Chapter 195: Poisonous Dragon
Yan Country, in the Poisonous Dragon Lake.
This was a famous location in Yan Country and was located in the deep mountains. It was covered in a green poisonous fog, and there were even reports of people seeing a dragon here!
The fog was extremely poisonous and there were no signs of life within a 10-mile radius from the lake.
There was a peak not far from here.
A few martial artists dressed in their attire were waiting with anticipation.
A man in black with a scar on his face was looking at the poisonous fog. Grabbing a golden pheasant, he threw it into the poisonous fog.
"Ke Ke!"
The golden pheasant rapidly flapped its wings, fanning the poisonous fog. As it shrieked, it struck fear in the martial artists’ heart.
"Pa!"
It fell to the ground and was no longer moving.
"Whoooo! Whoo!"
As the wind blew, spotted feathers were flying everywhere and quickly disappeared.
The corpse of the golden pheasant was now just a pool of blood, flowing on the ground.
"Oh sh*t, this is indeed a perilous place!"
Scarred Face swallowed his saliva. "Lady Hu San, is it true that there’s an inheritance hiding here?"
"Of course!"
A lady by his side answered. She was middle-aged and was wearing a leather robe. She had a belt made from cow’s hide and on the belt were 10 flying knives hanging from it. The knives were all extremely sharp and were extremely reflective.
"If not for the fact that the poisonous fog was in this 10-mile radius and that it doesn’t spread out, I wouldn’t have dared to come here!"
Lady Hu San looked at the green fog and spoke in fear.
Her ancestors had received insider information about the inheritance a hundred years ago. No one was able to approach the fog even after many generations of attempts at trying. In fact, this had distracted her family from their jobs and poverty struck them.
Therefore, after the uprising of Yuan Sect, this lady boldly sacrificed herself to the sect.
"However... accomplishing this would allow me to obtain the thousand-contribution jade, and I can use that to request a good martial art technique from the sect!"
Scarred Face licked his lips in envy.
"Even the Five Elders of the Li River couldn’t make it back alive. I just hope that the sect’s envoy would not blame me!"
Lady Hu San smiled helplessly.
"Chirp! Chirp!"
Suddenly, a black dot appeared on the horizon.
The black dot was flying swiftly in the sky. As he approached closer, they could tell that it was a huge spiritual bird. It was white-feathered and its eyes were bloodshot, and it appeared proud.
The most shocking was the fact that it had the spiritual aura of a 12th Gate martial artist!
"Ah! This spiritual bird might just be stronger than the Five Elders of the Li River!"
Scarred Face turned pale. "Why would it appear here?"
Although the few of them were considered skilled, all of them still suspected that if the bird was to go crazy, it could take all of them out!
To be unable to take on a bird after 10 over years of martial arts training?
"You’re Lady Hu San?"
The giant bird landed and did not move. A voice was heard from the top of the bird.
"Greetings, senior!"
Lady Hu San walked up and bowed respectfully. Immediately, she saw a man and a woman walking over, as though they were from a painting.
"I am Lady Hu San. May I know who you are?"
She had already guessed who they were, and her face was flushed.
"We are from Yuan Sect. Kudos to your hard work!"
Fang Yuan remained silent. Shi Yutong walked up and replied calmly before taking out a piece of Emerald Green Jade. "This is a thousand-contribution jade. You can exchange it for what you want at any branch of the Yuan Sect!"
"Thank you, sister!"
Lady Hu San received the thousand-contribution jade respectfully and kept it properly. Looking at the jealous looks of those around her, she subconsciously touched her flying knives.
She had no doubts that if not for the presence of the two Wu Zongs, these ’old friends’ of hers would risk their lives to get such a treasure on their hands.
"Tell me about what happened here!"
Seeing Lady Hu San keep the thousand-contribution jade, he continued. "Don’t leave out any details!"
"Yes, Sir!"
Although he kept mum most of the time, the moment he opened his mouth, Shi Yutong retreated respectfully by his side with her hands behind her back. Immediately, Lady Hu San could tell who the real master was, and a chill went down her spine.
"Reporting!"
Since she did not know Fang Yuan’s true identity, Lady Hu San decided to give her utmost respect. "The inheritance in Poisonous Dragon Lake was first discovered by my ancestor Hu Ying from an old diary. This led to my ancestors coming over to settle down in Green Dragon Country in order to obtain the inheritance. However, due to the fact that the poisonous fog is extremely dangerous, none of us could walk in long enough, even with the help of a spiritual pill as an antidote. Only those martial artist above the Earth Gate could sustain for awhile based on their own ability..."
"I had reported to Yuan Sect previously. The sect had deployed the Five Elders of the Li River to investigate. All of them had taken the Life and Death Concoction. In the Concoction were two types of worms, the male and female Concoction Worm. If one of the worms died, the other will not survive... After entering the poisonous fog, everything went smoothly at the beginning. However, after half an hour, all the 5 Concoction Worms outside died, and this meant that all five of them died as well... Forgive us!"
Lady Hu San reported, and slowly felt fearful.
After all, it was not easy to find five 12th Gate martial artists.
"Mm. Bring me the diary!"
Fang Yuan waved his hands.
Although unwilling, Lady Hu San pulled out an ancient book from her robes and presented it to Fang Yuan.
His expression remained unchanged as he slowly read the book.
After a while, Fang Yuan lifted his head up and casually waves his hands. "Alright, I am now clear of the danger here. From now on, this is none of your business, take your leave!"
Fang Yuan approached the poisonous fog and started to gather his energy.
"Buzz! Buzz!"
As he gave his elemental energy a form outside his body, he formed a bubble that wrapped around him. Taking a large step, he walked into the poisonous fog.
"Chi! Chi!"
The thick poisonous fog came to live and stuck itself on the bubble of elemental energy, trying to work its way in. This caused Fang Yuan’s elemental energy to slowly deteriorate.
However, compared to his true amount of energy, this was nothing.
"Let’s go!"
As he called out, Shi Yutong walked forward and waved her hands. A green elemental energy bubble appeared and she walked next to Fang Yuan. Slowly, they disappeared into the poisonous fog.
"Projecting elemental energy?!"
On the outside, Lady Hu San, Scarred Face and the rest were stunned.
When the Five Elders of the Li River came previously, they had to spend almost half a day preparing, swallowing antidotes and spiritual pills. It was not this simple.
Furthermore, after all that preparation, they still fell short.
"Wu Zong!"
Lady Hu San remained in a trance for a while before sighing. "Both of them are Wu Zongs! Indeed, only such a person would be able to tame such a spiritual bird! The only thing is that... the appearance of this senior, and the spiritual bird..."
As her eyes widened, she had already thought of a certain possibility.
Scarred Face and the rest changed their expressions as well. Looking towards the Poisonous Dragon Lake, their eyes were filled with respect as they mumbled to themselves. "Did Sect Master personally arrive?"
...
"Sa! Sa!"
In the green poisonous fog, there was silence. The only exception was the shuffling of their feet, and it was weird to hear it in such a silence.
After walking 30 metres, the poisonous fog became increasingly concentrated and the stress on the elemental energy bubble was much stronger.
Fang Yuan was coping well, but Shi Yutong was struggling beside him as her elemental energy bubble started to glow.
"The closer we get, the more concentrated the poisonous fog would be!"
Fang Yuan lifted his leg up. There was already a pile of mud on the ground. It was as though the earth here had succumbed to the poison and had started to rot.
If not for the fact that Fang Yuan had covered his shoes in elemental energy, they might rot as well.
"Although it’s called Poisonous Dragon Lake, in reality, it is just a marsh! Furthermore..."
Fang Yuan grabbed forward.
"Whoosh!"
After a flash, his hands were already filled with green worms.
These worms were half an inch long and were glowing in the green light. They also had two pairs of translucent wings and a pattern on its abdomen. It resembled a human in pain ad it was extremely gruesome.
"This thing is poisonous and it seems to have the ability to decay your elemental energy. Be careful..."
With the flick of his finger, a green mark appeared on the ground. White smoke started to emerge and the ground decayed, revealing a hole.
Shi Yutong was shocked beyond words as her expression changed.
Although she was also Wu Zong, compared to Fang Yuan, there was still a stark difference.
If these green worms ambushed and attacked her, she might not have been able to defend herself.
"It seems that the ancestors of Lady Hu San did not record about these worms..."
Fang Yuan smiled, took a few steps forward and struck on the ground with his right foot.
"Kacha!"
As the ground split open, mud flew everywhere, revealing some scattered bones. From the appearance of it and the extent of its decay, it was as though it had died for many years.
"The Five Elders of the Li River?"
Shi Yutong noticed an iron ring and exclaimed in shock.
"Mmm. They’re incapable and boastful, and no one would’ve guessed that they would die here!"
Fang Yuan shook his head and continued forward.
"Bloop! Bloop!"
The deeper they ventured, the softer the ground. There were scattered pools of green water in the mud, and they were bubbling. As the bubbles burst, a smell of sulphur filled the air.
If a normal person or a 12th Gate martial artist were to be here, they might accidentally fall into the marsh and be swallowed alive.
Fortunately, Fang Yuan and Shi Yutong were extraordinary people. Every step they took, they appeared extremely stable.
After a while, a green lake appeared in front of both of them.
"Chi! Chi!"
At this place, the green fog became less concentrated and visibility was improved.
However, Shi Yutong’s elemental energy bubble let out a screeching sound. The original shape that it used to be, the bubble became extremely deformed at this point in time.
"The further you’ll go, the more you’ll get!"
Fang Yuan nodded his head. "This is the furthest you can go. Wait for me here!"
Without waiting for Shi Yutong’s reply, he had already arrived at the surface of the lake.
"Splash!"
As his right feet landed firmly on the surface of the lake, a layer of wave spread outwards. However, it did not succumb to his weight.
Walking on water!
Even Wu Zongs would find it hard to do this. Needless to say, this Poisonous Dragon Lake was not composed of normal lake water.
Fang Yuan appeared calm and arrived at the centre of the lake.
Releasing his magical energy, his face appeared as though he had understood something.
"Hiss!"
Suddenly, an extremely long but curved silhouette like a bow appeared under the surface of the lake!