98: Chapter 98 Thousand Machine Valley, Deep into the Poisonous Miasma

Three days later, at night.

At the border of the Xuantian Sect, there was a hidden canyon less than thirty li away from Qianji Valley.

This place was originally a desolate wasteland. However, as news of the wager duel in Qianji Valley spread, countless mercenaries, Loose Cultivators, and even outlaws looking to profit from the war gathered here, forming a massive temporary black market.

Although Qianji Valley was the venue for the wager duel between the Xuantian Sect and the Tianluo Sect, the ruins were vast with numerous entrances, making it impossible for the two major Sects to completely seal it off.

Many Loose Cultivators wanted to slip in and get a share of the spoils while the two Sects clashed.

Inside the canyon, firelight flickered, and the clamor of voices was deafening.

Various crude stalls lined both sides of the canyon, selling all kinds of detoxification pills, fragmented maps, and even hidden weapons used for robbery and murder.

A grey-robed Loose Cultivator with a sinister face and a slightly hunched back quietly entered the black market.

It was none other than Qi Yang in disguise.

He had taken an improved version of the wuxiang pill, precisely suppressing his cultivation to the Qi Refining Tenth Layer.

This level of cultivation was considered expert among Loose Cultivators, enough to deter most petty troublemakers, yet not enough to alert those Cultivators of the Qi Condensation 12th Layer.

With his hands tucked into his sleeves, Qi Yang indifferently swept his gaze across the stalls on both sides.

He didn't need detoxification pills, nor did he need any Magical Artifact; what he needed was a detailed map of the interior of Qianji Valley.

The records in the ancient texts were too old; the terrain inside Qianji Valley had long undergone earth-shaking changes.

Without a map, barging blindly into a place filled with Formation traps and toxic miasma was pure suicide.

After wandering for over half an hour, Qi Yang stopped in front of a stall run by an information broker masked in black cloth.

“A partial map of the interior of Qianji Valley, marking safe routes through the three densest areas of toxic miasma, as well as the coordinates of a suspected volcanic region.”

The information broker lowered his voice, his eyes flickering as he looked at Qi Yang.

“One thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones. No bargaining.”

One thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones was an absolute fortune for a Loose Cultivator.

Without wasting words, Qi Yang reached into his robes, pulled out a small jade bottle, and tossed it onto the stall.

“I don't have Spirit Stones. Exchange it for this.”

Qi Yang's voice was hoarse, carrying a trace of coldness.

The information broker pulled out the stopper, took a single look, and his face instantly changed dramatically.

Inside the jade bottle were three pitch-black pills that emitted a nauseating, foul stench.

“First-grade supreme poison, Bone-Corroding Heart-Eroding Pill?!”

The information broker gasped.

This stuff was a highly sought-after Sharp Weapon for murder in the black market, with no supply to meet demand; a single pill could sell for over a thousand Spirit Stones!

“Are you trading or not?”

Qi Yang asked coldly.

“Trade! Of course we trade!”

The information broker hurriedly tucked the jade bottle into his robes, fumbled under the stall to pull out a somewhat worn Jade Slip, and respectfully handed it to Qi Yang.

Qi Yang took the Jade Slip, swept his perception over it to confirm it was indeed a partial map of Qianji Valley, and without lingering further, turned and walked out of the black market.

Leaving the black market, he took out the Jade Slip to confirm his direction. His figure transformed into a grey afterimage, completely blending into the vast night as he headed straight for Qianji Valley.

Qianji Valley, as the name implied, was an ancient ruin filled with all kinds of bizarre, broken Formations and traps.

But that was not the most lethal part.

The most lethal part was that the valley was shrouded year-round in a colorful Five Elements Toxic Miasma.

This toxic miasma was pervasive, easily penetrating a Cultivator's Protective Aura, corroding their Meridians, and dissolving their spiritual power.

Even a Great Perfection Cultivator of the Qi Condensation 12th Layer wouldn't dare to linger in the toxic miasma without a top-grade detoxification pill.

At dawn, a slight loosening appeared in the barrier of Qianji Valley's Formation.

The elite Disciples of the Xuantian Sect and the Tianluo Sect, along with countless Loose Cultivators swarming like locusts, frantically poured into this deadly wasteland.

Qi Yang blended into the crowd of Loose Cultivators and slipped into Qianji Valley through a hidden crevice.

As soon as he stepped into the valley, a strong, pungent, and sickly sweet odor rushed at him.

The surrounding air took on a strange pale purple hue, with visibility of less than ten zhang.

“Ah! My spiritual power is draining!”

“This toxic miasma is too overbearing; the detoxification pills can't hold out for long at all!”

Not far away, several Loose Cultivators whose cultivations were only at the eighth or ninth layer of Qi Refining gasped in a few mouthfuls of the toxic miasma, clutched their throats in agony, and collapsed to the ground. Their bodies convulsed as their skin rapidly blackened and festered.

Qi Yang didn't even spare a glance at those unlucky bastards. He took a deep breath and inhaled the deadly Five Elements Toxic Miasma into his body.

Boom!

Within his Dantian, the Five Elements Grindstone formed by his Five-Element Mixed Spiritual Roots began to spin frantically, and the Five Poisons Nourishing Spirit Art was pushed to its absolute limit by Qi Yang.

After entering Qi Yang's body, the Five Elements Toxic Miasma, which was lethal enough to kill ordinary Cultivators, was ruthlessly crushed and purified by the Five Elements Grindstone, ultimately turning into wisps of pure liquid Poison Wood Spiritual Power that flowed into his Dantian's Qi Sea.

“Comfortable.”

Qi Yang narrowed his eyes in comfort.

To others, this place was a Hell fraught with danger at every turn, but to him, it was practically a Cultivation Holy Land tailored just for him!

He didn't need to deliberately search for any Heaven And Earth Treasure. As long as he stayed in this toxic miasma, his cultivation would steadily rise, continuously pushing toward the Peak of the Qi Condensation 12th Layer.

Qi Yang didn't join the crowd. He took out the fragmented Jade Slip, compared it with the surrounding terrain, and specifically chose remote paths where the toxic miasma was the thickest and the Formations were the most broken.

He absorbed it all the way as he walked.

After half a day, the spiritual power in Qi Yang's body had already surged by a significant margin.

Just as he passed through a dead black forest, his powerful perception suddenly captured a violent fluctuation of spiritual power coming from ahead.

Experts were fighting!

Moreover, Qi Yang was extremely familiar with one of the auras.

Qi Yang raised his eyebrows slightly, instantly concealing his aura, and crept forward like a civet cat.

Through the thick toxic miasma, Qi Yang saw a ruin that had been completely destroyed.

In the center of the ruins, Su Qinghan, dressed in a moon-white gown and holding the hanpo sword, was trapped tightly from both front and back by two black-robed Tianluo Sect Cultivators.

The auras of those two Tianluo Sect Cultivators were as deep as the abyss and as vast as the sea; they were impressively top Prodigies of the Qi Condensation 12th Layer!

“Su Qinghan, personal Disciple of the Xuantian Sect's Jianzhi Peak, I hear your Sword Intent is very sharp?”

The leading Tianluo Sect Prodigy sneered, holding a spear burning with black flames in his hand.

“Today, we brothers will break this sword of yours!”

Su Qinghan's white gown was already stained with quite a bit of blood, and her face was somewhat pale. Obviously, she had suffered a slight disadvantage in the previous exchanges.

Yet her gaze was even colder and sharper than the hanpo sword in her hand.

“Just the two of you trash?”

Su Qinghan's voice was clear and cold, without the slightest trace of fear.

“Arrogant! Die!”

The two Tianluo Sect Prodigies were furious and attacked at the same time.

The black flame spear transformed into a violent fire Dragon, roaring as it charged straight at Su Qinghan.

While the other person sacrificed a net-like Magical Artifact, completely sealing off all of Su Qinghan's paths of retreat.

A certain-kill situation!

Hiding in the shadows, Qi Yang's eyes narrowed slightly, but he had no intention of making a move.

He wanted to see just how much this girl had grown after undergoing the baptism of the border battlefield.

Faced with the pincer attack of the two great experts, Su Qinghan did not retreat.

Not only did she not retreat, but she also actively charged forward, meeting the violent fire Dragon head-on!

“Water nourishes all things, and what is too rigid is easily broken... But if water freezes into ice, it can slash through all illusions!”

The words Qi Yang had spoken to her in the Nether Grass Field suddenly flashed through Su Qinghan's mind.

Buzz!

The hanpo sword let out a deafening sword chime.

At this moment, the Sword Intent on Su Qinghan's body underwent a qualitative transformation.

The originally fierce and domineering Sword Qi suddenly became restrained and deep, like ten-thousand-year-old profound ice, exuding an extreme coldness that could freeze the Soul.

“Absolute Cold Sword Domain, open!”

Su Qinghan swung her sword.

There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a hair-thin ice-blue sword line lightly slicing through the Void Realm.

Ssh!

The roaring black fire Dragon, upon contact with the sword line, was directly sliced in two. The severed ends were covered with thick frost, and it was instantly extinguished!

“What?!”

The Tianluo Sect Prodigy holding the fire spear paled with fright. He had never expected that his full-strength strike would be broken by the opponent with a single sword strike!

Before he could even react, Su Qinghan's figure had already appeared in front of him like a ghost.

The hanpo sword, carrying extreme coldness, mercilessly swept across his throat.

Pfft!

A fine head soared into the sky, and before the blood could even spray out, it was frozen into ice shards.

With one sword strike, she had slain a Prodigy of the Qi Condensation 12th Layer!