The entry for cultivating immortality states that after dying a hundred times, I attained immortalit

Jiang Bai raised his right hand and untied the black veil from his wrist.

The black veil slipped down, and the original three poisonous markings had disappeared.

The entire right arm, from wrist to elbow, is covered with nine intersecting lines.

Deep blue, bluish-purple, dark red, grayish-white... the colors are strange and hard to discern, and the patterns are like intertwined vines. In the dim light of the valley, there is a faint flow of dark light.

Jiang Yurou stared at it for a moment, then suddenly felt dizzy and quickly looked away.

"Looking at this thing for too long makes me feel uneasy."

"The toxicity is too high, and it has been exposed."

Jiang Bai wrapped his arms in black gauze again, "The legacy left by Senior Blood Vine is called 'True Blood Poison Pattern.' I'm only at the beginner level now; I'm still far from truly mastering it."

He moved his right arm, and the joints made a series of fine cracking sounds.

"His cultivation has reached the peak of the fourth level of Qi Refining. His physical strength..."

Jiang Bai looked at the dark red rock that was half a person tall next to him and swung his right fist.

The fist struck the stone surface with only a dull thud.

But the rock remained completely still.

Just as Jiang Shan was about to ask a question, he saw that the moment Jiang Bai withdrew his fist, spiderweb-like cracks suddenly appeared on the surface of the entire rock.

It spread rapidly from the fist-shaped mark, covering the entire stone body in the blink of an eye.

"Splash~~"

The rock shattered into small stones scattered on the ground.

Jiang Shan gasped, and Jiang Yurou was also stunned.

"The feel of this is not bad."

Jiang Bai shook his hand, somewhat pleased.

He walked over to Jiang Wu and squatted down to examine him.

Jiang Wu had a blood lotus poultice on his shoulder, and the bluish-black poison marks had faded by about 80%. Although his face was still pale, his breathing was much more steady.

"She'll wake up in a little while," Jiang Yurou said softly.

Jiang Bai nodded and stood up to look out of the valley.

At the entrance to the canyon, the sounds of fighting could be faintly heard, indicating that the three races were still hunting each other in the valley.

"Have you hidden enough?" Jiang Bai asked.

Jiang Shan gripped the knife hilt tightly: "How do I do it?"

"From now on, we're not hiding anymore." Jiang Bai looked at the two of them. "They want to hunt down the Jiang family, so I'll show them who the real hunter is in Black Wind Valley."

He paused for a moment: "Let's rename our team."

Jiang Yurou looked up: "What...did you call me?"

"Poisonous Thorns"

Jiang Baidao said, "I am a thorn, and you are brambles. Thorns prick people, brambles bind people. One pricked dies, a group bound dies."

Jiang Shan grinned: "That's a cool name."

"As long as it's exciting."

Jiang Bai took out the blue deputy flag from his storage bag, weighed it in his hand, and said, "With the deputy flag in hand, we're sitting ducks. Since we can't avoid it, let's use this target to catch some big fish."

Jiang Yurou said with some worry, "But there are only a few of us, and Jiang Wu hasn't woken up yet..."

"There are ways to fight when you have fewer people," Jiang Bai interrupted her. "Before, we were the ones being chased because we weren't strong enough, so we could only run away. Now it's different."

Beneath the black veil on his right arm, the poisonous markings faintly glowed.

"It's our turn to chase after them."

Half an hour later.

Jiang Wu woke up.

He was still a little dazed when he opened his eyes, but when he saw the three people surrounding him, especially Jiang Bai standing there unharmed, his eyes immediately reddened.

"Brother Bai... I thought..."

"Think what?" Jiang Shan slapped him on the back of the head. "You're tough as nails, you won't die."

Jiang Yurou fed him the pills and checked his injuries. She confirmed that the poison of the Corrosive Vein Powder had been completely eliminated, but he was still a little weak due to excessive blood loss.

"Can you walk?" Jiang Bai asked.

Jiang Wu gritted his teeth and propped himself up, testing his legs: "I can."

"That's good."

Jiang Bai unfolded the map halo projected by the jade pendant, pointed to the northeast, and said, "There are three main flags. The Li family has definitely obtained one, and the Chen family is probably vying for the second one. Let's not join in that fun."

He moved his finger to the west side of the map, to an area marked "Rift Cliff".

"Go here."

Jiang Shan leaned closer to look: "This place... is quite far from the valley entrance."

"Far is better," Jiang Bai said. "The Li family is definitely searching for us throughout the valley right now, with their main forces concentrated in the central area and the north where we were previously active. The western Riftwind Cliff is dangerous and has thick poisonous miasma, so they won't send too many people there. Even if they do, it will be a team of average strength."

He put away the map's halo.

"Let's pick the softest persimmons first, practice our skills, and see just how poisonous our 'Poisonous Thorn Squad' really is."

Jiang Yurou asked softly, "What if we run into a tough opponent..."

Jiang Bai glanced at her: "Then let him become soft."

The four left Blood Pool Canyon and headed west.

Jiang Bai walked at the front. The poisonous markings on his right arm made him extremely sensitive to the miasma. He could sense the flow of miasma and the distribution of toxins within a radius of fifty feet.

This range is even larger than that of [Killing Intent Perception].

Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he activated his [Killing Intent Perception] at the same time.

With the green entries now active, the detection of malicious sources becomes much clearer.

When these two senses overlapped, Jiang Bai discovered that he could vaguely sense the life force hidden within the poisonous miasma.

"Interesting." Jiang Bai's lips curled slightly.

This discovery is extremely useful.

After an incense stick has burned, a rocky slope appears ahead.

Jiang Bai raised his hand, and the three people behind him immediately stopped and lowered their heads.

He closed his eyes and concentrated, simultaneously activating his [Killing Intent Perception] and Poison Pattern Sensing.

"There are five people behind the slope," Jiang Bai said in a low voice. "The one with the strongest aura is at the fourth level of Qi Refining, the other three are at the third level, and one is at the second level. They're lying in wait, looking like they're waiting for their prey."

Jiang Shan licked his lips: "Want to try it?"

"Fine," Jiang Bai said, "but we'll have to do it another way."

He looked at Jiang Yurou: "How much sleeping powder do you have left?"

Jiang Yurou took out a small porcelain bottle from her medicine pouch: "That's all. Enough to take down two or three Qi Refining Level 3 cultivators, but it won't be very effective against Level 4 cultivators."

"That's enough." Jiang Bai took the porcelain bottle and looked at the box of talismans that Jiang Lin had given him earlier, picking out two "Wind-Raising Talismans" from it.

He sprinkled the bewitching powder evenly on the talisman paper, then gathered a wisp of poisonous energy at his fingertips and gently brushed it across.

The "paralyzing toxin" in the poisonous pattern seeped into the medicinal powder and mixed with it.

"You all wait here."

After Jiang Bai finished speaking, his figure flickered and disappeared into the shadows of the rocks.

[Concealing Breath Technique] Activated.

Like a silent shadow, he scurried along the side of the rocky slope, eventually reaching the top of the slope from behind.

At the bottom of the slope, five Chen family cultivators were hiding in a crevice in the rocks.

The leader was a square-faced young man with the fourth level of Qi Refining cultivation. He was holding a short halberd and impatiently tapping his knee.

"We've been squatting here for almost an hour, and there's not a single ghost in sight."

A thin cultivator beside him smiled obsequiously: "Senior Brother Chen, be patient. This Riftwind Cliff is the only way to the western district's array eye, so someone will definitely come."

"That would be for the best," the square-faced youth snorted. "If we still don't find anything, we'll retreat and head to the central area to meet up with Senior Brother Lei."

The voice just fell.

Suddenly, a soft "crack" sound came from the top of the slope, as if someone had stepped on a rock.

All five people looked up at the same time.

A figure flashed across the hilltop and sped off to the west.

"Someone's there!" the gaunt monk whispered.

The square-faced youth squinted and looked at it: "Just one, around the fourth level of Qi Refining... Chase after him!"

The five men rushed out of the crevice and chased after the hilltop.

Just as I reached the top of the slope, the figure in front of me suddenly turned around and raised his hand.

Two talismans shot out and burned up in mid-air with a "poof".

The next moment, a light gray powder filled the air, carried by the valley wind, and rushed towards the five people.

"Watch out for the poison powder!" the square-faced youth shouted sharply, quickly holding his breath.

However, when the powder touched the skin, it caused a tingling sensation, and the circulation of spiritual energy throughout the body stagnated.

Although it was only for a moment, the momentum of the five people rushing forward was already disrupted.

Right now.

Jiang Bai emerged from behind a giant rock on the side, unleashing his [Swift Shadow Step] to its fullest extent, his figure flashing like a ghost as he entered the five-person formation.

The first target was that cultivator at the second level of Qi Refining.

Jiang Bai's right fist slammed straight into the opponent's chest. Before the fist even arrived, the fierce wind from the punch pressed the man's Taoist robe tightly against his skin.

"Bang!"

A dull thud resounded.

The cultivator's chest suddenly caved in, and he was sent flying backward, crashing into a rock. He fell to the ground without a sound.

The square-faced youth roared, and his short halberd swept across, the blade glowing with an earthy yellow spiritual light, its force heavy and powerful.

Jiang Bai neither dodged nor evaded, raising his right arm to take the blow head-on with his forearm.

"clang!"

The sound of metal clashing together rang out.

The short halberd struck Jiang Bai's arm, but was actually bounced upwards by the impact.

The square-faced youth felt a sharp pain in his hand, his eyes filled with horror—his short halberd was a mid-grade Yellow Rank magic weapon, yet his full-force attack hadn't even broken through the opponent's skin.

Jiang Bai's left hand reached out and gripped the halberd shaft, pulling it forcefully.

Caught off guard, the square-faced youth was pulled forward and staggered.

Jiang Bai threw another right punch, aiming straight for his face, the force of the punch fierce.

The square-faced youth gritted his teeth, let go of the halberd, and retreated rapidly, while simultaneously summoning a small tortoise-shell shield to block in front of him.

"Thump!"

The fist slammed into the shield.

The tortoise-shell shield trembled violently, flashes of spiritual light appeared randomly, and fine cracks instantly appeared on the shield surface.

The square-faced youth spat out a mouthful of blood, using the force to fly backward, and shouted hoarsely, "Form the array! Form it now—"

Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Shan had already charged out from the other side, his thick-backed sword carrying a fierce gust of wind as he slashed horizontally at the other two Chen family cultivators.

The two were affected by the hypnotic drug and paralyzing toxin, which slowed their movements.

A flash of light, and one man's head flew off; another man's chest was cleaved open, blood splattering five steps away.

The last gaunt monk was so frightened that he turned and fled.

Jiang Bai didn't even look at him. He slightly bent his right index finger, and a wisp of grayish-white poison gas shot out from his fingertip like a fine needle, disappearing into the back of the man's neck.

The cultivator took three steps, then his body suddenly froze, his skin turned grayish-white at a visible speed, and then his whole body shattered into pieces like a weathered stone sculpture.

The square-faced youth retreated ten feet away, staring at the corpses scattered on the ground, his face ashen.

He gritted his teeth and crushed a communication talisman, which then shot into the sky as a stream of light.

"Call someone?" Jiang Bai looked at him. "That's fine, saves me the trouble of searching for them one by one."

The square-faced youth hissed, "You...who exactly are you...?"

Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Bai was already in front of him.

The square-faced youth roared and pushed the tortoise shell shield to its limit. The shield surface shone brightly, transforming into a solid, earth-yellow light shield that protected his entire body.

This was his trump card for survival, enough to withstand a full-force attack from a Qi Refining Level 5 cultivator.

Jiang Bai threw out his right fist again, and nine poisonous patterns lit up simultaneously beneath the black veil on his right arm.

The moment the fist touched the light shield, a crisp cracking sound rang out.

The yellowish-brown light shield shattered like an eggshell, and the tortoise-shell shield itself exploded into fragments.

The punch continued, aimed directly at the square-faced youth's chest.

There was no earth-shattering roar, only a muffled thud.

The square-faced youth looked down and saw a fist-shaped indentation on his chest. His Taoist robe ripped open on the back, and the force of the fist burst out, blasting a shallow crater in the rocky ground behind him.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but only a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of internal organs gushed out, and his body collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Jiang Baishou shook his hand, and the poisonous marks on his right arm slowly subsided, the burning sensation gradually fading away.

Jiang Shan walked over, glanced at the corpse on the ground, and looked at Jiang Bai: "Just how hard is your fist now?"

"I haven't tested the upper limit," Jiang Bai said honestly. "But against a fourth-level Qi Refining cultivator, one punch should be enough."

He crouched down and quickly searched the five corpses. The haul was meager: a few bottles of pills, some spirit stones, and the bent halberd—the magical artifact was damaged and unusable. However, he found a jade slip in the square-faced youth's storage bag.

Jiang Bai scanned the jade slip with his divine sense and found that it contained the Chen family's deployment map and communication methods for the Black Wind Valley battle, marking the activity areas and communication frequencies of several teams.

"Good stuff." Jiang Bai put away the jade slip. "With this, we'll know exactly where the Chen family members are."

Jiang Yurou also walked over, looked at the corpses scattered on the ground, and asked softly, "Where do we go next?"

Jiang Bai looked westward, where the poisonous miasma in the direction of Riftwind Cliff was gradually darkening, and the faint sounds of wind and thunder could be heard.

"Keep going west," he said. "That guy just crushed the communication talisman; the Chen family will be here to check soon. Let's find another place and wait for them."

"and then?"

"Then..." Beneath the black veil on Jiang Bai's right arm, the poisonous markings were slightly warm.

"fishing."

On the east side of Riftwind Cliff, there is a narrow canyon entrance.

Six figures rushed over and stopped at the entrance of the valley.

Leading the group was a woman dressed in an indigo Taoist robe, with a cold and aloof expression; it was Chen Yuwei. Behind her followed five cultivators from the Chen family, each possessing considerable power, with the lowest cultivation level being at least the third level of Qi Refining.

"The signal originated from here." A monk examined the compass in his hand; the needle was steadily pointing into the depths of the canyon.

Chen Yuwei frowned as she looked into the valley. The canyon was narrow and cramped, with towering cliffs on both sides reaching into the clouds. The poisonous miasma was so thick that it was impossible to see anything beyond a dozen feet. This kind of terrain was perfect for setting up an ambush.

"Be careful," she whispered. "Go in pairs, taking turns."

The six people then split into three groups and slowly stepped into the canyon.

As they reached the middle of the journey, the poisonous miasma ahead suddenly surged. A figure slowly emerged from the miasma, dressed in black with his hair tied back and his right arm wrapped in black gauze—it was Jiang Bai. He stood alone in the center of the canyon, his face expressionless as he looked at Chen Yuwei.

Chen Yuwei's pupils contracted slightly, and she raised her hand to stop the crowd behind her. "Jiang Bai," she spoke, her voice still cold, "Did you kill those five members of my Chen family?"

"Yes," Jiang Bai readily admitted.

Chen Yuwei was silent for a moment: "Why?"

"Aren't you Chen family members also hunting down members of the Jiang family?" Jiang Bai retorted.

Chen Yuwei didn't reply, but just looked at him and said, "You can leave now, I won't stop you."

A Chen family cultivator behind them cried out urgently, "Senior Sister Yuwei! He killed five of us, how can we let him go—"

"Shut up," Chen Yuwei interrupted coldly. She looked at Jiang Bai, her lips slightly moving, and a whispered message entered his ear: "Outside the Tianhen Mountain cave, I didn't kill you, which is repaying the favor of sparing my life that day. I'm letting you go today, and we're even."

Jiang Bai's eyes flickered slightly. Chen Yuwei continued to transmit her voice: "Chen Lei has set up a killing formation in 'Sword Burial Valley,' prepared specifically for you. He also has the deputy valley master of Black Fiend Valley by his side, whose cultivation is at the seventh level of Qi Refining. You'd better not go."

After transmitting her voice, she called out, "Jiang Bai, I'll give you ten breaths to leave. After ten breaths, don't blame me for taking action."

Jiang Bai looked at her and suddenly laughed: "Chen Yuwei, you're quite an interesting person."

He turned around, his figure swiftly disappearing into the poisonous miasma.

The cultivator from the Chen family asked anxiously, "Senior Sister! Are you really letting him go?"

Chen Yuwei gave him a cold glance: "You want to pursue her? Then go ahead."

The cultivator choked, speechless. Chen Yuwei gazed in the direction Jiang Bai had disappeared, a complex emotion flickering in her eyes. She did indeed owe Jiang Bai a debt—during the ambush outside the Tianhen Mountain cave, if she had gone all out, Jiang Bai might not have survived to break through. Today she repaid the debt; from now on, their next meeting would be a fight to the death.

"Let's go." Chen Yuwei turned around. "Let's meet up with the others."

The six people left the canyon and quickly disappeared into the miasma.

From a crevice in the cliff above the canyon, Jiang Bai watched them leave, crouching low. Jiang Shan peeked out from the side and asked in a low voice, "Are you really letting her go?"

"Hmm," Jiang Baiying said. "She just told me via telepathy that Chen Lei has set up a killing formation in the East Third District and is waiting for me, along with the deputy valley master of the Black Fiend Valley at the seventh level of Qi Refining."

Jiang Shan's expression changed: "Seventh level of Qi Refining? Then we..."

"So what if I'm at the seventh level of Qi Refining?" Jiang Bai slid down the rock wall, landing silently. "Just because he's setting up an array for me doesn't mean I have to go." He dusted off his robes. "Let's go west. Chen Lei is waiting in the east. We're not going there; we'll just annoy him."

Jiang Yurou couldn't help but laugh, and Jiang Wu also grinned. Although his face was still a little pale, his eyes had regained some brightness. The four of them continued westward.

As Jiang Bai walked, he pondered: The deputy valley master of Black Fiend Valley, at the seventh level of Qi Refining… this is quite a big fish. If he could really kill him, not only would he severely damage Black Fiend Valley, but the spoils of war would also be substantial. However, at the seventh level of Qi Refining, he was three minor realms higher than him, and the difference in spiritual power was enormous. A head-on confrontation wouldn't be very likely to succeed; he would have to use some other methods.

He glanced at the black veil on his right arm, then remembered the [Poison Explosion] spell he had just acquired. A spell with a blue attribute should not disappoint in terms of power. However, once this Poison Explosion spell was cast, the poison runes would be empty for a day, unable to store new toxins; it should only be used in crucial moments.

Jiang Bai gradually formed a plan in his mind. "Jiang Shan," he asked, "how many Explosive Flame Talismans do you have left?"

Three.

"Jiang Yurou, do you still have any sleeping powder or similar drugs?"

"There are also some muscle-softening powder and spirit-corroding powder."

"Give them all to me," Jiang Bai said. "Let's go to Riftwind Cliff and prepare a grand gift for that Vice Valley Master."