36: Chapter 36 A Path Through Desperate Circumstances: An Unexpected Gain

Giant stones stood like a forest, and the poisonous miasma was like a sea.

Lin Yan and Xiao Yi Xian found themselves in this dead-zone-like stone maze. Around them was a silent terror; every direction seemed to point toward a deeper trap of death. Behind them, the churning grey poisonous miasma was quietly consuming the path they had come from at a pace that was neither fast nor slow, but utterly despairing.

"The energy field here has been completely disrupted," Lin Yan said, frowning slightly. He spread out his powerful soul perception, but it was like a clay ox entering the sea—torn to shreds by the distorted force field emitted by the stone formation itself and the ubiquitous laws of the poisonous miasma. He could only barely sense the range of a few zhang around him.

He tried to activate the ancient soul scale in his hand, but the faint resonance that originally pointed toward the depths of the swamp had now become chaotic and erratic, losing its clear guidance. "It's not just vision and perception; even the sensing of this scale has been blocked. This stone formation isn't just naturally formed; I fear it has been artificially altered, specifically designed to trap and kill intruders."

Xiao Yi Xian's expression was also exceptionally grave. She closed her eyes and fully circulated the Seven-Colored Poison Manual, attempting to communicate on a deeper level with the poisonous miasma in the surrounding environment, which was so thick it refused to disperse. However, the poisonous miasma here did not seem to welcome her as an "outsider"; instead, it faintly carried a sense of repulsion and hostility, as if guarding something and preventing anything from approaching.

"Poison power can resist the erosion of the poisonous miasma, but it is very difficult to perceive its flow and find its patterns," she said, opening her eyes with a flash of frustration in her emerald eyes. "The source of these poisonous miasma is very likely in the center of the stone formation, but they are not spreading uniformly. It's more like they are being controlled by some kind of power, deliberately creating these dead ends with no way out."

Time ticked away, second by second, and an invisible pressure weighed on their hearts like a boulder. Chi Rong lay prone on the ground, growling uneasily. The lava energy on its body was greatly suppressed here, making even breathing difficult.

"We cannot just sit here and wait for death," Lin Yan said, his eyes sharpening as he scanned the surrounding giant stones, which appeared chaotic yet faintly revealed some kind of pattern. "Since perception and the scale's guidance have failed, we will use the most primitive method."

He walked to the nearest giant stone and reached out to touch its surface. It was ice-cold and rough to the touch, and the stone was incredibly hard. Its surface was covered with traces of wind erosion from the passage of time and some unrecognizable, twisted patterns that seemed naturally formed. He slowly injected a trace of Dou Qi, but the Dou Qi was like a drop of water falling into a desert—instantly absorbed by the giant stone with no reaction.

"System, scan the current stone formation structure, establish a model of energy flow and spatial distortion, and deduce the possible locations of the exit," Lin Yan issued the command in his heart. Relying solely on manpower to crack a natural maze of this level combined with restrictions was nothing short of a pipe dream; he had to rely on the system's computing power.

[Command confirmed. Starting full-spectrum scan... High-intensity composite interference field detected... Establishing preliminary model... Analyzing energy flow... Warning: Periodic 'poison miasma laws' pulse detected. Model construction is severely interfered with; deduction speed reduced by 87%... Estimated time for complete analysis: 24 hours and 37 minutes.]

24 hours? The speed at which the poisonous miasma was consuming everything would not wait for them that long!

"Prioritize analyzing the pattern of the poisonous miasma pulses and the resonance points of the stone formation's energy nodes! Find the relatively safe path in the shortest time!" Lin Yan immediately adjusted his strategy. He did not seek a complete solution, only a glimmer of survival.

[Task re-planned... Analyzing poisonous miasma pulses... Pattern discovered: A weak pulse every 49 breaths, a strong pulse every 360 breaths. During the strong pulse, the stone formation's energy nodes will experience a brief disturbance of about 0.3 breaths... Marking disturbed nodes... Deducing in combination with the geometric structure of the stone formation... Generating three potential 'temporary passages'. Duration: None exceed 5 breaths. Risk level: High. Passage endpoint: Unknown.]

Three passages that could only last less than five breaths! And the endpoints were unknown! This was practically gambling! But, they had no other choice.

"Xiao Yi Xian, be prepared to follow me closely and act according to my commands!" Lin Yan said in a deep voice, his gaze fixed on the location of the first disturbed node marked by the system in his mind—it was about thirty steps to their left front, in a gap between two giant stones that was so narrow it was almost non-existent.

Xiao Yi Xian took a deep breath and circulated the poison power in her body to the extreme. A grey-purple light faintly appeared on the surface of her body, as she prepared to deal with any sudden impact of the poisonous miasma at any time. Chi Rong also braced itself, shrinking its body (a capability it had initially mastered after reaching the fifth rank), and followed closely behind.

Time seemed to be stretched out. Lin Yan counted silently in his heart, raising his soul perception to the limit, capturing the signs of the arrival of that extremely brief strong pulse that only appeared every 360 breaths. It was coming!

"Now! Thirty steps to the left front, the gap! Go!" Lin Yan let out a low shout, and his figure shot toward the marked gap like an arrow released from a string! Explosive Step was activated at full power, fast as lightning!

Xiao Yi Xian and Chi Rong did not hesitate in the slightest and followed closely behind!

The moment they rushed into the gap, the grey poisonous miasma filling the surroundings suddenly rolled violently, as if stirred by an invisible hand, emitting a low whistle! The energy nodes in the stone formation erupted with blinding light, and the sense of spatial distortion reached its peak, making one feel dizzy.

"Chi, chi, chi!" On the surface of the giant stones on both sides of the gap, those twisted patterns seemed to come alive, spitting out even denser grey-black poisonous gas, attempting to erode and consume them! Xiao Yi Xian let out a sharp cry and waved her hands. The grey-purple poison power transformed into a rotating shield of light, forcibly blocking and neutralizing these invading poisonous gases. Lin Yan caused the Void Swallowing Flame to appear in his palm, and the pitch-black flames silently burned any energy turbulence that dared to approach.

The gap was narrow, allowing only one person to pass sideways, and the interior was not a straight line but incredibly tortuous. The three were like dancing on the tip of a knife, rushing forward at the fastest speed within the limited time of less than five breaths!

Three breaths! A fork in the road appeared ahead!

Four breaths! Based on the direction instantly calculated by the system, Lin Yan chose the right side without hesitation!

Four and a half breaths! The area ahead suddenly opened up. They rushed out of that deadly gap and landed in a relatively spacious stone chamber, about a few zhang in circumference!

Almost at the same time they landed, the gap behind them suddenly closed, and the giant stones on both sides merged silently, as if they had never separated. And that intense poisonous miasma pulse and energy disturbance also quickly subsided.

The first passage, success! Although it was only a few dozen steps, it felt as if they had experienced a life-and-death battle. All three were breathing slightly panting, and Xiao Yi Xian's face was even paler; clearly, the previous confrontation of poison power had consumed a lot.

There was no time to rest, and Lin Yan immediately sized up this unexpectedly discovered stone chamber. The stone chamber was not large and was circular. Weak daylight shone through the gaps in the rocks at the top, illuminating the scene inside. In the center of the stone chamber, there was actually a small, crude altar built of blue-grey stones. On the altar, there was nothing but thick dust.

But what attracted Lin Yan's gaze was a totem on the surface of the altar, outlined with some kind of dark red pigment that looked like dried blood. It was extremely crude yet exuded an aura of wild, primitive ferocity—it was a twisted human figure, hands held high, as if praying or summoning, surrounded by patterns of poisonous insects and twisted plants.

"This is... a totem of the ancient people sacrificing to the poisonous miasma?" Xiao Yi Xian walked closer, carefully identifying it, surprise appearing in her eyes. "Looking at this style and the degree of wear, I fear it has been here for thousands of years. Could this stone formation have been built by some ancient tribe that worshipped the poisonous miasma?"

Lin Yan also approached to observe, his soul perception carefully sweeping over every inch of the altar. Apart from the dust and the totem, the altar itself had no energy fluctuations or mechanisms. But he always felt that this altar appearing in a "temporary safe point" in the core area of the stone formation was by no means accidental.

"System, scan the altar and the surrounding stone walls, and look for hidden information or energy residues."

[Scanning... The material of the altar is ordinary blue rock. The totem pigment contains trace amounts of deactivated ancient biological blood and mineral components... The stone wall structure is dense... Anomaly discovered: Three inches directly below the altar, there is a faint spatial wrinkle and traces of residual energy seals, which are of the same origin as the current stone formation's energy field but are more ancient and stable. It is suspected to be a small independent space entrance or a storage node. The seal has experienced an extremely weak leakage due to the long passage of time and the periodic disturbances in the stone formation's energy.]

An entrance to an independent space? A storage node? Lin Yan's eyes lit up. He crouched down, pressed his palm onto the cold stone surface of the altar, and circulated his Dou Qi. At the same time, he attempted to draw on a trace of the ancient soul power (originating from the Ancestor of Ten Thousand Scales) within the Pure Corrosion Soul Seal between his eyebrows, as well as the devouring characteristics of the Void Swallowing Flame, slowly permeating toward that faint spatial wrinkle beneath the altar.

There was no reaction. He tried again, using the ancient soul scale in his hand to touch the altar's totem. The moment the scale touched the totem, the dark gold patterns on it lit up slightly, and the altar seemed to vibrate gently, but it quickly returned to calm. The sense of leakage from the spatial wrinkle remained weak, unable to be opened.

"It requires a specific 'key' or method..." Lin Yan pondered. His gaze fell once again on the crude totem. Poisonous insects, twisted plants, the praying human figure... a tribe that worshipped the poisonous miasma... what would their "key" be? His gaze slowly shifted to Xiao Yi Xian.

Xiao Yi Xian was stunned by his look, then immediately understood his meaning. She bit her lip, stepped forward, extended her right hand, and forced out a drop of poisonous blood from her fingertip that contained the essence of the Calamity Poison Body, colored deep purple, almost black. She did not hesitate in the slightest and gently dripped this drop of poisonous blood onto the chest position of the "praying human figure" totem on the altar.

The poisonous blood dripped down and was not absorbed by the blue rock; instead, it spread rapidly along the lines of the totem like a living thing! The dark red ancient totem was instantly stained with a layer of eerie purple-black!

"Hum—!" The entire altar shook violently! A strange energy fluctuation, far more ancient, more primitive, and filled with potent poison and vitality than the previous energy of the stone formation, erupted from beneath the altar with a boom! That faint spatial wrinkle was instantly torn apart and expanded, forming an oval-shaped light gate that allowed only one person to pass through, rotating with grey-purple light!

Inside the light gate, a small space could be vaguely seen, and it seemed that some things were piled up inside. Success! The essence of the poisonous blood of the Calamity Poison Body was indeed the "key" to opening this ancient seal!

"I will go in and take a look first," Lin Yan said, making a prompt decision. He signaled Xiao Yi Xian and Chi Rong to stand guard, while he himself stepped into the light gate.

The scene before his eyes changed, and he found himself in an independent stone chamber about ten zhang square. The four walls of the stone chamber were smooth and carved with poisonous insect and miasma wood totems similar to those on the altar outside, but more complex and precise. The air in the room was dry and filled with a faint, strange scent mixed with the fragrance of medicine and humus, which was not unpleasant.

In the center of the stone chamber, three items were neatly placed.

On the far left was a half-person-high basket woven from some kind of deep purple vine, filled with dried medicinal herbs of strange colors and peculiar shapes. Lin Yan gave it a rough scan and recognized that several of them were rare poisonous herbs and spiritual medicines that had long gone extinct in the outside world and were only recorded in ancient books. They were at least five hundred years old, and a few even faintly emitted the misty precious light that only thousand-year-old spiritual medicines possessed! The value was immeasurable!

In the middle was an ancient, grey-brown stone box. There were no patterns on the surface of the stone box, only a sense of heavy simplicity. Lin Yan carefully opened it, and inside lay a scroll made of unknown animal skin, as well as three pills the size of dragon eyes, completely emerald green and translucent, emitting an alluring medicinal fragrance and boundless life energy!

The scroll was heavy to the touch, and the animal skin was incredibly tough. It was covered with dense content recorded using ancient characters and diagrams. Although Lin Yan did not recognize all the characters, combined with the diagrams and the parts he could identify, he could be certain that this was a secret manual specifically expounding on the combination of the poison path and the medicine path, utilizing various highly poisonous substances to refine pills, and even using poison to refine the body and stimulate potential! Its sophistication and depth were likely far beyond the basic chapters of the Seven-Colored Poison Manual in Xiao Yi Xian's hands!

As for the three emerald green pills, although Lin Yan did not know their specific names, judging by the energy fluctuations and medicinal fragrance they emitted, they were definitely precious pills of an extremely high grade for healing, detoxifying, or even increasing cultivation! They were at least above the fourth grade!

On the far right was a staff about three feet long, pitch-black, neither metal nor wood, with a strange gem the size of a pigeon egg embedded at the top, constantly changing with seven-colored luster. The staff was heavy and cold to the touch, and it faintly transmitted fluctuations that echoed with the surrounding laws of the poisonous miasma. This was clearly a precious tool of a not-low grade, specifically used for controlling the poisonous miasma or casting poison-type spells!

"The inherited treasure of an ancient poison path tribe!" Lin Yan was shocked in his heart. This unexpected gain was practically tailor-made for Xiao Yi Xian! With these medicinal herbs, the poison path secret manual, precious pills, and the staff, her path of cultivation would be smooth, and her strength could be improved by leaps and bounds in a short time!

He quickly put all three items into his storage ring and was just about to leave when his gaze swept over the bottom of the empty stone box and suddenly paused.

On the bottom of the stone box, there seemed to be a few lines of extremely tiny handwriting, almost blending into the color of the stone.

Lin Yan leaned in to carefully identify it. It was a language even more ancient than that on the scroll, twisted like worms, but he could vaguely "read" its meaning through his soul perception:

"...Inheritor of the poison body of later generations... having obtained my legacy... must inherit my will... break the 'Ten Thousand Poison Miasma Eye', take the 'Heart of Source Poison'... resolve the thousand-year predicament of this place... remember... beneath the Miasma Eye... there is a different world... it concerns... the secret of the 'nine keys'..."

Ten Thousand Poison Miasma Eye? Heart of Source Poison? Resolve the thousand-year predicament of this place? And it concerns... the secret of the nine keys?!

Lin Yan's pupils constricted. This amount of information was too huge! Could the core of the Mist Swamp, the so-called "Ten Thousand Poison Miasma Eye", not only be a dead zone, but also hide the secret of another "key" (poison attribute) related to the ancient soul scale? Perhaps, it was even another layout left behind by that "Ancestor of Ten Thousand Scales"?

He suddenly recalled that the direction the ancient soul scale pointed to was exactly deeper into the swamp, and it faintly overlapped with the location of this "Ten Thousand Poison Miasma Eye"!

So, that stone formation was not only a dead zone, but also one of the entrances guarding the way to the "Ten Thousand Poison Miasma Eye" and deeper secrets! And they, by some twist of fate, had actually opened this forgotten "shortcut" through Xiao Yi Xian's poisonous blood!

Lin Yan took a deep breath, firmly memorized the handwriting at the bottom of the stone box, and turned to step out of the light gate.

Outside, Xiao Yi Xian and Chi Rong were waiting nervously. Seeing Lin Yan appear safely, they both breathed a sigh of relief.

"What is inside?" Xiao Yi Xian asked.

Lin Yan looked at her, took out the items from his storage ring one by one, and said in a deep voice: "It is your great opportunity. But at the same time, it also points out our next path—we must go to the core of the 'Ten Thousand Poison Miasma Eye'."

He paused, pointing to the other side of the stone chamber, where, under the illumination of the altar's light, a deep, winding passage, half-hidden by vines and loose stones, vaguely appeared. From the passage, what came out was no longer grey poisonous miasma, but a more intense, more violent, and colorful aura of potent poison!

"That path, I fear, leads directly to the depths of the Miasma Eye. Go, or not go?"