35: Chapter 35 Poisonous miasma pervades, the absolute home ground of mixed spiritual roots

The sword light dissipated, revealing three young Cultivators wearing the embroidered white robes of the Xuantian Sect's inner Sect.

The originally arrogant and domineering elder of the Blood Fiend Sect abruptly paused his hand rolling the bone beads, a flash of deep apprehension crossing his eyes.

Qi Refining Tenth Layer!

The Spiritual Qi around the two leading Xuantian Sect Disciples churned as if it were tangible. The pressure from such highly liquefied spiritual power made it difficult for many low-tier Loose Cultivators present even to breathe.

Although there was only a small Realm difference between the Qi Refining Ninth Layer and the Qi Refining Tenth Layer, it was a difference as vast as heaven and earth!

The Qi Refining Tenth Layer meant that the spiritual power within the body had already begun to transform into the liquid state of the Foundation Establishment Stage, possessing immense might with every gesture.

This was also why only by reaching the Qi Refining Tenth Layer would one be qualified to enter the Xuantian Sect's inner Sect!

"Why are the people from the Xuantian Sect also coming to join in the excitement?"

A Loose Cultivator lowered their voice and muttered in terror.

Qi Yang hid at the very back of the crowd, but his gaze swept past the two inner Sect elites of the Qi Refining Tenth Layer and landed on the young man following behind them.

At this look, the corner of Qi Yang's mouth couldn't help but twitch.

An acquaintance!

The youth wore an extremely flashy golden-threaded robe, holding a folding fan in his hand, and his chin was lifted higher than the sky.

Li Ao!

The biological grandson of Great Elder Li Changyuan of the Xuantian Sect's outer Sect!

This brat possessed Three Spiritual Roots, and his Aptitude could not be considered top-tier, but he had a good grandfather who forcefully used a massive amount of Medicinal Pills and resources to pile him up to the Qi Refining Ninth Layer.

In the outer Sect, this brat was a tyrant, and anyone who saw him had to take a detour.

"It seems this brat accepted a Sect trial mission and came out to gild himself by following the inner Sect Senior Brothers."

Qi Yang sneered in his heart.

Li Ao walked to the front of the crowd, closed his folding fan, and contemptuously swept his gaze over all the Loose Cultivators present.

"What are you looking at? A bunch of blind dogs!"

Li Ao cursed unceremoniously.

"This Duling Valley is now taken over by our Xuantian Sect! If you know what's good for you, get your asses in there and clear the path! Whoever dares to take half a step back, this young master will hack him to pieces alive right now!"

Overbearing! Unreasonable!

This was the confidence of a Disciple from a major Sect!

The expressions of the more than one hundred Loose Cultivators present were ashen, and they dared to be angry but did not dare to speak out.

Loose Cultivators like them without background or resources were not even as good as cannon fodder in the eyes of the Sect Disciples; they were simply consumables used to scout the path and step into traps!

"What? Can't understand human speech?"

A fierce light flashed in Li Ao's eyes as he directly drew the long sword at his waist and slashed it toward a Qi Condensation 5th Layer Loose Cultivator closest to him.

That Loose Cultivator had no time to react at all and was directly split into two halves by a sharp Sword Qi, fresh blood spraying all over the ground!

"Enter! Or die!"

Li Ao flicked the blood off his sword, grinning hideously.

The Loose Cultivators were completely frightened out of their wits by this bloody scene, and could only grit their teeth, brace themselves, and walk toward the gray, hazy entrance of Duling Valley.

The demonic Cultivators of the Blood Fiend Sect stood aside and watched coldly. The leading Blood-Robed Elder even let out a cold sneer, clearly unfazed by the Xuantian Sect's overbearing behavior and even happy to see someone paving the way ahead.

Qi Yang shrank his neck, mixed into the team of Loose Cultivators, and moved sluggishly toward the valley entrance.

He had no intention of standing out.

The Cultivation World was just this cruel; the law of the jungle was the only ironclad rule.

He was currently only at the Qi Condensation Seventh Layer. Although he had numerous trump cards, facing two inner Sect elites of the Qi Refining Tenth Layer and a demonic Cultivator leader at the Peak of the Ninth Layer of Qi Condensation, fighting head-on would definitely mean a ten out of ten chance of death with zero survival!

"Be arrogant, be as arrogant as you want."

Qi Yang lowered his eyelids, a viper-like chill flashing in the depths of his eyes.

"The things inside this Duling Valley cannot be obtained just by having a loud voice. Once we go in later, I want to see how much toxic miasma you pampered prodigies can withstand!"

Qi Yang gathered his black robe and, along with the flow of people, plunged headfirst into the gray toxic miasma that seemed to devour everything.

The moment they stepped into Duling Valley, the light dimmed.

Thick, unremitting gray miasma permeated the surroundings, with visibility of less than three zhang.

The air was filled with a pungent, foul stench, and one could even hear the sizzling sound of toxic fog corroding leaves.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Not long after walking in, violent coughs came from the team of Loose Cultivators ahead.

Several Loose Cultivators whose cultivation was only at the fourth or fifth layer of Qi Condensation turned ashen in face, grabbed their necks, and fell to the ground twitching, turning into a pool of foul-smelling bloody water shortly after.

"Raise your spiritual power shields! This toxic miasma is strange!"

Li Ao shouted sternly from behind.

All Cultivators immediately urged the spiritual power within their bodies, forming a colorful spiritual light shield on the surface of their bodies.

But soon, those Sect Disciples who fancied themselves geniuses noticed something was wrong.

"Damn it! How could this toxic miasma be like this!"

Li Ao's expression changed drastically. As soon as the Wood-attribute Spiritual Power inside his body came into contact with the toxic miasma outside, it began to be consumed violently.

Those two inner Sect elites of the Qi Refining Tenth Layer also furrowed their brows tightly, their expressions solemn.

The miasma of Duling Valley was a naturally formed compound toxic miasma!

Inside it fused the sharpness of metal, the corrosion of wood, the bitter cold of water, the fury of fire, and the heaviness of earth!

The Five Elements were complete!

Geniuses with Dual Spiritual Roots and Three Spiritual Roots usually cultivated at an extremely fast speed because they had extreme affinity for the Spiritual Qi that matched them.

But now, facing this compound toxic miasma mixed with the Five Elements, the attribute spiritual power within their bodies could not absorb or assimilate it at all, and they could only rely on their massive spiritual power reserves to forcefully endure it!

With every step they took, their spiritual power was draining away crazily!

"Damn it! This ghost place is simply a death zone that counters us!"

Li Ao cursed through gritted teeth, having no choice but to desperately stuff recovery pills into his mouth.

The demonic Cultivators on the side of the Blood Fiend Sect were no better off. Under the constant erosion of the Five Elements toxic miasma, the protective blood shields they summoned emitted harsh corrosive sounds, their blood-red light dimming at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Everyone was complaining bitterly.

But only one person was an exception.

Mixed in at the very back of the crowd, Qi Yang almost couldn't help laughing out loud beneath his wide black robe.

Awesome! It was so damn awesome!

The compound toxic miasma that others regarded like venomous snakes and scorpions was simply a panacea of supreme nourishment soup for Qi Yang!

He was a Five-Element Mixed Spiritual Root! Metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—the Five Elements were all complete!

The Five Elements toxic miasma that others could not absorb burrowed into his body through his pores, only to be immediately taken over by the Five Elements Grindstone in his Dantian.

The Five Poisons Nourishing Spirit Art operated crazily, and that massive Five Elements toxic miasma was directly crushed, filtered, and finally transformed into wisps of incomparably pure dark green Poison Wood Spiritual Power, converging into his Qi Sea!

While others were frantically losing HP here, he was idling and leveling up here!

"The absolute home turf of Mixed Spiritual Roots!"

Feeling the continuously filling spiritual power within his body, Qi Yang felt so comfortable he almost groaned out loud.

Just as Qi Yang was secretly enjoying himself, a sudden change occurred!

"Roar!"

From deep within the toxic miasma, a spine-chilling beast roar suddenly came.

Immediately after, the earth began to tremble violently, and countless pairs of scarlet eyes lit up in the thick fog.

"There is a beast tide! Defend! Quickly defend!"

The Loose Cultivators shouted in panic.

Swish, swish, swish...

Dozens of huge venom-kissed spiders and armored poison lizards covered in venomous barbs rushed out from all directions, lunging straight into the crowd!

These venomous beasts had lived in Duling Valley for years and had long since adapted to the toxic miasma here. Not only were their physical bodies formidable, but every attack also carried lethal, potent poison.

"Ah! Save me!"

"My leg!"

The team of Loose Cultivators began to collapse, with screams rising one after another.

Li Ao and the two inner Sect elites were also tightly entangled by several Late Stage Tier-1 venomous beasts.

Li Ao waved his long sword, Sword Qi overflowing, but the scales of the venomous beasts were too thick, making it impossible for him to kill them with a single strike. Instead, he was forced into a flurry of confusion and extreme embarrassment by the venom spat out by the venomous beasts.

"This beast tide came suspiciously!"

Qi Yang acutely sensed that something was wrong.

Although venomous beasts were ferocious, they usually had a sense of territory and could not gather in such large numbers to attack humans.

Qi Yang's perception quietly spread out, and he immediately captured a faint, peculiar fragrance drifting over from the direction of the Blood Fiend Sect's demonic Cultivators.

"Beast-Attracting Incense!"

A cold light flashed in Qi Yang's eyes.

These demonic Cultivators were truly insidious; they secretly ignited Beast-Attracting Incense, deliberately luring venomous beasts to consume the strength of the Xuantian Sect and the Loose Cultivators, while they themselves had long been prepared, smearing beast-repelling powder on their bodies so the venomous beasts wouldn't attack them at all!

Taking advantage of the total chaos at the scene, the demonic Cultivator team, led by that elder at the Peak of the Ninth Layer of Qi Condensation, rapidly charged deeper into Duling Valley.

"Want to shake me off and hog all the good stuff? In your dreams."

Without any hesitation, Qi Yang directly slapped a high-tier breath-concealing talisman onto his body.

His originally faint aura instantly vanished without a trace, and his entire person seemed to merge into the gray toxic miasma.