The Violent Qi Pill’s medicinal power was frantically burning through his Essence Blood. The longer this dragged on, the worse it would be for him!

Jiang Bohong suppressed his shock and braced himself, taking a heavy Sweeping Thousand Troops blow from Chen Qing’s spear shaft. A sharp, cracking pain shot through his left shoulder!

But he had successfully closed the distance to less than three feet from Chen Qing!

His right palm, as black as ink and brimming with all his True Qi, ignored the spear tip stabbing toward his ribs and struck viciously at Chen Qing’s face!

This was a true life-and-death gamble!

Now was the moment!

A cold glint flashed in Chen Qing’s eyes!

The five streams of True Qi within him began to cycle frantically at an unprecedented speed. With his powerful Cyan Wood True Qi as the foundation, all of his energy erupted.

The body of the spear seemed to instantly become as heavy as Qian Jun, yet it also felt as if it had been compressed to its absolute limit.

A terrifying Momentum capable of crushing mountains erupted from it!

Facing Jiang Bohong’s full-powered Poison Palm, Chen Qing surprisingly didn’t dodge or evade!

He took a sharp half-step forward with his left foot, sinking into a horse stance. He pushed his Eight Extremes Vajra Body to the peak of the Golden Body Realm, and a faint, tangible golden light shimmered across his skin!

"BAM!"

Jiang Bohong’s Withered Bone Rotting Heart Palm struck squarely against Chen Qing’s chest!

A ferocious, immense force erupted!

"SHLICK—!"

The soft sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh was heart-shatteringly clear in the dead silence of the hollow.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

Jiang Bohong’s forward-charging figure abruptly froze.

He looked down at his chest in disbelief.

The Cloud-Coiling Spear was buried to its shaft, its cold tip protruding from his back!

"GURGLE~!"

He glared at Chen Qing, who was mere inches away, his eyes filled with bitter resentment.

He wanted to raise his hand, but he no longer had the strength to even move a finger.

Expressionless, Chen Qing flicked his wrist and yanked the Cloud-Coiling Spear back.

SQUELCH!

The light in Jiang Bohong’s eyes instantly dimmed and faded completely.

His body swayed, and he fell backward, stiff as a board. With a loud SPLAT, he crashed into the foul-smelling mud, sending up a small spray of filthy water.

Chen Qing stared impassively at Jiang Bohong’s corpse on the ground.

"The abyss has a bottom, but the human heart is unfathomable..."

He repeated in a low voice, "...but I am, indeed, very lucky."

Chen Qing had never truly trusted Jiang Bohong.

When they first met, Jiang Bohong had mentioned that several of his old friends had died by accident in the swamp, yet his expression held not a trace of grief. He had been far too calm.

Chen Qing had been suspicious even then, thinking that the deaths of those old friends might not have been an accident.

Furthermore, his nickname, "Ghost’s Bane," was telling. After all, a name can be a mistake, but a nickname never is.

That was why the moment he boarded the boat, Chen Qing had secretly taken one of the Antitoxic Pills he carried with him.

Not only that, but his Cyan Wood True Qi had been constantly maintained as an invisible film, silently clinging to the surface of his body and filtering the air he breathed.

He had dared to follow Jiang Bohong here because he had, of course, made his own preparations long ago.

With his current strength, plus his protective Top-Grade Treasure Armor, it was difficult for any opponent below the Astral Force Realm to pose a real threat to him.

Even if all four of them had ganged up on him, escaping wouldn’t have been difficult, even if he couldn’t win.

Immediately after, Chen Qing moved quickly between the several corpses.

Jiang Bohong, Zhao Tieying, Yue Mountain, Du Kui, and their accomplice... he quickly looted every one of them, taking their coin purses, valuable personal items, and Weapon fragments.

The Yueshan Whip, Zhao Tieying’s Wind-Splitting Saber, a bulging leather pouch found on Du Kui... he sorted all the spoils of war and stuffed them into his pack.

The few stalks of Treasure Medicine on the bank, emitting an alluring Spiritual Light, were the true prize.

He carefully avoided the residual venom and spiderwebs, using a specially made Jade Box to collect them, taking care to dig up their roots and the soil around them.

Among them, a stalk of Silver Pattern Blood Ginseng shimmered with a rosy glow, its precious aura overwhelming. He sealed it away separately in his highest-grade Cold Jade Box.

Just as he finished collecting the last Treasure Medicine and was about to turn and leave, the corner of his eye caught a flash of an extremely faint golden gleam near the edge of the Poison Pool!

"Hm!?"

Chen Qing’s heart skipped a beat.

The golden light was so faint that if not for his astonishing eyesight and the precise angle he was at, he would have never noticed it.

Curiosity drove him to take a step forward, wanting to get a closer look.

However, the very instant his foot moved—

"GLOOP GLOOP..."

The ink-green Poison Pool at his feet began to churn violently without warning!

The silhouette of a black shadow, far larger than the Red Blood Ghost-faced Spider, was faintly visible beneath the surface.

’Run!’

Chen Qing didn’t hesitate. Not daring to spare the Poison Pool another glance, he unleashed his True Qi. His body blurred into a faint afterimage as he fled at top speed toward the outer edge of the Ten Thousand Poison Swamp.

He pushed his speed to its absolute limit, rushing toward the outskirts by following his vague memory of the way in.

After an unknown amount of time, the mud underfoot grew shallower, and the Poisonous Miasma in the air thinned considerably.

The outline of more normal-looking woodlands was faintly visible ahead.

Chen Qing’s tense nerves relaxed slightly, but he didn’t dare slow his pace, continuing to sprint toward the edge of the swamp.

Just as he was about to burst out of the most dangerous outer region of the Ten Thousand Poison Swamp, several figures appeared not far ahead and to his side.

There were seven or eight of them, all wearing uniform crimson Martial Attire with an emblem of flames encircling a mountain embroidered on their chests—the disciple uniform of Qixia Manor.

The man in the lead was tall and straight, with a perpetual gloom hanging over his brow. It was none other than "Burning Flame" Feng Shuhao of Qixia Manor!

A sharp-eyed disciple immediately spotted Chen Qing emerging from the Poisonous Miasma and exclaimed in a low voice, "Brother Feng, look! There’s someone over there! He just came from the direction of the Ghost Wail Swamp!"

The other disciples instantly grew wary, their hands going to their Weapons as their gazes snapped in unison toward Chen Qing.