Mu Hanyan, of course, didn’t insist on seeking help from Star Illusion Thousand Machine. In fact, she knew that to become a true powerhouse, one couldn’t always rely on external forces. It was essential to rely on oneself, and moments between life and death were actually the best trials for a swordsman.
"Don’t harbor any delusions now, Old Man Zong’s sword poison, derived from the Netherworld Poison Moth, has lived for five hundred years. Below the level of a Sword Master, let alone neutralizing it, even suppression is utterly impossible," said He Songhua, who obviously didn’t know what was happening to Mu Hanyan but guessed she was trying to suppress the poison and spoke sarcastically. The source of thɪs content is nοvelfire.net
Hearing He Songhua’s words, Mu Hanyan had a flash of inspiration, her legs gave in, and she plummeted toward the ground.
"Surrender the Dragon Blood Stone and I can leave you a whole corpse," He Songhua said disdainfully.
"How despicable, even in death, I will never hand it over to you," Mu Hanyan proclaimed with difficulty, bracing herself with the sword. Life is like a play, all depends on acting. And Mu Hanyan’s acting was becoming more and more masterful!
"Finish him off," Qu Shanhai said impatiently. He had thought the matter as sure as catching snails with three fingers, yet it nearly slipped away again. If it weren’t for Zong Dingfang being so despicable and shameless, this brat might have escaped, and seeing Mu Hanyan still refusing to submit despite the severe poison, Qu Shanhai’s irritation grew.
"Brat, since you’re begging for misery, don’t blame me for being ruthless," He Songhua took a step forward and stabbed at Mu Hanyan with his sword.
From the recent strike’s injury to Zong Dingfang, He Songhua had no difficulty seeing Mu Hanyan’s Ninth Rank Swordsman’s strength. Although his age made such strength astonishing and the bizarre sword techniques impressive, it was still much weaker compared to his action at Longyan Mountain.
He didn’t doubt that Mu Hanyan was hiding his strength – to do so at a life-or-death juncture would be nearly insane. The only explanation was that last time he temporarily boosted his power with some Mysterious Techniques. Such methods were not uncommon; some valuable elixirs could achieve this, albeit with some harm to the body.
Anyway, he was convinced that Mu Hanyan’s true strength was that of a Ninth Rank Swordsman. Such strength, coupled with the severe poisoning, was even less noteworthy.
He Songhua was also afraid that he might accidentally kill Mu Hanyan, so he held back even in this strike.
However, he could never have anticipated that just as his sword was about to strike Mu Hanyan, a frigid frost resembling scattered snowflakes of sword shadows burst forth. The ethereal killing intent within those frosty shadows, although from a Ninth Rank Swordsman, was not inferior to a Tenth Rank Great Swordsman. And a strange sword star was hidden amongst the snow.
"Not good!" In an instant, He Songhua was scared out of his wits.
Stronger and quicker to react than Zong Dingfang, he didn’t ponder how Mu Hanyan, poisoned as he was, could unleash such a strike, nor did he wonder why the strength of someone who was a mere Ninth Rank Swordsman could unleash a sword strike comparable to a Tenth Rank Great Swordsman. He retreated hastily, driven by instinct.
Unfortunately, against an adversary lying in wait, no matter how fast He Songhua was, he couldn’t outpace the primed Mu Hanyan.
Blood splattered. The hand that held the sword was severed at the shoulder, and myriad flecks of frost and snow left numerous bloody marks across his body.
He Songhua screamed as he was thrown forcefully away, trailing a bizarre mist of blood.
"No, it can’t be!" He Songhua looked towards Mu Hanyan in disbelief, struggled a couple of times, spat out a mouthful of blood, and followed in Zong Dingfang’s footsteps, fainting away.
"Brat, you dare to bluff!" The moment the frost and snow appeared, Qu Shanhai knew something was terribly wrong, but it was too late to warn He Songhua. Before He Songhua hit the ground, Qu Shanhai roared in anger and swung his sword at Mu Hanyan.