The white light in the poison lake might as well have had the word “treasure” written all over it.
An abnormal white light in a lake of foul venom—not only was the style different, the scent was completely unlike the surrounding environment—made Jiang Ke’er think it might be an excellent poison-dispelling treasure.
If this were an RPG game, it might even become the hero’s key item for defeating the giant snake.
All in all, Jiang Ke’er felt that since she’d encountered this thing, there was no reason not to take it.
“That’s the Fragrant Flower,” the Tiger Clan uncle said, noticing Jiang Ke’er’s attention fixed on the white light.
He let out a hearty chuckle.
“It’s definitely a fine thing, but we’re rough folks and can’t identify what it is… It’s stinking all around here, but this one’s fragrant, so we just call it the Fragrant Flower.”
“Pretty fitting,” Jiang Ke’er smiled.
“If we could fish it out, maybe it could break the Ruins Snake God’s powerful venom,” the Tiger Clan uncle said longingly, gazing at the lake.
“Too bad the venom’s too strong, and the Fragrant Flower is beneath the poison lake. We’ve tried many ways but couldn’t get it out.”
The Tiger Clan uncle pointed to the green mist above the lake and said, “The poison fog above the lake is thick; it’ll quickly seep into a cultivator’s body and make them fall into the poison lake, so even flying makes it hard to stay over the lake for long. Plus, most materials get corroded and carbonized by the Ruins Snake God’s venom, so there’s no way to probe into the lake and retrieve it.”
So she had to first break the poison to get the antidote that could break the poison.
It seemed the person who designed this RPG adventure had left a very stupid bug.
“White Mountain Stone here isn’t easily corroded, but it’s also quite hard, and with our cultivation base, it’s very difficult to peel off,” the Tiger Clan uncle sighed.
“In the past, some tried to stir up waves or drain the poison lake, but there’s too much venom in the lake—it was hard to carry out, and it would easily splash venom everywhere, hurting ourselves.”
Jiang Ke’er frowned, a look of surprise on her face.
“Don’t you guys know the Gale Sword Intent?”
“…”
“Why are you looking at me like that? You really don’t?” Jiang Ke’er stared at the people around her in shock.
“How is that possible… Even my Poached Egg knows a good amount of it!”
“Don’t make Sword Intent sound so simple!!!” Zhao Yue let out a humiliated roar.
“Any cultivator who understands Sword Intent is a super-level master at the ancestor level in a sect or aristocratic family!”
“No way. Look at me, I’m so weak I can’t even oneshot an Immortal,” Jiang Ke’er blinked innocently.
“See? Sword Intent isn’t that powerful.”
Zhao Yue weakly clutched his forehead.
He felt like this conversation was completely on different wavelengths.
It even reminded him of some rather unpleasant memories from childhood private school.
Zhao Yue: Wow, I got 99! Overachieved! I’m a genius!
ヾ(≧O≦)〃
Deskmate: I only got 149, I’m so bad TAT.
“Let me try,” Jiang Ke’er reached out her hand, signaling Zhao Yue to help unlock the handcuffs.
“Maybe I can handle this lake.”
“Really?” Everyone looked at her doubtfully.
“Don’t mess around—if the poison splashes everywhere, it’ll be trouble!”
“I’ll control my strength as much as possible,” Jiang Ke’er promised.
Zhao Yue wasn’t as hostile to the Demon Race as Brother Nian was.
In fact, he didn’t care much about the outside world at all—he’d spent most of his life in the Realm of No Regret, where there weren’t such obvious conflicts.
Even among the demons, the Tiger Clan and Bear Clan were popular hunting teammates in the Realm of No Regret due to their powerful physiques, and the feline and rodent agility.
For many large-scale hunting missions, without these demon teammates, relying solely on the Human Clan’s combat power would multiply the difficulty many times over.
Catching Talismans was just for the bounty.
“Take it easy,” Zhao Yue unlocked Jiang Ke’er’s handcuffs.
“Don’t splash it on us… And you really know Sword Intent?”
“Stop asking. I don’t want to discourage you.”
“…”
That answer seemed more discouraging than a serious one.
Zhao Yue covered his face and stepped back, standing with the others as he activated a Spiritual Power barrier.
Jiang Ke’er spread her legs slightly and half-crouched.
A gentle breeze swirled around her, and a soft ripple spread across the calm lake surface.
But as her longsword left its sheath, that ripple suddenly became turbulent and violent!
A massive tornado rapidly advanced toward a spot far from the white light! The poison in the lake was sucked up into the air by the wild cyclone, spinning into a venomous tornado filled with poison!
At the same time, the lake’s poison level dropped rapidly, the liquid visibly being drained away, revealing the rugged white stone ground that had been eroded by poison for years.
Jiang Ke’er suddenly stepped forward, and while the Sword Intent tornado hadn’t disappeared, she hurried toward the white light.
An unexpected change occurred—another black shadow dashed in from the cave entrance, reaching the white light first.
Jiang Ke’er squinted at the other person.
It was the man called Brother Nian.
She didn’t compete with him for it. Though her speed far exceeded his, and she could have reached the white light first, she didn’t.
Because she had clearly seen what the thing looked like.
It wasn’t the so-called “Fragrant Flower.”
It was just a ball of light, filled with strange code she completely couldn’t understand.
Jiang Ke’er couldn’t determine what the light ball was, and what made her even more wary was that the Appraisal Technique couldn’t appraise it.
Given her System, she didn’t care about ordinary encounters—unless it was an exceptionally powerful super inheritance, there was no need to risk her life.
Until she confirmed the safety of that thing, she wouldn’t rashly touch it.
Brother Nian grabbed the light ball, turned around, and fled to the shore.
At the same time, the Sword Intent tornado extinguished, and the poison stored in the cyclone crashed down, raising a gigantic wave that reached the cave ceiling, pressing toward Jiang Ke’er.
She had plenty of time to escape.
Unhurriedly, she leisurely returned to the shore.
Sure enough, Brother Nian was waiting on the shore with his knife drawn, one hand holding the light ball, the other smugly dangling the handcuffs—his meaning clear.
“Either let me cuff you, or die.”
Jiang Ke’er laughed, finding it amusing.
Without hesitation, she extended her hand, even letting a hint of anger and defeat show on her face, as if she helplessly chose to bow to evil.
The poison wave followed closely behind.
If Zhao Yue hadn’t kindly come to block the splashing poison, her small body might have been swallowed by the poison right then.
“She worked hard to get that!” Zhao Yue glared angrily at Brother Nian.
“I know what you’re going to say,” Brother Nian sneered at Zhao Yue.
“You’re too softhearted. I can’t blame you, since you don’t know how cruel reality is… But her threat is too great. A demon who understands Sword Intent shouldn’t exist in this world.”
“Oh? So what are you going to do with me?” Jiang Ke’er looked at Brother Nian.
“There aren’t many demons who know Sword Intent. You’d better come clean—what’s your relationship with that Qing Yi?”