Chapter Sixty-Five: Escaping Danger

Before the long blade could even reach him, Chen Qi felt a sharp pain in his head atop the swamp—a primal warning from his body. As if to compel him to abandon hope, the blade, hurled with deadly speed, slowed slightly as it approached, offering him a fleeting chance to surrender. Even beasts, seemingly devoid of reason, grew cunning when their lives were threatened.

Suppressing the urge to dodge, Chen Qi forced himself to utter the final syllables. The pattern on the Frost Spear finally took shape, and under the lock of Chen Qi's spiritual power, it homed in on the aura of the Red-Eyed Poison Toad.

“My fate is sealed,” he thought.

Just as Chen Qi stared wide-eyed at the blade shooting toward his skull, a moment before the Frost Spear could be unleashed above him, a teal aura suddenly burst forth. It struck the blade, sending it veering off at an odd angle, clipping a lock of hair from his scalp as it flew past.

Following the direction of the aura, Chen Qi saw Yun Tianxin, who had gained the upper hand in battle, spare a moment to extend her delicate hand from afar, unleashing this timely strike.

Meanwhile, the Poison Python, seeing Yun Tianxin distracted, flashed a look of wild delight in its cold vertical eyes. Its massive coiled head sprang up, venomous fangs aimed at the slender waist of the woman before it.

No time to lament his ruined hairstyle or thank Yun Tianxin for saving him yet again, inspiration struck Chen Qi. He quickly shifted his strategy.

Frowning deeply, he released his spiritual power, redirecting the Frost Spear. He abandoned his lock on the wary Poison Toad nearby, instead targeting the unsuspecting Poison Python.

In less than a breath, the several-meter-long Frost Spear flashed to the python’s side, striking its soaring neck. Driven by its own force, the spear pinned the serpent firmly to the swamp, its icy energy crystallizing a layer of frost over the snake’s body, making it resemble half an ice sculpture.

Seeing the Poison Python, normally a cold and ruthless predator, now wide-eyed in terror, Chen Qi felt a pang of sympathy. Was this the fabled “tears of the butcher”?

Before his mood could shift, the crisp sound of shattering ice rang out. The Frost Spear broke apart completely, fragments splintering along with the python’s flesh.

Yun Tianxin, battling nearby, cooperated by raising her treasured sword.

“Swish, swish, swish.”

Several dazzling violet sword energies descended, grinding the ice shards into snow and reducing the wounded serpent’s head and neck to pulp.

“Bang!”

Most of the python’s body crashed down, splattering the mire.

In less than a breath, its head and neck had vanished, leaving only the tail, which, unaware of death, thrashed desperately in the swamp.

Ignoring whether a treasure chest had dropped from the python, Chen Qi felt the swamp rising past his neck and quickly submerging his head. He had strength, but with most of his body mired deep in mud, he could not free himself, sinking deeper by the moment.

Before he could call for help, a graceful figure arrived.

Yun Tianxin bent slightly, her left hand deftly pressing beneath the back of Chen Qi’s head. With a gentle exertion, she drew him from the mire, mud clinging to him like a freshly uprooted radish.

Unlike last time, Yun Tianxin did not toss him aside but set him tenderly atop the swamp, summoning a fresh breeze with a wave of her hand.

Faced with the beauty so near, Chen Qi had no time for thoughts; he inhaled deeply, drawing in air tinged with her subtle fragrance.

Yun Tianxin gave him a smile as delicate as a blossoming flower, then moved away to rescue the others, already close to suffocation.

All these actions, though they seemed lengthy, happened in just a few heartbeats.

In the distance, the Hundred-Eyed Miasma Demon, locked in combat with a sword-browed inner disciple, seemed to have conserved its strength, immediately noticing the Poison Python’s demise.

Hundreds of eyes on its body twitched violently, evoking a sense of trembling dread. The poisonous miasma it commanded grew thicker, the black vapor condensing into ink-like droplets and surging toward the sword-browed man.

The man dared not be careless, his true energy erupting as he wielded his sword to form an impenetrable curtain, blocking the near-liquid miasma.

The toxic fog condensed and dissipated repeatedly, finally thinning. As it faded, the sword-browed man, wary, looked around—only to find the Hundred-Eyed Miasma Demon gone, leaving no trace on the swamp.

Elsewhere, the round-faced woman appeared invigorated, her true energy streaming forth, hinting at the transformation of energy into solid force. Her verdant finger strikes blossomed like lotus leaves, layered with lethal intent, forcing the two Red-Eyed Poison Toads into retreat and momentarily preventing the outer disciples behind her from intervening.

The two Poison Toads now sought only escape, abandoning all offense and using their long tongues to scatter the incoming strikes. Their bodies trembled ceaselessly, spraying venom from their glands in a bid to drain the round-faced woman’s inner power.

Yun Tianxin arrived at last, sword in hand, casting a puzzled glance at the round-faced woman, surprised by her sudden surge in strength.

Yet Yun Tianxin did not pause to aid her; instead, she maneuvered her violet sword horizontally, blocking the toads' path of escape.

Beneath her fairy-like visage lay a heart intent on exacting vengeance from these beasts.

The Red-Eyed Poison Toads leapt through the mire with their powerful limbs, not dodging the sword but bracing to take its hit, hoping to use its force to flee.

In a swift exchange, the violet sword descended between the two toads. Its fierce energy startled them, causing their bodies to stiffen mid-flight.

Knowing there was no escape, both toads inflated their bodies, pushing their defenses to the utmost. Blood mixed with pale yellow venom erupted from their skins, forming filthy armor.

The violet blade hesitated slightly in midair, as if weighing its options, then transformed from a slash to a thrust. Sword energy gathered and spun, piercing forward.

Yun Tianxin chose not to wound both beasts heavily but to concentrate her power on the one lagging behind.

The lead toad flashed a look of wild joy, hesitated only briefly, then leapt high, abandoning its companion and vanishing into the mire with successive jumps.

No miracle occurred; not even anger could arise in time. The violet sword pierced the blood-venom armor without resistance, sinking into the trailing toad. Sword energy surged, swiftly draining its life.

Within moments, the toad’s inflated body deflated rapidly, its expression frozen, its life snuffed out.

With the beasts dead or fled, the group finally breathed a sigh of relief, gathering together and inhaling the air drawn by Yun Tianxin’s protective energy.

Sun Ruohai’s face was filled with lingering fear; he had nearly reached his limit holding his breath. Had the battle not ended swiftly, the miasma would have invaded his body, spelling his doom.

Seeing the heavy atmosphere, the round-faced woman broke the silence first. Smiling, she said to Chen Qi,

“Brother Chen, your intuition was spot-on. This journey has indeed been fraught, but thankfully we’ve come through unscathed, with no casualties.”

Chen Qi, now approaching the group, responded with an easy smile. Maintaining a cheerful facade, and disregarding the disappointment of no treasure chest from the python’s corpse, his thoughts had already shifted elsewhere:

“Could these hordes of beasts in the poisonous swamp be the unknown risk hinted at by the ‘Sprout Space’?”