As they ventured deeper, the Skeleton Forest grew ever more gloomy, as though they had stepped into a dark world forgotten by time. The light grew dim, as if shrouded beneath a thick veil of gloom. Bone-eroding poison miasma saturated the air, so dense it nearly solidified into substance, forming patches of grayish-purple mist that drifted about like ghosts. It severely obstructed their vision, making them feel as though they were lost in a dream thick with fog.
The bones piled beneath their feet grew ever larger and more ancient. Each one seemed to bear the weight of history and the ravages of time. The ancient baleful aura they exuded surged against their souls in wave after icy wave. The chill pierced straight to the heart, unsettling their minds as all manner of bizarre, uncanny illusions appeared before their eyes. It was as if countless invisible hands were trying to drag them into an endless abyss.
The two once-docile Sand Lizard Camels had grown increasingly agitated under the corrosive assault of the ever-thickening poison miasma and baleful aura. Blood spilled ceaselessly from their mouths and nostrils, pitiful as falling petals. At last, they let out two mournful cries, as though bidding the world a final farewell, then collapsed helplessly to the ground. Their massive bodies were quickly corroded by the poison miasma, melting into a revolting pool of pus and blood that gave off a pungent stench. With no other choice, Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian continued on foot, taking every step with the utmost caution.
"Careful! There's a spatial fissure ahead on the left!" Xiao Yan suddenly barked. His powerful soul perception, as keen as radar, had detected an almost imperceptible ripple in space before they reached it. The ripple was like a hidden blade in the darkness; one careless move, and it would strike. The two reacted swiftly, darting aside like nimble fish and narrowly evading a thin black line in space that opened and closed without a sound. It was like a wound in space, radiating danger.
"Behind us, to the right! Baleful aura is gathering!" Xiao Yi Xian's violet eyes flashed, like stars glittering in the night sky, mysterious and perceptive. She flicked a wisp of dark-purple poison mist from her fingertip. It shot like a nimble serpent into a seemingly undisturbed pile of bones. The instant it disappeared, the pile seemed to awaken like a demon, violently erupting with a dense gray-black baleful aura. The aura swiftly gathered into a painfully contorted ghostly face, its claws outstretched as it let out a soundless shriek. Like a furious beast, it lunged at them. Yet under the poison mist's corrosive assault, the face was instantly eroded and annihilated, dissolving into wisps of black smoke.
Standing shoulder to shoulder, their backs to each other, the two struggled through the perilous, hellish Skeleton Forest. Every step was like treading on the edge of a blade, and every moment brought some unknown danger. But they protected and trusted each other, like stars huddling together in the darkness.
Relying on his keen, hawk-like soul perception, Xiao Yan detected every subtle ripple in space around them. Like a masterful dancer, he gracefully avoided one hidden spatial trap after another. Xiao Yi Xian circulated the power of her Poison Pill, which beat like a heart and released an endless stream of powerful energy. She used that power to cleanse the raging baleful aura around them and disperse the poison-miasma illusions. She even drew some of the purest poison miasma into her Poison Pill, refining it into her own strength as carefully as an alchemist refined pills. Their coordination grew ever more seamless, like twins of one heart who could understand each other without a word.
"Stop!" Xiao Yan suddenly seized Xiao Yi Xian by the arm, his movement urgent and forceful, as though he were stopping her from stepping into an abyss of eternal damnation. His expression was solemn as a mountain, and he stared fixedly ahead, his eyes filled with wariness and unease.
The view ahead opened up, but beneath that vast expanse lay such bottomless horror that it made their scalps crawl!
The Skeleton Forest had come to an end, but there was no level road beyond it. Instead, a vast abyss, more than a thousand zhang wide and so deep its bottom could not be seen, yawned before them. It was like a gaping maw ready to swallow the entire world. Across the abyss, an even denser dark-purple demonic flame churned like a living thing. The flames danced wildly in the darkness like hideous demons. Through them, they could just make out the outline of a terrifying mountain made from countless enormous bones. It stood on the far side of the abyss like a pillar holding up the sky, radiating a chilling aura—the Demon Peak of Bones!
And stretching across the abyss was a "river" beyond the power of words to describe!
The Ancient River of Buried Gods!
It was not made of flowing water, but of pure spatial turbulence, shattered fragments of law, and Corrosive God Poison Miasma so dense it had reached its utmost limit. The river's waters shimmered with shifting, twisted hues, a chaotic color as though every paint pot had been overturned and then stirred by some invisible giant hand. Countless tiny fragments of space spun and collided within the waters like razor-sharp blades, making an ear-grating hiss and faint spatial booms, as though demons were growling under their breath. Even more unsettling was the Corrosive God Poison Miasma shrouding the river's surface. It was dense as viscous gel and a deep, dark purple, as if it could devour the soul. One glance was enough to make them feel an invisible force gnawing at their minds.
Merely standing at the edge of the abyss, Xiao Yan felt as though he had fallen into an icy pit beneath the aura surging toward him like a raging tide. The spatial rending was so chaotic that it felt as if countless invisible hands were frantically pulling at his body, trying to tear him to pieces. The twisted laws were like a swirling vortex, throwing the Dou Qi in his body into disarray until all his power became chaotic. And the poison miasma that ate into his soul and marrow was like a bundle of sharp poison blades, stabbing straight into the depths of his soul and bringing excruciating pain.
In an instant, Xiao Yan's face turned deathly pale, as though every drop of blood had been drained from him. The Dou Qi barrier around his body flickered violently, letting out a strained whine. Its light dimmed and brightened, as if it might go out at any moment. His soul seemed caught in a furious storm, liable to be torn apart and poisoned to death at any moment. The agony was nearly unbearable.
"Th-this ancient river is terrifying!" Xiao Yan's voice trembled despite his efforts to control it. Each word seemed squeezed through his teeth. If Xiao Yi Xian had not promptly passed a wisp of pure poison power into him, like a fresh spring flowing into his parched meridians and steadying the churning blood and Qi in his body, he might already have been forced to retreat and flee this terrifying place.
Xiao Yi Xian's violet eyes were also filled with grave concern, like a deep night sky hiding endless worry. A dark-purple glow flowed around her, like a mysterious nebula glittering in the night. Her Poison Pill began circulating at full force, greedily swallowing the Corrosive God Poison Miasma filling the air like a whale sucking in water. Once inside her body, the miasma was frantically refined by the Poison Pill into pure source poison power, causing its light to grow deeper, like a brilliant purple star. Even so, facing the terrifying poison miasma surging like a flood from the heart of the ancient river, she felt immense pressure, as though an invisible mountain weighed upon her heart.
"I can sense it... over there!" Xiao Yan endured the discomfort tormenting both his body and soul. The ring on his left hand throbbed with an intensity that had reached its peak. That throbbing was like an invisible thread pointing straight to the summit of the Demon Peak of Bones, across the ancient river and shrouded in demonic flame. It was as though some mysterious force there was calling to him.
"We have to cross!" Xiao Yi Xian looked at Xiao Yan's pale face, determination flashing in her eyes. "The poison miasma of this ancient river poses little threat to me. The real challenge is resisting the raging spatial turbulence and the fragments of law, sharp as blades!"
Her deep, amethyst eyes slowly swept over the surging ancient river. The lethal power of spatial cuts ran rampant through its waters, while the force of distorted laws churned like a violent vortex. Every wisp of its aura carried the promise of destruction. Then her gaze fell on Xiao Yan, and a daring, reckless idea rose quietly in her heart like a radiant star.
"Xiao Yan, do you trust me?" Xiao Yi Xian suddenly asked. Her voice was cool, yet carried an unquestionable resolve. Her violet eyes met his directly, as though she meant to pass her determination to him through her gaze.
Xiao Yan froze for an instant, but his brief surprise was quickly replaced by trust. He nodded without hesitation, his eyes brimming with confidence in her. "I do!" One simple, powerful word, unshakable as bedrock.
"Good!" Xiao Yi Xian said no more. Her hands fluttered like butterflies as she suddenly formed an incredibly profound and intricate seal before her chest. The seal seemed to contain the principles of heaven and earth, each movement carrying a mysterious rhythm. At the same time, the Woe Poison Pill in her dantian erupted with unprecedented brilliance, like a purple sun illuminating the dark edge of the abyss.
"Woe Poison Domain! All Poisons Return to the Source! Condense!" As she gave a clear shout, like a divine decree from the Ninth Heaven, an invisible force of attraction so powerful it made the heart tremble burst forth! Centered on her, the Corrosive God Poison Miasma spreading along the edge of the abyss rushed toward her like countless rivers answering a summons. The miasma surged like a black tide, bearing the momentum to destroy all in its path.
It was not only the poison miasma. Even the faint remnant of baleful poison within the ancient bones beneath their feet seemed seized by an invisible hand, drawn out against its will. Even the chaotic energy particles in the air were forcibly dragged by this mighty power, streaming toward Xiao Yi Xian.
Vast poison power compressed and condensed frantically before her, as though an invisible yet fierce battle were raging. In the blink of an eye, the scattered poison power transformed into a dragon barely a zhang long, its entire body radiating a deep dark-gold light intertwined with eerie violet brilliance—the Energy Poison Dragon! The dragon looked like a divine beast from ancient myth, exuding a chilling aura, as though it could take to the skies at any moment and shatter the shackles of the world.
Before you continue