I smiled. He frowned. My fingers extended, long and sharp, the nails turning black. Poison gathered on them, not merely coating the surface but becoming part of the flesh itself. I stabbed toward my own neck.
The same method I had used above Solarous, when I controlled that absurd ocean of Qi and poison. A vile little shortcut. Dangerous, stupid, effective. The kind of thing that shortened one's lifespan, damaged the foundation, and made every reasonable cultivator ask why. Thankfully, I had never been accused of being reasonable.
The poison-tipped fingers reached my neck.
"Enough!" The word stopped everything.
Not pushed. Not resisted. Stopped. The Enforcer's hand caught my wrist before my fingers pierced the flesh. The black domain froze around us. My Qi halted in my meridians. Even the poison gathered at my fingertips seemed to shudder, suddenly remembering that there were greater authorities than Shen Bao's bad ideas.
