Watching Mu Jinyu's eyes, as if about to shoot fire, fixed fiercely on him, the Little Phoenix transmitted with some guilt to Mu Jinyu:
"You can't blame me. I didn't know at the time that the Immortal Realm would eventually disappear. I was just eager to go over to where I was being called. Besides, after we left the valley, you could have checked those Immortal Halls again; it was your choice to leave!"
Mu Jinyu was left speechless.
He could only console himself in his heart, well, whatever, this little thing belongs to me anyway, so its benefits are my benefits too...
Then, unwilling to give up, Mu Jinyu maneuvered the Bi Fang Cauldron, slowly gliding into the Poison Marsh Pond.
Although Zhuo Yue said that the Lustrous Immortal Realm might have already left the Cursed Soul Forest, he still wanted Wen Rou and Jian Ruyan to try and see if they could spot that Lustrous Immortal Realm.
As they entered the Poison Marsh Pond with the Bi Fang Cauldron, they were immediately engulfed by a large swath of poisonous gas, which was far more intense than when Mu Jinyu ventured alone.
Therefore, Mu Jinyu eventually forced the Little Phoenix to exert itself as well, extracting its Phoenix True Fire and attaching it to the exterior of the Bi Fang Cauldron to jointly resist the poisonous miasma!
The Little Phoenix's power was a bit lacking, currently only at the First Layer of the Fanxu Realm, but with wood aiding fire, and with the support of Mu Jinyu's Life Source Energy, the Phoenix True Fire burned even more fiercely and vigorously.
Making the Bi Fang Cauldron seem like a mini sun, invulnerable to the surrounding poisonous miasma!
Everything proceeded very smoothly.
Mu Jinyu maneuvered the Bi Fang Cauldron, successfully arriving at the place where he initially saw the Lustrous Immortal Realm.
"Did you see the Lustrous Immortal Realm?"
Mu Jinyu hovered the Bi Fang Cauldron without getting too close, fearing that if they entered the Lustrous Immortal Realm directly, he and the Little Phoenix would be left outside.
If so, who knows if there might be hidden dangers within those Immortal Halls?
Wen Rou and Jian Ruyan are only at the Divinity Transformation Realm, and although Zhuo Yue has the Fanxu Realm prowess, it's not very high; if there's real danger, he might not be able to protect the two of them alone.
Thus, Mu Jinyu's purpose in coming over was not to find the Lustrous Immortal Realm and then let them explore inside.
But to first confirm whether there was still a hidden Lustrous Immortal Realm here, so that in the future, when Wen Rou and Jian Ruyan became stronger, he could protect them in exploring again.
"No..."
Wen Rou, Jian Ruyan, and Zhuo Yue all widened their eyes, scanning the area but could only see the vast Poison Marsh Pond, without a trace of that paradise-like sacred ground.
Upon hearing Mu Jinyu's inquiry, they all shook their heads powerlessly.
"Sigh..."
Mu Jinyu sighed deeply, feeling quite regretful.
The Little Phoenix trembled at the regret in their voices, fearing that Mu Jinyu might vent his anger on it, so it intensified the Phoenix True Fire, pretending to be hard at work, as if oblivious to their conversation.
Mu Jinyu was too lazy to vent his frustrations on this little thing, furrowing his brows as he maneuvered the Bi Fang Cauldron, continuing to move forward.
Amidst the uncertain journey of possibly still seeking the Lustrous Immortal Realm, Mu Jinyu suddenly focused his eyes, noticing a pile of white bones ahead, with a bizarrely shaped small purplish-black grass growing there.
This small grass, in the form of a human body, missed half a head, appearing quite eerie and terrifying.
But seeing it, Mu Jinyu's face showed a hint of elation.
As it was precisely his initial goal in entering the Poison Marsh Pond, the Soul Shatter Grass!
"So there is Soul Shatter Grass here!"
Mu Jinyu mused without haste to collect it, murmuring quietly.
"The qualification Hua Yunfei gave was indeed correct, but I wonder who that great person is, being able to venture deep into the Cursed Soul Forest. However, that person shouldn't have seen the Lustrous Immortal Realm, right?!"
"Back then, the Lustrous Immortal Realm shouldn't have migrated to this Poison Marsh Pond. Otherwise, if he had encountered it, I wouldn't possibly have encountered it just now."
Mu Jinyu muttered to himself a few words, then relaxed, turning to Wen Rou, Jian Ruyan, and Zhuo Yue, saying, "You stay inside the Bi Fang Cauldron, I'll take this little thing to check it out."
Although Soul Shatter Grass is not a Holy Healing Medicine, it is, in fact, a sinister poison, yet its quality grade is ultimately very high, and the environment where it grows likely has a beast or evil being safeguarding its maturation to then devour it at the right moment.
Therefore, Mu Jinyu couldn't just walk over boldly to pick the Soul Shatter Grass!
"Chirp chirp chirp..."
The Little Phoenix was very unhappy when Mu Jinyu called it a little thing, chirping a few times.
"Not pretending to be clueless now?"
Mu Jinyu cast a sidelong glance at it, and the Little Phoenix immediately fell silent.
Grabbing it by the neck, Mu Jinyu lifted it, carefully stepping out of the Bi Fang Cauldron without letting the poisonous miasma invade inside.
Then, with a solemn expression, Mu Jinyu cautiously observed the surroundings while inching closer to the Soul Shatter Grass!
"Chirp chirp chirp chirp..."
Just as Mu Jinyu was within a zhang from the Soul Shatter Grass, a strange shout rose from beneath the Poison Marsh Pond.
Soon afterward, Mu Jinyu saw a monkey shaped like an evil ghost, covered in pitch-black fur, ferociously approaching to attack him!
"Yinming Ghost Ape!"
In a moment of distraction, catching sight of the ghostly monkey's figure, Mu Jinyu's mind flashed, recognizing this monkey's identity.
Strictly speaking, the Yinming Ghost Ape isn't a Ferocious Beast or a Demon Beast, but a type of evil being.
Its birth necessitates a conglomeration of deadly qi, grievance qi, evil qi, and corpse qi to come into existence.
Furthermore, it possesses innate Divine Power with a strong Soul, its body harboring endless corpse poison, making it virtually unbeatable among peers.
The Yinming Ghost Ape before him, with Peak Fanxu Realm prowess, likely stayed around to wait for the maturation of the Soul Shatter Grass to pick and devour it. To a human, Soul Shatter Grass is a fatal poison, but to the Yinming Ghost Ape, it can shatter into endless fragments of consciousness, allowing it to genuinely birth its own intelligence.
By then, this Yinming Ghost Ape will be even more terrifying!
"Whiz!"
Mu Jinyu furrowed his brows and then flicked a finger, shooting a wisp of Sword Qi to fend it off.
"Creak creak creak..."
The Yinming Ghost Ape was slightly pushed back, leaping and flipping, disappearing from Mu Jinyu's sight in a few moves, swirling around them like a shadowy wind.
Looking for an opportunity to strike a deadly blow!
"Hmph!"
Mu Jinyu coldly snorted, then lifted the Little Phoenix he held by the neck, softly saying, "Little thing, it's your turn."
The Little Phoenix had been struggling in Mu Jinyu's hand, trying to escape his neck-grip. On hearing Mu Jinyu's words, it rolled its eyes, wishing it could turn around and peck his head open!
Mu Jinyu didn't mind its rebellious thoughts, slightly loosening his grip, while releasing some restrictions on it, then infusing Life Source Energy into the Little Phoenix's body!
"Screech!!"
The Little Phoenix, always waiting for a chance to counterattack, once given the opportunity, without hesitation flapped its wings, a terrifying sea of fire surged in all directions in a wild sweep!
"Croak!!"
The Yinming Ghost Ape that was racing around them was instantly hit by the raging sea of fire, causing black smoke to billow from its body, climbing into the sky like a smoke signal!
As bursts of black smoke soared skyward, the life force of the Yinming Ghost Ape continuously diminished, finally bursting with a boom, turning into ashes.
As for Mu Jinyu, of course, he bore the brunt, suffering not a light burn from the sea of fire.
Yet, at the critical moment, his entire body shined with brilliant scarlet light, resisting the Little Phoenix's Phoenix True Fire!
This was due to Mu Jinyu's unexpected cultivation of the Undying Phoenix Body after consuming the Phoenix Saliva Grass!