Completely Outmatched

When it came to using poison...

He had many choices in his hand.

However, there weren't many that could actually bring down Su Qing.

And among them, the most reliable one...

There was only one.

The Daoist stroked his beard, a sinister grin spreading across his face. He returned to his room, fetched a ladder, went behind the bed, and climbed up to the rafters to retrieve a small box.

The box was eight inches high, a foot long, and four inches wide, secured with a small copper lock.

The way he had hidden it showed just how precious its contents were.

"To bring you down, I cannot afford to be stingy with this medicine!"

He took out the key and opened the box.

Inside were many bottles and jars, all containing precious elixirs and poisons.

He searched through the box briefly and soon found a packet of powder.

This powder was exceptionally precious...

It took a thousand pounds of materials to refine a single small spoonful, and from that spoonful, only thirty percent was the pure essence.

Not only that, it had to be refined further.

After an unknown number of processes...

Only then could the final poison be obtained.

Thus, this medicine was incredibly valuable.

And while it was precious, its potency was also exceptionally formidable.

A mortal would lose their life after consuming just a tiny fraction of a grain.

Even for a divine immortal, consuming three grains of this medicine meant certain death.

One could see how terrifying its power was.

However, while the medicine was terrifying enough to deal with minor immortals, it would have little effect on truly powerful ones.

After all, once their strength reached a certain level, they wouldn't necessarily die even if they swallowed the entire packet.

At most, it would make them feel deathly ill.

Therefore, the purpose of this medicine wasn't necessarily to take Su Qing's life directly.

Its primary goal was to weaken Su Qing's strength.

To make her easier to deal with.

Although Su Qing's exact strength was unknown, she certainly wasn't weaker than him, and even if she was, the gap wouldn't be large.

Such an enemy would undoubtedly be troublesome to handle...

But if this medicine could weaken her strength...

Wouldn't dealing with her be as easy as reaching for something in one's pocket?

As for how to administer the poison...

He naturally already had a plan in mind.

Although these people were cultivators, they were all women, and surely they wouldn't be able to refuse sweet pastries.

So, he called for a celestial boy and had him bring a tray of pastries and a scale.

The boy didn't ask why and soon brought the items to the Daoist.

The Daoist sat in his room, looking at the small packet of medicine in his hand, and gritted his teeth, thinking:

"These people have some level of cultivation, so they'll likely each need three grains. That woman will probably need more to be safe. Let's say six grains... if it's too much and she's poisoned instantly, that's even better, saving me the effort."

These powders were exceptionally precious, and every bit used was a bit gone forever...

For the Daoist, it was quite painful to use.

But to get rid of Su Qing and eat the pilgrim's flesh, this sacrifice was worth it.

After all, that was immortality!

That was living as long as heaven itself!

Even the Buddha himself was probably only at that level, right?

The Daoist thought to himself as he quickly hid the powder inside the pastries.

Once hidden, he carefully inspected the pastries.

Finding that the powder was well-concealed...

He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Afterward.

He divided the pastries into four different plates to ensure everyone would eat the poison while guaranteeing Su Qing would get the largest portion.

Then, he carried the pastries back to the front hall.

His face was full of smiles, showing no hint of his true intentions.

He placed the pastries on the table and handed them to everyone, saying:

"The rice is already cooking, but it will be a while before it's ready. Please have some pastries to tide you over."

Su Qing glanced at the Daoist upon hearing this, then said with a smile, "You've worked hard, Daoist! However, I'm not hungry yet, so I won't eat for now."

Su Qing believed her eyesight was quite good...

She could see exactly what was inside these pastries with a single glance.

However, it was all rather insignificant.

If she were still in the Earthly Immortal stage...

These things might indeed make her feel uncomfortable for a while.

If she were in the Divine Immortal Realm, she might even lose her life.

But unfortunately, she was now at the Heavenly Immortal stage.

After these things went down, they would at most make her stomach feel a bit warm...

However.

Once Su Qing saw these things and realized they were poisoned...

She also knew that they wouldn't be able to pass through Yellow Flower Temple easily.

At the same time, an idea began to form in her mind.

She was pondering how to send this Daoist to see King Yama without Chen Chaoyan noticing.

Su Qing wasn't afraid of truly ruining this tribulation.

After after all, Maitreya and the Buddha had already said she could act as she pleased...

Since that was the case...

Since the opponent had made a move against her.

Why shouldn't she strike back?

Although Su Qing had a good temper, she was no pushover.

Moreover, this fellow wanted to take all of their lives.

That was even more unforgivable.

As for how to do it—how to solve the trouble before her without revealing her strength to Chen Chaoyan...

Su Qing was thinking about it.

While she was contemplating.

The Daoist said, "Eh, eat, eat! These pastries were made by my young disciples; the taste is quite good, I'm sure you'll like them."

Su Qing shook her head, then picked up her teacup and took a sip, having already made up her mind...

She would simply let Chen Chaoyan and the others eat the poison.

If Su Qing guessed correctly...

The Daoist was likely using the poison from the original story... after all, this should be his most powerful poison.

And while that poison was formidable, in reality, to kill a god, it wasn't something that would work the moment it was eaten...

It would take three days for the bone marrow to completely rot.

How much more so for an immortal?

So even if Chen Chaoyan and the others ate it...

In the short term, there wouldn't actually be any major issues.

Besides, detoxifying wasn't that difficult...

It was just a matter of a high-grade detoxification pill.

And as it happened...

She had been refining pills for five hundred years.

While she couldn't match Taishang Laojun's skill, she was at least something of a direct disciple; she had handfuls of these useful detoxification pills!

Wouldn't it be simple to neutralize this Daoist's poison?

That being said, Chen Chaoyan and Jingyue would still suffer a bit in the meantime...

For example... a stomachache.

As for why Su Qing wasn't worried about Yudie...

She was a sword!

Even if a sword were dipped in poison, it would just become a poisoned sword...

What could possibly happen to her?

Just as she was thinking this.

Yudie had already started eating on her own...

Seeing this, Su Qing smiled helplessly and said, "Since you've said so much, I'll have a taste as well. If I don't eat, it really would be quite disrespectful to you, Daoist."

Saying so, Su Qing also picked one up and began to eat.

Seeing that Su Qing and Yudie had eaten, Chen Chaoyan and Jingyue didn't think much of it and picked up the pastries to taste them as well.

Yudie ate very quickly, finishing the pastry in two or three bites...

She gave a thumbs up and said, "The Daoist's pastries really do taste good..."

Yudie naturally didn't know there was poison inside; she was simply praising the flavor.

But it had to be said, the pastries were indeed quite delicious.

Too bad they were poisoned.

When the Daoist saw Su Qing and the others eat the pastries, a smile immediately broke out on his face.

He said, "It's good that you like them. My disciples' skill has always been excellent... If it weren't for the fact that you won't live past today, you'd surely be able to eat them again later."

Chen Chaoyan was slightly stunned upon hearing this, and just as she was about to speak, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. Her expression changed drastically, becoming exceptionally pale.

Jingyue's expression was also terrible at this moment.

She furrowed her brows and said, "These pastries are poisoned?"

The Daoist chuckled and nodded, saying, "My apologies, but I'm afraid you won't be leaving this place alive."

Upon hearing this answer.

Jingyue glared at him and simultaneously took out a pill, swallowing it.

When she traveled abroad.

Her master had naturally given her many things...

In addition to Dharma treasures, there were naturally some elixirs.

At the same time, she handed a pill to Chen Chaoyan beside her.

But when she turned her gaze toward Chen Chaoyan...

She found that Chen Chaoyan had already fainted.

However, even though Chen Chaoyan was unconscious...

Jingyue didn't hesitate.

She hurriedly went to feed the pill into her mouth.

Chen Chaoyan's fainting was naturally not the effect of the poison...

But Su Qing's doing.

She had performed a minor spell to make Chen Chaoyan fall asleep immediately.

This was so she wouldn't be involved in what was to follow.

After all, her actions afterward might not be very elegant.

As for Yudie, seeing the two's terrible expressions, she couldn't help but be slightly stunned, looking completely bewildered.

She didn't feel anything at all.

She didn't even have a hint of a stomachache.

"Oh, I'm a sword spirit, I'm not afraid of poison," Yudie suddenly realized, then hurriedly looked at Su Qing.

Although she was a sword, Su Qing wasn't... she didn't want to see her mother's pained expression.

But when she looked at Su Qing, she found that Su Qing was currently looking at the Daoist with a look of great interest.

Because the Daoist was currently looking at Su Qing and the others with a very interesting expression...

At this moment, the Daoist was exceptionally surprised, even showing a hint of terror.

It was within his expectations that Chen Chaoyan and Jingyue would be poisoned; he wasn't surprised by that...

But when he saw that Su Qing and Yudie remained completely unfazed after eating the poison, he felt a sense of foreboding. One had to know that Su Qing's dose... had been doubled.

And later, when he saw Jingyue take out a pill and swallow it...

He realized that his poison was likely useless.

Noticing this.

The experienced Daoist naturally wouldn't just stand by... he immediately drew his precious sword and moved to attack Chen Chaoyan and Jingyue.

His plan was to deal with Chen Chaoyan and Jingyue first, or capture them...

That way, he could use them as hostages, preventing Su Qing from using her full strength or forcing her to reveal a weakness.

So that he could defeat Su Qing...

However, as he charged toward the two with his sword...

Su Qing appeared in front of him in an instant.

She blocked his path.

Su Qing held no weapon in her hand; she merely pointed two fingers at him... her fingers emitting a faint glimmer of magical power.

It didn't look threatening...

But the Daoist could feel it through the trace of aura she revealed.

The opponent's realm was definitely above his own.

So for a moment, he didn't dare to act rashly.

"It's a pity... originally, if you had behaved yourself, none of this would have happened," Su Qing said, her gaze cold as she looked at the Daoist.

Su Qing didn't intend to let this monster live...

Since the opponent wanted her life, why should she show him any mercy?

The monster saw that Su Qing was determined to take his life.

So he simply stopped begging for mercy.

He hurriedly retreated, then stripped off his upper garment, revealing those densely packed eyes. All the eyes opened at once, suddenly erupting with light.

Unfortunately...

His idea was good.

But the person he encountered was the wrong one.

Su Qing merely waved her hand, dispelling the golden light...

And struck directly toward his forehead.

Right at that moment...

A voice suddenly came from mid-air.

"Sovereign Su, Sovereign Su, please stay your hand!"

Su Qing's eyebrows twitched slightly upon hearing this. She slightly pulled back the lethal blow she was about to deliver, merely sending the Multi-Eyed Monster flying.

He crashed into the Daoist temple, smashing it to pieces.

This strike likely wouldn't take the Multi-Eyed Monster's life.

But even if it didn't kill him, he would be severely injured.

However, Su Qing didn't just leave the monster alone; she leaped beside him and pinned him under her foot to prevent him from escaping.

After doing all this.

Su Qing looked up and asked, "May I ask which Bodhisattva has arrived?"

As soon as Su Qing finished speaking, a Bodhisattva descended beside her.

Upon looking, it was indeed Pilanpo Bodhisattva.

"Bodhisattva, you have been in seclusion for many years. Why have you suddenly come today? And why did you stop me from killing this monster?" Su Qing said with a chuckle, knowingly asking the question.

The Bodhisattva chanted "Amitabha," then said, "Sovereign Su, the reason I am here is something you should already know."

"Please enlighten me, Bodhisattva."

"Amitabha, this monster has a predestined affinity with me, and he is still of use to Guanyin Bodhisattva. Therefore, Sovereign Su, you cannot kill him yet. At the very least, please do not kill him now." Pilanpo Bodhisattva did not put on the airs of a senior before Su Qing, but simply explained the situation to her.

Su Qing's lips twitched slightly. She naturally knew exactly what use Guanyin had for this fellow.

However, she was also a bit speechless...

So this was what Maitreya meant by saying she could act as she pleased?

I thought I could kill whoever I wanted!

Turns out this is what 'as I please' looks like.

It really is quite exasperating.

"I see..." Su Qing curled her lip and said, "But... this monster tried to poison me, my daughter, my goddaughter, and my friend. If I just let him go like this, my mind won't be at peace."

Hearing this, Pilanpo Bodhisattva gave a helpless smile and said, "By the way, Sovereign Su, Guanyin Bodhisattva said that if you need anything, you can go to her... she certainly won't refuse you."