Invincible Soul Emperor

Chapter 168: Chapter 168 We Are All Alchemists

At that moment, a barely perceptible, sinister smile touched Hu Ji’s lips. A gentle breeze swept through, making the bamboo shadows dance. The refreshing scent of bamboo filled the air, calming the mind and spirit. The group didn’t stop, continuing deeper into the bamboo forest.

What no one noticed, however, was that their pace was gradually slowing. Eventually, some of the weaker members began to collapse one by one. By the time Pavilion Master Zhang and Elder Wujie realized something was wrong and looked back, they were the only two left standing. Everyone else had fallen to the ground, unable to move.

Pavilion Master Zhang and Elder Wujie couldn’t hold on for long, either. A heavy sensation flooded their minds. Despite their best efforts to fight it, they too eventually succumbed and collapsed.

Li Zongrui lay on the ground, his mind feeling impossibly heavy. Through a hazy fog of consciousness, he saw Hu Ji walking toward him. If I still haven’t figured out what’s going on by now, I must be a complete and utter idiot.

Hu Ji had shed her previously frail demeanor, revealing the fierce expression of a triumphant schemer. A series of sinister laughs escaped her lips as she spoke to Li Zongrui, ”Young Master Li, I really must thank you. If it weren’t for fools like you in this world, my little schemes would be much harder to pull off, wouldn’t they?”

Li Zongrui stared at Hu Ji in disbelief. He fought against the overwhelming drowsiness and demanded incredulously, ”Why? I saved you! Why would you harm us?”

His heart filled with utter desolation and rage. He couldn’t accept that the gentle, kind Hu Ji he knew had become a demon.

Hu Ji giggled, but the sound was piercingly shrill in Li Zongrui’s ears. She moved with light, graceful steps until she stood before him. Her tone was still delicate, but her words were venomous. ”Why? Did you think I wouldn’t notice how lavishly you’re all dressed? How could I possibly pass up such fat sheep?”

Hu Ji drew the sword from Li Zongrui’s waist and continued with a soft laugh, ”You say you saved me? How laughable. I honestly can’t understand why you’re so easy to fool. When I was being chased before, I had simply used a small trick to snatch a Xuan-rank Cultivation Technique that someone else had won at an auction. You’re so naive you’ll believe anything I say!”

Immense regret washed over Li Zongrui, but there was one thing he still didn’t understand. He forced out the words, demanding, ”I tested all the food you gave us. I made sure it wasn’t poisoned before we ate. Why is everyone poisoned now?”

Hu Ji laughed loudly. She was in no hurry to strike, acting as if her victory was already assured. She explained with casual leisure, ”So you knew to test for poison? I guess you aren’t completely stupid. There was no poison in the food itself, that’s true. But perhaps you’re unaware that in this world, every substance has a counter. I just made a slight alteration to the ingredients. Eating that food alone would be harmless, of course.

”But I had already calculated that we would be passing through this bamboo forest...”

Understanding dawned on Li Zongrui. His head slumped in defeat as he muttered, ”You mean... the scent of the bamboo? The poison only activates when we smell the bamboo after eating that food?”

Hu Ji’s smile grew even wider, and she swayed with delight. ”What’s this? A flash of insight on your deathbed? If you’d been this smart from the start, you wouldn’t be in this situation!”

Hu Ji slowly raised the sword, aiming the tip at Li Zongrui. ”In any case, I must thank you for your trust. And thank you for giving me this chance to get rich. As a reward, I’ll make it quick so you won’t feel too much pain. Hahahaha!”

Li Zongrui watched Hu Ji approach, her face a mask of triumphant mockery. In his delirium, her face began to morph, becoming that of Li Susu. From the moment he’d met Hu Ji, he had always compared her to Li Susu. He had thought they were both gentle, kind women, and he was the hero destined to protect such beauty. But now, their images overlapped in his mind. In his eyes, the woman before him was no longer Hu Ji. It was Li Susu. And Li Susu was raising her sword to kill him.

Li Zongrui shattered completely as despair consumed him. In his daze, he finally recalled Ye Qingchen’s warning: ”The frail woman you see might not truly be frail!” He warned me not to so easily trust a woman’s display of weakness. And yet, with my own petty heart, I doubted him, suspected his motives, and questioned his good intentions! Regret flooded his soul, but it was too late.

His heart filled with helplessness and desolation. As he watched Hu Ji raise the sword high above him, Li Zongrui finally closed his eyes in despair.

Hu Ji let out a wild laugh, already imagining the mountains of Cultivation Techniques, Martial Techniques, Spirit Stones, and other treasures that were now hers for the taking. ”Since you helped me so much, I’ll give you a quick death!” With the sword in hand, Hu Ji thrust it toward Li Zongrui’s heart.

The sight felt like a sword piercing his own heart. But just when he was certain of his death, the fatal blow never landed.

CLANG!

The sharp sound reached his ears, and Li Zongrui opened his eyes. He saw the once-ferocious Hu Ji looking completely drained of strength. The longsword clattered from her grasp as she crumpled to the ground.

Then, to the utter astonishment of both Li Zongrui and Hu Ji, the supposedly unconscious Ye Qingchen stood up, smiling.

”Impossible! This is impossible!” Hu Ji’s expression twisted in shock. How could Ye Qingchen not be poisoned? And how could I be poisoned instead?!

Ye Qingchen looked down at Hu Ji with a cold smile and said, ”You probably don’t know my identity. I’m an Alchemist. Your clumsy little tricks are like a child’s game to me. And as for poisoning you in return? That was even easier.”

Hu Ji couldn’t accept this reality. Victory had been in her grasp! Why wasn’t Ye Qingchen poisoned? She had clearly seen him collapse just like the others. How could he be standing there perfectly fine now? Had he seen through her plan from the very start? But that’s impossible. She was certain her disguise was perfect. In all the days they had spent together, she hadn’t dared to reveal even the slightest hint of killing intent, terrified of giving herself away. So how did he figure it out?

Hu Ji couldn’t make sense of it. But what shocked her even more was when everyone else, with the sole exception of Li Zongrui, slowly began to stand up. They dusted themselves off and looked down at her with amused smiles.

Ye Qingchen chuckled scornfully. ”Sorry to disappoint you. We’re all Alchemists.”