Chapter 2139: What are you doing?

This is you forcing me, Qi Xiong; don't regret it.

The angry He Mo crushed the Xiǎnyǐng zhèn pán and said fiercely.

Meanwhile, the others present had complex expressions, exchanging glances.

Now they are already surrounded by the beast herd, yet the Dao One Immortal Sect shows no intention to act, undoubtedly plunging everyone into desperation.

Inside the hall, a brief silence fell, and only after a moment did someone come to and speak.

"What should we do now?"

Hearing this, He Mo's face darkened as if water could drip from it, and he gritted his teeth.

"What's there to panic about? It's not up to them whether we act or not."

"If the soft approach won't work, we'll go hard. If you're unwilling to act, do you have a choice? Don't forget the Heart‑Devouring Powder."

"As long as he activates the poison of the Heart‑Devouring Powder, why fear that Qi Xiong and the others won't meekly surrender?"

Saying that, He Mo formed the seal sign.

As the poison unique to Wuji Xiancheng, the seal sign that activates the Heart‑Devouring Powder is known only to the city's senior powerhouses.

Moreover, it is personally taught by the current city lord; merely learning the seal sign is useless—it must be used together with the oral formula.

As he formed the seal sign, a smile appeared in He Mo's eyes, though it was icy cold.

In his view, Qi Xiong and the others should by now have felt the sensation of ten thousand ants devouring the heart.

That feeling is not something ordinary people can endure; it is extremely painful, and there is no way to alleviate it.

Under such agonizing torment, he does not believe Qi Xiong can still bear it and have the nerve to refuse himself.

After estimating the time in his mind, He Mo then took out a new Xiǎnyǐng zhèn pán and contacted Qi Xiong again.

If the time is too long, the poison may fully erupt and possibly kill Qi Xiong and the others outright from pain.

We must let Qi Xiong and the others feel the terror of the Heart‑Devouring Powder, yet not actually take their lives; the balance must be carefully controlled.

As for this, He Mo remains confident; he has experience using the Heart‑Devouring Powder.

With the Xiǎnyǐng zhèn pán linked, He Mo gave a cold smile of confidence.

"Qi Xiong, how about it? Have you decided now? The earlier taste wasn't pleasant, was it..........................."

But before he could finish, upon seeing the scene beyond the Formation Light Curtain, he suddenly felt as if someone had grabbed his throat, and his voice cut off.

Then a furious roar rang out.

"What are you doing?"

All that could be seen on the other side of the Formation Light Curtain was Qi Xiong holding a big bowl, eating his meal with his head down.

The food smelled wonderful, showing no sign of having just been tormented by the Heart‑Devouring Powder.

Not only was his mouth full of oily food, his complexion was extremely ruddy—nothing like the aftermath of the Heart‑Devouring Powder taking effect.

He Mo felt depressed; he never expected such an outcome.

That shouldn't be; the Heart‑Devouring Powder couldn't possibly fail—just now his seal sign and oral formula were fine.

At that moment, Qi Xiong inside the Formation Light Curtain raised his head, his mouth full of food, and spoke indistinctly.

"Mmm, what did you say? Mmm..........................."

"What are you doing?"

"Me? Mmm............ eating............ eating rice."

"Don't eat."

Watching Qi Xiong busy eating, unable even to speak, He Mo felt his anger rising uncontrollably.

"What time is it, and you're still eating? Why isn't my Heart‑Devouring Powder working?"

He Mo truly wanted to voice his question, but when the words reached his lips, he just couldn't get them out.

If he spoke those words, wouldn't it plainly tell Qi Xiong that I poisoned them?

So, even though his heart was full of doubt, He Mo ultimately forced himself to stay silent and not press further.

Meanwhile, facing He Mo's gritted‑teeth words, Qi Xiong replied with an annoyed expression.

"If you're fine, hurry up and flee for your life—I'm busy."

Having said that, he immediately cut off the Formation, leaving only a livid, pitch‑black He Mo standing there dazed.

Too much bullying—this Qi surnamed person is bullying too much.

Another Xiǎnyǐng zhèn pán was crushed by He Mo's grip, and as it shattered, everyone's hope seemed to break as well.

Before, we could at least console ourselves, still having the Heart‑Devouring Powder as a trump card.

But now, even the Heart‑Devouring Powder is ineffective.

Although we don't know the reason, just looking at Qi Xiong's earlier state, does the Heart‑Devouring Powder seem to have had any effect at all?

At this moment, facing He Mo on the brink of collapse, everyone present dared only to watch him silently, no one speaking.

In this situation, whoever speaks up is just rushing toward a gun barrel—seeking death.

But staying silent like this isn't a solution either; we don't know what went wrong with the Dao One Immortal Sect over there.

Now, facing the beast herd's encirclement, the only thing we can rely on is ourselves.

It's merely because of earlier arrogance and carelessness that we clearly missed a perfect chance to escape.

When the beast clan's encirclement had not yet fully formed, if we had wanted to leave then, it would certainly have been much easier.

But now the beast clan's encirclement has completely closed; trying to break out now is entirely different.

With just these few people, not mentioning casualties, the chance of success is less than fifty percent.

As a scholar, He Mo obviously realizes this as well, but what can be done?

Damn the Dao One Immortal Sect; he just can't figure out where in the plan something went wrong.

Could it be that Qi Xiong and the others saw through the Heart‑Devouring Powder? Impossible—even Immortal Emperor Realm experts can't detect it, let alone Qi Xiong and company.

As the saying goes, when the roof leaks, it rains nonstop; just now we were caught off guard by the Dao One Immortal Sect, and even the Heart-Poison Powder is useless.

The next second, a subordinate rushed in, so anxious he didn't even bother with etiquette, urgently saying to He Mo.

"Sir, the Beast Clan has launched an attack; when will the people of the Dao One Immortal Sect arrive?"

Huh???

Upon hearing this person's words, everyone in the hall's faces darkened; the Beast Clan actually launched an attack at this time— isn't that adding fuel to the fire?

As for the Dao One Immortal Sect's people, they didn't send a single person— nobody came.

He Mo's teeth ground together with a creaking sound; his plan had clearly run into a major problem, and now he had even dragged himself into it.

Clenching his teeth tightly, He Mo finally couldn't help but sigh in a cold voice.

"There are experts in the Dao One Immortal Sect— don't let me find out who it is."

Saying this, He Mo turned his gaze to the subordinate who had rushed in anxiously, his expression stern; his gaze then swept over everyone present, and as he rose to his feet he spoke in a deep voice.

"Everyone, we have now reached a matter of life and death; whether we live or die depends solely on ourselves. Charging out still offers a slim chance of survival; if we cannot break out, then everyone here— you, me, all of us— will die, with no other recourse. For now, our only plan is to fight to the death and break out of the encirclement."