The Treachery of Poison: Yang Fan's Counterattack
In the depths of the obsidian tomb, a chill permeated the air, heavy and damp, with an icy breath that pierced to the bone, accompanied by the eerie wails of restless spirits. The nauseating stench of decaying flesh lingered in this ancient sepulcher, sealed for a millennium.
At this moment, in such a morbid stillness, only three human cultivators remained, alongside a slumbering headless demon corpse that lay in a deep, precarious sleep, ready to awaken at any moment.
Within the dark crimson hall, the rotund Ghost Dao and Hu Fei struggled to their feet, their gazes filled with hostility as they stood in a standoff, wary of making even the slightest movement.
After a prolonged silence, the two began to cautiously shift their positions, ever mindful of the dormant headless demon.
No reaction.
The headless demon seemed ensnared in an eternal slumber.
With a sigh of relief, the two relaxed their breath ever so slightly, daring to extend their senses.
For reasons unknown, an eerie force saturated the hall; even Hu Fei, a cultivator of the Meditation stage, found his consciousness barely able to extend beyond his body. The rotund Ghost Dao, a foundation-building cultivator, was similarly hindered, limited by some unseen restriction, his perception extending only a couple of yards.
Of course, their severely injured states also contributed to this limitation.
"I... I'll go first..." Hu Fei shot a fierce glare at the rotund Ghost Dao and slowly began to make his way toward the hall's exit. "Hmph."
The rotund Ghost Dao cast a cold glance at him but refrained from stopping him, perhaps out of respect for the terrifying headless demon.
Watching Hu Fei exit the hall, the rotund Ghost Dao's gaze drifted toward a stone coffin not far away.
The coffin had been partially cleaved open, revealing a faint, flickering glow within, though it was still too distant and obscured to discern clearly; his senses couldn't reach that far.
Hesitation gripped the rotund Ghost Dao as he stood in place, uncertain whether to approach.
Just then, a commotion erupted outside, the sounds of battle punctuated by the roar of thunder and the shrieks of vengeful spirits.
It turned out that Hu Fei had encountered the vengeful spirits on his way.
Soon after, the anguished cries of the spirits echoed back. Clearly, Hu Fei had mastered the power of lightning and wielded a fire-based spiritual weapon; once unleashed, his thunderous flames would greatly counter these ghostly creatures and zombies.
"It appears this fellow has regained some of his combat strength. I must act swiftly; my dispatched green hawk has already been annihilated... If those from the Rain Mist Manor arrive, we'll be in dire straits..."
With a resolute bite of his lip, the rotund Ghost Dao moved toward the depths of the hall, drawn irresistibly toward the shimmering glow of the stone coffin, like an oasis in the desert.
Ten yards... nine yards... eight yards... inching closer, he tread with the utmost caution, fearful of hidden traps or the potential awakening of that terrifying headless demon.
As time passed, he traversed five or six yards without encountering any abnormalities, and he was almost at the coffin.
At this juncture, the rotund Ghost Dao hesitated once more, contemplating whether to summon another zombie to pave the way. The previous foundation-building zombie lay shattered near the coffin, a loss that pained him greatly.
Just then, the sound of footsteps echoed from outside the hall.
"Why are you back?"
The rotund Ghost Dao's eyes lit up as he gazed at Hu Fei, who had just re-entered.
"The... the entrance to the tomb... has been... blocked," Hu Fei replied glumly.
The materials within the ancient tomb were extraordinarily resilient; after the entrance collapsed, given his current state, it would take him at least three days to break through.
Hearing this, the rotund Ghost Dao's expression darkened, his spirits plummeting.
When the headless demon had entered, it had caused a thunderous crash, and the rotund Ghost Dao had a lingering suspicion about the entrance's collapse.
"We should check it out together; perhaps there are survivors in the outer layers of the tomb."
The rotund Ghost Dao spoke with a calm demeanor.
The two stepped outside the hall.
At the entrance, the rotund Ghost Dao bit down hard and, summoning his last remaining zombie, comparable in strength to a foundation-building one, unleashed its power. The zombie's eye sockets flickered with a faint red flame.
In the previous battle, he had lost all the zombies he had cultivated; the weakest among them had reached the peak of Qi Refinement, consuming much of his effort and devotion.
At this moment, despair washed over him.
Upon reaching the outer layer of the tomb, the rotund Ghost Dao expanded his senses and quickly located Yang Fan's presence.
At this time, Yang Fan's breath had nearly ceased, his aura flickering dangerously low.
"Is he... is he dying?"
Hu Fei exclaimed, rushing forward to dig through the earth, revealing Yang Fan's icy form.
"He... he's on the brink of death," Hu Fei stammered, his voice trembling.
The rotund Ghost Dao also scrutinized Yang Fan, extending his senses.
Indeed, he teetered on the edge of death, one foot already poised to cross the threshold into the afterlife.
In a fleeting moment, Yang Fan's life force evaporated entirely; his skin grew cold, his breathing ceased, and his heart no longer beat.
"Dead?"
The rotund Ghost Dao raised an eyebrow.
With a flourish of his hands, a deep growl erupted from him, and his aura surged dramatically, exuding a palpable intent to engage in battle.
"If you seek death, don't blame me for being merciless; I shall refine you into a 'blood corpse'!"
The rotund Ghost Dao chanted a spell, and the foundation-building zombie lunged toward Hu Fei.
Hu Fei, undeterred, summoned arcs of lightning in his hand, wielding his fire attribute sword, and struck the advancing zombie.
In an instant, thunder and fire clashed, generating an unparalleled force.
Yet, the chasm of disparity in their cultivation levels proved insurmountable.
Clang!
Sparks flew as the foundation-building zombie emerged unscathed, while Hu Fei was sent flying, crashing into the wall and spitting out blood, looking battered and breathless.
"Die!"
The rotund Ghost Dao continued his incantation, preparing to command the zombie to eliminate Hu Fei.
But at that very moment, the rotund Ghost Dao's body suddenly convulsed, collapsing to the ground, writhing in agony.
"Ah!"
His shrieks echoed through the hall, his eyes ablaze with crimson fury, trembling uncontrollably, his skin darkening and oozing a stream of black blood.
It was not just him; Hu Fei, too, found himself shuddering, his skin darkening as if afflicted by a lethal poison.
"You... you..."
Through his cries, the rotund Ghost Dao cast a glance at the figure rising slowly from nearby.
It was neither a zombie nor a ghost, but Yang Fan.
Resurrected, Yang Fan.
Heaving, Yang Fan coughed violently, expelling a mouthful of congealed blood before he gradually regained composure, feeling somewhat relieved.
At that moment, Hu Fei ceased trembling, though he appeared utterly drained.
"Ah!"
The rotund Ghost Dao's face twisted in agony, trembling violently as he summoned his magical energy to resist the toxin coursing through him, all the while glaring at Yang Fan with malevolence: "You... you..."
"Ah, you've been cautious; do you remember that 'auxiliary pill'...?" Yang Fan's lips curled into a slight smirk as he silently gathered his magical power, striving to mend his lighter wounds while waiting for the opportune moment to strike.
"That 'auxiliary pill' is highly toxic; when taken with my unique antidote, it indeed enhances immunity to poison. However, if I use another colorless, odorless poison, it will trigger a violent clash between the two pills within your body, resulting in exponentially greater toxicity..."
As he spoke, Yang Fan revealed his palm, exposing a crushed white pill, hollowed out and subtly emanating an elusive aura, cleverly concealed by the cadaverous stench in the tomb.
"You little brat... I've underestimated you..."
The rotund Ghost Dao's trembling subsided slightly, though the look of pain never left his face.
Yang Fan sighed inwardly; after all, the opponent was a formidable foundation-building cultivator. Despite his meticulously crafted scheme to implant poison within him and ignite its most dreadful force, it would be a challenge to kill the rotund Ghost Dao outright.
"Kid... my 'Xuan Yin Demon Seed Technique' has been thwarted due to your presence..."
A flicker of sinister light shot from the rotund Ghost Dao's eyes as a powerful spiritual pressure erupted from him, spreading over several yards and imposing its weight upon Yang Fan and Hu Fei, leaving them pale and breathless.
In an instant, he surged from the peak of the Meditation stage to the Foundation Building stage, doubling his strength. With his newfound power, he momentarily suppressed the toxins and his injuries but at the cost of expending a significant portion of his magical energy.
"Why aren't you making a move?!"
Yang Fan bellowed, channeling his magical energy, springing into action as
he ripped off the tattered shirt from his back, skillfully infusing it with magical energy before throwing it toward the rotund Ghost Dao, retreating rapidly at the same time.
In unison, Hu Fei sprang to his feet, channeling an immense surge of violet lightning into his blazing red spiritual weapon.
The rotund Ghost Dao snickered derisively, flicking his fingers, a gray light flashing as he shattered the shirt.
Boom!
Suddenly, a tremendous explosion erupted from the torn shirt, unleashing a torrent of lightning, flames, and icy shards that engulfed the rotund Ghost Dao.
Meanwhile, Yang Fan had anticipated this and dove to the ground, rolling away to a safe distance.
The shirt had concealed dozens of formidable first-level talismans; the chain reaction of their detonation unleashed a terrifying force.
"Ah!"
The rotund Ghost Dao screamed, engulfed by the blinding explosion, his face disfigured and bloodied.
"Xing Ri!!!"
In that moment, rage and fear fused within the rotund Ghost Dao, his entire being trembling violently as he almost lost control.
Once again, he had fallen into this brat's trap!
---
This translation preserves the original's essence while enhancing the literary quality and vocabulary for a more immersive reading experience.