Myriad Poisons Ancient River

As they ventured deeper, the Skeleton Forest grew increasingly profound and desolate, as if they had stepped into a dark world forgotten by time. The light here had dimmed to a murky gloom, shrouded by a thick, oppressive haze. The Corrosive God Poison Miasma permeating the air was so dense it had nearly solidified into gray-purple vapors, drifting like ghosts and severely obstructing their vision, making them feel as though they were trapped in a dreamscape of endless fog.

The bones piled beneath their feet grew larger and more ancient, each one seemingly burdened with the vicissitudes of time and the weight of history. The ancient baleful energy radiating from them struck their souls like cold, relentless tides. That chill pierced straight to the bone, unsettling their minds and conjuring bizarre, grotesque hallucinations, as if countless invisible hands were trying to drag them into an infinite abyss.

The two Sand Lizard Camels, originally docile, had become frantic under the erosion of the intensifying miasma and baleful energy. Blood spilled from their mouths and nostrils like withering flowers, a tragic sight. Finally, they let out two mournful cries, as if bidding a final farewell to the world, before collapsing powerlessly to the ground. Their massive bodies were rapidly corroded by the miasma, dissolving into pools of nauseating pus that emitted a pungent, acrid stench. Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian had no choice but to continue on foot, treading with extreme caution.

"Careful! There's a spatial rift to the front left!" Xiao Yan suddenly hissed. His powerful soul perception, acting like a sensitive radar, had caught a subtle spatial fluctuation that was nearly impossible to detect. That ripple was like a blade hidden in the darkness; the slightest carelessness would result in injury. The two reacted instantly, moving like agile fish to narrowly evade a thin, black line of space that opened and closed in silence. That black line was like a wound in the fabric of space, radiating a dangerous aura.

"Rear right, baleful energy is coalescing!" Xiao Yi Xian's purple eyes flashed like stars in the night sky, revealing mystery and wisdom. A wisp of dark purple poison mist flickered from her fingertips, darting like a nimble viper into a seemingly calm pile of bones. The moment the mist entered, the bone pile erupted like a demon being awakened, unleashing a dense, gray-black baleful energy. That energy rapidly condensed into a painfully twisted ghost face, clawing and screeching silently like an enraged beast as it lunged toward them. However, under the erosion of the poison mist, the ghost face was instantly corroded and annihilated, dissipating into the air as wisps of black smoke.

The two stood shoulder to shoulder, backs pressed together, struggling through this crisis-ridden, ghost-like forest. Every step felt like walking on the edge of a blade, and every moment was fraught with unknown peril, yet they guarded and trusted one another, like stars huddled together in the dark.

Relying on his hawk-like soul perception, Xiao Yan discerned every minute spatial fluctuation in the gloom, moving like a master dancer to nimbly avoid the spatial traps hidden in the shadows. Xiao Yi Xian channeled the power of her Woe Poison Pill, which pulsed like a beating heart, continuously releasing immense strength. She used this power to purify the rampaging baleful energy around them, dispel the miasmic illusions, and even absorb some of the refined miasma into the pill, refining it into her own strength just as an alchemist would craft a potion. Their coordination grew increasingly seamless, as if they were telepathic twins who knew the other's intent without a word.

"Stop!" Xiao Yan suddenly grabbed Xiao Yi Xian's arm with a sharp, forceful motion, as if to prevent her from stepping into an abyss of no return. His expression was grave, his gaze locked firmly ahead, filled with vigilance and unease.

The scene ahead suddenly opened up, yet within that expanse lay a horror so profound it made one's scalp tingle!

The Skeleton Forest had reached its end, but it was not a flat path; it was a bottomless abyss over a thousand feet wide. The abyss resembled a giant, gaping maw, as if it intended to swallow the entire world. The far side of the abyss was shrouded in even denser, churning dark purple demonic flames that writhed like living creatures, dancing wildly in the darkness. One could only vaguely discern the outline of a terrifying mountain formed from countless colossal bones, standing like a pillar of heaven on the far side of the abyss and radiating a bone-chilling aura—the Demon Peak of Bones!

And spanning the abyss was a "river" that defied description!

The Ancient River of Buried Gods!

It was not composed of flowing water, but of pure spatial turbulence, shattered fragments of laws, and the intensely concentrated gray-purple Corrosive God Poison Miasma. The river water possessed a constantly twisting, shifting chaotic hue, as if all the paint buckets in the world had been overturned and stirred by an invisible giant hand—chaotic and disordered. Countless tiny spatial fragments spun rapidly like sharp blades within the river, colliding and emitting teeth-grinding "hissing" sounds and faint spatial explosions, as if demons were growling in the depths. Even more heart-wrenching was the Corrosive God Poison Miasma hovering over the surface, thick as viscous glue and a deep, soul-devouring dark purple that made one's mind feel eroded by an invisible force just by looking at it.

Standing at the edge of the abyss, the aura rushing toward them like a tidal wave made Xiao Yan feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. The extreme spatial tearing sensation felt as if countless invisible hands were frantically pulling at his body, trying to rip him to shreds; the distortion of the laws acted like a twisted vortex, disrupting the circulation of his Dou Qi and throwing all his power into disarray; and the miasma, which pierced deep into his bones and soul, felt like sharp, poisoned blades stabbing directly into his core, bringing agonizing pain.

In an instant, Xiao Yan's face turned as pale as paper, as if all the blood had been drained from him. The Dou Qi shield around him flickered violently, emitting a groan of exhaustion; its light pulsed erratically, as if it might extinguish at any moment. His soul felt as though it were caught in a raging storm, on the verge of being torn apart or poisoned to death—a pain he could barely endure.

"Such... such a terrifying ancient river!" Xiao Yan's voice trembled uncontrollably, each word squeezed through his teeth. Had Xiao Yi Xian not promptly channeled a wisp of pure poison energy to him—a stream of cool water that injected into his parched meridians and helped stabilize his churning blood—he would have long since retreated, fleeing this horrific place.

Xiao Yi Xian's purple eyes were also filled with gravity, like a deep night sky hiding endless worry. A dark purple halo flowed around her, resembling a mysterious nebula. Her Woe Poison Pill spun at full capacity, greedily devouring the Corrosive God Poison Miasma in the air like a whale drinking the sea. As the miasma entered her body, it was frantically refined by the pill into pure, primal poison energy, causing the pill's light to deepen until it shone like a brilliant purple star. Even so, facing the terrifying, torrential miasma at the core of the ancient river, she felt immense pressure, as if an invisible mountain were crushing her heart.

"The resonance... it's over there!" Xiao Yan endured the dual agony of body and soul. The throbbing from the ring on his left hand had reached its peak, acting like an invisible thread pointing straight to the summit of the Demon Peak of Bones, which was shrouded in demonic flames on the far side of the river, as if some mysterious power there was beckoning him.

"We must cross!" Xiao Yi Xian looked at Xiao Yan's pale face, a flash of resolve crossing her eyes as she said in a low voice, "The river's miasma poses little threat to me; the key is how to withstand the rampaging spatial turbulence and the blade-like fragments of laws!"

Her deep, amethyst-like eyes slowly swept across the surging ancient river. Within it, lethal spatial cutting forces ran rampant, and the distorting power of the laws churned like a violent vortex, every wisp of aura reeking of destruction. Then, her gaze fell upon Xiao Yan, and a bold, wild idea ignited in her heart like a brilliant star.

"Xiao Yan, do you trust me?" Xiao Yi Xian suddenly spoke, her voice cold yet filled with unquestionable resolve. Her purple eyes locked onto his, as if to transmit her determination through her gaze.

Xiao Yan was slightly stunned, but that brief hesitation was instantly replaced by trust. He nodded without a moment's hesitation, his eyes filled with firmness and reliance: "I do!" The two words were simple yet powerful, as immovable as a boulder.

"Good!" Xiao Yi Xian said no more. Her hands moved like agile butterflies, suddenly forming an incredibly profound and complex seal before her chest. The seal seemed to contain the fundamental truths of heaven and earth, every 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 edge of the dark abyss.

"Woe Poison Domain! Ten Thousand Poisons Return to Source! Condense!" With her sharp cry, which sounded like a divine decree from the heavens, an invisible, heart-stopping suction force exploded outward! With her as the center, the Corrosive God Poison Miasma drifting at the edge of the abyss rushed toward her as if summoned by a hundred rivers. The miasma surged like a black tide, carrying the momentum to destroy everything in its path.

It was not just the miasma; even the faint baleful poison remaining in the ancient bones beneath their feet was seized by an invisible hand, dragged helplessly toward her. Even the chaotic energy particles in the air were forcibly pulled by this powerful force, all rushing toward Xiao Yi Xian.

The massive poison energy was frantically compressed and condensed before her, as if engaged in an invisible yet fierce battle. In a flash, the scattered poison energy transformed into a creature only a few feet long, yet its entire body radiated an interweaving glow of deep dark gold and eerie purple—an Energy Poison Dragon! This dragon looked like a divine beast from ancient mythology, radiating a bone-chilling aura as if it might soar into the sky at any moment and shatter the shackles of this world.