At the edge of the Dragon Bone Wasteland, the Dragon Baleful Gale gradually subsided.
Dragging his exhausted body, Lu Chen finally rushed out of that region of death.
Looking back, the gale's lingering force still churned the Blood Mist across the dark crimson wasteland, where countless Demon Beast carcasses lay scattered like a battlefield of Asura.
"Phew..."
He let out a long breath. His face was still pale, but his gaze had regained its sharpness.
Finding a hollow beneath a massive boulder sheltered from the wind, he sat down cross-legged and began regulating his breath.
The battle just now had seemed brief, but it had in truth been perilous in the extreme.
First, he had been ambushed by the Ten Thousand Gu Soul-Eroding Smoke, his soul injured;
then he had taken the Dragon Baleful Gale head-on;
finally, he had forcibly activated the rudimentary form of his Dharma Form and slain Viper Slayer in a single strike.
Every step had been taken on the brink of life and death. His true essence, mental focus, and physical strength had all been enormously depleted.
Had the system not promptly expended lifespan to purge the poison and bolster his defenses; had he not decisively traded defense for offense and risked closing in; had the Dragon Thunder Baleful Force and the Dragon Soul Mirror imprint not possessed a restraining effect on gu poison...
The one lying dead on the ground now would most likely have been him.
"Ten Thousand Gu Sect... Shadow Council... It seems the forces they have committed to this secret realm are even stronger than anticipated."
Lu Chen closed his eyes and looked inward. Within his sea of consciousness, the sinister toxic power left behind by the soul-eroding smoke had been mostly purified by the system working together with the Dragon Soul