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**
Two months later.
Edge of the Ghostly Marsh, within the Chu Yun Empire.
Three figures, completely shrouded in black robes, silently appeared at the marsh's edge before stepping into its depths.
This place was like a ghostly purgatory.
The sky was dark and gloomy, with thick leaden clouds churning ceaselessly overhead, as if they were about to collapse and crush the entire marsh below.
Here, the sky felt unnaturally low. Standing on a high vantage point, one might feel as if they could reach up and touch the sky.
Even the blazing midday sun could not penetrate the dense clouds to cast light upon this place.
On the ground, mud, rotting branches, weeds, and scattered bones were everywhere.
The air carried faint, wispy strands of poisonous miasma, saturated with a putrid stench that was both disturbing and nauseating. Breathing in too much could cause a light dizziness.
The earth was dull and bleak. Though thick forests stretched as far as the eye could see, there was no sense of vitality—only a lifeless atmosphere, as though one had stepped into a realm of the dead.
…
Whoosh!
Wings unfurled behind him, Wei Yang flew through the air with Qing Lin in his arms. Xian'er flew beside them, the trio skimming across the treetops as they advanced deeper into the toxic swamp.
With Wei Yang's peak Nine-Star Dou Wang cultivation, along with his Heavenly Flame protecting his body, he naturally had no fear of the poisonous mists and fog. Qing Lin, sheltered in his embrace, was equally unharmed.
As for Xian'er, she was the most at ease of them all. The toxins within these poisonous mists were nothing compared to the terrifying potency of her Woeful Poison Body. In fact, they became nourishment for her, making her feel perfectly at home.
Streams of poisonous mist drifted into her body, being refined into her own strength.
Xian'er would even pause now and then, savoring the taste of the mist as if she were sampling some delicacy.
"Young Master, this Ghostly Marsh… is really quiet," Qing Lin murmured, nestling closer into Wei Yang's chest.
Wei Yang gently stroked her back and pulled her in a little tighter, soothing her unease.
After all, Qing Lin was just a sixteen-year-old girl. Entering a place like this for the first time, it was only natural for her to feel unsettled.
Once she adapted to the environment, she would be much better off.
She had successfully transitioned to a new Earth Grade cultivation technique and, due to refining a portion of Ice Spirit Cold Fountain, her yin-cold Dou Qi had increased in quality. After all, the Ice Spirit Cold Fountain was a rare treasure that could even resist a Heavenly Flame for a time.
Her cultivation had also advanced to the high-level Dou Shi stage.
With the support of the Ice Spirit Cold Fountain and two Rank 5 snake-type magic beasts, her cultivation had progressed rapidly over the past two months, unaffected by the transition to a new method.
After all, at her current level, the energy provided by two magic beasts was far more than she could absorb completely.
Though both magic beasts were of the fire attribute, perhaps due to her Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils, the energy conversion with her contract beasts, while not perfect, could still be smoothly absorbed and refined.
Maybe the two parts of wood attribute hidden within her Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils were playing a harmonizing role in this process.
…
The Ghostly Marsh was vast—so vast, in fact, that no one had ever been able to determine its full size.
While it couldn't compare to the boundless Tagore Desert, it wasn't much smaller.
And the deeper one ventured, the more intense and terrifying the poisonous gases became.
Seven days later.
Wei Yang and his companions had gradually reached the inner regions of the marsh.
Here, common poisonous creatures like scorpions and centipedes were rarely seen. The environment was too harsh—those without sufficient strength simply couldn't survive.
Wei Yang and the others weren't in a rush. They moved at a steady pace, continuing deeper into the marsh.
Occasionally, they would encounter poisonous magic beasts, but they usually avoided them. After all, their goal wasn't to sweep through the marsh—it would be a waste of time to fight every beast they encountered.
The marsh was so massive that even time spent searching for the Heavenly Flame was barely enough, let alone wasting it on unnecessary battles.
Standing atop a hundred-meter-high mountain, the black clouds above roiled and churned.
Wei Yang gazed into the distance, toward the deeper parts of the Ghostly Marsh.
There, the poison mist was so dense it seemed nearly solid—like a tangible fog.
He couldn't help but furrow his brows.
Only when Wei Yang truly began searching for the Ghostly Poison Flame did he realize—it wasn't easy to find at all. At this point, he didn't even have the faintest clue where to start.
The Ghostly Marsh was simply too vast. Trying to find a single flame within it was no different than searching for a needle in a haystack.
What gave him the biggest headache was that the Ghostly Poison Flame was one of the few Heavenly Flames that could leave its birthplace and wander freely.
It was even harder to track down than the Wind and Thunder Fury Flame.
At least the Wind and Thunder Fury Flame usually stayed within the eye of a tornado, drifting across the desert with it. Only during the hottest days of the year would it briefly leave the tornado and appear randomly somewhere in the desert…
But at the very least, one could still use the tornadoes as a point of reference when searching.
The Ghostly Poison Flame, however, was a completely different beast. It was a real rogue—just like a will-o'-the-wisp—drifting about aimlessly throughout the Ghostly Marsh.
It might appear in the deepest parts of the marsh, or it could wander toward the edges. In short, it roamed freely, making its whereabouts unpredictable.
Sometimes, it would take the form of a palm-sized green flame floating through the air. Other times, it might transform into a poisonous python and slither through the mist…
"So hard to find. This Ghostly Marsh is just too damn big!" Wei Yang rubbed his temples in frustration.
The Ghostly Poison Flame, ranked twentieth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking, was a ghostly green color.
It originated in the ancient Ghostly Toxic Marsh, and had been nurtured for hundreds of years by the thick miasma that blanketed the marsh like a poisonous shroud. Over time, the flame absorbed and fed on the toxic air.
After a hundred years, it gained spiritual awareness; after a thousand years, it gained form. Once it matured, its hue shifted to a ghostly green, drifting like a specter through the poisonous fog with no fixed resting place.
Because the flame was born and nurtured from pure miasma, it was incredibly toxic. A single spark could poison an ordinary person fatally, making it nearly impossible to refine or fuse!
As a result, very few people dared to seek out this flame. Its existence was shrouded in mystery, known to only a handful.
Even among alchemists, few had any desire to target it. It was simply too venomous—one couldn't even touch it, let alone refine and fuse it into the body.
Just the fear of being poisoned was enough to deter most people.
All of this contributed to the Ghostly Poison Flame's incredibly low sense of presence among the Heavenly Flames. It was an anomaly among anomalies—ranking near the bottom in terms of desirability.
…
After a long while, Wei Yang turned and started walking in a certain direction.
Ahead of him, not far away, was a cliffside where a temporary cave-dwelling had been carved out. Inside, Xian'er and Qing Lin were busy cleaning and tidying up.
This place sat at the boundary between the central and deeper regions of the toxic marsh.
Wei Yang planned to use this spot as a temporary base.
Xian'er was currently at the brink of a breakthrough to the Dou Huang realm.
So they decided to settle down here for now. While Xian'er entered seclusion to break through, Wei Yang could also search the nearby area for any traces of the poison flame.
This kind of search relied entirely on luck and fate—there simply wasn't any better method.
…
The next morning.
Xian'er began her closed-door cultivation to break through. Reaching the Dou Huang level was a process that required time.
Outside the cave.
Wei Yang and Qing Lin walked slowly together.
Thanks to Xian'er's presence inside the cave, the surrounding toxic miasma had been drawn inward, making the outer area noticeably thinner and easier to breathe.
Chi chi—
As they walked, strands of poisonous mist occasionally brushed against them.
Whenever this happened, faint black flames would flicker across Wei Yang's body, instantly incinerating the toxic mist that came too close.
Similarly, a yellow-brown flame with a hint of wind sound would also appear around Qing Lin's body, forming a protective layer around her.
When they reached the edge of a cliff, Wei Yang stopped, turned, and said, "I'm heading out to search for the poison flame. You stay here—cultivate, and protect Xian'er during her breakthrough. If anything urgent happens and you can't handle it, crush the jade talisman I gave you. I'll be nearby and will come back immediately."
"Mm." Qing Lin nodded. "Young Master, be careful out there."
"Don't worry." Wei Yang smiled as he rubbed her head gently. "I'll come back every three to five days."
"Off I go." Waving his hand, he turned around. Black wings unfurled from his back, and his figure leapt off the cliff, soaring swiftly into the distance.
Qing Lin stood at the cliff's edge, watching him silently until his figure completely disappeared. Only then did she turn and return to the cave.
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