Chapter 1875: Actually Backed Down?

At this moment, Gu Zhixuan no longer believed that the venom he was suffering from was the Black Evil Finger he had once cultivated; that toxicity was more than ten times more domineering than the Black Evil Finger.

In fact, plunged into extreme agony, Gu Zhixuan felt as if even his own heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys were being scratched until they bled; that unbearable itching was simply more painful than death.

Over there, because of Yun Xiao’s words, Lu Zhanbai felt a scruple arise in his heart; Gu Zhixuan knew he could no longer pin any hope on this Third Young Master of the Lu Family, and at this moment he only begged to suffer a bit less pain.

Perhaps only at this moment did Gu Zhixuan truly taste what kind of torment and agony those cultivators he had poisoned to death had gone through before they finally died?

Gu Zhixuan, who had killed like cutting hemp, had at last met his retribution; this so‑called Poison Vein Master genius of Wansu Sect, famed as the Poisonous Evil, simply because he followed the wrong person and provoked Yun Xiao whom he should never have provoked, ending up like this could also be said to be only just.

“I already said, the words you just spoke are exactly what I wanted to say. To die so easily—how could it be that simple?”

Yun Xiao was no soft‑hearted good man or woman; if Gu Zhixuan had not uttered those threatening words earlier, perhaps he really might have given him a quick death and let him suffer a bit less.

But, as the saying goes, repay a man in his own coin. Gu Zhixuan had previously relied on the might of the Black Evil Finger, believing that Yun Xiao, after being struck by its venom, could never stir up any waves again, and thus spoke those triumphant, self‑satisfied words.

Who would have thought that those words, originally meant only to intimidate the onlookers, in the end severed Gu Zhixuan’s chance of begging for death; when the corner of his eye caught that white‑clothed youth already turning his head away, his heart instantly sank into the abyss.

“Th–this brother, thank you for saving my life!”

Only at this time did Ouyang Yi finally find the chance to give thanks; his temperament was tenacious, and he paid no heed to Gu Zhixuan rolling all over the ground, instead directly cupping his fists to Yun Xiao, gratitude written all over his face.

“Enough, let’s settle the matter before us first.”

Yun Xiao waved his hand, first nodding slightly toward Ouyang Yi, then shifted his gaze onto another person—this was precisely that old acquaintance he had met once before, the Chongxiao Sect’s number one genius, Jiang Jingyu.

“Y–you… what do you intend to do?”

This genius of the Chongxiao Stairs, at this moment, no longer had the slightest trace of that former air of lofty superiority and smugness of having a backer; in its place was a look of doubtful fright, and as Yun Xiao’s gaze turned toward him, his feet quietly backed away a few steps.

If previously Jiang Jingyu had relied on his strength being a cut above Ouyang Yi’s, and on having Lu Family’s Third Young Master Lu Zhanbai backing him, thereby harboring arrogance, then now he was truly frightened by this white‑clothed youth.

The great name of Wansu Sect’s Poisonous Evil, Jiang Jingyu, situated in the Southern Domain, had naturally heard of; that was a figure renowned even among their younger generation.

Jiang Jingyu was indeed a Half-step Holy Rank genius of Chongxiao Sect, but he also knew clearly that Gu Zhixuan, who wielded Poison Meridian Skill, would in actual battle definitely be a cut stronger than himself; in a one‑on‑one fight, his chances of defeat were at least over seventy percent.

Yet now, that Wansu Sect genius was right before him, not far away, in such agony that he was rolling all over the ground; as time passed, even his cries of pain grew weaker and weaker, as though he might stop breathing at any moment.

Originally, Jiang Jingyu had not taken a young man of the same Half-step Holy Rank too seriously; one simple “lesson” Yun Xiao gave Gu Zhixuan, however, made this Chongxiao Sect genius give rise to boundless dread.

“Weren’t you going to capture the remnants of the Ouyang Family? Then come on!”

Seeing Jiang Jingyu in such a state, Yun Xiao let out a cold laugh, then spoke a sentence that made everyone cast a look of disdain toward Jiang Jingyu.

For at this moment, Jiang Jingyu was already more than a dozen zhang away from Ouyang Yi; where was that previous posture of swaggering and showing off? He looked instead as if he feared being rushed and attacked from this side.

Thus, in the eyes of the crowd, Jiang Jingyu had without a doubt become someone who bullied the weak and feared the strong; earlier, when they had the advantage in numbers and strength and saw Ouyang Yi as easy to bully, they immediately struck hard.

Now, seeing that the other side had gained a powerful helper, he shrank back like a turtle; for this Chongxiao Sect genius to conduct himself so was truly contemptible.

“That’s right, Jiang Jingyu, you’ve been chasing me for half a year—so come up here and catch me then!”

Ouyang Yi joined in the fun as well; he knew Yun Xiao was mocking that Chongxiao Sect genius, so he immediately chimed in with ridicule, as though venting all the frustration he had bottled up over this past half‑year.

To tell the truth, during this half‑year of being hunted, Ouyang Yi had truly lived like a stray dog, on edge every day, never knowing when he would be overtaken and slain by people of Chongxiao Sect.

Yet he had no choice but to attend this Xuanyuan Platform Meeting; originally he thought his disguise was flawless and would not be discovered, but in the end he was still recognized by Jiang Jingyu.

If it had been only Jiang Jingyu alone, Ouyang Yi had absolute confidence in getting away; who could have expected that the other side would have an additional Hua Xuan Realm Early Stage Third Young Master of the Lu Family, and even a helper from Wansu Sect famed as the Poisonous Evil.

Ouyang had already fallen into despair, but he never expected a youth named Yun Xing to suddenly cut in from the side, overturning the situation in an instant and tormenting Gu Zhixuan so badly that he was in utter misery, and even scaring Jiang Jingyu so much that he didn’t dare make a move.

At this moment, Ouyang Yi was without a doubt roaring with delight in his heart; with such a good opportunity, how could he possibly not kick Jiang Jingyu, this old rival, while he was down?

“Mr. Bai, what do we do now?”

Because of his misgivings toward Yun Xiao, even though the other two mocked him one after another, Jiang Jingyu still did not strike at this time, and merely shifted his gaze to the young figure not far at his side.

Maybe Jiang Jingyu wasn’t afraid of death, but Gu Zhixuan’s current miserable state was simply too terrifying—no one wanted to tear their own skin until it was a bloody mangled mess, yet still be unable to die even if they wished to.

But with Lu Zhanbai backing him up, Jiang Jingyu wasn’t overly worried; he believed that if this Third Young Master of the Lu Family was dead set on killing Ouyang Yi, then what happened today would absolutely not change.

Truth be told, Lu Zhanbai’s expression was already so dark it looked like water was about to drip from it; no matter what, Gu Zhixuan had just come here together with him, and now he’d been turned into such a state while Lu Zhanbai was helpless to do anything. This was a slap straight across the face of the Third Young Master of the Lu Family.

Yet after that battle in Ancient Wood City, Lu Zhanbai knew very clearly that in a one-on-one fight, wanting to take care of that white-clothed brat would take at least several hundred exchanges; it was simply impossible otherwise, even if there was a Great Rank chasm between them.

Especially after witnessing that terrifying poison of Yun Xiao’s just now, the dread in Lu Zhanbai’s heart grew even stronger by a few degrees. Even though he was extremely confident in his own Hua Xuan Realm Early Stage cultivation, the situation here simply did not allow him to make extra trouble.

With the Xuanyuan Platform Meeting about to open, since he did not have absolute certainty that he could crush Yun Xiao in one fell swoop, Lu Zhanbai had, quite obviously, already developed a thought of avoiding battle.

As for Gu Zhixuan of the Wansu Sect, Lu Zhanbai didn’t have any particularly deep ties with him in the first place; in the end, it was Gu Zhixuan who had latched onto him. He had no obligation to take responsibility for him.

“Don’t worry. As for the life of that remnant of the Ouyang Family, I’ll take it with my own hands sooner or later. But right now there’s something more important. Let’s spare that brat for the time being!”

Under Jiang Jingyu’s hopeful gaze, Lu Zhanbai pondered for a moment and then spoke these words. While they disappointed Jiang Jingyu, they also left quite a few onlookers staring dumbfounded.

“The dignified Third Young Master of the Lu Family, Lu Zhanbai, a bona fide Hua Xuan Realm Early Stage genius, actually backed down?!”

A strange thought arose in many people’s hearts. That was the Third Young Master of the Lu Family; with how the Lu Family was currently in its prime, incomparably dominant in the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud, there was no reason for him to retreat like this.

These people naturally did not know that Lu Zhanbai had already fought Yun Xiao once in Ancient Wood City; they could all sense that this Third Young Master of the Lu Family was at the Hua Xuan Realm Early Stage.

Generally speaking, a Superior from a higher Continent was absolutely impossible to compromise with a Lower Ranker; let alone when the gap between them was the difference between the Heavenly Rank Third Realm and the Holy Vein Three Realms.

On this Nine-layered Dragon Cloud, even the number one genius of the Emperor Canglong Palace, the Emperor’s son who was reputed to be the number one genius on the Continent, wouldn’t dare claim he possessed the ability to battle across realms, right?

Perhaps only a very small number of people knew why Lu Zhanbai chose to compromise. He simply didn’t want extra complications; his biggest purpose in coming to the Dragon Cloud East Domain this time was the Xuanyuan Platform Meeting—nothing was more important than that.

Moreover, Lu Zhanbai also knew that aside from Yun Xiao, he had even greater competitors—for example, over there was the Holy Doctor Alliance genius Wu Jiantong, who was likewise at the Hua Xuan Realm Early Stage, and also several other geniuses of major powers who had yet to arrive.

“Tch!”

Hearing Lu Zhanbai’s words that sounded overbearing but were in fact a retreat, Ouyang Yi couldn’t help letting out a cold snort, his tone openly mocking, nearly causing the former to lose control on the spot.

“You remnant of the Ouyang Family, you think I’m afraid of you?”

Lu Zhanbai was so angry he almost felt his lungs explode. That was his true thought; the one he was wary of was merely that white-clothed brat who didn’t play by the rules.

Judging by how Ouyang Yi had just been completely suppressed by Jiang Jingyu, Lu Zhanbai believed that even a hundred Ouyang Yi’s together wouldn’t be enough for him to crush with one hand.

Fortunately, Lu Zhanbai still retained a bit of rationality. He told himself he would not lose to Yun Xiao, but he also knew that if he wanted to fight and win, he would probably have to use his most powerful trump cards. With so many people around and eyes everywhere, it would be better to save them for a critical moment.

Since the other side had furled their banners and beaten the drums of retreat, Yun Xiao naturally wouldn’t press too hard. The only one he wanted to protect was Ouyang Yi; if he revealed too many of his cards, he might very well attract some unnecessary trouble.

“In that stone house over there, there’s probably a Guardian sent by the Emperor Canglong Palace, right?”

Yun Xiao’s gaze subtly swept past a certain stone house as a few guesses formed in his heart. He also knew that after a hundred years had passed, the circumstances of the Xuanyuan Platform were already vastly different from those in his previous life.