The sharp short sword was within inches.
Duan Xifeng instinctively dodged. As he evaded, he intended to strike, but then he saw that Gu Qianying's sword was not aimed at harming him. Instead, it pierced a snake that was about to bite him from behind.
Duan Xifeng quickly looked back.
Drops of blood still dripped from the short sword stuck an inch below the snake's head.
The snake struggled a few times and then lay still. It had a peculiar appearance, with a flat head, bulging eyes, and a body ten feet long.
This kind of snake was rarely seen.
Before Duan Xifeng could speak, Gu Qianying directly stated its name.
"The Arctic Viper is a venomous snake that can live in extremely cold regions. Its venom is comparable to arsenic, but for you and me, it's just a minor matter."
As she spoke, Gu Qianying brushed past Duan Xifeng and approached the Arctic Viper. She squatted down, pulled out the short sword, then slit open the snake's belly, retrieved the gall bladder, and swallowed it in one gulp.
Seeing this, Duan Xifeng's mouth hung open. "You are..."
Normally, the gall bladder of such an animal was the most resistant to cold. By eating it, one would not fear the cold.
"But isn't it dirty?" Duan Xifeng moved a little further away from Gu Qianying with a hint of disgust.
Gu Qianying shot him a cold glance. "When we came, a young monk from Suling Temple mentioned that besides venomous snakes and wild bears, there are also two Arhats guarding this place. They are both top-tier experts in the martial world. If you use your internal energy and expend your true qi now, don't blame me if I don't save you later!"
With that, Gu Qianying turned and continued to walk forward.
Duan Xifeng stood frozen. After touching the two strands of hair on his forehead, he caught up with Gu Qianying and said with a loss of dignity, "Niece, look, it's so dangerous here. Why don't I, your uncle-master, go back?"
Gu Qianying's steps did not falter. She continued walking forward. "Although this place looks like it's covered in ice and snow, and you can see through it, with no obstacles, from the moment we ascended, the Bagua formations here have been activated. If you try to return the way you came, don't blame me for not warning you if you lose your life for it."
"..."
"What? There's a Bagua formation here?"
Duan Xifeng was astonished.
"Then, little niece, why don't you spit out that snake gall you swallowed and give me half?"
"..."
Gu Qianying ignored him.
After entering the mountain, seeing the places piled with skeletons, it was evident that this place, though seemingly flat, actually had corresponding mechanisms everywhere.
As for the orientation of the Eight Formations, she only thought of it when she saw the uneven ice pillars not far away.
The eight gates of the Bagua formation are: Kai, Xiu, Sheng, Shang, Du, Jing, Si, and Jing. The corresponding directions for these eight gates are: Northwest Qian Palace, North Kan Palace... and so on, which naturally include the elements of water, fire, metal, wood, earth, the south, and the north. The area they were traversing only had Kai and Si gates. Kai gate is for entry, and Si gate is for retreat. They could not retreat, so they could only advance.
"Be careful!"
Lost in thought.
Gu Qianying glanced behind her. Seeing Duan Xifeng following her steps and turning a corner, she shouted, but it was too late.
With a rumble.
The earth shook and the mountains swayed. The elegant ice pillars standing not far away began to tremble.
The ground where Duan Xifeng stood cracked open into a long fissure. As he used his Qinggong to try and escape, branches resembling thorny, blood-red trees entwined him.
He couldn't break free. He was almost pulled into the fissure. Gu Qianying leaped forward, drew her sword, and with the fastest speed, severed the blood-red branches wrapped around Duan Xifeng.
Turning, she grabbed Duan Xifeng's wrist and pulled him out. "Go to the ice pillars."
Hearing Gu Qianying's words, Duan Xifeng nodded. "Alright."
The two leaped and stepped onto the still-shaking ice pillars respectively.
"East, South, quickly!"
After steadying herself on an ice pillar, Gu Qianying quickly told Duan Xifeng.
Following her instructions, Duan Xifeng stepped on the ice pillars in the east and south directions, finally landing on the south pillar.
At that moment, everything around them stopped shaking, and the area where Duan Xifeng was almost dragged into the fissure ceased to crack.
"Little niece, you are truly amazing!"
Gu Qianying not only saved him but also restored peace to the surroundings. Her skill left him exclaiming in amazement.
"You should say my master is amazing."
"What? Old Man Bai also understands Bagua techniques?" Duan Xifeng was even more surprised.
Gu Qianying rolled her eyes at him. "Old Man Bai said that you are so foolish because you are usually not diligent."
"..."
"Little niece, believe it or not, when we get back, this uncle-master will definitely pull off your master's white beard!"
"Only if we can get back," Gu Qianying glanced at him.
Duan Xifeng was confused. "Little niece, what do you mean by that?"
As they spoke, Gu Qianying had already drawn her sword. She pointed behind Duan Xifeng.
When Duan Xifeng turned his head, the ice pillar he was standing on suddenly began to shake again.
It turned out that not far away, three wild bears were approaching. One of them was holding the ice pillar Duan Xifeng was standing on and shaking it back and forth, intending to make Duan Xifeng fall off and then eat him.
Duan Xifeng hadn't expected the wild bears Gu Qianying mentioned to appear so quickly, leaving him completely unprepared.
"Little niece, Uncle-master is about to fall. What should I do?"
Unsure of himself, Duan Xifeng, who had almost forgotten his Qinggong skills, mumbled and looked at Gu Qianying.
Gu Qianying was no longer at his eye level.
"Roar!"
The roar of a wild bear was heard.
Duan Xifeng looked in the direction of the sound.
He saw that Gu Qianying was already engaged in a fierce battle with two wild bears.
Duan Xifeng scratched his head. If he didn't act now, it seemed inappropriate.
Wild bears are large and clumsy animals. When confronting humans, they rely on brute force. Both Gu Qianying and Duan Xifeng were skilled martial artists, so dealing with three wild bears was not difficult, though it consumed a lot of their stamina.
Just as the three wild bears were slain, and the ice pillars in the distance were shattered by a powerful impact, a wide road appeared beneath Gu Qianying and Duan Xifeng's feet.
A simple house also came into their sight.
Outside the house stood two burly Arhats.
One of the Arhats had a deep voice. "Who goes there?"
Though they were some distance away, they could clearly hear the words spoken by one of the Arhats.
Duan Xifeng and Gu Qianying exchanged glances.
"Telepathic transmission, this person has profound internal energy," Gu Qianying spoke first.
Duan Xifeng nodded. "Yes, this person indeed has profound internal energy. Judging by their posture, the other one must also be skilled."
"You choose one!" Gu Qianying was ready for a fight.
Duan Xifeng looked at her and said jokingly, "Uncle-master chooses the better-looking one. If they are too ugly, Uncle-master fears he might surrender."
"..."
Gu Qianying, too lazy to argue with him, took out two small packets of poison powder from her waist pouch. She gave one small packet to Duan Xifeng and told him, "Deal with them as quickly as possible. They are highly skilled in martial arts. If you are to deal with someone whose martial arts are superior to your own, the only way to finish them quickly is with poison."
She didn't have much time. She needed to return to the Ninth Prince's mansion quickly, otherwise, her pretense of being seriously injured and unconscious would be exposed, and her entire plan would be in vain.
"When it comes to poison, I'm more skilled than you."
As he spoke, Duan Xifeng put the poison powder Gu Qianying gave him into his pouch and then produced two small bottles of poison water from somewhere on his person.
"This substance can cause martial artists to lose their skills."
"But I wonder if we can gain an advantage when confronting them."
"Won't we know if we try?"
Gu Qianying walked forward with her sword.