Chapter 380: Corpse-strewn Battlefield

“Someone has been here!”

Qin Sang felt a chill in his heart and asked, puzzled, “Didn't you leave secret marks, Senior, and they weren't discovered?”

Yun Youzi gently shook his head. "There isn't just one passage in the mountain. The Star Poison Toad's nest is very large. It wouldn't be surprising if someone found another weakness nearby and converged here through different passages. Judging by the corpse of this Star Poison Toad, it died at least two months ago… There's no sound at all here. Could all the Star Poison Toads have been killed?" At this point, Yun Youzi was suddenly alarmed.

The adult Star Poison Toads in the nest were numerous; it was a venomous lair that even Core Formation cultivators wouldn't dare trespass! The two looked at each other in dismay.

"Little Brother Qin, do you remember what the shopkeeper of Tianfeng Tower once said? This sudden chaos in Wuya Valley was very abrupt and defied logic. Someone mentioned sensing an extremely powerful aura passing by, and those demonic beasts and ghostly entities seemed more like they were scared away..." Yun Youzi's tone was solemn.

Qin Sang asked hoarsely, "Senior, are you suspecting..."

Yun Youzi slowly uttered two words, "Nascent Soul!"

Then, Qin Sang and Yun Youzi boldly walked deeper into the Star Poison Toad's nest, becoming more alarmed with each step. Corpse after corpse of Star Poison Toads floated on the muddy swamp, a shocking sight. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe it as littered with bodies. Among them were many adult Star Poison Toads.

All the Star Poison Toads were killed with a single blow. Their most valuable part, the poison sacs, which were the only items of worth, had all been plundered. Furthermore, they didn't even see a single trace of a struggle. It was as if these poison toads were happily living in their nest when disaster suddenly struck, leaving them no ability to retaliate.

Yun Youzi quickened his pace and walked all the way to the end of the nest, yet he couldn't find a single living Star Poison Toad. Qin Sang looked at Yun Youzi and cautiously asked, "Senior, could someone have gotten ahead of us?" If a Nascent Soul cultivator had indeed passed through, even the strongest refining corpse wouldn't be able to stop them and would be easily blasted to dust. The spiritual herbs would certainly have been taken by the Nascent Soul cultivator as well. It would be meaningless for them to risk going further inside.

"No!" To Qin Sang's surprise, Yun Youzi shook his head with great certainty. "Little Brother Qin, you don't understand the inner valley. Those rumors in the market are mere hearsay; very few people have actually entered the inner valley, so they're not reliable.

"The scope of Wuya Valley's inner valley is several times larger than the first and second layers combined. It is a vast and boundless region. The many dangers we encountered in the second layer are merely child's play compared to the inner valley.

"In the inner valley, ancient restrictions and spatial rifts are intertwined and omnipresent. There are also ancient beasts of terrifying power hidden within, no weaker than Nascent Soul cultivators. Without knowing the safe routes, I wouldn't dare bring you here to your death, Little Brother Qin.

"It's impossible for such a coincidence that a Nascent Soul cultivator happened to take the exact same path as us. We haven't even exited the barrier yet; continuing further will reveal the truth."

The two continued forward. Qin Sang realized that Yun Youzi's intended path required traversing the Star Poison Toad's nest. If the Star Poison Toads were still alive, they would indeed have had to put in a considerable effort.

After walking a bit further, the green mist became thinner. Yun Youzi seemed to have discovered something else and quickened his pace. When Qin Sang caught up, he saw a remnant limb of an unknown demonic beast on the ground, clearly not belonging to a Star Poison Toad.

"More than just Star Poison Toads live here. These were the Star Poison Toads' natural enemies, and they've also been cleared out." Yun Youzi scoffed at himself, "I don't know which senior paved the way, but all the preparations I painstakingly made were for naught... However, it has saved us a lot of trouble."

The further they went, the more severed limbs they found. Demonic beast blood had dyed the muddy swamp blue. The corpses of the demonic beasts had been skinned and dismembered, with all valuable parts plundered.

Suddenly, Yun Youzi's figure flickered. He darted to a torn beast hide, knelt down, and stared at it, pondering silently. The beast hide was palm-sized, covered in black, needle-hard bristles. In the middle of the hide, there was an extremely faint wound. Other than that, there were no other abnormalities.

"What are you looking at, Senior?" Qin Sang asked curiously.

"Shadowless Sword!"

Yun Youzi let out a long breath and pointed at the mark in the middle of the beast hide. "This sword mark was left by the renowned sword art of the Wuji Sect. No wonder those Star Poison Toads died so silently! I hadn't realized it before, I just found it strange. Only after seeing this sword mark on the beast hide did I recall this sword art."

Qin Sang was startled by this, exceptionally surprised. "Could the person ahead be the Wuji Sect Master?" Before, they had thought it was a Nascent Soul cultivator from a demonic sect who had arrived here. They never expected it to be the Wuji Sect Master, one of the Eight Orthodox Sects!

Yun Youzi hesitated, "If it is, it makes sense. It might not be the Sect Master themselves; a late Core Formation expert from the Wuji Sect could also barely achieve this." Regardless of whether it was a Nascent Soul or a late Core Formation cultivator, neither was someone they could provoke. For them, it made no difference.

The two continued forward. They saw other severed limbs and beast hides, but no similar sword marks were present. Based on just one sword mark, Yun Youzi couldn't deduce much more.

The space inside the cave was more complex than Qin Sang had imagined. After seeing more remains of slain demonic beasts, the terrain began to change. As they exited the muddy swamp and turned into a rock crevice, they hadn't walked far when they suddenly heard strange 'cooing' sounds from ahead. There were demonic beasts blocking the path ahead, but Yun Youzi was greatly pleased. This indicated that the mysterious expert was not taking the same path as them.

Yun Youzi took out a magic artifact made from an unknown beast hide, covering both of them. They passed through the beast group without incident, finally reaching the mountain wall and locating a very hidden and unusually low cave.

"Finally, we're out!" Yun Youzi exclaimed.

Qin Sang emerged from behind Yun Youzi. After entering the cave, although the path was winding and long, they encountered no other restrictions or demonic beasts blocking their way, and successfully emerged. Fortunately, both of them were unharmed so far, and their energy consumption was minimal, leaving them with ample energy to face the dangers of the inner valley.

At this moment, they were in a long, narrow rock crevice in the mountains, and bright light emanated from ahead. As they were about to exit the crevice, the first thing that met their eyes was a lush, green grassland. A gentle breeze swept through, bending the blades of grass, creating green waves that undulated far into the distance. The rustling sound, however, brought a sense of calm to those who heard it. In the depths of the grassland, mountain shadows layered upon each other.

At a glance, it was a serene scene, contrary to Qin Sang's expectations. The beautiful scenery before them seemed out of place, and an expression of surprise appeared on Qin Sang's face. Seeing Qin Sang's expression, Yun Youzi could guess what he was thinking. He smiled and said, "Little Brother Qin, there's no need to be surprised. Just a few more steps forward, and you'll see the true appearance of the inner valley."