Chapter 55

Just as Chu He's consciousness was gradually fading away.

Suddenly, a warm sensation rose from his dantian. As soon as this warmth appeared, a tingling pain and itching sensation surged like a tidal wave, causing Chu He to shudder.

He shouldn't die! The Purifying Fire had finally completed the transformation of the Earth Flame Snake King's poison and was once again exerting its power to protect its master.

Damn cooldown! Chu He couldn't help but curse fiercely.

The Purifying Fire had already purified his body five or six times in response to his mental command, reducing the invading poison to an extremely low level.

After barely recovering some of his spiritual essence, Chu He crawled to the ground, took out a few Essence Cultivation Pills from his storage ring, and swallowed them. He then pulled out two medium-grade Ice Storm talismans.

He was in such a hurry, all to help Xiao Bai.

The lava flow resumed, and the temperature in this pit rose. The Earth Flame Snakes hiding downstream were becoming restless, and some were returning.

He didn't know how much effort Xiao Bai had put in during the short time he was unconscious.

He saw that Xiao Bai's fur was stained with green-black snake venom, and it looked like it was about to collapse. Despite this, it was still persistently spitting out cold light, barely keeping the Earth Flame Snakes at bay a few dozen feet away.

Seeing this, Chu He felt a mix of sorrow and warmth in his heart: to share life and death, to be loyal and protect the master, nothing could surpass this.

Although they had signed a blood contract, it didn't mean that the spirit beast's loyalty would be very high, unless they had a long relationship.

Even spirit beasts with very high loyalty might flee in the face of life and death. Such incidents were not uncommon throughout history and were sometimes even laughed at.

"Bang!" The two Ice Storm talismans exploded, cold air spreading, turning the area into a snowy landscape. The Earth Flame Snakes, having tasted the power, quickly hid in the lava and retreated downstream.

With the Earth Flame Snakes temporarily driven back, Chu He quickly picked a Green Flame Fruit from the Green Flame Tree and called Xiao Bai over.

The Green Flame Fruit could neutralize the Earth Flame Snake's poison. After it drank the juice, Chu He hurriedly put it in the spirit beast bag to rest.

Although he felt waves of weakness, Chu He still forced the remaining spiritual essence to convert the medicinal power, even though it was harmful to his meridians. But in such a critical moment, he couldn't afford to be too cautious.

Next, he cleaned up the battlefield. After such a fierce battle, he couldn't leave the spoils behind.

The most valuable thing here was probably the core of a fifth-level demon beast, provided it wasn't broken during the fight.

The Earth Flame Snake King's core was the easiest to obtain; its head was almost flattened by the Four-Armed Demon Monkey.

How could it be so fragile, being a fifth-level demon beast? Chu He was a bit puzzled, but then he saw a sword mark behind its head, which immediately resolved his doubts.

The Earth Flame Snake King's core was clearly hit by a powerful force and was somewhat flattened, but fortunately, it didn't break.

The core was about the size of a thumb and was bluish-red.

Since it was a fifth-level demon beast, there wasn't a very obvious soul imprint in the core, only a faint, snake-like glow. This imprint could be easily erased during future refinement.

After obtaining the Earth Flame Snake King's core, Chu He first searched the tall and thin cultivator and the felt-hat cultivator, leaving the Four-Armed Demon Monkey's core for last.

If the situation became critical, he would abandon the Four-Armed Demon Monkey's core, as it was the hardest to obtain. Even with a medium-grade magical tool and the other party being dead, Chu He had no confidence in breaking open its brain palace in a short time.

At this moment, the snakes below the deep pit began to hiss, indicating that those beasts were about to return to their lair.

Chu He picked a few Green Flame Fruits and put them in his storage ring, then carried the Four-Armed Demon Monkey's corpse and flew out of the pit with the Cloud Soaring technique, trembling as he headed for the exit above.

How could he leave such good things behind for those beasts? Even if he died of exhaustion, he had to carry them out!

Flying out of the pit, he found himself in a low-lying area of a dense forest, with tall trees over a dozen feet high blocking the sky, and the ground covered with shrubs and grass, presenting a tropical rainforest scene. The forest was filled with green miasma, mixing with the smoke from the lava, making the place quite hidden and hard to find.

Finding an open area, he dropped the Four-Armed Demon Monkey's corpse to one side, then shot out four triangular small array flags, placing them several dozen feet away in all directions. He then activated a medium-grade Earth Talisman, forming a thick earth cage around himself.

This small illusion array could conceal his form and aura, deceiving demon beasts below the third level. The earth cage could withstand several attacks from a typical third-level demon beast, providing a temporary place for healing.

After doing all this, Chu He used his spiritual sense to check on Xiao Bai in the storage bag. He saw that its breathing was steady and its complexion was much better, indicating that the Green Flame Fruit had effectively neutralized the snake venom. Chu He's heart eased a bit.

His spiritual essence was almost depleted, and he was extremely tired. He didn't dare to delay, quickly sitting cross-legged to take medicine and removing the flying needles from his body.

He obtained a total of twelve flying needles, then began to cultivate and heal his injuries. The Purifying Fire had almost completely eliminated the poison, and he only needed to restore his spiritual essence; the external injuries were not a big concern.

※※※※※※※

Qingling Town, Luo Family Inn.

The inn was bustling with customers, but the head manager, Yuan Fang, was in a hurry, his face clouded with worry, no longer showing his usual warm smile.

He ignored the greetings of the staff and even the familiar customers and VIPs, rushing upstairs.

On the fifth floor, in the Heavenly Character VIP room.

"Hmm? The soul token shattered?!"

"Bang!" After hearing what Zhao Biao said, the teacup in the plump Fourth Master's hand suddenly shattered. The flying shards and tea water didn't touch him at all, as if there was an invisible barrier between them.

Yuan Fang stood respectfully with his head bowed, his eyes fixed on the ground, not moving an inch at the sound.

"One Upper-Stage Innate Realm and one Middle-Stage Innate Realm, chasing a sixth-layer Qi Cultivation Realm youth, and they both ended up dead?! This youth truly surprises me."

Fourth Master rubbed his temples and slowly said, "The younger generation in Qingling City is full of capable individuals, but this youth is the first one I've seen who is so unbelievable. What do you think, Yuan Fang?"

"Fourth Master, actually, among the capable younger generation, there seems to be one person you've overlooked: Gong Sun Mingjian," Yuan Fang replied respectfully.

"Haha, can I still consider Gong Sun Mingjian a junior? His cultivation is probably not much weaker than mine. In a few years, I might have to show him the respect of a senior." Fourth Master laughed, patting his hands, and then muttered, "What a pity, I couldn't bring him into the Luo Family, all because of that unambitious girl, Xiao Ying."

At this moment, Yuan Fang interjected, "Why not have Luo Wei take care of it, to settle everything once and for all?"

Fourth Master frowned and said, "Yuan Fang, you're still the same, always talking in riddles."

Yuan Fang smiled, showing a mouth of bright white teeth, and said, "As long as I do a good job for Fourth Master, the rest can be handled by Mei Hong."

"Fine, I missed Gong Sun Mingjian, but I can't miss this youth. I hope it will be a good deal. What do you think, Yuan Fang?" Fourth Master looked at him seriously.

"In my opinion, we should wait and see if the youth can return alive from the Green Miasma Swamp," Yuan Fang replied softly.

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