47: Chapter 47 The Misty Swamp, A Call from the Depths of the Poisonous Mist

The scent of blood had not yet fully dissipated in the forest before it was quietly swallowed by the damp mist. Lin Yan and his party dared not linger for even a moment; using the cover of ancient trees and vines, they fled desperately toward the northeast.

The "Pure Corrosion Soul Seal" between Lin Yan's brows emitted a faint yet continuous cold fluctuation, acting like an invisible filter that cleansed the post-battle exhaustion and distracting thoughts flooding his soul, keeping him in a state of near-cold-blooded clarity. However, the price was the intermittent, icy, piercing pain from the depths of his soul, along with the heavy burden of "karma" branded alongside the soul seal.

Xiao Yi Xian's face was pale. Although the wound on her shoulder had stopped bleeding, the sinister poison left behind by the ghost-fire chains and the faint erosion from the Purifying Soul Flame still made her feel uncomfortable. She silently circulated the "Seven-Colored Poison Manual," mobilizing the poison power within her body that had fused with the properties of the Xuanming True Water, carefully grinding down and converting the invading foreign energy. Yet, her emerald eyes revealed an unprecedented resilience. Every narrow escape from death only made her craving for power and control burn more intensely.

Chi Rong was in the most wretched state. The place on its hind leg scorched by the ghost fire was torn open, deep enough to reveal the bone. Its dark golden scales were charred and curled, with lava energy flickering uncertainly upon them, resisting the erosion of the sinister poison. Every step it took seemed heavy, and its aura was withered, but the flame burning within its dark golden vertical pupils had not been extinguished. The connection of the Soul Contract allowed Lin Yan to clearly feel the pain and unwillingness in its soul, as well as a trace of... frustration at failing to better protect its master and Xiao Yi Xian.

"Chi Rong, stop." Lin Yan halted behind a giant rock covered in thick moss, his voice brook no argument. He quickly took out several medicinal herbs for healing from his storage ring—top-quality Blood-Coagulating Grass, Jade Bone Flower for removing decay and regenerating flesh, and a small piece of fire-attribute "Warm Sun Jade" for nourishing meridians. He crushed the herbs, mixed them with a wisp of his own Dou Qi containing the aura of the Living Spirit Flame, and carefully applied it to the wound on Chi Rong's hind leg.

The emerald green life energy combined with the medicinal efficacy, rapidly dispelling the ghost-fire's sinister poison and promoting the regeneration of flesh and blood. The Warm Sun Jade, placed near the wound, provided gentle heat, alleviating Chi Rong's cold pain.

"Master... This little dragon is useless..." Chi Rong lowered its head, its mental fluctuations carrying guilt.

"No need to blame yourself; you did very well." Lin Yan patted its thick scales. "Recover quickly; we still have a long way to go."

He looked at Xiao Yi Xian: "How is your injury?"

"It is fine. The poison power has suppressed it, and I will be able to refine it soon." Xiao Yi Xian shook her head, but her gaze fell upon the wound on Lin Yan's forehead, which had been grazed by a staff and had now scabbed over. She seemed to want to say something but hesitated.

"Just a superficial wound." Lin Yan didn't care at all. He was more concerned about the information obtained from the staff-user's memory. The Hall of Souls' interest in the "Ancient Scaled-Type Ruins," the source of the soul-flame technology, and the possibility that the other party possessed more tracking methods... all of these indicated that the path ahead would be even more dangerous.

"System, analyze the items obtained from the three members of the Hall of Souls, especially the 'soul guidance compass' and that damaged skull." Lin Yan thought silently.

[Analyzing items...]

[soul guidance compass (Damaged): A standard tracking magic tool of the Hall of Souls. Its core is a fragment of 'Soul-Guiding Crystal,' which can amplify the sensing of specific soul-power imprints (such as the Heart-Burning Seal) and high-order soul-power fluctuations of the same origin (it has a weak reaction to the Pure Corrosion Soul Seal). It is currently damaged, and the internal structure has been recorded.]

[Damaged Pale Cold-Flame Skull: A degraded carrier for the 'Purifying Soul Flame' Seed Flame. The refining technique is crude, containing a large amount of impurities and resentment; long-term use will erode the user's soul. The internal flame origin has been devoured and absorbed by the Void Swallowing Flame. The remaining shell material is 'Yinhun Jade' and 'Soul-Devouring Beast' skull, containing weak soul-power conductivity, which can be used to refine low-level soul artifacts or as a research sample.]

[Other gains: Three low-level Deacon tokens of the Hall of Souls, several Yin-attribute medicinal pills, and some gold coins and materials.]

Research samples... perhaps they will be useful later. Lin Yan put the items away and cast his gaze toward the northeast. The sky there was shrouded in a layer of grey mist all year round. Even from a great distance, one could feel the increasing humidity in the air and a faint, elusive scent of fishy sweetness.

Mist Swamp, almost there.

After resting for about half an hour, Chi Rong's injuries stabilized under the dual effects of the Living Spirit Flame and the medicinal herbs. Although not fully healed, it no longer affected its movement. Xiao Yi Xian had also basically refined the invading foreign energy, and her aura had returned to stability.

"Let's go, target: Mist Swamp." Lin Yan led the way, his soul perception scanning forward like radar, vigilant against any movement.

The closer they got to the swamp area, the more obvious the environmental changes became. The dense primeval forest was gradually replaced by shorter, strangely shaped moisture-resistant trees and astonishingly lush ferns and moss. The ground became soft and muddy, with puddles of various sizes visible everywhere. The water was turbid, shimmering with an eerie dark green or grey-black color, bubbling and emitting a pungent odor mixed with decay and toxins. The grey-white mist, like a living thing, slowly flowed and coiled among the trees and over the water surface, causing visibility to drop sharply.

The toxins and miasma permeating the air were fatal to ordinary Dou Practitioners. Even for a Dou Ling expert, staying for a long time would cause discomfort, requiring them to expend Dou Qi to resist. But for Xiao Yi Xian, it was like returning to her home turf.

She took a deep breath of the fishy, sweet, poisonous miasma. Her emerald eyes brightened slightly, and the grey-purple poison power around her body flowed spontaneously. It not only easily refined and absorbed the invading miasma, turning it into nutrients for her own poison power, but even vaguely emitted a kind of joyful fluctuation. The "ancient soul scale" she wore on her wrist was also slightly heating up at this moment, the sense of resonance becoming clearer and firmly pointing toward the depths of the swamp.

"This place... is very suitable for me." Xiao Yi Xian said in a low voice, her tone carrying a strange sense of peace. The Calamity Poison Body was like a fish in water in this environment, and even the feeling of oppression in her heart caused by the continuous pursuit and ancient secrets was alleviated significantly.

Lin Yan also noticed his own changes. The Pure Corrosion Soul Seal between his brows did not feel uncomfortable in this environment filled with negative energy (poison, miasma, decaying death aura). Instead, the cold purifying power it emitted became more active, automatically filtering and repelling those harmful energies, keeping his mind clear. Meanwhile, the Seed Flame of Void Devouring Flame within his body developed a faint "appetite" for certain more hidden, more "profound" negative energy sources deep in the swamp.

Chi Rong was the only one who felt uncomfortable. Its lava attribute was incompatible with the damp and sinister environment. It had to constantly consume energy to resist the pervasive moisture and toxin erosion, and its injury recovery speed slowed down. However, it still faithfully followed behind Lin Yan, its dark golden vertical pupils vigilantly scanning every suspicious shadow in the mist.

The three (including the dragon) struggled forward through the mud and poisonous miasma. Beneath their feet, they could sink into bottomless mud at any moment. In the water, highly poisonous leeches or snakes and insects might be lurking, and occasionally, brightly colored flying insects or small poisonous beasts, clearly highly toxic at a glance, would flash through the mist. Lin Yan had to use his soul perception more frequently to scout the path, avoiding areas with particularly chaotic or dangerous energy reactions.

Following the guidance of the ancient soul scale, they ventured deeper into the swamp. The surrounding mist grew thicker, and the light became increasingly dim, as if eternal night had descended. Strange, low whimpering sounds that seemed to come from deep underground, and the rustling sounds of some slippery creature moving through the mud and water, came from all directions from time to time, adding a sense of eeriness and terror.

Suddenly, from the thick mist ahead, came the sounds of intense fighting and angry shouts from humans!

"...Block it! This beast is almost done for!"

"Watch out for its poisonous mist! Fall back!"

"Damn it, why are the things in this swamp so troublesome!"

Lin Yan's eyes narrowed. He signaled Xiao Yi Xian and Chi Rong to conceal their auras, while he himself snuck closer silently.

Pushing aside a curtain of hanging vines, a small, relatively dry mound appeared before his eyes. On the mound, five human cultivators dressed in uniform grey martial outfits, with a crossed-sword emblem embroidered on their chests, were fiercely fighting a huge Magical Beast that resembled a crocodile but had three tails, dark green skin, and a mouth full of fangs dripping with poisonous saliva!

"A peak Tier 3 Magical Beast, the Poison Swamp Three-Tailed Crocodile." Lin Yan recognized the beast.

The five humans were led by a three-star Great Dou Master, with the remaining four all being at the Dou Master level. Their coordination was quite tacit; the radiance of Dou Qi flickering on their blades and swords continuously left wounds on the Poison Swamp Three-Tailed Crocodile.

However, the Poison Swamp Three-Tailed Crocodile had thick skin and dense flesh, and its poison was ferocious. The toxic mist it sprayed made those few quite wary, and the battle fell into a stalemate.

"They are people from the 'Ash Mercenary Group'." Xiao Yi Xian whispered beside Lin Yan. She had once seen the emblem of this mercenary group in Qingshan Town; it was a second-rate mercenary group active on the outskirts of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, primarily taking on missions to hunt Magical Beasts and explore.

Lin Yan's gaze swept across the battlefield without paying much attention. Mercenary groups hunting Magical Beasts was perfectly normal in the Magical Beast Mountain Range. He was just preparing to bypass them to avoid any unnecessary complications.

However, the moment he withdrew his gaze, his peripheral vision caught a glimpse of something at the edge of the mound: at the roots of a strange shrub that had been affected by the battle and was half-fallen, a small, inconspicuous, mud-covered... edge of a stone tablet was revealed?

The material of the stone tablet was neither stone nor jade, appearing dark cyan, and its surface seemed to be engraved with patterns, making it extremely difficult to detect in the damp and dim light of the swamp. Had it not been for Lin Yan's keen soul perception, and the fact that the stone tablet faintly emitted an extremely weak, ancient, and heavy aura that was completely out of place with the surrounding toxic miasma, he would have almost missed it.

More importantly, the ancient soul scale in his storage ring suddenly resonated intensely at this moment! The dark gold patterns on the scale grew slightly warm, and the guidance it transmitted pointed straight to that piece of the stone tablet!

"Could it be..." Lin Yan's heart stirred. Was the entrance to the ruins guided by the ancient soul scale not in the deepest part of the swamp, but beneath this seemingly ordinary mound? Covered by this shrub and the thick mud?

He carefully observed the battle between the five mercenaries and the Poison Swamp Three-Tailed Crocodile again. The mercenary group did not seem to have discovered the existence of the stone tablet; their attention was entirely drawn by the Magical Beast. The Poison Swamp Three-Tailed Crocodile also seemed to be attacking in a rage as if its nest had been disturbed (perhaps the nest was right near the stone tablet?).

"Wait until they are both injured, or they leave." Lin Yan quickly made a judgment. The mercenary group was not strong, but there was no need for conflict without reason. Moreover, he vaguely felt that there seemed to be something else hidden beneath the mud near the stone tablet, with an obscure and dangerous energy reaction.

The battle lasted for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick. After paying the price of two people sustaining minor injuries (poisoning) and significant exhaustion, the Ash Mercenary Group finally killed the Poison Swamp Three-Tailed Crocodile. The gray-haired three-star Great Dou Master leading them panted heavily, cursing and swearing as he directed his subordinates to carve up the valuable materials.

"Pah! This damn place is really wicked! Even a Tier 3 crocodile is so hard to deal with!" A Dou Master with a scar on his face complained.

"Enough, hurry up and pack up. The fog is getting thicker; let's leave this damn place early." The gray-haired Great Dou Master looked vigilantly at the increasingly dense fog around them, "I always feel like something is not right..."

Before his words could fade, a sudden change occurred!

On the side of the mound, the seemingly calm mud, covered with thick duckweed and rotten leaves, suddenly churned without warning! A huge whirlpool with a diameter of over three zhang formed instantly, and a terrifying suction force swept the muddy water, rotten leaves, and even the corpse of the Poison Swamp Three-Tailed Crocodile towards the center!

"Not good! Retreat quickly!" The gray-haired Great Dou Master's expression changed drastically, and he shouted sharply.

However, it was already too late!

In the center of the whirlpool, a huge tentacle, several times thicker than the Poison Swamp Three-Tailed Crocodile from earlier, covered in dark purple scales and bearing countless hideous suckers, like a devil's claw reaching out from hell, burst through the mud with a bang. Carrying a nauseating stench and slime, it lashed out like lightning towards the two mercenaries closest to it!

"Ah——!!" "Help!" The shrill screams came to an abrupt end. The two Dou Master-level mercenaries, along with their weapons, were easily wrapped up by the purple tentacle and dragged into the bottomless mud whirlpool, leaving behind only a few hair-raising chewing sounds and bubbling blood foam!

"Tier 4... no, it might be a Tier 5 'Corrosive Poison Devil Octopus'!" The gray-haired Great Dou Master's face was drained of color, his eyes filled with despair. This terrifying Magical Beast that lived in the depths of the swamp was adept at camouflage and ambush, possessed immense strength, had tentacles that carried strong poison and corrosiveness, and usually had more than one tentacle!

As if to confirm his conjecture, three or four more whirlpools broke open in the mud, and three more equally terrifying purple tentacles drilled out, baring their fangs and brandishing their claws as they coiled towards the remaining three mercenaries!

"Scatter and run!" The gray-haired Great Dou Master roared and turned to flee. The other two mercenaries were also scared out of their wits and fled for their lives in different directions.

But their speed seemed so ridiculous in front of the Corrosive Poison Devil Octopus. Two tentacles, as if they had eyes, instantly caught up and wrapped around the two fleeing mercenaries. The last, thickest tentacle lashed out like a whip towards the back of the gray-haired Great Dou Master!

The gray-haired Great Dou Master felt the foul wind attacking from behind. A flash of madness crossed his eyes as he abruptly turned around, pouring all his Dou Qi into the long blade in his hand, and slashed at the tentacle!

"Clang!" A sound like the clashing of gold and iron! The long blade left a wound on the tentacle deep enough to see the bone, and purple-black, foul-smelling blood sprayed out. But the tentacle only paused for a moment before still striking the Great Dou Master fiercely!

"Pfft!" The gray-haired Great Dou Master spat out a mouthful of blood, was knocked flying like a broken sack, broke several strange trees, and fell into the distant mud, his life or death unknown.

In just over ten breaths, a complete mercenary squad was nearly wiped out!

The Corrosive Poison Devil Octopus seemed satisfied with these few "small snacks", and several tentacles slowly retracted back into the mud whirlpool, preparing to enjoy its prey, leaving behind only churning mud and a rich, bloody, and foul stench.

The three people, Lin Yan, hidden in the dark, held their breath and focused, restraining their aura to the extreme. Chi Rong even completely extinguished the lava light on his body, appearing like a rock. Xiao Yi Xian covered her mouth and nose tightly, her poison power internalized.

A Tier 5 Magical Beast! And it looked like it was definitely not just a newly advanced Tier 5! In this environment, even Chi Rong in his prime might not be its opponent, let alone now.

"Wait for it to sink, or leave." Lin Yan signaled with his eyes. They had to get the stone tablet, or at least confirm the secret of the stone tablet. But confronting this Corrosive Poison Devil Octopus head-on was tantamount to suicide.

However, things went contrary to expectations.

The Corrosive Poison Devil Octopus did not immediately sink back into the depths of the swamp after enjoying the mercenaries. One of the relatively smaller tentacles, like a probe, swept back and forth in the mud, seemingly searching for something. A moment later, the tip of the tentacle stopped at... the edge of that dark cyan stone tablet exposed above the ground!

The tentacle touched the stone tablet gently, as if confirming something. Then, it made a move that made Lin Yan's heart sink—it firmly attached itself to the stone tablet with its suckers and began to pull slowly, as if it wanted to... pull the stone tablet out of the mud?!

Could it be that this Corrosive Poison Devil Octopus also knew about the abnormality of this stone tablet? Or rather, was it simply one of the guardians of this "ruin"?

"We cannot let it take away or destroy the stone tablet!" Lin Yan's eyes sharpened. The guidance of the ancient soul scale was here; this stone tablet was likely the key entrance! But how could they snatch food from the tiger's mouth, under the tentacles of a Tier 5 Magical Beast?

Just as his thoughts were racing, thinking of countermeasures, from the depths of the swamp, in that more distant direction vaguely called by the ancient soul scale, a low, grand, and strange humming sound, as if coming from the Nine Netherworlds, suddenly came! Mixed in the humming sound was a sharp, screeching sound that made the soul feel stinging pain!

At the same time, the ancient soul scale in Lin Yan's storage ring, and the one in Xiao Yi Xian's hand, simultaneously vibrated violently! The resonance reached an unprecedented intensity, even emitting a faint, gray-black halo (related to the poison attribute?)!

The thick fog in that area seemed to be stirred by an invisible force, rolling violently!

The Corrosive Poison Devil Octopus seemed to be alarmed by this sudden change, and its action of pulling the stone tablet stopped. Several tentacles stood up vigilantly, turning towards the direction from which the humming came, and let out a threatening low roar.

Lin Yan's pupils shrank. It seemed that the secrets hidden in the depths of the Mist Swamp were far more complex and... dangerous than expected! Was there more than one ruin? Or was the call from the depths and this stone tablet two sides of the same coin? And was that Corrosive Poison Devil Octopus just a simple guardian beast, or... was it also attracted or controlled by something in the depths?