Xu Zihuang focused his attention, pushing the instinct of his Golden Eye martial soul to the extreme.
The Golden Eye's martial soul instinct wasn't just its powerful dynamic vision—when concentrated to a point, it could observe with incredible detail.
At once, he noticed something different.
In the space around him, tiny motes of dust drifted about. They appeared faintly white, not dense, but floating steadily in the air.
Yet these dust motes couldn't enter his body.
He clearly saw that when they touched the protective soul power covering his skin, they melted away strangely like snow under sunlight, leaving no trace behind.
Xu Zihuang willed his protective soul power to expand outward slightly, and the same scene occurred again.
"So this must be the so-called miasma."
The destruction attribute of his second martial soul, Purple Sovereign Thunder Prison Dragon, was a natural counter to this toxic mist.
Even though he was currently using the Golden Eye martial soul, his soul power still carried the quality of destruction. This was the unique advantage of twin martial souls.
It was also why he had told Tianmeng earlier that he wasn't interested in acquiring another ice-type martial soul.
If his soul power were to also carry the ice attribute, with so many attributes mixed together, even if he could switch between them at will, conflicts could still erupt.
And if that happened, his body would collapse from within.
It wasn't as simple as just adding another ice-type martial soul.
"Tianmeng, I'll take a look from above." Xu Zihuang leapt upward as he spoke. Thin, mirror-like dark-red crystals condensed beneath his feet. With each push, his body soared higher.
When he broke ten meters above the tallest canopy, the light around him suddenly brightened, as though he had pierced a barrier, and everything was illuminated again.
On his way into the Sunset Forest, he hadn't seen even a few thousand-year soul beasts, much less ten-thousand-year ones. Flying-type soul beasts were even rarer.
Looking down, the forest seemed calm.
With a thought, he used his second soul skill, Mirror Shatter, to propel himself higher.
As his altitude increased, even though he already knew the depths of the Sunset Forest were shrouded in miasma, seeing it with his own eyes still left him shocked.
The forest below seemed tranquil, but a thin mist floated among the trees. The further forward he looked, the denser it became, like a cloud settled over the forest. In the distance, it grew so thick that even the vegetation was obscured.
And the cloud wasn't just white—there were even patches of different colors.
In Xu Zihuang's spiritual sea, the Skydream Iceworm saw the same sight through his eyes.
Startled, it said, "Zihuang, looks like the information on that map from Senior Sister Qin is very reliable. Deep within this miasma, there might really be a treasure land. It's highly likely that many plant-type soul beasts with intelligence have already been born there. This miasma shows signs of being controlled—not naturally, but by those intelligent plant-type soul beasts."
"Miasma generally comes from rotting plant and animal corpses left unprocessed, accumulating over time without wind or rain. I've seen it before in the Star Dou Forest, but never this widespread, and certainly never in colors. The toxicity of each kind of miasma differs—some only cause dizziness or vomiting, but others can kill outright. These colorful miasmas are definitely extraordinary. Zihuang, if you insist on probing deeper, make sure you don't overexpend your soul power resisting it."
Having spent time with Xu Zihuang, the Skydream had already understood his temperament.
It knew he wasn't reckless, so instead of stopping him, it only warned him of the danger and left him to weigh the risks himself.
Still, if Xu Zihuang truly ran into danger, the Skydream had ways to pull him out safely.
Xu Zihuang pondered briefly, then nodded solemnly.
"Don't worry, Tianmeng. I know my limits. If it's impossible, I'll retreat."
Lightly, he landed back on the ground.
This area already had miasma, though thin.
Taking a deep breath, he extended his protective soul power outward and stepped into the thicker mist ahead.
A faint, deep-violet glow shimmered around him like a soul tool barrier.
In fact, the development of soul tool barriers had been inspired by soul masters' protective soul power.
With his innate full soul power, the energy he expended to resist the miasma was roughly balanced by what his body naturally recovered. Overexhaustion, as the Skydream warned, was unlikely.
After all, the only soul beasts able to live in such miasma would be the Jade Phosphor Seven-Despair Flowers near the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well—or their evolved form, the Jade Phosphor Nine-Despair Flowers.
All he needed to do was watch for sudden threats.
Guided by the Skydream, Xu Zihuang advanced steadily toward the depths.
It was nearly noon now, and with the sun overhead, some of the water in the miasma evaporated, making it thinner than usual.
What spread before him was a dazzlingly colorful world. Plants of every hue carpeted the ground, hiding the soil beneath. Trees were rare here, likely corroded by the toxins.
This area was closer to the core.
Surveying his surroundings, Xu Zihuang quickly concluded that while the miasma here was thick, it floated upward. The ground-level miasma, though colorful, was thinner and only slightly hindered vision.
Using his second soul skill, he coated his legs with dark-red crystal, isolating himself from the poisonous plants underfoot.
In his hand, a sharp crystal spear over three meters long cleaved aside the poisonous foliage as he moved forward.
Though his destruction attribute restrained poison, he still preferred to avoid direct contact.
Along the way, gruesome sights appeared—massive, rainbow-colored bones lying on the ground. Not plants, but soul beasts that had perished to the miasma.
His spear swept aside another patch of plants. Suddenly, a cracking sound rang nearby.
He spun toward it, soul power surging.
A huge skeleton, crushed under vegetation, toppled with a crash, breaking into fragments as the colorful corrosion spread across it.
Xu Zihuang frowned slightly at the sight.
Soul beast bones were usually the hardest part of their bodies, often used by humans as rare materials. Even his Whale-Tooth Dagger had been forged from such a source.
But here, even those had been corroded into powder. The toxicity of this place far exceeded his expectations.
Without the destruction attribute of his Purple Sovereign Thunder Prison Dragon, he couldn't have made it here at rank thirty-eight.
The Skydream muttered in his spiritual sea:
"These corpses became nourishment for the miasma, which in turn kills more beasts, even birds flying overhead. On and on, the miasma grows stronger. Perhaps in a thousand years, the entire Sunset Forest will become a forest of miasma. Zihuang, if this is truly being guided by intelligent plant soul beasts, it defies reason."
"Aren't plant-type soul beasts supposed to be simple by nature? How could they be this malicious?" it added disdainfully.
"Maybe they were influenced by evil-minded humans. They let the miasma spread deliberately, sealing off outsiders to protect their own territory—regardless of other soul beasts' lives. It fits their style." Xu Zihuang sneered, quickening his pace.
"Evil-minded humans?" The Skydream was puzzled, not knowing who he meant.
But soon it sensed something ahead.
"Zihuang, your target should be just up there. The miasma is changing—stronger. Behind it, I detect thick, heavy clouds of poison sinking downward. That should be the treasure land."
With a goal, Xu Zihuang sped up.
Half an hour later, he reached a new world.
It was emerald green.
Plants of glowing jade green blanketed the land. Each was about half a meter tall, with nine oddly shaped leaves resembling seven-fingered or nine-fingered hands, and atop them bloomed large jade-green flowers.
From their centers, green mist drifted outward, merging into the rainbow miasma.
Looking further, he saw vast poison clouds sinking into what had to be a valley—the location of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
The Jade Phosphor Seven-Despair Flowers produced this poisonous fog, cloaking the valley in green.
"Too orderly. These must have been planted deliberately."
Xu Zihuang's eyes sharpened. "Tianmeng, if I really face danger, can you send me hundreds of li away?"
"Zihuang, on that I won't lie. Our lives are linked. Only if you live do I survive. But it'll cost me my origin power. I'd need to sleep at least five years afterward. Once I send you out, you're on your own."
Without hesitation, Xu Zihuang stepped toward the valley of Jade Phosphor Flowers, his resolve clear.
With the Skydream as insurance, his life was secure enough.
Besides, against hundred-thousand-year plant soul beasts, he had his own hidden cards.
Soon, the Skydream regained its usual tone.
"Heh, these Jade Phosphor Seven-Despair Flowers fear cold by nature. Zihuang, let me show you something."
Before its words even faded, Xu Zihuang's golden eyes suddenly glimmered with a streak of icy white.
An aura of extreme cold burst forth. Within a hundred-meter radius, the world froze into ice and snow.
The jade-green flowers instantly shut tight, as if shivering children pulling blankets over themselves.
Every Jade Phosphor Seven-Despair Flower and Nine-Despair Flower in the area closed at once, the poisonous mist thinning rapidly.
The Skydream's proud voice rang out:
"Zihuang, let's go! I'll join you on this venture!"
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