Chapter 259: Forcing the Demon General to Shed Her Skin Again

Guihua twisted her waist and sighed affectedly, saying, "It's just that with Fucang Elder and me wasting time here, I wonder what the situation is like for those people in Fufeng County now?"

Upon hearing this, Lingxiang frowned: "What do you mean?"

"I mean exactly what I said." Guihua flicked her hair and raised her eyebrows at the soldiers nearby with a seductive expression.

"So that's it. You went to such great lengths to set this up, deliberately scattering us, and now you're wasting time here with us—it's a delaying tactic." Lingxiang's eyes shifted, and she immediately understood.

Guihua was stunned to hear this, not expecting this Small Elder to be so sharp, but she quickly recovered her composure, shrugged, and acted indifferent: "If that's what you really think, then so be it."

If I let you see through my schemes so easily, how would I ever survive!

Perhaps because she was anxious, or perhaps because Guihua masked it well, Lingxiang did not notice that momentary pause from Guihua. She turned her head to exchange a glance with Xinyi, but the latter only shook his head.

Lingxiang understood immediately; it seemed that capturing Guihua today would not be so easy.

But on second thought, Guihua was, after all, a fierce general under the Demon Lord with a hundred years of cultivation. Even if she were severely injured, she was not someone the few of them could easily handle.

After all, a starving camel is still bigger than a horse, isn't it?

Moreover, looking at Guihua's calm and unhurried demeanor, it was clear she did not take the trap she had painstakingly laid seriously.

She must have a way to escape!

With Senior Brother Chengxin in Fufeng County, there was no need to worry, but Guihua had provoked them time and again and even injured Maidong. If she didn't avenge this, she wouldn't be Lingxiang!

Even if she couldn't take her down, she would make her shed another layer of skin!

A cold glint flashed in Lingxiang's eyes, and she gave a cunning smile: "Since the General provoked me to act earlier, and since you are so sincerely begging me, then I shall reluctantly let you witness this young lady's skills!"

Guihua looked full of disdain: "It was already difficult enough for you to set such a trap with your cultivation. With the little Spirit Power you have left, do you think I'm afraid of you?" As she spoke, she grabbed her Demon Blade and charged toward Lingxiang.

Seeing this, Xinyi and Liu Xia hurriedly moved to block her, but they heard Lingxiang shout:

"Stand back!"

Lingxiang unhurriedly took a sachet from her bosom—the very one she had produced earlier when she exposed Guihua for impersonating Chen Sheng.

Guihua felt the sachet looked familiar but couldn't recall when she had seen it. However, her speed toward Lingxiang slowed down—having suffered at Lingxiang's hands multiple times, she was naturally wary now that she saw something was amiss.

Yet it was too late.

Lingxiang calmly tossed the sachet out, then pinched her fingers to form a seal. The brocade threads on the sachet flashed with spiritual light; they were actually embroidered with a Curse Seal!

The brocade threads of the sachet continuously unraveled. Once detached from the sachet, they slithered through the air like a golden Snake, surrounding the charging Guihua in the blink of an eye.

Seeing this, Guihua gave a contemptuous smile: "Just with this embroidery thread?" But just as she was about to use her blade to sever the threads wrapping around her, the sachet suddenly exploded. A burst of dust flew and erupted, then began to swirl along with the threads.

As the dust dispersed around Guihua, she felt a pungent spiciness in her nose, as if it were burning, and her body felt a wave of discomfort—not exactly painful, but incredibly unbearable.

As for how unbearable it was, it felt as if she were being pricked by thousands of needles, or like a scab forming over a sore, itching intensely.

In a panic, Guihua hurriedly slashed at the threads with her blade, but the threads were not severed; instead, they shimmered with silver light and coiled around her Demon Blade.

The extreme discomfort in her body made Guihua roar: "Little demoness! What have you done to me!"

Lingxiang raised her eyebrows triumphantly: "Admittedly, my cultivation is low and my Spirit Power is limited, but as an Elder of a sect, I naturally have some methods. Did you think I spent all those years in Chenjian relying only on those meager skills from the outside world?"

Ridiculous. Thinking of her Yuanqing Sect's nine disciples, which one of them didn't have some signature techniques? To dare to look down on her—she truly didn't know what was good for her!

"Listen well, this young lady is someone who settles every grudge. We are total strangers, yet you have repeatedly picked fights. Now that you have offended me, even if I cannot subdue you, don't think you'll be leaving my hands in one piece!"

No sooner had Lingxiang finished speaking than Guihua felt the itching on her body intensify. That feeling seemed to go beyond the skin and deep into her marrow, like thousands of lice breaking from their cocoons, hungry and bloodthirsty. No matter how she scratched, it was of no use.

Guihua became increasingly frantic, her body covered in shocking bloodstains. Yet, for some reason, the places she scratched raw felt like they were being seared by fire, aching dully, but if she didn't scratch, the itch would be unbearable.

The more she scratched, the more it hurt; the more it hurt, the itchier it became; the itchier it became, the more she scratched—on and on it went...

"Little... little demoness! If you ever fall into my hands, I will twist your throat off!" Guihua shrieked.

"Hmph! That is truly something to..." Lingxiang's face turned cold: "look forward to!" As she spoke, she looked at Liu Xia.

Liu Xia understood immediately; he raised his sword, pinched a finger seal, and transformed the blade into vines, intending to bind Guihua.

But at this moment, Guihua gritted her teeth and let out a long howl. The bluestone tiles beneath her feet shattered instantly, the ground sank, and an invisible force burst forth, knocking the surrounding soldiers to the ground.

As the soldiers fell, the Seal Mark was disrupted, and the dome that had been connected like chains instantly suffered a Collapse.

The Dharma Array was broken!

Air currents continuously buffeted the surroundings. The soldiers could only dodge the flying debris and had no time to stand up, let alone reorganize the Dharma Array.

"Everyone, just protect yourselves, don't worry about the Dharma Array!" Lingxiang shouted amidst the chaos while performing the Bolan Buqing Jue.

As if hearing Lingxiang's shout, the chaos gradually subsided, but Guihua, who was at the center of this turmoil, looked extremely bizarre.

Guihua was covered in yellow and white, and the skin on her face was half-peeled and half-attached, her expression fierce and truly terrifying to behold.

Ha! She really had shed another layer of skin!

Lingxiang smiled and made a sarcastic remark: "Shedding skin twice in a row—even for the most poisonous of insects, that is truly a rare sight!"

But Guihua only furrowed her brows tightly and did not answer. It wasn't that she didn't want to, but she was still in such agonizing pain and itch that she had no time for a war of words.

"Just you wait!"

Having left this parting shot, Guihua transformed into a mass of black mist and drifted over the courtyard wall.

Xinyi hurriedly wanted to pursue, but Lingxiang spoke up to stop him.

"Do not pursue a desperate foe. That was medicine powder I carefully refined; it will make her suffer for a while. The small house in Fufeng County is likely under siege now, so we had better hurry there."

Medicine powder? What medicine powder?

Banxia naturally admired Lingxiang, but she was also very curious about what kind of powder could force Guihua to such a state.

It turned out to be the concoction Lingxiang and Xinyi had been tinkering with in the Liu family kitchen: Nettle, Japanese Hop, and Centipeda minima, soaked in the juice of Viola yedoensis, then placed in a Pill Furnace and dried and crushed using the Itch Formula. It was a recipe Lingxiang had come up with when she was young, but she hadn't expected it to have such miraculous effects.

"It's just..." Looking at the ruined house behind her, Lingxiang said apologetically: "Destroying the Inspector's Mansion is my fault."

But just then, a hearty laugh came from behind the door: "What is this little immortal saying? This is an act of eliminating demons and defending the Dao; what does it matter if a few houses are destroyed?"