But the chaos didn't end there. Under Ji Wuye's piercing crimson gaze , each of the 'fake' Outer Disciples suddenly hurling the items from their sleeves to the ground in a frenzied clatter.
A strange purple smoke began to wisp upwards from all sides, quickly enveloping the entire Lower Level in an ominous miasma.
Under the harsh glaring of the midday sun's rays, the billowing smoke rising from the scattered round pills rapidly spread and thickened with each passing breath. The noxious fumes grew steadily more opaque until only indistinct shadows could be perceived through the dense, choking fog blanketing the area.
"Poison! Everyone, cover your noses and mouths!" the gruff voice of the Inner Disciple echoed with urgency across the now hazy Lower Level. His warning came too late however, as hysteria had already taken hold.
Disciples coughed and stumbled blindly, their rasping breaths and desperate retching drowned out by the escalating commotion of clashing weapons throwing the entire scene into utter chaos and disarray.
...
Meanwhile, Ji Wuye remained utterly unperturbed, still regally seated upon his long wooden chair surveying the pandemonium with a look of faint amusement playing across his expression.
‘How amusing…’ he thought, the faintest whisper of a sardonic chuckle escaped his lips as he calmly put down the now empty ceramic cup. His crimson eyes began to glow with an ethereal light as he focused his concentration inward.
At that moment, a shimmering transparent screen flashed into existence before him.
image [https://i.ibb.co.com/n6FQDZv/Notif-1.webp]
With the Quick Adaptation skill's activation, the thick blanket of deadly purple poison dissipated from Ji Wuye's vision, revealing the desperate Outer Disciples hacking and wheezing on the ground.
He could see the traitorous infiltrators locked in fierce combat against the Official Disciples, parrying blows while others attempted to cut a path towards the Sect entrance in hopes of escape.
But Ji Wuye was already a step ahead. His body became cloaked in a faint azure aura of Qi. With blinding speed, his fingers curled like a drawn bowstring as he grasped a humble chopstick, poising it as one would a lethal arrow.
SWOOSH!
In a blur of motion too quick for the eye to follow, the chopstick flew straight and true - faster even than a full archer's loosened shaft. It struck with pinpoint accuracy, piercing clean through the calf of one of the fleeing traitors in a streak of crimson.
"ARRRRGGGHHH!!" The agonized scream tore through the turmoil as the impaled man crumpled gracelessly to the unyielding marble floor, a trail of blood following in the chopstick's wake.
The shrill cry instantly drew the attention of the nearest Official Disciples who swiftly converged to subdue the downed foe before refocusing on guarding the sect entrance.
"They're trying to flee! Focus efforts on securing the entrance!" One of the Official Disciples barked out the order, his voice muffled as he pressed a hastily torn strip of fabric from his sweat-stained white martial robe across his mouth and nose as a makeshift filter against the thickening poisonous fumes.
SWOOSH!
"AHHH, YOU BASTARD!" Another anguished cry rent the air as another chopstick, thrown with uncanny precision, found its mark - burying itself deep into the back of a traitor's thigh as he attempted to escape towards the gurgling creek.
His panicked plan had been to potentially make a desperate leap from the waterfall's precipice.
A faint smile played about his lips as he savored the scene of the struggling fake disciples being systematically subdued by the Official Disciples through precise strikes to their Dantian pressure points - temporarily disabling their ability to manipulate internal Qi or unleash any skills acquired from the Tower's trials.
'There are still more remnants to deal with...' Ji Wuye's crimson eyes glanced calmly towards the small pile of over a dozen chopsticks lying within easy reach. He seemed utterly unperturbed by the noxious purple smoke steadily thickening the air as he calmly inhaled it.
"Junior?!" The panicked voice of Lian Rougang suddenly cut through the melee, her normally melodic tone cracking with urgency as her delicate brows knitted together in a look of abject horror.
Her eyes went wide, shimmering with the faintest sheen of unshed tears as she watched Ji Wuye casually breathing in the toxic fumes enveloping them all. Her heart pounded in her chest as fear gripped her.
"What are you doing? Stop breathing that poison in!" She implored, blinking rapidly as her gaze sharpened with determination.
It was none other than his Senior Sister Lian Rougang, staring at him with profound worry etched across her lovely features - especially jarring since the normally stoic Ji Wuye hadn't even flinched from his serene position amid the pandemonium swirling around them both.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
CLANK!
The harsh sound of jians clashing in furious combat suddenly rang out like a clarion call as one of the fake Outer Disciple launched a brazen attack against Ji Wuye's group.
The powerful overhead blow was deftly blocked by Qiu Xia, her jaw clenched as she deflected the strike with her own sword gripped in a steady one-handed guard. With her other hand, she reflexively pulled the pristine white hem of her robe across her mouth and nose to filter the poisonous air.
"Pathetic," Qiu Xia sneered derisively at the exposed fake Outer Disciple clad in the sect's white Kunlun martial robes. Her eyes narrowed with a mixture of disdain and pity as she appraised her would-be attacker. "Did you really think such a cheap disguise could fool any of us here for even a moment?"
The failed infiltrator's face contorted with impotent rage at being so dismissively mocked, reddening further below his ill-fitting mask. "You arrogant bi—"
"Bitch?" Qiu Xia's rich alto cut him off with a mocking tone dripping with sarcastic amusement. "How original. Let me guess, you were going to follow that up by threatening to teach me some sort of pathetic lesson, right?"
"I'll do more than threaten," the impostor snarled viciously, abruptly lunging forward with his jian gripped in a two-handed grip. "I'll carve that smug, arrogant look right off your pretty face!"
The razor-sharp jian blade hissed through the air, gleaming with deadly intent. But Qiu Xia displayed incredible grace under pressure, sidestepping the vicious slash with a fluidity that bordered on dance-like.
Her eyes remained calm and unflinchingly focused, while the torn hem of her white martial robe swirled hypnotically amid the thickening purple smoke mirroring her controlled movements.
"My, my. Such unbridled aggression," she chided with an almost bored tone, seemingly unimpressed by the violent display. "Did your mother not hug you enough as a child? Is that why you lash out this way?"
The failed infiltrator's face flushed an even deeper crimson, suffused with apoplectic fury at her taunting words. The veins bulged grotesquely along his corded neck and temples.
"Shut your mouth, you arrogant Kunlun whore!" he spat with venom. Qi began rippling around his body like disturbed water as he gathered his energy, coiling to strike again.
But then, an odd expression of complete befuddlement crept across his features just as he prepared to launch his next attack. "What...what's happening?"
Instead of staring defiantly into Qiu Xia's eyes as expected, his vision abruptly shifted. All he could perceive was the sky above shrouded in the thick, toxic purple smoke - wholly disorienting him.
"How...?" The confused mumble escaped his lips as his mind struggled to comprehend how he had somehow ended up gazing skyward when moments earlier he had been glaring directly at his foe.
As the realization dawned, searing pain suddenly exploded from his chin, rapidly spreading down his neck.
"UGH!" His eyes rolled back in his head from the force of the unexpected blow just as -
SLASH!
A crimson spray of arterial blood burst forth, rapidly staining the white of the counterfeit Outer Disciple's aqua-striped martial robe. Qiu Xia's jian had lashed out with blinding speed, inflicting a vicious slash from his exposed shoulder down across his chest.
"Thank you for the guidance," Qiu Xia remarked coldly, her voice devoid of any warmth as she efficiently wiped the fresh blood from her blade with a practiced flick.
She cast a dispassionate glance down at the grievously wounded impostor, his chest heaving against the deep gash as he fought for each ragged breath. He yet lived, though Qiu Xia had clearly held back from delivering a killing blow.
Her elegant features remained utterly impassive as she swiftly turned her focus elsewhere, spotting Lian Rougang rushing towards the unmoving Ji Wuye with panic etched across her delicate features.
Lian Rougang's slender hands trembled as she hurriedly tore another strip of cloth from her own pristine white robe. "Here, quickly!" she implored, pressing the makeshift filter against Ji Wuye's nose and mouth in a desperate bid to protect him from the toxic fumes.
"We need to get out of here now! Can you stand?" Her eyes glistened with unshed tears of worry as she bent down, trying to coax Ji Wuye up from the wooden chair he seemed wholly unconcerned about abandoning. "The Central Courtyard should be safe from this poison cloud!"
Suddenly, Ji Wuye's hands reached out, gently enveloping Lian Rougang's trembling fingers with a reassuring warmth that seemed to spread through her very palms like a calming balm.
"Relax, Senior Sister," he spoke in that same maddeningly composed tone that somehow only served to further ignite her rising frustration. He then firmly but gently pushed her hands away from his face, as well as the strip of cloth she had been using to cover her own nose and mouth.
"Relax? How can you tell me to relax when—" The words tumbled out in an agitated rush as her voice rose with exasperation, but Ji Wuye smoothly cut her off.
"Try to breathe normally. The poison no longer affects your body," he stated with that same faint, enigmatic smile playing about his lips as he raised two fingers in response to her obvious skepticism. "Remember when I helped unblock your meridian blockage before?"
"When you...?" Lian Rougang's eyes suddenly went wide with dawning realization as the pieces fell into place. Tentatively, she inhaled a deep breath, and to her amazement the burning, suffocating sensation caused by the toxic purple miasma had utterly vanished.
"You too, Senior Sisters and Big Sister Qiu," Ji Wuye addressed the group while ignoring Lian Rougang's lingering shock. His calm gaze swept over the flustered Shen Bi, as well as Qiu Xia and Ding Xiuying who were both eyeing him with undisguised suspicion.
"This is hardly the time for jokes, Junior Brother. People are dying out there, and you're—" Ding Xiuying started to protest, her brow furrowing into a deep frown as her eyes narrowed at him, but Qiu Xia's actions caused her words to falter.
To everyone's surprise, the normally unflappable Qiu Xia casually dropped the cloth she had been using to filter the poisonous air and flashed Ji Wuye an acknowledging smirk.
"It's not a joke," she stated, her rich voice tinged with wonder. Slowly, she lowered the cloth fully from her face and deeply inhaled the hazy purple air.
A look of profound realization spread across her elegant features as the smirk blossomed into a full smile, meeting Ji Wuye's knowing gaze. "Incredible. I can breathe freely, as if this were just fresh mountain air."
Shen Bi's eyes went wide with disbelief at Qiu Xia's casual dismissal of the deadly miasma. Tentatively, with trembling fingers, she too lowered the cloth covering her face and took a cautious experimental breath.
"I-it's true!" The petite woman exclaimed, her excitement causing her stutter to intensify as joy and relief washed over her expression. Impulsively, she grasped Ji Wuye's hands and shook them vigorously. "H-how did you m-manage this, Junior? It's like a d-divine blessing!"
"As expected of my capable Junior Brother," Qiu Xia added, her tone a mixture of undisguised pride and amusement as she watched the scene unfold. She glanced sideways at Ding Xiuying, who remained rigid and unconvinced - stubbornly clutching her makeshift filter cloth over her nose and mouth.
"Come now, Senior Sister Ding. Surely you don't think we're all imagining being able to breathe this deadly air so easily?" A hint of playful challenge colored Qiu Xia's voice as she arched one finely sculpted eyebrow inquiringly.
"It's a secret," Ji Wuye replied with an infuriatingly calm smile.
…
On the other hand, Song Jia observed the entire scene unfolding before her with a potent mixture of skepticism and barely concealed irritation etched across her delicate features. Her full lips curled into a silent sneer of derision.
'What an utterly transparent farce,' her inner voice sneered with disdain. 'Does he really expect me to believe he somehow came up with an instant miraculous solution to neutralize this deadly toxin in the blink of an eye? A schemer like Brother Ji - always calculating, always plotting multiple moves ahead... No, this reeks of careful premeditation and planning.'
And yet, despite her cynical suspicions, Song Jia had noticed something quite odd from the very beginning when the noxious purple smoke first began billowing out. She herself hadn't been affected by it at all - breathing the toxic miasma with complete ease this entire time.
'I knew it. He must have engineered and set the stage for this whole situation from the very start!'
The realization caused her frown to deepen as she narrowed her piercing gaze, mentally retracing Ji Wuye's actions in an attempt to unravel how he had seemingly pulled off such an improbable feat - especially since she had been scrutinizing his every move, only witnessing him loosing a handful of seemingly innocuous chopsticks.
It was at that very moment when Song Jia's probing eyes locked with Ji Wuye's crimson orbs. His gaze snapped to meet hers with an almost preternatural sense of timing, as if he could detect the probing tendrils of her suspicion.
"What?!" She stammered in surprise, instinctively recoiling a step backwards as if physically struck. Her heart raced traitorously as Ji Wuye, the consummate man of two faces - never sincere, always scheming - fixed her with that inscrutable stare.
"It's your time to shine," he intoned cryptically, raising an index finger and mimicking the swirling motion of a gathering typhoon with his other hand. His lips moved almost imperceptibly, forming silent words that hung pregnant in the hazy air.
But...