66: Chapter 66 The Ambushes on the Way Home and the Appearance of the Poison Master

Lin Chen's toes tapped lightly on the wet, slippery decaying leaves, his figure moving like a wisp of green smoke, silently threading through the increasingly dense miasma.

He pushed his Divine Sense to the limit; it was no longer a vast net covering a hundred zhang, but a condensed field within thirty zhang of his body, like the most sensitive tentacles, perceiving every abnormal movement in the air.

That faint, elusive scent of Gu insects lingered behind them like a festering sore, not too far and not too close, filled with playful malice.

More terrifying than the darkness was this deathly silence.

Behind him, Liu Yuan and Han Ji supported the guard whose arm had turned pitch-black and whose breathing had already become heavy.

Chen Dashan and the other guard brought up the rear, the spiritual light on their broadsword and longsword flickering in the thick fog as they vigilantly scanned the rear.

They had to rush out of this core area in the shortest possible time; otherwise, the poisonous miasma that constantly eroded their spiritual power would be enough to drain them to death.

The group passed through a woodland where countless ink-green vines hung down; the miasma here was so thick it was almost inseparable, and inhaling it into the lungs felt like swallowing ice-cold, damp mud.

Just then, Liu Yuan, who was walking in the middle of the group, suddenly stiffened, a muffled groan escaping his throat.

"Mr. Liu!"

Lin Chen turned around in an instant, his gaze as sharp as a knife; he immediately saw a needle as thin as ox hair and pitch-black all over, deeply embedded in the flesh of Liu Yuan's left shoulder, with only a tiny tip of the needle vibrating outside.

The change happened without warning!

"Careful!" Chen Dashan reacted just as swiftly; he roared, shoved the guard beside him away, and the door-like broadsword in his hand instantly danced into a dense, impenetrable screen of earthy-yellow light.

Almost at the same time, sharp whistling sounds of piercing through the air erupted densely from the thick vines on both sides.

Dozens of identical black poison needles shot over from incredibly tricky angles, like ghostly shadows.

Their targets were not vital points, but the limbs, joints, Dantian, and other locations that would most effectively cripple a Cultivator's combat ability.

"Clang, clang, clang, clang—"

Following a rapid succession of crisp sounds like rain hitting banana leaves, Chen Dashan's blade screen blocked the vast majority of the poison needles, but with every collision, a trace of the spiritual light attached to the blade was corroded, emitting a sizzling sound.

Han Ji's reaction was only half a beat slower; his face turned pale, and he grabbed a handful of Talismans from his pouch, activating all of them without a second thought.

"Golden Light, protect!"

Several Golden Light Talismans exploded instantly, turning into a translucent golden shield that firmly protected the few people not yet fully covered by the blade screen.

However, those poison needles did not bounce off when they hit the shield; instead, like a red-hot branding iron touching butter, they hissed as they corroded the spiritual shield.

Countless tiny black dots appeared on the surface of the shield at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the originally bright golden light dimmed rapidly.

"Hehehe..."

An insidious laugh, like a night owl rubbing against dry bones, came from the depths of the miasma ahead; the sound was not loud, but it clearly drilled into everyone's ears, making one's scalp tingle.

"Little worms of the Lin family, you are quite good at digging. To think you could actually find this place."

Before the words faded, a thin figure wearing a dark gray robe slowly emerged from the thick fog like a ghost.

It was a middle-aged man with a sinister face and narrow eyes that revealed a cold, venomous light like a viper.

In his hand, he was toying with a purple-black toad the size of a fist.

The poisonous glandular tumors on the toad's back were pulsating rhythmically, and with every contraction, it seemed to be brewing the next wave of fatal attacks.

It was the Ge Family's secret agent, Hermit Poison-Heart, Hermit Duxin!

Behind him followed two gray-clad dead soldiers with cold auras and numb eyes.

The spiritual power fluctuations emanating from them were far more formidable than the previous wave of ambushers; they were clearly at the eighth level of Qi Refining.

Liu Yuan's face had already begun to turn black, and from the wound on his left shoulder, lines of black blood were spreading along his Meridians toward his heart.

His lips were purple, and even his hands controlling the Formation Plate began to tremble uncontrollably, his circulation of Qi already sluggish.

"Croak!"

The purple-black toad in Hermit Duxin's hand suddenly opened its mouth and spat out a thick, nearly black poisonous mist.

This poisonous mist mixed with the already thick miasma in the surroundings, instantly forming a deadly poison domain with visibility of less than half a foot, completely enveloping the seven of them.

The Miasma-Clearing Talisman that Han Ji had just replenished shone for less than a breath in this poison domain before extinguishing completely like a snuffed-out candle.

He himself also felt a tightness in his chest, and the speed at which his spiritual power was consumed was several times faster than usual.

"We cannot drag this out!"

Lin Chen's eyes were cold to the extreme.

He knew that if they delayed for even a moment longer, Liu Yuan would certainly die, and the others would also be poisoned to death here.

Without any hesitation, he stomped his right foot on the ground, pouring his Foundation Establishment Stage spiritual power into it without reservation.

"Boom!"

A large expanse of soil, broken stones, and decaying leaves were shaken into the sky by the violent force, like a temporary earthen wall rising up, instantly blocking the line of sight of Hermit Duxin and the others.

"Mr. Liu, Han Ji, take the wounded and go first! Dashan, follow me to bring up the rear!"

Lin Chen's low shout rang out amidst the Chaos, clear and decisive.

"Yes, Family Head!" Liu Yuan and Han Ji did not hesitate at all.

This was the only way to survive.

Enduring the discomfort brought by the poisonous mist, they hoisted the poisoned guard and the other guard whose arm had been grazed by a poison needle, and broke out in the direction of the exit of the forest in their memory without looking back.

"Want to leave?" Hermit Duxin's sneer came from across the earthen wall, "Stay behind."

"Roar!"

Chen Dashan's eyes were bloodshot, acting like a mad tiger.

He ignored Hermit Duxin, instead locking all his rage and killing intent onto the gray-clad dead soldier on the left.

"Die for me!"

With a posture that completely abandoned defense, he roared as he charged toward that dead soldier.

The earthy-yellow spiritual light on the broadsword condensed to the extreme, turning into a heavy, peerless blade aura that hacked down overhead.

The dead soldier's eyes were numb, but his combat instincts remained.

He raised his hand to offer a black banner, attempting to block, but this strike from Chen Dashan was a life-or-death blow that gambled everything.

"Crack!"

The black banner shattered upon impact, and the blade aura, its momentum undiminished, fiercely cleaved open the dead soldier's protective spiritual light, leaving a wound deep enough to see bone on his chest.

At the same time, the dead soldier's emotionless palm also landed solidly on Chen Dashan's chest.

"Puff!"

Chen Dashan was struck heavily, and the blood he spat out was corroded into black smoke in mid-air by the poisonous mist.

His tall body stumbled backward, yet he still blocked the path of Liu Yuan and the others' retreat, buying them precious seconds.

The other dead soldier was entangled by Lin Chen.

Lin Chen's sword technique was agile and ruthless, every strike aimed directly at the opponent's vital points, forcing the dead soldier to defend passively, unable to take a single step forward.

Watching the backs of Liu Yuan and the others about to disappear into the poisonous mist, Hermit Duxin curled his lips into a cruel arc.

He did not pursue, but merely raised his hand and released a swarm of black flying insects the size of fingernails from his sleeve.

Those flying insects were silent, as if blending into the darkness, chasing tightly in the direction where Liu Yuan and the others were fleeing.

Lin Chen caught a glimpse of this scene from the corner of his eye, and his heart sank heavily.

"Get lost!"

Lin Chen let out an angry shout, and the spiritual power within his body circulated frantically at an unprecedented speed.

The Foundation Establishment Stage Spiritual Pressure, which he had deliberately suppressed all along, erupted at this moment!

The rough stone ring on his thumb seemed to be slightly heating up due to his intense emotions and the activation of his spiritual power nearing its limit; a faint, almost imperceptible cool sensation flowed through his fingertips, clearing his head, which had become somewhat chaotic from inhaling the poisonous mist.

His sword became even faster!

A brilliant cyan sword light flashed like a shooting star, instantly forcing back the dead soldier in front of him.

Lin Chen left an afterimage in place, his whole person turning into a straight bolt of lightning, passing through the pervasive poisonous mist, and lunging straight at Hermit Duxin!

Hermit Duxin clearly did not expect that Lin Chen could still erupt with such terrifying speed and might in this poison domain, which even he himself found uncomfortable.

That pure Spiritual Pressure belonging to a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator made his heart tighten.

In his haste, he could only recall the purple-black toad to block in front of himself.

"Croak!"

Lin Chen's sword light had arrived.

This strike condensed all his current anger and killing intent.

The sword light hacked onto the fat body of the purple-black toad without any bells and whistles.

"Sizzle—"

The toad let out a shrill, miserable cry; its tough skin was instantly torn apart, its poison glands ruptured, and foul-smelling purple-black venom splattered everywhere.

Its massive body was fiercely hacked away like a broken sack, breaking several thick vines.

Hermit Duxin was also affected by the sharp Sword Qi, and a deep, long cut was opened on his left arm; as soon as the blood flowed out, it turned black.

His expression changed drastically, and he stared fixedly at Lin Chen, his eyes filled with more suspicion and dread than just malice.

He seemed to have remembered something, and not wanting to tangle any further, he blew a sharp whistle.

The swarm of black flying insects chasing Liu Yuan and the others, as well as the only remaining gray-clad dead soldier, retreated toward him like a tide.

"Lin Chen, we will meet again soon."

Leaving this cold remark, Hermit Duxin's figure flickered, and together with the dead soldier, he quickly escaped into the deeper poisonous miasma and disappeared.

Lin Chen did not pursue.

The forcibly erupted spiritual power rampaged through his Meridians, and the inhaled poisonous mist also began to take effect; a fishy, sweet taste rushed straight to his throat.

He forcibly swallowed the blood that surged up, turned, and ran toward the place where Chen Dashan had fallen.

When he arrived, his heart sank to the bottom.

Chen Dashan lay in the cold mud, a scorched black palm print deeply embedded in his chest, which had already collapsed.

His breathing was extremely weak, his eyes had lost focus, and he looked in Lin Chen's direction, his lips moving as if he wanted to say something, but only streams of black blood flowed out.

He had killed that dead soldier, but he himself had also had his heart Meridians shattered by the opponent's counterattack before death.

Lin Chen quickly reunited with Liu Yuan and the others.

The atmosphere of the team was suffocatingly heavy.

The guard who had been hit by the poison needle first had died of the poison during the flight, his body curled up, his face painful and distorted.

Liu Yuan sat slumped on the ground, and Han Ji was using a special small knife to carefully dig out the remaining part of the poison needle in his shoulder.

Although the poison needle was removed, Liu Yuan's entire left arm was already completely black and swollen, his face as pale as paper, clearly the residual poison had not been cleared, and he needed immediate treatment.

Han Ji himself had also sustained some minor injuries, and his complexion was equally bad.

Lin Chen walked silently to Chen Dashan's side, looking at this man who had always been loyal and brave, as his life force was rapidly fading away.

He bent down, held Chen Dashan's hand, which was full of blood and mud, and his voice was hoarse: "Dashan, don't worry, your family is my family."

Chen Dashan's eyes seemed to move, a corner of his mouth struggled to pull up an almost imperceptible arc, and then his head tilted to the side, and he completely lost his breath.

Lin Chen stood silently, not saying a word.

He slowly reached out, closed Chen Dashan's wide-open eyes, and walked over to tidy up the appearance of the dead guard.

He simply collected the bodies of the two into a Storage Pouch.

There were six when they came out, and now, only four remained. And, everyone was injured.

Lin Chen dared not stay for another moment.

Enduring the churning Qi and blood and internal injuries, he whispered to the remaining three: "Let's go!"

He personally opened the path, taking Liu Yuan, Han Ji, and the other lightly injured guard, retreating toward the outside of the Ten Thousand Poison Swamp at the fastest speed.

Along the way, they encountered several waves of small poisonous insects attracted by the smell of blood, all of which were barely repelled by Han Ji using the remaining Talismans.

Every consumption of a Talisman made the team's situation even more difficult.

Finally, on the second day at dawn, when the first glimmer of morning light pierced through the thin mist and illuminated the familiar outline of the woodland ahead, the disheveled four people finally truly escaped the edge area of the Ten Thousand Poison Swamp.

They were safe.

As their tense nerves relaxed, Lin Chen could no longer suppress his injuries.

"Puff—"

He spat out a large mouthful of stagnant blood with black clots, leaned against a cold rock, his face as pale as paper.

"Han Ji!" He gasped for air, and ordered in a hoarse voice, "Transmission Talisman! Immediately send the news of the discovery of the insect nest in the Ten Thousand Poison Swamp, the ambush by Hermit Duxin, and the sacrifice of Dashan and the others back to the clan! Quickly!"

"Yes, Family Head!" Han Ji did not dare to delay, immediately taking out a precious Transmission Talisman engraved with bird patterns from his bosom, and injecting the last bit of spiritual power with trembling fingers to activate it.

The Talisman paper turned into a stream of light and instantly disappeared into the horizon.

After doing all this, Lin Chen's body finally relaxed completely.

He leaned against the rock, looking at the fish-belly white at the horizon that symbolized rebirth, but there was no warmth in his eyes, only bone-chilling coldness.

The appearance of Hermit Duxin, the death of Chen Dashan, and that mysterious insect nest... all of this clearly indicated that the Ge Family's reach extended deeper and more venomously than he had imagined.

The game in the shadows was over.

From this moment on, it would be a head-on slaughter to pay blood debts with blood.