45: Chapter 45 A Shocking Turn of Events in the Cave, The First Formation of the Poison Pill

Damp rock walls, the sound of dripping water, mixed with the faint scent of rotting plants. The interior of the cave looked deeper and more winding than the entrance, extending to unknown places. The deeper they went, the clearer that strange fluctuation—which resonated with the poison power within Xiao Yi Xian's body—became, carrying a cold, slimy texture, as if countless tiny lives were wriggling in the darkness.

Lin Yan walked in front, a steady and gentle green-red flame (simulating the Green Lotus Core Flame) dancing at his fingertips, illuminating the area several zhang ahead. His soul perception was like invisible tentacles, cautiously probing every corner where danger might lurk—under the slippery moss, inside dark crevices, and even behind the stalactites hanging from the ceiling.

Xiao Yi Xian followed closely behind, her expression solemn. Her emerald eyes flickered with vigilance and a hint of imperceptible excitement under the glow of the flames. She could feel the origin of her Calamity Poison Body "heating up" slightly, like a thirsty traveler smelling a water source. But she knew even better that such places were often accompanied by fatal dangers; the Seven-Colored Poison Manual mentioned more than once that where poisons gathered, there would inevitably be strange creatures or natural traps guarding them.

Chi Rong's massive body could not squeeze into this narrow cave, so it could only remain outside to keep watch. Its lava carapace on its back resembled cooled volcanic rock in the dim light. Its dark golden vertical pupils scanned the surrounding mist vigilantly, and a low, suppressed rumbling sound came from its throat; it was clearly extremely uncomfortable in this environment filled with poisonous miasma and humidity.

The two followed the cave passage winding downwards. After walking for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, a fork in the road appeared ahead. One passage slanted downwards, continuing deeper, where the resonance of the poison power was even stronger. The other led slightly upwards, with a faint flow of air carrying a fishy, sweet, and rotten smell.

Lin Yan stopped and carefully probed both passages with his soul perception. The one leading downwards had purer, more concentrated energy fluctuations, as if the source was not far away, but when his perception delved deep, it encountered a viscous, sluggish resistance, making it impossible to ascertain the specific situation. The one leading upwards had airflow indicating there might be another exit, but the stench was mixed with a faint aura of living beings—it was very likely the nest of some magical beast that liked to dwell in poisonous miasma and fed on carrion or venomous insects.

"The source should be below, but there might be a natural barrier or a guardian," Lin Yan said in a low voice, looking at Xiao Yi Xian. "What do you think?"

Xiao Yi Xian sensed for a moment and pointed to the downward passage: "The guidance of the poison power is very clear; it is definitely below. And..." She wrinkled her nose, "Although the stench is also present above, the one coming from below is... 'purer,' more like the 'body odor' emitted by some poison itself, rather than rotting corpses."

Lin Yan nodded: "Then let's continue downwards. Caution is paramount." He took two ordinary detox pills he had looted from the Hall of Souls Black Robed Man from his storage ring, took one himself, and handed one to Xiao Yi Xian. Although the effect might not be great, it was better than nothing.

They continued forward. The passage began to narrow, barely allowing one person to pass, and the ground became even more slippery, covered in dark green, sticky moss. The air became increasingly stifling, and that cold, slimy fluctuation was almost tangible, within reach.

After walking about another hundred steps, the path ahead suddenly opened up into a gourd-shaped natural stone chamber! The stone chamber was not large, about two or three zhang in circumference. In the center was a small, ink-black pool. The water surface was calm and waveless, yet it emitted a thick, nauseating, fishy, sweet scent and a bone-chilling cold. The fluctuation that caused Xiao Yi Xian's poison power to resonate was coming precisely from this black pool!

At the edge of the pool, some grayish-white, irregularly shaped bones were scattered, looking like the remains of small magical beasts. From the top of the stone chamber hung several sharp stalactites, the tips of which continuously dripped a milky white liquid into the black pool, making a slight "hissing" corrosive sound and stirring up faint black smoke.

"This is... a 'Bone-Eroding Poison Pool'?" Xiao Yi Xian looked at the pitch-black pool, surprise appearing in her eyes. "The Seven-Colored Poison Manual mentioned that it is formed by certain specific highly toxic minerals dissolving in extremely Yin water over many years. Its toxicity is fierce and can erode bones and dissipate souls. But at the same time, if supplemented with specific techniques and neutralizing agents, it can also extract a premium material for tempering the poison body and refining high-grade poison pills—the 'Bone-Eroding Poison Crystal'!"

She stared intently into the depths of the black pool, where a faint dark purple glow was flickering, like the eyes of a venomous snake in the night. "That light... is very likely the Bone-Eroding Poison Crystal that is currently forming!"

Lin Yan also stared at the dark purple glow, his soul perception attempting to penetrate the black water to investigate, but it once again encountered that viscous, sluggish resistance, and he could only barely sense that the point of light contained extremely pure and violent toxic energy.

"Good stuff, but I'm afraid it won't be so easy to get." Lin Yan's gaze swept over the animal bones by the pool and the milky white liquid dripping from the top. "This poison pool has its own balance. Those white bones and this 'Stalactite Milk' (the liquid dripping from the stalactites, which usually has a weak purifying or neutralizing effect) are likely part of what maintains that balance. Touching it rashly might trigger a drastic change."

Just as he finished speaking, a sudden change occurred!

In the center of that black pool, the dark purple glow flickered violently once! Immediately after, the calm pool water, as if boiling oil with a boulder thrown into it, began to churn violently! Countless bubbles bubbled up, and the fishy, foul stench instantly intensified tenfold!

"Not good! Retreat!" Lin Yan grabbed Xiao Yi Xian and retreated rapidly!

Just as the two retreated to the entrance of the stone chamber, from within the churning black water, several tentacles as thick as a child's arm, pitch-black, covered in mucus and circles of dark purple ring-like patterns, suddenly shot out! The ends of the tentacles were not suckers, but sharp bone spurs, flashing with a ghostly blue cold light, shooting towards the two at an astonishing speed!

"It's a 'Bone-Eroding Poison Octopus'! A Tier 4 magical beast, highly venomous, skilled in lurking and camouflage!" Xiao Yi Xian exclaimed, recognizing the origin of this monster. This beast had clearly been lurking at the bottom of the poison pool, merging with the poison pool, and perhaps even relying on devouring the toxins in the pool and creatures that accidentally entered, treating the Bone-Eroding Poison Crystal as its own private property!

Before the tentacles arrived, a fishy wind had already hit their faces, carrying a strong sense of dizziness and paralysis!

Lin Yan's eyes turned cold. Instead of retreating, he advanced. Explosive Step exploded under his feet, and his figure rushed towards the two foremost tentacles like a ghost! He gripped his right hand in the air, and a pitch-black flame rose in his palm—the Seed Flame of Void Devouring Flame appeared!

"Sever!"

The pitch-black flame traced a sharp arc, precisely slashing at the two incoming tentacles!

"Hiss—!"

Like a hot knife cutting through butter, the two tentacles covered in mucus and poison rings were severed instantly! There was no blood at the cut; instead, a large amount of viscous, dark green poison spewed out, falling to the ground and corroding it, sending up bursts of green smoke. The severed tentacles twisted crazily like leeches out of water, rapidly shriveling up.

However, the Bone-Eroding Poison Octopus seemed to have no sense of pain, or the pain was insignificant to it. The remaining five or six tentacles showed no decrease in their offensive, entangling towards Lin Yan from different angles. At the same time, the black water in the center of the poison pool suddenly bulged upward, and an octopus head, the size of a millstone, covered with compound eyes and fangs, and incredibly ugly, emerged, opening its mouth to spew out a thick, dark green poisonous mist that instantly filled the entire stone chamber!

The poisonous mist not only obscured vision but also had strong corrosive and nerve-paralyzing effects! The Dou Qi shield on Lin Yan's body made sizzling sounds and was rapidly weakened!

"Lin Yan, watch out for the poisonous mist!" Xiao Yi Xian shouted anxiously at the cave entrance. She dared not rashly inhale the poisonous mist and could only urge her poison power to protect herself.

"Hmph, petty tricks!" Lin Yan snorted coldly. Between his brows, the pale "Pure Corrosion Soul Seal" flickered slightly! A cold, pure, and purifying soul power fluctuation spread out with him as the center!

As the soul power swept across, the pervasive dark green poisonous mist seemed to encounter its nemesis, actually dissolving and purifying rapidly like boiling soup poured onto snow! Although it could not be completely dispersed, its concentration and toxicity were instantly greatly reduced!

This was one of the powers of the Pure Corrosion Soul Seal—it had extremely strong purification and resistance to negative energy, especially soul poison, miasma, curses, and the like!

The poisonous mist was purified, and the main body of the Bone-Corroding Poison Octopus was exposed.

It seemed to sense the threat brought by the soul seal; a flicker of fear flashed in its compound eyes, but it was mostly the rage of having its territory invaded!

It let out a sharp, piercing screech. All its tentacles ceased their entanglement and retracted violently, then sprang out with full force like springs. Accompanied by the sound of breaking air, they shot toward all of Lin Yan's vital points like venomous spears!

At the same time, the poison glands beneath its head swelled once more, clearly preparing to spray an even more potent toxin!

Lin Yan's gaze was sharp as a blade. His figure maneuvered and dodged within the narrow stone chamber. He pushed the finesse of Explosive Step to its limit, narrowly avoiding the majority of the tentacle strikes.

However, the Poison Octopus's attacks were too dense. Two tentacles still blocked his path of retreat, and it looked like they were about to pierce his back!

Just at this moment, Xiao Yi Xian, who was at the cave entrance, moved!

She did not rush into the range of the poisonous mist. Instead, her hands rapidly shifted through hand seals. The gray-purple poison energy within her, which had been tempered by Xuanming True Water and fused with the faint resonance of the ancient soul scale, surged out madly. It condensed in front of her into three fist-sized, constantly rotating "poison cyclones" with strange poison patterns surfacing on their surfaces!

"Go!"

Following her soft shout, the three poison cyclones formed a triangular formation and shot toward the head of the Bone-Corroding Poison Octopus at high speed! The poison cyclones did not fly in a straight line; instead, they carried an eerie arc, bypassing the tentacles that were thrashing about wildly!

The Bone-Corroding Poison Octopus's entire attention was on Lin Yan, and it did not pay much heed to Xiao Yi Xian, an opponent of the "same attribute" but with a weak aura.

By the time it discovered those three eerie poison cyclones, it was already too late to dodge or defend!

"Puff! Puff! Puff!"

The three poison cyclones struck the Bone-Corroding Poison Octopus's head, which was covered in compound eyes, almost simultaneously! There was no explosion; instead, like maggots on a bone, they instantly merged into the mucus and carapace on its surface!

The next moment, the massive body of the Bone-Corroding Poison Octopus stiffened violently! Its tentacles, which had originally been moving flexibly, became sluggish and twisted. Its compound eyes revealed immense pain and confusion! Beneath its dark green skin, large patches of gray-purple patterns rapidly appeared. These patterns spread and eroded like living creatures, clashing fiercely with its own poison energy and annihilating each other!

This was precisely the poison technique Xiao Yi Xian had recently comprehended—the "Pulse-Corroding Poison Seal"! Using her own pure poison energy as a guide, it invaded the enemy's body, corroded its energy meridians, and caused internal disorder and continuous damage! The effect was especially significant against the Bone-Corroding Poison Octopus, which also relied on poison energy to function!

"Good opportunity!" A brilliant light exploded in Lin Yan's eyes! Because of the disorder of the poison energy within its body, the Bone-Corroding Poison Octopus's movements were stiff, and its defense was greatly reduced!

He no longer held back; his Dou Qi and soul power erupted simultaneously! His left hand formed a sword finger, and a strand of cyan-white soul flame sword energy, fused with the cold soul power of the Pure Corrosion Soul Seal and the scorching aura of the Green Lotus Core Flame, shot out, aiming directly for the core compound eye at the center of the Poison Octopus's head! At the same time, the Seed Flame of Void Devouring Flame in his right palm expanded, turning into a pitch-black vortex of fire. Carrying a terrifying aura that devoured everything, it slammed fiercely toward the giant mouth the Poison Octopus had opened in pain!

"Soul Flame Evil-Breaking! Void Devouring Heaven!"

The two attacks, one internal and one external, one soul and one fire, hit almost simultaneously!

"Screech—!!!"

The Bone-Corroding Poison Octopus let out a shriek of misery and despair to the extreme! The compound eye at the center of its head was pierced, frozen, and corroded by the soul flame sword energy, causing its soul to suffer heavy damage! And within its giant mouth, the Seed Flame of Void Devouring Flame vortex was crazily devouring the poison essence and life force within its body!

Its massive body twitched and twisted wildly, its tentacles weakly slapping the ground and rock walls, splashing waves of venom. After struggling for less than ten breaths, it went completely stiff and motionless, with no aura left. That dark green body rapidly shriveled and withered, finally turning into a pool of foul-smelling, viscous liquid that merged into the black water pool below, leaving behind only a few of the hardest bone spikes.

The Tier 4 Magical Beast, the Bone-Corroding Poison Octopus, was dead!

Lin Yan panted slightly; using the soul seal and Heavenly Flame consecutively had consumed quite a bit. He looked at Xiao Yi Xian at the cave entrance, a flicker of approval flashing in his eyes. The timing and effect of that "Pulse-Corroding Poison Seal" just now were perfect.

Xiao Yi Xian walked in quickly, joy on her face: "We succeeded! Thanks to you attracting all of its attention."

"It was your strike that was critical." Lin Yan nodded, his gaze casting once more toward the now-calm black water pool, and that faint, dark purple light still flickering at the bottom of the pool. "Now, it is time to collect our spoils."

This time, without the guardian, the collection process was much smoother. Lin Yan wrapped his hand in Dou Qi and carefully reached into the black water pool, avoiding the still highly toxic pool water. He precisely retrieved the "Bone-Corroding Poison Crystal," which was about the size of a pigeon egg, dark purple throughout, crystalline and transparent, with liquid seemingly flowing slowly inside.

The poison crystal felt cold and heavy in his hand, emitting pure and violent fluctuations of poison energy. Xiao Yi Xian stared at it without blinking, her breathing becoming rapid. She could feel that this poison crystal had an incomparable attraction to her poison body!

"For you." Lin Yan handed the poison crystal to Xiao Yi Xian. "The poison energy here is abundant, and the environment is relatively hidden. Perhaps you can try to refine it here and impact the Poison Pellet Realm (corresponding to the Dou Practitioner level)."

Xiao Yi Xian took the poison crystal and nodded heavily, her eyes full of determination: "Mm! I will definitely succeed!"

The two rested briefly, and Lin Yan set up simple warning and defensive measures at the cave entrance. Xiao Yi Xian walked to a relatively dry corner of the stone chamber, sat cross-legged, placed the Bone-Corroding Poison Crystal in her palm, and began to slowly circulate the poison energy within her body according to the method recorded in the Seven-Colored Poison Manual for condensing a "Poison Pellet" using high-purity poison essence.

Gray-purple poison energy surged out like a stream, wrapping around the dark purple poison crystal, and began to extract and refine the pure poison origin within it bit by bit. This process was even more dangerous than absorbing the Xuanming True Water; if one were not careful, the violent toxicity within the poison crystal would backfire. Xiao Yi Xian was fully focused, fine beads of sweat gradually seeping from her forehead, and a faint gray-purple poisonous mist began to diffuse around her body.

Lin Yan stood guard to the side, recovering his breath while remaining vigilant of the surroundings. Time flowed slowly in the silence.

I do not know how much time passed, but the Bone-Corroding Poison Crystal in Xiao Yi Xian's palm had shrunk by a third, and its color had become dim. However, the aura on her body began to climb steadily! The gray-purple poisonous mist became increasingly dense, faintly forming a slowly rotating vortex above her head. At the center of the vortex, a point of deep dark purple light was gradually condensing and solidifying!

The Poison Pellet was about to take shape!

However, at this critical moment—

"Boom—!!!"

A dull, thunderous roar suddenly came from above the cave! Immediately following, the entire cave began to shake violently, and rubble fell with a rustling sound!

It did not come from inside the cave, nor from the direction of Chi Rong outside the cave, but from... the mountain body directly above their heads!

Lin Yan looked up abruptly, his soul perception extending upward madly. He was shocked to discover that within the rock layer hundreds of zhang above, a massive, wild, and destructive energy was raging and impacting crazily! That energy... it was scorching, violent, carrying a sharpness that tore through space, and there was also a faint... Dragon Might that made even him feel palpitations?

"What is going on?!" Xiao Yi Xian was also startled by this sudden, drastic change. The poison pellet vortex above her head became unstable and almost collapsed! She hurriedly steadied her mind, but an anxious look had already appeared on her face. If the pellet-condensing process was interrupted, at best, all previous efforts would be wasted; at worst, the poison energy would backfire!

"Focus! Complete your Poison Pellet! Leave the outside to me!" Lin Yan shouted sharply. His figure flashed, and he had already arrived at the center of the stone chamber, looking up and staring intensely at the dome that was constantly shaking and beginning to show cracks. The Dou Qi and Heavenly Flame energy within his body instantly rose to the limit, and the soul seal on his brow also shone faintly, as he prepared to meet the worst-case scenario.

The rumbling and shaking above their heads became increasingly intense, as if some massive creature was using an incomparably savage power to forcibly tear through and penetrate the thick mountain body!

"Crack—!"

A jaw-aching, shattering roar! At a certain spot in the dome of the stone chamber, the hard rock was forcibly torn open, creating a huge crack several zhang long! Blinding, scorching light mixed with red-gold and dark crimson, accompanied by terrifying high temperatures and a violent dragon roar, poured down madly from that crack like a celestial river flowing backward!