Chapter 281
Scouting the Way!
Chapter 281 Scouting the Way!
Several days later, three thousand miles west of Nutao City, at the mouth of the Gushu River.
The massive hull of the Demon Sea slowly sailed into a murky body of water, the river as wide as a lake.
Both sides of the river are endless dark green forests with towering canopies reaching into the clouds and vines hanging down like curtains. The air is filled with the damp, humid smell of decay, and the distant, low, and strange roars of beasts can be faintly heard.
In the quiet room of No. 3, Chen Jinshu sat cross-legged on a futon, his eyes slightly closed.
About ten feet in front of her, a puppet with an identical appearance stood silently, its eyes empty and its aura almost nonexistent.
"The first priority on our journey to Blackwater Marsh is to explore the surrounding terrain and the distribution of monsters, especially the location of the 'Yin Bone River' and the 'Rotting Bone Forest'."
"If you encounter a monster of the third rank or higher, focus on maneuvering and probing, and do not engage it head-on."
If you encounter a cultivator, avoid them and hide.
The deadline is three days; regardless of the outcome of the investigation, you must return.
A tiny, faint blue light flashed in the puppet's empty eyes, and it nodded slightly.
The next moment, the blue lotus mark between Chen Jinshu's eyebrows swirled, and a more solid wisp of divine thought separated and entered the puppet's brow.
The puppet's body trembled slightly, and its originally stiff face instantly became lively, its eyes shining with the same cold light as Chen Jinshu's real body.
It moved its wrist, the movement was smooth and natural, and it was no different from a real person.
"Go."
Chen Jinshu remained with his eyes closed, his voice indifferent.
The puppet turned around, pushed open the door to the quiet room, and its figure transformed into an almost imperceptible gray shadow. It silently swept across the corridor, leaped off the ship's side, and disappeared into the murky river below without splashing a single drop of water.
……
Not long after, on the outskirts of Blackwater Marsh, downstream of the Yin Bone River.
The river water was dark brown and flowed slowly. Dead branches, fallen leaves, and the remains of unknown creatures floated on the surface, emitting a pungent, putrid stench.
The puppet quietly rose from the water and stood on a dead tree that was half-submerged in the water.
Chen Jinshu used the puppet's eyes to observe his surroundings.
"This is the edge of the Blackwater Marsh, and the fog is even thicker than that of the Ancient Garrison River!"
The mist was pale green, and even a Golden Core cultivator's divine sense could only penetrate a hundred feet.
The poisonous miasma permeating the air carried a chilling quality; an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator would have their meridians frozen and their soul damaged within half an hour here.
"The concentration of poisonous miasma is consistent with what Elder Songhe described... The yin energy is heaviest in the northeast direction, which should be the upper reaches of the Yin Gu River."
Chen Jinshu quickly determined the direction, lightly touched the ground with his toes, and his figure swept upstream along the riverbank like a ghost.
After traveling about a hundred miles, the terrain gradually lowers and the river narrows. On both banks, large patches of strange trees with dark purple color and twisted shapes appear. The bark is cracked and oozes a viscous black sap that drips onto the ground, corroding small pits.
"The edge of the Bone Forest..."
Chen Jinshu controlled the puppet to stop, hiding behind the gnarled roots of a strange tree, and cautiously probed forward with his divine sense.
The forest was deathly silent, except for the occasional "crack" sound, like bones grinding together.
The ground was covered with a thick layer of strangely colored moss and fungi.
Suddenly, a seemingly calm black swamp a hundred feet to the left front churned violently.
Whoosh!
Mud splashed everywhere as a colossal creature burst out of the swamp.
It was a giant tortoise nearly three zhang long. Its carapace was not the brown or dark green of ordinary tortoises, but dark and mottled, with an uneven surface covered with thick black moss and barnacles that constantly dripped venom.
Dozens of curved, hook-like bony spurs grow along the edge of the tortoise shell, their tips gleaming with a cold, eerie green light.
Its head, grotesque like a crocodile's, was covered in bumps, with a pair of fist-sized, scarlet, and ferocious eyes, and sharp teeth clashing in its mouth.
"Alligator snapping turtle with putrefactive poison!!"
"Third-tier, mid-grade, with thick hide and flesh; its back armor's defense is comparable to that of a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator; its venom can corrode magical artifacts and taint the soul..."
Chen Jinshu quickly recognized the origin of the monster using the puppet's eyes, and his heart sank.
This beast is considered a local overlord on the outskirts of the Blackwater Marsh. It is violent, has a strong sense of territory, and an extremely keen sense of smell, capable of detecting the presence of creatures several miles away.
Although the puppet showed no signs of life, it had probably already sensed my presence when I probed it with my divine sense!
"Roar--!!"
Sure enough, the venomous crocodile turtle's scarlet eyes were fixed on the direction where the puppet was hiding, and it let out a low, thunderous roar.
Its thick limbs paddled through the mud, and its massive body charged forward with surprising speed.
Wherever it passed, mud surged and poisonous gas filled the air.
The strange, dark purple trees were snapped in half by its impact, and the broken ends were instantly corroded into a charred black by the venom.
Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Jinshu immediately controlled the puppet to retreat rapidly, while simultaneously forming hand seals with both hands.
"Wood Release: Shadow Clone Technique!"
Bang!Bang!Bang!
Three gray shadows, identical to the puppet, separated from the main body and shot off in different directions.
This is a simple escape technique that Chen Jinshu devised by combining the spiritual power of the green wood with the characteristics of the puppet. Although it has no offensive power, it is enough to disrupt perception and buy time.
A hint of human-like rage flashed in the carrion crocodile turtle's scarlet eyes. It suddenly opened its huge mouth and spewed out a torrent of dark green venom, which fanned out and covered an area of several dozen feet in front of it.
Chi Chi Chi!
Wherever the venom touched, vegetation withered and carbonized instantly, and the surface of rocks was corroded with honeycomb-like holes.
The two shadow clones were unable to dodge in time and were grazed by the venom. They instantly dissipated like bubbles, leaving not a trace.
The puppet's main body narrowly escaped the edge of the venom, its movement technique pushed to its limit, as it fled into the depths of the bone-rotting forest.
"We can't escape to the outer areas... The venomous alligator snapping turtle is fast, and the Gushu River is wide open, making it easier to be caught."
The terrain in the forest is complex, which may allow for some maneuverability.
Chen Jinshu calmly assessed the situation and manipulated the puppet to nimbly traverse between the twisted trees and swamps, sometimes stepping on driftwood and sometimes swinging on vines, trying his best to create distance.
However, the venomous snapping turtle was too familiar with this territory, and it no longer spewed venom.
With a sudden burst of strength from its limbs, the massive body shot out like an arrow, its hard head slamming into the strange tree behind the puppet, which took three people to encircle!
Boom!
The giant tree snapped in half, and the upper half, carrying immense force, crashed down on the puppet's head.
With nowhere to dodge, the puppet could only push its palms upwards, causing the spiritual power of the green wood to surge and transform into a solid green light shield.
boom!
Wood chips flew everywhere, the light shield trembled violently, and fine cracks appeared.
The puppet used the momentum to float backward, but the "ground" beneath its feet suddenly collapsed.
"Oh no! Quicksand swamp!"
Chen Jinshu's heart tightened. He manipulated the puppet to twist in mid-air, and touched the falling tree trunk with his toes, trying to use the momentum to leap out.
shhhhh!
However, the venomous alligator snapping turtle's massive tail, covered in bone spurs, swept in with a piercing whistling sound.
It almost completely blocked all the puppet's escape routes.
A cold glint flashed in Chen Jinshu's eyes. He manipulated the puppet to cross its arms in front of its chest, pouring all his spiritual power into its arms. A wooden spiritual shield appeared on the surface of its skin, allowing it to withstand the attack.
Bang! !
The puppet was flung away like a kite with a broken string, crashing through three thick vines before finally slamming heavily into a waist-deep black swamp, splashing mud several meters high. It struggled to its feet, a soft cracking sound coming from its arms. Looking down, it saw several fine cracks on its forearms, sizzling and emitting white smoke from the filth and toxins of the swamp.
"The right arm joint is 30% damaged, and the surface wood of the left arm is corroded... Fortunately, the core rune array is undamaged."
Chen Jinshu quickly assessed the injury, his heart sinking slightly.
This venomous alligator snapping turtle is not only incredibly strong, but also possesses an extremely powerful fighting instinct, making it a formidable opponent.
Although the puppet has no sense of pain, damage will affect its subsequent actions, and this place is located in the core of its territory. If we continue to entangle it, it may cause more trouble.
We must get out!
Her mind raced, and she stopped trying to fight the puppet head-on. Instead, she used her escape technique to speed towards the deeper part of the Bone Forest, where the yin energy was most concentrated.
At the same time, the puppet reached into its waist storage bag and pulled out three Explosive Flame Thunderfire Pills, each the size of a longan and with flowing lightning patterns on their surface.
Whoosh!Whoosh!Whoosh!
Three pills shot rapidly toward the relentlessly pursuing venomous alligator snapping turtle.
A hint of disdain flashed in the crocodile turtle's scarlet eyes. Without dodging or avoiding, it opened its mouth and spat out a stream of venom, intending to corrode the pill completely in mid-air.
Boom! Boom boom!!
Blinding lightning and blazing flames suddenly exploded, creating a deafening roar as lightning and fire collided!
"Roar--!"
The venomous alligator snapping turtle clearly hadn't expected this "hidden weapon" to be so powerful, and was thrown off balance by the blast wave.
Although unharmed, its pursuit was momentarily halted, and its scarlet eyes squinted as the lightning and fire stung them.
Taking advantage of the brief moment, the puppet flashed and disappeared completely into the thick, impenetrable green mist deep within the Bone Forest.
The venomous crocodile turtle roared furiously several times, paced around restlessly, and slammed its head against the strange trees around it to vent its anger.
But it ultimately did not pursue the matter further.
……
Half an hour later, the puppet was located under a relatively safe rocky cliff on the outskirts of the Blackwater Marsh.
"The upper reaches of the Yin Gu River are about two hundred li from here, and the direction has been confirmed."
The Bone-Rotting Forest is larger than marked on the map; the concentration of poisonous miasma increases sharply in its depths, and there are traces of unidentified biological activity… It is not advisable to explore further today.”
Chen Jinshu used the puppet's eyes to take one last look at the dark green jungle that seemed ready to devour anyone, then manipulated the puppet to turn around and quietly return towards the Gushu River.
Three days later, on the Demon Sea, in the third quiet room of the Heavenly Division.
The puppet stood silently in the room. Although the cracks on its right arm had been simply treated, they were still shocking to behold, and the surface of the wood had a dull color.
Although most of the filth and poison had been removed, some lingering stench remained.
Chen Jinshu slowly opened his eyes, his gaze falling on the puppet's damaged arm, his brows furrowing slightly.
"A third-tier venomous crocodile turtle... Such a ferocious creature exists on the outskirts of the Blackwater Swamp; the depths must be even more dangerous."
Although the puppet's defenses were made of thousand-year-old submerged wood, they were still insufficient against such brute force and insidious corrosion.
She pondered for a moment, then took out a piece of black wood about three feet long and as thick as a bowl from her storage bag.
This wood is entirely dark and dull, without any luster. Its surface has fine, dark patterns that resemble cold-forged metal. It is extremely heavy, several times heavier than refined iron of the same volume.
The wood itself exudes a concentrated, chilling aura.
"The fourth-tier spiritual material, 'Mysterious Yin Ironwood,' is born in an extremely yin place and takes a thousand years to mature under the nourishment of the earth's yin energy. It combines the toughness of wood, the hardness of metal, and the condensation of yin."
Strengthening the puppet's bones and joints in this way would significantly improve its resistance to impact and corrosion.
She bought this at a high price from a shop specializing in Yin-attribute materials in Raging Waves City. She already had the idea of strengthening the puppet, and now it came in handy.
Chen Jinshu ignited a bluish-white flame at his fingertips, controlling the temperature within a delicate range—enough to melt the Xuan Yin Ironwood without damaging the puppet's original dark wood skeleton.
With her skillful technique, the repair of her right arm was completed two hours later.
The new arm looks the same as before, but its color is deeper and more subdued, it feels cool to the touch, and it has a subtle metallic texture.
Chen Jinshu manipulated the puppet's fingers and arms with the same agility as before. In fact, with the addition of the Xuan Yin Ironwood, the efficiency of transmitting Yin-cold spiritual energy was even higher.
"If you're going to do something, do it all the time."
After a brief moment of rest, she began to reinforce and cover the puppet's main joints one by one with Xuan Yin Ironwood Liquid, forming a thin yet incredibly tough inner armor.
It was quite some time later when everything was finished.
"In this way, if we encounter the likes of the venomous snapping turtle again, we can withstand several attacks head-on without being harmed."
……
On this day, Qingheng suddenly burst forth with a vibrant, emerald-green light.
"Qingheng?"
Chen Jinshu sensed something and called out softly.
Then, a bright green light suddenly shone from his body, and he instantly reverted to his original form.
In an instant, a deep green vine about three feet long appeared in the spiritual plant space. The vine was crystal clear like jade, flowing with a warm and precious light, and the dozen or so leaves on its surface were lush and green.
"Jinshu..."
Qingheng's voice rang out directly in Chen Jinshu's mind, tinged with weariness but unable to conceal her excitement:
"I...I feel much better! My essence...it seems to have recovered about 30%!"
"Thirty percent?" A look of surprise flashed across Chen Jinshu's eyes.
She knew that Qingheng's essence was severely damaged, and even with the nourishment of the Xuan Yin Spirit Field and the assistance of the Ten Thousand Years of Sky Blue Ore, recovery would not be easy.
Unexpectedly, in just a few months, it has recovered to 30%!
"Hmm! After the Xuan Yin Spiritual Field expanded, the Yin energy and moonlight replenished each other particularly effectively, and I also absorbed a lot of the moonlight water spirit that dissipated when tide Yue wove silk..."
Qingheng paused, then her voice rang with eager anticipation:
"And... I think I can... expand into a small domain! Although it's very small, and the time it takes is very short..."
"Domain?" Chen Jinshu's eyes lit up.
"Give it a try."
"it is good!"
Qingheng responded, and the jade vines that her body had transformed into moved swiftly without wind.
The next moment, a soft, turquoise halo rippled outwards from the vines, instantly covering an area of ten feet in radius, just enough to cover a small patch of spirit field.
"This is the 'Green Vine Domain,' which uses my origin as a guide to connect with the spiritual energy of plants and trees."
Qingheng's voice echoed within the domain:
"Within this domain, the growth rate of spiritual plants can increase nearly tenfold, greatly enhancing the recovery and cultivation efficiency of wood-type cultivators. If used to trap enemies..."
With a slight thought, the azure light at the edge of her domain suddenly solidified, transforming into several illusory blue vine shadows that coiled around a corner of the space.
Where the shadows of the vines passed, the void became thick and heavy, as if sinking into a swamp.
Chen Jinshu estimated that if a cultivator in the early stage of the Golden Core realm were trapped inside, it would take at least two or three breaths to break free with all their might.
"Maintaining this domain is extremely taxing on me, and I can only sustain it for a maximum of... ten breaths at the moment."
Three breaths later, the azure halo receded like the tide, and the quiet room returned to its original state.
The vine that Qingheng had transformed into dimmed slightly and slowly drifted down, where Chen Jinshu reached out and caught it.
"Ten breaths...that's enough." Chen Jinshu gently stroked the vine, his eyes gleaming.
Ten breaths is enough to turn the tide of battle at a crucial moment.
Whether used to instantly restore one's own condition, accelerate the maturation of spiritual plants, or briefly trap powerful enemies to create opportunities for escape or counterattack, they are extremely valuable trump cards.