Chapter 115 - A Bargain Sealed in Loss

Seeing the Third Elder's sinister smile, Rao Shuang bit her lip.

Am I really going to die like this?

Rao Shuang took a deep breath. If she was going to die, at least she might as well struggle a bit more while she could.

Seeing that the demoness opposite hadn’t spoken for a long time, the Third Elder thought she had given up resistance when he suddenly saw Rao Shuang reach into her clothes and pull something out.

The Third Elder's expression shifted, and he became fully alert. He was already severely injured and wouldn’t let this woman’s dying struggles affect his composure.

Upon closer inspection, the item in the woman’s hand was a long, slender feather fan about a foot long and less than two fingers wide. The fan’s surface was adorned with colorful bird feathers that shimmered resplendently.

The fan’s frame and joints were entirely crimson, crafted of some material that was neither metal nor wood. The Third Elder could not discern what material they were forged from, only that they reflected a hazy glow. At the end of the fan, a small bell-like trinket dangled from a red cord, swaying silently on its own, which was quite strange.

The Third Elder could tell that this feather fan was the demoness’s signature weapon, so he did not dare to underestimate it. He was about to command one of the animated corpses to advance and probe the situation when the infiltrator surprised him by taking the initiative to attack.

Rao Shuang twirled the feather fan twice in her palm, then whipped it at the Third Elder. With a

pop

, the fan unfurled, and several nearly invisible silver darts raced toward him.

Her crafty hidden weapon was incredibly difficult to defend against.

As the silver darts approached, the Third Elder was greatly alarmed and hurriedly circulated his qi. The nearby animated corpse immediately stepped forward, shielding him completely.

Puff puff puff—

The sound of the darts piercing into flesh filled the room.

The Third Elder leaned forward to look and gasped. After being refined, the animated corpses from Five Gods Summit had bodies as tough as iron, incredibly resilient, and impervious to fire and water.

But this animated corpse’s chest was actually packed with tiny silver needles that all pierced more than three inches deep into the animated corpse's hardened flesh. Imagining what those hidden weapons could do to him made the Third Elder shudder with unease.

Since Rao Shuang’s sneak attack had been thwarted, she didn’t have time to make a second strike. The Third Elder was not one to sit idly by. While he was inspecting the silver needles, he had already dispatched the other animated corpse to entangle with the interloper.

The somewhat sluggish animated corpse had just been refined, so it lacked agility. However, it was incredibly strong, with an iron-like body that made it difficult for Rao Shuang to take it down.

Furthermore, Rao Shuang excelled in finesse rather than brute force. Faced with such an unyielding opponent who didn't fear pain, she found it quite challenging to gain the upper hand.

Flowerless Butterfly and the animated corpse exchanged blows for several rounds but neither could decisively gain the advantage.

Seeing this situation settling, the Third Elder's previously anxious heart gradually calmed down. Trying to distract his opponent, he said, "All you are doing is a dying struggle... The Bone-Eroding Poison has already entered your meridians. The more you struggle, the faster it will take effect.

"

Hehe

... if I were you, I would just obediently stop resisting. Perhaps that way, you could live for a little while longer."

Rao Shuang took in every word the Third Elder said, but she didn’t dare to let her guard down. No matter whether what he said was true or false, she wouldn't let him disrupt her focus and expose her vulnerabilities.

However, the Third Elder was indeed cautious. Even though Rao Shuang was at a disadvantage, he did not send the animated corpse beside him to capture her. He feared that without the animated corpse protecting him, the demoness might launch another unpredictable sneak attack, putting his own life at risk.

The frequency of their exchanges was rapid, and dozens of moves were exchanged in the blink of an eye. Rao Shuang flitted around the towering animated corpse like a butterfly, her clothing fluttering gracefully.

The animated corpse stood like an iron tower in place, not dodging in the face of Rao Shuang's fierce attacks, only throwing a punch in response every time she charged at it, aiming to exchange a life for life.

Obviously, Rao Shuang dared not exchange blows with it. Her life was real, while this thing was just an animated corpse. So, she had to hold back her attacks at the crucial moment and retreat many times.

In the midst of Flowerless Butterfly's frustrating struggle, she felt that something was off. She instantly glanced at the Third Elder and noticed his face seemed a bit anxious. His mouth moved as if he were silently counting something.

What was he counting for?

Rao Shuang was puzzled for a moment, but then she realized,

He's counting the time!

A long time had passed since the Third Elder claimed she was poisoned, and she had been exerting herself fighting with the animated corpse since.

Why hadn’t any symptoms of being poisoned appeared?

Rao Shuang wasn’t sure why, but the Third Elder's expression didn’t seem fake, so she mocked, "Great Elder... Your Five Gods Peak's Bone-Eroding Poison doesn't seem as deadly as you claimed! Why do I feel like I’m getting stronger as I fight? Could it be that you mistakenly scattered some elixir instead of poison?"

"Hey!" the Third Elder shouted angrily, "Demoness, don’t speak so arrogantly! Once I capture you, I’ll definitely sew your mouth shut!"

Though the Third Elder spoke assertively, she could clearly see the hint of panic in his eyes. Rao Shuang smirked, immediately devising a plan.

Taking advantage of the Third Elder’s unease, Rao Shuang borrowed the momentum from an exchange with the animated corpse to lightly leap out of the battle and then looked behind the Third Elder and shouted, "Are you still not going to make a move!?"

The Third Elder was startled and widened his eyes to look for her accomplice behind him!

The Third Elder turned around quickly and looked closely only to find emptiness behind him. There wasn't even a trace of another person!

The Third Elder's heart sank, knowing that he had fallen for her trap. Hurriedly, he turned back again.

"I'm really losing out from this bargain..."

A soft sigh echoed in the Third Elder's ear, and he then saw a folding fan unfurl past his eyes, its edge gleaming with a metallic sheen.

Thud—

𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

A head fell, and with the Third Elder's headless body came crashing to the ground. The two animated corpses stopped moving as well.

"He didn't even give me a reward. This is my first time doing a job for free," Rao Shuang muttered, thinking of Tang Jinnian as she looked at the Third Elder's corpse.

Thinking of that terrifying man, Rao Shuang didn't grit her teeth anymore... surviving this desperate situation today might indeed be thanks to Forsaken Phoenix's antidote.

Wondering how that man was doing, Rao Shuang walked to the window and looked down, positioning herself just right to see the situation on the west bridge. To her shock, she saw a sea of heads there—at least several hundred people!

Five Gods Summit surely didn’t have this many elders and disciples. After further thought, Rao Shuang realized that they must have summoned many animated corpses to trap Tang Jinnian within.

Rao Shuang gasped, not out of concern for Tang Jinnian's situation, but because she noticed that quite a few people were rushing toward the main hall.

Her battle with the Third Elder earlier seemed to have alerted them.