41: Chapter 41 A Storm is Brewing, News of Xiao Yan

The edge of the Mist Swamp was a transitional zone known as the "Rotten Bone Forest." The soil here was a sinister grey-black, and the air was permanently suffused with a faint, mixed odor of rot and sweet, cloying blood. Twisted, grotesque trees stood like struggling giants, their clawing branches draped with ragged moss and the webs of unknown insects. The ground was covered in a thick, soft, and slippery layer of fallen leaves; stepping on it caused turbid, bubbling liquid to seep out.

Yet, deep within this sinister place, which ordinary adventurers avoided like the plague, a hidden camp cleverly constructed from tough "Iron-Bone Wood" and a type of anti-corrosive vine had been quietly operating for over a month.

The camp was situated between several enormous Iron-Bone Wood trees, forming a natural "treehouse" several zhang above the ground. It cleverly utilized the dense canopy and natural vines as camouflage; unless one walked right up to it for a careful inspection, it was extremely difficult to detect. The interior of the camp was divided into three levels: the top level was an observation and lookout platform; the middle level was the "Quiet Room" where Lin Yan and Xiao Yi Xian each cultivated, rested, and stored important supplies; the bottom level was the area for processing medicinal herbs, refining basic pills, and where Chi Rong temporarily resided.

At this moment, in the middle "Quiet Room," Lin Yan sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion polished from a solid piece of warm jade (obtained from the You Lan Secret Grotto). His eyes were slightly closed, his breathing long and steady, and the pale "Pure Corrosion Soul Seal" between his brows had its light restrained, yet it vaguely emitted a deeper, colder fluctuation. Around him, the air slightly distorted, and one could faintly see faint halos of green, red, and black light circulating endlessly—this was the three sub-flames, the Green Lotus Core Flame, the Fallen Heart Flame, and the Void Swallowing Flame, undergoing a complex and dangerous "simulation and fusion" training under his precise control.

After a month of dedicated cultivation and hunting on the edge of the Rotten Bone Forest, Lin Yan's strength had undergone significant changes.

The most intuitive change was his cultivation level. With the help of magic cores and medicinal herbs obtained from hunting swamp poison beasts and low-level magical beasts, supplemented by the refining of some Earth Fire Spirit Pulp (the last bit collected before leaving the Lava Cave) and the essence of Xuanming True Water, his Dou Zhi Qi finally flowed naturally. On a stormy night, he successfully broke through the bottleneck and officially stepped into the ranks of a Dou Practitioner! Furthermore, because his foundation was incomparably solid and he had the tempering of the Heavenly Flames and the baptism of earth vein energy, he stabilized at the peak of a one-star Dou Practitioner in one fell swoop, and he was not far from the two-star level.

Secondly, there was his soul power. Although the fusion and control of the "Pure Corrosion Soul Seal" remained difficult and the cold, heavy burden persisted, thanks to the continuous devouring and conversion by the Void Swallowing Flame, as well as the devouring and absorption of the soul of the Hall of Souls staff-wielder, his soul power had completely stabilized at the peak of the Mortal Realm. He had even begun to touch upon the mysteries of "Micro-Perception," greatly increasing the precision of his perception and control over energy. The cold side effects brought by the Soul Seal were also gradually reconciled by his powerful willpower and the vitality of the Living Spirit Flame, no longer easily affecting his state of mind, but instead becoming a special combat aid—an extremely calm mindset and judgment.

As for Dou Techniques, "Explosive Step" had long since reached the height of perfection and was even more formidable after his breakthrough to Dou Practitioner. He had completely mastered the first three levels of strength of the "Eight Extremities Collapse" (recorded in the remnant scroll), and its power had greatly increased when combined with his Dou Qi. The most gratifying thing was that, through in-depth research into the characteristics of the three sub-flames and system assistance, he had finally successfully fused a trace of the characteristics of the "Green Lotus Core Flame" and the "Fallen Heart Flame" into the force-generating method of the "Eight Extremities Collapse," creating a prototype of a self-created Dou Technique that suited him and had power far exceeding a Xuan-tier low-grade technique—"Flame Heart Collapse"! When this technique was unleashed, the overt force was as scorching as a volcanic eruption, and the covert force was invisibly burning the heart, causing damage to both Dou Qi and the soul. Although not yet perfected, it already revealed powerful potential.

Xiao Yi Xian's progress was equally remarkable.

Living in this environment filled with poisonous miasma and venomous creatures everywhere, and with the refining assistance of the Xuanming True Water provided by Lin Yan, her cultivation of the "Seven-Colored Poison Manual" could be described as advancing by leaps and bounds. Not only was her poison power more pure and condensed, but the total amount had also grown steadily; measured by Dou Qi standards, she had also firmly stepped into the Dou Practitioner level. More importantly, her control over the Calamity Poison Body had greatly increased; she was now able to retract and release poison power with relative ease, and refine several types of powerful mixed poisons and poison powders. She was no longer the "Girl of Misfortune" who could only passively defend or lose control and go berserk. She even began to try integrating poison power into simple movement and attack techniques, creating several insidious and tricky "Poison Palm" and "Poison Needle" methods.

Chi Rong's injuries had also mostly recovered under the pills provided by Lin Yan and his own recuperation. His strength was stable at the mid-stage of the fourth rank (equivalent to a low-to-mid-stage Dou Ling of humans), making him the most reliable guard and meat shield of the camp.

Outside the camp, several hidden poison formations and early-warning mechanisms had been jointly set up by Lin Yan and Xiao Yi Xian, so ordinary poisonous insects and magical beasts dared not approach easily.

On this day, Lin Yan had just finished a round of Heavenly Flame fusion training and was regulating his breath. Xiao Yi Xian walked up from the lower level, holding a bamboo tube sealed with special resin, a look of solemnity on her face.

"Lin Yan, Chi Rong was patrolling twenty miles to the southwest just now and caught this." Xiao Yi Xian handed the bamboo tube to Lin Yan.

Lin Yan took it and opened the bamboo tube. Inside was a rolled-up piece of rough animal hide paper, with a few lines of sloppy handwriting written in charcoal, seemingly hastily torn from some ledger or notebook. Although the handwriting was messy, the content made Lin Yan's pupils shrink.

"A shocking change in Jia Ma Holy City! Xiao Yan of the Xiao Family suppressed all heroes at the Alchemist Convention, refined the peak fourth-grade 'Three-Pattern Azure Spirit Pill', attracted Pill Lightning, shocked the entire audience, and won the championship of the Jia Ma Empire Alchemist Convention! However, after the competition, the Cloud Mist Sect joined forces with the First Elder's faction to launch an attack, accusing him of colluding with foreign enemies with conclusive evidence? Xiao Family Patriarch Xiao Zhan defended him, and the conflict escalated! Currently, Xiao Yan and his teacher, the mysterious Venerable Yao (suspected), are trapped on Yun Lan Mountain. The Imperial Family and the Pill Tower have ambiguous attitudes, and the Jia Ma Empire is in turmoil! The Hall of Souls seems to have a hidden hand pushing this... Burn after reading."

The information was very short and the source was unknown (possibly hastily recorded and lost by some intelligence peddler or mercenary who happened to pass by), but the news revealed was earth-shattering!

"Xiao Yan... Alchemist Convention... Cloud Mist Sect attacks... Hall of Souls hidden hand..." Lin Yan whispered the keywords, his eyes as sharp as knives. The plot had indeed advanced to this point, but it seemed that because of his own appearance and changes (Xiao Yan's strength improvement trajectory might be different), it had triggered some subtle changes? Xiao Yan actually refined a peak fourth-grade pill at the Alchemist Convention? This was much stronger than the same period in the original work! But the crisis also came faster and more violently. The Cloud Mist Sect and the First Elder colluded directly to attack, even the Imperial Family and the Pill Tower had ambiguous attitudes, and the Hall of Souls was pushing from behind!

Xiao Yan was one of the few friends he acknowledged, and Venerable Yao had also given him guidance. In terms of reason and sentiment, he could not sit idly by. Moreover, the Cloud Mist Sect and the Hall of Souls getting mixed up together was his enemy to begin with!

However... he was now deep in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, more than ten thousand miles away from the Jia Ma Holy City? With his and Xiao Yi Xian's current strength and state, even if they rushed back, facing the Cloud Mist Sect (with Dou Zong Yun Shan), the potentially existing Hall of Souls experts (at least Dou Huang or even Dou Zong), and the Imperial Family and Pill Tower with unclear attitudes, what could they do? Court death?

Strength! Still not enough strength!

Lin Yan clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white. The joy of breaking through to Dou Practitioner was washed away by this sudden news, replaced by an intense sense of urgency and powerlessness. He needed to become stronger faster! He needed more power!

Xiao Yi Xian also finished reading the content on the animal hide paper. Although she did not know much about Xiao Yan, she could see the severity of the situation from Lin Yan's reaction. "Are we going back?" she asked softly.

Lin Yan was silent for a moment, then slowly shook his head: "Going back now will not help, and may instead be walking into a trap. The goal of the Cloud Mist Sect and the Hall of Souls may also include me. We need stronger power, we need... power sufficient to change the situation!"

His gaze involuntarily turned to the corner of the Quiet Room, where several slightly warm "ancient soul scales" pointing in different directions lay quietly. One of them pointed to an area deeper in the Mist Swamp, and the resonance had become clearer and stronger over the past month, sometimes even transmitting extremely faint, strange fluctuations related to the "poison" attribute.

That was the guidance of the "poison" attribute ancient soul scale!

Perhaps, there was a fortuitous encounter hidden there that could allow Xiao Yi Xian's poison body to transform again, or allow his strength to skyrocket!

"Is your scale sensing anything stronger?" Lin Yan asked.

Xiao Yi Xian nodded and took out the ancient soul scale that belonged to her, which pointed to the depths of the swamp in resonance, from her bosom. The scale was currently emitting a faint grey-purple halo, echoing faintly with the poison power in her body. "Yes, and in the last three days, every midnight, it transmits a kind of... very special calling sensation, as if something is waking up deep in the swamp, or... waiting."

Midnight? Special calling? Lin Yan's heart moved. He thought of the "Scale Lord Ruins" mentioned in the system task, which was likely related to some kind of heaven and earth energy tide or a specific time.

"It seems we have to go deep into the swamp ahead of schedule." Lin Yan made a decision, "That place may be our only chance to gain breakthrough power in a short time. Prepare, we will set off at dawn tomorrow, and Chi Rong will stay behind to guard the camp."

"Okay!" A trace of anticipation and firmness also flashed in Xiao Yi Xian's eyes. Strength was also her desire.

However, just as the two decided on the plan and were preparing to rest, Chi Rong, on the bottom level of the camp, suddenly transmitted an extremely urgent and terrified warning mental fluctuation through the Soul Contract!

"Master! It's bad! East, north, and west of the camp... a large number of unknown life forms are approaching quickly at the same time! The aura is cold and chaotic, the speed is extremely fast, at least hundreds! And... they seem to be fighting each other, but they are all rushing towards the direction of our camp! There are many... that are those troublesome poisonous creatures and mutated magical beasts in the swamp! They... seem to have gone mad!"

What?!

Lin Yan and Xiao Yi Xian changed color at the same time! Hundreds of mad swamp poisonous creatures and mutated magical beasts rushing to the camp from three directions at the same time? This was definitely not a coincidence!

Lin Yan instantly expanded his soul perception to the limit! Sure enough, within a few miles around the camp, he sensed dense life forms full of violent and chaotic auras, surging like a tide! Among them were many third and fourth-rank poisonous beasts equivalent to human Dou Masters or even Great Dou Masters! They were indeed attacking and devouring each other, but the general direction of their advance was surprisingly consistent—pointing straight at the Iron-Bone Wood camp where they were!

What made Lin Yan's heart sink even more was that in that chaotic and violent torrent of auras, he keenly captured a trace of extremely obscure, yet making his "Pure Corrosion Soul Seal" produce a faint palpitation... traces of control and guidance!

It was not a naturally formed beast tide! It was artificially induced, or... driven here with a purpose by some higher-level power or existence!

"It's aimed at us!" Lin Yan's eyes were cold, and he instantly understood the key. Was it the Hall of Souls? Or other forces coveting the ancient soul scales? Or was it... the defense or test mechanism of the "poison" attribute ancient soul scale ruins deep in the Mist Swamp itself that had been triggered in advance?

Regardless of which one it was, it meant a huge crisis at the moment!

"Prepare for battle! Hold the camp!" Lin Yan shouted sharply, and at the same time quickly ordered Chi Rong, "Chi Rong, guard the entrance of the lower level, use flames to cover the perimeter of the camp, try to block them as much as possible!"

"Xiao Yi Xian, have all poisonous drugs ready, focus on dealing with individuals who break through the flame defense line! Prioritize attacking weak points like eyes and wounds!"

"Yes!" Xiao Yi Xian and Chi Rong immediately responded and entered their combat positions.

Lin Yan quickly checked the defensive poison formations and mechanisms around the camp, and reinforced several key nodes. He stood at the edge of the middle-level Quiet Room, overlooking the shadowy edge of the dense forest below, which was illuminated by the lava flames spewed by Chi Rong.

In the darkness, countless scarlet, emerald, and dark blue eyes lit up, accompanied by hair-raising hisses, low roars, and the sound of carapace friction, approaching like a tide of death.

A fishy wind hit their faces, and the poisonous miasma seemed to have thickened a bit.

Lin Yan clenched his fists, the three sub-flames quietly boiling in his body, and the soul seal between his brows flickering with light.

It seemed that if they wanted to explore the ruins safely, they must first survive this... crazy bloody beast tide set off by an unknown hand! And this sudden attack also seemed to indicate that their journey to explore the ancient soul scale ruins would definitely not be peaceful.