Countless toxins had fused completely with the valley's environment. Any ordinary Soul Master who stepped inside would soon bleed from all seven orifices.
It seemed they had finally found the right place.
Long Xiaoyao sent his spiritual power into the poisonous mist. After it penetrated only a few hundred meters, the toxins began corroding it.
Though they could not truly hurt him, that was enough to show how troublesome this toxic domain was.
"This miasma has been here for too long. Its toxins have become one with the land itself."
Long Xiaoyao withdrew his spiritual power and warned them gravely, "A Titled Douluo could force a way through with Soul Power, but there would still be a price to pay."
At that, he turned to Long Wushang and Tang Ya.
"Neither of you has even reached Soul Saint."
"My Soul Power barrier can protect you for a while, but I can't guarantee there aren't stronger poisons deeper in the valley. If the barrier develops a breach, we'll be in serious trouble."
Tang Ya watched the poisonous mist churn ahead, a hint of wariness entering her eyes. She stepped forward. "Let me try. I'll see if my Blue Silver Grass can devour it."
As she spoke, Tang Ya extended her right hand. Dark-gold vines emerged from her palm and crept along the ground toward the valley.
Sinful Blue Silver Grass could devour things. As long as toxins were a form of energy, it should, in theory, be able to devour them.
But the moment a vine touched the green mist, black spots appeared all over its surface.
Tang Ya frowned and immediately activated her devouring power. Dark-gold patterns spread along the vine as it began drawing in the surrounding poison gas.
At first, it worked a little, and the absorption went smoothly.
But the black spots soon spread rapidly. The leaves curled, the stem withered, and a flood of toxins followed the connection between Martial Soul and Soul Master straight into Tang Ya's body.
Tang Ya's expression changed drastically. Her right hand turned blue-black before their eyes, and the poison spread up her wrist toward her arm.
"Xiao Ya, sever the Martial Soul connection!"
Long Xiaoyao's sharp shout rang out. Dark Soul Power descended at once, forcibly cutting off the vine that had entered the mist.
Tang Ya grunted and staggered back two steps. She quickly slashed open her right palm with her left hand, then used Soul Power to force the poison toward the wound.
Drops of blue-black poisoned blood fell one after another. The moment they struck the ground, wisps of green poisonous smoke rose as if the blood were evaporating.
Long Xiaoyao seized Tang Ya's wrist and poured his Soul Power into her meridians, forcibly driving out the remaining toxins.
"Don't experiment recklessly again."
"Your devouring ability hasn't grown strong enough to ignore a poison that's been brewing for ten thousand years. Keep swallowing it, and you'll be dead before the miasma is gone."
Tang Ya looked at her completely withered Sinful Blue Silver Grass, lingering fear on her face.
Her devouring ability had never failed so utterly. Worse, she had swallowed only a tiny fraction of the poisonous gas.
And the miasma filling the valley seemed, to the naked eye, to stretch on without end.
"What if we burn it away?"
Tang Ya looked up. "Those poisonous flowers are plants. They should fear fire."
"We can't burn them." Long Wushang rejected her suggestion outright.
Tang Ya looked at him in confusion. "Why?"
"The miasma has fused with the valley's environment. If we use fire carelessly, the rising heat will only spread the toxins."
Long Wushang glanced across the vast expanse of Jade Phosphor Seven Absolutes Flowers ahead. "Besides, I want what's inside, not the whole valley destroyed. If we burn through this place, who knows whether we'll damage the treasures within?"
Long Xiaoyao pondered for a moment. "Then we'll make a path underground."
"I can punch straight through the mountainside and bypass the miasma."
"We don't know the terrain, so we can't strike blindly. Besides, these poisonous plants have grown here for ten thousand years. Their roots may have reached untold depths underground."
Long Wushang shook his head again. "And there are two extreme energies inside, one of ice and one of fire. If you break through the ground near their springheads and trigger an eruption of energy, there's no telling what will happen."
Long Xiaoyao's brows drew tight. They could not force their way through, burn it away, or tunnel around it.
This toxic domain had sealed the entire valley tight, leaving them nowhere to go. It was a real headache.
"You knew about this place. Didn't you prepare a way in?"
As if something had occurred to him, Long Xiaoyao suddenly turned and fixed his son with a piercing gaze.
"I originally planned to have you use a Soul Power barrier to shut out the miasma, Father."
Long Wushang studied the miasma and said calmly, "But the poison here is stronger than I expected. Maintaining a large barrier the whole way would consume too much Soul Power. There are a few difficult things inside that treasure land that I'll need you to handle. We can't waste all your Soul Power on this miasma."
At those words, both of the others felt their scalps prickle. After spending so long searching, they had finally found the treasure land. If they could not get inside after all that, it would drive them mad!
Just as Long Xiaoyao was about to look for another entrance, Long Wushang seemed to make up his mind. He stepped forward.
"Enough. If ordinary methods won't get us in, then we'll stop playing by the rules."
Long Xiaoyao turned to stare at him blankly. Tang Ya looked up too.
Long Wushang was already standing at the edge of the miasma. The ultimate darkness around him rapidly receded.
Then an aura far more oppressive than his dark Soul Power slowly rose from within him.
Several distinct emotions spread outward at once. Multiple strains of Original Sin Power intertwined, and the sky darkened.
Space warped behind Long Wushang, and the enormous Original Sin Demon Puppet descended from the void.
The Demon Puppet lowered its head, six divine rings hovering behind it. Each gave off a completely different aura. Merely standing there, it sent chills down their spines.
Among the six divine rings, the one representing Gluttony slowly lit up.
A dark slit opened across the Demon Puppet's chest and abdomen. Long Wushang swiftly formed seals with both hands, pouring his Soul Power into the Original Sin Demon Puppet. Then he growled, "Endless Devouring."
As his words fell, the space before the valley entrance suddenly contracted inward. A vast black vortex appeared before everyone's eyes.
The moment it formed, a terrifying suction swept the area. Dead leaves flew into the air, layers of soil peeled away, and even nearby trees bent toward the valley.
Under that immense pull, the miasma covering the entrance instantly lost its balance. The green fog churned wildly, became dozens of streams, and was dragged into the black vortex.
Tang Ya's pupils contracted sharply at the sight.
"The Master can devour things too?"
She forgot everything else and stared fixedly at the vortex.
Sinful Blue Silver Grass had to touch its target first, then gradually draw out its Soul Power and life force.
Long Wushang's devouring was entirely different.
He did not even need to make contact. There was no gradual extraction—only naked, forceful plunder from the instant he began.
The miasma, the ambient Soul Power, and the toxins in the soil were all dragged into that bottomless black hole.
"What kind of Soul Skill is that?"
Tang Ya murmured to herself. This was the first time she had learned that Long Wushang possessed such a terrifying devouring skill.
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