The Life of a Necromancer as a Swashbuckler

Chapter 6: A Fierce Battle Against the Poison Sovereign

While Shi Jingyu and I were getting cozy, the battle between Xuan Yinzi and Gu Yuntian was reaching its peak. In fact, Gu Yuntian knew full well that his junior master’s appearance in Zheng Family Village could not be without ill intent. Since Zheng Family Village was right at the entrance to Xiaoyao Valley, and his master, Xiaoyaozi, had gone to Wangyou Valley to visit a friend these past few days—leaving the valley unguarded—his junior master’s sudden arrival at this time could only mean he had sinister intentions. This would certainly not end well today. As Gu Yuntian and Xuan Yinzi fought, something felt increasingly off. Gradually, he felt his limbs growing sluggish, and his inner energy rapidly draining away. What was going on? Just as he was puzzling over this, he heard Xuan Yinzi let out a cold, cackling laugh. “Nephew, why are your movements getting slower and slower? So this is the best a disciple taught by Xiaoyaozi can do? Whose power is stronger—my Poison Breath or your Xiaoyao True Qi?” So it was the Poisonous Breath. A chill ran down Gu Yuntian’s spine the moment he heard it. This “Poison Breath” was said to be the natural aura emitted when one’s mastery of poison reached its peak. Ordinary people exposed to it would feel dizzy and disoriented; in severe cases, they would fall into a coma. While martial artists, protected by their True Qi, were less severely affected, they would still unconsciously accelerate their True Qi circulation during combat, increasing their internal energy consumption. Therefore, when facing a poison user, one must fight quickly and decisively—prolonged battles are out of the question. Xuan Yinzi was known as the “Poison Sovereign,” and together with the “Poison Ghost Puppet Corpse” and the “Poison Sage” Gongsun Yijue, they were hailed as the “Three Ultimate Poisons of the World.” His attacks would undoubtedly be imbued with this Poison Breath. Gu Yuntian’s own martial prowess was already inferior to Xuan Yinzi’s; with the added interference of the Poison Breath, plus the fact that he’d just fought the bandit leader, his prospects for the day looked grim. Sure enough, after exchanging only a few moves, Gu Yuntian was struck in the back by one of Xuan Yinzi’s palms. He nearly spat out a mouthful of thick blood. Just as he watched his inner energy dwindle to near depletion and found himself on the brink of danger, he suddenly heard a furious roar in the distance, like a clap of thunder: “You old venomous creature, hand over your life!” Gu Yuntian was naturally overjoyed to hear someone coming to his rescue. Who could it be? He looked up—wait, what? The man in the blue robe who’d just been ambushed and poisoned to death by his senior uncle had gotten back to his feet? And was running toward him? Wasn’t he dead? Xuan Yinzi, standing nearby, was also taken aback when he saw me. Hadn’t this kid just died from my Xuanyin Poisonous Bug? How had he come back to life? The Xuanyin Poisonous Bug kills on contact with blood—no one has ever survived it. How was this kid unharmed? My furious roar certainly had the desired effect—it drew the attention of both sides just as Gu Yuntian was about to be overwhelmed by a palm strike. But the moment I laid eyes on Xuan Yinzi, my blood suddenly boiled. The agony of that inexplicable sneak attack just moments ago flooded back into my mind. That excruciating pain was seared into my soul, leaving me with only one thought: I must take my revenge! That thought swiftly consumed me entirely. I felt a surge of murderous intent welling up from the depths of my soul, spreading to every corner of my body. As if my body were beyond my control, I charged toward Xuan Yinzi. In fact, nothing else existed in my field of vision—only Xuan Yinzi, standing before me like prey. When Xuan Yinzi saw me roar and suddenly charge at him like a madman, he was startled. But the Poison Sovereign was, after all, the Poison Sovereign—a man who had taken countless lives. After that initial shock, he quickly regained his composure. “Hmph, is this a death throe?” He extended his left hand forward, and a black object flew from his arm—the very technique he’d used to kill the bandit moments earlier: the Xuan Yin Poison Bug. But, having lost my reason, I could see nothing else—my eyes were fixed solely on Xuan Yinzi. I merely saw his left hand rise, and as something flew toward me, I instinctively raised my hand to block it. I felt as if something had bitten right into my hand, yet I felt no pain. I looked down to see a small black snake clamped onto my forearm. Without a moment’s hesitation—and I don’t know where I found the strength—I grabbed the snake’s tail with my other hand and flung it away, then continued running toward Xuan Yinzi. This stunned everyone present. Xuan Yinzi knew full well that the little snake was highly venomous—it was the physical form of the Xuan Yin Poisonous Bug. Even with martial arts skills, one would be poisoned to death. How could this man be unharmed? Gu Yuntian, standing nearby, was also startled. Although he knew nothing about poisons, he understood that the Poison Sovereign’s attack must have been ruthless—the snake had even bitten a chunk of flesh from his hand—so why was he still running forward? Shi Jingyu was even more shocked; even if he’d just kissed it, there was no need to be so reckless—distracting it would have been enough. But by this point, I had already lost all reason. My mind was filled with a single thought: tear Xuan Yinzi to pieces. All other sensations were completely blocked out. In the blink of an eye, I was right in front of Xuan Yinzi. I lunged forward and grabbed him by the throat, intent on tearing it apart. Xuan Yinzi was terrified. He hadn’t even had time to react—he’d never seen anyone move so fast, so ruthlessly and precisely. Before he could dodge, he was seized in a single move. A chill crept up his spine; his time was up. All I could think about was tearing his neck apart, but after struggling for a while, I suddenly realized it was useless. This body of mine had no strength; while I might have been able to choke an ordinary person, Xuan Yinzi, the Poison Sovereign, possessed profound cultivation—and as I stood there, my efforts were utterly futile. As this reality dawned on me, a chill ran down my spine, and just like a deflated balloon, I quickly regained my senses. Xuan Yinzi had panicked at first, thinking he was doomed, but after a moment, he saw that he was unharmed—the other party could only grip his neck but couldn’t tear it open. “So it was all just a bluff!” He, too, regained his composure, twisted his right hand, and unleashed the “Thousand Spiders, Ten Thousand Poisons Palm,” slamming it down toward my abdomen. Just as I had regained my senses, I instantly felt as if my internal organs were being shattered; a single palm strike sent me flying. Having landed a successful strike, Xuan Yinzi didn’t let up. He leaped forward, stomped me into the ground, and seized the demon-headed sword—the very one the bandits had used moments earlier—that lay on the ground. “Kid, I don’t know what you’re made of to withstand my Xuan Yin Poisonous Bug, but now I’m going to chop your head off and see if you can come back to life.” With that, he raised the ghost-head sword to strike down. I had already been beaten into a daze and was preparing to die, but then I heard a “slash”—followed by a blood-curdling scream from Xuan Yinzi. I struggled to lift my eyes and saw that it was happening right next to the bandit leader—who had been knocked flying and had just landed on the ground. Xuan Yinzi, furious and humiliated, hadn’t noticed anyone on the ground. The bandit leader seized the opening and used his “Heavenly Eagle Claw” to tear a chunk of flesh from Xuan Yinzi’s leg. Come to think of it, out of the four bandits, three had died at Xuan Yinzi’s hands, and the leader was also seriously injured. If I didn’t take my revenge now, when would I? Xuan Yinzi was in excruciating pain. Since leaving the mountains, he had never suffered such a humiliation; he was now thoroughly enraged. Enduring the excruciating pain, he struck out with a backhand palm strike, intending to kill the bandit leader on the spot. But just then, he heard the whoosh of wind past his ear as a hidden weapon flew toward him. It was too late to dodge,he quickly grabbed the bandit leader’s body to block the projectile, but it was already too late. A loud “boom” rang out, as if something had exploded, and the air filled with the smell of sulfur and burning.