339: Stealing a sheep

Deep within the Black Marsh, the poisonous miasma was so thick it was almost solid. Five-colored mist slowly writhed in the air, emitting a sweet, pungent smell that made one dizzy.

An ordinary Dou King would likely succumb to the poison and die within the time it takes an incense stick to burn.

Jiang Donghua hovered before a steep cliff face that appeared completely normal.

The treasure seeking ruler in his hand was scalding hot, its tip trembling violently, pointing firmly behind the cliff.

His Spirit Realm Soul power meticulously swept across, clearly sensing that behind the cliff was a hidden world—a strange, rich medicinal fragrance, an intertwining of vitality and death, along with three powerful auras, were all present within.

“A natural poison array stacked with artificial restrictions. That’s quite ingenious.”

Jiang Donghua nodded slightly.

The barrier before him combined the natural poisonous miasma formed by the terrain with a man-made spatial concealment array, sufficient to keep most Dou Zong out, and even interfere with Soul Power perception.

If he were to forcefully break the array, it would certainly alert the people inside.

But he didn’t need to break the array.

“I’ll just go straight in.”

With a thought, Jiang Donghua quietly circulated his majestic Dou Zun Expert Dou Qi.

He extended his right hand, fingers slightly spread, and gently swiped at the empty space before him, his movement as soft as pulling back a curtain.

Screech!

A subtle sound, like silk being torn.

Where his fingertips passed, space rippled like water, and a dark crack, just wide enough for one person to pass through, its edges flickering with silver electrical arcs, silently appeared before the cliff.

On the other side of the crack, there was no longer solid rock, but the scene of a valley, faintly emitting strange light!

A spatial crack! One of the signature abilities of a Dou Zun Expert!

Jiang Donghua’s figure flickered, and he had already stepped into the crack.

After he entered, the crack quickly closed, space returned to normal, and nothing seemed to have happened.

The entire process was as swift as lightning, causing no energy fluctuations, perfectly bypassing all defensive arrays.

Inside the valley, the view suddenly opened up, a stark contrast to the dead marsh outside, like two different worlds.

The sky was covered by a faint green light shield, filtering out the external poisonous miasma, yet making the light soft and strange.

The valley was vast, the soil a bizarre purplish-black, and the air was filled with a suffocatingly rich medicinal fragrance, but this scent contained potent poison.

Looking around, strange flowers and exotic plants grew everywhere: Ghost Flower (Netherworld Flowers) with petals as vibrant as skulls, Poisonous Saliva (Poison Saliva Grass) with leaves constantly dripping corrosive liquid, and ghost vine (Ghost Entwining Vines) with tendrils writhing like venomous snakes. This was a meticulously cultivated valley of poisonous plants!

In the center of the valley, there was a relatively clear open space with several simple stone houses built upon it.

On the open space, three elderly men in black robes, their sleeves embroidered with ferocious venomous insect patterns, sat cross-legged, seemingly cultivating with their eyes closed.

Faint poisonous gas swirled around them, their auras thick and vast, clearly all Dou Zong!

One of them had even reached the level of a Seven-Star Dou Zong!

These three were the guardians dispatched by the Five Poisons Sect to protect the medicinal valley.

However, the moment Jiang Donghua tore through space and entered the valley, the Seven-Star Dou Zong elder, whose cultivation was the highest, suddenly opened his tightly shut eyes, a hint of surprise flashing within them!

“Hmm? Did space seem to have an extremely subtle fluctuation just now?”

He frowned deeply, his powerful Soul Power instantly sweeping across the entire valley, but he found nothing.

The other two Dou Zong—one a Three-star Dou Zong, the other a Four-star Dou Zong—were also startled awake, looking at him in confusion.

“Elder, is something amiss?”

The Three-star Dou Zong asked.

The Seven-Star Dou Zong elder pondered for a moment, then shook his head.

“Perhaps it was an illusion. The space here is occasionally unstable due to the poison array. Continue cultivating. The Sect Master has strictly ordered that this place must not suffer any losses, especially those Netherworld Poison Lotuses and Corrupted Bone Spirit Flowers, which are about to mature. There must be no mishaps.”

The three closed their eyes again, but the Seven-Star Dou Zong’s mind was several times more vigilant than before.

He didn’t know that an uninvited guest had already, like a phantom, infiltrated their medicinal valley, which they believed to be impregnable.

At this moment, Jiang Donghua was hidden in the shadows of a dense Ghost Weeping Forest, his aura perfectly blended with the surroundings, and his Spirit Realm Soul power formed an invisible barrier, isolating all his fluctuations.

He glanced at the three Dou Zong but paid them no mind; his attention was completely drawn to several areas in the valley where energy was particularly concentrated.

In a black pond not far from the stone houses, three lotus flowers bloomed quietly.

Their petals were as black as ink, yet they emitted a faint blue light, and in the heart of the lotus, souls seemed to sway—these were the Netherworld Poison Lotuses!

And on the humus soil by the pond, several plants grew, shaped like withered bones but with a demonic red flower at the top—these were Corrupted Bone Spirit Flowers!

“They really are here…”

A hint of satisfaction flashed in Jiang Donghua’s eyes.

Both of these were extremely rare top-tier poisonous plants, containing pure yin-cold poison power. If used properly, they would be excellent auxiliary ingredients to balance some of the violent yang-attribute medicinal materials in the supreme venerable pill.

He did not act immediately, but like the most patient hunter, he quietly observed the patrol patterns of the three Dou Zong and any other possible restrictions within the valley.

At the same time, his Soul Power also caught the low whispers of the Dou Zong.

“I heard the sub-sect master will personally come to inspect these medicinal materials soon. It seems the sect has a great need for them.”

“Yes, it’s said they are going to refine a strange poison called the Boundary-Breaking Powder, which can corrode spatial barriers. These extremely yin and poisonous items are needed as medicinal primers!”

“Shh… watch your words! This matter is a sect secret…”

“A strange poison that corrodes spatial barriers?”

Jiang Donghua’s heart stirred, and he noted this information.

The Five Poisons Sect’s ambitions were not small, and their methods were peculiar. It seemed more troublesome than he had anticipated.

After waiting for about half an hour, taking advantage of a gust of mountain wind that stirred up a sky full of poisonous pollen, briefly interfering with perception, Jiang Donghua moved.

His figure was like smoke, silently gliding to the edge of the black pond.

His movements were so fast that only an afterimage remained. He reached out with an invisible hand of Dou Qi, precisely plucking the three Netherworld Poison Lotuses and the few Corrupted Bone Spirit Flowers, along with their root soil, and instantly sealed them in a specially made cold jade box.

Throughout the entire process, not a single ripple was disturbed, nor a trace of aura emitted.

After succeeding, he did not linger, his figure once again merging into the shadows, and he stealthily moved towards another area of the valley with a stronger energy reaction.

There, it seemed, were even better things.

Meanwhile, in the open space by the stone houses, the Seven-Star Dou Zong elder seemed to sense something, suddenly opening his eyes again, his sharp gaze sweeping towards the black pond. But he only saw slight ripples on the pond’s surface, and those precious poisonous flowers were already gone!

“Not good! Enemy attack!!”

He roared, his voice shaking the valley, and the poisonous gas around him erupted!

The two Dou Zong beside him also suddenly tensed up. Who had the ability to silently take the medicinal materials right under their noses? Even a Peak Dou Zong would definitely not possess such eerie skill!