Support me at patreon for 60+ advanced chapters :
patreon.com/YaoIk
**
Time passed swiftly.
In the blink of an eye, more than a month had gone by.
Each day, Wei Yang wandered through the swamp, searching tirelessly in hopes of finding even the slightest trace of the Ghostly Poison Flame.
Unfortunately, he came up empty every time.
Meanwhile, Xian'er's breakthrough was steadily approaching its conclusion. Judging by her current state, she would likely reach the Dou Huang level within a few days.
On this particular day, Wei Yang once again set off, leaving behind the temporary cave dwelling and heading deeper into the Poison Marsh.
With Qing Lin and two Rank 5 magic beasts guarding Xian'er, he felt at ease enough to leave and continue his search for the poison flame.
"Since Xian'er still has a few days to go, I'll search a bit more. If I can find some clue, it'll make a fine gift for her breakthrough to Dou Huang." With a flap of his black wings, Wei Yang shot forward at high speed, muttering to himself.
Half a day later…
Wei Yang had already ventured deep into the Poison Marsh. The toxic miasma here was so dense it resembled thick mist after a mountain rain.
Ssshhh…
As he moved, a hissing sound occasionally came from the surface of his body as the poisonous fog corroded his protective Dou Qi, gray, foul-smelling smoke rising around him like a shroud.
Suddenly—
Hovering above a small valley, Wei Yang abruptly came to a stop, his gaze sharpening as he looked below.
Inside the valley, the ground was black with a faint purple hue and completely barren. A massive creature, over thirty meters long, lay coiled there, slowly inhaling and exhaling the surrounding poisonous miasma.
Judging by the terrifying aura faintly emanating from it… it was actually a Rank 7 magic beast!
Wei Yang's body tensed, his expression turning grave as every muscle in his body grew taut.
A Rank 7 beast—this was a creature on par with a human Dou Zong-level expert!
Encountering such a being, especially deep within the Poison Marsh, spelled nothing but trouble.
Wei Yang cursed his luck inwardly. He hadn't been cautious enough. What puzzled him even more was that, with his powerful soul perception, he hadn't sensed the creature at all before stumbling into its territory.
Now, trapped in danger… it would be difficult to walk away unharmed.
A flurry of thoughts raced through his mind. He had no time to think things through carefully. He began to slowly retreat, Dou Qi surging within him. At the same time, the Black Sun Burning Heaven Flame in his dantian also began quietly gathering power.
Wei Yang was fully prepared to launch a desperate attack and flee at any moment.
But strangely, the Rank 7 magic beast remained coiled in place, completely ignoring his presence—as if it had no interest in him whatsoever. It didn't even lift its eyelids.
Just like that, Wei Yang retreated safely beyond the valley's range without the beast making a single move.
He exhaled in relief, but didn't pause to ponder the situation. He quickly turned and left. Not until he stood atop a tall tree in the distance did he finally look back toward the valley, his gaze full of suspicion.
"Something's not right…" Wei Yang muttered.
Magic beasts were notoriously territorial. Any intruder that trespassed on their domain was typically seen as an enemy and attacked on sight.
But this Rank 7 beast was acting very oddly. It had let him go without even reacting.
"Judging by its size and aura, it's definitely a Rank 7 magic beast," Wei Yang murmured, recalling what he had seen.
It was a thirty-plus-meter-long serpent covered in dark purple scales, with a three-foot-long horn on its forehead pointing skyward…
That form could only belong to the infamous One-Horned Purple Scale Python of the Ghostly Marsh.
According to legend, the One-Horned Purple Scale Python possessed an exceptionally powerful bloodline and, given the right opportunity, could even grow into a mythical Rank 8 magic beast!
When Wei Yang's group first arrived in the Chu Yun Empire, they had specifically sought out and purchased detailed information about the Ghostly Marsh.
So he was naturally familiar with the name and fearsome reputation of the One-Horned Purple Scale Python.
Upon seeing it, Wei Yang's heart had nearly stopped. His first instinct had been that he was doomed and had even prepared himself for a desperate fight.
And yet…
He had walked away unharmed. The beast hadn't even acknowledged him.
…
Wei Yang stood at the top of a towering tree, one hand on his chin, deep in thought. Something just didn't feel right.
If Qing Lin were here—and if her strength were higher—it would make things much easier.
She was particularly skilled at dealing with serpentine beasts.
Unfortunately, Qing Lin's current strength was still too low, only at the peak of the Dou Shi realm. Even with her freakishly strong Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils, she probably couldn't subdue a Rank 7 beast that easily.
"Hmm… something's wrong! The aura from that beast… while seemingly powerful, I didn't feel any threat or sense of danger from it at all?" Wei Yang's eyes suddenly widened.
That's it! With his powerful soul perception, how could he possibly have missed detecting a Rank 7 magic beast in the first place?
If it were a normal Rank 7 beast, he would have sensed its aura from afar and chosen to avoid it entirely.
There's no way he would've just stumbled blindly into its territory like some idiot!
"That Rank 7 magic beast… something's definitely off!"
Should he go back and check?
Wei Yang hesitated.
Then, gritting his teeth—he made his decision.
"Go back and take another look!"
It was just too strange—Wei Yang couldn't bear to walk away without investigating further.
With a shift of his body, he silently returned to the small mountain valley.
…
At the edge of the valley—
Wei Yang lay flat on the ground, cautiously crawling forward. His soul perception quietly extended outward, seeping into the valley.
Soon, he once again "saw" that massive Rank 7 magic beast, and this time, he clearly made out its appearance.
Previously, due to panic and his rush to flee, he hadn't had time to observe carefully.
Now, however, he was finally able to take a proper look.
There was no doubt about it—this was indeed a Rank 7 One-Horned Purple Scale Python.
From within the beast's body, Wei Yang could clearly sense an immense and powerful aura.
But the strange part was: it simply coiled there, quietly absorbing the poisonous mists, its eyes completely void of spirit. Its pupils were dilated and unfocused, its expression dull and lifeless, as if in a trance.
Wei Yang was very familiar with this kind of gaze.
It was just like when Qing Lin contracted snake-type magic beasts—this same blank, soulless look.
As if it had lost all sense of self, trapped in a state of unconsciousness.
"What's going on?" Wei Yang was deeply shocked.
His soul perception swept inch by inch across the valley and its surrounding area, but he found nothing abnormal.
Within several miles of this place, aside from Wei Yang and the One-Horned Purple Scale Python in the valley, there was no other living creature.
He carefully scanned the area again, confirming nothing was out of the ordinary.
Only then did Wei Yang rise to his feet and slowly walk into the valley.
As he drew closer, that strange sensation grew even stronger.
Eventually, he stopped a few dozen meters away from the python.
He gazed at those pitch-black, purple-tinged snake eyes—completely unfocused, devoid of any glimmer of intelligence. It was like the creature had lost its soul.
He carefully sensed the immense energy still residing within its body—its strength roughly on the border between low and mid-tier Dou Zong.
Its body still held a strong life force, clearly not in a dead state.
Such an eerie sight made Wei Yang's scalp tingle.
A magic beast that had seemingly just stepped into the mid-seventh rank was acting as though its soul had been forcibly taken—stuck in a bizarre state between life and death.
…
Wei Yang took a few steps back, raised his hand, and gently flicked his finger.
Whoosh!
A spiral of scorching black energy shot out swiftly, striking the python's forehead.
Puff!
A muffled sound echoed out as the energy exploded.
It was just a casual flick, yet it actually caused a fine crack to appear on one of its scales.
"What?!" Wei Yang was startled.
It broke through the defense that easily?
It seemed the creature's body could no longer even perform basic instinctual defenses.
Boom!
Just then, a sudden change erupted.
A surge of green flames burst violently from the One-Horned Purple Scale Python's body, expanding rapidly with the wind.
------------------------------------------------
Support me at patreon for 60+ advanced chapters :
patreon.com/YaoIk