Chapter 631: Terrifying Ten Thousand Poison Pearl

Verdant green poison clouds exploded, instantly engulfing a vast area and filling the space with green poisonous mist. The mist was so thick one couldn't see their hand in front of their face; it was a color deeper than pure black, seemingly capable of devouring all light.

Everyone had thought Lu Ye had flicked out a spirit artifact meant for killing enemies. Who would have thought it would be such a contraption?

Caught off guard, many cultivators from the Myriad Demon Ridge were enveloped by the poisonous mist.

The next moment, gasps of alarm rang out: "It's poison!"

"Hold your breath quickly!"

"Take the antidote pills!"

"Damn you, Lu Yiye! I'll tear you into a thousand pieces!"

Cultivators not affected by the mist showed panic. They retreated quickly, trying to avoid the encroaching poisonous mist. Those who were affected hastily activated their spirit power for protection, while simultaneously holding their breath and hurriedly taking antidote pills from their storage bags.

Amidst this chaotic scene, another verdant green Ten Thousand Poison Orb shot out of the poisonous mist, soaring above the multitude of Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators. This time, before they could even attempt to stop it, the Ten Thousand Poison Orb exploded with a bang.

A massive cloud of poison spread out, enveloping a large number of Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators.

Immediately after, from another direction, a third Ten Thousand Poison Orb exploded!

When Lu Ye last returned to the Spirit Creek Battlefield to see Hua Ci, he had only brought three Ten Thousand Poison Orbs from her. This time, he used them all directly, leaving none behind.

The result was that almost all Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators were engulfed by the poisonous clouds. And as their spirit power surged, the poisonous clouds further spread throughout the entire mine shaft.

Within the dense green mist, violent coughing soon erupted, accompanied by labored breathing and cries of alarm.

The cultivators from Myriad Demon Ridge were horrified to discover that even with their protective spirit power activated, they couldn't resist the corrosive effects of the poisonous mist. Even holding their breath didn't help, as the omnipresent mist seemed to penetrate their bodies through their pores.

In just a dozen breaths, everyone began to show various signs of poisoning.

Some felt their entire bodies go numb, others experienced unbearable itching, while still others felt dizzy and staggered, with an abnormal green hue appearing on their faces.

But without exception, almost everyone felt that the spirit power within their bodies became sluggish, and the flow of the long river of spirit energy slowed down. Moreover, this symptom became increasingly pronounced with time.

Thudding sounds came from various directions, indicating that some lower-level cultivators could no longer hold on and had collapsed to the ground.

Cultivators who could still stand scattered and fled in all directions. However, the poisonous mist had already spread through more than half of the mine, and it was clear that even Lu Ye's position wouldn't be spared. No matter how they fled, where could they go?

Originally, the mine shaft offered an escape route, but just now, the mine shaft had completely collapsed, turning this place into a completely sealed environment!

Curses and furious shouts filled the air, along with screams from those being trampled.

The scene was utter chaos!

Somewhere in the crowd, Song Zhui felt himself weakening at a visible pace, and his eyelids twitched violently.

Even he, a Ninth-Level cultivator from a first-grade sect, couldn't resist the corrosive power of the poisonous mist. How much more so for others?

Just a short while ago, he had thought Lu Ye had no escape route other than arranging a teleportation array in advance. But in the blink of an eye, the situation had deteriorated to this extent.

The opponent had never intended to escape. His presence here was merely to lure them into a trap. He intended to slaughter two thousand Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators by himself!

What audacity!

Originally, this was an impossible feat. Yet, under the opponent's careful guidance and planning, this impossible feat now had a possibility of becoming reality.

Indeed, by this point, how could Song Zhui not understand that this was all Lu Ye's plan?

His exposure was real, but it was likely not accidental, but rather deliberate, to lure a large number of Myriad Demon Ridge personnel here.

As for his severe injuries, that must also have been a diversion. At the very least, he hadn't seen any signs of injury on Lu Ye just now; Lu Ye's aura was perfectly stable.

He had set up numerous explosive arrays within the mine shaft. The main purpose wasn't to hinder the Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators from exploring further, but to loosen the rock walls inside the mine shaft, preparing for its collapse!

After the many Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators were drawn here, his hidden accomplice made their move. The mine shaft collapsed, trapping everyone inside, unable to escape for the time being.

In such a confined environment, the power of the poisonous mist could undoubtedly be maximized!

He had not been without doubts before. For example, why was Lu Ye severely injured? Who had injured him?

Why could Lu Ye hide undetected for several days deep within Mount Taimang, yet expose his whereabouts in the outer regions?

Even if his tracks were exposed, he shouldn't have chosen such a dead-end environment to hide.

But all these doubts he had explained away with various possible answers.

Furthermore, who could have imagined that a Fifth-Level Cloud River realm cultivator would be so audacious that when facing the entire Myriad Demon Ridge faction's pursuit and search, instead of trying to conceal his whereabouts, he would actively set up a trap? And even lure so many Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators into it at once.

Wasn't he afraid of things going wrong?

Thinking about these things now was pointless.

In the confined environment, the power of the poisonous mist was gradually taking effect. Song Zhui could already feel his strength rapidly declining. Although he had immediately taken an antidote pill, its efficacy was extremely limited. If they didn't quickly find a way to leave this place, he feared all two thousand cultivators would be annihilated this time.

The thought of this potential dire outcome sent shivers down Song Zhui's spine.

For cultivators of the same level fighting as enemies, to slaughter two thousand people at once, throughout the history of the cultivation world of the Nine Provinces, was an unprecedented and seemingly impossible feat.

He had heard before that in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, thousands of Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators had died either directly or indirectly by Lu Ye's hand. But that was merely hearsay, and those slain cultivators were just a number to him.

But when that number transformed into individual living beings, even Song Zhui, who had killed many people, couldn't remain indifferent.

He activated his spirit power and roared, "What are you panicking for! Those below the third-level cultivation, quickly clear the mine shaft! Those above the third-level, quickly dismantle the arrays and kill Lu Yiye!"

It must be said that being able to make arrangements so quickly at such a moment showed Song Zhui was experienced in handling difficult situations. And his arrangements were undoubtedly precisely what was needed.

As long as they could quickly clear the path they came from, they would have a way to retreat. Then, no matter how potent the poison they had ingested, as long as they didn't die immediately, there would always be a solution.

While clearing the passage, killing Lu Ye was the only way to solve the problem at its root. Although killing Lu Ye wouldn't cure them of the poison, at the very least, it would ensure they faced no further threats in this environment.

In this confined space, Lu Ye was their only enemy.

In such a chaotic situation, someone like Song Zhui was needed to take charge.

With his sharp command, the panicking Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators suddenly seemed to find their backbone and sprang into action.

Multicolored lights bloomed once more, as many Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators resumed their previous actions, pushing forward relentlessly to forcefully break Lu Ye's arrays.

Those cultivators below the third-level all turned back, rushing towards the mine shaft, intending to clear the rubble. However, many cultivators stumbled, collapsing to the ground after just a few steps.

They weren't dead yet, but they had lost all strength in their bodies. The long river of spirit power within them had almost ceased to flow, rendering them unable to channel any spirit power.

A cultivator unable to channel spirit power was merely a slightly stronger version of an ordinary person.

In the end, only a handful of a dozen or so people managed to force themselves into the mine shaft. But even they didn't know how long they could last.

Boom, boom, boom...

Violent explosions continued to erupt, and the fluctuations of spirit power were utterly chaotic.

At this very moment, the entire mine shaft was filled with poisonous mist, and even Lu Ye's location was not spared.

He still stood there, leaning on his long blade, allowing the Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators to approach him inch by inch. His face showed no ripple of emotion; he even had the leisure to immerse his consciousness to check the reaction of his Talent Tree.

Soon, he discovered that the Ten Thousand Poison Orbs he had unleashed this time were much more powerful than the last time. This was because the Talent Tree's reaction was more intense than before, undoubtedly indicating that the poison of these Orbs was stronger this time.

This discovery surprised him somewhat.

To date, Lu Ye had only used the Ten Thousand Poison Orbs once before. That was in the Myriad Beast Domain secret realm, against Niu Meng, the sect master of Profound Turtle Sect, who was in his beast transformation state.

The situation at that time was truly desperate. Although their side had several Ninth-Level Cloud River realm cultivators, they were no match for Niu Meng, who was in his beast transformation state and had also become the core of a worm nest.

Pang Dahai, who had disguised himself as a spell cultivator but was actually a body cultivator, was nearly beaten to death by Niu Meng. Zhou Hai, a sword cultivator renowned for his combat prowess, likewise found it difficult to inflict effective damage on Niu Meng.

Finally, Lu Ye had no choice but to unleash the Ten Thousand Poison Orbs, delivering a strike that affected both friend and foe. Only then was Niu Meng's strength weakened, allowing him to team up with Zhou Hai and find an opportunity to break Niu Meng's beast transformation secret technique.

Unleashing the Ten Thousand Poison Orbs that time was truly a last resort. After all, Lu Ye himself was immune to all poisons, but others were not.

Niu Meng in his beast transformation state was undoubtedly very strong. After witnessing the power of the Savage Giant Ape, Lu Ye believed that Niu Meng in beast transformation had almost reached the level of a hegemon.

Yet, even so, he was still weakened by the Ten Thousand Poison Orbs.

If even a hegemonic-level existence couldn't withstand the power of the Ten Thousand Poison Orbs, how could these Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators, who had now rushed into the mine, possibly fare?

Furthermore, this batch of Ten Thousand Poison Orbs was even more potent than the last.

Lu Ye didn't know that the Ten Thousand Poison Orbs were the crystallization of Hua Ci's entire cultivation. This item could not only be used against enemies, but also serve as Hua Ci's reserve cultivation.

In other words, when Hua Ci eventually advanced to the Cloud River realm, the Ten Thousand Poison Orbs she had refined could be re-ingested by her to enhance her cultivation.