Upon spotting a treasure like the White Water Lotus, Li Kuanglan naturally wouldn’t let it slip. She immediately rushed to the riverbank and declared, “I’ll take care of it.”
For such a delicate item as the White Water Lotus, one often needed specialized techniques to ensure its medicinal properties remained intact. In this regard, no one could match Li Kuanglan’s skill.
As she ran, Li Kuanglan wove a net of blue, icy primal force between her hands. With a shake of her hands, the net enveloped the White Water Lotus, instantly sealing it in a block of profound ice. This was the Li family’s method of collecting White Water Lotuses, a technique that only those who had mastered the frigid forces of ice, like the Li Clan of Jing Tang, could fully execute.
After the initial freeze, Li Kuanglan continued, layering more and more primal force nets over the White Water Lotus. It took seven layers to finally complete the process.
She then plucked the ice-encased lotus and tossed it to Qian Ye, saying, “Take it for me.”
Qian Ye, whose storage space in Anduya’s realm was already nearly full, still recognized the value of the White Water Lotus, which even surpassed the few level-seven primal force guns in his collection. Without a second thought, he accepted the profound ice into his spatial storage.
Li Kuanglan cast another seven primal force nets, capturing the second White Water Lotus. By the time the profound ice solidified, sweat had formed on her brow, a clear sign of the toll the process had taken on her.
As she reached for the ice-encased lotus, a sudden shout rang out from the distance: “Put that down!”
Instantly, Qian Ye’s voice followed, “Watch out!”
Li Kuanglan looked up just in time to see a purple light streaking through the air, aimed directly at her forehead!
The purple light moved with incredible speed and utter silence, making it extremely insidious. Holding the ice-encased lotus, Li Kuanglan could not retaliate and could only dodge. Qian Ye, who had stepped forward, wielded his sword, Dongyue, and slashed the purple light in two.
The purple light crashed to the ground, revealing its true form: a nearly two-meter-long arrow. The arrowhead was hollow, its body a deep, purplish hue, exuding a pungent, spicy odor. Upon smelling it, Li Kuanglan felt a slight dizziness and her expression shifted. The arrow was clearly coated with a highly potent poison, a rarity even among the world’s deadliest toxins. The Li family, though renowned for their expertise in alchemy, had few poisons that could compare to this one.
If the arrow had struck, Li Kuanglan would have faced grave trouble, especially since she lacked any antidote to counteract the poison. Her face like a frost, she glared in the direction from which the arrow had come. Among her peers, aside from figures like Zhao Jundu and Qian Ye, she feared no one. Yet, nearly being injured by this purple arrow in the Great Vortex had genuinely angered her. Since entering the Great Vortex, Li Kuanglan had been constantly restrained, unable to truly unleash her prowess.
From the distant forest, a woman and two men emerged. The woman held a war bow taller than herself, clearly the source of the arrow. The two men flanked her on either side.
The trio charged forward, slowing only when they were within a hundred meters, closing in step by step.
The woman readied another arrow, aiming at Qian Ye and the others. Her eyes, filled with greed, scanned the remaining three White Water Lotuses. “In the name of our shared human race, hand over what you have and leave immediately, and I’ll spare your lives!”
Qian Ye, Li Kuanglan, and Ji Tianqing exchanged glances, puzzled by the group’s confidence. Normally, they might not recognize Ji Tianqing, and perhaps even Li Kuanglan, but failing to recognize Qian Ye was baffling. Qian Ye had gained fame through his battles, and his exploits in the Blood War and the Siege of the City of Unfallen were well-known. Any knowledgeable warrior should be aware of Qian Ye and the consequences of facing him.
General Li Fengshui, a high-ranking general, had met his end at Qian Ye’s hands.
How could these three, obviously human and able to enter the Great Vortex, be so oblivious as to not recognize Qian Ye?
As they pondered, the two men on either side of the woman fixed their eyes on Li Kuanglan and Ji Tianqing. One of them suggested, “Maybe we should keep the two women as well?”
Before he could finish, a resounding slap sent him sprawling to the ground. The woman, moving like lightning, slapped him and then returned her hand to the arrow’s tail, as if nothing had happened.
“Are you interested in those two elves?” The woman’s voice dripped with menace.
The man, now with a swollen cheek, half-grinned, “How could that be? They can’t compare to you. I was just thinking, if we capture them and sell them to King Luo’a, we might get some valuable medicines in return.”
Clearly intrigued, the woman glanced at Li Kuanglan and Ji Tianqing, then at Qian Ye. The moment her gaze met Qian Ye’s face, she couldn’t look away.
The two men’s expressions darkened, and one growled, drawing his sword and advancing, “Still haven’t put down what you just took?”
Li Kuanglan raised the ice block, sneering, “What you just took? Do you know what this is? You want to steal without knowing anything?”
The man’s face flushed with anger, “I’m taking not just this, but you too!”
Li Kuanglan’s face hardened, “I was going to spare your lives for the sake of our shared allegiance, but if you’re courting death, don’t blame me!”
The woman’s eyes narrowed, staring at Li Kuanglan, contemplating her next move.
Li Kuanglan tossed the ice block to Qian Ye, instructing, “Put it away!”
With a flick of his wrist, the ice block vanished.
The woman’s eyes widened, “A spatial equipment!”
“Yes, a spatial equipment. Want to try and take it?” Li Kuanglan beckoned.
The woman’s breathing grew heavy, signaling her men. They immediately moved to flank Li Kuanglan, while she aimed her bow at Li Kuanglan.
The two men, displaying impressive martial skills and coordination, surrounded Li Kuanglan and also positioned themselves to threaten Qian Ye and Ji Tianqing. The woman, with just a twitch of her fingers, could aim at anyone, even locking onto a target without moving.
Suddenly, the woman loosed an arrow, and a purple bolt shot towards Li Kuanglan’s forehead. As soon as she fired, the two men leaped, slashing at Qian Ye and Ji Tianqing.
Qian Ye raised his eyebrows, not even looking at the approaching blade, and with a swift upward stroke, his sword, Dongyue, cleaved through the air.
“Keep them alive!” Ji Tianqing shouted.
Startled, Qian Ye tried to pull back, but it was too late. His sword sliced through the man, cutting him in two.
Ji Tianqing sighed, appearing above the other man, and with a stomp, crushed him into the ground.
Ji Tianqing nimbly jumped off the man, who was now stuck in a pit, unable to move.
Compared to Qian Ye and Ji Tianqing’s ease, Li Kuanglan was much more cautious. She wove several layers of primal force nets, enveloping the purple arrow. The arrow pierced through three layers before finally freezing in the profound ice.
The arrow fell, but the purple gas quickly spread through the ice, causing Li Kuanglan’s expression to change. The poison was far more potent than she’d anticipated, even her icy primal force couldn’t contain it. If she were hit, without the proper antidote, she might not survive long.
The Great Vortex indeed held many dangers, whether the indigenous white fog in the high gravity zones or the lethal poison on the woman’s arrow, none were easy for ordinary warriors to handle. Even a god-general could fall to a natural enemy here.
Li Kuanglan stared at the woman, her fingertips glowing faintly with water-blue light. While the woman wasn’t particularly strong, she was very troublesome. Archers were adept at evading and dodging, and in the Great Vortex, bows were exceptionally powerful. But the most dangerous was the purple poison.
Li Kuanglan wasn’t afraid of death, but she refused to die now. Even against a foe ten times weaker, she would be cautious.
The woman hadn’t expected her arrow to fail, and for her companions to be defeated so easily. Qian Ye’s killing blow wasn’t as shocking as Ji Tianqing’s effortless victory, which truly frightened her.
She hesitated, drawing a short knife from her waist and nocking another arrow. The knife, common in the Empire, was unremarkable, but the purple tinge on the blade and her fingernails made her a walking toxin, increasing Li Kuanglan’s caution.
Qian Ye, undaunted, raised his sword and advanced. The woman, seeing this, slowly retreated towards the forest.
Ji Tianqing, unexpectedly hesitant, didn’t pursue. Seeing Qian Ye advance, she called, “Qian Ye, are you alright?”
“A little poison won’t harm me,” Qian Ye replied.
The woman, visibly nervous, watched Qian Ye closely, then turned and fled. She was incredibly fast, just a step behind Qian Ye, and soon disappeared into the forest. Qian Ye, losing sight of her, stopped, feeling an unsettling sensation from the forest.
Returning to the two women, he said, “She got away.”
“Let her go. We still have one alive,” Ji Tianqing said, pulling the man out of the ground and slamming him down. The man’s joints cracked under the impact.
The man screamed in pain, his fear and desire evident in his eyes.
“Who are you?” Ji Tianqing asked.
The man bit his lip, remaining silent.
Ji Tianqing smirked, “Not talking, huh? Fine, you have ten minutes to reconsider.”
She kicked the man, sending a surge of primal force through him, causing him to writhe in agony. But the kick not only sealed his primal force but also his throat, silencing him completely.
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