Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison Array

Blaziken took a deep breath of the surrounding air. The toxins mixed into it were drawn into its body, only to be burned away by the scorching flames within.

Feeling no signs of poisoning, Blaziken nodded to show that its flames could counteract the toxins.

With that confirmed, Ye Chen was overjoyed. On Douluo Continent, Ice-type and Fire-type abilities both countered Poison-type abilities. That was why Dugu Bo had relied on the icy and fiery spiritual energy near the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well to suppress his snake venom.

Since Blaziken's flames could counteract toxins, there would be no problem fighting Poison-type Soul Beasts in Poison Mist Forest.

What was more, when he had bought Whale Rubber at the apothecary, he had deliberately picked up plenty of herbs that helped detoxify and heal injuries, along with a large supply of Burn Heals, wakefulness medicine, paralysis recovery medicine, and more.

With his knowledge of herbs to back him up, he could survive in this Poison Mist Forest without a problem.

"Let's go in and take a look." As he spoke, Ye Chen headed toward the entrance to Poison Mist Forest.

Blaziken used Focus Energy to heighten its mental acuity, then followed at Ye Chen's side, its sharp gaze sweeping their surroundings to guard against ambushes from Poison-type Soul Beasts.

After entering Poison Mist Forest, Ye Chen found that the environment here seemed somewhat gloomy compared with other areas. The air was laced with the odors of various poisons, along with the stench of rotting corpses.

All around them was pitch-black. Fortunately, it was still daytime, so their vision wasn't greatly impeded and they could still make things out.

Two hundred meters into Poison Mist Forest, Ye Chen spotted numerous spider Soul Beasts hanging upside down from the trees.

Some of the spiders had red eyes, others had blue. Poisonous snakes, scorpions, and gecko Soul Beasts slithered across the ground. Everything around them gave off a sense of danger at every turn, as if one careless moment would be enough to lose their lives.

As he made his way forward, Ye Chen also applied ointment all over his body. It was supposed to repel insects and guard against poison, and had reportedly been developed by a family skilled in refining medicines and making poisons. It came at no small price at the apothecary.

After applying the ointment, Ye Chen channeled Soul Power into his eyes and brain, greatly enhancing his vision and mental acuity. With Insight to assist him, he could easily spot the web traps and underground pitfalls of some Poison-type Soul Beasts.

As they continued onward, the Poison-type Soul Beasts didn't dare approach with Blaziken at his side.

The flames burning on Blaziken's wrists also served as torches, making the dark surroundings much easier to see.

After observing for quite a while, Ye Chen realized that the Poison-type Soul Beasts living in this Poison Mist Forest weren't as powerful as he'd imagined. The strongest were only a few thousand years old.

It seemed that Poison-type Soul Beasts with cultivation levels exceeding ten thousand years all lived in another area, one shrouded in even thicker poisonous mist.

After about half a day's travel, Ye Chen and Blaziken finally left Poison Mist Forest and entered the central part of the Core Zone of Sunset Forest.

Ahead, a mountain five hundred meters tall came into view.

The mountain covered such a vast area that it looked as if a Barrier stood between them and what lay beyond. To continue forward, they would have to cross the entire mountain.

Ye Chen didn't do that, however, because the whole mountain before him was shrouded in dark green poisonous mist. To get across, they would have to enter the mist.

"Blaziken, use Flamethrower."

At Ye Chen's command, Blaziken gathered strength in its core and spat a roaring column of flames toward the dark green poisonous mist twenty meters ahead.

Whoosh! Sizzle! Pop—

A succession of explosive cracks rang out. As the dark green poisonous mist was incinerated by Flamethrower, it burst apart like firecrackers before turning to dust and vanishing.

A huge hole opened in the dark green poisonous mist ahead.

Suddenly, the burned-away mist rapidly gathered again, filling the gap.

Seeing this, Ye Chen's first, second, and third Soul Rings lit up at the same time. With the three Soul Skills amplifying the power of his Fire-type abilities to the limit, Blaziken used Flamethrower once more.

Compared with before, this Flamethrower was far more powerful, and its range was much wider. The straight line of fire suddenly spread into a fan-shaped blaze covering the ten meters ahead.

Blaziken kept using Flamethrower to burn the dark green poisonous mist across that ten-meter area. It wasn't until twenty seconds later, when its Soul Power was nearly depleted, that it had no choice but to stop.

Watching the dark green poisonous mist gather again and fill the burned-out gap, Ye Chen couldn't help feeling puzzled.

Though it shrouded the entire mountain and covered a vast area, this dark green poisonous mist couldn't have formed naturally with such speed. Could it have been released by a Poison-type Soul Beast?

Or was this dark green poisonous mist the result of a Poison-type Soul Master's Soul Skill?

At the thought, Ye Chen's eyes lit up. According to the original story, Dugu Bo had set up the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison Array near the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well to claim it for himself.

The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison Array was said to be terrifying. Any Soul Master below level seventy, or any Soul Beast that wasn't powerful enough, would surely die upon entering it.

Could the dark green poisonous mist covering the entire mountain before him be the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison Array?

As he pondered, Ye Chen had already taken Blaziken back the way they came. If the dark green poisonous mist really was the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison Array, the commotion Blaziken had just made by burning it might have attracted Dugu Bo's attention.

It was best to leave for now. Once he'd thought through any possible surprises and worked out how to deal with them, he could return to the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison Array.

With that in mind, Ye Chen had Blaziken grind for experience in Poison Mist Forest while he considered matters related to the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison Array and Dugu Bo.

Day after day passed, and half a month went by in the blink of an eye.

Throughout that half-month, Ye Chen and Blaziken kept searching for Soul Beasts to fight in Poison Mist Forest.

Though the Poison-type Soul Beasts here weren't especially powerful, the experience gained from half a month of fighting still raised Ye Chen's Soul Power from level fifty-five to level fifty-six.

With Blaziken watching over him, Ye Chen joined the battles too. He started by facing Soul Beasts with a thousand years of cultivation, then challenged those with two thousand years, followed by those with three thousand.

In the end, Ye Chen determined that his strength fell somewhere between that of an ordinary three-thousand-year Soul Beast and a top-tier one of the same age.

After several fights with Soul Beasts, his combat skills had grown more polished. He wielded abilities like Agility, Insight, and Mega Punch with far greater ease.

All the abilities he currently possessed were geared toward close combat. To gain the ability to attack from a distance, Ye Chen decided to practice changing the shape of his Soul Power.

Once he compressed his Soul Power into a ball and hurled it, all he needed to do was make the compressed energy explode in an instant to unleash the effect of a Soul Power bombardment.

Unfortunately, after half a month of study and experimentation, Ye Chen had managed only to compress his Soul Power into a ball the size of his palm. He still couldn't make it explode.