Chapter 50

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Ding Qi recalled the scene when he first met the silver-bell girl, and the conversation they had came to mind. He glanced again at Elder Ke, who, despite being at a disadvantage, showed no signs of panic and appeared quite confident, which only confirmed his suspicions even more.

“Haha, useless talk! Isn’t this exactly what you hoped for? Isn’t Elder Ke now wondering why the reinforcements he ordered to arrive are so late, and haven’t shown up yet?” Deputy Sect Leader Xing looked at the old man with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile.

Elder Ke’s face clearly showed that something had been hit upon. His expression turned dark and changed several times before he finally calmed down and said, “Deputy Sect Leader Xing, what do you mean by that?”

“Elder Ke, you’re acting so aggressively, as if you’re willing to fight to the death. Do you really think I don’t know what you’re after? You’re just trying to make me hesitate, to buy time, right?” The gaunt middle-aged man sneered.

“Buy time… What do you mean… Why would I need to buy time?” Elder Ke’s expression changed again, and he finally pretended to be confused, frowning.

“What do you mean… Hahaha…” Deputy Sect Leader Xing seemed to have thought of something amusing and couldn’t help but laugh.

“Do you really not know what I meant, Elder Ke?”

“Your sect’s diversionary tactic this time, did you think it went smoothly? Didn’t you find it a bit too smooth? The items in the carriage being transported to the Qingyun Sect’s headquarters should be the true purpose of this diversionary plan, right? Everything else was just a cover, wasn’t it… Elder Ke!” As he said this, Deputy Sect Leader Xing’s face showed a mocking expression.

Elder Ke’s calm demeanor, which had been present until now, vanished completely as he heard Deputy Sect Leader Xing’s words.

At this point, Elder Ke couldn’t hide his shock any longer and asked in disbelief, “How… How did you know?”

Deputy Sect Leader Xing didn’t answer Elder Ke’s question but looked at him with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile.

“Damn, there’s a spy in the sect!”

In fact, Elder Ke already had his answer without needing anyone to tell him.

Thinking about this, Elder Ke’s heart sank.

Elder Ke knew that to intercept them so precisely and to block all the reinforcements, only someone who knew the entire plan of the diversionary tactic and held a high position in the sect could have done it. There were fewer than ten such people in the Qingyun Sect.

There was actually a spy from the Tianquan Sect among the Qingyun Sect’s high-ranking members, which was shocking to Elder Ke.

He was now feeling a chill down his back.

Thinking about this, cold sweat began to pour down his back.

Ding Qi, listening to their conversation from a distance, was also taken aback, his face showing a look of surprise.

Then, Ding Qi couldn’t help but show a bitter smile.

Ding Qi hadn’t expected such a dramatic turn of events. He had initially thought that the Tianquan Sect had fallen for the Qingyun Sect’s plan, but the reality was the opposite.

He now understood that his initial guess was completely wrong.

This time, it wasn’t the Tianquan Sect that had fallen for the Qingyun Sect’s plan, but the other way around.

The Qingyun Sect, thinking they were the mantis catching the cicada, had become the prey of the oriole.

This was far beyond what Ding Qi had anticipated.

While Ding Qi was stunned, Elder Ke, realizing he was the target, also looked increasingly grim.

“Since Deputy Sect Leader Xing already knows the plan, why haven’t you made your move yet?”

Understanding the severity of the situation, Elder Ke asked with extreme caution.

At this point, Elder Ke knew that if the Tianquan Sect had the entire plan, they would have made thorough preparations and wouldn’t let them escape.

Deputy Sect Leader Xing had never intended to keep his promise of letting them leave safely after handing over the carriage. There must have been another purpose.

“That’s because, like Elder Ke, I also wanted to buy some time. But now, the effects of the drug on your bodies should have started, right?”

As he said this, Deputy Sect Leader Xing’s face showed a mysterious smile.

“Drug effects?”

Hearing these words, Elder Ke seemed to realize something bad and immediately began to check his body by circulating his inner energy.

As he circulated his true qi to check his body, a sudden feeling of weakness spread through him. Elder Ke was shocked to find that the true qi he had gathered in his body had suddenly dissipated.

He couldn’t circulate his true qi at all.

The other Qingyun Sect members also realized something and, like Elder Ke, began to circulate their true qi to check their bodies. Soon, their faces showed surprise, and a sense of panic spread among them.

Clearly, they were experiencing the same problem as Elder Ke. However, these Qingyun Sect disciples, who had been carefully selected, quickly calmed down under Elder Ke’s gaze and didn’t panic.

“Power-Dissolving Powder!” Elder Ke, feeling the effects of the drug, asked the gaunt middle-aged man in shock.

“Elder Ke’s reputation for being well-informed and knowledgeable is indeed well-deserved. To be able to identify Power-Dissolving Powder, a drug that hasn’t appeared in the martial world for decades, in such a short time is impressive. Yes, the drug you’ve been given is indeed the Power-Dissolving Powder, the bane of martial artists.”

Hearing Elder Ke’s words, Deputy Sect Leader Xing was initially taken aback, clearly not expecting him to identify the drug so quickly.

However, he then clapped his hands in appreciation and said, “Elder Ke, your reputation is well-deserved.”

Hearing his guess confirmed, Elder Ke’s face showed no joy, only growing more serious.

Feeling the dizziness and weakness from the drug, Elder Ke’s heart sank. “That damned traitor, if I find out who it is…”

Deputy Sect Leader Xing’s earlier words had already made it clear to Elder Ke that they had been drugged with food and water before leaving the sect.

Ding Qi, hearing that the Qingyun Sect members had been given Power-Dissolving Powder, couldn’t help but draw a sharp breath.

Power-Dissolving Powder was a well-known drug even to Ding Qi. It was colorless and odorless, and the victim wouldn’t notice it until it took effect. Moreover, unlike other drugs, even if the victim didn’t notice it beforehand, martial artists could usually suppress the effects with their true qi, and some with deep true qi could even expel the drug completely.

However, Power-Dissolving Powder was different. It was called a martial saint drug precisely because true qi had no effect on it. Even with the deepest true qi, one couldn’t do anything about the drug. The drug specifically targeted the true qi in a martial artist’s body, and the deeper the true qi, the faster the drug took effect. This bizarre characteristic was unique in the martial world. Ding Qi knew that the ingredients needed to make Power-Dissolving Powder were extremely rare, and even major martial sects rarely had the opportunity to produce it.

The Tianquan Sect had managed to produce this martial saint drug for this operation, showing how much they had invested.

From a distance, Ding Qi could see that Elder Ke’s body was swaying, and the effects of the drug were starting to show.

“Now listen… everyone….”

Just as Elder Ke was about to make a last-ditch effort, ordering the Qingyun Sect members to break through the encirclement before the drug took full effect, a wave of dizziness and weakness, a hundred times stronger than before, hit him.

Elder Ke didn’t finish his sentence before his body swayed and he fainted. He, the most powerful among the Qingyun Sect members, was the first to fall.

Next, several other powerful Qingyun Sect members, like Elder Ke, couldn’t hold on and fainted. Soon, a large number of Qingyun Sect disciples had collapsed.

Seeing their companions fall one after another, some Qingyun Sect members tried to fight to the death and escape, but they hadn’t taken two steps before the drug took effect, and they fell straight to the ground.

In the end, all the Qingyun Sect disciples fainted.

Seeing this, Ding Qi’s face showed a bitter smile.

Recalling the confident look of the pretty girl when she talked about the diversionary plan, Ding Qi could only shake his head in helplessness. She probably never imagined that things would end up as he was seeing now.

“The girl was so confident in the Qingyun Sect’s diversionary plan, but she didn’t realize that her own sect was the one being outmaneuvered.” Looking at the unconscious Qingyun Sect disciples, Ding Qi thought.

Looking at the entire situation, while the Qingyun Sect thought they had outmaneuvered the Tianquan Sect and felt confident, they had been outmaneuvered from the start.

The Qingyun Sect had been in the dark the whole time, thinking they had the upper hand.