Corrosive Poison Nest and the Might of One Soul Ring

The air changed.

No longer was it the damp scent of forest soil, but a... cloying, foul stench.

It was like a hundred durians had rotted in a garbage dump for three months, then been drenched in a layer of damn honey.

Han Yuchen frowned slightly and used Soul Power to form a thin filter in front of his nostrils.

That smell was intoxicating.

Ahead of him, members of the Mengli Squad had already turned green, clutching their mouths as they dry-heaved.

The ground beneath their feet was no longer soft earth.

It had turned blackish-purple and sticky, like melted asphalt underfoot.

Even the nameless plants had taken on a bizarrely diseased appearance. Their leaf edges curled inward, hung with deep-purple droplets that sizzled as they corroded the ground.

"We're here!"

Meng Li's voice trembled as he suppressed his excitement.

He pointed ahead. There stood a massive cave, its entrance as black as a monster's mouth.

Right beside the entrance, a strange spirit herb grew quietly.

Its entire body was purple, its leaves unfurling like rosy clouds. At its tip hung a fruit the size of a longan, radiating gentle rings of purple light.

Purple Cloud Saliva! A fine treasure capable of cleansing a Soul Master's meridians and increasing cultivation speed!

Meng Li's eyes were full of greed.

"Boss, something's wrong." A tall, thin squad member stared warily at the cave entrance.

"This place is too damn eerie..."

Before he could finish.

Screech—

A teeth-grating scraping sound came from deep within the pitch-black cave.

It drew nearer and nearer, growing louder.

A massive head slowly emerged from the darkness.

It was a lizard.

A gigantic lizard nearly ten meters long, its entire body covered in pustules.

The pustules kept swelling and bursting, dripping thick yellow-green fluid that fell to the ground and sent up clouds of toxic smoke.

Its eyes were a murky yellow, pupil-less, containing nothing but endless malice and hunger.

A terrifying aura far exceeding that of an ordinary Thousand-Year Soul Beast pressed down on everyone's hearts like a boulder.

Cold sweat instantly broke out across Meng Li's forehead.

"Three... Three Thousand Years! No, perhaps even older!" His voice was dry, every muscle tense.

"This beast has been contaminated by something! It's a Mutant Variant!"

Oh, a mutant too. Interesting.

Han Yuchen folded his arms and studied the ugly giant with interest.

With that appearance, it would be a minor boss even in the Cthulhu Mythos.

"Form up!"

Meng Li truly deserved his reputation as an old mercenary. He made the correct judgment in an instant.

"Wear it down from range! Don't let its poison touch you!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The squad members immediately spread out, and the three ranged Soul Masters unleashed their Soul Skills at once.

Cyan wind blades, flaming arrows, sharp stone spears.

They tore through the air from three directions and crashed toward the Corrosive Poison Lizard.

Yet something bizarre happened.

When those Soul Skills came within a meter of the Corrosive Poison Lizard, they seemed to strike an invisible wall.

No, something even more terrifying than a wall.

The purple poisonous mist emanating from the Corrosive Poison Lizard was like concentrated sulfuric acid, rapidly corroding and dissolving those energy attacks!

The wind blades slowed, the flaming arrows went out instantly, and the stone spears dissolved directly into piles of powder.

"What?!"

"My Soul Skill was... eaten?"

The squad erupted in alarm, their faces filled with disbelief.

Roar!

The Corrosive Poison Lizard had been enraged.

It opened its bloody maw, and an ominous purple glow lit up deep within its throat.

Pshh—!

A vast fan-shaped spray of purple venom shot toward the Mengli Squad like a high-pressure water cannon.

A pungent acidic stench filled the air, and even the light seemed to twist.

"Move!"

Meng Li's eyes nearly split as he roared.

He took a fierce step forward. His Second Soul Ring shone brilliantly, and a heavy earthen-yellow shield materialized before the squad.

This was his martial soul, the Rock Shield, renowned for its defense.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—!

A scalp-numbing sound of corrosion rang out.

The venom struck the shield like a red-hot iron plunged into butter.

Meng Li's prized Rock Shield melted at a visible rate, becoming riddled with holes as it neared penetration!

Several drops of venom splashed onto the arm holding his shield.

"Argh—!"

A shrill scream rang out.

The flesh on Meng Li's arm began rotting instantly, exposing gleaming white bone, while the blackish-purple corrosion continued spreading upward through his veins.

It was over.

Those two words surfaced in everyone's heart.

This monster was simply beyond their ability to handle.

Amid that despair.

A calm voice rang out. It was not loud, yet every person heard it clearly.

"Stand back."

The members of the Mengli Squad instinctively parted to make way for him.

Han Yuchen stood alone before the enormous Corrosive Poison Lizard.

Roar?

The Corrosive Poison Lizard's yellow eyes turned toward this newly appeared human.

It could sense that the Soul Power fluctuations around this human were pitifully weak.

He was practically an appetizer.

It opened its mouth again. This time, all its venom compressed into a single deadly line.

Darker in color, faster in speed, more terrifying in power.

Like a purple ray of death, it shot straight for Han Yuchen's face.

"Watch out!" Meng Li shouted through the agony.

Yet Han Yuchen did not even raise an eyelid.

A deadly poison specialized in corroding Soul Power and flesh, the nemesis of any Soul Master.

Mm, perfect logic. Flawless.

I declare that you counter me.

Ding!

A crisp notification sounded in his mind.

[Origin Talent 'Restraint' has been triggered!]

[Determined to be a special energy corrosion attack. The restraint relationship has been established!]

[This attack has been nullified by 100% and will be reflected at 200% power!]

The next second...

Before the horrified eyes of everyone in the Mengli Squad.

That deadly venom, capable of melting steel, vanished into thin air when it was still a meter from Han Yuchen's face...

As though an invisible hand had wiped it away, without causing even the slightest ripple.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

The Corrosive Poison Lizard's not-so-large brain was filled with confusion.

Where's my poison?

Then.

Buzz!

A venom ray darker in color, more terrifying in aura, and twice as fast appeared directly before it out of thin air.

It hit it right in the face.

Splat!

The Corrosive Poison Lizard did not even have time to let out a complete roar.

Its most prized venom, enhanced twofold, had turned upon itself.

The pustules all over its body burst in an instant like lit firecrackers, popping and crackling.

Yellow-green pus splattered everywhere.

Its body began to rot and melt at an utterly horrifying speed.

Its hard scales softened like wax, and its powerful muscles turned into pools of black liquid.

Within seconds, the Thousand-Year Mutant Soul Beast that had been so arrogant moments ago became a heap of rotting flesh that writhed and continuously emitted black smoke.

It thrashed wildly in agonizing pain, yet no longer had the strength even to stand.

The entire area fell silent.

Every member of the Mengli Squad stood with mouths agape and eyes wide as bells.

Their minds had completely crashed.

What had just happened?

Amid their chaotic thoughts, Han Yuchen raised his hand.

A dazzling purple Soul Ring slowly rose from beneath his feet.

Han Yuchen held his fingers together like a blade and gave a light sweep toward the twitching heap of flesh.

Second Soul Skill, Blade of Flowing Water.

A semi-transparent water blade, condensed to the utmost limit, thin as a cicada's wing.

It sliced through the air without making a sound.

Pfft.

The Corrosive Poison Lizard's struggles abruptly ceased.

An ugly head rolled away with a gurgle.

The battle was over.

On one side was a supremely powerful Thousand-Year Mutant Soul Beast, reduced to a heap of sludge.

On the other was the Bamboo Hat Youth, with only one Thousand-Year Soul Ring active, looking utterly calm.

Not even the corner of his clothes had been disturbed.

That scene was like the heaviest Giant Hammer, smashing brutally into the depths of every Mengli Squad member's soul.

"Gulp."

Meng Li swallowed with difficulty, ignoring the searing agony in his arm.

Struggling to his feet, supported by his squad members, he staggered over to the Purple Cloud Saliva and carefully harvested it, placing it into a jade box.

Han Yuchen did not even look at the Purple Cloud Saliva.

Even this little gatekeeper lizard had mutated.

What kind of treasure would the real prize be?

Heh, this was getting more and more interesting.