Chapter 83: Unrelenting Provocation

A deep gash was torn across Wang Yumiao’s arm, the fire element charring her skin black. Her face twisted in rage, driven mad with fury. “Ji Jiuxuan, I want you dead! I want you dead!”

Ji Jiuxuan glanced at the long furrow left by the soul-devouring whip. By now, she was perfectly calm, even calculating how she could end her opponent's life faster. This was her nature—the more furious she felt, the colder her mind became. Tightening her grip on the whip, she retorted, “You talk too much. I’m always reasonable. If you have any last words, say them now lest you regret it when you're dead.”

Wang Yumiao, already half-insane, wished she could tear Ji Jiuxuan’s flesh with her teeth. Her usual composure, always tinged with malice, was utterly lost—replaced by a venom even more potent. She shoved a pill into her mouth and produced a porcelain bottle.

The instant Wang Yumiao’s hand revealed the bottle, Ji Jiuxuan sensed danger and lashed out with her whip, but it was already too late. Wang Yumiao flicked open the lid, releasing countless translucent venomous spiders that scuttled toward Ji Jiuxuan.

“Heavenly Shade Venom Spiders!” Hua Xu frowned at the scene, glancing at Qi Shuoyuan. The Grand Elder was already beside himself with rage, cursing Wang Xunji without restraint.

“Wang Xunji, how do you teach your disciples? All they learn are these crooked arts! With methods like yours, it's best you never teach another, lest you bring ruin upon your peers.”

The Grand Elder’s contempt for Wang Yumiao was plain. He was convinced she had orchestrated this duel to murder Ji Jiuxuan. His furious words were a direct blow to Wang Xunji’s standing.

Wang Xunji, feigning indignation, protested, “This has nothing to do with me. I have no idea where she found these things. Once she’s out, I’ll discipline her thoroughly. But as for your last comment, Grand Elder, I disagree. The path of poison is still a path, and her talent in it deserves recognition.”

The Grand Elder was nearly apoplectic. Wang Xunji, as always, hid needles in her silk. Their barbed exchange left the Grand Elder so incensed he nearly strode over to settle things with his own blade.

Everyone else watched the headmaster anxiously. Wang Xunji was right: if Wang Yumiao had truly chosen the poison path, she wasn’t technically breaking any rules. Still, such a path was frowned upon in the sect, especially since the Heavenly Shade Venom Spider was no ordinary poisonous beast.

Given this, it would be entirely justified to call off the match.

Since neither the headmaster nor Elder Zhou spoke up, Hua Xu addressed Ji Jiuxuan in the arena. “Given the circumstances, you may cancel the duel. Do you wish to withdraw?”

If Ji Jiuxuan emerged unscathed, Wang Yumiao would undoubtedly be punished before expulsion from the sect. The punishment would be severe, as Heavenly Shade Venom Spiders were practically the stuff of demons.

“I refuse to withdraw!” Wang Yumiao shouted, her gaze darting to her teacher. Hadn’t her master always compared her to Ji Jiuxuan? Always called her a useless failure? Today, she would prove herself by killing Ji Jiuxuan.

She hated Ji Jiuxuan’s existence, hated her banishment from the Spirit Beast Garden. She was determined to see Ji Jiuxuan dead.

Her master had promised: if she could kill Ji Jiuxuan, the consequences would be dealt with.

Now Wang Yumiao was consumed by madness, her inner devil manifesting in tendrils of black mist seeping from her body—a clear sign of demonic deviation. Years of her master’s ridicule and taunting had sown this darkness, and the life-and-death duel had triggered its eruption.

The crowd watched Ji Jiuxuan, hoping she would choose to withdraw. But Ji Jiuxuan, seeing the venomous spiders crawling toward her, simply produced a large bottle of medicinal powder.

With a burst of spiritual energy, she scattered the powder toward the spiders. “So what if they’re poison? I’ve been looking for a chance to use this high-grade Universal Poison Repellent!” Before entering the Ancient Fallen Forest, she’d prepared for every possibility, especially the threat of poisonous insects and spiders. She’d begged her Second Uncle for all the best repellents and antidotes—the finest there were, effective even against demon-borne parasites far deadlier than these spiders.

The powder turned the venomous spiders instantly to smoke, erasing them from existence. The sudden reversal was both unexpected and somewhat comical.

Relief swept through the crowd. Wang Yumiao, however, had not anticipated this outcome. Her inner demon was further provoked, and she lashed out at Ji Jiuxuan with the soul-devouring whip, wild and uncoordinated.

“It was you who killed the Moonwhite Rabbit, wasn’t it? Did you poison it?” Wang Yumiao’s black aura thickened, her reason further eroded by her inner demon as she grew more unhinged.

Ji Jiuxuan, who had been silent, suddenly asked, “Did you kill the Moonwhite Rabbit?” Wang Yumiao’s face twisted in a cruel grin. Wang Xunji, watching from the stands, realized something was wrong. She despised the daughter of that wretched woman and wanted to stop Wang Yumiao, but the protective barrier prevented any covert communication. Any overt attempt to intervene would only draw suspicion.

The Grand Elder, shrewd and perceptive, quickly understood Wang Xunji’s intentions. His eyes brimmed with warning, as if he might strip her of her position at any moment should she act.

Wang Yumiao gave Wang Xunji no chance to intervene. Her eyes gleamed with maniacal pleasure as she declared to Ji Jiuxuan, “So what if I did? I wanted it dead. And not just it—you should die too.”

“You’re trying to provoke me? Useless. The Moonwhite Rabbit may have been weak, but its defenses were formidable. You won’t trick me.” Ji Jiuxuan’s tone was scornful, her eyes full of contempt. She flicked her whip at Wang Yumiao with unerring precision. “If you wish to die, I’ll oblige you right now.”

Though Ji Jiuxuan’s face was calm, her heart whispered, “Yue Bai, it won’t be long now. Once she confesses and her crimes are revealed, I’ll avenge you. Wait for me, just a little longer.”

Possessed by her inner demon, Wang Yumiao cared nothing for her surroundings. She grinned wickedly. “That stupid rabbit was lured to Spirit Beast Peak and knocked out with a stupor powder. It was dead in moments. You know what? The feel of the soul-devouring whip striking its body was exquisite. Want to try it yourself?”

The crowd erupted in shocked whispers. Wang Yumiao had always been considered the little fairy of Wang Ying Peak—gentle, friendly, widely admired, and highly skilled. How could she be such a person?

No one doubted the authenticity of her confession. Under the sway of her inner demon, every word came straight from her heart, revealing her most deranged depths. She was so lost to her madness that she was already on the verge of full demonic possession.

She lashed the soul-devouring whip at Ji Jiuxuan again and again, leaving smoking, blackened furrows in the ground. If not for Ji Jiuxuan’s exceptional mastery of the Shadowstep, she would have been gravely wounded or killed.

“You? Impossible! No one would ever help you. You’re pathetic—no one cares about you,” Ji Jiuxuan replied, having grasped how to manipulate Wang Yumiao’s inner demon. Her expression was even more disdainful. “Trying to provoke me? Not in this lifetime.”

Her words further agitated Wang Yumiao and infuriated Wang Xunji, who wanted nothing more than to leap onto the stage and crush both these loathsome creatures.

Thank you to reader 20220909212536207 for the moon ticket! (End of chapter)