ze Fang to Bai Chen, "Take care of him for a while."
Bai Chen quickly caught Ze Fang and retreated with him out of the combat range.
"Big fool, quickly take the antidote pill, recuperate and detoxify. My father isn't an opponent alone. Hurry up and detoxify to help!"
Bai Chen really wanted to retort that he wasn't a big fool, but these words were spoken by a child, and he couldn't argue with a child. He immediately took the antidote pill Xiao Man had given him and began to recuperate and detoxify.
Ze Fang sat to the side, cheering Xiao Man on, "Daddy, you can do it! Daddy is so amazing! Daddy, kill him!"
Luo Ke spared a glance at Ze Fang, "Your son's personality is quite like yours, both fond of seeking death."
Xiao Man struck out with her hand, "Want to touch him? Have you asked me first?"
"Just early stage Foundation Establishment, what are you being arrogant about? Today, I will cripple you!" Luo Ke gritted his teeth and used his full strength to deal with Xiao Man.
"Just a rat hiding in the gutter. No matter how strong you are, you're still a beast. See if I don't skin you today!"
Xiao Man continuously used words to provoke Luo Ke. Luo Ke was already furious that Xiao Man had repeatedly thwarted his plans. In his rage, he didn't expect Xiao Man to suddenly throw a hidden weapon. Luo Ke, caught off guard, had his arm grazed by the projectile!
"You are quite shameless, kid!"
"Thanks for the compliment, I learned it from you." Xiao Man increased the distance between herself and Luo Ke. Luo Ke was a late stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, while her current cultivation had dropped to early stage Foundation Establishment. To kill him, a direct confrontation wouldn't work; it had to be through strategy.
"This little injury will heal in a while; it won't harm me at all."
"Is that so?" Xiao Man’s eyes curved into a smile, "I smeared poison on it."
"Showing off in front of an expert! Don't you know that our Five Poisons Sect is the ancestor of poison arts! Using poison on me is completely useless!" Luo Ke sneered. It was truly laughable to use poison in front of a master of poison. His constitution, while not entirely immune to all poisons, meant that ordinary poisons couldn't affect him.
"This poison was extracted from the old city lord's wound." Xiao Man's eyes twinkled, "You are only late stage Foundation Establishment. This poison even incapacitated the old city lord, a Golden Core expert. Are you sure it's useless against you?"
Luo Ke was shocked and made a decisive move, slashing off his own arm with his sword. There was no hesitation, showing he knew how potent this poison was.
"As expected, you were the ones who ambushed the old city lord and poisoned him!" Xiao Man sneered. "So, it was also you who attacked my subordinates."
"Your subordinates?"
"Those from the Land of Lawlessness."
"Oh, I almost forgot. You brought out everyone from the Land of Lawlessness." Luo Ke pressed two points on his wound and took a pill. The bleeding immediately stopped. "We were just paid to do a job and eliminate trouble."
Xiao Man smiled, her smile cold and eerie, "I've always been one to repay kindness with kindness and vengeance with vengeance. So, you can tell the King of Hell that you died because you provoked someone you shouldn't have!"
Xiao Man charged forward swiftly. A cold glint flashed in Luo Ke's eyes. He feigned a look of fear. When Xiao Man reached him, he unleashed a surge of qi, mixed with potent poison. Luo Ke thought he could subdue Xiao Man effortlessly. However, Xiao Man was completely unaffected and charged straight towards him!
A blade pierced Luo Ke's dantian, and she twisted it viciously. With his dantian damaged, his qi power instantly vanished. Luo Ke knelt on the ground in disarray, looking at Xiao Man in disbelief, as if she were a monster. That potent poison, which could incapacitate even a Golden Core expert, why was this young man unaffected?
"Why?"
Xiao Man looked at Luo Ke coldly, "Using poison in front of me is the true definition of showing off."
As the words fell, Xiao Man withdrew her blade and stabbed through Luo Ke's throat. She turned and walked towards Bai Chen without a hint of hesitation. Bai Chen's eyes were filled with disbelief. A Foundation Establishment early stage cultivator killing a late stage one – it was simply unreasonable!
"You… what kind of monster are you?"
"You are so rude! My daddy saved you, and you're still scolding him!" Ze Fang was displeased. Hands on his hips, he pointed at Bai Chen and scolded him, "Apologize to my daddy quickly."
Bai Chen also realized he had misspoke and apologized profusely, "I'm sorry, I was just too shocked. I didn't expect you to… you actually…"
"Actually be so terrifying. Not only can you defeat stronger opponents with weaker cultivation, but you can also kill someone two realms above you, right?"
Bai Chen nodded obediently. He couldn't help but cry internally, Master, you misjudged this time! This kid isn't a spy from the Five Poisons Sect; she even has a vendetta against them! Even more terrifyingly, if she wanted to kill this disciple, he could only offer his neck for the slaughter!
"Let's go. This secret realm opening early must be the work of the Five Poisons Sect. Who knows how many Five Poisons Sect ambushes there are. We must remind other sects to be vigilant as soon as possible."
Xiao Man picked up Ze Fang and reached out to help Bai Chen up, but suddenly felt a killing intent from behind. She immediately turned around and saw the corpse of Luo Ke, whom she had killed, standing up, emanating black mist!
"Is this… a zombie?" Xiao Man looked shocked.
"It's not a zombie, it's a demon! This person is from the Demon Race!" Bai Chen was extremely shocked. Weren't the Demon Race supposed to be extinct? Why were there still demons in the Cang Xuan Continent?
"Demon Race!" Excitement flickered in Xiao Man's eyes. This meant Xiao Qi might be saved! If her guess was correct, the Five Poisons Sect was here for the Yu Ju from the Land of Lawlessness!
The resurrected Luo Ke even had his severed arm regrown. He touched his healed neck and looked at Xiao Man with cold eyes.
"Kid, you have some real skill to push me this far. However, it ends here." As he spoke, Luo Ke's figure moved like a rainbow, instantly appearing before Xiao Man. Xiao Man instinctively threw Ze Fang in her arms and took a palm strike from Luo Ke head-on. She was sent flying, crashing through several trees, and spat out a mouthful of blood before quickly jumping up again.
Luo Ke looked at Xiao Man, who had gotten back up, with confusion. He had used ten percent of his power in that palm strike, intending to kill her in one blow. Yet, this young man had merely coughed up blood and gotten back up!
Xiao Man swallowed the coppery sweetness in her throat. Fortunately, she had the protective armor given to her by Ze Fang; otherwise, this palm strike would have at least severely injured her, if not killed her.
"Bai Chen, take Xiao Qi and leave first." Xiao Man made a decisive call. She wasn't Luo Ke's match, but escaping was not a problem. The problem was these two. Only when these two were safe could she fight without any worries.