Shi Qinglu was too intimidated to try any further tricks. She gave Jiang Chen the real antidote and all her orbs.

Jiang Chen inspected them and hefted with his hands. “My apologies, Miss Shi,” he pronounced with a smile. “I need you to come with me to make sure the antidote works.”

Shi Qinglu had never suffered such a terrible defeat before. All of her plans and trickery had come to nothing before Jiang Chen. The enormous setback made her lose all confidence.

The fact that Shi Qinglu was Jiang Chen’s captive shocked and terrified the contestants from Flora. Qin You and his posse, defeated by Jiang Chen twice, were especially nervous.

Fortunately, Jiang Chen didn’t give them a hard time.

Lu Mingye, who had considered Jiang Chen a target, looked at the young genius from afar. He didn’t dare draw any closer. After all, he wasn’t any stronger than Shi Qinglu. In fact, he was a weaker fighter than her, all things considered.

Seeing her end up Jiang Chen’s captive, Lu Mingye couldn’t muster the courage to challenge the Eternal genius again.

Jiang Chen quickly went back to Wu You and gave him the cure. Wu You came to in no time at all, and was both thrilled and ashamed when he saw Jiang Chen.

At the corner of his eye, he spotted Shi Qinglu with quite some bafflement.

The turn of events between captor and captive was rather embarrassing. She huffed at Wu You’s questioning glance. “And what are you looking at?”

Wu You was still confused. “What’s going on, senior brother Jiang Chen?”

Jiang Chen smiled. “Miss Shi has kindly offered to come with me and cure your poison.”

He sounded perfectly earnest, but Wu You had his doubts. He knew what kind of a person the Poison Consort was.

She was a fiend with endless insidious tricks up her sleeves. Her heart was as venomous as a scorpion’s. Why would she have so nicely offered to cure him?

Besides, this wasn’t where he remembered being.

Wu You didn’t show any other complications once cured. After careful inspection to make sure his teammate was alright, Jiang Chen smiled at Shi Qinglu. “Farewell, Miss Shi. Perhaps one day we’ll meet each other again.”

There were no mortal enemies in the ten sacred lands. Although Flora and Eternal had an antagonistic relationship, the two factions weren’t aiming to destroy each other. 

Moreover, the ten sacred lands would have to work together against the offworld invaders. Under the circumstances, even though Jiang Chen had defeated Shi Qinglu, there was no need for him to back her into a corner and make an enemy out of her.

His magnanimity gave her pause. She opened her mouth to say something, but Jiang Chen was already walking away with Wu You in tow.

Shi Qinglu was momentarily distracted. She stomped her foot and called out, “Hey!”

Jiang Chen chuckled and said without turning around, “If you want to know why I wasn’t affected by your poison formations, Miss Shi, I’ll tell you the next time we meet.”

Shi Qinglu paused. She did indeed want to know that. Jiang Chen had read her like a book. She couldn’t help the curiosity growing in her heart.

She hadn’t been defeated so thoroughly by a young genius ever since she began cultivating.

What had happened today had upended her world and destroyed her confidence. It was a learning experience that would benefit her in the long run. She’d lost, but she wasn’t as angry or depressed as she’d expected.

That bastard may seem fierce, but he knows when to draw the line.

 Shi Qinglu wasn’t blind to Jiang Chen’s restraint. She sighed to herself. 

I could do a lot worse if I was to lose to someone. There must be something about him that makes him invincible to my poisons. I wouldn’t have lost so easily otherwise!

Her gaze snapped to the fringe of the forest. Qin You and his companions stuck their heads out to peek at her, timid and afraid.

“Get the hell over here,” Shi Qinglu called out impatiently.

They obediently did as she said. “Senior sister.”

Shi Qinglue threw them a glance. “Don’t provoke Jiang Chen again in the future.”

Qin You and the others didn’t object. They ducked their heads meekly. It was more than obvious that Jiang Chen wasn’t someone they could offend. Even senior sister Shi Qinglu had been defeated. Taunting Jiang Chen would be outright courting trouble.

A sarcastic voice sounded from the fringes of the forest. “Qinglu, you’re knocking Flora down by putting others on a pedestal.”

It was Lu Mingye. He walked out with elegant steps like the perfect gentleman.

Shi Qinglu side-eyed him. “Jiang Chen isn’t too far out, Lu Mingye. You can easily catch up with him! Don’t tell me you didn’t see him leave. If you’re so brave, why didn’t you attack him then? Do you think I’m blind? Weren’t you hiding in the woods just now, too afraid to show yourself? Do you think Jiang Chen didn’t see you?”

Lu Mingye’s posturing was infuriating. Shi Qinglu had indeed lost to Jiang Chen, but Lu Mingye was in no place to judge her.

His face went white.

“Hmph, you can talk all you want, but you embarrassed our sacred land,” mocked Lu Mingye.

The others didn’t dare say anything as the two top geniuses clashed. They silently retreated from the woods, keeping their distance from the brewing storm.

Surprisingly, Shi Qinglu didn’t fly into a rage. A strange smile tugged at her lips as her gaze settled on Lu Mingye.

He flashed a haughty smile. “Have I said something wrong?”

“No.” Shi Qinglu’s bizarre smile deepened. “But you’ve done something wrong.”

Lu Mingye’s frowned ever more ferociously. “What is it?”

“You shouldn’t have set foot into my territory. Since you’re here, I’ll take what I’ve lost from you!” Shi Qinglu’s smile grew beguiling.

Lu Mingye tensed. It finally dawned on him that she was going to rob him of his orbs. He whipped his head all around and only then realized that he really had entered her territory.

Damn it!

His form flickered as he tried to leave, but before he could react, long strands of silk of all colors closed in on him from all directions.

The Rainbow Silk Formation!

It might not be good enough to trap Jiang Chen, but it was more than enough to take Lu Mingye down.

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