Chapter 727: Core Region of the Great Poison Swamp
At the same time Xuan Hao was making his way towards the core of the Great Poison Swamp, the three youths on the other side of the Great Poison Swamp had made their way to the border between the inner and outer region of the Great Poison Swamp where the Poisonous Devil Trees they were looking for could be found.
Of course, the only reason why they could get this far in the first place, was due to the fact that Elder Proud Bear was looking after them and making sure that none of the powerful poisonous demon beasts attacked them. Only letting a few weaker ones at the Core Formation Realm through for the three youths to fight.
"So, this is the Poisonous Devil Trees located at the border between the outer and inner region of the Great Poison Swamp..." Standing in front of the Poisonous Devil Trees covered in Devil Bugs, the youngest boy among the three youths could not help muttering this to himself with a scared expression on his face.
""...""
The junior sister and senior brother standing beside him were not in a much better situation, as they also looked towards the countless Devil Bugs crawling all over the Poisonous Devil Trees filled with fear.
Even if they already knew about the Devil Bugs beforehand, it was a totally different thing to see them first-hand. Especially considering that they would soon have to get close enough to these terrifying insects to get their hands on the Poisonous Devil Leaves of the Poisonous Devil Tree!
"As long as we don't use any qi and ignore them, we should be fine. Not to mention, everyone has to go through this at some point if they want to become core disciples... And so do we..."
Being the first among the three youths to calm down, the junior sister who was by far the weakest among the three youths took the lead and made her way towards the Poisonous Devil Trees without waiting for the other two.
Rustle~
Rustle~
Rustle~
Ignoring the sound of the countless Devil Bugs crawling all over the ground beneath the Poisonous Devil Trees and on the branches above, the junior sister entered the small border of Poisonous Devil Trees that separated the outer and inner region of the Great Poison Swamp.
"We can't lack behind when compared to our junior sister if we want to become core disciples..."
"Haa... Indeed... But why did the mission to become a core disciple have to be something like this? Could it not be easier to just have a test of strength like any normal sect instead of having us come to this bug infested place...?"
"Hehe, you know this is not the final mission or test we will have to go through before becoming a core disciple.. Right?"
"..."
Not wasting any time after seeing that their junior sister had already entered ahead of them, the older and stronger senior brother quickly entered behind her. Soon followed by the unwilling junior brother who tried his absolute best to remain calm as he felt the Devil Bugs start crawling up his legs before starting to explore his body.
The fact that his senior brother and junior sister were completely calm compared to him who was close to experiencing a mental breakdown barely allowed him to forcefully keep himself calm to not fall behind as they made their way deeper inside the small forest formed by the Poisonous Devil Trees.
Unfortunately for the junior brother who was barely keeping himself calm, the Poisonous Devil Leaves that could be used for alchemy were all located deeper inside the small forest formed by the Poisonous Devil Trees.
With his current state of mind getting worse and worse with each passing step he took forward, the junior brother had a feeling that he might be forced to give up his chance to become a core disciple if he didn't want to risk his life. After all, the moment his barely kept calm composure broke, the Devil Bugs crawling all over him would attack.
Even if the most powerful ancestor of his sect was present, the junior brother understood very well that there would be no way to safe him from the Devil Bugs if they turned hostile at this moment...
"I don't think he is going to make it..."
"Indeed, he is far too nervous. Even the Devil Bugs around him have started getting livelier in response to his composure slowly breaking..."
Looking back towards their junior brother, the junior sister and senior brother could not help shaking their heads as they said this while completely ignoring the Devil Bugs that were crawling all over them.
From a single glance, it was obvious that these two were doing far better than their junior brother who was about to get consumed by the Devil Bugs at any moment.
"Haaaa... He doesn't look like he wants to give up..."
Seeing that their junior brother continued to follow after them without leaving even when he was in such a bad situation, the senior brother could not help shaking his head as he turned around before continuing deeper inside the forest of Poisonous Devil Trees where the Poisonous Devil Leaves of good enough quality to be used for alchemy could be found.
"..."
The junior sister also turned around with a sad expression on her face before deciding to ignore the struggling junior brother behind her.
Even if she wanted to help, there was nothing she could do to help her junior brother. The only way to make sure he was safe, was if he decided to give up on his chances to become a core disciple and leave the thin strip of forest that the Poisonous Devil Trees had formed.
After all, not even an expert in the Soul Ascension Realm could deal with the terrifying Devil Bugs, let alone a child like herself who had only just recently reached the Core Formation Realm!
...
"So, this is the start of the Great Poison Swamp's core region..."
As the three youths were making their way deeper and deeper inside the small thin strip of forest that had been formed by the Poisonous Devil Trees, Xuan Hao arrived in front of a thick wall of greenish miasma that prevented his divine sense from penetrating it.
Even when he tried to use his domain to penetrate the thick greenish coloured miasma, it could not penetrate more than a few meters before being forcefully stopped by the miasma.
"The miasma should not be damaging in any way and should only be stopping my divine sense and domain from passing through it..." Muttering this to himself as he remembered what he had been told about the miasma in front of him by Yi Min, Xuan Hao carefully approached the greenish coloured miasma before carefully sticking his hand inside it.
"I really am worrying for nothing..."
Seeing nothing happening to his hand, Xuan Hao shook his head before stepping forward and soon finding himself on the other side of the miasma.
However, different from all the things he had encountered so far on his journey through the Great Poison Swamp, Yi Min did not know a lot about the core region of the Great Poison Swamp, outside of the fact that it was a dangerous place that was best to be avoided unless one had reached the later stages of the Domain Lord Realm.
Whoosh~!
For this reason alone, Xuan Hao carefully began inspecting his surroundings with a cautious expression on his face.
Normally, someone in the Seventh Stage of the Domain Lord Realm should have been safe when travelling through the core region of the Great Poison Swamp... But considering just how many powerful demon beasts he had encountered in the inner region of the Great Poison Swamp, Xuan Hao doubted that this would be the case at the moment.
Not to mention, there was a high likelihood that a poisonous demon beast in the Soul Ascension Realm had appeared in the core region, let alone someone in the Seventh Stage of the Domain Lord Realm. Even someone in the Peak of the Domain Lord Realm would not be safe inside the core region of the Great Poison Swamp if there really was such a powerful poisonous demon beast around!
"Hm?"
Looking around himself with his divine sense, Xuan Hao could not help frowning as a confused expression soon appeared on his face after grasping the situation around himself.
"There is no poisonous demon beasts or insects around...?"
Indeed, in the massive area covered by his divine sense, Xuan Hao did not manage to find a single poisonous demon beast or insect!
"Could it be... Are the powerful poisonous demon beasts I encountered in the inner region perhaps originally from the core region...?" Muttering this to himself as he remembered the many powerful Domain Lord Realm poisonous demon beasts, he had encountered in the inner region of the Great Poison Swamp, Xuan Hao could not help feeling that there was indeed something happening inside the Great Poison Swamp, something that had scared away all the insects and demon beasts that originally resided in the core region of the swamp...