35: Chapter 35 Lost in the Misty Fog, Guided by Scales

The dense forest retreated rapidly behind them; slippery moss and tangled tree roots became a blur beneath their feet.

Lin Yan, Xiao Yi Xian, and Chi Rong rushed forward without daring to pause for even a moment.

Chi Rong's injuries had worsened; the wound on its hind leg, scorched by ghost fire, was charred black and oozed dark red pus.

It clearly limped as it moved, yet it gritted its teeth against the pain, staying close to Lin Yan's pace.

The tenacious vitality of the Magma Earth-Walking Dragon was fully revealed at this moment.

Lin Yan's face remained somewhat pale, and the "Pure Corrosion Soul Seal" between his brows grew slightly hot with his vigorous exertion, emitting a cold fluctuation.

Continuously using the power of the soul seal and engaging in high-intensity combat was a significant burden on his soul, which had just surged in power but was not yet stable.

However, his eyes remained calm and sharp, his soul perception acting like the most alert radar, scanning every slight movement ahead and behind him.

Xiao Yi Xian followed closely at Lin Yan's side, breathing slightly heavily.

The wound on her shoulder had been simply treated with medicinal powder from her stash and was no longer bleeding.

Her gaze occasionally swept worriedly over Chi Rong's injured leg and Lin Yan's slightly furrowed brows.

At the same time, she also devoted a portion of her focus to carefully sensing the increasingly clear resonant guidance coming from the "ancient soul scale" in her bosom—it was a faint yet continuous sensation of warmth, like the only lighthouse in the darkness, firmly pointing toward the northeast.

"System, analyze the structure of the soul guidance compass, and find its tracking principle and shielding method."

While rushing, Lin Yan diverted a sliver of his consciousness to communicate with the system.

Among the items he had scavenged from those three Black Robed Men, besides a few bottles of healing and recovery pills (of average quality), some gold coins, and Hall of Souls identity tokens, the most valuable items were that palm-sized, jet-black "soul guidance compass" covered in strange runes, and the skull that had been scorched by the Seed Flame of Void Devouring Flame, its pale flames extinguished and covered in cracks.

[Analyzing... soul guidance compass: Low-level soul artifact. The core is a fragment of 'Soul-Guiding Stone'. Combined with specific rune arrays, it can amplify and directionally sense the unique soul markings of the 'Hall of Souls' (such as the Heart-Burning Seal) and the residue of homologous high-level soul power (such as the Pure Corrosion Soul Seal) within a certain range. Its sensing range and precision are affected by the user's soul power strength and environmental interference.]

[Shielding/Interference Schemes:]

[1. Physical destruction or long-term isolation using high-intensity Heavenly Flame/soul power.]

[2. Utilize the devouring characteristics of 'Void Swallowing Flame' to simulate the soul fluctuations of the surrounding environment for regional interference. Requires consumption of soul power and has high requirements for control precision.]

[3. Find or create a strong soul interference field (e.g., a gathering place for massive soul remains, or a region with naturally chaotic soul power).]

Lin Yan understood.

It seemed the Hall of Souls relied on this thing to track them like hunting dogs.

Among the shielding schemes, the second one was currently quite feasible.

He tried to mobilize a sliver of the Seed Flame of Void Devouring Flame's power, mixing it with his own soul fluctuations, and simulated a chaotic, faint soul aura similar to the jungle environment around his body, as if putting on an invisible "camouflage suit."

The fluctuations of the soul seal between his brows were also suppressed as much as possible.

Sure enough, the soul guidance compass in his bosom, scavenged from the Black Robed Man, whose needle had previously been faintly pointing toward them, now began to sway uncertainly, as if it had lost its clear target.

"A little useful." Lin Yan breathed a slight sigh of relief, but he did not dare to be completely at ease.

The black-fog powerhouse who appeared later had a soul power level far exceeding these three underlings; it was very likely they had higher-level tracking methods.

As for that damaged skull, the system analyzed that both its material and refining technique were quite crude.

It was merely a forceful fusion of a trace of impure "pale cold flame" imitation energy using a cruel method (extracting the souls of living beings to refine).

It had little value, but the refining runes remaining within it might have some reference value for understanding the principles of this "soul flame" technology of the Hall of Souls.

Lin Yan stored it in the system space, leaving it for future study.

As they continued to venture deeper toward the northeast, the surrounding environment began to change significantly.

The air became increasingly humid and sultry, and sporadic, dark-colored puddles began to appear on the ground, emitting a faint smell of humus.

The shape of the trees also became strange; the branches of many trees were twisted, and the bark was covered with thick, greasy moss and fungi.

The light was blocked by the increasingly dense canopy, making the forest appear dim and gloomy.

"We are almost at the edge of the Mist Swamp." Xiao Yi Xian said softly.

She had an instinctive familiarity with this humid, poisonous environment, and even felt a faint sense of closeness.

"The miasma in the air is starting to thicken. Although it is still very faint, it is already harmful to ordinary people."

Lin Yan also noticed it.

In his soul perception, the air began to be filled with some extremely faint, colorful poisonous gas particles, as well as the life auras of various active, toxic microorganisms and insects.

This environment was a dangerous place for ordinary Dou Practitioners, but for Xiao Yi Xian, it was like a home field.

"Chi Rong, can you still hold on?" Lin Yan asked through the Soul Contract.

He could feel Chi Rong's aura declining, and the wound on its hind leg even showed signs of worsening in the humid environment.

A fire-attribute magical beast was truly out of place in this environment full of water vapor and damp miasma, like a fish out of water.

"Master... I can still hold on for a while... but the environment here... makes me very uncomfortable, my power is recovering very slowly..." Chi Rong's mental fluctuation came through, carrying suppressed pain.

They had to find a place for Chi Rong to rest.

Before entering the deeper, more dangerous swamp, they had to restore their combat strength as much as possible.

Lin Yan's gaze swept around, his soul perception carefully probing.

A moment later, he pointed to a small hillside to the front left that was slightly higher and backed by a huge weathered rock.

"Go there, the rock can block the wind, and the higher ground is relatively drier."

The three arrived at the hillside.

Behind the rock was a small, relatively dry clearing with some low shrubs.

Lin Yan quickly cleared an area and let Chi Rong lie down to rest.

He took out a few healing and Dou Qi recovery pills and fed them to Chi Rong, then took out some decent-quality fire-attribute magical beast cores he had collected earlier and placed them beside Chi Rong to help it absorb fire-attribute energy to heal.

Xiao Yi Xian collected some herbs with insect-repellent and drying effects from the surroundings, crushed them, and sprinkled them around to form a simple protective circle.

She also began to treat the wound on her shoulder and took pills to regulate her breathing.

Lin Yan himself sat cross-legged, regulating his breathing to recover his Dou Qi and soul power while maximizing his soul perception to guard the surroundings.

Half an hour later, Chi Rong's aura had stabilized a bit, and the wound was no longer worsening, but it would take time and a more suitable environment to fully recover.

Xiao Yi Xian's condition was much better; in this environment where the miasma was just beginning to appear, her Calamity Poison Body was instead in its element, absorbing the meager poison-attribute energy in the air and slowly strengthening herself, her complexion even becoming a bit rosy.

Lin Yan opened his eyes and looked at the ancient soul scale in his hand.

At this moment, this jet-black scale was emitting a warmer sensation than before, and the dark gold patterns on the scale flickered slightly as if breathing, pointing to a specific location deep in the northeast swamp.

He could even vaguely feel that in that direction, there seemed to be some kind of power calling out that was homologous to this scale, but perhaps with a completely different attribute.

"System, can you analyze the attributes or characteristics of the next possible ruin based on the resonance of the ancient soul scale?" Lin Yan asked in his heart.

[Detected enhanced resonance of the ancient soul scale with clear directionality.]

[Combined with environmental characteristics (miasma, swamp) and information obtained by the host (the nine keys correspond to different attributes), it is preliminarily inferred that the next ruin may be related to attributes such as 'poison', 'wood', or 'water (yin-cold variant)'.]

[Specific analysis requires closer proximity.]

[Warning: The energy field in this area is complex, with a large number of life and highly toxic reactions. Danger level: High.]

[It is recommended that the host proceed deeper only after fully recovering and making sufficient anti-poison preparations.]

A poison-attribute ruin?

Lin Yan looked at Xiao Yi Xian.

This might truly be her place of opportunity.

"Lin Yan, this ancient soul scale... seems very excited." Xiao Yi Xian also took out her own ancient soul scale. The scale trembled slightly in her palm, and her grey-purple poison energy resonated strangely with the dark gold patterns on the scale, even staining the poison energy at her fingertips with a faint dark gold hue. "I can feel that in that direction, something is attracting it... and it is also attracting my poison energy."

Curiosity and longing flickered in her eyes. For her, who urgently needed to control her Calamity Poison Body and increase her strength, this sensation was undoubtedly enormously attractive.

"We will go in once Chi Rong is feeling a bit better." Lin Yan nodded. Although it was dangerous, the opportunity was equally rare. Moreover, they needed to find a relatively safe place to stay and resources as soon as possible to increase their strength and cope with the increasingly close pursuit by the Hall of Souls.

However, just as Lin Yan was preparing to continue regulating his breathing, the "Pure Corrosion Soul Seal" between his brows jumped violently without any warning! An extremely faint, yet coldly alarming warning carrying a strong sense of threat pierced into the depths of his soul like a fine needle!

Almost simultaneously, his soul perception, extended to its limit, captured a fleeting yet chilling fluctuation of soul power at the edge of the dense forest about ten-plus miles behind him that made his hair stand on end! That fluctuation... was at least seventy percent similar to the aura of the Black Robed Man he had sensed before! It was just more obscure, as if the other party was also deliberately hiding, but that fleeting moment was still captured by the highly vigilant Lin Yan!

"They caught up so quickly?!" Lin Yan was shocked. The opponent's speed and tracking ability far exceeded his estimates! Was it because of the fluctuation of the "Pure Corrosion Soul Seal"? Or was it because the soul guidance compass was still effective in a more advanced version?

He stood up abruptly, looking toward the dense forest behind him with sharp eyes. "Prepare to move out. The pursuers have arrived, they are about ten-plus miles away and are closing in!"

Xiao Yi Xian's expression changed. She immediately put away the ancient soul scale and entered a state of alert. Chi Rong also struggled to stand up, growling low, "Master, I can walk!"

Lin Yan glanced at Chi Rong's injured leg, then looked at the swamp area ahead, where light grey mist had already begun to diffuse. Entering the swamp meant complex terrain and pervasive poisonous miasma; perhaps they could use the environment to shake off the pursuers, but it also meant they would face more unknown dangers.

There was no time to hesitate.

"Go! Into the swamp!" Lin Yan ordered decisively, "Chi Rong, try to keep up and watch your step. Xiao Yi Xian, scout the path ahead, watch for changes in the poisonous miasma and possible traps."

He quickly distributed the remaining medicinal pills to Chi Rong and Xiao Yi Xian, while he himself activated the Void Swallowing Flame again, expanding the range of his simulated camouflage to cover both of them and the dragon, interfering with possible soul power tracking as much as possible.

The three (and the dragon) did not linger, plunging into the Mist Swamp ahead, which was shrouded in light grey mist and resembled the mouth of a giant beast.

Once they entered the swamp area, the environment immediately became completely different.

Underfoot, it was no longer solid ground but mud of varying depths; some places looked like grassland, but one step could cause you to sink directly to your knees. The poisonous miasma permeating the air was significantly thicker, appearing light grey-green and carrying a pungent, fishy-sweet smell; an ordinary person would likely become dizzy after just one breath. Visibility was severely obstructed; even with Lin Yan's eyesight, he could only see a range of a few dozen meters, and further away were rolling thick fog and shadowy, twisted tree silhouettes. All kinds of strange insect chirps and frog croaks came from all directions, adding a few more layers of mystery.

Xiao Yi Xian walked at the very front; her emerald eyes seemed to glow in the grey-green poisonous miasma, and her keen perception of toxicity allowed her to avoid areas where the poisonous miasma was particularly dense in advance, and identify which were seemingly harmless but actually lethal poisonous mud pools. The ancient soul scale in her hand became the best guide, as the dark gold patterns on the scale were even clearer in the poisonous miasma environment, continuously pointing in one direction.

Lin Yan stayed in the middle to support, his soul perception fully expanded, vigilant against dangers that might strike from the mud, fog, or even the canopy above. The ancient soul scale in his hand also continuously emitted resonance, echoing the scale in Xiao Yi Xian's hand ahead.

Chi Rong followed at the end, its huge body moving with extreme difficulty in the mud, leaving deep pits with every step. The damp and cold poisonous miasma made it very uncomfortable, and its wounds sent waves of numb itching and stinging pain (due to poison gas erosion), but it still gritted its teeth and persisted, with magma energy slowly circulating in its body, dispelling the invading cold and damp poison gas.

The deeper they went, the more bizarre the swamp became. They encountered man-eating flowers that could spit venom, strange fish with long, sharp teeth that lurked in the mud and suddenly erupted, and swarms of bloodthirsty poisonous mosquitoes. But in the face of Lin Yan's flames (with the power deliberately controlled to avoid causing a large fire and exposing their position) and Xiao Yi Xian's deadly poison, these dangers were resolved without any real peril.

However, the warning between Lin Yan's brows never disappeared; instead, as time passed, that cold feeling of being locked on became increasingly clear! The pursuers behind them did not seem to be completely blocked by the complex environment and were still steadily closing the distance!

"This won't do; if this continues, we will be caught sooner or later." Lin Yan's mind raced. He had to find a way to get rid of them, or... create obstacles.

His gaze fell on those areas in the swamp that were particularly dark in color, had particularly dense poisonous miasma, and even had faint energy fluctuations. Perhaps...

"Xiao Yi Xian, can you find an area where the poisonous miasma and mud are particularly active, and where there might even be natural poisonous barriers or traps? The more dangerous, the better!" Lin Yan asked.

Xiao Yi Xian sensed for a moment and pointed to the front left, "Over there, the poisonous miasma is dark purple, and there is a slight sense of an energy vortex in the mud; it might be a poison gas eruption point or a lair hiding a powerful poisonous creature."

"Good, let's go there! Quickly!"

The three changed direction and rushed toward the dark purple poisonous miasma area. The closer they got, the stronger the corrosiveness of the poisonous miasma became; even Lin Yan needed to use Dou Qi to protect his body, and Chi Rong had to cover its entire body with magma energy, consuming a huge amount. In the swamp, some strange, half-plant, half-animal vines also began to appear, attempting to entangle them, all of which were burned off by Lin Yan using the Green Lotus Core Flame.

Finally, they reached the core of this area. It was a small mud pool that constantly bubbled with dark purple bubbles, and in the center of the mud pool was a small vortex, emitting heart-palpitating toxic energy fluctuations. The surrounding poisonous miasma was so thick it could not be dispersed, and visibility was almost completely obscured.

"Chi Rong, aim at the center of the mud pool and use your strongest Magma Breath to blast it! Then we will immediately detour and advance at full speed in the direction indicated by the scales!" Lin Yan ordered.

Although Chi Rong was puzzled, it executed the order without hesitation. It took a deep breath, disregarding its injuries and consumption, and condensed all the remaining magma energy in its body. A Magma Breath, more condensed and dark red in color than before, slammed into the vortex at the center of the dark purple mud pool!

"Boom——!!!" A violent explosion rang out! The magma mixed with the highly toxic mud, instantly triggering a terrifying chain reaction! The dark purple poison gas shot into the sky like a volcanic eruption and quickly diffused, mixing with the surrounding poisonous miasma to form an energy field with a larger range, stronger toxicity, and extreme chaos! Something in the mud pool seemed to have been startled, letting out a sharp hiss, and the mud in the entire area began to churn violently!

"Go!" Lin Yan shouted in a low voice, taking Xiao Yi Xian and Chi Rong, detouring around this eruption area, heading in the direction indicated by the ancient soul scale, increasing their speed to the limit, and plunging into the deeper mist without looking back.

Behind them, the terrifying poison gas eruption and chaotic energy field temporarily blocked sight and perception. But Lin Yan knew that this could only delay them for a moment. He could feel that the cold sense of being locked on, after a brief chaos, had once again tenaciously penetrated part of the poisonous miasma and clung onto them again, and... this time, it seemed to carry a trace of anger and even sharper killing intent!