Chapter 191: Poison Palm Defeats the Encirclement, Sweeping Away the Decaying

Before the sky had even brightened, the city gates of Fucheng had just opened a crack to meet the morning light...

Zhou You ducked his head and exited the city gate, walked half a circle around the city wall, then chose a direction and strode away rapidly.

He was dressed in tight-fitting martial attire, his face as calm as water, and before long, Fucheng had been left far behind.

Footprints and wheel tracks on the road grew sparse, encroached upon by dirt, stones, and wild grass, and the sound of insects in the surroundings was clearly audible.

"Brother Lu, what a coincidence, you're taking this road too!"

Suddenly, a person stepped into view from the roadside, greeting Zhou You enthusiastically; it was the martial artist with the surname Ji whom he had met at the Doujichang.

He put on an act of having bumped into him by chance, though in this desolate wilderness, it really lacked any persuasiveness.

"It is a coincidence!"

Without another word, Zhou You raised his hand and struck; the Poison Palm surged out like a coiling viper, faster and more ruthless than a sharp arrow shot from a powerful bow.

The martial artist surnamed Ji's smile froze!

Even with ulterior motives in his heart, he had not expected 'Lu Zhigang' to be so ruthless as to turn hostile and unleash a Poison Palm just from a greeting.

After all, he was a Qi and Blood warrior and his reaction was not slow; he leaped into the air on the spot and sprayed a large cloud of black sand from his two sleeves.

It was crushed charcoal powder, which had strong adsorption properties and was generally used to eliminate toxic gases in the air.

As expected, he had been prepared!

The Palm Poison passed through the barrier of the fine black sand and became mostly sparse; by the time it blew to his face, there was very little left.

"Haha!"

The martial artist surnamed Ji gave two dry laughs, "Your Poison Palm cannot do anything to..."

The next moment, his complexion turned a greenish-gray, and his tongue fell to the ground with a plop.

Zhou You retracted the Poison Palm and cursed him for a fool.

The Poison Palm was formless and intangible, capable of penetrating even the microscopic pores within the structure of the charcoal powder; how could such amateurish methods withstand it? After killing the martial artist surnamed Ji with one palm, footsteps sounded all around.

Hua Zhuomo and several companions sprang out from their ambush spots, looking at the corpse on the ground with a mix of shock and rage.

Zhou You's speed in striking was too fast; they had been unable to provide support to the martial artist surnamed Ji before losing one of their companions.

"Be careful, his Poison Palm is formidable, the baleful energy is pervasive."

If Hua Zhuomo hadn't been driven mad by poverty, he would never have dared to rashly deal with an enemy who practiced the Poison Palm.

Now that it had come to this, he realized he had still underestimated Lu Zhigang.

The opponent was not just at the early stage of Qi and Blood, but had firmly stepped into the middle stage of Qi and Blood, likely at the 4th or 5th stage.

Moreover, the Palm Poison was unpredictable, and many of the methods they had prepared in advance were ineffective.

However...

Hua Zhuomo gave a whistle, and his companions coordinated tacitly, spreading out in all directions around Zhou You.

"Lu Zhigang, you killed my junior brother; today I have come to collect the debt."

As Hua Zhuomo spoke, he darted forward 20 meters, his Lightness Skill peerless and exceptional.

Only then did Zhou You realize that this guy was from the same sect as the Flower-Plucking Thief, with identical Lightness Skill techniques.

The difference was that the Hua Zhuomo before him was far stronger than the Flower-Plucking Thief, at the 6th stage of Qi and Blood, with stronger Lightness Skill and fist techniques.

In a blur, Hua Zhuomo struck over a dozen blows at him in one breath, the air-strikes feeling like bone-scraping, sharp as a blade.

On Zhou You's left and right flanks, there were still Qi and Blood warriors restraining and threatening him, launching attacks whenever they saw an opening.

For a moment, he was actually caught in a heavy encirclement, suffering an assault from 6 Qi and Blood warriors.

The leader, Hua Zhuomo, was even a standout of the middle stage of Qi and Blood, relying on his formidable Lightness Skill to entangle him.

It seemed the opponent had been well-prepared, with Detoxification Pills in their mouths to block the toxic gas from invading their breath.

Pop, pop, pop! Zhou You moved as fast as the wind, his hands striking out like lightning with a sky full of Poison Palms, enveloping the enemies attacking from all sides.

Yet the Palm Poison was held back by the enemies' joint efforts, unable to disperse from his side! "Hahaha, stupid, right? We were prepared long ago; your toxic gas is ineffective."

Hua Zhuomo laughed triumphantly, suddenly clasping his hands together and cutting straight into Zhou You's collarbone. This was his ultimate move, the Broken Bone Hand.

Zhou You raised his palms to press against him; as long as there was skin contact, he could blast the Palm Poison into the opponent's body.

"You've fallen for it!"

Hua Zhuomo's palms suddenly switched into grasping claws, seizing Zhou You's wrists like iron locks.

Looking closely, his fingertips shimmered with a faint light; he was actually wearing a layer of dense, transparent leather gloves.

He isolated the Palm Poison and firmly locked Zhou You's hands, shouting, "Do it!"

Zhou You felt a chill on his back; a person had appeared silently behind him, holding a sharp dagger and stabbing it into his back.

The Level 5 General Unloading Armor technique only blocked it for a moment before the dagger pierced into his body.

"This dagger is a Qi and Blood divine weapon, tempered for 7 years by a master at the late stage of Qi and Blood, specifically designed to break soft armor and Hard Qigong."

The dagger inserted into his back was not aimed at his heart, but was cutting inward along his spine, intending to sever his back tendons.

These guys wanted to capture him alive.

"Basic Lightness Skill Lv4, Injury for Speed!"

Just when Hua Zhuomo and his accomplices thought Zhou You was a bird in a cage...

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle; Hua Zhuomo felt excruciating pain in his fingertips as the corrosive property of the Poison Palm burned through his gloves and dissolved the flesh on his hands.

The claws were instantly forced open...

Zhou You's figure suddenly flickered twice, moving even faster than the dagger's cutting speed, leaving behind a few drops of fresh blood.

The ambusher holding the dagger hadn't even reacted before his vision blurred and his target was gone.

The next moment, a sharp sword cleaved down from above his head, breaking out from his crotch without any obstruction.

Splat! Hot blood mixed with internal organs spilled all over the ground, and the corpse, split in two, fell to the ground with one half pitching forward and the other backward.

Zhou You held the precious sword and shook it a few times to flick off the filthy blood.

The wound on his back was deep, deep enough to insert two knuckles, but under the terrifying healing speed of the Zhou Family Fist, the bleeding had already stopped, and the flesh deeper inside was growing rapidly in a place beyond the reach of sight.

The opponent had spent a fortune; that dagger could even ambush a Martial Master, so it was definitely a treasure.

"Hurry, attack!"

Seeing that the sneak attack had failed, Hua Zhuomo urged his companions to continue the siege.

Zhou You transformed into a blur, flashing behind a certain Blood-Qi Warrior, his Poison Palm spitting out baleful energy that turned into thousands of threads, drilling inside along the pores.

No matter how well-prepared they were, they could not seal off the countless pores on their bodies.

The poison energy drilled into the skin, directly dissolving the opponent until blood flowed from his seven orifices, and he died after vomiting up large chunks of blackened internal organs.

Zhou You was injured, and his low-health state triggered Injury for Speed, bringing his Basic Lightness Skill close to level 5.

This speed had already touched the threshold of a Martial Master; dealing with a bunch of Blood-Qi warriors like them was simply bullying the weak.

A Detoxification Pill could protect the mouth and nose, but could it defend every inch of skin on the body? A spiritual pill that was truly immune to the Hundred Poisons was worth hundreds of thousands or even millions; if this rabble had the money to buy one, would they still need to come here to rob him? *Pa! * Zhou You pinned a Blood-Qi warrior with his sword, locking him in place like a kebab, and then struck his back with a Seven Step Poison Sand palm.

When the corpse hit the ground, even its eyeballs had been dissolved, leaving only hollow, black eye sockets.

Looking around, of the people who had participated in the siege, only Hua Zhuomo and one other companion remained.

"Brother Hua, ah!"

The last remaining Blood-Qi warrior screamed, his black and white pupils replaced by an eerie golden color.

His aura instantly became deathly still; he was clearly a walking corpse controlled by someone else.

Hua Zhuomo cupped his hands toward him and said sincerely, "Please, brother, die in my stead."

It turned out that, quietly and without a sound, he had already taken control of this companion to unleash a secret move to turn the tables.

(End of chapter)