Chapter 291 155: 7 Yin Annihilation

"Please hand over the antidote."

"…"

The old man stared blankly at the deerskin gloves in Jiang Ran's hand, then glanced at Man Shengming, who lay nearby with his eyes shut tight.

He burst into laughter.

"Impressive. Truly impressive!

"A pity. He's been afflicted with 'Seven Yin Annihilation.' There's no cure for it in this world!

"If you… if you can't bear to watch him die, you'll have to carry him with you, a constant burden.

"Otherwise, you… you'll be leaving him to die!

"The choice… is yours."

Having said his piece, he swayed and collapsed on the spot, already dead.

Jiang Ran's brow furrowed. 'This old man put on such a grand act, but he couldn't even withstand a single palm strike.'

After a moment's thought, his Shattered Gold Saber flashed.

SLICE!

The old man's head rolled onto the ground.

Just as he was about to turn, he suddenly felt something was wrong. With a single thought, his Manifestation instantly enveloped him.

He heard a DINK as something struck the Manifestation.

Looking back, he saw a strange-looking flying insect.

He immediately thrust out a palm, and with a gust of force, the insect was blasted to dust.

This final, sudden event happened so quickly that besides Jiang Ran, even the onlookers only reacted after he had already obliterated the flying insect with his palm.

They hurried over to check on Jiang Ran.

Tang Huayi glanced at the old man's severed head and saw that his eyepatch had been broken open, revealing a hollow cavity underneath.

Only then did she speak.

"He was raising that final venomous insect in his eye socket. He kept it hidden with the eyepatch, so no one could detect it.

"The old man died, and then you cut off his head, which is when the insect in his socket broke through the eyepatch and flew out to take your life.

"Good thing you reacted quickly. Otherwise, we might have been visiting your grave this time next year."

Her words sent a belated chill down everyone's spines.

At the same time, they were filled with admiration for Jiang Ran's response.

When in doubt, first circulate your energy to defend. Had it been anyone else present, they would have undoubtedly fallen for the trap in that instant.

After all, who would have thought that someone would use their own deformity to house a venomous insect?

And as for that insect's origins, or what fate would befall anyone it wounded… no one knew.

The slightest carelessness could have meant instant death.

Jiang Ran then turned to the Elder.

"Elder, do you know who this man is?"

The Elder hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"This man is the Sect Leader of the Hundred Poison Sect, the Venerable Hundred Poisons!

"His real name is Tianhua, though I'd guess he himself has long forgotten it."

"So it was him."

A look of realization dawned on Jiang Ran. He had seen this man's name in the files of the Sword Holding Department. The bounty on him was not small… nine thousand taels!

Glancing at the head on the ground, Jiang Ran took a small vial from his robes. It contained a white powder, which he sprinkled evenly over the head.

The next moment, its skin instantly turned black.

In the blink of an eye, its normal complexion changed to look as if it had been smoked for several months.

"His entire head is riddled with poison…"

Jiang Ran's brow furrowed. He looked at the Venerable Hundred Poisons's corpse and promptly searched it.

He found a large pile of various bottles and jars.

Finally, he took out a dissolving powder and sprinkled it on the corpse.

In moments, the Venerable Hundred Poisons's corpse had melted into a pool of murky water, which seeped into the soil and vanished without a trace.

He took a white cloth from his pack, put on his deerskin gloves, placed the head on the cloth, wrapped it carefully, and then picked it up.

"This man was covered in poison. I don't know if this head can even be preserved."

He said this as he handed the severed head to Luo Qingyi.

Luo Qingyi was completely unfazed. She took it casually, as if carrying a piece of luggage.

Just then, the sound of a faint cough could be heard.

Jiang Ran and the others exchanged a look. Only then did they remember Man Shengming…

They rushed to his side.

They saw his skin was turning Black, the poison having already reached his face.

Wearing his deerskin gloves, Jiang Ran pulled the man up from the ground.

First, he checked his pulse.

Jiang Ran's Inner Strength was so profound that even the deerskin gloves didn't affect his ability to read a pulse.

After just a moment, however, his brow furrowed. The virulent poison of Seven Yin Annihilation was truly extraordinary.

At least for now, Jiang Ran had no idea how to cure him.

After a moment of thought, he brought over the bottles and jars he had taken from the Venerable Hundred Poisons, checking them one by one for a suitable antidote.

In the end, he came up empty.

At this, Jiang Ran sighed.

"This is trouble… Although he did it for Jiaowei, he still stood up for us. I can't just let him die like this."

He untied his pack and took out a needle pouch.

He shook it open, revealing rows of silver needles inside.

He usually avoided using these as much as possible, as his acupuncture techniques were not particularly refined.

But now that Man Shengming was afflicted with such a strange poison, Jiang Ran didn't dare to rashly try expelling it with his Inner Strength.

After all, from what he'd just seen, Seven Yin Annihilation was clearly contagious. It could be transmitted to others through means such as blood contact or during a martial arts exchange.

That was exactly how Man Shengming had been poisoned.

If Jiang Ran rashly used his Inner Strength, he would very likely become infected with the poison as well.

Therefore, he needed to use the silver needles to guide Man Shengming's own Inner Strength to move the virulent poison within his body.

This would be no simple task.

Jiang Ran positioned his body and began applying needles to various points.

The others sat nearby to act as Protectors.

They kept watch for four full hours.