CHAPTER 408: CHAPTER 407: SCHEME_1

"You seem wary of Lady Ming?"

On the back of the giant eagle, Xia Yunxin leaned over and softly asked Ling Chen, who was sitting next to her.

It’s just an intuitive dislike.

Ling Chen hadn’t noticed anything specific, but a simple premonition urged him to keep his distance from this woman.

"Oh, I see. It seems you don’t like older, mature women," Xia Yunxin seemed to understand something and murmured to herself.

However, upon hearing her words, Ling Chen’s face darkened. This woman surely knew how to put two and two together.

At that moment, Lady Ming, standing at the front of the giant eagle, glanced back. The corners of her mouth curved into a chilling arc.

"HEH HEH..."

Suddenly, an evil wind swept past, and mocking laughter echoed from the empty air ahead.

Soon after, Ling Chen sensed the auras of several Grand Master-level cultivators appearing in the sky before them.

In his line of sight was a grey, monstrous bird. Several dark figures stood on its back, led by an old man emanating an intense, evil aura.

The other men all had cruel, sinister, and treacherous expressions.

"Well, well, if it isn’t Lady Ming from the Saintess Hall and young Miss Xia Ji. Hmm, and who is this boy?"

A vicious middle-aged man stared at them, his eyes cold and piercing as he scanned everyone present.

Suddenly, he fixed his gaze on Ling Chen. "Who are you, boy? Why have I never seen you before?"

Facing the middle-aged man’s interrogation, Ling Chen remained silent. With their ferocious demeanors, it was obvious these men were from Skypiercing Peak.

"Even if you don’t speak, we already know."

"You’re from the Wind Country. We’ve recently received a lot of news from the Righteous Path. They say Ling Chen, son of the former Martial Arts Supreme Ling Tianyu and the Saintess, has betrayed the Divine Intent Sect and abandoned the Righteous Path. You must be that young man. We’re here to take you. Come with us."

Another powerful Demon Way Expert spoke.

Lady Ming’s eyes suddenly sharpened. "Earth Demon Sect, what do you think you’re doing, bringing these people here? Ling Chen is the one designated by the Saintess. We are taking him back under her orders. What are your intentions?"

"I am also following the Sect Leader’s orders to retrieve someone. This Ling Chen has an ambiguous identity and might be a spy from the Righteous Path. He requires strict investigation."

The speaker was the evil old man, the one known as Earth Demon Sect. He fixed his gaze on Ling Chen and sneered.

"Ling Chen, be careful. This is Earth Demon Sect, a renowned expert under Sect Leader Sikong Yi. He’s a Great Master Ninth Level, even stronger than I am, and a Demon Way Elder. He’s here to capture you. Given your unusual relationship with the Saintess, if they get their hands on you, they’ll undoubtedly use your life to threaten her. Damn it! How could such a secret have been leaked?" Lady Ming communicated with Ling Chen through her True Qi, her brows tightly furrowed.

"What does Lady Ming plan to do?" Ling Chen calmly asked.

"He is very powerful and not to be underestimated. Miss Xia Ji, you restrain the others."

After speaking to Xia Yunxin, Lady Ming turned to Ling Chen. "Ling Chen, get behind me quickly. I’ll deal with Earth Demon Sect."

"Okay!"

Expressionless, Ling Chen moved behind Lady Ming, staying within a ten-foot radius.

Suddenly, a sly, sinister smile—the smile of a successful schemer—appeared on Lady Ming’s face. She abruptly turned. With lightning speed, so fast one couldn’t even cover their ears, she fired a poison needle from her sleeve, aimed straight at Ling Chen’s heart.

SHINK!

The poison needle grazed Ling Chen’s heart, piercing through his body.

With a muffled grunt, Ling Chen retreated rapidly to the tail of the giant eagle.

"Lady Ming? What are you doing?!" Seeing this, an expression of disbelief spread across Xia Yunxin’s delicate face.

"Heh heh, what am I doing? Taking this little brat’s life, of course," Lady Ming sneered, the wicked smile on her face growing more intense. "Truth be told, the Saintess never sent anyone to retrieve you. This kid was actually wary of me—quite astute. But even so, now that he’s been hit by my Heart Corroding Poison, he’s doomed to die!"

"Well done, Lady Ming! You’ve rendered a great service this time. After the Saintess dies, I’ll report to the Sect Leader and have you promoted to Saint Envoy, in charge of the Saintess Hall!" Earth Demon Sect also grinned. This meticulously planned assassination, even using Lady Ming, a mole within Saintess Hall, was flawless. Dealing with a mere Ling Chen was child’s play; they had him.

"Damn you! You two despicable schemers!" Xia Yunxin knew very well how potent the Heart Corroding Poison was. Only Lady Ming possessed the antidote, and the poison could kill within dozens of breaths.

No one below the Sky Apex Realm could withstand this strange poison.

At this thought, immense anger surged through her. Those two had managed to deceive even her.

"Qianye, Dong Xiang, go finish off that brat for good," Lady Ming ordered the two women beside her.

These two women were quite formidable: Qianye was a Fourth Realm Grand Master, and Dong Xiang a Fifth Level Grandmaster.

The two women obeyed and walked towards Ling Chen. His face now had a greenish hue, and his eyes were tightly shut. He appeared deeply poisoned and on the verge of death.

"This lad should be dead by now."

"Even if not, he’s barely hanging on. Anyone below the Sky Apex Realm hit by the Heart Corroding Poison will die. There’s no chance of survival."

"Enough talk. Let’s finish him."

The woman named Qianye’s eyes suddenly turned cold. With a flick of her slender hand, she produced a sharp dagger and thrust it fiercely towards Ling Chen’s heart!

Just then, Ling Chen’s motionless body suddenly stirred. In a flash, he drew his sword, thrust, and sheathed it—three actions performed as one seamless, natural movement.

Qianye’s dagger halted an inch from Ling Chen’s chest. A Blood Cave had appeared on her own chest, pierced by a sword.

Her body fell backward like a broken kite, but Ling Chen caught her. He then pressed his palm against Qianye’s lower abdomen, and a powerful suction force erupted!

Absorption Technique!

True Qi rapidly flowed from Qianye’s body into Ling Chen, absorbed into his Dantian.

In just over a dozen breaths, Ling Chen had drained all of Qianye’s True Qi. Then, with a palm strike, he sent her body falling from the sky.

It had been a long time since he’d used the Absorption Technique. He hadn’t used it even against Li Wushuang or Xiang Feng. When he was with Xu Ruoyan, he hadn’t wanted to use such a demonic skill. But things were different now. He himself was of the Demon Way, so why not use the Absorption Technique? Not only that, but he also planned to use it extensively in the future, absorbing others’ cultivation to rapidly increase his own strength.