Chapter 226: 226
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Life is strong but also fragile . Looking at a young expert that amazed him earlier die just like this in front of him, Yan Liqiang couldn't help but feel sorrowful .
Up until this point in time, Yan Liqiang didn't even know the name of this disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect . However, it would seem like his cultivation in martial arts had far exceeded Yan Liqiang's . He was probably a Martial Master, or even beyond that . He was definitely someone that could be described as a talented youth . Yet, a person with bright prospects ahead of him died just like that, right before Yan Liqiang's very eyes .
Yan Liqiang felt conflicted because this scene reminded him of his previous 'death' . It also caught him by surprise, given how sudden it was . Life and death was something that happened in a split second . The only difference between them was that Yan Liqiang had another chance to 'restart' it all . However, this disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect was gone for real .
Yet the circumstances before him now indicated that wasn't the right time and place for him to be feeling all emotional . The wilderness was devoid of any sign of human habitation, and a large group of Blackwind Bandits could arrive at any minute . Hence, he had to hurry .
As instructed by the male disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect, Yan Liqiang groped around his upper torso and waist for a moment . As expected, he found a medicine pouch at his waist . There were a few bottles inside the pouch, and one of them was white .
Clutching the medicine, Yan Liqiang took another look at the cloud of green gas at the side . Although the gas had already thinned out, it hadn't completely dissipated yet . Yan Liqiang looked more carefully at it and realized that the cloud of gas was actually floating in the air . It was clear about two feet above the ground . Just like thick gas in a fire, it was actually possible to breathe the air under the layer of thick smoke .
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Seeing this, he didn't waste any time and quickly rushed to the Shatu guard's corpse at the side . Yan Liqiang sliced off a piece of fabric from the guard's sleeve, then opened the canteen hanging on the corpse's waist . He poured the water inside the canteen onto the fabric to wet it, then used it as a mask . Covering his face with the fabric, he charged into the cloud of gas that was still present and started crawling on the ground toward the female disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect .
Exercising great care, Yan Liqiang crawled forward while keeping his face close to the ground as he cautiously breathed while monitoring his physical condition . He would have to stop immediately if something was wrong, because it would be really terrible if he were to be poisoned also at a time like this . No fourth person would come to his rescue . Instead, the possibility of Shatu people coming here was very high .
The air he breathed in through the wet fabric had a trace of an indistinct but disgustingly sweet scent . However, it wasn't that overwhelming anymore . The scent made Yan Liqiang's tongue numb, as though he had just chewed on a pepper during a meal . His heart was racing wildly, and he stopped advancing immediately as soon as he felt his tongue going numb . After remaining still a few seconds later, he found out that the numbness on his tongue didn't continue spreading . Feeling relieved, he continued crawling toward the female disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect .
When he reached the female disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect, the lady's eyes were tightly shut . Her elegant face was quite pale and a green line had appeared between her eyebrows . The green line seemed like it was alive . It was gradually growing and spreading out, as though it was going to split into two . . .
Yan Liqiang didn't dare to waste any time . He grabbed ahold of the lady's arm and started crawling while dragging her along the ground, away from the cloud of smoke .
Although Yan Liqiang wasn't that weak, fortunately, the lady wasn't that heavy either . Therefore, he was able to drag her out from the gas very quickly .
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Yan Liqiang made the lady sit upright on the ground and propped her against his thigh . He opened the white medicine bottle, forced her mouth open, and slipped the red pill with a nice fragrance inside it into her mouth . He then lifted her chin up so the pill could slide all the way down into her stomach .
After doing all that, Yan Liqiang laid her down again on the ground and seriously examined her for a moment .
Something magical happened . Not long after the pill reached the lady's stomach, Yan Liqiang noticed the green line between her eyebrows stop growing . It then started to gradually fade under his gaze .
Yan Liqiang immediately stopped worrying .
"Since no one can move now, I guess I'll have to clear up the battlefield by myself! From the looks of it, the old Shatu man wasn't an ordinary man but some sort of priest . I can't possibly waste an opportunity like this!" Yan Liqiang stood up and muttered to himself . Without any psychological burdens, he ran over to the old Shatu man he killed earlier .
At times like this, his first priority was to clean up the battlefield . He didn't think of keeping everything for himself either; he'd just split it when the lady woke up .
The old Shatu man couldn't be more dead . Not only that, he died a horrible death . Yan Liqiang's first arrow penetrated his head through his face . His second arrow impaled his heart, nailing his corpse to the ground .
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The unsightly death of the old man who once possessed a commanding presence reduced him to something that resembled a pile of black, pungent cow dung .
Knowing that this old man had a lot of tricks up his sleeves, Yan Liqiang refrained himself from directly searching the old man's corpse with his hands out of careful consideration . Instead, he picked up a longsword from the ground, quickly cut open his clothes, and removed them to see just what the old man had on him .
What made Yan Liqiang speechless was that he wasn't sure if big shots didn't have the habit of bringing money pouches or some possessions with them, but this old man didn't have anything on him — not even a money pouch or a medicine pouch . However, when Yan Liqiang removed the old man's underclothing with the longsword, he saw a strange object on his wizened chest hanging from his neck .
The object was about the size of a palm . It looked like a round, rustic, shiny bronze antique mirror . On the object, there were rings of gorgeous yet mysterious inscriptions . Embedded right in the middle was a rare beast core crystal, about the size of a quail egg .
It was different from the core crystals Yan Liqiang had seen before . The rare beast's core crystal on the bronze mirror had already dulled and lost its luster . Not only that, there was already a ring of fine cracks on it and it had long lost all of its spiritual Qi .
For this object to be on that lousy Shatu priest as his possession, it probably wasn't something ordinary . Therefore, Yan Liqiang tugged this object off from the old Shatu man without any hesitation .
As soon as Yan Liqiang held it in his hand, he realized that the rare beast core crystal was actually a little warm . However, it was rapidly cooling down .
Could it be that this object was the spirit talisman which the disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect previously mentioned?
Yan Liqiang put the object away . The cracked and dull core crystal on it instantly reminded Yan Liqiang of something .
At this point, the cloud of poisonous smoke in the distance had completely dissipated . Yan Liqiang cautiously ran over to the huge centipede which had been split into two and impaled it with two more arrows . Suppressing the fear he felt in his heart, he jabbed around the remains of that centipede with the longsword in his hand . In the middle of the centipede's body, Yan Liqiang spotted a dark, translucent and glowing sea green core crystal .
Once again, Yan Liqiang put away the core crystal of the rare beast . Just when he was going to continue looting, he heard a soft noise from the side . As soon as he turned his head around, he saw that the female disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect was awake and was now slowly opening her eyes . . .
When Yan Liqiang dragged the female disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect, he put her right beside the other male disciple . Hence, the moment the female disciple opened her eyes, she saw the long, lifeless face of that male disciple .
"Senior Martial Brother…!" The female disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect cried out in grief as she struggled to sit up . She threw herself onto the male disciple's body and started weeping, heartbroken . . .
Yan Liqiang sighed and walked over to her . "My condolences, Lady . . . "