Horrible Poison Skill

After receiving her money, Yan Yun strode out of Qianjin Pavilion without the slightest hesitation.

As she reached the entrance, a voice suddenly called out to her.

“Miss Ziyun (TL Note: Ziyun is a common elegant pseudonym, likely used by Yan Yun here), please wait.”

Yan Yun immediately glanced sideways, recognizing Jin Tianqiao’s voice, and approached her.

“Miss Jin, is there anything else?”

Witnessing Yan Yun’s utterly serene composure, Jin Tianqiao was momentarily torn between amusement and exasperation.

“Miss Ziyun, are you genuinely ignorant, or are you merely pretending? With such a substantial fortune on your person, venturing out like this will undoubtedly tempt some into murder and plunder. I urge you to remain within Qianjin Pavilion for the time being; they wouldn’t dare act recklessly while you’re here,” Jin Tianqiao cautioned with genuine goodwill.

Yan Yun instantly spun around to survey her surroundings, and what she beheld was a predatory throng, their eyes burning with crimson avarice, all locked onto her. Among these avaricious gazes, she clearly discerned members of the Lin family.

While she had certainly foreseen this exact scenario, remaining indefinitely within Qianjin Pavilion was never an option for Yan Yun, given her complete lack of external support.

“I appreciate your concern, Miss Jin,” Yan Yun replied. “I possess my own methods for extricating myself, so there’s truly no cause for alarm.” With those words, she deliberately exited Qianjin Pavilion, passing directly before the eyes of those who harbored ulterior motives.

This particular scene utterly perplexed the Lin family and their cohorts.

“Fourth Uncle,” Lin Ze inquired, a hint of apprehension lacing his voice, “could this woman possibly possess some formidable backing, to depart with such unnerving composure?”

Lin Yuan let out a cold snort.

“While I cannot fully perceive her aura, she is undoubtedly no truly formidable opponent. Her cultivation, at its peak, would merely be at the Cavern Heaven Realm. Without an elder by her side, if we were to let such a golden opportunity slip through our grasp, even the heavens themselves would surely look down upon us. Come, let us move. We are far from the only ones coveting her treasures.”

Consequently, a pack of covetous men stealthily shadowed the young maiden. Trailing behind these pursuers was yet another contingent, and it was clear, even without a second glance, that if these onlookers weren’t plotting plunder themselves, they were assuredly there to witness the unfolding drama.

Unable to linger within the city walls, Yan Yun instead made her way straight out of the city.

“What? Is this young woman courting death? Why would she simply leave the city?” Yan Long and Jiang Yuan exchanged puzzled glances, utterly baffled.

Upon reaching the city’s outskirts, Yan Yun abruptly accelerated, vanishing into the dense woods nearby.

“Trying to flee? Pursue her.”

The would-be plunderers immediately surged forward in pursuit, most of them soaring through the sky, their cultivation bases at a minimum of the Spirit Transformation Realm.

Moments later, a formidable power, descending from the heavens, obliterated the forest directly before Yan Yun in a mere instant.

“Hmph! Little wretch, after pilfering from our Lin family, where exactly do you imagine you can escape?” Lin Yuan and his associates sneered, floating aloft and gazing down at Yan Yun with disdain.

Yan Yun’s eyes narrowed into slits, and she then cast a look behind her, where a phalanx of cultivators had materialized, completely encircling her.

Their reluctance to immediately engage doubtlessly stemmed from the apprehension that other opportunistic parties might suddenly launch an assault.

“Gentlemen,” Lin Yuan promptly addressed the other cultivators, “our Lin family’s sole interest lies in that Thousand Illusions Necklace; the remaining items, we shall forgo.”

“Haha, then this old man shall claim the Purple Crystal Demonic Fire Cauldron!” A grey-robed elder burst into hearty laughter.

The rest, quite naturally, set their sights on partitioning the spirit stones Yan Yun carried.

Factions still in a state of watchful hesitation observed the scene from afar.

“Alas!” Yan Long sighed, a profound sense of pity clouding his features. “It appears this young woman will likely not depart this place with her life intact.”

Yan Yun’s gaze sharply traversed the gathered cultivators, and a derisive scoff escaped her lips.

“Heh heh,” Yan Yun sneered, “Each of you considers yourselves an esteemed senior and a figure of great accomplishment, yet you brazenly conspire to plunder a mere junior like myself. Is there truly no shame in your hearts?”

Her words instantly elicited booming laughter from a significant portion of the onlookers.

“Haha, the cultivation world has always been a brutal arena of the strong devouring the weak, where only the fittest survive. You possess immense treasures and a vast fortune, yet you neglected to conceal them, and you lack the protection of any family elders. Is this not entirely your own doing? Cease your pointless chatter; surrender all your wealth, and we might, just might, consider sparing your life,” one individual retorted with a cold, mocking laugh.

Lin Ze immediately let out a cold snort.

“Why waste words?” Lin Ze scoffed. “Gentlemen, I shall apprehend her. We can then divide her possessions equally, thus averting any potential clashes.”

No one present raised any objections; a peaceful division of spoils was, unequivocally, the most preferable arrangement.

Given the sheer number of individuals, and with others still watching from the periphery, any internal conflict among them would only serve to benefit opportunistic third parties.

Lin Ze, clearly holding Yan Yun in utter contempt, didn’t even bother to employ his spiritual power. Instead, he simply darted forward, his hand outstretched to seize her.

Yan Yun, surprisingly, offered not the slightest resistance, permitting Lin Ze to clamp his hand around her throat.

“Is this all you amount to? Little wretch, you are truly far too weak, aren’t you?” Lin Ze exclaimed, utterly taken aback.

He surmised that Yan Yun likely hadn’t even reached the Cavern Heaven Realm in her cultivation.

What entirely escaped his perception, however, was the subtle smile that graced Yan Yun’s lips the instant his hand brushed against her.

“You brought this upon yourself; don’t blame me.”

The moment Yan Yun’s words concluded, a torrent of vivid purple energy abruptly surged from her neck, rapidly spreading toward Lin Ze’s grasping hand.

“What?!” Lin Ze instantly recoiled, releasing his hold and stepping back, his gaze fixed in horror upon his own palm.

His hand, to his utter horror, was visibly rotting and dissolving at an alarming rate; in under three breaths, it had been reduced to nothing but skeletal bone.

“Ah… Fourth Uncle, save me, save me!” Lin Ze immediately shrieked in agony.

In the very next instant, a swift streak of light descended from above, cleanly severing Lin Ze’s right hand, excising the portion ravaged by the potent toxin. For a moment, blood erupted in a horrifying torrent.

Lin Yuan swiftly employed his spiritual power to staunch Lin Ze’s bleeding, all while his gaze, a potent blend of shock and incandescent rage, bore into Yan Yun.

“What utterly vicious poison! You wretched girl, did you actually resort to covert poisoning?”

Yan Yun touched her neck.

“I initiated no attack,” Yan Yun countered, a malevolent smirk twisting her lips. “You were the aggressors. Am I then forbidden from defending myself?”

That chilling smile was an unmistakable sign: it was not Yan Yun in control of the body, but Yan Lingyun.

“Fourth Uncle, seize her!” Lin Ze shrieked, his face a mask of deranged fury. “I want her to endure a torment where she can neither live nor die!”

He had never conceived that one of his hands would be irrevocably lost in such a manner. He hadn’t even attained the Spirit Transformation Realm; even if he had, with his severed limb reduced to mere bone, reattachment was an impossibility. He was utterly ruined.

Lin Yuan, too, sprang into action, directly unleashing his spiritual power to conjure a massive energy palm, which he directed to seize Yan Yun.

“Vile wench, come here!”

Yet, a truly terrifying event unfolded: Yan Yun remained utterly unresisting, permitting the colossal energy hand to firmly grasp her.

The instant she was ensnared, Yan Yun delivered another scathing retort.

“It seems you fail to learn from experience,” she drawled. “This time, your fortune will not be so forgiving.”

No sooner had she spoken than a torrent of purple energy, riding the current of Lin Yuan’s spiritual power, surged forth and instantly began to infiltrate his very being.

“What?! Impossible! What manner of poison is this, that it can even corrode my spiritual power?!” Lin Yuan exclaimed, startled into a profound shock, as he frantically attempted to sever his connection to the encroaching force.

Regrettably, it was already too late; the malevolent purple energy had instantaneously flooded into his very core.

After a brief moment of stunned stupefaction, Lin Yuan, clutching his head, unleashed a horrifying, bloodcurdling shriek.

“Ah…”

The chilling screams sent a jolt of terror through the surrounding cultivators, who immediately scrambled to put as much distance as possible between themselves and Yan Yun.

“No! Mercy! Have mercy! This… this is soul poison! No…”

After a few more guttural cries, Lin Yuan’s eyes rolled back into his head, and he crumpled to the earth, utterly devoid of life.

The members of the Lin family, upon witnessing this horrifying spectacle, were struck dumb with terror. Lin Yuan, a distinguished cultivator of the Divine Mark Realm, had perished so swiftly?

“Young Master Lin Ze, we must flee at once!” The Lin family guards, having seen the grim outcome, immediately moved to usher Lin Ze away to safety.

However, the instant they turned to flee, several streaks of purple venomous needles tore through the air, embedding themselves deep within their bodies.

They didn’t even have time to resist.

“H-how could this be possible?” Lin Ze gasped, his voice choked with disbelief as he stared at the purple poison needle protruding from his chest, before his body swiftly corroded and dissolved, leaving behind naught but bleached bones.

With her grim task completed, Yan Yun, radiating an palpable aura of lethal intent, turned her gaze upon the remaining individuals who had coveted her possessions.

The instant their eyes met Yan Yun’s, a primal terror seized them, scattering their wits. They spun on their heels, retreating with the utmost haste.

“What extraordinarily potent poison! It appears, esteemed one, that you are a truly formidable poison master. Very well, this old man shall forgo the medicinal cauldron.” Despite possessing cultivation at the Divine Soul Realm, the elder still dared not make a move.

He harbored an unsettling premonition: if he were to make a move, his ultimate fate would be indistinguishable from that of the Lin family members.

Thus, he uttered a swift declaration, then instantly vanished.

The instant he vanished, all the remaining individuals dispersed like startled birds, each one fleeing with greater speed than the last.

Even the distant spectators, who had been observing the unfolding drama, were left utterly dumbfounded. They had never conceived that a situation which should have been entirely one-sided would be so dramatically reversed by this unknown maiden.

Yan Yun casually swept up all the spatial storage artifacts from the fallen Lin family members; the half-piece of the Divine Venerable Mirror was nestled within Lin Yuan’s.

“Heh heh, back in my hands. What a tremendous gain!”

“And to the rest of you,” Yan Yun scoffed coldly, addressing the surroundings after collecting her spoils, “if you’re not afraid of death, feel free to follow.”

With that, she accelerated once more, swiftly disappearing into the distance.

This time, no one dared to pursue her, for no one could discern Yan Yun’s true depths, and with so many having perished, who among them would risk chasing her?