146: Unexpected incidents

When Qi Liang led everyone back to Wutong Forest, he saw Jiang Qinqin, who was originally on the verge of death, leaning against a tree trunk, tearing off her clothes to bind the wound on her abdomen, and tying it with a dead knot; she had not left.

Upon hearing footsteps, a smile appeared on Jiang Qinqin's pale face, and she met Qi Liang's gaze without flinching, her crescent-shaped eyes surprisingly endearing.

But Qi Liang was in no mood to appreciate it, his face full of anger as he said, "Jiang Qinqin, you dared to use poison on me!"

"Hehe…" Jiang Qinqin shook her head and chuckled, "I originally intended to use it on Dream Butterfly, but I didn't expect her to be fine, and you ended up being poisoned instead."

"Stop the nonsense, give me the antidote, and I'll let you off the hook." Qi Liang stood before Jiang Qinqin, looking down at her.

"Let me off the hook?"

Jiang Qinqin pointed at the wound on her abdomen with an inexplicable meaning, "Do you think I can survive if you let me off the hook?"

The Saint Child Competition had progressed to this point, and she had already failed; her subordinates were all dead or wounded, and she herself was severely injured, making it difficult to compete with others again; even if she was still alive now, it was merely a lingering existence.

Qi Liang took a deep breath, suppressing the anger in his heart, "What kind of poison is this?"

"Guess?" Jiang Qinqin bared her teeth in a smile.

"You're asking for death!"

Qi Liang narrowed his eyes; his cultivation journey had been smooth sailing until now, so how could he have ever been teased like this? If he didn't have a weakness in her hands, he would have crushed her long ago.

Behind him, Sima Xin's head was slightly lowered, his heart filled with melancholy; this fool, causing more trouble.

Originally, once Qi Liang was sent out, his mission would have been complete, and he could then plan for himself; he didn't expect that at the last minute, this incident would occur, adding many unforeseen complications.

As he pondered, he had already guessed Jiang Qinqin's objective.

Qi Liang possessed an innate arrogance, his gaze filled with disdain and a hint of indifference; he lifted Jiang Qinqin's chin and said in a condescending tone, "Give me the antidote, and I'll take you out."

He still had five slots for supporters, and he could use this method to take her out.

Jiang Qinqin gently shook her head upon hearing this, a smile playing on her lips, "I want a saint child token, and I want to be safely sent out."

She knew she had already offended Qi Liang, and if she couldn't secure the position of Saint and elevate her status, she would still face certain death upon leaving.

It would be easy for Qi Liang to crush her.

Only by becoming a Saint would she have the right to contend with Qi Liang, but even then, it would only be a mere qualification.

"Impossible!"

Qi Liang shook his head and refused without thinking; there were only five saint child tokens, and he definitely needed one, and Sima Xin also needed one, which was the condition for hiring him.

If Jiang Qinqin were to take another one, wouldn't that mean their side would need to acquire three saint child tokens?

This was an impossible task; if Qi Liang truly did this, it would force everyone else to unite and eliminate him first.

Even if he was the Sect Master's Disciple, he wouldn't dare to do something that would incur such widespread anger.

"Hehe, Senior Brother Qi should consider carefully. My lowly life, if it can go to Yellow Springs with Senior Brother, I suppose it would be quite good." Jiang Qinqin smiled, appearing like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water.

She had nothing to fear; no matter what, it was a dead end, so why not go all out?

Qi Liang pursed his lips; he wasn't worried about his own safety. As long as he returned to the Sect, he could ask his Revered Master to detoxify him, and with the Sect Master's cultivation, this small poison could be resolved with a wave of his hand.

But he didn't want to do that; encountering a problem and immediately asking his Revered Master for help would make him seem useless.

Qi Liang's eyes flickered as he looked at Jiang Qinqin's Storage Pouch, but Jiang Qinqin's next sentence shattered his illusion, "There's no antidote inside, you know. How stupid do you think I am to put the antidote in my Storage Pouch?"

"Alright, I agree." Qi Liang could only agree for now and slowly look for an opportunity to detoxify himself.

Sima Xin's eyes darkened, and he took a deep breath.

The expressions of the people behind Qi Liang varied, but they dared not speak due to Qi Liang's status; they were forced to participate in the Saint Child Competition, essentially just to make up the numbers, and all they sought was to leave alive.

...

Not far from the Lishen Tree, the two sides were already locked in battle. Tu Wanshan, wielding a blood-colored great saber, charged ahead, with no one able to withstand a single strike from him.

On the other side, the Bald Woman, using some unknown secret technique, was covered in black fur, resembling an upright bear. She seized birds and beasts, tearing and devouring them alive, incredibly ferocious.

But even though the two were incredibly brave, the situation on the field remained grim. The Demonic Beasts, controlled by Ma Changjie, feared no death, often exchanging their lives for injuries, regardless of losses.

Tu Wanshan's subordinates had already suffered casualties, and many were forced to reveal their Dao bodies to resist, consuming their magical power even more rapidly.

"Senior Brother Tu, for this mere saint child token, are you truly willing to watch your Junior Brothers die?" Ma Changjie's words were intended to attack his morale.

"Ma Changjie, when I get out, I won't let you off!" Tu Wanshan split an oncoming second-tier Demonic Beast in half with a single strike, its foul-smelling beast blood splashing all over him.

"Hehe, Senior Brother, let's see if you can get out first."

Ma Changjie was secretly anxious; the preparation time for this campaign was too short, and most of the Demonic Beasts he had were second and third-tier, with only one fourth-tier. They had managed to fight until now purely by relying on numbers.

If the slaughter continued, he would reveal his weakness.

Eight people stood beside Ma Changjie, quietly listening to the fierce roars from afar.

They were the smallest group among the "Ten Heroes," but from another perspective, they were also the largest in terms of numbers.

"Junior Brother Chu, you all go too; I'll cover you." Sweat beaded on Ma Changjie's forehead as he spoke to the group.

"Alright."

The eight did not hesitate; they had long been prepared. Since they participated in the Saint competition, they inevitably had to engage in the slaughter.

As the eight entered the fray, Tu Wanshan immediately felt the pressure intensify, and with Demonic Beasts cooperating with the eight, they became even more difficult to deal with.

The fierce slaughter in the arena stirred up waves of bloody Qi, and the scent gradually spread to the Lishen Tree. The countless Demonic Beasts living on the tree were stimulated by the smell of blood, gradually becoming restless.

Even with the Lishen Tree's mystical properties, it slowly became unable to suppress the Demonic Beasts' bloodthirsty nature.

"Squeak squeak~~"

The Bald Woman had long been overwhelmed by the brutal atmosphere around her, focused solely on killing, but in a trance, she heard a small squeaking sound by her ear, and her mind cleared for a moment.

Looking down, a small, marten-like beast stood at her feet, its two round eyes filled with human-like anxiety, squeaking at her.

The Bald Woman was very surprised; this little marten was the one she had fed before, and she didn't expect it to brave such dangers to come to her feet now.

"Why are you here?" The Bald Woman wiped the blood from her face, picked up the small beast, and asked.

"Squeak squeak."

The small beast became even more anxious, raising a front paw and eagerly pointing towards the Lishen Tree.

The Bald Woman didn't understand. She casually put it down, patted its rear, "Go far away; this isn't a place for you."

The small beast didn't leave and continued to squeak. The Bald Woman slowly understood its meaning and tentatively asked, "Are you telling me to follow you?"