The red scorpion burst into a maniacal laugh, its laughter interspersed with hissing sounds like venomous insects:

"Hahaha... Xia Qingdai! So what if your cultivation is extraordinary? You're still going to die here! Blame it on your own failure as a person; even your own mother wanted to kill you!"

His withered fingers gripped the blood jade bottle tightly, his eyes gleaming with a morbid excitement: "Today I'll let you taste the bitterness of being devoured by your own bloodline!"

Crimson Scorpion swept his gaze menacingly over the Xuan Tian Sect members, a ferocious grin spreading across his face. "Heh, the entire Xuan Tian Sect, besides that old codger in seclusion, can't even muster a Nascent Soul stage cultivator!" His withered fingers formed hand seals, poisonous mist swirling around him. "I'll deal with this girl first, then slowly settle things with you trash, using your flesh and blood to appease my Ten Thousand Poisons Sect's ancestor!"

Upon hearing this, the disciples of the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect behind them began to shout and clamor. One disciple, whose face was covered in poisonous sores, fawned:

"Elder, wait! This young woman's bloodline is so special, why not spare her life and use her as an excellent cultivation vessel for you!"

"Exactly!" another disciple, with pus oozing from the corner of his eye, chimed in. "Our Ten Thousand Poisons Sect is just in need of a sect-defining furnace, and this girl is the perfect fit!"

"Let her taste the methods of our Ten Thousand Poisons Sect!" a disheveled female disciple shrieked. "First, feed her the Aphrodisiac Gu, and I guarantee she'll wish she were dead!"

"Hahaha, then we'll make her kneel down and beg the elders for their favor!" The youngest disciple laughed the most arrogantly, revealing a mouthful of blackened, rotten teeth.

They were talking happily, completely unaware that the Xuan Tian Sect members showed not a trace of worry on their faces.

Red Scorpion was flattered by the disciples and was about to speak when he suddenly froze in place.

He stared wide-eyed at the scene before him in disbelief. The meticulously crafted Soul-Devouring Smoke of Ten Thousand Gu had silently dissipated just three feet in front of Bai Ying!

Red Scorpion's maniacal laughter abruptly stopped, like a male duck being choked.

His bloodshot eyes widened, and the centipede scars on his face twisted and deformed with shock, making them look particularly ferocious.

"This...this is impossible!"

He roared hoarsely, his trembling fingers nearly crushing the blood jade bottle in his hand, "I verified it myself!"

He was afraid that Madam Xia would deceive him, so he specially took Madam Xia's heart blood again.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with this blood, but... how could this be?

Red Scorpion shook the bottle frantically, and more dark purple smoke billowed out, condensing in the air into distorted human faces.

The faces formed by the Gu worms let out mournful howls, yet they could not get within three feet of Bai Ying. It was as if an invisible barrier kept all the Myriad Gu Soul-Devouring Smoke out.

"I took blood three times!" Red Scorpion roared hysterically, veins bulging on his forehead. "The first time was offered by Madam Xia voluntarily, the second time I took it from her heart myself, the third time..." He suddenly remembered something, his voice turning shrill, "The third time she clearly fainted from the pain, how could that blood be fake?!"

His refining method was absolutely flawless; this wasn't the first time he had refined this blood mist.

"Where exactly did I go wrong? Where did I go wrong...?"

The red scorpion frantically yanked at its own straw-like hair.

His eyes were bloodshot, and his voice was hoarse as if sandpaper was being scraped: "I clearly... I clearly made sure every step was flawless... Why didn't it work? What happened?"

Bai Ying stood quietly in place, her clothes fluttering even without wind. With a flick of her finger, the hideous Gu worms melted away like snow meeting the morning sun.

In the sunlight, a faint, cold smile curled at the corner of her lips.

Seeing this scene, Red Scorpion was utterly devastated.

"Impossible... How could this be? Unless... Unless..." He was suddenly struck by lightning and staggered back two steps.

This terrifying thought sent chills down his spine, as if he had fallen into an icy abyss.

He stared intently at Bai Ying's calm face, his voice hoarse as if it came from the depths of hell: "Unless... you're not Xia Qingdai at all!"

These words seemed to drain all the strength from his body. If the person before him wasn't Xia Qingdai, then their carefully prepared killing move would naturally be useless...

All those meticulously planned schemes, those cruel blood extractions, and those day and night refining processes have become a colossal joke!

"I knew it..." Red Scorpion cried out in anguish, "How could an ordinary mortal suddenly become so powerful... It was all a lie!"

It was just that this person named Bai Ying borrowed Xia Qingdai's name and identity...

"You guessed right." Bai Ying's voice was as soft as a sigh. "Unfortunately, it's too late."

With a gentle wave of her hand, a silver light, like moonlight, poured down, and her dragon scales drew a perfect arc in the air.

Before Red Scorpion could even blink, he saw his arm, which was holding the Blood Jade Bottle, severed at the shoulder.

The withered arm drew an arc in the air, and the Soul-Devouring Smoke in the bottle gleamed with an eerie purple light in the sunlight.

Bai Ying gently waved her hand, and the Blood Jade Bottle landed steadily in her palm.

She casually toyed with the poison that struck fear into the hearts of countless people, a cold glint in her eyes: "I will return this bottle of poisonous smoke to Madam Xia."

She paused, a cold smile curving her lips. "As for you..."

She took out an ancient incense burner and suspended it in mid-air.

The moment the furnace lid was opened, a foul stench filled the air. It was the deadly poison emanating from the toads at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage that she had collected earlier!

"Don't you all love using poison?" Bai Ying's voice was terrifyingly soft. "Then try this."

The poisonous mist gushing from the incense burner rushed towards the members of the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect as if they were alive.

Those disciples who usually prided themselves on poison were now letting out shrill screams. Their skin was festering at a visible speed, and their flesh was sizzling in the poisonous mist.

Red Scorpion knelt on the ground, watching in horror as the wound on his severed arm quickly turned bluish-purple.

The poison he had personally concocted was now retaliating wildly within his body, as if thousands of venomous insects were gnawing at his flesh beneath his skin.

"No...no..." he screamed in despair, watching helplessly as his body slowly turned into pus and blood.

This elder of the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect, renowned throughout the world for his poison skills, is now finally experiencing the agony of having his heart devoured by countless poisons.

Bai Ying coldly observed this scene and said softly, "Are you satisfied with the feeling of being poisoned to death by your favorite poison?"