Chapter 132

Chapter 132: You Smell So Nice
Ji Han Zhou asked: “Senior Sister Yu, do you suspect those people’s deaths are related to Ye Cong Xin?”

Ji Han Zhou did not know what kind of relationship Yu Zhao had with Ye Cong Xin, but he could feel that Yu Zhao paid too much attention to her. Just now, she had only agreed to stay after hearing news about Ye Cong Xin.

Yu Zhao neither admitted nor denied it, but her thoughts were already moving fast.

In her past life, she had found by accident that Ye Cong Xin had made a deal with a Malevolent Spirit. Because she had no proof, no one believed what she said. In the end, she died because of it.

In this life, she had not planned to expose the secret on Ye Cong Xin. Since Fang Cheng Lang and the others liked Ye Cong Xin so much, they probably did not mind having their own fortune slowly absorbed by her.

But in the past life, most of the people Ye Cong Xin targeted were Heaven’s Chosen of the Cultivation World.

Their fortune was strong. Even if it was slowly eaten away, it was hard to notice for a long time.

Yet in this life, for some unknown reason, something had gone wrong. Ye Cong Xin had actually started on ordinary cultivators. Those people did not have much fortune to begin with. After Ye Cong Xin devoured it, they died on the spot.

What Ye Cong Xin was doing was no different from killing people in another way.

If she was allowed to keep devouring without restraint, it would surely cause a huge disaster in the future.

But if Yu Zhao wanted to strike first and get rid of her early, the people of Lone Moon Peak would be the biggest obstacle, unless she could find proof that Ye Cong Xin was working with a Malevolent Spirit…

Yu Zhao’s brows furrowed tighter and tighter.

After a long moment, she shook her head and decided to put this matter aside for now.

Ye Cong Xin might dare to act wildly outside, but once she returned to Five Elements Dao Sect, she would have to hold back.

Right now, the most important thing for Yu Zhao was to become stronger.

Only if she grew strong herself could she protect herself.

She said: “Junior Brother Ji, go back and rest first. Early tomorrow, we will buy some insect repelling and detoxifying pills in the city shops, then head to Marsh Forest.”

Ji Han Zhou answered: “Alright.”

Ji Han Zhou was very sensible and did not ask anything more. He took his leave and went back.

The next day.

Under the shopkeeper’s delighted gaze, Yu Zhao and Ji Han Zhou left the inn. They went straight to the busiest shop on the main street, bought more than a dozen of the best selling pills, then left the city toward Marsh Forest.

Marsh Forest, as the name suggested, was a place where swamps and dense forest existed together.

Under the thick blanket of rotting leaves, there might be solid ground, or there might be a swamp that would swallow people alive.

In Marsh Forest, every single step had to be thought about again and again.

In Marsh Forest, the most dangerous things were not the swamps, but the ever present miasma and the poisonous insects that showed up everywhere.

Most of the poisonous insects that could live in Marsh Forest were extremely toxic. Some carried venom so strong that it could poison a Nascent Soul cultivator before their Nascent Soul could fly out of the body. That showed how deadly they were.

Of course, danger and opportunity always came together. Marsh Forest was full of killing intent, but it was also full of treasures.

The Heavenly Immortal Herb that Yu Zhao wanted, and the Yin Flower Honey that cultivators picked to curry favor with Ye Cong Xin, were both treasures found only in Marsh Forest and nowhere else in the outside world.

Even though everyone knew how dangerous Marsh Forest was, every year cultivators still came in an endless stream.

Along the way, Yu Zhao met many cultivators who were also heading to Marsh Forest. Some people even came up on their own to ask if they could team up with her and Ji Han Zhou, but Yu Zhao turned them down directly.

In such a dangerous place, they had to guard not only against miasma and poisonous insects, but also against other cultivators.

In Marsh Forest, there might be fewer cultivators who died from miasma and poisonous insects than those who died at the hands of their own kind.

Yu Zhao would never add such an unstable factor into her team.

She and Ji Han Zhou hurried along the road. Two hours later, they reached the outer edge of Marsh Forest.

The trees that grew in Marsh Forest were very different from those outside. Their trunks were straight and slender, the thickest no more than what one person could wrap their arms around. But their crowns were lush like huge umbrellas, and the canopies joined together to block out the sky, keeping all sunlight outside.

Cold, damp air mixed with the smell of rot rushed toward them, making one shiver without meaning to.

Yu Zhao took out two jade green pills, handed one to Ji Han Zhou, and said: “Hold it under your tongue. Do not swallow it.”

Ji Han Zhou took it and nodded seriously.

After the two of them finished their preparations, their figures turned into two streaks of light and flashed into the dense forest.

As soon as they entered Marsh Forest, Yu Zhao felt her skin wrapped by the sticky, cold air. Her expression did not change. Her divine sense swept swiftly around them.

It was said that the Heavenly Immortal Herb grew in swampy ground and was extremely poisonous. When picking it, no part of the arms or legs could touch it. It was also very delicate and would die as soon as it saw sunlight.

Yu Zhao knew the chance of finding a Heavenly Immortal Herb in the outer parts of Marsh Forest was very small, but even if there was only a one in ten million chance, she did not want to miss it.

Suddenly, a sharp scream tore through the air.

Rustle rustle rustle rustle.

In an instant, all the leaves on the trees around Yu Zhao and Ji Han Zhou began to shake.

Yu Zhao shouted: “Jump!”

Yu Zhao’s face changed slightly as she sprang into the air.

Ji Han Zhou was a step slower, but he also jumped up right after her.

Right after that, countless black dots fell from the sky and, in the blink of an eye, flooded the spot where the two of them had just been standing.

Standing on a branch, Yu Zhao looked at the dense mass of Black Beetles wriggling on the ground, her face very dark.

A swarm of ants can eat an elephant.

These beetles were not strong in either defense or attack. With a wave of her hand, Yu Zhao could wipe out a patch of them.

But with so many poisonous insects gathered together, even she had to back away.

She said to Ji Han Zhou: “Be more careful.”

Then she looked up in the direction the scream had come from and warned herself again: [Better to be safe.]

…

In another part of Marsh Forest.

Cui Jue was running through the dense forest with Fang Cheng Lang on his back. Fang Cheng Lang’s face was dark, and he was unconscious.

Not far behind him, a strange and seductive looking female cultivator was chasing after him without stopping.

She giggled and said: “Hee hee hee, you cannot run away. Be good and stay to be food for my babies. Do not worry, it will not hurt much. It will be over soon.”

Cui Jue clenched his teeth. The spirit power in his body was running almost at its limit, and the pain in his meridians felt like they were being torn apart.

But the pain in his body was nothing compared to the regret deep in his heart.

First Senior Brother had been bitten by the wicked woman’s poisonous insects in order to save him. After that, he was full of deadly poison and fell into a coma.

Cui Jue had thought that after their quarrel that day, First Senior Brother would no longer care about him.

But First Senior Brother was still First Senior Brother. He would rather sacrifice himself to protect Cui Jue.

Cui Jue hated the vicious woman for being so cruel, but he hated his own weakness even more. He could not take revenge for First Senior Brother and could only escape in a sorry state.

Smack.

At this moment, Cui Jue felt his right leg sink into a patch of mushy mud.

His face changed sharply. [This is bad.]

He lowered his head and saw that he had stepped into empty air and fallen into a swamp.

He gathered his strength and tried to pull out his right leg, but felt an even stronger force dragging him down.

While he was still struggling with the swamp, the strange young woman had already caught up.

She giggled and said: “Hee hee hee, how is it? I told you that you could not run away.”

She played with her bright red nails, mockery at the corners of her eyes and brows.

Cui Jue’s face was ashen. He ignored her.

After a few breaths, he finally pulled himself out of the swamp. Since half his body had almost sunk into the mud, he was covered in filth. He no longer had his usual gentle and elegant air, and instead looked like a young master who had fallen on hard times.

The strange young woman lifted the corner of her lips and suddenly leaned close, whispering in Cui Jue’s ear: “You smell so nice.”