81: Chapter 81: Rematch with Shadow Fiend, Mysterious White Dust!

Ye Chen's legs went weak, and he collapsed onto the ground.

He panted heavily, every inch of his muscles trembling.

Yet, he dared not relax, immediately taking out his last bit of healing medicine and swallowing it.

He then used his remaining True Qi to suppress the volatile deadly poison within his body.

After resting for about half an hour, he regained a sliver of strength.

Ye Chen struggled to climb up, finding a relatively dry and hidden mound where he dug a shallow pit.

He buried himself inside, leaving only a breathing hole.

He also found a type of "Breath-Concealing Powder" from the Poison Doctor's Storage Ring and sprinkled it around the area.

He had to heal as quickly as possible and recover some of his strength to face the risks on the way back to the Sect.

The people from Golden Flame Peak and "Shadow Fiend" were very likely still waiting for him outside.

Hiding in the earthen pit, Ye Chen circulated his weak True Qi, beginning to slowly repair his injuries and dispel the deadly poison.

In his embrace, the Storage Ring obtained from the Poison Doctor and the jade box containing the mother root of the "Ten Thousand Poisons Demonic Vine" emitted a faint coolness.

This trip to the Ten Thousand Poisons Swamp had been a narrow escape from death with huge gains.

But it also allowed him to truly witness the cruelty of the cultivation world and his own insignificance.

"I must... become stronger."

In the trance before falling into deep healing, only this single thought remained in Ye Chen's mind.

Meanwhile, in the distance from his hiding place, several sneaky figures were wandering at the edge of the swamp.

They seemed to be searching for something, their gazes occasionally sweeping towards the direction of the Rotten Bone Forest.

The wind and rain had not ceased.

Ye Chen hid and healed in the earthen pit at the edge of the Rotten Bone Forest for a full five days.

These five days were the relatively "peaceful" time since he entered the Ten Thousand Poisons Swamp.

Although he was in the perilous outer perimeter of the swamp, relying on the "Breath-Concealing Powder" and the concealment of the earthen pit, plus the aura emitted unintentionally by the mother root of the "Ten Thousand Poisons Demonic Vine" that made low-level poisonous creatures instinctively afraid, no blind Yao Beast came to disturb him.

Ye Chen utilized the high-quality Medicinal Pill and Spirit Stone from the Poison Doctor's Storage Ring.

Combined with the weak ice-fire circulation in his body and the warm current of vitality from the dark red sparks, he fully repaired his nearly collapsing body.

Under the nourishment of the medicinal power and True Qi, his Meridians slowly and firmly healed and widened, shimmering with a jade-like luster and ice-fire patterns.

His ruptured internal organs also became tough again under the nourishment of the vitality.

His cultivation of the Lunhai Realm First Level Middle Stage was not only completely stabilized, but due to this tempering of breaking then standing, there were faint signs of advancing towards the Late Stage.

The most troublesome thing was still the deadly poison from the "Shadow Fiend" assassin.

This poison was insidious and tricky, deep in his bone marrow and Meridians, almost entangled with Ye Chen's blood and Qi.

Although the purifying power of the dark red sparks and the ice lotus cold qi could suppress and dispel a portion, wanting to eradicate it completely was not a task for a single day.

In five days, he had only forced out a small portion of the toxicity.

The rest remained entrenched deep in his limbs and bones, like a lurking venomous snake.

Once his True Qi was exhausted or his mental state faltered, it would counterattack.

However, compared to his previous near-death state, the current Ye Chen had already recovered more than half of his combat power, at least having the ability to protect himself and travel.

On the morning of the sixth day, Ye Chen woke up from his meditation.

The scabs on his wounds had fallen off, revealing new, fairer, and tougher skin.

Although his face was still somewhat pale, his eyes had already recovered their usual sharpness and depth.

He changed into a clean black robe and carried the ice scar sword on his back.

He also hid the Poison Doctor's Storage Ring and the "Ten Thousand Poisons Demonic Vine" jade box close to his body.

Ye Chen carefully pushed away the loose soil above the earthen pit, his Divine Sense silently spreading out like ripples in water.

Within a hundred zhang radius, there were only some low-level poisonous insects and small swamp beasts.

There was no aura of powerful Yao Beasts or human Cultivators.

"It is time to leave."

Ye Chen identified the direction and silently crept towards the outline of the Tianyun Mountain Range.

He dared not take the main road, nor did he dare to fly with his sword.

He only relied on the "Mist Transformation Steps" to shuttle through the complex terrain at the edge of the swamp, trying his best to avoid areas where people might be.

The return journey was even more vigilant than the arrival.

He knew that Golden Flame Peak and "Shadow Fiend" would never let him go easily.

The commotion in the Ten Thousand Poisons Swamp must have attracted their attention.

Perhaps, at this very moment, countless eyes were searching for his tracks on the outer perimeter of the swamp.

Sure enough, about a hundred miles away from the Rotten Bone Forest, just as he was about to completely walk out of the range of the Ten Thousand Poisons Swamp, Ye Chen's Divine Sense caught extremely weak spiritual power fluctuations and the scent of blood beside a mud pool ahead.

He immediately concealed his figure and approached silently.

He saw three corpses lying by the mud pool; judging by their clothing, they were dressed as Loose Cultivators, with cultivation levels around the Lunhai Realm First or Second Level.

They died miserably, their bodies blackened, clearly having been poisoned by deadly poison.

However, the fatal wound was an extremely subtle, almost invisible sword mark on their throats or hearts, killing them in one blow.

It was the technique of "Shadow Fiend"!

Ye Chen's eyes narrowed.

These Loose Cultivators were probably unlucky fellows who accepted the mission to explore the swamp and were silenced by the people from "Shadow Fiend".

Or perhaps it was just because they might have seen something they shouldn't have.

The people from "Shadow Fiend" were indeed nearby!

Moreover, it looked like they were clearing the area or setting up an ambush.

Ye Chen became even more careful, restraining his aura to the extreme, and bypassed that area, choosing a more remote and difficult path.

However, just as he bypassed a depression filled with poisonous thorns and was preparing to accelerate and leave the swamp, two people emerged from behind a huge black reef ahead.

Both of them were dressed in black, wearing half-masks on their faces, revealing cold and ruthless eyes.

Their auras were condensed, and their cultivation was actually both at the Lun Hai Jing Fourth Level!

At this moment, they were blocking Ye Chen's path from the left and right, clearly having waited here for a long time.

"Ye Chen, we have been waiting for you for a long time."

The man in black on the left had a hoarse voice, like sandpaper rubbing.

"I didn't expect that you could actually survive coming out of the 'Eye of the Miasma' and the Rotten Bone Forest. Your life is quite tough. Unfortunately, it ends here."

The man in black on the right did not speak, just slowly pulling out a pitch-black short sword.

The blade flickered with a ghostly blue luster, clearly quenched with deadly poison.

Ye Chen stopped his steps, his gaze sweeping over the two, and then he glanced at the surrounding environment.

The terrain here was relatively open, which was not conducive to concealment.

But similarly, it was also not conducive for the opponent to set up a more complex ambush.

It seemed that although the opponent was blocking him here, their manpower did not seem to be abundant.

Or perhaps they thought that to deal with him, who was still seriously injured and not fully recovered, two people were enough.

"Did Golden Flame Peak send you? Or 'Shadow Fiend'?"

Ye Chen asked calmly, his True Qi slowly circulating within his body, and the ice scar sword was already held in his hand.

"A dying person, why ask so much."

The man in black on the left sneered.

"After killing you, we will naturally get what we want. Kill!"

Before the words finished, both of them moved at the same time!

One on the left and one on the right, they turned into two blurred black shadows, carrying fierce killing intent, and lunged at Ye Chen!

One person's short sword thrust directly at his throat, while the other threw out several streaks of poison-quenched black light, sealing off Ye Chen's retreat.

Their coordination was tacit, their strikes ruthless, clearly intending to kill in one blow.

Facing the combined attack of two Fourth Level of the Wheel Sea Realm assassins.

If he were in his prime, Ye Chen would naturally not be afraid.

But at this moment, his injuries were not fully healed, the deadly poison was not cleared, and his True Qi had only recovered about seventy percent.

Fighting head-on was definitely not the best strategy.

A cold light flashed in his eyes, he executed the "Phantom Step" under his feet, and his figure drifted backward like a ghost.

At the same time, the ice scar sword drew an arc, and the ice-blue Sword Intent like a water curtain protected him in the middle.

"Clang, clang, clang!"

The short sword and poison darts struck against the Sword Intent, emitting dense crisp sounds.

Ye Chen only felt his arm go numb, and the Sword Intent fluctuated violently.

The opponent's cultivation and strength were indeed above his.

"Stubborn resistance!"

The black-clad man on the left grinned hideously, the ghostly blue light on his short sword flaring brightly.

His sword momentum suddenly accelerated, like a venomous snake coming out of its hole, instantly penetrating the gaps in the Sword Intent and stabbing toward Ye Chen's heart!

The other person also cooperated, attacking from the side, with his short sword slashing towards Ye Chen's legs.

Ye Chen's figure turned sharply, narrowly avoiding the sword to his heart, and he swept his ice scar sword downwards, parrying the attack from the side.

At the same time, he flicked his left finger, and a condensed finger wind of cold qi shot towards the face of the black-clad man on the left.

The man in black tilted his head slightly, and the finger wind flew past his cheek, bringing up a trail of blood and instantly freezing into frost.

He let out a muffled grunt, his movements slightly stalling.

Taking this opportunity, Ye Chen no longer entangled with them, stomping his feet hard.

His figure, like an arrow off the string, rushed in the opposite direction, towards the depths of the swamp where the toxic miasma was thicker!

He knew that fighting head-on with two Fourth Level of the Wheel Sea Realm assassins in prime condition in an open area would have slim chances of winning.

He had to lure them into an environment more favorable to himself.

For example, places with thick toxic miasma and complex terrain.

Utilizing his resistance to toxicity and his advantage in movement techniques, he would wait for an opportunity to counterattack or escape.

"Want to run? Chase!"

How could the two men in black let him go? They immediately pursued closely.

Three figures, like three wisps of light smoke, shuttled rapidly through the complex terrain at the edge of the swamp.

Ye Chen drove the "Phantom Step" to the extreme, his figure drifting uncertainly.

Sometimes he drilled into the dense poisonous grass.

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At times he skimmed over muddy hollows, at others he bypassed massive thickets of poisonous thorns.

Ye Chen specifically chose to weave through places where the poisonous miasma was thickest and the terrain most treacherous, attempting to use the environment to delay and wear down his opponents.

Although the two "Shadow Fiend" assassins were not slow,

in such a harsh environment, they were ultimately not as agile as Ye Chen.

Moreover, they seemed to have misgivings, not daring to go too deep into the poisonous miasma zone for fear of falling into an ambush or losing their way.

For a time, Ye Chen actually managed to gradually widen the distance.

"This kid is as slippery as an eel!"

The man in black on the left said angrily.

"He won't get far! His injuries haven't healed, and his true essence is failing. We can grind him to death just by outlasting him!"

The man in black on the right said coldly, increasing his speed.

The pursuit continued for about the time it takes an incense stick to burn.

Ye Chen had already gone deep into an area where the poisonous miasma was even thicker, filled with countless tall "Rotten Corpse Trees" that emitted a foul stench.

The light here was dim, and visibility was extremely poor.

Ye Chen felt nearly half of the true essence in his body consumed; his injuries were also aggravated, causing a dull ache.

He couldn't keep running like this.

His gaze swept over the surroundings, and he saw a pile of jagged rocks ahead, covered in thick, dark green vines.

With a thought, his figure flashed and he ducked inside, instantly concealing his aura.

The two men in black followed closely behind, stopping outside the rock pile and warily scanning the area.

The vines were dense, the rocks were craggy, and the poisonous miasma permeated everything; it was indeed an excellent place for hiding and ambushing.

"Careful, he might be hiding inside."

The man in black on the left whispered, slowly drawing his short sword.

The two of them, one on the left and one on the right in a pincer formation, cautiously pushed aside the vines and searched into the rock pile.

Ye Chen held his breath and concentrated.

Hidden behind a massive black rock, he almost merged his own aura with the surrounding environment.

In his hand, he held two remarkably powerful "poison fire thunders" obtained from the Poison Doctor's ring.

He waited for the optimal moment.

"Rustle..."

The sound of footsteps grew closer and closer.

The man in black on the left was walking straight toward the rock where he was hiding.

Now!

A cold light flashed in Ye Chen's eyes, and he suddenly lunged out from behind the rock.

He didn't attack, but instead fiercely hurled a "poison fire thunder" at the man in black on the right who was slightly further away.

At the same time, his figure retreated violently, and his ice scar sword stabbed directly at the throat of the man in black on the left!

"Watch out!"

The man in black on the left reacted extremely quickly, swinging his short sword upward to parry Ye Chen's thrust.

The man in black on the right also sensed the danger and dodged abruptly.

Boom!

The poison fire thunder exploded beside the man in black on the right, and dark green poisonous fire instantly engulfed him.

Although it failed to kill him outright,

it left him in a wretched state; his protective true essence fluctuated violently as the poisonous fire scorched his body.

He let out a shrill scream.

Meanwhile, Ye Chen's sword and the left assassin's short sword clashed fiercely!

Clang!

Sparks flew everywhere!

Ye Chen felt a massive force transmit through, numbing his arm. The ice scar sword nearly flew from his hand, and his body staggered backward.

The man in black on the left was also shaken back a step, astonishment flashing in his eyes.

Clearly, he hadn't expected Ye Chen to still possess such strength despite being heavily injured.

"Die!"

The man in black on the left shouted, steadying himself. He lunged again with his short sword, his sword momentum becoming even more fierce.

The eerie blue poisonous light almost froze the air.

Ye Chen gritted his teeth and frantically poured his remaining true essence into the ice scar sword.

Upon the blade, the light of ice and fire flared up once more, meeting the attack with a tragic Sword Intent!

He knew he had to end this quickly.

Once the man in black on the right recovered, in a two-on-one fight, he would surely die.

"Ice Fire Vortex Thrust!"

At the tip of the sword, a miniature vortex of ice and fire emerged once again.

Carrying a powerful tearing force, it crashed into the opponent's short sword.

Pfft!

The two swords met, yet there was no loud bang, only a dull piercing sound.

Ye Chen's ice-fire vortex actually broke through at a single point.

It forcibly drilled through the opponent's eerie blue sword qi, and the tip of the ice scar sword

pierced into the left assassin's shoulder!

"Ah!"

The man in black screamed as his shoulder was instantly corroded by the power of ice and fire; the blood was frozen and scorched before it could even flow out.

A trace of madness flashed in his eyes, and he actually didn't retreat.

His left hand suddenly reached out, five fingers black as ink, carrying a fishy wind as he clawed toward Ye Chen's neck!

He was actually trying to trade his life for a wound!

Ye Chen didn't expect the opponent to be so brave; it was too late to withdraw his sword and retreat.

Seeing that poisonous claw about to strike his throat, a fierce look flashed in his eyes, and he neither dodged nor avoided it.

His left hand also formed a fist, covered in a faint layer of golden-red flame,

and smashed hard against the incoming poisonous claw!

Crack!

Fist and claw met, and the sound of bone breaking rang out!

Severe pain shot from Ye Chen's left hand—his finger bones were likely shattered—but the man in black's poisonous claw

was scorched until the flesh split open and turned charred black by the golden-red flame, more than half of its poison power instantly purified!

Both men groaned simultaneously and stumbled backward.

Ye Chen retreated several steps, crashing into a rock. A sweetness rose in his throat, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

The pain in his left hand was excruciating; he could barely lift it.

The true essence suppressing the poison in his body also loosened due to this violent collision.

The toxicity began to backlash, making half of his body go numb.

The man in black on the left was in even worse shape; his shoulder was pierced by the ice scar sword, and his left hand was ruined.

His aura was withered, and his combat strength was greatly reduced.

And just then, the assassin on the right who had been injured by the "poison fire thunder"

finally extinguished the poisonous fire on his body. Though he was charred all over and his aura was unstable,

the killing intent in his eyes was even stronger. Roaring, he brandished his short sword and pounced at Ye Chen from the side-rear!

With the heavily injured but still capable assassin in front and the crazed tiger-like assassin from the side-rear,

Ye Chen had fallen into a desperate situation.

Leaning against the rock, he looked at the two pouncing men, a trace of resolution flashing in his eyes.

He knew he could no longer hold anything back.

Even if he had to reveal his trump cards, even if he had to pay a greater price, he had to survive!

With a thought, Ye Chen was about to disregard everything

and once again forcibly activate the prototype of the "Ice Fire Annihilation Domain,"

or try to draw upon the power of the Ten Thousand Poisons Demonic Vine mother root in his bosom, even if it meant mutual destruction!

However, at this critical moment—

Swoosh!

A white silk thread as fine as a cow's hair and almost invisible

shot out without warning from the thick canopy of a "Rotten Corpse Tree" in the distance.

Its speed was incredibly fast, instantly piercing through the back of the head of the assassin pouncing from the side-rear!

The assassin's forward motion suddenly froze, and the madness and killing intent in his eyes instantly solidified.

Then they dimmed, and he collapsed to the ground, his aura completely gone.

Immediately after, there were two more soft "swoosh" sounds!

Two identical white silk threads, like life-taking ghosts,

shot toward the man in black on the left who was struggling to get up and prepare to fight Ye Chen to the death!

One shot toward his brow, and one toward his heart!

The man in black on the left was terrified and Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering; he wanted to dodge, but in his heavily injured state, his movements were half a beat slow.

Pfft! Pfft!

Bloody flowers bloomed at his brow and heart simultaneously.

His eyes widened as he looked toward the "Rotten Corpse Tree" in disbelief.

He opened his mouth but couldn't make a sound, slowly slumping to the ground.

In an instant, two Shadow Fiend assassins at the Fourth Level of the Wheel Sea Realm were dead!

Ye Chen was also stunned, leaning against the rock and warily looking toward the direction the white threads had come from.

Who was it?

To be able to so easily insta-kill two Shadow Fiend elites.

Friend or foe?

Rustle...

The sound of light footsteps rang out.

A white, somewhat thin figure

lightly drifted to the ground like a feather from the dense branches and leaves of the "Rotten Corpse Tree."

It was a young man who looked to be in his early twenties.

He wore a spotless white robe, and his face was ordinary,

even a bit wooden; his eyes were calm and rippleless, like an ancient well.

In his hand, he toyed with several crystal-clear fine needles that looked as if they were formed from condensed ice crystals.

The life-taking white threads from just now seemed to have been transformed from these ice needles.

This person's aura was obscure, and Ye Chen couldn't see through him at all, but he gave off an unfathomable feeling.

At least Late Stage of the Wheel Sea Realm, perhaps even the Peak!

Moreover, the pure icy aura on him far exceeded that of ordinary Cultivators who practiced ice-attribute techniques.

"Many... many thanks to Senior for saving me."

Ye Chen suppressed the shock and suspicion in his heart and cupped his hands in greeting.

No matter who the other party was, at least they had saved him for now.

The youth in white let his gaze fall on Ye Chen, calmly sizing him up for a moment.

His gaze lingered for a split second, especially on the ice scar sword still tightly held in Ye Chen's hand.

He then looked at his pale but resolute face.

On that wooden face, a nearly imperceptible flicker of emotion seemed to flash.

"Your surname is Ye? You come from Qingyun City?"

The youth in white spoke; his voice was just like the man himself, calm and rippleless, devoid of emotion.

Ye Chen's heart jolted; the other party actually knew his background?

"Indeed. May I ask who Senior is?"

"My surname is Bai, my given name is 'Chen'."

The youth in white said indifferently.

"Passing through this place, I saw 'Shadow Fiend' doing evil and dealt with them in passing. You need not thank me."