Chapter 238: Searching for Clues, Scarlet Flame Red Stone

The whooshing sounds cut through the dense forest. Five rapidly spinning ice wheels sliced a centipede, over twenty meters long, into six pieces. Green blood flowed across the ground, rapidly decaying the dead branches and leaves it touched and significantly darkening the soil.

Wang Yu swiftly flew from behind the trees. With a flicker of his spiritual sense, he extracted a greenish poison core from the centipede's body. It was greenish-gray, somewhat translucent, with slight keratinous protrusions and a faint insect phantom inside. This was a mid-tier second-stage poisonous beast, and demon beast cores, before reaching the third stage, typically retained such physical characteristics. Next, he tossed out his Spotless Jade Toad to absorb the centipede's toxins, then took out his Ghost Wail Flute to capture and enslave the lingering demon soul. This process was incredibly refined, almost a standard post-battle cleanup method for Wang Yu, ensuring every part of the enemy was utilized without waste.

It was his twentieth day in the Heavenly Demon Bone Forest. He hadn't encountered the ground array master mentioned by the Ruan family elder, but he had met numerous repulsive poisonous beasts. Apart from some unrecognizable toxic plants, what he most dreaded was a "spiritual poison," often blended into poisonous miasma and carried by the natural wind. He only discovered it because, after perfecting the Ancient Soul Art, he had gained the Ancient Soul Divinity, which could resist most anomalies targeting the soul.

Even the Spotless Jade Toad only detected it after it had been infiltrated, as its resistance to toxins was based on its ability to absorb them for growth, without affecting its inherent talent for perception. Its ability to sense toxins was, frankly, just average. This unique "spiritual poison" and the fact that only the Ancient Soul Divinity could resist it made Wang Yu confident that he had found the right place. The Ancient Heaven Soul Sect might have used this natural barrier as the outermost defense of their sect, or perhaps they even introduced the spiritual poison themselves. Lacking more specific clues, Wang Yu simply followed the wind direction, tracing the airflow to mark an area on his map. He was currently heading towards the center of this designated area.

According to intelligence from Wan Du Town, the direction he was heading was a low-lying basin, explored countless times. Besides some poisonous spiritual plants, it was also home to a type of white poisonous snake demon—extremely fast and fiercely venomous, though usually only capable of a single strike and typically just first-stage in power. However, this was the inner region of the Heavenly Demon Bone Forest, where he could encounter intelligent third-stage poisonous beasts at any moment, making it extremely dangerous. Wang Yu moved with even greater caution, almost constantly maintaining the Breathless Incantation to dispel his aura and scent.

"I remember that many poisons in the Heavenly Demon Bone Forest are remarkably effective for body tempering, and there's also a 'Black Sky Wormgrass' that can increase true essence!" he murmured to himself, periodically stopping to cast his Mountain Search Demon Seeker Secret Art.

"What's this—"

As Wang Yu proceeded, he used his true essence to push aside some obstructive grass, his keen eyes fixed on the object ahead. A large toad with a black body and fiery spots was squatting on a lava-like rock, which, if he wasn't mistaken, was a rare third-stage material called Blazing Red Stone. It was typically used as an inlay in other magic treasures to enhance fire power while imbuing a corrosive fire poison effect. This current piece was large enough to be divided into over ten portions, valued at more than a million spirit stones!

The toad itself, a Poison Fire Toad, had reached the early third-stage of cultivation, and was not newly at this level; it had at least reached the peak of this stage. Unlike demon beasts below the third stage, which were weak and unintelligent, those at the third stage were entirely different. Not only did they awaken bloodline innate abilities, but some even possessed natal demon treasures, typically remnants of old bodies struck by heavenly tribulations or certain organs left after physical transformation, such as horns, scales, or severed tails. For example, if a three-tailed snow fox was fortunate enough to advance, it would likely shed its tail to gain a treasure, depending on its species. Demon beasts' natal treasures were extremely primitive, making them exceedingly rare and excellent materials for cultivators. Precisely because of their primitive nature, demon beasts only instinctively refined them, which is why when humans obtained them and imprinted their own methods, they became extraordinarily powerful.

The moment he saw the Poison Fire Toad, Wang Yu immediately cast an invisibility spell, and his figure vanished into the forest. At that moment, the Poison Fire Toad seemed to sense something and looked over, its horizontal, bright yellow eyes blinking, but finding nothing. Wang Yu, who had swiftly relocated, was contemplating his battle strategy. Back in the Black Mountain Demon Land, he had moved uninhibited and had extensive experience fighting demon beasts, even being able to contend with second-stage ones. However, he couldn't be so reckless with the Poison Fire Toad. After some thought, he quickly retreated a thousand meters and released Xueyu.

With a shoulder height of 2.6 meters, a body length of 5 meters, and a total length of over 12 meters including its tail, the three-tailed snow fox emerged from the spirit beast pouch. Its size had significantly increased since it first broke through to Foundation Establishment. It was now a veritable large fox, its cultivation having reached Foundation Establishment Layer Four, and it looked at Wang Yu with a questioning gaze.

"Xueyu, in a moment, I need you to conjure a blizzard over here, blowing it in that direction, then retreat far away yourself."

"Awoo~" It understood. He was asking it to be bait again, something they had done more than once. A hint of resentment showed in its bright, ice-pink fox eyes. Seeing this, Wang Yu stroked Xueyu's soft fur, a sincere smile on his face.

"Don't be afraid, nothing bad will happen."

"Awoo—"

Seeing Xueyu agree, Wang Yu quickly returned to where the Poison Fire Toad was cultivating. He released his Lunar Sha Corpse, placing his right hand on its back to extend the effects of his invisibility spell and Breathless Incantation to it—something only possible at the realm of perfected related spells.

After a short while, a blizzard blew in from the north. The Poison Fire Toad, which had been absorbing the fire-elemental spiritual energy of heaven and earth, suddenly shivered, its ferocious demonic aura bursting forth. It almost immediately pinpointed Xueyu's location. The Blazing Red Stone it had been cultivating on, now polished to a sheen beneath its rear, became infused with its anger. In a fit of rage, the Poison Fire Toad chose to swallow the stone whole before leaping towards Xueyu, covering a kilometer with each jump.

Wang Yu was stunned. This creature's intelligence was indeed far beyond that of a second-stage demon beast. Fortunately, he had considered this possibility when planning, which was why he had released the Lunar Sha Corpse in advance. If he couldn't steal it, he would take it by force. Heavenly treasures belong to those fated to receive them, and the Poison Fire Toad... was not worthy.

"—Yin Corpse Descent Malign Curse!"

As the Poison Fire Toad was mid-leap, its vision suddenly went black. Dense lunar evil energy descended from nothingness, reducing its various attributes by nearly fifty percent. This terrifying, unheard-of curse, which it was encountering for the first time in its intelligent demonic life, immediately threw it into a panic. The poison sacs on its back, like miniature volcanoes, spewed out large amounts of lava-like body fluid, accompanied by billowing black smoke that ignited the surrounding damp trees.

"Awoooo~~~"

Xueyu's cry came from farther away. The sky darkened, dark clouds obscured the sun, and freezing rain and snow descended simultaneously, reaching their maximum intensity in an instant. Seeing this, Wang Yu controlled the Lunar Sha Corpse to pounce forward, stomping his foot to follow closely. Mid-air, he condensed a spiraling ice sword-aura, making it rotate fiercely like a drill, aiming it at the Poison Fire Toad's backside. This was a massive ice sword, over a hundred meters long. Under the enhancement of its extreme cold aura and the weather spell, the Poison Fire Toad's instinct to manipulate fire energy was suppressed.

"Croak—"

The opponent would not simply wait to die. The Poison Fire Toad spat out a thick, smoke-blackened fiery pillar, which, with unstoppable force, crushed Wang Yu's spiraling ice sword-aura. Its back sacs also spewed out more fluid, which not only dispersed the dark clouds in the sky but also transformed into a fiery meteor shower, engulfing an area of several thousand meters. "Disintegrating the attack while neutralizing unfavorable environmental suppression, and even counter-attacking... indeed, a third-stage demon beast is almost a different type of creature from those below it."

Having gleaned the information he needed, Wang Yu easily dodged the falling lava with the aid of his Frost Moon Wings escape art. At this moment, the Lunar Sha Corpse also reached the Poison Fire Toad's back. Its moon-evil-infused claws directly reached out, activating its innate ability to absorb blood from a distance. The Poison Fire Toad immediately felt its body being pulled again. Its movement to shift its rear was just a fraction too slow, and it was struck by the corpse's claw. It let out a piercing shriek.

"CROAK!!!"

At the same time, five more ice wheels flew in, striking its pale belly. The rapidly spinning ice wheels carved out numerous wounds, and extreme cold true essence began to invade its body. Wang Yu swiftly flew in, delivering an "axe-kick" that slammed the Poison Fire Toad into the ground. Dust flew, and fragments of bone were simultaneously flung into the air. The heavy blows to its belly and back made it gag and vomit, expelling the Blazing Red Stone. At this instant, the Poison Fire Toad fully understood this malicious human's intention. The moment its frog leg reached for the red stone, it was slapped away again by the Lunar Sha Corpse, which was completely impervious to its fire poison. The Sha Corpse grabbed the toad's leg and flung it far away.

While the toad was flying helplessly and unable to counter, Wang Yu remotely clenched his hand. The moon evil energy erupted again, dimming the poison fluid spewing from the Poison Fire Toad's back, making it seem frozen and unable to generate fire. Wang Yu glided low, simultaneously retrieving his Sha Corpse and snatching up the Blazing Red Stone, storing it in his Sea Heart Ring. With the Breathless Incantation and invisibility spell, he vanished.

The Poison Fire Toad leaped back, furious, unleashing its full poison flames. From its center, a black-and-red fire ring expanded, incinerating everything in its path within a nearly ten-li radius. It intended to force Wang Yu out with an area attack.

—"Found him!"

Concealment spells were not invincible. Wang Yu was confident he could evade the Poison Fire Toad's sensory abilities, but he had to resist the area attack. As soon as his cold energy leaked, his location was naturally pinpointed. A pink tongue, wreathed in toxic smoke, reached him in the blink of an eye. Wang Yu flicked his right hand, gripping the low-grade magic treasure, the Ghost Wail Flute. Spinning once in flight, he fiercely unleashed five or six Heart-Rending Cries. The Poison Fire Toad's predatory tongue was not only incredibly fast but also unbelievably tough; the Heart-Rending Cries could not sever it.