To Obtain the Nether Bamboo, One Must Enter the Dragon's Lair

The next day, Lin Qing left the main competition grounds before dawn.

There was no carriage, and no one accompanied him.

Hu Liena had left after handing him the information the previous night, and Xie Yue had seen him to the edge of Sunset Forest before leaving.

Salas had made it clear: on this mission, from the moment he stepped out of Spirit City, he was on his own.

Lin Qing tucked the Soul-Stabilizing Incense close to his body and slung a simple leather pack over his shoulder. Inside were dry rations, a waterskin, and several bottles of antidote.

He followed the main road north. By the time the sun reached its zenith, he could see the dark green sea of trees at the edge of Sunset Forest.

He stopped at the forest's edge and looked over the map Hu Liena had given him once more.

The map was detailed. The outer area was marked as the territory of ordinary Soul Beasts. Farther in were the ranges of thousand-year and ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts. An area in the deepest reaches had been circled in red, with three words written beside it: "Poison Dragon's Lair."

Lin Qing put the map away without rushing in. He stood at the forest's edge and closed his eyes, circulating Bamboo Breath slowly through his body.

When he opened his eyes again, a layer of green bamboo-joint patterns had surfaced on his skin.

Bamboo Transformation: Camouflage.

He vanished from where he stood, replaced by a three-foot-tall stalk of green bamboo.

Its joints were distinct, and its leaves drooped slightly. It looked just like the wild bamboo that grew everywhere along the forest's edge.

His presence was suppressed to the utmost, every trace of Soul Power fluctuation pressed deep into the bamboo joints. Even the glow of the ice and fire crystals dimmed.

Maintaining his bamboo form, he inched deeper into the forest.

The depths of Sunset Forest were much darker than its outskirts. Layer upon layer of canopy blocked almost all the sunlight.

A thick carpet of rotting leaves covered the ground, soft underfoot. Now and then, nameless little insects crawled through the gaps between the leaves.

Lin Qing did not dare move too quickly. Moving in Bamboo Transformation was slow to begin with, and he also had to avoid any ground that might make a sound. His progress was several times slower than walking normally.

He kept close to the tree roots, stepping on moss whenever he could and avoiding places where dead branches and fallen leaves had piled up.

After nearly two hours, he sensed a change in the surrounding atmosphere. Signs of Soul Beasts began to grow scarce, and a cloyingly sweet, fishy smell entered the air.

It was poisonous miasma.

Lin Qing resumed human form, took out the Soul-Stabilizing Incense from inside his robe, and lit it.

A wisp of blue smoke rose, forming an invisible barrier within three feet of him.

He took a deep breath and circulated Bamboo Breath. Untainted by Dust purified the trace amounts of poison he had inhaled. Then he continued inward.

The poisonous miasma grew thicker and thicker, changing from pale purple to deep purple, until it was almost as dark as ink.

The surrounding trees began to twist, their bark covered in dark purple patches. Even the stones on the ground had been corroded and pitted with countless tiny holes.

Lin Qing circulated Bamboo Breath at full strength, purifying the toxins as soon as they seeped into his skin.

But he could feel his Soul Power draining faster. If he stayed here too long, he would not last.

He quickened his pace.

After about half an hour, the poisonous miasma suddenly thinned.

A vast sunken valley appeared ahead. Not a blade of grass grew on its floor, where the earth was a parched, cracked dark brown.

And in the very center of the valley, a massive Soul Beast lay coiled.

It was worthy of being an immortal treasure. Any Immortal Herb approaching a hundred thousand years in age gave off an emanation that was a great tonic to Soul Beasts, attracting many of them.

In the end, however, the strongest Soul Beast could suppress the others and claim the Immortal Herb for itself.

The relationship between Immortal Herbs and powerful Soul Beasts was mutually beneficial: the Soul Beast kept the herb safe, while the herb provided it with a steady supply of pure vitality. Gradually, the Soul Beast became the Immortal Herb's guardian beast.

The Nether Poison Dragon.

With its powerful poisonous barrier, few Soul Beasts dared approach this territory.

Its entire body was pitch-black, its scales glimmering with a ghostly green poisonous light. More than a hundred feet long, it lay coiled like a small hill.

Its breathing was heavy and slow, and each breath sent out a great cloud of purple poisonous mist.

Lin Qing stopped at the edge of the valley and held his breath. The Soul-Stabilizing Incense was still burning, but only half remained. He had only half an incense stick's time.

He used Bamboo Transformation again, becoming a short stalk of bamboo, and slid slowly down along the valley's cliff wall.

The poison dragon's eyes were closed, and it seemed to be dozing. But Lin Qing knew that a Soul Beast of this caliber remained extraordinarily sensitive to its surroundings even in its sleep.

He moved every inch with extreme slowness. He would touch a bamboo joint lightly to the cracked earth, make sure it was stable, then move down another inch.

He kept his heartbeat low and his breathing shallow, deliberately slowing even the circulation of Bamboo Breath.

After reaching the valley floor, Lin Qing began searching for the Nine Nether Bamboo. Bamboo Heart worked at full strength in his sea of consciousness, spreading his senses in every direction.

A moment later, behind a huge boulder near the poison dragon's tail, he picked up an extremely faint fluctuation of life.

He circled around the poison dragon's body, edging along the rock wall toward it.

The scales on the poison dragon's back rose and fell slightly with its breathing. Poisonous mist seeped from the gaps between them, condensing into tiny droplets that fell to the ground with faint sizzling sounds.

As Lin Qing passed around its tail, he came within three feet of its nearest scales.

He held his breath and tiptoed past.

Behind the boulder was a small patch of damp soil, utterly unlike the cracked ground around it.

In the middle of the soil stood a stalk of bamboo about half a foot tall.

Its stem was slender and a deep, ghostly black from end to end, with faint purple patterns on its joints. Its leaves were as thin as cicada wings and trembled slightly in the windless valley.

The Nine Nether Bamboo.

Lin Qing resumed human form and crouched down, bringing Bamboo Heart close to the bamboo. A gentle breath of life spread from his palm, enveloping the Nine Nether Bamboo.

The Nine Nether Bamboo's leaves trembled gently, but it did not resist.

Lin Qing took a jade box from his leather pack. It was a sealing container Salas had prepared in advance.

He carefully channeled the power of Bamboo Heart into the jade box, guiding the Nine Nether Bamboo's roots slowly up from the soil.

The Nine Nether Bamboo instinctively tried to shrink back. Lin Qing used his spiritual power to send it a message.

"If you leave with me, once I become a god, I'll let your divine soul become independent and grant you eternal life."

The Chaos Lone Bamboo in Lin Qing's sea of consciousness flashed, releasing a trace of Chaos Qi.

This was the most primordial energy of the plane, comparable to the Immortal Spirit Qi of the Divine Realm. Releasing just a little was enough to let the creatures of the Douluo Plane sense a supreme sublimation.

At the same time, the vigorous breath of life made it lower its guard. Its roots came free of the soil one by one and slowly settled into the jade box.

"Good, come with me," Lin Qing said softly.

Just as the Nine Nether Bamboo's last root was about to leave the soil, an almost inaudible breath came from the poison dragon.

Lin Qing froze.

He slowly turned his head and glanced through a gap in the boulder. The poison dragon had not awakened, but its head had shifted slightly, as though it had noticed something.

It did not open its eyes, however, and simply continued sleeping.

[End of chapter 34]