Chapter 1405: One Poison Against an Army (Part 1) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]

The enemy general let out a strange, grating laugh.

Bai Su spared a moment of attention, inappropriately thinking: [This strange laugh perfectly matches the stereotypical image of a villain in a 'Five Elements of Immorality' storybook; not only does it resemble the laugh, but it also looks very similar.]

"Since you won't listen to reason, then—General Bai, don't blame me for being merciless!" The enemy general's voice suddenly became shrill, like a sharp knife piercing the eardrums, causing a chaotic and disorienting sensation in one's mind. In just a moment of distraction, a dark cloud descended upon them. Upon closer inspection, the enemy general's bat-like wings seemed to surge like a sea of ​​clouds, swirling and billowing.

The moment the swords clashed, Bai Su's wrist flipped.

The gleaming sword blade emitted a double cry.

A sharp blade sliced ​​diagonally upwards from the bat's wings, sending sparks flying. The enemy general, oblivious to the pain, continued his advance, laughing maniacally, his pupils moving stiffly with an eerie deathly aura. He bared his fangs, spewing a foul-smelling mist: "What a pity that I fell in love with General Bai's beautiful body at first sight. To have it ruined is truly a pity."

He anticipated Bai Su's face being corroded by the highly corrosive fog, eliciting a piercing, painful scream. However, things didn't unfold as he expected. The enemy general's vision blurred, and thousands of sword beams exploded at close range, with an invisible wind weaving through them.

In the blink of an eye, the thick fog dissipated.

The enemy general instinctively closed his eyes, folding his wings to withstand the explosive force: "Tsk, he's slippery as a mule, so—"

Before he could finish speaking, a fierce gust of wind swept in.

Buzz—

The orca's broad, flat tail, too large for seven or eight strong men to encircle, loomed large in front of them. At the moment of imminent contact, time seemed to stand still, and the enemy general could even clearly see the subtle contractions of the muscles beneath the orca's wet skin. What appeared to be a simple, effortless movement unleashed a force approaching two thousand stones. The enemy general's wings had already dissipated most of their force, but the remaining power was still terrifying.

The orca was hit and playfully turned its head.

It made a strange "giggle" sound.

Its black and white face adds to the sheer amusement.

"Little beast!"

The enemy general shook off the water droplets that had gotten on his wings.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a sudden burst of silver light approaching. The orca also flicked its tail, displaying agility and speed in the air that did not match its body size, while attacking the enemy general from both sides.

Puff puff puff—

The crossed sword beams clashed with the enemy general's weapon, the martial energy compressed to its limit and rebounding, the resulting shockwave forcefully pushing back a large swath of clouds. Bai Su's pair of swords, seemingly as thin as cicada wings, were in fact indestructible, while the enemy general's strangely shaped long hook was torn open with a small gap, spiderweb-like cracks spreading from the gap as its center.

Click!

The long hook shattered instantly.

Bai Su's sword energy spun like scissors, piercing through the enemy general's ribs and wings.

Despite seemingly having the upper hand, she felt no joy whatsoever. Instead, when she saw the barely perceptible sneer on the enemy general's lips, an ominous premonition arose in her heart: "General Bai's movements are truly graceful."

Invisible to the naked eye, she could clearly feel an invisible, withered hand caressing her cheek, raising countless fine goosebumps, and she could even feel someone breathing against her ear. The cold air penetrated her skin, clinging to her soul like maggots to her bones.

"You're asking for it!"

Anger overwhelmingly prevailed over disgust.

The enemy general's body exploded before her eyes like a thick fog, transforming into thousands of bats the size of a palm. These tiny bats each had scarlet eyes and sharp claws. Sometimes they swarmed together like a net covering the sky, and sometimes they dispersed like a mirage, impossible to grasp.

Bai Su hooked her toes onto the orca's flipper and soared into the air.

The twin swords drew intersecting crescent arcs in the air, their light converging into a surging beam that forcefully swept away the relentless swarm of bats. The Martial Spirit Totem beneath its feet took a distinct deep breath, devouring the surrounding clouds with predatory greed, before opening its mouth and unleashing a dense stream of water. Though called water columns, each one was actually a flat, blade-like object, each a full ten zhang long.

The seemingly harmless water blades easily tore open the inescapable net formed by the bats, causing countless small bat corpses to fall from the sky, turning into dense fog only to be sucked back in, where they would transform into new small bats, continuously filling the net: "Poisonous?"

These bats have poisonous claws and teeth.

Bai Su was clad in full armor, and the small bats couldn't penetrate her defenses at all. At most, they could only scrape sparks and leave barely perceptible marks on the armor plates with their claws. However, the orca beneath her feet was less fortunate. Its massive size meant that only its vital areas were covered with metal plates for ease of movement, leaving its defenses somewhat inadequate. It soon suffered a loss.

It doesn't hurt when bats scratch your skin, but it itches and feels a little cool.

Bai Su almost laughed out of anger when she caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye.

"Your brain is getting less and less sharp the more you cultivate. This isn't an itch at all!" Perhaps stimulated by Luo Sha's Martial Courage Totem, Bai Su's Martial Courage Totem didn't like to come out for a while. When it resonated with her during cultivation, it was restless. She spent a lot of effort to understand what it was trying to express. It didn't want speed or power. It wanted to make itself bigger, preferably bigger than Luo Sha!

His body has grown bigger, but his brain doesn't seem to have grown with it.

The orca's belly and areas inaccessible to its flippers were scratched by small bats, the wounds sizzling and oozing a corrosive black mist. This toxin also inhibited the orca's self-healing ability; the recovery speed was far slower than the rate of corrosion and expansion. And yet, it only complained of itching?

"If you're itchy, put on your armor!"

It seems that all martial arts totems have these problems.

Upon hearing this, the orca let out a disgruntled cry and smashed a bunch of bats with its flippers in protest! In action, however, it obediently cooperated, with pieces of metallic scales emerging from under its body, growing and covering the tail, back, head, and flippers as the center.

In just a few breaths, the armor was completely closed.

The little bats' attacks are no longer effective.

Bai Su's heart skipped a beat. Her figure vanished from the spot, and the orca beneath her feet, in perfect harmony with its master, unleashed a continuous water blade from its mouth. The water blade spun 180 degrees with its body, tearing a circular opening in the inescapable net. Countless small bats were ripped to pieces, and just as they were about to heal and reform, Bai Su pierced one of them with her sword: "Got you—"

The scales on the orca's back stand up one by one.

They converged into a torrent, all rushing towards Bai Su's right hand.

boom--

Below, Wu Xian seemed to sense something and looked up at the sky.

The lieutenant also noticed that the thick clouds in the sky spread rapidly in all directions from the center, as if something had taken a huge bite out of them. Wu Xian narrowed his eyes slightly; although it was only for a moment, he clearly sensed something flashing past in the sky. It seemed to be a barrier! It was this barrier that isolated the movement above.

The lieutenant looked at his master with some uncertainty.

"My lord, wasn't that just now—"

Are people fighting in the sky?

At this point, only General Bai could fight against others.

The lieutenant asked quietly, "Should we provide support?"

While verbally asking if they needed help, they actually had no intention of intervening. One reason was that intervening would only cause trouble, and another was that Wu Xian and Bai Su had no vested interests. Providing timely assistance was their duty, and if they caused trouble, they would be held accountable.

Wu Xian asked, "Who among us can go up and fight?"

The deputy general was rendered speechless by his question.

Indeed, there aren't suitable personnel for air combat support right now, unless Bai Su actively lures the enemy down. The lieutenant scratched his head through his helmet, only to touch the red tassel: "Then, we just ignore it?"

He spoke very softly.

If Bai Su's people hear this, we're doomed.

Wu Xian slapped him on the back of the head and said irritably, "Stop with your scheming, you still haven't figured it out?"

In chaotic times of war, it's common for subordinates to be divided—those with a modicum of sense will restrain themselves and not openly sabotage others, but those who are not so clear-headed will often deliberately delay on the battlefield. The deputy general is clearly still using the old methods.

Wu Xian suppressed his nausea and said something.

"We need to work together, understand?"

Lieutenant General: "..."

How come he didn't realize that the Duke had this plan?

Wu Xian said irritably, "Go, set up the formation to summon thunderclouds!"

If our side can't get up there to fight in the air, then we'll shoot them down!

"Yes, sir!"

The lieutenant hurriedly accepted the order and went to carry it out.

The orca opened its massive maw and spat out Bai Su, its scales retracting in mid-air to cover its body once more. The bat formation that had formed a net-like barrier had vanished, replaced by an enemy general with half a bat wing blown off. Bai Su released her twin swords, their blades flashing like shuttles, aimed directly at the enemy general. Driven by her will, the swords instantly unleashed countless sword beams. The orca, not to be outdone, roared with a deafening cry, its body coalescing into a giant black and white sphere, hurtling towards the enemy general like a meteor.

"A mere trifling skill—" The enemy general spread his wings, creating a whirlwind that instantly coalesced into two hundred-foot-long shields. Just as the shields closed in the middle, the giant orca sphere arrived. The collision sent another invisible shockwave through the air. The orca appeared calm on the surface, but in reality, it was screaming in pain within Bai Su's mind.

"Stop acting!"

Bai Su forcibly twisted her body in mid-air.

With his left hand, he grasped at the air, and a narrow sword appeared; his right hand similarly grasped another sword. The instant the two swords were in his hands, a long, snow-white chain silently emerged between their hilts. This chain was strangely shaped, using the void as its walls, crisscrossing upwards and downwards.

"This is what you call a net that can trap you from heaven and earth."

With a thunderous roar, the thunderclouds that had been brewing for so long finally found an outlet.

Using a long chain as a carrier, the lightning is drawn upwards.

The lightning illuminated most of her face.

The orca approached, chuckling and flapping its flippers as it swam around the chain-like ball, which stretched for dozens of meters. A hint of schadenfreude flickered in its eyes. Below, Wu Xian saw the lightning disappearing into the thunderclouds and shouted, "Hasn't anyone eaten?"

Morale shouldn't be this low, right?

The enemy general attempted to transform into a bat to escape the lightning cage.

The wings were blasted back by the massive electric current the moment they touched the long chain.

Through the blinding flashes of electricity, the enemy general could vaguely see Bai Su's cold, icy face outside the cage. She was spreading her fingers, and as her hand slowly closed, the chain ball contracted inward. The enemy general said, "So what if you can kill me?"

"No matter what, you will die."

The enemy general was speechless at her flat and monotone response.

Driven by his survival instinct, he used his martial energy to form a barrier against the lightning while trying to negotiate with Bai Su: "General Bai, why don't you let me go and spare my life? In return, I can tell you everything you want to know. What do you say?"

Bai Su has always looked down on such spineless cowards who are afraid of death.

But he said aloud, "Oh, you'll tell the truth?"

"Those are all external possessions, but life is one's own." It's normal to exchange someone else's information for one's own life.

"Where are your main forces?" Bai Su raised her hand to stop the giggling orca from getting too close. When the Martial Gallant Totem was being affectionate, it didn't care about its size and liked to knock people away. "And what's with this mountain under your feet?"

The enemy general's shriveled eyes darted around, like wooden beads embedded in their sockets, each movement stiff and unnatural, making him look unnatural. He said menacingly, "You're quite the talker, General Bai, but could you release the prisoners first?"

Both news reports have been published, so his life is now worthless.

Are you haggling?

The enemy general laughed and said, "After all, it has its value."

Bai Su remained silent, her gaze sending chills down the enemy general's spine, a sense of inexplicable danger rising from his back. Without hesitation, he unleashed martial energy from his dantian, enveloping his entire body, as if to forcefully break free of the lightning prison. In a flash of lightning, his pupils reflected the Martial Gallant Totem beside Bai Su, its body melting and stretching, transforming into pure martial energy that gathered and stretched into a black and white longbow in her palm.

The bowstring stretched to a full moon as she unfolded it with her fingertips.

The scales covering the body of the Warrior Totem converge to form arrows.

An arrow is released from the bow.

Lightning crackled around the arrowhead as it shot through the air.

"You're crazy—"

The enemy general's voice was completely swallowed up by the sharp, piercing cries of lightning.

The arrow, a flash of white light, pierced the chain ball, leaving an arm's length gash in the enemy general's body. Bai Su looked at his suddenly widened eyes and said calmly, "You have no value and no right to bargain with me. Either live a wretched life or die a heroic death."

The enemy general's expression was ferocious as he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but Bai Su didn't give him the chance. She coldly lowered her eyes and watched as the enemy general's head exploded into a bloody flower in her palm. She carried the mangled body and descended rapidly. When she could see Wu Xian below, she flicked her wrist and threw the corpse down.

The corpse was smashed into a bloody pulp at Wu Xian's feet.

He said, half-jokingly, "You scared me."

Bai Su landed smoothly without stirring up a speck of dust: "Have the military doctor examine the body and see when he died."

Wu Xian asked in bewilderment, "Wasn't he just killed?"

A fresh, warm corpse, absolutely preserved.

"If it's fresh, why would I bother?" As she spoke, Bai Su suddenly frowned, removed her arm guard, and revealed streaks of dark marks on her wheat-colored skin, with dark smoke rising from the wounds.

Wu Xian asked, "Poisoned?"

They hurriedly summoned the military doctor.

Bai Su stared at the wound for a while, then circulated her martial energy to force the black energy to her palm. She used a dagger to cut an opening and let the blood flow: "Let the army doctor examine the body first. This little bit of corpse poison won't hurt."

She was immediately proven wrong as soon as she finished speaking.

What was forced out was not only black blood, but also wriggling black worms.

"It doesn't look like ordinary corpse poison, but more like a Gu..." To be on the safe side, Wu Xian still had the military doctor examine Bai Su, as a kind of waiver of liability. Seeing that Bai Su's palms had returned to their normal wheat color, Wu Xian then revealed his previous discovery, "General Bai was fighting fiercely in the sky. I don't know if it was because one of the scouts who entered the mountain just now suddenly went mad. The military doctor suspects that he was poisoned by a Gu."

Bai Su: "A sneaky fellow."

Shortly after, the military doctor returned from examining the body.

The body was indeed not fresh; it had been dead for at least half a month.

"Besides that, there is one more thing to report."

"explain."

"This person appears to be one of the scouts who went missing earlier."

＿|￣|●

I'll adjust my mindset and catch up on the missing updates tomorrow.

P.S.: Real-life issues really affect my state of mind. Sometimes I want to kneel down and beg them to stop causing trouble. I can't stand any trivial things that might affect my work.

P.S.: In just a few days, my friend showed me another version of the book's opening. Sometimes I even want to beg her to stop this cutthroat competition; I'm being driven crazy by her, boohoo.

P.S.: I heard that the predicted box office for Nezha is 143 (scratch that, I just saw it's 160, is this insane?)... I'll write all my future entertainment novels at this pace (it feels like a plot that even AI wouldn't dare to imagine).

(End of this chapter)