The poison soul toad slowly crawled in front of everyone, its mouth, as large as a bull, extended a tongue several meters long. Emerald saliva flowed down its tongue, dripping onto the ground and burning through the mud.
Such terrifying toxicity! Hongluan swallowed, choking for a long time. Even though she had experienced the brink of death, her fingers still trembled in front of the giant toad.
The originally spacious cave seemed particularly crowded due to its arrival. It stretched out its head, scrutinizing the group. Jiang Wen was only as tall as its lips. The fishy stench emanating from it made them feel nauseous.
"Isn't this the Toad King?" Jiang Wen whispered, his eyes darting left and right, afraid that it might accidentally swallow them all in one gulp.
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"I've never heard of such a large poison soul toad," Yan Gongli replied softly, her body slightly leaning towards Jiang Wen.
Jiang Wen turned his head and stared at the giant poison soul toad's large eyes, his expression serious. No one knew how deep the toxicity of such a giant poison soul toad was, but those who did probably were no longer in this world.
"She won't last long. Although the Wind-Sweeping Sword Technique is powerful, each strike consumes a great deal of energy and spirit. She will definitely be exhausted when she sheathes her sword. We must not delay and break through the encirclement as soon as possible," the monk said with a warm smile, wearing a kasaya.
"This toad probably has six hundred years of cultivation. It resides within this locust tree, clearing away evil souls for it. It's rare to see a poison soul toad with such cultivation. If it could be captured for medicinal use, it would be a supreme treasure," Yan Gongli said, her beautiful eyes shimmering as she looked at the toad.
"Alright."
"This is, a locust spirit?!" Hongluan looked at the tall woman bound to the tree in disbelief, leaping in front of her.
"Don't come back, don't, don't, no." That female voice echoed in her brain like a curse, circling like ripples, back and forth, repeatedly. Her world was left with only that sentence, urging, pleading, making her feel dizzy.
"Go!"
"I see," Jiang Wen smiled and said nothing more.
Hongluan leaped to the shore, and before the corpse man could reach out, she flipped and jumped up, closing her eyes slightly and holding the knife at her waist. The knife vibrated, a joyful, clear cry. It trembled in her fingertips, seeming impatient.
Hongluan was still weak and could only勉强 follow behind Jiang Wen. Jiang Wen was leading the two girls who had lost their fighting power, cautiously walking in this cave. He looked at the monk in the distance, who seemed quite carefree. Thinking of this, he said to Hongluan behind him: "Your ally is not very reliable."
He turned and threw three talismans at the giant toad. Three lightning dragons pierced through the rain curtain, instantly striking the toad like white light. The toad cried out miserably, its body emitting smoke.
The poison soul toad suddenly opened its large mouth, and its tongue, like a azure dragon, shot straight out, scraping a thick layer off the cave floor with unstoppable force.
The enchanting eyes were like purple gemstones, crystal clear. What a beautiful face, even the monk, who prided himself on being indifferent to women, was a little distracted.
The female body stretched out her broken and thick arm, looked at it, caressed her face, and slowly dug into her head. The huge body cracked in the middle, the crack extending to the crotch, like leather wrapped around her, being torn off by her.
Jiang Wen shook his head, indicating that he didn't know either. After all, this was the underworld within the locust tree, and no one knew how big it was. There was dense fog everywhere, making it difficult to see the surrounding situation clearly. The toad was chasing closely behind, and the group couldn't rest.
Not far away, a patch of purple flower trees was planted, just in time for the flowering season. The purple flower trees bloomed with countless purple-blue flowers, fluffy like clouds. Ribbons were tied to the branches, swaying gently in the underground breeze.
"Haha, fellow Daoist, this little monk's Dharma power is still weak, not enough to carry people."
"Zheng!" The kasaya on the monk's body protected him. The huge and slender claws grabbed the kasaya, making a sound like black iron. The huge force sent the monk flying hundreds of meters, crashing heavily into the rock wall.
"We need to leave quickly! This guy probably won't give up until he kills us." Hongluan clenched the knife in her hand, splashing water as she ran quickly towards the shore. "I'll lead the way!"
"Wind-Sweeping Sword Technique!" The thin blade cut through the air like wind, and the rain sprayed out in an arc as if encountering a barrier. This strike was extremely fast, so fast that even the rain within a hundred meters was cut off.
She looked at the woman's body, her remaining body as solid as dead wood. The body wrapped in clothes was covered with black纹, emitting a foul stench.
"Boom!" With a loud noise, the toad leaped out of the ground, crashing down towards the group like an eagle suspended in the sky.
"Why does this locust spirit look like this? And why is she bound here?" Hongluan muttered to herself.
"Croak!" A mournful cry from the giant poison soul toad came from the top of the mountain. The secret technique had almost burned all of its offspring, leaving behind ripe toads emitting a fragrant aroma.
"Hmph, don't struggle, it's useless." The woman didn't suffer any damage, she simply raised her arm, and her slender white fingers actually extinguished the fierce flames. A disdainful smile appeared on her face, as if mocking the group's overestimation of their abilities.
"Such a beautiful place is hard to see even in the Sumeru Realm," Hongluan said, stepping on the soft grass and looking at the surrounding scenery. She tucked the hair hanging in front of her forehead behind her ears, facing the calm lake below the hillside. "There's a lake over there, and a giant tree by the lake that's suitable for us to rest."
However, although she couldn't break through the Four Symbols Formation for the time being, Jiang Wen couldn't escape either at this moment. The entire underground world was clearly the opponent's territory, and if they couldn't find a way, they would eventually be exhausted here.
The giant toad leaped down from the top of the mountain, splashing huge waves as it jumped into the water. It was the Golden Toad King chasing after them, and the group didn't dare to delay. The talismans from earlier hadn't been able to burn it to death, showing how powerful it was.
Yan Gongli walked beside Jiang Wen, looking at the cave in the distance. For some reason, she thought of those chaotic past events. Memories flooded her like a tide, and vaguely, something seemed to be resisting her. The increasingly dazzling cave entrance ahead was like the song of the mermaids in the legends, constantly attracting her to go.
Hongluan rushed forward with her knife, but before she could get close, she was choked by a force.
"Senior, we have no grudges, is there some misunderstanding?" The monk looked at the female body, holding the prayer beads in his hand and speaking calmly. Behind him, the mountains rose and fell, the gullies cracked, and the surging lake water rumbled into the bottomless canyon. Such means of moving mountains and seas were beyond human power.
The toad landed on the ground, splashing countless mud, and angrily chased after the group running into the jungle. Behind it, densely packed corpse ghosts surged. Like a black snake, winding and twisting on the earth.
Jiang Wen took out three talismans from his storage bag and said to Hongluan: "Hold on to me."
Hongluan straightened up, looked at the depths of the cave, and said, putting the double knives at her waist: "Go and see, it's not a bad place anyway."
The group fell from the mountain to the water surface, splashing a wave and standing on the water surface. They looked at the misty place on the waterfall. The secret technique had burned the toads in the cave until they were cooked, and at this moment they could smell the aroma of meat in the air, which was unexpectedly a bit tempting.
"Shut up!"
Jiang Wen stood at the entrance of the cave, his eyes adapting to the light as he looked outside the cave, and couldn't help but take a breath. The people behind him leaned against the wall, staring at the scenery outside the cave.
Hongluan tapped on the ground, then stepped forward quickly. As the knife flashed, she performed a rainbow dance in the rain. At that moment, the raindrops stopped for her, unable to penetrate the wind of her blade.
"Oh? You still have tricks up your sleeves? Use them, don't die too miserably."
The group walked to the giant tree and looked up at it.
"What's wrong with her!" Hongluan asked, looking at Jiang Wen. Although she didn't know what had happened to this woman, she was Jiang Wen's companion after all. She should care more since the other party had also saved her.
Jiang Wen was wrapped in countless vines, making it look like he couldn't move. Obviously, although the Taoist technique just now didn't hurt this woman, it made her feel apprehensive.
"How dare you ants try to hurt me?" She glanced around, and no one dared to step forward.
The flame was extremely fierce, and even a hundred feet away, one could feel the scorching heat.
"That is?" Jiang Wen and the monk looked over, their expressions changing.
Skin like tree bark fell to the ground, and a woman with silver hair appeared.
The venom, like a torrential rain, covered the entire cave. Everywhere it touched was riddled with holes, and the stench rose.
"Look here!"
"Then we'll go to the left."
The mountain cracked, with thunderous explosions, and the blue-purple flowers and plants all over the mountain lost their color in an instant, as if scarlet blood covered the earth.
The forest gradually cleared, and a small hillside appeared in front of them. At the foot of the hill was a narrow cave entrance, only as tall as one person. As they entered the cave, the toad crashed violently against the entrance.
"Jump!"
"The front is the exit, why don't we go in and rest before making plans?" The monk said in front.
The undulating hillside was covered with blue-purple grass, and fluorescent lights floated up from it. Above their heads were huge earth rocks, with emerald, crystal-clear giant rocks mixed in, emitting a dazzling light along with the light source from somewhere.
But at this critical moment, Jiang Wen pinched a handful of talismans and threw them at the Poison Soul Toad, and a scarlet light appeared out of thin air.
The silver-haired woman moved her fingers, without even raising her head. She didn't seem to care what means these people used; to her, those fragile powers were not worth mentioning.
"When you kill someone, you should at least announce your name, right? We don't have any grudges," Jiang Wen said, carrying Yan Gongli on his back, standing on the flying sword and looking at the female figure. Four flying swords unfolded around him, and the Four Symbols Formation tightly protected him.
The female figure opened her mouth, and a resentful voice reached everyone's ears.
"That little girl from the Myriad World Sect is indeed quite capable. Her Flowing Wind Sword Technique is incredibly proficient, and already possesses some momentum," Yan Gongli said, looking at Hongluan in front of her, quite surprised. "The Myriad World Sect has three sword techniques: Flowing Wind, Soul Sweeping, and Soul Severing. Each sword technique is an unparalleled swordsmanship that can easily ward off gods and ghosts. It's just that after the Myriad World Venerable, few people have been able to practice these three sword techniques to such a degree. This girl is probably not simple in the Myriad World Sect."
"This benefactor may have been stimulated by something and is lost in her own memories," Jiang Wen walked to Yan Gongli's side and reached out to cast a spell to massage her head. Hearing the monk's words, he saw Yan Gongli's eyes tightly closed, as if she had fainted.
The blade cut through the air, and the swift wind was blocked at the tip of the knife, swirling into a wave-like blade wind. This slash was like a dance of the wind, leaping in the rain and showing its beauty, even moving the torrential rain.
The woman's lips curled into a mocking smile as her gaze swept over the three of them.
Like a gushing spring, even the ground cracked and dried up. Such a powerful spell could turn even mountain rocks into molten iron.
"Dodge!"
Hearing the monk's words from afar, Jiang Wen grabbed Hongluan and helped her onto the flying sword, chasing after the monk. Behind him, the huge Golden Toad King leaped dozens of feet away, stepping over the bodies of countless corpses and rushing towards the group.
"Well, after running for so long, it's time to start a fire and warm up," Jiang Wen said, looking at the two people beside him who looked like drowned chickens. After flying in the rain for so long, even if Hongluan and Yan Gongli had good physiques, they couldn't withstand the rain of the Yin Realm. "Now we don't know where this Scholar Tree spirit is, we need to discuss it carefully."
Supporting the stone wall of the cave, Jiang Wen and the others walked into the cave. At several forks, Yan Gongli gave advice. Jiang Wen, behind her, rested his hand on the wall, and his fingers could sense the flow of air. It seemed that there might be an exit ahead, but he was a little curious about what kind of place it would be.
It was a vibrant underground world, existing beneath this land, so vast and boundless.
But then he saw countless faint blue cracks spreading across the trunk of that huge tree. A woman, several feet tall, was bound and suspended, half of her body gone, as if bitten off. Her long blue hair hung down, swaying in the breeze.
"No grievances? Heh heh, cultivators, all must die," she glanced at the monk, the bells on her feet jingling, and disappeared from the spot.
The Scholar Tree spirit opened its eyes. Those emerald pupils now emitted a deep purple gloom, like a bloodthirsty beast, watching everyone present.
"Senior, do you really want to put us to death?" the monk said calmly, with a cold brow.
"Go to the left, there is a cave in the cliff wall that may lead to another place. The cave is relatively small, this toad should not be able to enter," the monk called out in front, his whole body radiating Buddha light, dispelling the surrounding clouds and mist.
Her fingers were as slender as scallions, her skin as pure as a clear stream, her waist slender without any excess fat, and just hanging on the tree could arouse a man's desire.
After stabilizing his body, the monk patted open his clothes with lingering fear, and five shallow scars appeared on his chest.
"Me? You don't need to know. To be buried here with the dying is considered lucky."
"This evil beast should be crippled even if it doesn't die. Let's quickly deal with these corpses and run away," Jiang Wen wiped the water off his face, looking at the surrounding corpses on the road, it was much better than facing that giant toad above.
"Fellow Daoist, it's better to be careful," Jiang Wen stared at the Scholar Tree spirit, always feeling that something was wrong. He reminded Hongluan, and as soon as he finished speaking, he saw something strange happening to the Scholar Tree spirit on the tree.
It painfully retracted its tongue, and the emerald venom gradually dissolved the soil. Watching the few enemies gradually moving away, it roared angrily. Its long tongue rolled up several corpses and swallowed them into its stomach, bulging its abdomen and stretching its limbs.
Only by experiencing it firsthand can one understand the magnificence of nature, those ingenious wonders that seem not to be of the human realm.
"Let's go!" Jiang Wen followed behind Hongluan, escaping on his sword along the path she had broken open. Looking from afar, Hongluan actually cut out a black path in the black tide, leading directly to the outside.
This was still her showing mercy, the monk's expression was solemn, he had never felt so weak as he did now. That was an irresistible power, an existence that could not be possessed in the human world.
"You are not a Scholar Tree spirit, what exactly are you!" Hongluan shouted. She inserted her twin blades into the tree trunk, barely stabilizing her body.
It tried to hook out those few ants with its tongue, but only got a mouthful of dust. In resentment, it turned to look at the surging corpses, and its long tongue swept across, the venom staining the corpses and melting them into coke.
"Since that's the case, then don't blame this monk for being impolite! Fellow Daoist Jiang! I'll trouble you!" The monk turned and fled the spot. A huge flame rushed towards the woman! Burning the surrounding land with a raging aura.
Seeing that the situation was not right, Jiang Wen put his hands together and strengthened the Four Symbols Formation. Then the entire formation was bound by vines, like a flower bud appearing in mid-air.
"Boom--!!" The raging fire burned, like an angry mountain, with fire descending from the sky. The erupting heat wave swept through the entire cave, bursting out with unparalleled power. The hundred-foot-wide waterfall in front of the mountain was briefly cut off by the heat wave, evaporating into a sky full of water vapor.
"Where to now?" Hongluan looked at Jiang Wen, her hair sticking to her forehead, her red clothes soaked through by the rain, and at this moment she no longer had the arrogant look she had before.
"This monk and I are not allies, but just taking what we need," Hongluan said lightly. "He has his purpose, and I have what I need."
Jiang Wen followed her gaze, it was a strangely shaped tree, the blue and white canopy like an orchid in full bloom, the huge trunk entwined with vines, and weeds submerged everything.
"Look at the tree!" Hongluan said in shock.
The Scholar Tree spirit was bound and stood on the tree, raising its head, a pair of deep purple eyes gleaming, like an ancient demon god watching the people who were barely holding their bodies steady. It looked at their stumbling figures playfully, like a cat playing with a mouse, quietly waiting for the last moment.
"Daoist brother, please help hold Fellow Daoist Hongluan steady," the monk said loudly, and then his whole person flew away with a whoosh, without the slightest hesitation.
Ahead, the light source of the exit could be seen, Yan Gongli sighed softly, touching the stone wall, she seemed to be recalling something, a layer of mist covered the eyes hidden in the darkness. This was the first time Jiang Wen had seen her in such an emotional state. When he first met her, he thought she was a heartless person, but now that he thought about it, it might not necessarily be the case.
The earth trembled, as if an earth dragon was turning over, shaking the entire underground world. The lake boiled and surged, constantly lapping against the shore.
"I have temporarily calmed her down, let's go in and find a safe place to rest quickly."
"All struggles are in vain."
Yan Gongli's voice startled everyone awake. Jiang Wen turned his head to look, and saw Yan Gongli leaning against the wall, her face pale. She covered her head, her brows furrowed, as if she was enduring some kind of painful torture.
The sword deviated, her body tilted to one side, and then she heard the whistling wind in her ears, and a huge tongue smashed a huge pit dozens of feet deep in the ground. Even though the ground was soft due to the rainy weather, but with such terrifying power, if it hit a person, they would probably not survive.
A blade of light flashed in her eyes, and the pure blade trembled and vibrated.
The two heard Jiang Wen's words and couldn't help but nod. They flew along the cave, drifting straight to this underground world.
There were no complete corpses around Hongluan, like a hot knife cutting through wax, every corpse was cut so smoothly like ice.
"You monk, you don't have a bit of kindness," Jiang Wen said unhappily, watching the monk being so selfish.
"Senior, if you have a grudge against cultivators, why don't you tell us so that we can die knowing why?" the monk shouted at the woman.
The corpses gradually thinned out, and Hongluan stood in place after slicing open the corpses coming towards her.
"You will all die a terrible death! A terrible death!"
"It seems that this toad can't transform yet and is blocked outside. But where does this cave lead to?" Jiang Wen supported the wall, curiously looking at the cave.
"Let you die knowing why? Who are you? Ants."
"Senior, there is no unprovoked love in the world, nor is there unprovoked hatred. Whether it is a human or a demon, there is always a heart. Even if it is dead, at least it once beat. This monk believes that both humans and demons have kindness in their hearts, and I believe that Senior is a kind-hearted person. If Senior is evil by nature, then I will die without regret," the monk said in the most sincere tone.
"..." The girl was silent for a while, looking at the figures of the few people and smiling lightly. "I really want to kill you. Well, if you want to hear it, I will tell you, so that you can die knowing why."
