Chapter 3: Heart-Eroding Snake Gu

Lost in her muddled thoughts, Bai Xiaoxiao naturally didn’t notice the interest in Shen Zhiyue’s eyes. If she had, she would have known the woman was deliberately provoking her.

But right now, all her attention was focused on the possibility that Shen Zhiyue might have noticed something wrong with her. She had no mind for anything else.

“System, what’s the attitude in this Cultivation World toward people who use Possession?”

“Host, Possession is not tolerated by the Heavenly Dao. The Heavenly Dao heavily restricts it. Moreover, those who use Possession are either Heretical Cultivators, or Devils and Demons. If discovered, there’s only one outcome.”

Bai Xiaoxiao understood. In other words, if anyone discovered she was a Possession, her only path was death.

She had to admit, she was indeed a little hesitant right now.

Doing missions really wasn’t her thing. Maybe letting Shen Zhiyue discover she was a Possession and ending it with a single sword stroke would be better?

At that thought, Bai Xiaoxiao’s nervousness vanished, and her whole body relaxed.

If I can live, I live. If I can’t, dying is fine too.

She gave up completely.

Yet the sword stroke she had imagined never came down. Bai Xiaoxiao couldn’t help looking up at Shen Zhiyue.

The other’s expression was as usual, but a hint of surprise seemed to flash in her eyes.

Bai Xiaoxiao was baffled. After a moment’s hesitation, she simply lay back down and tightened her coil around the wrist a little more.

Forget it. Not understanding Shen Zhiyue’s thoughts was perfectly normal.

And indeed, Shen Zhiyue was very surprised. She had imagined countless reactions from this little snake, but the last thing she expected was for it to simply give up and go limp.

If it were truly a Heretical Cultivator or a Devil or Demon using Possession, they would never choose to be so lazy and unmotivated.

Shen Zhiyue thoughtfully withdrew her gaze and didn’t continue that topic. Then she looked up and swung her sword.

After a sky full of frost and snow, silence fell all around, leaving only ice sculptures of the Demonic Beasts in place.

Bai Xiaoxiao was stunned. Through her daze, she thought: the Cultivation World… truly lives up to its reputation.

But the day was destined to be restless. Though the beast pack had turned into lifelike ice sculptures, the silence carried an ominous premonition, as if something else was lurking in the fog, watching them from the shadows.

As Bai Xiaoxiao was still in a daze, she saw Shen Zhiyue turn her gaze toward a certain direction.

“Has Your Excellency delivered a visiting card before coming to the Sword Sect as a guest?”

The moment the words fell, Shen Zhiyue’s attack followed immediately.

Bai Xiaoxiao only heard a muffled grunt, and then the surroundings fell silent again.

Just as she thought everything was over, the fog around them suddenly changed, as if something was stirring within it, making the once-calm mist roll wildly.

Shen Zhiyue’s eyes sharpened as she struck out swiftly, attacking the enemy hidden in the fog.

This attack was completely different from the one against Bai Xiaoxiao earlier—no mercy was held back. Yet it hit nothing. At the same time, a figure slowly emerged from the mist.

Bai Xiaoxiao stared blankly at the newcomer, confusion filling her mind.

The newcomer wore a drab gray set of clothing, utterly ordinary from head to toe. But anyone who could appear here was certainly far from ordinary.

Before she could think further, Shen Zhiyue’s aura suddenly changed. Murderous intent surged, and without a single word, she attacked directly.

The two fought at blinding speed. Bai Xiaoxiao’s vision was hampered, and her cultivation was too low to follow their movements at all. She could only instinctively cling tightly to Shen Zhiyue.

When big shots fight, small fry suffer.

Bai Xiaoxiao was dizzy, unable to adapt to the rapid pace. One moment she felt like she was being flung around on a crazed roller coaster, the next like a piece of clothing spinning in a washing machine.

“World spinning” had never felt so literal.

With her senses blurred, Bai Xiaoxiao completely failed to notice the subtle change in the fog around them.

“Host, you’ve been poisoned with Gu Poison. However, the effect of this Gu Poison is not fatal—you can understand it as an Aphrodisiac Poison.”

The System’s voice suddenly rang out. Bai Xiaoxiao felt as if a thunderclap had exploded in her brain, yanking her out of the chaos.

She couldn’t believe it. “What? Aphrodisiac Poison?”

The System gave an affirmative answer.

Bai Xiaoxiao’s mind churned again. She felt this plot was extremely wrong.

“You said the original plot could be used as a reference, but you didn’t say the differences would be this big!”

And this kind of setting… For a moment, she thought she had transmigrated into one of those naughty novels from that other fruity website.

It really was suited for writing something spicy.

But if she remembered correctly, the novel she had transmigrated into should have been from that well-known literature site, right? Even if such a setting existed there, they would have been all tied up writing it.

The Mouth-Mouth Literature City was true to its name, after all.

This time, the System didn’t play dead. It added: “It’s not just you. Shen Zhiyue has also been poisoned.”

Bai Xiaoxiao: “?”

Probably feeling that Bai Xiaoxiao wasn’t shocked enough, the System added again: “This Gu Poison is called the Heart-Eroding Snake Gu. Heart-Eroding Snakes are inherently lustful, and once refined into a Gu, it becomes even more vicious. Once infected, it’s hard to suppress. The only release is to let it out.”

Now this was truly wrong in every way.

Bai Xiaoxiao’s eyes were dull. She had no energy left to complain.

What she hadn’t expected was how fast this Gu Poison acted—it was already showing effects at this moment.

Heat surged up from within her. Bai Xiaoxiao had already been flung dizzy, and now with the Gu Poison, she was even more lost to the heavens and earth.

“Host can use spiritual power to resist a little, but…”

Bai Xiaoxiao only felt her body going weak, some unspeakable sensations constantly battering her rationality.

Even if the System said she could use spiritual power to resist, she had only just arrived in this world today. She had no idea how to use spiritual power.

And even if she could, it would probably be futile.

Bai Xiaoxiao caught the System’s implication and truly had no way to deal with this situation.

She strained to look at Shen Zhiyue. The woman seemed unaffected, her fight with the gray-clad oddity exactly the same as before, no trace of anything wrong visible.

But the very fact that the other had been poisoned was itself the biggest red flag. Could that oddity be stronger than Shen Zhiyue?

Unfortunately, she couldn’t understand the battle, so she couldn’t know the truth.

Compared to Shen Zhiyue, Bai Xiaoxiao felt she should worry about herself. The Gu Poison didn’t care whether she lived or died. In just a few breaths, scalding heat swept through her entire body, washing away what little rationality she had left.

She didn’t know how long passed before the surroundings suddenly quieted. Bai Xiaoxiao realized that Shen Zhiyue and the gray-clad oddity seemed to have stopped fighting.

The two floated facing each other—an apparent truce. But the atmosphere remained tense.

Bai Xiaoxiao forced her eyes open and happened to hear the oddity’s voice.

“As expected of the Sword Venerable Mingyue. Your swordsmanship is truly exquisite. Unfortunately, no matter how exquisite the swordsmanship, it can’t stop my Gu poison. Hehe. Surely the Sword Venerable has already felt it—how does it feel to be poisoned?”

Hearing this, Bai Xiaoxiao’s scales bristled. It was hard to imagine a voice so rough and hoarse, like nails dragging across a blackboard, unbearably grating.

But those weren’t the key point. The key was the Gu Poison—it really was this person who had planted it.

But when exactly had she done it? She had been fighting Shen Zhiyue the entire time. Could she still spare the attention to plant a Gu?

After thinking it over, Bai Xiaoxiao felt even more lightheaded. Still, she forced her eyes open to steal a glance at the oddity. The next second, she felt a sticky, cold gaze fixed on her.

Startled, Bai Xiaoxiao quickly looked away.

The other was so sharp. Her cultivation was probably not low either.

Seeing this, Shen Zhiyue’s expression turned a degree colder. “I wasn’t aware the Sixth Protector of the Seven Emotions Devil Palace had such nerve—daring to barge into my Shangqing Sword Sect’s Forbidden Ground alone.”

The gray-clad oddity gave a strange laugh. “The Sword Venerable has good eyes, knowing a nobody like me. But the Sword Venerable said one thing wrong. I’m usually not very bold, and naturally I wouldn’t dare challenge the Sword Venerable’s might alone. So—”

Shen Zhiyue’s eyes turned cold, understanding instantly.

Damn it, the central barrier!

A person from the Seven Emotions Devil Palace breaking into Void Ruins Valley was surprising enough. Shen Zhiyue hadn’t expected them to be so brazen as to come for the central barrier.

Whether they wanted the Yin-Yang Life-Renewing Lamp or to release the Devil Beast made no difference to her.

If the central barrier was broken and the Devil Beast escaped, there was bound to be another storm of bloodshed.

Shen Zhiyue’s fingertips twisted lightly, and a message transmission flew out.

“Is the Sword Venerable sending a message? I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. Since we’ve come in, of course we came prepared. You’d best stay here and circulate your power to suppress the Gu poison. Otherwise… hehe… If time weren’t pressing, I’d love to see what charming looks the Sword Venerable makes when the Gu poison flares.”

No sooner had the oddity finished speaking than she leaped backward, vanishing into the fog.

Shen Zhiyue transformed into a beam of Spiritual Light and chased after her.

If the message had been sent but there was no response, then something must have gone wrong.

But no matter what went wrong, the seal in Void Ruins Valley could not be broken.

Bai Xiaoxiao experienced the washing machine effect once again, and could only cling dizzily to Shen Zhiyue.

The oddity’s goal was the central barrier, so Shen Zhiyue naturally couldn’t let her succeed.

But Bai Xiaoxiao could feel that the skin beneath her was beginning to radiate faint heat. That meant Shen Zhiyue wasn’t completely unaffected—the Gu Poison had already begun to flare.

Yet the woman showed not a moment’s hesitation. Her sword strokes were fierce, and the aura erupting from her grew even stronger.

In her daze, Bai Xiaoxiao seemed to hear the oddity let out a scream, followed by curses from somewhere unknown.

Were they cursing at Shen Zhiyue?

Bai Xiaoxiao strained to listen, but only caught fragments. The oddity and her accomplice seemed to be arguing.

In fact, no one could stay emotionally stable when faced with such a situation.

They had thought the Gu Poison would limit Shen Zhiyue’s movements. But looking at her current state, she seemed completely unaffected—in fact, her momentum was even stronger.

The oddity stared at the expressionless woman, suspicion and fear warring in her heart.

Could Shen Zhiyue have deliberately revealed a weakness, and never actually been poisoned? Or was she using a Secret Art? If it was a Secret Art, she could stall for time…

The oddity’s thoughts spun a thousand times, but the next second, feeling a fierce killing intent, her hair stood on end.

If she didn’t run, she might very well die here. An unprecedented sense of crisis surged madly.

The oddity suddenly vomited a mouthful of blood, but didn’t bother wiping it away, gazing with dread at the woman who seemed like a god of slaughter come to the world. A moment later, she turned and fled.

But Shen Zhiyue’s charged sword stroke was already unleashed. The accomplice, a step too slow, was sliced in two by the sword light. Hearing the scream, the oddity didn’t dare look back, fleeing madly. Yet fast as she was, the sword light still caught her, gravely wounding her in an instant.

Gritting her teeth, the oddity didn’t dare delay. With a flip of her palm, a Gu Insect appeared and rapidly transformed into her likeness, emitting the same aura as her. She shut her eyes, and in place, transformed into a Gu Insect herself, fleeing at full speed.

As expected, the Gu Insect in her form was struck to ash by the pursuing Sword Qi.

Having lost a Life-Replacing Gu, the oddity’s heart bled, but she didn’t dare stop for even a moment, terrified that the murderous god behind her would catch up. All she wanted now was to escape.

She had truly overestimated herself this time…

Only after the earth-shattering commotion gradually faded did deathly silence fall over the surroundings.

It took Bai Xiaoxiao a long moment to realize that the battle should be completely over.

But before she could sigh in relief, she sensed that something was wrong with Shen Zhiyue.

Bai Xiaoxiao struggled to look up, only to see Shen Zhiyue’s face rapidly turning ashen, her terrifying aura suddenly dissipating—as if she had become an ordinary person.

“Forcibly using a Secret Art to boost her cultivation—she’s suffering backlash. Her cultivation is temporarily sealed.”

Bai Xiaoxiao was at a loss. “Then what do we do?”

“The urgent matter is the Gu Poison, Host.”

Bai Xiaoxiao’s blank expression suddenly tensed.

Shen Zhiyue had lost her cultivation, meaning the Gu Poison could no longer be suppressed. So she was now…

Scalding heat came through their touching skin. Shen Zhiyue’s ashen face was suddenly tinged with an abnormal flush.

Without suppression, the Gu Poison was completely liberated, surging wantonly through her body.

With a cold expression, Shen Zhiyue used her last shred of rationality to enter a cave.

It should have been an utterly pitiable scene, but on Shen Zhiyue, it was breathtakingly beautiful.

Bai Xiaoxiao stared at her blankly, unaware of when she herself had turned back into human form, nor that she was currently naked, pressed close against Shen Zhiyue.

A pleasant scent drifted into her nose. Bai Xiaoxiao sniffed hard, drawing closer and closer to Shen Zhiyue.

“So fragrant—”