23: Chapter 23 Chen Yaojia withstands the poisonous scale beast, Li Siwen's surprise attack reveals his true form.

The wind in Poison Mist Valley carried a faint green miasma. The Tri-Horned Poison Scale Beast's bronze bell-like eyes stared intently at the two figures on the cliff edge, its dark green scales gleaming coldly in the shadows.

Chen Yaojia gripped her short sword, a pale white Yuan Power condensing at her fingertips.

This was the basic Yuan Power of a half-step Kaiyuan Realm Cultivator, though without attributes, it was several times denser than the Internal Energy of the Houtian Realm.

"Shiwen, listen to me!"

She turned her head to look at Li Siwen, her tone leaving no room for doubt: "This Yao Beast's weakness is the poison sac under its belly, but it guards it extremely tightly. I'll use my Yuan Power to entangle it for a bit, trying to force it to turn around. You take the opportunity to slide down the cliff edge and pick the Spirit Flower. Once you've picked it, retreat immediately and don't worry about me!"

Li Siwen frowned: "But you alone..."

"I'm one of the top ten outer disciples; I can handle it for a moment!" Chen Yaojia interrupted him.

Without waiting for him to speak further, she suddenly took a breath and leaped down the cliff, her short sword, imbued with Yuan Power, slashed towards the Yao Beast's head: "You beast! Take this!"

The Tri-Horned Poison Scale Beast was enraged, raising its head and spewing a cloud of dark green poison mist. Wherever the mist passed, the rocks showed black marks.

Chen Yaojia hastily dodged, her Yuan Power concentrated on her short sword, and fiercely stabbed towards the Yao Beast's left horn.

With a crisp clang, sparks flew. The Yao Beast's horn was as hard as iron; the short sword only left a shallow mark.

"Roar!"

The Yao Beast cried out in pain, its huge tail sweeping with a strong gust of wind.

Chen Yaojia couldn't dodge in time and could only protect her back with Yuan Power. When the tail grazed her, she was sent flying like a broken kite, crashing against the rock wall. She almost spat out a mouthful of fresh blood but swallowed it back, gritting her teeth and charging forward again.

Li Siwen lay on the cliff edge, watching Chen Yaojia being knocked back again and again, yet getting up each time. His palms were clenched white.

He had intended to go down and pick the flower once Chen Yaojia entangled the Yao Beast, but the Yao Beast's strength far exceeded his expectations.

Chen Yaojia's Yuan Power attacks could barely break its defense, but the Yao Beast's poison mist and scaled counterattacks were all deadly. Her close-fitting outfit already had several holes burned by the poison mist, and a deep, bone-visible wound was cut on her arm, with blood dripping down her forearm.

She seized the moment when the Yao Beast was focused on the Spirit Flower, darting to the Yao Beast's left side by stepping on the slippery rock wall. Her short sword, enveloped in pale white Yuan Power, fiercely stabbed into the not-yet-fully-hardened scale gap on its back neck.

With a 'hiss,' although the Yuan Power didn't pierce the scales, it pained the Yao Beast, causing it to violently shake its head and turn. Its dark green body scraped against the rock wall, finally revealing the direction of the Spirit Flower under its belly.

Li Siwen had already been lying on the cliff edge, poised for action. Seeing the opportunity, he gripped a protrusion on the rock wall with his fingertips, ready to slide down. But before his feet even left the ground, the Yao Beast's tail, covered in bone spurs, suddenly swept across with a whoosh!

The wind, laden with miasma, stung his cheeks. The tail swept past the rocks by his feet, hitting the cliff wall with a 'bang,' sending Gravel fell down in a rustling sound., The impact caused cracks to appear in the rocks next to the spirit flower.. broken stones rattling down, directly smashing the rocks next to the Spirit Flower and causing cracks to appear.

Li Siwen could only abruptly halt his movement, watching the newly exposed gap being blocked again by the tail. Chen Yaojia was also staggered two steps by the Yao Beast's recoil, her arm faintly numb.

So Chen Yaojia changed her strategy, no longer circling behind but engaging head-on.

She condensed her Yuan Power at the tip of her short sword and fiercely charged towards the Yao Beast's head, deliberately exposing a flaw on her right side.

The Yao Beast indeed fell for it, its front claw striking with poisonous wind. However, Chen Yaojia used the momentum to slide to the Yao Beast's right side, fiercely hacking her short sword at one of its three horns.

With a crisp clang, sparks flew, and the Yao Beast twisted its body in pain, finally fully exposing the rock crevice where the Spirit Flower was to Li Siwen.

Li Siwen steeled his heart, grabbing a vine with one hand and preparing to swing down. But before he had swung even half a zhang, the Yao Beast suddenly opened its enormous mouth, and a cloud of dark green poison mist, several times denser than before, spewed out!

The poison mist, like a living creature, wrapped around the Spirit Flower's direction, so dense that even the faint glow on the petals was obscured, leaving only a faint outline. Li Siwen could even smell the pungent, fishy odor in the poison mist. If he rushed forward, he would be covered in it.

He could only release the vine and retreat back to the cliff, watching helplessly as Chen Yaojia was forced to retreat repeatedly by the poison mist, the hem of her outfit scorched with several charred holes.

The two could only temporarily retreat. This time, they specifically discussed a feint.

Chen Yaojia first feigned an attack on the Yao Beast's left eye, attracting its attention. When the Yao Beast raised its claw to block, she suddenly spun around to its rear, condensing Yuan Power into a palm strike aimed at the Yao Beast's tailbone.

This strike caused the Yao Beast pain, forcing its massive body to rotate clockwise. The Spirit Flower's glow flickered in the miasma, finally unobstructed.

This time, Li Siwen didn't hesitate. He stepped on the rock wall and slid down two zhang, his fingertips already able to touch the rock next to the Spirit Flower.

But just then, as if anticipating his move, the Yao Beast, disregarding Chen Yaojia still striking its tailbone, suddenly thrashed its body, and its other unconstrained front claw struck the rock wall where the Spirit Flower was with a gust of wind!

With a 'rumble,' a crack appeared in the rock wall. Crushed stones mixed with miasma fell, landing right by Li Siwen's feet, forcing him to pull back up.

Meanwhile, Chen Yaojia, due to the Yao Beast's sudden thrashing, had her palm strike deflected. She was thrown off balance, her back hitting a protruding rock, causing her to let out a muffled groan, a trace of blood spilling from the corner of her mouth.

Three attempts, three failures.

Cold sweat already seeped from Chen Yaojia's forehead, most of her Yuan Power was depleted, and faint black marks appeared where the poison mist had brushed her arm. Even her breathing was heavier than before.

Li Siwen lay on the cliff edge, watching Chen Yaojia endure the attacks again and again, while he couldn't even get close to the Spirit Flower. The anxiety in his heart coiled around him like a vine.

He knew that if this continued, Chen Yaojia's Yuan Power and stamina would eventually give out.

"This won't do!" Chen Yaojia wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, her eyes becoming resolute.

She took a deep breath, pouring all of her remaining Yuan Power into her short sword. The blade glowed with a dazzling white light.

This time, she would risk serious injury to force the Yao Beast to reveal a weakness!

"Shiwen! Get ready!" Chen Yaojia shouted, then fiercely charged at the Yao Beast, her short sword aimed directly at its right eye.

The Tri-Horned Poison Scale Beast was indeed enraged, its front claw rising to smash her. However, it didn't notice Chen Yaojia's other hand quietly condensing Yuan Power, preparing to endure this blow while simultaneously forcing the poison sac under its belly to be exposed.

Li Siwen's heart stopped. He knew the force of that blow; if Chen Yaojia took it head-on, she would at least break two ribs, and might even be scratched by the poisonous claw, becoming infected with potent venom!

"No!"

He no longer cared about picking the Spirit Flower. The Internal Energy of his Pulse Forging Perfection instantly erupted, and the speed brought by the Body Tempering Extreme Realm was pushed to its limit. He flipped over and leaped down the cliff, adjusting his posture in mid-air. Three streams of glowing white Internal Energy condensed at his fingertips, precisely shooting towards the joint of the Yao Beast's raised front claw!

"Puff! Puff! Puff!"

The Internal Energy penetrated the scale gaps. The Tri-Horned Poison Scale Beast's front claw suddenly stiffened, its motion to strike Chen Yaojia halting for half a breath.

Chen Yaojia was stunned for a moment, then reacted, seizing the chance to stab her short sword into the Yao Beast's right eye!

"Aooo—!"

The Yao Beast let out a heart-wrenching shriek, and dark green poison mist spewed out wildly.

Chen Yaojia took the opportunity to pull Li Siwen back, but was swept in the shoulder by the Yao Beast's tail. Both of them fell towards the rock crevice where the Spirit Flower was.

"Hold on to me!" Li Siwen instinctively shielded Chen Yaojia beneath him, his back heavily impacting the rock.

Fortunately, the Internal Energy cushioned the blow, preventing injury.

But with this impact, the binding cloth around his chest caught on a sharp edge of the rock, tearing with a 'sizzle'.

The hair hairpin on his head was also flung off, and beneath his unbound long hair, his Adam's apple was faintly revealed during the jostling. The jade pendant at his waist also rolled into the miasma.

All disguises shattered completely at this moment.

The Tri-Horned Poison Scale Beast, having lost an eye, became even more furious, dragging its injured body to ram into the two.

Chen Yaojia had just started to get up, but she caught a glimpse of Li Siwen's loose clothing, clearly revealing masculine shoulder lines and an Adam's apple. Her pupils constricted, and she was too shocked to move.

"Don't just stand there!" Li Siwen pushed her away, then charged towards the Yao Beast's belly.

When his Internal Energy had pierced its joints earlier, he had already pinpointed the location of the poison sac.

He leaped up, condensing all his Internal Energy into his palm, and slammed it fiercely onto the Yao Beast's poison sac!

"Bang!"

The poison sac instantly burst open, and dark green venom splattered out.

The Tri-Horned Poison Scale Beast's body twitched violently, its massive form crashing to the ground. After two more twitches, it fell silent.

When Li Siwen landed, he realized that most of his clothes were torn. With the chest binding broken, his physique was completely exposed, without a trace of feminine delicacy.

He stood awkwardly, looking at Chen Yaojia, wanting to say something, but not knowing where to begin.

Chen Yaojia stood rooted, her expression shifting from shock to disbelief, then to complexity.

She looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar "Li Shiwen," who now possessed a masculine physique and an Adam's apple.

The previous "frailty" was all a disguise, and even that call of "Sister Yaojia" carried a low tone she had never noticed.

[Shock from Chen Yaojia +75]

[Disbelief from Chen Yaojia +68]

[Complexity from Chen Yaojia +42]

The Poison Mist Valley was silent, with only the rustling of wind through the leaves.

Li Siwen knew, his gender could no longer be hidden.