With this, Shi Qinglu no longer dared to play any tricks.
She handed over the real antidote, along with all the trial orbs, everything falling into Jiang Chen's hands.
Jiang Chen inspected each item, weighing them lightly in his hand before smiling. "Miss Shi, forgive the discourtesy. To make sure this antidote is genuine, I'll have to trouble you to accompany me for a little ways."
Shi Qinglu had never suffered such a crushing defeat. Every scheme she'd concocted, every cunning stratagem she'd devised — all of it had been rendered utterly useless against Jiang Chen.
That sense of helplessness left Shi Qinglu feeling deeply resigned.
Shi Qinglu becoming Jiang Chen's captive naturally sent waves of terror through every member of the Hundred Sacred Sites delegation. Those who had already stumbled twice at Jiang Chen's hands, Qin You chief among them, felt their hearts hammering with dread.
Fortunately, Jiang Chen had no intention of making things any harder for them.
Lu Mingye, who had originally intended to use Jiang Chen as a stepping stone, was now watching from a great distance — nowhere near daring to approach. He estimated that his strength was only marginally superior to Shi Qinglu's, and in terms of overall combat ability, he might have even fallen short.
Seeing how Shi Qinglu had been reduced to a wretched captive so effortlessly, where would he find the courage to provoke Jiang Chen again?
Jiang Chen quickly regrouped with Wu You and administered the antidote. Before long, Wu You slowly came to. Seeing Jiang Chen's face, Wu You was overcome with both excitement and shame.
However, he soon caught sight of the Poison Consort, Shi Qinglu.
Wu You had been Shi Qinglu's captive, and now Shi Qinglu had become Jiang Chen's captive. The situation left Shi Qinglu somewhat embarrassed, especially as Wu You stared at her with a suspicious, questioning gaze.
Shi Qinglu snorted coldly. "What are you looking at?"
Wu You was still trying to make sense of it all. "Senior Brother Jiang Chen — what's going on here?"
Jiang Chen smiled. "Miss Shi has been very kind. She insisted on coming along personally to help administer your antidote."
The words were politely put, though Wu You remained skeptical. He knew exactly what kind of person the Poison Consort Shi Qinglu was. After all, he'd been her prisoner.
This was an out-and-out enchantress — endlessly resourceful in her methods and venomous as a serpent. How could she possibly be so obliging as to follow Senior Brother Jiang Chen here just to cure him?
Besides, Wu You seemed to recall that he shouldn't have been in this place to begin with.
Once the antidote had taken effect and no other symptoms remained, Jiang Chen carefully examined Wu You to confirm he was fully recovered. Satisfied, he turned to Shi Qinglu with a smile. "Miss Shi, this is where we part ways. Until we meet again."
Jiang Chen understood that the Ten Great Sacred Sites were not locked in a death struggle with one another. Even though relations between the Hundred Sacred Sites and the Eternal Sacred Sites were far from cordial, they had not yet reached the point of mutual annihilation.
Moreover, with the looming threat of invasion from beyond the domain, the Ten Sacred Sites would ultimately need to unite against a common enemy. Under such circumstances, there was simply no need to antagonize a genius like Shi Qinglu to the bitter end.
Though Jiang Chen had defeated her, there was no reason to press his advantage mercilessly.
Shi Qinglu was visibly taken aback by how reasonable Jiang Chen was being. Her ruby lips parted as she was about to say something, but Jiang Chen had already swept away with Wu You in tow, disappearing in a flutter of motion.
A faintly dazed look lingered in Shi Qinglu's eyes for a moment. Then, suddenly, she stamped her foot hard and called out, "Hey!"
Jiang Chen didn't look back, his laughter drifting lazily over his shoulder. "Miss Shi, if you're wondering why I wasn't afraid of those dozens of poison formations of yours — I'll tell you next time we have the chance."
Shi Qinglu froze. That was precisely what she wanted to know.
Watching Jiang Chen depart as though he could read her very thoughts, her curiosity about him only surged further out of control.