Chapter Sixty-Three: Lurking Shadows of Mortal Danger

“Opportunity...”
Yun Tianxin’s expression remained cold and proud, her luminous eyes suddenly shining. Without hesitation, she raised her left finger and her right sword; two attacks—one azure, one violet—shot forth in the blink of an eye.
The azure finger force and the violet sword light crossed paths in midair, resembling a pair of scissors from a distance, snipping toward the unsuspecting beast.
Sensing imminent peril, the beast’s multitude of eyes finally regained their vitality.
It desperately burrowed deeper into the swamp, its tentacles spewing poisonous miasma in wild abandon to obscure its body, hoping to evade the annihilating blow.
Yet, because its body’s outline glowed uncontrollably, the spectacle appeared almost comical to those watching from the swamp, as if the beast were parodying the act of covering one’s ears while stealing a bell.
Lacking the courage to face the attack head-on and choosing flight instead, the beast forfeited its last chance at survival. The twin-colored attack sliced it cleanly in two, the wound half azure, half violet, as if energy still simmered within.
“Boom!”
Moments later, the severed body of the beast exploded into fragments of flesh and blood, obliterating a small area of venomous insects in the surrounding swamp.
This beast, which had brought such trouble to the group, had come swiftly and perished just as quickly.
Chen Qi stroked his chin as he observed. Having unleashed his earlier strike, his body was gradually recovering, regaining enough strength for combat.
“This must be the so-called local specialty, the Hundred-Eyed Miasma Demon. I wonder how much stronger the Thousand-Eyed Miasma Demon is. Senior Sister Yun, are you—”
Just then, a clear voice interrupted both the group’s astonishment and Chen Qi’s musings.
“What are you all standing around for? Hurry up and move!”
With these words, Yun Tianxin walked at the front of the group, sword in hand, her robe embroidered with cloud motifs still pristine and neat.
Yet, the series of rescues had left her face unnaturally pale, and her hair, pinned high, was damp with fragrant sweat, drooping slightly, which only enhanced her heroic aura.
Feeling the rumbling of the swamp growing ever closer behind them, none dared delay. They followed the path Yun Tianxin had tread, hurrying along.
After several rounds of heavy breathing, when the sounds behind them faded, the group finally slowed, recovering their strength as they scanned their surroundings.
The mire beneath their feet remained unchanged, the swamp’s end still out of sight, and their surroundings returned to the silence that had greeted them upon entering, as if everything that had happened was but an illusion.
The mist above grew thicker, mingling with the swamp’s poisonous fumes, stinging Chen Qi’s skin with a persistent burning sensation.
Beside Yun Tianxin, the extraordinary mirror still floated, emitting beams of light to probe for lurking beasts.
The party pressed forward in silence, breath held. For a time, only the sound of their steps dragging through muck and the mirror’s radiance filled the swamp.
“Hm?”
Chen Qi felt a slight unease. Through the haze, now darkened by poison, he glimpsed a faint red glow ahead.
The red light was not strong, yet seemed positioned so that only he could see it, the dark mist serving as its backdrop.

“Did any of you see something odd?”
Voicing his confusion without disguise, Chen Qi asked directly.
No sooner had he spoken than he saw everyone shake their heads, and the round-faced girl from the inner sect at the back even glanced at him curiously, puzzled by his abrupt question.
Chen Qi fell silent, lost in thought:
“What could it be that only I can see, while others cannot?”
Suddenly, realization struck him, nearly prompting an exclamation:
“Something deliberately set by the ‘Sprout Space’!”
As the group drew closer, Chen Qi finally saw the source of the red glow.
It was a massive chest, black and red, blending seamlessly with the environment. The chest was carved with swamp motifs, exuding a scent reminiscent of countless lives’ blood.
At its center was a skull, its hollow eyes emitting the red glow that reached Chen Qi.
The chest was tightly sealed, its contents hidden. Six rune-like symbols encircled it, one already dimmed while five remained lit.
The others seemed oblivious to the chest, walking straight past it.
Chen Qi feigned ignorance and stepped over the chest as well.
The moment he did, ‘Sprout Space’ issued a prompt.
[Head-hunting task triggered: Owner of the Black Poison Swamp]
Task description:
Slay the Long-Snouted Crocodile 0/1
Slay the Hundred-Eyed Miasma Demon 1/2
Slay the Black Marsh Python 0/1
Slay the Red-Eyed Toad 0/2
Task reward: Exclusive Head-hunting Chest (Black Poison Swamp)
...
Chen Qi read the prompt flashing across his retina, kept his pace steady, and pondered inwardly.
“This is blatant temptation! Is this how they test their officers?”
Soon, he resolved his dilemma, a bitter smile on his lips as he walked away without looking back.

One must act according to one’s abilities. In this swamp, facing any of the listed beasts, his chances of victory were virtually nonexistent.
Nor could he compel his team to risk themselves for his own gain.
Lost in thought, Chen Qi was suddenly alerted as the floating mirror beside him trembled violently.
Its shaking intensified the emitted light, forming a thin energy screen.
As the dense curtain of light expanded, the mirror seemed to weaken, and Yun Tianxin caught it in her hand.
The light tore through the mist, illuminating the surroundings and startling the advancing group.
Just a few steps ahead, a dazzling python, thick as a bowl, lay expertly camouflaged in the swamp, waiting for them to step onto it.
It had disguised itself so well that even the formidable Yun Tianxin was unaware.
Meanwhile, because the group had been hurrying, their vigilance behind them had unconsciously dropped several levels.
At that moment, the miasma behind them grew denser and darker without their notice, quietly floating a familiar beast—the Hundred-Eyed Miasma Demon.
It had evidently been stalking them for some time, but for reasons unknown, it had remained dormant.
Soon, the group would learn why.
As their attention was drawn to the python and the miasma demon, two long tongues suddenly shot out from the swamp beneath the black miasma.
The tongues, dark green and evidently poisonous, moved swiftly as meteors, silent and lethal.
Fortunately, as the tongues passed through the curtain of light, they were inevitably tinged with fluorescent hues, granting the group a precious response window.
The beast wielding the tongues seemed adept at targeting the weak, sensing Chen Qi’s unsteady aura; one tongue swept directly toward him.
Though it seemed to last long, it was but an instant. Out of the corner of his eye, Chen Qi glimpsed a streak of light racing toward him.
His pupils contracted; before his mind could react, his body moved instinctively, blade raised.
His long blade struck the tongue, but no blood spurted forth. It was as if he had cut into a mass of insubstantial cotton, the blood aura coiled around his blade flickering but unable to erupt.
Just as Chen Qi was about to forcibly release the blood energy, the tongue suddenly hardened and whipped back.
The force on his blade shifted abruptly from pliant to fierce; caught off guard, Chen Qi’s blade was torn from his grasp and whisked away by the tongue.
Then, a wailing cry echoed across the field:
“My treasured blade~!”