Seven towering peaks encircled the area, making the shorter mountain in the middle appear more like a valley than a peak upon first glance.
Stretching the eyes across the valley, one could see a slow-moving mix of gray and red miasma, where no life could be found and the terrain was indistinct. From a distance, Ye Zhen could only discern that the vegetation within the valley was very lush, with nothing else to be gained.
"Having come this far, it’s worth exploring, but I must be extremely careful with this colorful poisonous miasma!"
Suddenly, a gentle mountain breeze blew softly, bringing with it a faint, sickly sweet scent that assailed the nostrils, causing Ye Zhen’s form to sway as he became dizzy and his vision blurred, his Spiritual Power’s circulation slowed by a good portion.
"What a potent poison miasma!"
Ye Zhen exclaimed in amazement, finding himself showing signs of poisoning despite being so far away and inadvertently inhaling just a trace of the faint scent.
Ye Zhen hurriedly regulated his breath and focused his Qi, repeatedly circulating his Spiritual Power to purge the poison miasma he had accidentally inhaled. His gaze towards the colorful poisonous miasma grew more cautious.
Various types of poison miasma are formed in places with dense forests on lofty mountains where air does not circulate well, or where venomous creatures gather, or even where corpses rot and pile up.
Among them, the more vibrant the color of the poison miasma, the more potent the poison.
Suck in half a breath of this type of colorful poison miasma, and an ordinary person would drop dead immediately. Even Martial Artists of the True Essence Realm and Spirit Summoning Realm who breathed in a few breaths would suffer deep poisoning and become extremely difficult to save.
In most cases, Martial Artists who cultivated their Acquired Spiritual Body to great accomplishment in the Spirit Transformation Realm would see a significant increase in their resistance to toxins, but they would still need to be very careful when faced with this kind of colorful poison miasma.
However, the poison miasma is ultimately non-living, and as long as one makes preparations in advance, it’s not an absolutely lethal forbidden land.
At this moment, Ye Zhen wondered if He Qingbing and Tian Feng, who had kindly warned him earlier, were perhaps exaggerating a bit?
Holding a Detoxification Pill in his mouth, Ye Zhen circulated his Spiritual Power, shutting off his breath through his mouth and nose and substituting it with Inner Breath circulated by Spiritual Power.
The Inner Breath Cultivation Method is very simple; basically, once one’s Cultivation reaches the True Essence Second Realm, this can be achieved.
Step by step, Ye Zhen crossed over the mountain, descended to the foothill, and entered the region dense with poison miasma.
After Ye Zhen entered the Poisonous Miasma Valley, Tian Feng, and He Qingbing, who had once kindly advised Ye Zhen, suddenly appeared in the place where Ye Zhen had stood before.
"Big brother, do you think this guy is here for treasure-hunting? Can he find that place?" Tian Feng asked as he watched Ye Zhen’s disappearing figure, somewhat worried.
"If not, why would he rush over after hearing us mention the characteristics of the seven towering peaks on the treasure map? Besides, he has already entered the Poisonous Miasma Valley."
"He may have entered, but I don’t know if he can get deep into the valley and help us find a way to survive. I worry he is a Martial Artist who retreats when facing difficulties!" Tian Feng frowned.
"Retreat in the face of difficulty?"
He Qingbing chuckled, "Little brother, you still don’t understand the nature of Martial Artists. They are like Demon Beasts that smell blood once they encounter even a hint of information related to Secret Realms, Heritage Mansions, or Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. Which one would retreat?
Just like us, despite knowing how dangerous this Poisonous Miasma Valley is, haven’t we still been guarding it for half a year, tirelessly seeking ways to enter that treasure site?
As for whether he can break through, this guy has managed to safely reach the deep parts of Antai Mountain, where Demon Beasts abound. That suggests he has some skills.
Moreover, didn’t we brothers leave behind a little hint there?"
Exchanging glances, Tian Feng and He Qingbing suddenly burst into laughter together.
"Little brother, let’s go! If we’re lucky, maybe this kid can get us through the last obstacle, and we can lay our hands on the treasure!"
With their figures flickering, Tian Feng and He Qingbing quickly entered the Poisonous Miasma Valley shortly after Ye Zhen had gone in.
Gently patting the Cloud Winged Tiger Cub in his arms, the Cloud Winged Tiger Cub whimpered softly in response to Ye Zhen.
Cloud Winged Tigers naturally have the ability to control Cloud Qi and shield themselves from poison miasma with greater ease than Ye Zhen.
It was only upon truly entering the valley that Ye Zhen realized the horror of the colorful poison miasma.
The colorful poison miasma hung like umbrellas, densely covering areas several tens of meters above the ground. A swipe of palm wind had no effect on it, evidencing its thickness.
Unexpectedly, the vegetation within the valley that was covered by colorful poison miasma was especially lush, with colors bright and abnormal—mostly highly poisonous varieties.
Furthermore, Ye Zhen could hear the sounds of animals. Colorful toads, spiders, geckos, centipedes, and other venomous creatures could be seen everywhere amidst the flowers.
Seeing this, Ye Zhen became even more cautious.
After walking a few more steps, Ye Zhen suddenly felt a nauseating dizziness, a symptom of being poisoned, which alarmed him greatly.
In his great alarm, Ye Zhen immediately remembered that amongst the poison miasma there was a particularly deadly type known as Bone-Eroding Poison Mist. In addition to being inhaled through the mouth and nose, mere contact with this poison mist could corrode anything, whether bones or skin.
In an instant, Ye Zhen hurriedly raised a Protective Spirit Force barrier, which somewhat alleviated the situation.
After walking for about four or five miles, Ye Zhen saw a skeletal corpse leaning against a dead tree, which seemed to be a Martial Artist who had died from the Bone-Eroding Poison Mist.
Ye Zhen approached for a look but discovered nothing of note. As he turned to leave, he suddenly saw a line of very messy small characters etched on the dead tree as if carved there by someone with their fingernails before dying.
"Mistakenly... strayed into this valley, poisoned... by the miasma, when the poison... reaches the five internal organs... only then remembered... around every highly poisonous thing... within seven zhang there must... be an antidote, the purple flower is..."
"The purple flower?"
Ye Zhen’s gaze fell upon the few small purple flowers next to the white bones.
What this skeleton had inscribed before dying turned out to be true.
After picking a small purple flower, Ye Zhen took a light whiff of the flower’s fragrance, and in an instant, a remarkably invigorating scent rushed straight into his forehead.
The feeling of dizziness and nausea caused by inhaling a wisp of bone-eroding poison mist had vanished right away, and he felt completely alert, with no trace of discomfort.
Ye Zhen tried it out and found that as long as he held the purple flower in his mouth, he could breathe through his mouth and nose without issue.
With something to restrain the bone-eroding poison mist secured, Ye Zhen felt greatly relieved. He strode deeper into the Poisonous Miasma Valley, effortlessly slaying any misguided poisonous creatures he encountered along the way with his sword.
About ten miles further on, a huge flower bud with purple on the top and white on the bottom entered Ye Zhen’s field of vision. However, what truly alarmed Ye Zhen was not so much the gigantic flower bud, but the long spear beside it.
The spear appeared to be of fine craftsmanship, though not a Low Grade Artifact, it was certainly not ordinary. It was carelessly laid on the giant flower bud, which put Ye Zhen on high alert!
With the Sword Gang surging around the Profound Yang Sword and the Protective Spirit Force densely covering his body, Ye Zhen advanced with extreme caution, slowly walking past the giant flower bud.
The moment he passed by, the giant flower bud suddenly stretched and opened like a huge umbrella-shaped mouth, quickly attempting to envelop Ye Zhen from above.
The Profound Yang Sword flashed, and the Sword Gang, in the shape of a cross, slashed out, reducing the huge flower bud to shreds in an instant.
"It must be a Cannibal Flower, no doubt about that! Its sudden attack is truly terrifying!"
However, that was not the most terrifying aspect of the Cannibal Flower. What was truly horrifying was the sea of Cannibal Flowers behind Ye Zhen. If he had dodged instantly under the first Cannibal Flower’s ambush, then one after another, the flowers behind would have launched successive attacks. By then, not only a Spirit Summoning Realm martial artist but even one from the Spirit Transformation Realm would have been doomed.
With his vigilance raised, the densely packed sea of Cannibal Flowers posed less of a threat to Ye Zhen, and he managed to pass through with some close calls but no harm.
In truth, he owed some of this ease to the past efforts of others.
In a few places where Cannibal Flowers were particularly dense, it seemed that someone had previously cleared a path, significantly reducing the density of the flowers. Otherwise, Ye Zhen might have had to expend much more effort to get through.
Continuing his journey, Ye Zhen pressed on.
Not long after Ye Zhen passed, the ’good Samaritans’ Tian Feng and Hee Qingbing emerged at the site of the previously shattered Cannibal Flower.
"This kid is extremely skilled in combat, very impressive! Look at this Cannibal Flower. Even its extremely tough stems have been chopped off. Even for you or me, that wouldn’t be easy!" Tian Feng remarked.
"This is good news! The stronger his combat power, the higher the possibility that he clears the way for us! And even if he doesn’t, we can still figure out the strengths and weaknesses of that terrifying thing.
Behind that terrifying thing lies the mountain cave treasure!" Hee Qingbing said.
"Let’s hurry, we can’t miss this great show!"
"Number Two, be careful. Although we’ve been through this Cannibal Flower Formation a few times, it’s still best not to be careless."
Alerted by the Cannibal Flowers, Ye Zhen was extremely cautious. Along the way, he paid full attention to listening intently.
Although it was rare to see typical animals in the Poisonous Miasma Valley, toads, poisonous snakes, and centipedes were still present. Even though they weren’t numerous, Ye Zhen’s careful listening revealed two more deadly hazards.
One was the Poison Bee Formation in the trees.
Though the Yellow-Tailed Poison Bees were only Human-Level Mid-grade Demon Beasts, their menacing power came from their numbers. Just one hive might contain tens of thousands, and tens of thousands from several hives charging at once could make even a Soul Sea Realm powerhouse flee in terror.
Just when Ye Zhen was concerned, he found a discarded torch nearby.
With the burning torch lit, the Yellow-Tailed Poison Bees dared not approach. Ye Zhen safely passed through the Grand Poison Bee Formation. The sight of the dark, decaying skeletons by the tree startled him.
After the Yellow-Tailed Poison Bees, Ye Zhen found the Snake and Ant Formation.
It was a stretch of yellow sandy road that looked extremely tranquil and harmless. Yet, from what Ye Zhen heard earlier, he was already aware of the terrors hidden beneath that peaceful surface.
Below the sand lay Human-Level Lower Blazing Flame Sand Ants and Rattlesnakes, which, when agitated by a martial artist stepping on the sand, would disturb these two groups.
The Rattlesnakes were manageable, but the Blazing Flame Sand Ants, only the size of thumbs, were the true horror. Once a swarm of them passed, nothing would be left.
This was a forbidden practice for desert travel recorded in the Sect’s archives.
Stepping in without knowing would spell doom even for a Spirit Transformation Realm martial artist.
But with prior knowledge, the situation became much simpler.
The Bone-Eroding Poison Mist varied in height from about ten to thirty meters above the ground, so martial artists could safely cross by quickly flying at a height of five meters above the ground.
What made Ye Zhen feel uneasy was that, not far from the front of the Snake and Ant Formation, there lay several bloody ordinary weapons scattered around, which was quite eerie.
Normally, these bloodied weapons should have been present within the Snake and Ant Formation, not on the outside. Their placement outside seemed to serve as a warning, causing Ye Zhen’s brow to furrow and increasing his sense of strangeness.
Doubts arose, and when Ye Zhen connected these dots, he found that every lethal spot in the valley was either marked by skeletons or swords, always appearing before the danger zones.
This realization made Ye Zhen’s frown deepen, his mind clouded with suspicion. It was peculiar, extremely peculiar!
Having successfully passed through the Ten-mile Snake and Ant Formation, a dark cave entrance appeared before Ye Zhen. To his delight, there were even characters carved above it!
"Could this be the treasure?" (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, we welcome you to vote for it with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)

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