"Cough!"
Tang Sui propped herself up and coughed out a large mouthful of blood mixed with clots. The corrosive pain spread from her stomach, burning like fire, more excruciating than the last time she fused a spirit ring.
The blood overflowing from the corner of her mouth bloomed on her face like bifurcated branches. Tang Sui, trembling all over, curled up like a shrimp in pain. She struggled to lift her other hand to cover her burning stomach, only to find her hand wet and sticky.
"Hiss!" The hand, stained with a few grains of sand, brushed against sticky scraps of cloth, and the needle-like pain made her gasp.
Her abdomen, corroded by the potent poison, was already a bloody mess, red to the point of blackness. It was impossible to distinguish where her flesh ended and the clinging fabric began.
The thick, nauseating smell of blood assaulted her nostrils. Too weak to support herself, Tang Sui's hand went limp. Her upper body crashed heavily onto the ground, her delicate skin immediately abraded by the rough stones, bleeding profusely.
"Even with your exceptional talent, you are, after all, merely a support-type spirit master."
A hoarse and disdainful voice, carried on the wind, reached her ears. A pair of black boots, dusted with grass and soil, stepped onto the ground and entered Tang Sui's wavering vision, growing larger and larger.
Second spirit ability...
Tang Sui, trying to struggle, circulated her spirit power, wanting to unleash her second spirit ability. However, the moment she circulated her spirit power, the toxins in her body spread even faster, draining more of her strength, and her vision began to darken.
No... this will only lead to a quicker death...
Her already frail body could no longer withstand the surge of poison. The circulation of spirit power was forcibly interrupted. Unable to use her second spirit ability, Tang Sui lay on the ground, gasping for breath. The fox mask suspended above her quietly watched her owner's weakening state. The emerald green glow in the fox's eyes flickered.
"Ugh!"
The next second, Tang Sui's hair was grabbed by the black-robed figure, her head forcibly tilted back.
The stinging pain on her scalp cleared Tang Sui's mind somewhat. What then met her gaze was an aged face, partially obscured by a mask covering its right side.
"Not bad, you're still alive and haven't died immediately." A flicker of intense excitement flashed in the black-robed figure's eyes, and its voice grew animated. "I was right, your body's limits can still withstand more poison."
Meeting the hatred in Tang Sui's eyes, the black-robed figure chuckled creepily and began to "reassure" her. "Don't worry, I won't let you die. Your body should be able to endure even more poison. I will take you back, soak you in medicinal baths daily, and refine you into the most perfect poison puppet!"
Such twisted words were spoken by the black-robed figure in an almost gentle, coaxing tone, sending a chill down one's spine.
This treatment, like that of a test subject, ignited Tang Sui's sliver of hatred and unwillingness like a spark, setting her heart ablaze. Her entire soul seemed to burn.
If she were to be captured like this...
Countless familiar faces flashed through her mind like a screen. Tang Sui's heart pounded rapidly.
She would probably never see them again...
"Drip,"
Blood trickled down from her hair onto her eyelids, blurring her vision, dyeing her blue irises a bloody crimson.
Rather than live like a neither-human-nor-ghost, she'd rather drag one down with her and die in battle now!
To avoid contamination by the poison on Tang Sui, the black-robed figure did not pick her up directly. Instead, it grabbed Tang Sui by the back of her collar and dragged her forward for two steps, like a plow.
Holding her breath and adjusting her breathing, Tang Sui seized the moment the black-robed figure turned around. The dullness in her eyes sharpened, and she began to circulate her spirit power madly.
"Cough!"
A mouthful of black blood mixed with organ fragments surged into her throat. With a mouth full of bloody foam, Tang Sui stared intently at the back of the black-robed figure's head. A startling brilliance suddenly erupted from her blood-stained blue eyes:
"Second spirit ability, Benevolent Face."
As her life force was about to be consumed by the poison, falling below the last sliver of health, a healing power enveloped Tang Sui, instantly dispelling all negative buffs on her.
"Hmm, what?"
The black-robed figure, sensing something was wrong, turned back, only to be met by something that hurtled towards its face like a missile!