Martial Saint with Passives

The mist began to spread at an astonishing speed, completely engulfing everything within a twenty-meter radius in the blink of an eye!

You Honglang, You Zhong, the captive Tang Qiaoqiao, and Jiang Che—everyone present was engulfed by the thick white mist, with no exceptions!

"Hold your breath! It’s a poison mist!" You Honglang reacted with extreme speed, immediately holding his breath and retreating rapidly while swinging his palm to try and disperse the thick mist.

The old servant, You Zhong, was even more experienced. He also held his breath at the first possible moment, threw Tang Qiaoqiao to the ground, and unleashed a series of palm strikes. The powerful force from his palms attempted to push the poison mist away.

But as he continued striking, his movements suddenly slowed.

"Damn it! Holding my breath isn’t working! This poison activates on contact with the skin!"

Just as he finished speaking, his eyes began to glaze over, and the force from his palms became weak and feeble, as if he had forgotten what he was supposed to be doing.

A strange, bewildered smile even appeared on his face as he stood there blankly, unmoving.

It was the same for You Honglang. He remained frozen in the posture of a palm strike, but his gaze had grown vacant, as if he had fallen into some kind of Illusion Realm.

Even Tang Qiaoqiao, lying on the ground, had a blank and vacant look in her eyes.

The thick white mist slowly dissipated, revealing the scene within the forest.

You Honglang, You Zhong, and Tang Qiaoqiao stood frozen in place like clay statues or wooden carvings, their faces stiff and their eyes empty, as if their very souls had been stolen.

Jiang Che walked out from the side. He had taken the antidote in advance and was unaffected.

He didn’t dare delay for a second. The effects of the Illusion Mist Pearl wouldn’t last long!

He rushed to Tang Qiaoqiao’s side, hoisted her onto his shoulder, then turned and broke into a mad dash for the depths of the dense forest!

As for taking this opportunity to kill You Honglang and his servant?

The thought flashed through Jiang Che’s mind for only an instant before he decisively rejected it.

Their Realms were far higher than his, their bodies were incredibly tough, and they possessed formidable Body-Protecting Qi.

’If I fail to kill them and instead shock them out of the Illusion Realm, I could still use Shadow Escape, the Active Skill of True: Shadowless Escape Stream, to get away myself. But I wouldn’t be able to save Tang Qiaoqiao!’

’More importantly, You Honglang and Xie Songnian are clearly mortal enemies! The enemy of my enemy... even if he doesn’t become a friend, letting them cause trouble for Xie Songnian can only benefit me. There’s no downside!’

With Tang Qiaoqiao on his shoulder, Jiang Che pushed his True: Shadowless Escape Stream Body Technique to its absolute limit. His figure flickered a few times through the trees before vanishing without a trace.

Not long after they left, You Honglang and You Zhong, who had been standing frozen on the spot, shuddered almost simultaneously as clarity returned to their eyes.

You Honglang shook his head. He felt as if he had just had a bizarre, grotesque nightmare, and he was still dizzy and disoriented now that he was awake.

His gaze sharpened, but there was no sign of Jiang Che or Tang Qiaoqiao.

"Bastard!!" You Honglang instantly realized he’d been tricked. Veins bulged on his forehead in fury as he slammed a fist into a nearby tree trunk.

"You little bastard from the Cangyun Sect! How dare you trick me with such a low-down, dirty trick!"

You Zhong’s expression was also incredibly foul. He was a dignified master at the Peak of the Refining Organ Realm who had lived for a full sixty years, yet he had allowed two brats in the Bone Forging Realm to escape from him one after another. It was an utter humiliation!

Just then, the faint sound of rushing air and several powerful auras could be felt approaching rapidly from the distance!

"Young Master! The experts from the Three Great Sects are coming! We have to go, now!" You Zhong’s expression changed, and he hurriedly grabbed the enraged You Honglang.

You Honglang gritted his teeth. "Let’s go!"

Not daring to linger, the two flickered and vanished into the dense forest in another direction.

...

Jiang Che ran at full speed with Tang Qiaoqiao on his shoulder.

He didn’t dare to stop for even a moment, terrified that You Honglang and his servant would catch up.

He hadn’t run far when the leaves of the forest ahead suddenly rustled, and several figures shot toward him!

The man in the lead had a grim expression—it was his master, Xu Qingshan!

Behind him followed Liu Qing, Su Wan, and several deans and Elders from Liufeng Courtyard and Lingxiao Courtyard.

Xu Qingshan’s brows furrowed slightly the moment he saw Tang Qiaoqiao on Jiang Che’s shoulder. He asked in a low, serious voice, "What happened?"

Jiang Che quickly set Tang Qiaoqiao down and rapidly explained what had just happened.

However, he omitted the part about encountering Liu Cang and Xie Xingwen. He only said that he had returned from the forest to find Tang Qiaoqiao missing, tracked her, and happened to run into You Honglang and his servant about to harm her. He then used the "Illusion Mist Pearl" given to him by Dean Ye to rescue her by a stroke of luck.

Liu Qing immediately rushed forward, grabbed Tang Qiaoqiao, and asked urgently, "Qiaoqiao, are you okay? What exactly happened? How did you end up in their hands?"

Tang Qiaoqiao’s face was pale, and her gaze was shifty. She stammered, "I... I was led away by Xie Xingwen... He said he was taking me somewhere... and then... then we ran into those two from the You Family... and then... then he just ran away by himself..."

She spoke in fits and starts, her face a mixture of lingering fear and embarrassment.

Hearing this, Liu Qing’s face turned green with anger. Exasperated, she said, "You! What am I supposed to say to you! I told you long ago that Xie Xingwen is a piece of trash! All smooth talk, but he runs at the first sign of trouble! Do you believe me now?!"

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the deans and Elders who had followed became quite interesting.

Someone coughed awkwardly and looked away.

Someone had a scornful look on their face but tried to hide it.

Another frowned, clearly finding the matter thorny since it involved the Vice Sect Leader’s son.

For a moment, no one spoke.

The Dean of Liufeng Courtyard, Feng Zhuyun, gave a light cough and took a step forward.

After all, Xie Xingwen was a disciple of his courtyard, so he had no choice but to ask:

"Nephew Jiang, did you happen to see Xingwen? Where is he now?"