Supreme of the Heavenly Realm
Chapter 271 - 268: Mud Monster

Chapter 271: Chapter 268: Mud Monster

The wilderness was boundlessly vast, permeated with a terrifying turbulence that made people’s hearts throb. As everyone walked through the wilderness, they could see enormous white bones scattered everywhere, clearly from some unknown fierce beasts.

After about two hours, the group finally left the wilderness and before them appeared a damp, ancient forest. Within the forest, thick vines wound around like pythons, the ancient trees towering, emitting bursts of a decaying scent.

"What an ancient place."

Ye Xuan inhaled a slightly rotten air, his eyebrows slightly furrowed. The Middle Ages, to say the least, had been hundreds of thousands of years ago. In such a long period, countless strong beings had perished.

"The age of the Suspended Air Secret Realm exceeds the history of Xuanbing Mansion by a lot. What exactly happened here, no one knows."

Beside him, Qin Qi’s voice came through.

Ye Xuan nodded his head, just then, a "crack" sounded. A disciple behind them suddenly stepped on and broke a branch, immediately attracting a lot of attention.

"It’s just a dry branch, no need to make a fuss."

The disciple smiled, not caring at all.

However, just as the surrounding disciples also felt it was a false alarm, suddenly, from the forest ahead, black lines violently shot out, directly piercing into the group of disciples at an astonishing speed.

Seeing the unidentified objects shooting toward them, Ye Xuan’s pupils rapidly contracted. He lifted his sheath, and his Sword Qi, tensed but not released, deflected those black lines.

With a "snap," those black lines hit an ancient tree, revealing themselves to be black thorny strange snakes, covered in sharp spikes and emitting green glows – obviously extremely poisonous.

Swoosh!

Ye Xuan’s Spiritual Edge Sword automatically unsheathed from his waist, shooting out and slicing the thorny strange snake into two halves.

Ah!

A scream came from behind the disciples, Ye Xuan’s gaze shifted over, and he frowned slightly. In sight, three disciples were bitten by the thorny strange snake, their bodies turning black, falling to the ground foaming at the mouth.

Qin Qi quickly moved to their side, having the disciples ingest a pale yellow pill. However, even after taking the pill, the three showed no signs of improvement and their breaths became fainter.

"This is bad, the normal Detoxification Pills aren’t working."

Qin Qi’s face changed, the three before her showing no signs of recovery.

"I’ll handle this."

Ye Xuan walked over to the three, extended his fingers to their noses, and then picked up the half of the thorny strange snake he had chopped off, squeezing a few drops of fresh blood into the mouths of the three disciples.

Before long, the blackness on their bodies began to fade and their breathing gradually stabilized.

"Their poison is cured, Ye Xuan, how did you know the blood of this snake could detoxify?" Qin Qi looked at Ye Xuan in disbelief.

"This is an Ancient Poisonous Snake, I happened to read about it in an old book, just luck," Ye Xuan said noncommittally with a smile.

"You’ve really read a lot of books," Qin Qi became increasingly curious about Ye Xuan, increasingly impressed. At least she thought she had read a lot, but concerning this Ancient Poisonous Snake, she had never heard of it. It seemed she hadn’t read enough.

The three disciples who were revived also expressed their deep gratitude towards Ye Xuan. If it weren’t for Ye Xuan’s help, they might have died from the poison by now.

"There are many poisonous bugs and fierce beasts from the Middle Ages in this forest. Everyone must be extra careful," Ye Xuan warned the group.

Everyone nodded. Just a few poisonous snakes had almost cost them three disciples. If they had been a bit more cautious earlier, those three wouldn’t have been bitten by the Ancient Poisonous Snake.

The incident with the Ancient Poisonous Snake was just a minor interlude; soon, the group continued on, moving deeper into the forest.

On their journey, the group continued to encounter many dangers, but ultimately, they managed to turn crises into safety without any casualties. Of course, on several occasions, it was Ye Xuan who stepped in and resolved the dangers, undoubtedly raising his status in everyone’s hearts. As the team advanced, nearly everyone in the team held Ye Xuan in high regard, even seemingly placing Qin Qi, the senior sister, in a position lower than Ye Xuan in the eyes of the disciples.

However, Qin Qi held no resentment. Ye Xuan’s many skills truly amazed her. Having him join their team had been a very wise decision.

Yet, not everyone held favorable views towards Ye Xuan. In the group, there remained one person who occasionally looked at Ye Xuan with eyes full of hatred. This person was Zhuo Qian.

But she was very careful to conceal it, and her odd behavior went unnoticed by others.

"This guy really thinks he’s the boss now."

Beside Zhuo Qian, Gu Feiyang also harbored discontent towards Ye Xuan, but unlike Zhuo Qian, he simply found Ye Xuan displeasing to the eye.

The team slowly made its way into the depths of the forest, the surrounding environment growing increasingly severe, the air becoming more humid, and filthy droplets falling intermittently from the ancient trees, drenching everyone’s clothes.

Ye Xuan and other male disciples like Li Ziting were unaffected, but Nangong Yao and Zhuo Yanyun, who cherished cleanliness, struggled somewhat, their bodies variably covered with foul-smelling mud.

"It seems there’s a mud pit up ahead."

The crowd gradually came to a halt, the mud beneath their feet becoming increasingly wet and slippery, and slowly the pace of the group slowed down. If there was a quagmire ahead, they would have to skirt around it and find another path.

However, just at that moment, amidst the utterly chaotic quagmire ahead, a streak of extraordinary light suddenly burst forth. At the source of the light, there was an extremely pristine lotus flower that seemed untouched by the muddy surroundings, emitting a jade-like luster and strong fluctuations of spiritual energy.

"That’s the Jade Radiant Heart Lotus; I didn’t expect to encounter such a treasure here."

Upon seeing the spiritually intense lotus, nearby Zhuo Yanyun’s eyes lit up.

The Jade Radiant Heart Lotus was an exceedingly rare natural treasure that could help martial artists refine their bodies, eliminate impurities, make their bodies stronger, and it also had beautifying effects, making it particularly suited for women. It was of immense value in the outside world.

Whoosh!

Almost the moment the Jade Radiant Heart Lotus was spotted, Zhuo Yanyun’s figure soared, her toes touching lightly on the soft mud, as she darted towards the location of the Jade Radiant Heart Lotus.

"Junior Sister Zhuo!"

Qin Qi saw Zhuo Yanyun zipping out and her expression changed, but by the time she thought to call her back, it was already too late.

"Prepare to take action."

Ye Xuan sighed softly; wherever there were heavenly materials and earthly treasures, danger coexisted. Trouble was sure to arise soon.

At the center of the quagmire, Zhuo Yanyun had already reached the side of the Jade Radiant Heart Lotus. Just as a look of uncontrollable joy appeared on her face and she was about to pluck the natural treasure, suddenly, the quagmire below split open. A tentacle, nearly thirty feet long, shot out from the fissure with lightning speed, tightly coiled around Zhuo Yanyun’s body, and violently dragged her towards the depths of the quagmire.

And the Jade Radiant Heart Lotus in the center of the quagmire also disappeared at that moment, like a mirage.

"Is it fake?"

Zhuo Yanyun’s face changed. Her arms were trapped, and all she could do was grip the hilt of her sword, thrusting her precious blade upwards violently.

Sizzle!

Her sword was also of Heavenly Grade, but when it struck the black tentacle’s surface, it only scratched the exterior slightly, sparking an unusually brilliant fire but failing to penetrate its shell.

The next moment, a more formidable force erupted from the depths of the quagmire, acting upon the tentacle. It nearly suffocated Zhuo Yanyun, blurring her consciousness as she was swiftly dragged to the edge of the fissure, on the verge of being pulled into it.

Just then, a figure rapidly treaded on the mire and flashed to the side of the fissure, thrusting a sword into it, the incredible sword Qi piercing into it.

This person was Ye Xuan.

"He’s come to save me."

Seeing the appearance of Ye Xuan, Zhuo Yanyun felt joy in her heart. She had not expected Ye Xuan to be so considerate towards her. If he succeeded in this heroic rescue, it would certainly bring them much closer.

Zhuo Yanyun could already envision the wonderful scene that was about to unfold and her lips curved into a smile.

Roar!

Apparently injured by Ye Xuan’s thrust into the fissure, a furious roar suddenly emerged from the bottom of the quagmire; consecutive thundering noises followed, and from the depths of the quagmire, instantly, seven or eight tentacles swept out, the force of which was extremely terrifying.

Boom, boom.

At that moment, three bursts of thunderous light exploded beautifully on the tentacles binding Zhuo Yanyun, and then the tentacle loosened, releasing Zhuo Yanyun. A figure quickly flashed by, catching her form.

"I knew you would appear to save me... Huh? Nangong Yao, why is it you!"

Zhuo Yanyun, who was initially pretending to faint, suddenly sprung up, looking angrily at Nangong Yao.

"Otherwise, who did you think it was?"

Nangong Yao couldn’t help but snicker, aware that Zhuo Yanyun had mistaken her for Ye Xuan.

"How come you have the Thunder Star Stone?"

Zhuo Yanyun’s face looked somewhat unsightly; she had just heard the sound of the Thunder Star Stone exploding, which made her pretend to faint, waiting for Ye Xuan to rescue her. To her surprise, it wasn’t Ye Xuan using the Thunder Star Stone, but Nangong Yao.

"This..."

Just as Nangong Yao’s eyes were darting around, planning to tease Zhuo Yanyun some more, suddenly Ye Xuan’s shout came to her ears, "What are you two dawdling for, come and help!"

By now, the monster in the quagmire had already emerged halfway, its body almost a hundred feet in size, extending numerous tentacles that nearly covered half the sky, and the people of Xuanbing Mansion were already clashing with those tentacles.

"Let’s settle our scores later!"

Zhuo Yanyun took a deep breath, then brandishing her sword, turned and darted towards the quagmire monster.