The Life of a Necromancer as a Swashbuckler

Chapter 7: The Poison Sovereign’s Retreat

It turned out that Shi Jingyu had seen his chance. While Xuan Yinzi wasn’t paying attention, he seized the opportunity to throw the Bright Jade Bomb, hitting his target with a single strike. As the smoke in the air gradually cleared, everyone let their guard down. Even if Xuan Yinzi were a living Da Luo Golden Immortal, he could not have escaped his fate after being struck head-on by the Mingyu Bomb. Just as everyone let their guard down, they heard Gu Yuntian cry out in alarm from the distance, “Trouble! Watch out!” Suddenly, a vicious black claw shot out from the smoke, lunging toward Shi Jingyu’s chest. “Ah!” Two agonized screams—one from a man, one from a woman—followed immediately. As the smoke cleared following the screams, Xuan Yinzi was seen standing there, his clothes torn to shreds and his body charred black. His left hand clutched the bandit leader, using him as a shield against the blast; the bandit leader, however, had been blown to pieces, and it was clear he was beyond saving. It turned out that when Mingyu’s projectile came flying toward him, Xuan Yinzi had acted on a sudden flash of inspiration, using the bandit leader as a human shield to absorb part of the blast, thus narrowly escaping death. However, his right hand, which had been extended outward, was now a mangled mass of flesh and blood. “Soft Porcupine Armor,”Xuan Yinzi spat out the three words with venom. It turned out that Shi Jingyu was wearing the Soft Porcupine Armor, a rare treasure of the Martial Arts World, which was lined with barbs. Since Xuan Yinzi couldn’t see them through the smoke, he struck with all his might—only to end up inflicting mutual damage. Yet even with the Soft Porcupine Armor protecting him, Shi Jingyu was still sent flying by the Poison Sovereign’s palm strike, barely managing to cling to life. This was truly a profound humiliation for the Poison Sovereign—the first of its kind in the decades since he had emerged from seclusion. Meticulous as he was, he had never before found himself in such a dire predicament. To be beaten into this state by three mere youngsters and a bandit chieftain filled him with shame, fear, and hatred. Under these circumstances, the Poison Sovereign could not possibly let the matter rest. With this thought, his ferocity flared up; forcing back the excruciating pain, he flew toward Shi Jingyu, intent on finishing him off once and for all. Meanwhile, Gu Yuntian, who had been holding back in the rear, had recovered considerably. He flew forward and clashed with Xuan Yinzi once more. This time, the two were evenly matched. While Gu Yuntian’s martial prowess certainly fell short of the Poison Sovereign’s, the Poison Sovereign—having suffered a series of severe blows—was in no better shape. Still lying on the ground, I watched the rapidly shifting scene, feeling both stunned and numb. My body was burning with pain, and I could feel blood slowly trickling from my arm. Seeing Shi Jingyu knocked aside, I wondered if my first kiss was still alive. I struggled to focus as the scent of death closed in on me. Was I going to die again? Why did I say “again”? As my mind grew hazy and scattered, I seemed to feel something tapping my hand—desperately. I struggled to look over and saw a blackened “body” lying next to me. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the human shield from earlier—the bandit leader. He’d been blown to pieces, yet he wasn’t dead. He was struggling to tap my hand with his own. What was he trying to do? When the bandit leader saw that I had come to my senses, he patted my hand even more urgently, as if urging me to hurry over. A dying man’s words are sincere—it wouldn’t hurt to go take a look. As I struggled to crawl over, the bandit leader used his blood- and flesh-torn hand to tremulously pull a black package from his bosom. Treating it as if it were the most precious thing in his life, he slowly handed it to me, gesturing for me to take it. When I took the bundle, I felt the bandit leader tap it firmly with his blackened hand, as if entrusting something important to another. The moment I held it, I thought I saw tears welling in his eyes; he seemed to want to say something but could no longer speak, so he could only tap the bundle shakily once more. Just as I took the bundle, the bandit leader breathed his last. I didn’t know what was inside the package, but the moment I held it, I felt a warm current flow into my body. My wounds seemed to be slowly healing, and the pain I’d been feeling was gradually subsiding. My body appeared to be healing itself. What was going on? As my mind and body continued to recover, the battle between the Poison Sovereign and Gu Yuntian gradually reached a decisive outcome once more. Although the Poison Sovereign was a seasoned veteran, he was severely wounded and could clearly no longer hold out. He knew full well that continuing the fight would be a waste of effort—defeating Gu Yuntian today was simply impossible. But how could the mighty Poison Sovereign simply swallow this humiliation? Even if he couldn’t kill Gu Yuntian, he would take others as compensation. With that in mind, the Poison Sovereign made up his mind. He feinted with a palm strike and suddenly retreated. Gu Yuntian didn’t react in time, and in the blink of an eye, the Poison Sovereign had already turned to face Shi Jingyu. By this point, Shi Jingyu was already severely wounded. That previous palm strike had been truly ferocious; had it not been for her “Soft Porcupine Armor,” she would have died on the spot. She had just taken a moment to catch her breath and recover slightly when she suddenly saw Xuan Yinzi rushing toward her again, clearly with malicious intent. She feared her fate was sealed. Before she could finish that thought, Xuan Yinzi had already reached Shi Jingyu, raising his left hand to strike her forehead. Shi Jingyu didn’t even have the strength to dodge. She was about to close her eyes and accept her fate when she heard Xuan Yinzi let out another vicious “Ah!” A gust of wind swept past her head. Opening her eyes, she saw a young man in a green robe standing before her, as if a celestial being had descended from the heavens, holding a steel blade aloft to shield her. It turned out that as Xuan Yinzi had rushed over, he hadn’t noticed that the man on the ground had slowly regained consciousness. Eager to kill, he’d been caught off guard by my sneak attack—and once again, I’d saved Shi Jingyu. Xuan Yinzi saw that the green-robed youth had actually come back to life—and looked just as vigorous as ever. What kind of martial art was this? Could it be the legendary “Eternal Youth and Everlasting Spring” technique? Or the Buddhist “Immortal Wisdom King” mantra? Or perhaps the Confucian “Three Lifetimes Righteousness Sutra”? None of them seemed quite right. This man was likely no ordinary person. At this thought, Xuan Yinzi couldn’t help but shudder inwardly. Just as he was hesitating, Gu Yuntian also rushed over and stood in front of him. Xuan Yinzi was a formidable figure in his own right. Realizing that today would indeed end badly, he decided to call it quits. “He who recognizes the times is a true hero,” he thought. With a sinister chuckle, he said, “Gu Yunfei, Shi Jingyu—you’ll be waiting for me,” then turned and flew away. After watching Xuan Yinzi turn and fly away, I—who had been brimming with energy just moments ago—felt as though the resolve I’d been forcing myself to maintain had suddenly collapsed. A wave of dizziness swept over me, and I began to fall backward. In my daze, I sensed a faint, feminine fragrance and felt something soft beneath my hands before I collapsed.