“Good job.” Wei Tu looked at the actions of the Wind-Cleaving Eagle and a trace of approval flashed in his eyes.
This dark blue flame was no ordinary fire; it was the “Profound Nether Yin Fire,” which he had acquired from the “Black Finger Bone.”
Back in the Cloud Ze Secret Realm, Wei Tu had been wary of the “Black Finger Bone” having a certain consciousness within. To guard against the magic-sealing bone, he had the Wind-Cleaving Eagle swallow it temporarily for safekeeping.
Unexpectedly, the Black Finger Bone, nourished by the flesh and blood of the Wind-Cleaving Eagle, had given birth to a trace of the Profound Nether Yin Fire. Meanwhile, the Wind-Cleaving Eagle, influenced by the “Immortal Spirit Dew,” underwent a bloodline mutation.
By coincidence, the Wind-Cleaving Eagle had subtly gained control over the Profound Nether Yin Fire that was born from its body, turning it into its innate divine power.
A second-tier late-stage demonic beast, the Wind-Cleaving Eagle, already had some intelligence. Back when Wei Tu was still in the Foundation Establishment stage, he didn't have the time to cultivate the Profound Nether Yin Fire technique, so he passed it on to the Wind-Cleaving Eagle to train on its own.
Decades later, the Wind-Cleaving Eagle had become skilled in controlling this Profound Nether Yin Fire.
Though the Profound Nether Yin Fire that the Wind-Cleaving Eagle wielded was still at the Foundation Establishment level, its ability to use the fire, paired with its inherent elemental conflict, helped drive away the group of Blood Mirage Beasts, rendering Wei Tu a great service.
“Demonic Dao spiritual flame?” Bao Siyan, standing nearby, was momentarily stunned when she saw the Wind-Cleaving Eagle's power.
While it wasn't uncommon for cultivators of the righteous path to practice both righteous and demonic Dao techniques, very few could master a demonic Dao spiritual flame and teach their spirit pets to control it to this degree.“This junior is truly hard to predict. First, he hid his true abilities from the Loose Immortal Alliance's peers and suddenly formed a Golden Core. Then, he accurately gauged my mindset and mentioned conditions for entering the underground palace...”
“Now, he has revealed his profound mastery of demonic Dao techniques.”
Bao Siyan furrowed her brows, her mind full of questions. Wei Tu was no longer the ordinary Golden Core cultivator she had originally thought.
In fact, Bao Siyan suspected that Wei Tu might have secretly allied with demonic Dao cultivators. After all, how else could he track the movements of those Foundation Establishment demonic cultivators and possess such deep knowledge of demonic Dao techniques?
However, Bao Siyan quickly shook her head, suppressing her doubts. At this moment, cooperation with Wei Tu was her only chance to escape the Great Void Realm.
With the Wind-Cleaving Eagle’s Profound Nether Yin Fire, it became much easier for Wei Tu and Bao Siyan to navigate through the “Blood Mirage Demon Mist.” The two of them had made almost no effort before they neared the exit of the Crimson Crystal Cave.
But then, something unexpected happened.
Suddenly, they sensed that within the “Blood Mirage Demon Mist” behind them, a Blood Mirage Beast at the Golden Core level was rapidly closing in on them.
This Blood Mirage Beast was different from the others. It appeared as a towering, blood-red giant with bulging muscles, its eyes flashing with a fierce red glow.
Fortunately, by this point, Wei Tu and Bao Siyan had already flown to the end of the mist. They exchanged a glance and immediately fled from the Crimson Crystal Cave without hesitation.
As soon as they exited the cave, the landscape in front of Wei Tu changed instantly. Instead of the blood-red environment they had seen in the cave, they found themselves standing in the middle of a swamp.
The sky was a clear blue, the trees lush, and the air around them was fresh and clean.
“Five Poison Swamp.” Wei Tu quickly recalled the information about this region.
According to Wei Tai's memories, the “Blood Mirage Cave” was the third trial of the Great Void Realm, while the “Five Poison Swamp,” along with the “Flame Crystal Desert,” formed the fourth trial.
To pass into the fifth trial, one only needed to survive either the “Five Poison Swamp” or the “Flame Crystal Desert.”
Unlike Wei Tai and the other Foundation Establishment demonic cultivators who formally went through the trials, Wei Tu and Bao Siyan had taken a shortcut. They had directly entered the third trial, the “Blood Mirage Cave.”
The stone gate from the underground palace that led to the Blood Mirage Cave had been deliberately created by Master Shentu two thousand years ago as a “secret passage” for entering the Great Void Realm.
In other words, for Wei Tu and Bao Siyan, out of the seven trials of the Great Void Realm, only the remaining four magical trials stood before them. If they could pass those, they would reach the inner region of the Great Void Realm.
“We're quite lucky,” Bao Siyan said with a light laugh. “If we'd gone into the Flame Crystal Desert, we’d both be in real trouble.”
The Flame Crystal Desert was filled with fire attribute spiritual energy, which would severely hinder the power of wood attribute cultivators.
Even a cultivator at full strength would only manage to use about 70-80% of their power, and replenishing their spiritual energy would require spirit stones rather than drawing from the surrounding spiritual atmosphere.
In contrast, the Five Poison Swamp had its own dangers—its greatest threat lay in the five poisonous entities within the swamp.
As is widely known, wood attribute cultivators have much stronger resistance to toxins than cultivators of other attributes.
“You and I have entered the Five Poison Swamp, which means that Gui Luo, the Demon Lord, and the others must be entering the 'Flame Crystal Desert,' the other perilous area.” Wei Tu's tone was lighter now.
According to the layout of the Great Void Realm's formations, the fourth trial's “Five Poison Swamp” and “Flame Crystal Desert” are separate spaces, with each space allowing only one group of cultivators to enter at a time.
The time limit for each trial is one month.
After one month, the formations of the Great Void Realm reset.
Now, having entered the “Five Poison Swamp,” this meant that Gui Luo and the others would have no choice but to enter the other space, the “Flame Crystal Desert.”
After a brief conversation, Wei Tu and Bao Siyan did not slack off. They both focused and prepared to quickly traverse the perilous path before them.
The Five Poison Swamp is protected by a barrier that prevents flight. The only way to pass this trial is to traverse the swamp's surface.
Additionally, the “swamp water” in the Five Poison Swamp, like the “Blood Mirage Demon Mist,” obstructs a cultivator's spiritual sense, making it difficult to detect the dangers beneath the swamp.
“Before the fall of the Stone Demon Sect, it was ranked alongside the Desolate Mountain Sect as one of the two major body cultivation sects of the demonic path. Although not all their disciples practiced body cultivation, many did,” Bao Siyan said.
“The title 'Stone Demon' was given by the other demonic sects to recognize the body cultivators of the Stone Demon Sect.”
“Whether it’s the Five Poison Swamp or the Flame Crystal Desert, it’s likely that the Stone Demon Sect set these as trials to test their disciples' body cultivation strength.”
Before their departure, during Wei Tu and Bao Siyan’s conversation, Bao Siyan, a seasoned Golden Core cultivator, shared what she knew about the Stone Demon Sect.
Unexpectedly, Bao Siyan refused Wei Tu’s offer to team up for the trial. She walked to the other side of the swamp and began the trial alone.
Wei Tu was surprised at first, but when he saw Bao Siyan using her techniques, he quickly understood.
As Bao Siyan stepped into the Five Poison Swamp, her aura immediately retracted, and she seemed to turn into a piece of dead wood, floating on the swamp’s surface.
“Greenwood Concealment Technique!”
Seeing this, Wei Tu realized that Bao Siyan had mastered the “Greenwood Concealment Technique,” which was part of the “Divine Wood Origin Technique,” to perfection.
He now understood—by offering to team up, he would only hinder Bao Siyan, who could perform this technique far better than him.
Bao Siyan knew this too, which was why she had declined his invitation to join forces.
Wei Tu didn’t hold it against her, knowing that he would have made the same decision if he were in her shoes.
After all, no one could predict what kind of danger lay hidden beneath the Five Poison Swamp.
Once Bao Siyan, now resembling a “dead wood,” had drifted several miles, Wei Tu prepared to face the trial himself.
Unlike Bao Siyan, Wei Tu didn’t try to use the “Greenwood Concealment Technique” to cross the Five Poison Swamp.
He had only learned the “Greenwood Concealment Technique” a little over three years ago, so his skill in it was far inferior to Bao Siyan’s.
After a brief thought, Wei Tu took out a few Concealment Talismans and placed them on himself, then activated his “Demonic Soul Refining Technique” to fully channel his body cultivation strength.
Earlier, the Wind-Cleaving Eagle had used the “Profound Nether Yin Fire,” a demonic Dao spiritual flame. Now, Wei Tu didn’t need to hide his own “demonic Dao cultivation.”
Moreover, his “Demonic Soul Refining Technique” could be traced back to an exchange with the Mirror Water Pavilion cultivators.
—It was not an unusual thing in the cultivation world for rogue cultivators to practice demonic Dao techniques.
Wei Tu didn’t think that Bao Siyan, who was not an extreme righteous cultivator, would turn against him just because of his use of demonic techniques.
After summoning a few defensive artifacts, Wei Tu’s expression turned fierce as he stepped onto the surface of the Five Poison Swamp.
Unlike Bao Siyan, Wei Tu, having just entered the Golden Core stage, was not skilled enough in the concealment technique to hide his presence fully.
As a result, not long after stepping onto the swamp, the surface of the Five Poison Swamp beneath his feet began to change.
A few large, three-legged demon toads, each about the size of a fist, swiftly emerged from the swamp's depths, lunging toward Wei Tu.
Though these three-legged demon toads were small in size, their strikes carried great force.
Each attack was equivalent to the full power of a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator.
If a typical early-stage Golden Core cultivator encountered such a situation, they would certainly suffer greatly.
But Wei Tu was different. With his peak second-tier body cultivation and various defensive artifacts, the attacks from the three-legged demon toads were nothing to him. He handled them with ease.
At first, Wei Tu only intended to repel the three-legged demon toads, without the thought of killing them. But as more and more of them gathered, his plan to break through the trial changed.
In a short time, several of the three-legged demon toads met their demise at Wei Tu's hands and were casually tossed into his storage bag.
Several, dozens.
The number of three-legged demon toads surrounding Wei Tu rapidly decreased, turning into dead toads inside his storage bag.
“Poisoned?” After killing over a hundred three-legged demon toads, Wei Tu suddenly noticed that his mana was running with an odd, sluggish feeling. His face also subtly darkened to a deep black hue.
Wei Tu felt puzzled. He had been careful to defend himself and had never directly touched the three-legged demon toads. How had they poisoned him?
“Could it be that the poison spreads through my mana?” Wei Tu began to speculate.
His mana had been the only thing in contact with the three-legged demon toads.
However, this poison posed little threat to Wei Tu.
As a body cultivator, his resistance to toxins far surpassed that of cultivators at the same level.
He activated the “Divine Wood Origin Technique” and swiftly expelled the poison from his body.
But just as the poison was cleared...
Wei Tu suddenly realized that his body cultivation had made some progress during the brief period he was poisoned.
His peak second-tier body cultivation seemed to be on the verge of breaking through, the bottleneck he had been stuck at for decades now trembling like it was about to shatter.
“The three-legged demon toads... could they be some kind of secret body-cultivating medicine?” Wei Tu was overjoyed.
The process of refining body cultivation often involved some level of physical harm to break through limitations and establish new foundations.
Just like the “Jade Marrow Gold” he had used earlier.
While “Jade Marrow Gold” helped improve his body cultivation, it also damaged his skin, causing it to shed dozens of times.
Toxins, in pharmacological terms, could also be considered a type of medicinal material.
“That makes sense. Since the Great Void Realm is the inheritance ground of the Stone Demon Sect, it's no surprise that the seven demonic trials have a purpose beyond blocking disciples. There should be beneficial items hidden within.” Wei Tu quickly realized this.
Thinking of this, Wei Tu no longer rushed to cross the “Five Poison Swamp.” He retreated to its edge and began hunting the three-legged demon toads in large numbers, collecting these secret body-cultivation treasures.
His body cultivation had been stuck at the peak of the second-tier for several decades. If he could break through to the third-tier in the “Great Void Realm”... his strength would rival that of a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator. With that, facing the likes of “Gui Luo, the Demon Lord” would no longer be such a huge burden.
Additionally, by killing the three-legged demon toads now, crossing the Five Poison Swamp would be much easier later.
However, Wei Tu's good luck did not last long. As he hunted his 176th three-legged demon toad, a toad the size of a calf suddenly appeared on the swamp's surface.
The calf-sized three-legged demon toad, with blood-red eyes fixed on Wei Tu, quickly contracted its abdomen and let out a thunderous roar.
“A Golden Core level Toad King?” Wei Tu was both surprised and delighted.
Compared to human cultivators, such a straightforward Golden Core existence like the “Toad King” was considered weak in the Golden Core realm.
If they were still in the Five Poison Swamp, Wei Tu would have been cautious of the Toad King, as he was in an unfamiliar environment. But now, after so many of its subordinates had been killed, the Toad King sought to challenge him, and Wei Tu had no fear.
While he might not be able to handle “Gui Luo, the Demon Lord,” he was confident enough to deal with a Toad King of the same realm.
However, to avoid the Toad King fleeing back into the Five Poison Swamp, Wei Tu, upon seeing the Toad King, didn’t immediately launch an attack. Instead, he pretended to be at a disadvantage and retreated further into the swamp's edge.
The Toad King, lacking the intelligence of a human cultivator, did not realize Wei Tu was trying to lead it into a trap. It made several angry croaks and hopped toward Wei Tu.
In addition to its physical attacks, the Toad King exhaled black poisonous mists, attempting to poison Wei Tu, the troublesome human cultivator.
“Swift!” After the Toad King had gotten some distance on land, Wei Tu no longer hid his strength.
He made a series of hand seals and used the Yuan Zhong Binding technique to “freeze” the Toad King's movements. Then, with a flick of his sleeves, he activated a series of spirit talismans to attack.
In the next moment...
Dozens of talismans shot out from Wei Tu's sleeves like lightning, crashing toward the Toad King, who was trapped at the shore.