Immortality Cultivation

Chapter 251: Misty Swamp

Coming out of the snowy world, Fang Hao felt like he had jumped from an ice cellar into a pot of warm water. Although it was cold outside, compared to the extreme cold of that Demon King’s lair, it was practically warm. He found a leeward mountain hollow and hunkered down for half a day, completely recovering the spiritual energy consumed in the fight with the Demon King. The residual pain from the conflict of ice and fire in his body also subsided, and he took the opportunity to initially stabilize "Cold Ice Bone Erosion."

His strength had recovered by eighty or ninety percent, and he felt in better condition than ever before. After his Physical Body underwent the dual tempering of ice and fire, its intensity had firmly reached the threshold of the Early Nascent Soul Stage, perhaps even slightly exceeding it. Although his cultivation was still at the Late Golden Core Stage, Fang Hao was confident that with just his Physical Body and the control over power brought by the War Heaven Scripture, combined with the unique move of ice and fire Fusion, he would have the strength to fight even without using the golden puppet. Facing an ordinary Early Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator, he could at least protect himself. Of course, if he encountered a Middle Nascent Soul Stage or an even more powerful old monster, he would still have to run.

"Time to go to the next place." Fang Hao took out the "star evolution plate" and injected spiritual energy into it. On the compass, the light spot representing the northern fragment had disappeared (taken by him). Among the remaining dim halos, the one representing that primitive swamp in the west seemed a tiny bit clearer than before.

"Swamp... toxic miasma, mist, eerie creatures..." Fang Hao frowned slightly. This kind of environment was more of a headache than snow mountains and earth fires. It’s easy to dodge an open spear but hard to guard against a hidden arrow. Poison and eerie things are often more lethal than powerful Demon Beasts.

He identified the direction and set off toward the west of the Secret Realm. This time, he no longer pursued speed but was more cautious. When encountering groups of Demon Beasts with decent strength on the way, he would bypass them if possible. If he really couldn’t, he would deal with them as quickly as possible, never lingering to avoid bringing unnecessary trouble.

After walking for about two days, the scenery ahead began to change. The dense primitive forest was gradually replaced by a boundless swamp wetland filled with a mixture of light purple and grayish-white mist. A strange smell, sweet yet decaying, permeated the air; inhaling it made one feel slightly dizzy. The ground became soft and muddy, covered with turbid puddles and bottomless mud pits. Strange fungi and water plants of various colors, emitting a faint glow, floated on the water’s surface. Occasionally, huge, twisted dead trees could be seen, half-soaked in water and half-pointing toward the gray sky like the skeletons of monsters.

"This is the ’Misty Swamp’." Fang Hao stopped at the edge of the swamp, fully activating his Clear Spring Spirit Eyes to try and see through the thick fog, but to little effect. The mist seemed to have a special effect of blocking Divine Sense and vision. With his current Divine Sense strength, he could only barely see the scenery within a hundred yards; any further was just a blur. Moreover, the mist seemed mixed with a faint, corrosive toxic miasma; staying inside for a long time would damage both the body and spiritual energy.

"A bit troublesome." Fang Hao found a few bottles of detoxification Medicinal Pills from his storage ring, took one himself, and then took out a previously refined "Miasma-Avoiding Talisman" that could resist the erosion of toxic miasma for a short time and stuck it on himself. This swamp did not look like a benevolent place at first glance.

He did not rush in blindly but instead explored slowly along the edge of the swamp, wanting to see if there was a relatively safer path or to first observe the creatures and dangers within the swamp.

Before he had gone far, he saw a few fresh human Cultivator corpses wearing uniform clothing lying by a mud pit ahead. The surfaces of the corpses were covered with a faint purple-black layer, bleeding from the seven orifices, and showing signs of a painful death—clearly poisoned. Looking at the clothing, they seemed to be Disciples of some small Sect, with the highest cultivation being no more than the Late Foundation Establishment Stage.

"It seems many people have already broken in and died." Fang Hao’s heart tightened, and he became more alert. He did not approach those corpses; who knew if there was residual poison on them or if they were infested by some poisonous insects.

Just as he was about to bypass them, his ears twitched. His Clear Spring Spirit Eyes captured an extremely weak spiritual energy fluctuation in a puddle ahead to the side, hidden by a thicket of vibrant purple reeds. It seemed... to be a living thing?

He immediately stopped, concealed his aura, and quietly activated the Shadowless Evasion Technique, staring intently at that reed thicket.

Rustle... rustle...

A slight rubbing sound was heard. The reed thicket was pushed aside, and a young Cultivator covered in mud, with a weak aura, a pale green face, and purple lips, stumbled out. He looked to be in his early twenties, with a cultivation of only the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage. His clothes were tattered, and there was a claw mark on his chest. The wound was black, and the blood flowing out was dark red—clearly, he had been heavily poisoned.

This young Cultivator seemed to be semi-conscious. After crawling out, he looked around blankly and then stumbled toward the direction where Fang Hao was hiding, muttering incoherently: "Save... save me... there’s... poisonous spiders... Senior Brother... they all..."

Before he could finish, his legs gave way, and he collapsed directly into the mud, falling unconscious. Only the rise and fall of his chest proved he was still alive.

Fang Hao’s brow furrowed. To save him, or not? This swamp was full of hidden dangers. Carrying an unconscious, poisoned burden was definitely seeking death. Besides, who knew where this person came from? What if he saved an ungrateful person, or if he carried some tracking mark that led enemies here?

As he hesitated, his Clear Spring Spirit Eyes suddenly caught sight of several slender, pale-white tentacles covered in suckers deep within the reed thicket under the water, silently creeping toward the unconscious young Cultivator. They weren’t fast, but they carried a nauseating stench and a cold aura.

"Something in the water?" Fang Hao’s eyes narrowed. It seemed that even if he didn’t save him, this person wouldn’t live long and would soon be dragged away and eaten by the monster in the swamp.

"Sigh, consider yourself lucky." Fang Hao sighed; in the end, he couldn’t harden his heart to watch someone die without helping. Besides, this person might know something about the situation in the swamp?

He flickered and instantly appeared beside the young Cultivator. His right hand was covered in a thin layer of icy blue light (the power of Cold Ice Bone Erosion, which could temporarily isolate toxins and corrosion) as he grabbed him. Simultaneously, he pointed with his left hand, and a Star Shattering Finger carrying a trace of Earth Core Flame Fire shot out toward those pale tentacles spreading under the water!

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—!

A faint purple fire line plunged into the water, making a burning sound. A sharp hiss came from underwater, and those tentacles retracted like they’d been electrocuted. A few wisps of black smoke and foul-smelling foam rose to the surface.

Fang Hao didn’t dare stay. Carrying the unconscious young Cultivator, he used Shrinking the Ground to an Inch and quickly left this dangerous area, only stopping when he reached a relatively dry spot at the edge of the swamp shielded by several large rocks.

He set the young Cultivator down and checked his injuries. The toxic gas from the claw wound on his chest had already gone deep, and there seemed to be a cold toxin eroding his Divine Soul. Ordinary detoxification pills probably wouldn’t be very effective.

Fang Hao thought for a moment and took out a small jade bottle from his robe (actually from his storage ring), pouring out a Fourth Grade "Fire Lotus Detoxification Pill" he had refined himself, which included Earth Core Flame Fire essence and several rare detoxification medicinal herbs. This pill was not easy to refine; he only had three himself, specifically for dealing with strange poisons.

He stuffed the pill into the young Cultivator’s mouth and used spiritual energy to help it dissolve. Upon entering the stomach, the pill immediately turned into a warm medicinal power with a faint fragrance of fire lotus, which began to neutralize and disperse the toxins in his body. The greenish-black color on the young Cultivator’s face began to fade at a speed visible to the naked eye, and his breathing stabilized, though he remained unconscious and needed time.

Fang Hao also briefly treated the wound on his chest and applied some external medicine. Having done this, he walked to a large rock and sat cross-legged, adjusting his breath while vigilantly observing the surrounding swamp mist.

After about half an hour, the young Cultivator let out a painful groan and slowly opened his eyes. His gaze was blank at first, then became terrified as he abruptly sat up. When he saw Fang Hao sitting not far away and that the wound on his body had been treated, he calmed down slightly.

"Did... did Senior save this Junior?" The young Cultivator’s voice was hoarse as he struggled to get up and pay his respects.

"No need for formalities, sit and talk." Fang Hao glanced at him and said calmly, "Who are you? How did you end up alone and injured like this, unconscious at the edge of the swamp? Where are your companions?"

A look of sorrow and lingering fear appeared on the young Cultivator’s face: "This Junior is Lin Ping, an Outer Sect Disciple of the ’Hundred Herb Valley’ in the West Province. I entered the Secret Realm with several Senior Brothers for experience, hoping to collect some rare poisonous herbs and Spirit Medicine. Unexpectedly, we strayed deep into this swamp and were attacked by a group of ’Ghost-Faced Poisonous Spiders’... To cover my escape, my Senior Brothers were all... I fought my way out but was also poisoned and collapsed from exhaustion... Thanks to Senior’s rescue, otherwise, this Junior would have surely died in the mouth of those poisonous creatures!"

As he spoke, he struggled again to pay his respects in gratitude.

"Hundred Herb Valley? That Sect skilled in Alchemy and the use of poison?" Fang Hao’s heart stirred. He didn’t know much about the Sects of the West Province, but he had heard of the "Hundred Herb Valley" being famous for its Alchemy and poison techniques.

"Exactly." Lin Ping nodded, a trace of shame appearing on his face. "This Junior’s skills were lacking, and I have brought shame to my Sect."

"You mentioned earlier that you went deep into the swamp? Do you know if there’s anything special in this swamp? Or have you seen anything unusual? For example, some kind of ancient metal fragment emitting a primordial aura?" Fang Hao asked directly. He saved this person partly as a kind gesture and partly to gather some information.

Lin Ping was stunned for a moment, thinking back carefully with a look of hesitation on his face: "A special place... The toxic miasma is thicker deep in the swamp, and there are many eerie creatures; we didn’t dare go too deep. However... before encountering the poisonous spiders, we seemed to see from a distance that in a region toward the west of the swamp’s center, the mist is an eerie dark green, and there’s faintly... a heart-palpitating pressure emanating from it. We didn’t dare approach. As for the metal fragment... we didn’t see it. Is Senior looking for something?"

West of the swamp’s center, dark green mist, heart-palpitating pressure... Fang Hao’s heart stirred. On the "star evolution plate", the halo representing the swamp fragment seemed to be in that direction.

"Do you know of any dangers near that dark green mist region? Or how to get there relatively safely?" Fang Hao continued to ask.

A look of fear appeared on Lin Ping’s face: "This Junior doesn’t know. But we saw from a distance that in the mud pits at the edge of that dark green mist, there seemed to be many... huge skeletons, like those of some super-large Demon Beasts. Moreover, we felt more than one extremely fierce and cold Divine Sense sweeping out from the mist... We were so scared we immediately turned and ran, and then we encountered the poisonous spiders."

Fang Hao was lost in thought. It seemed that the dark green mist region was where the sixth "battle heaven axe" fragment was located. Moreover, the guardians were likely more than one, possibly a group of powerful Demon Beasts adapted to the swamp’s toxic miasma environment, or... something else.

"Thank you for telling me." Fang Hao nodded and asked no more. He took out a small Storage bag containing some Low-Grade Spirit Stones and a few bottles of ordinary healing and detoxification Medicinal Pills and threw it to Lin Ping. "Your injuries haven’t healed, and you’ve been poisoned; it’s not suitable for you to stay here. Take these pills and Spirit Stones, leave the Secret Realm quickly, and return to your Sect to recover."

Lin Ping took the Storage bag, moved to tears, and was about to kowtow when Fang Hao stopped him.

"Senior’s great kindness will never be forgotten by this Junior! I wonder what Senior’s honorable name is, so that one day this Junior..."

"No need, we’ll meet again if fate allows. Go quickly, this place is not suitable to stay for long." Fang Hao waved his hand and interrupted him. He didn’t want to reveal his name, nor did he want to get further involved.

Seeing Fang Hao’s firm attitude, Lin Ping didn’t dare say more. He bowed deeply again, then identified the direction and stumbled away from the swamp, soon disappearing into the woods.

Fang Hao watched him leave, his gaze returning to the boundless swamp shrouded in light purple and grayish-white mist, his expression becoming solemn.

Dark green toxic mist, super-large Demon Beast skeletons, multiple fierce Divine Senses... It seemed this sixth fragment would be harder to obtain than the previous two.

"No matter how hard it is, I must go." Fang Hao clenched his fists. He finished adjusting his breath, bringing his condition to its peak, and checked his pills and Talismans again, especially those for avoiding and neutralizing poison. Then, he no longer hesitated, activated the Shadowless Evasion Technique, blended his figure into the mist at the edge of the swamp, and cautiously crept toward the dark green mist region in the west of the swamp’s center as Lin Ping had described.

The true challenge had perhaps only just begun.