"If you're going to die anyway, what's the point in holding your breath?" He let go and breathed freely, no matter if the air was poisoned or not—he just wanted to take a satisfying breath for once. Ever since stepping into the Divine Fire Domain, his body had felt stifled.

Crunch! The shards of rock shot towards Li Hongjiu's face, stinging his cheek.

At the critical moment, the knife's tip shifted slightly, stabbing beside his neck instead. The blade pressed against his throat but didn't continue cutting.

Having already given up resistance, he'd closed his eyes, waiting for the imagined consequences. Yet, contrary to his expectations, he clearly felt the oppressive force withdraw. Then, something seemed to press against his body.

He tried to sense what was happening—there was no blood spilling out. He wasn't dead. He hadn't been killed?

He abruptly opened his eyes and found himself surrounded by three Divine Demon Dharma Forms. A knife was held to his throat, blocking part of his view. However, he could still make out a sword pressing against the area around his heart and a spear pointing at his abdomen. Both were wielded by the Dharma Forms.

He noticed Wu Jinliang staring at him with a curious expression.

Now that the situation had stabilized, Chu Jingtang cautiously drew closer. It was truly hard for him to imagine how the formidable Li Hongjiu could have been taken down so easily by Wu Jinliang in just one move. The sheer impact of the situation was shocking.

"Heh heh heh heh, Brother Chu! Before, I didn't act because I didn't bother with petty squabbles. What heavenly talents? What experts? Look now! In the end, they all fall beneath my blade!" Wu Jinliang bragged, brimming with pride. He was practically overflowing with joy, having never expected to take down Li Hongjiu so easily—it was just a single shot.

As for why he didn't kill him? Only a fool kills recklessly. This guy falling at his feet so quickly was abnormal; it was obvious he was injured. Wu Jinliang wanted to figure out what was going on.

Could someone from the sects have actually managed to injure Li Hongjiu like this?

If there really was such a force, Wu Jinliang had reasons to be cautious.

The man had already been defeated at his hands. It wouldn't hurt to uncover the truth first and then decide whether to kill him. Letting him go wasn't an option anyway.

"Amazing—truly amazing!" Chu Jingtang gave him a thumbs-up, sincerely praising him. After all, losing such a major threat was certainly cause for celebration.

"Too kind, too kind." Wu Jinliang chuckled, clasping his hands in thanks. Then, he turned to business, fixing his gaze on Li Hongjiu and demanding, "Who injured you?"

Due to the darkness, he didn't notice Li Hongjiu's face had already taken on a bluish hue.

A strange sound gurgled from Li Hongjiu's throat, and his entire body began convulsing.

Wu Jinliang had the urge to kick him but held back, afraid it might be a trick. Instead, he barked, "Stop pretending in front of me! Speak! Who hurt you? If you tell us, we might even help you get revenge."

"Something's wrong." Chu Jingtang tugged at his sleeve. "I think this Li fellow might be poisoned."

"Poisoned? Poisoned by what?" Wu Jinliang frowned, suspicious.

Chu Jingtang pointed at Li Hongjiu's obvious signs of labored breathing and then gestured at the Four Emptiness, indicating that the air itself here was poisonous when inhaled.

Wu Jinliang froze for a moment. Then he pulled out a piece of Sandalwood Gold to inspect, noting something was definitely wrong with Li Hongjiu's complexion. He cried out in alarm, "Come on! You didn't have to go to such extremes! I didn't say I was going to kill you—there are so many other ways to end your life that don't involve something so agonizing!"

Li Hongjiu rolled his eyes to look at him with great effort, wanting to say, "I'm not trying to end my life—who knows whether you'll actually not kill me."

However, nothing came out of his throat except gurgling noises, and his consciousness began to blur.

Wu Jinliang quickly withdrew the Magical Treasure threatening him and rushed over to the Ice Sheep for aid, channeling magic to prolong his life. His primary goal was, of course, to extract information. "Hurry up, tell me who hurt you! You don't want to die with regrets, do you?"

Li Hongjiu, still somewhat awake, wanted to answer, but the question was—how could he speak when his body was falling apart?

Fortunately, Chu Jingtang remained clearheaded as a bystander. He examined Li Hongjiu's injuries and declared, "Brother Wu, he's both seriously injured and suffering from poisoning. He's on the brink of death."

Unfortunately, there was no antidote specifically tailored to his condition.

"Let's go and see if those old monsters have a solution." Wu Jinliang grabbed Li Hongjiu's arm and hoisted him up before pulling out Wind Scale with the other hand.

The three quickly took to the skies, heading for Lake Heart Island.

Under the tower, a large figure with a listening and meditative posture slowly opened his eyes, his brows furrowing for the first time in ages.

Master Nine's voice emerged, somewhat strained. "What's going on? An easy kill, yet you brought him back?"

A muffled voice responded, "If that man doesn't die, and reveals what happened, won't Shi Chun and the others get scared off?"

Master Nine replied grimly, "Why not make them all disappear together? Ensure they never meet Shi Chun."

The large figure coldly said, "It's too late for that—there's no chance now."

The reasoning was simple: Wu Jinliang's attack hadn't been as discreet as Master Nine's previous actions. His strike on Li Hongjiu unleashed real power. The commotion from the Divine Demon Dharma Form's Earth Immortal-level force was far from being concealed.

Li Hongjiu had redirected most of the force into the void, otherwise the impact would have been far greater.

But even then, the disturbance was enough for Shi Chun on the island to sense something from afar.

Under ordinary circumstances, Shi Chun might have merely been puzzled. However, Wu Jinliang had just left, and a commotion came from approximately the same direction—how could Shi Chun not worry?

Panicked and fearing Wu Jinliang might be in trouble, Shi Chun immediately mounted Wind Scale and raced off at full speed, bringing weapons along.

Not just him—Xu, You, and Zhener hurriedly followed suit.

Wu Jinliang and Chu Jingtang could hardly have imagined that they inadvertently walked through the gates of hell. Without Shi Chun's swift reaction, they would likely have disappeared without a trace.

After all, they weren't as formidable as Li Hongjiu at full strength, and eliminating them wouldn't cause much of a stir.

Thus, the two groups met in mid-air over the frozen lake, glaring at each other as they passed. Both parties turned back, hovering to assess each other.

Spotting Wu Jinliang carrying someone, Shi Chun called out, "What's going on?"

"Hey, come down here yourself and see—figure out if there's a way to save him." Wu Jinliang released Wind Scale and descended onto the ice with his burden.

Shi Chun and his party followed suit, approaching. Upon seeing the convulsing figure, they realized it was Li Hongjiu and exclaimed in surprise, "What happened?"

Wu Jinliang replied, "If I knew, I wouldn't have needed to bring him here. He was injured and inhaled the air here—what now? If we can't save him, we may never figure out what happened."

Shi Chun understood: if they wanted to know what had occurred, they'd have to get Li Hongjiu to talk.

He, too, was curious about what sort of force could injure someone as monstrous as Li Hongjiu. Avoiding such pitfalls was crucial, especially given their current circumstances. He waved his hand decisively, "I don't have a solution. Quickly take him to see if those old monsters can help."

"See? Exactly." Wu Jinliang sighed and shook his head, having guessed all along that there was no other option.

However, just as he was lifting Li Hongjiu again, Zhener, who had been silently observing, suddenly said, "I might be able to try."

Everyone turned their gaze to her. Shi Chun knew she didn't speak lightly, so he asked in surprise, "You can detoxify him?"

"I'm not sure," Zhener hesitated before pointing at Four Emptiness. "If it's from inhaling this air, I might be able to."

There was no reason to hesitate further—they should at least try. Shi Chun trusted her and quickly motioned for Wu Jinliang to lay him down.

Zhener approached the barely conscious Li Hongjiu and lifted a finger toward the sky. Immediately, a ripple of light began gathering around her fingertip, growing more concentrated.

Chu Jingtang whispered to himself, "Water Manipulation Technique..."

He came from the Bilan Sect, known for cultivating techniques associated with water manipulation. Now he finally understood why he felt a unique sensation whenever he was near this woman—it all made sense.

As the water sphere quickly expanded at Zhener's fingertip, Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang exchanged glances, each harboring doubts in their eyes.

The two of them knew Zhener was a Fire Spirit Monster born from Divine Fire. A Fire Spirit Monster using water-based skills—this was utterly counterintuitive.

Interestingly, among the Thirty-Six Divine Fires, there was one particularly rare fire called Water Flames, supposedly born in deep underwater environments.

Why was it so rare? Because water and fire were said to be incompatible. For fire to emerge in water was an extraordinarily rare phenomenon of extreme polarity reversal.

Wu Jinliang stealthily gestured 'ten' with his finger towards Shi Chun and subtly signaled towards Zhener, implying that Tong Mingshan's collection of Samadhi True Fire could still be missing ten types of Divine Fire, with Zhener possibly being one of them.

It wasn't just the two of them—Xu and You were also exchanging glances and subtle signals among themselves. They hadn't been told about the truth behind Samadhi True Fire but knew from the proposal process that Zhener was a native of this land. What else could she be besides a Fire Spirit Monster?

With the water sphere finally forming into a three-foot-wide elemental mass, it stopped expanding, shimmering brilliantly under the starlight as it gently descended onto Li Hongjiu's face.

Zhener applied some unknown effect to the sphere, her finger lightly tapping it. The sphere began pulsating faintly, seemingly sending a portion of itself into Li Hongjiu's nasal cavity.

Soon, Li Hongjiu opened his mouth and began retching and twitching, expelling filth continuously.

The water-like light moved in and out, seemingly cleansing Li Hongjiu's body from within.

The others couldn't grasp the details but saw Li Hongjiu's intermittent movements—a clear sign he wasn't dead yet.

If the treatment kept him alive, that meant it was effective. Chu Jingtang nodded slightly, drawing this conclusion.

While Chu Jingtang's attention was on Li Hongjiu, Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang stared at the large water sphere.

Despite its ripples and the poor lighting, the sphere reflected vague silhouettes. It still faintly outlined the approximate positions of those nearby.

Their focus wasn't on the healing process but the fact that two individuals had subtly shifted their positions under the cover of conversation.

Xu and You had separated, moving to their respective sides behind them.

Observing Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang's intent focus on the healing, Xu and You exchanged knowing glances before silently inching closer.

They weren't daring enough to outright attack. After witnessing Shi Chun and Li Hongjiu wield their powers through thunder and lightning, they knew better than to provoke them. Stealth was always the most effective strategy when dealing with formidable foes.

The primary aim was to get closer—closer still.

Perhaps trying to break his prolonged silence, Wu Jinliang asked casually, "Chun Tian, who do you think could have injured him?"

While speaking, he scrutinized the water sphere's reflection to monitor the nearby shadows closing in.

Actually, even without the reflections, he would still be wary. Unless someone approaching managed to stay completely undetected, his instincts as someone forged in the Land of Exile meant he had a deep-rooted alertness from years of stabbing others in the back—it was practically a reflex to be hyper-vigilant of anyone advancing on him.

Especially those approaching outside his direct line of sight.

Shi Chun responded calmly, "You don't need to worry about anything. There won't be any problems."

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