Chapter 757: Five Poison Order

Seeing the dense array of weapons materializing behind her, Zu An's eyes widened. He wanted to ask if she was like Gilgamesh with his Gate of Babylon or Archer with his Unlimited Blade Works.

From their brief exchange, her techniques had been endlessly varied and increasingly dazzling, making him almost wish he could switch professions and become a Spiritual Medium.

It was like playing basketball on the school playground in his past life: making the shot wasn't as important as having cool moves.

Recalling the dazzling skills displayed by both Yun Yuqing and Guiscard, Zu An felt an urge to cry.

Just then, Guiscard casually drew a sword and examined it. Yun Yuqing's eyes immediately widened, and she instinctively looked at the sword in Zu An's hand.

Zu An, however, was not surprised; he simply watched her in silence.

Guiscard chuckled softly. "When we fought just now, I noticed your sword was quite impressive—likely a divine weapon. So, I materialized a replica. While it might not be as good as your original, it should possess about seventy to eighty percent of its power. And I have many, many more such divine weapons. Every time I meet a master, I materialize their weapons and skills. Are you sure you want to fight me?"

Yun Yuqing looked utterly stunned. Although she knew Spiritual Mediums were associated with words like "mysterious" and "powerful," she had never imagined they could be this formidable.

To be able to materialize an enemy's divine weapons and skills—what an incredible, heaven-defying ability!

Guiscard was very pleased with Yun Yuqing's expression; it was exactly what she wanted to see. However, when she looked at Zu An, she found his expression unusually calm.

"You don't seem concerned at all?" Guiscard frowned.

Zu An smiled. "Your skill might fool others, but it won't fool me. While you can materialize an opponent's weapons and skills, a fake is still a fake; it can never truly match the original. Furthermore, with so many weapons and skills mixed together, your abilities are broad but lack depth, impure rather than refined. As long as an opponent sees through this, breaking your skills isn't difficult."

Guiscard was inwardly stunned. In truth, over the years, she had vaguely sensed a flaw in her ability but had never clearly understood what it was. Yet, this person had pointed it out with a single glance, hitting the nail on the head. What terrifying insight and talent!

If this person continued to grow, his future would be limitless—it was even possible he could surpass the Emperor.

Zu An was waiting for this exact moment. His figure flickered, and he was suddenly in front of her, moving so fast that even Shu Shuhao, standing nearby, didn't have time to react.

Guiscard hastily raised the "Taia Sword" in her hand to defend herself, but how could a mage possibly engage a warrior in close quarters?

With a crisp clang, the "Taia Sword" in her hand shattered into two pieces. A streak of blood arced through the air as Guiscard’s figure flickered backward several times in succession.

Shu Shuhao quickly brandished his Soul-Summoning Banner and stepped in front of her. Noticing her right arm had been completely severed and was bleeding profusely, he glared at Zu An, "You brat, you're looking for death!"

Fury value from Shu Shuhao: 444444444…

Shu Shuhao plunged his Soul-Summoning Banner into the ground. Two ghost-like white energy masses began to rotate around him, and a chilling wind instantly swept through the area, lowering the room temperature by several degrees.

Immediately afterward, a man-sized black mist appeared beside him, as if the gates of hell had opened. From within, various ghostly wails and howls could be heard.

Then, a zombie puppet, emanating black energy, struggled out from the mist. The previous zombie puppets, those with the gold and silver rings, the golden gourd hammer, and the red-tasseled spear, all began to tremble, unable to stand steadily, seemingly on the verge of prostrating themselves. It was a natural suppression of rank.

Both Yun Yuqing and Zu An's expressions changed, as they sensed the extraordinary power of this new zombie puppet; it had reached the Half-step Grandmaster realm!

Shu Shuhao grinned sinisterly, "You forced my hand. Now, none of you will leave here alive."

At that moment, a bell chimed nearby, and Guiscard used her other hand to block Shu Shuhao, stopping him. "There's no need for that," she said.

Then, with a wave of her hand, her severed right arm, which had fallen to the ground, flew directly back to her.

Yun Yuqing looked puzzled and murmured, "I don't sense any elemental energy fluctuations."

Zu An replied in a deep voice, "It must be psychokinesis."

"Big brother's insight is truly sharp," Guiscard said with a delicate laugh. She then took her severed arm, placed it back on her shoulder, and a flash of light shimmered from the wound. When the light faded, her arm had astonishingly returned to normal!

On second thought, he understood. If her illusory materialization could even replicate divine weapons, reattaching her own severed limb shouldn't be a difficult feat.

At that moment, an absurd thought popped into Zu An's mind: if this woman were in his world, performing limb reattachment surgery, she would probably be the most famous doctor in the world.

Guiscard smiled and said, "I know you harbor resentment because their ambush earlier struck you with a siege crossbow bolt. Now that you've severed one of my arms, I think we're even, aren't we?"

Zu An was speechless.

As the saying goes, "one does not hit a smiling face." Given her pleasant demeanor, he found it difficult to retort with harsh words.

Guiscard continued, "My sincerity is genuine. I invite you once more to form an alliance."

Zu An said gravely, "You've been heavily wounded by me repeatedly just now. You shouldn't have much spiritual power left, should you?"

"I admit that," Guiscard nodded. "However, with my abilities, you won't be able to defeat me quickly, and with Brother Shu here, we might not guarantee victory, but we should be able to hold out until the city guard arrives. Wouldn't you agree?"

Zu An asked curiously, "That's a strange thing to say. I'm an imperial official, so when the city guard arrives, wouldn't it be even harder for you to escape? Why do you seem to be looking forward to it?"

Guiscard pursed her lips into a smile and looked at Yun Yuqing. "Among everyone here, the one who least wants us to be captured by the imperial court is probably you, isn't it? Oh, no, I should call you Princess Wu?"

Yun Yuqing's face drastically changed. With her identity exposed, murderous intent flashed in her eyes. She couldn't let the other party leave alive, or her troubles would multiply.

Guiscard's alluring voice continued, "Princess Wu must be wondering how I know your identity. Of course, I saw it in Brother Zu's illusion just now. I must say, I'm very surprised. According to intelligence, Brother Zu is a man who loves women, but I never expected him to be so loyal and righteous. For you, he didn't hesitate to betray the entire world and fight against Zhu Xie Chixin, even challenging the Emperor directly... Oh, if only I had a man who would treat me like that in this lifetime, I would die content."

Hearing her words, Yun Yuqing's heart stirred. She subconsciously looked at Zu An, and the murderous intent in her eyes completely faded, replaced by a complex mixture of shock, emotion, surprise, and tenderness.

"Ah Zu..." Although Guiscard had only spoken a few words, Yun Yuqing had already roughly guessed what had happened in his illusion.

At that moment, Guiscard suddenly closed her eyes, as if sensing something. After a moment, she said, "A contingent of city guards is heading this way. They'll likely arrive in about half an incense stick's time. You need to make a decision."

Zu An was still hesitant, but Yun Yuqing quickly replied, "All right, we agree."

Zu An's heart stirred, but he said nothing.

"A wise choice," Guiscard said, patting Shu Shuhao. "Give them the antidote."

Shu Shuhao grunted, then tossed over a porcelain bottle. "She's been afflicted by my Corpse Poison. Take this medicine and soak in hot water; it will neutralize the toxin."

"You're poisoned?" Zu An quickly looked at Yun Yuqing.

Yun Yuqing was initially a little dazed, then felt a slight dizziness in her head and swayed. Fortunately, Zu An was quick enough to steady her before she fell.

Shu Shuhao looked at Guiscard and said in a gruff voice, "I don't understand why you want to make peace with them. If we fought seriously, they'd certainly die."

Guiscard smiled faintly. "It's always better to have an extra friend than an extra enemy."

As she spoke, she tossed over a dark, indistinct token.

Zu An caught it and saw that the token was engraved with patterns of various venomous creatures: snakes, scorpions, centipedes, and more.

Guiscard beckoned to Zu An. "Little brother, take this Five Poisons Token. If you ever have a chance to visit the Southern Borderlands, you will be the most honored guest of its people."

With that, she turned with a cat-like stride, preparing to leave. Zu An quickly called out, "Wait! Since we're allies, tell me one thing: who is your master, and who sent you to kill me?"