"Little Junior Brother, are you certain your Ultimate Ice Martial Soul can suppress the miasma?" Cai Meier asked as they descended.
"I'm sure, Senior Sister," Zhu Ziyang nodded firmly in reply.
He had read in a book that both ice and fire held great restraining power over poison. At first, he hadn't paid much attention, but after watching Yan Shaozhe struggle to break through the poisonous fog with soul skills to no avail, he suddenly thought of trying his Ultimate Ice. During the gap between Yan Shaozhe's soul skill attacks, he had released a wisp of Ultimate Ice from his fingertips — and the result was unexpectedly promising. The surrounding miasma immediately froze into tiny shards of ice, which then scattered into the air and dissipated.
The outcome made Zhu Ziyang quite happy, and he had quickly informed Cai Meier, which led to the current situation.
Once the four landed on the ground, Yan Shaozhe and Cai Meier instantly released soul power shields to protect them from the ground-level miasma. Unlike the thick poison above, the miasma here was strangely thin — but more sinister. It shimmered in a prismatic seven-color haze, and the ground ahead sparkled with a crystalline glow that made all four of them feel a chill down their spines.
It was bizarre. Far too bizarre.
The four instinctively raised their guard. Their eyes locked on the lush green landscape ahead, where thriving plant life covered the ground. Though it appeared to be chaotic and wild growth at first glance, a closer look revealed something hidden — a purposeful formation. In this land of poison fog, such thriving vegetation was unnatural. Even a fool would realize something was wrong.
"What kind of plant is that?" Jiang Nannan exclaimed in shock, her crimson eyes wide with disbelief.
Neither Yan Shaozhe nor Cai Meier dared move forward rashly. Even though they didn't recognize the plants, they could sense the danger.
Zhu Ziyang narrowed his eyes and observed intently. Those jade-green plants extended outward on both sides. Each one stood only about half a meter tall and had nine oddly shaped leaves, somewhat resembling human hands — but with seven fingers. Some larger ones even had nine. Atop each plant bloomed a jade-green flower, with a misty green vapor continuously rising from their stamens and merging into the colorful poison fog above.
Now they all understood — the toxic miasma in the Sunset Forest was directly connected to these green plants.
"The Jade-Scaled Sevenfold Flower!" Zhu Ziyang suddenly remembered and gasped.
"What? Ziyang, did you say... Jade-Scaled Sevenfold Flower?" Cai Meier exclaimed in alarm, her expression full of shock.
"That's right. This entire patch is made of Jade-Scaled Sevenfold Flowers... and even some Jade-Scaled Ninefold Flowers!" Zhu Ziyang nodded grimly.
"Meier, Little Junior Brother, you two recognize these plants?" Yan Shaozhe asked, his face dark.
"The Jade-Scaled Sevenfold Flower is one of the most toxic plants on the continent. Its poison is extremely corrosive, known as the number one corrosive, and it's also a potent spiritual toxin. If touched, not only will the body be corroded, but even spiritual power will be affected," Zhu Ziyang explained. "But that's not the worst part. Senior Brother, see those plants with nine fingers? They are Jade-Scaled Ninefold Flowers — plant-type soul beasts with intelligence. Judging from their condition, they've at least reached the ten-thousand-year level! These are the true threat. Under their control, this whole field of flowers releases the Jade-Scaled Poison Cloud, blending with the forest miasma. Over time, this entire forest could be consumed by the poison."
Yan Shaozhe was speechless, eyes full of fear and rage. He could already envision the nightmare scenario if that poison spread throughout the entire Sunset Forest — a true living hell.
"By all logic, the Jade-Scaled Sevenfold Flower is extremely rare. It has poor reproductive ability and needs harsh growing conditions," Cai Meier said thoughtfully. "But look at this place — the field stretches for over a kilometer or two. There must be tens of thousands of these flowers!"
"Exactly," Zhu Ziyang agreed. "Which leads me to suspect one thing — there must be a massive energy source nearby for this many Jade-Scaled Flowers to grow here."
"The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well!" All four spoke the name in unison. They now fully understood — these Jade-Scaled Flowers were clearly cultivated by someone to conceal the presence of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well!
But who could it be? Zhu Ziyang frowned in deep thought. Historically, only two people were connected to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well — Sea God Tang San, and the Poison Douluo Dugu Bo. Dugu Bo was the first titled Douluo with the Jade Prosperos Serpent Emperor Martial Soul and the first person to discover the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. And these toxic flowers before them were precisely the rare Jade-Scaled Flowers. Could there be a hidden connection between the Jade Prosperos Serpent Emperor and these Jade-Scaled Flowers?
"Meier, Little Junior Brother — do you two know how to deal with these flowers?" Yan Shaozhe asked hopefully. He truly wanted to reach the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
"No," Cai Meier shook her head helplessly.
Yan Shaozhe turned his gaze to Zhu Ziyang, who also sighed and said, "Senior Brother, aren't you overestimating me? I don't know how either!"
"Brother, the Jade-Scaled Flowers are cold-fearing poisonous plants. Why not try your Ultimate Ice on them?" Jiang Nannan suddenly spoke up. Her words immediately drew everyone's attention.
"Nannan, what did you say? They're cold-fearing poisonous plants?" Yan Shaozhe's face lit up.
"Mm. I only just figured it out," Jiang Nannan nodded with certainty. "The aura of spirit herbs in this area is too complex, so it took me a while to identify the Jade-Scaled Flower's traits."
"That's great!" Zhu Ziyang smiled in relief. Thankfully, he'd brought Jiang Nannan along. Otherwise, they might've left empty-handed. "Let me give it a try."
"Go ahead!" Yan Shaozhe and Cai Meier looked on with anticipation.
Zhu Ziyang released his Heavenly Frost Holy Dragon Martial Soul. An extremely frigid aura immediately spread outward. Jiang Nannan's eyes lit up — it was her first time seeing Zhu Ziyang's second Martial Soul.
As soon as the Heavenly Frost Holy Dragon appeared, the toxic miasma surrounding the four was completely dispersed. That effect lifted everyone's spirits and gave Zhu Ziyang more confidence. He began walking forward slowly while Yan Shaozhe and Cai Meier held his shoulders, ready to pull him back at any sign of danger.
As he approached, the nearest Jade-Scaled Sevenfold Flower sensed the extreme cold. Its leaves trembled violently before quickly folding inward, forming a giant bud. Encouraged by the reaction, Zhu Ziyang advanced further, continually releasing his cold aura.
They managed to proceed over ten meters — and then had to stop. They soon realized the outermost Jade-Scaled Flowers were blooming again and resuming their release of toxic clouds. Zhu Ziyang's soul power was depleting rapidly — not enough to allow all four of them to cross the two-kilometer-wide field.
"It's no good. Little Junior Brother's Ultimate Ice can suppress them, but not eradicate them," Yan Shaozhe sighed. "Once we go deeper, the closed flowers will reopen and block our return path. His current soul power can't support a full crossing."
"Agreed," Zhu Ziyang nodded. "These flowers fear the cold, but to truly destroy them would require more soul power than I have. I might be able to kill some of the Sevenfold Flowers, but against the soul beast-level Ninefold ones, I don't stand a chance."
"In that case, we'll have to give up for now," Cai Meier said. "When Little Junior Brother grows stronger and starts cultivating his second Martial Soul, we can try again."
"Alright." Yan Shaozhe struggled internally but finally relented.
Though unwilling to let go, he couldn't risk Zhu Ziyang's safety. As important as Ma Xiaotao was to him, Zhu Ziyang was more important to the teacher. If anything happened to him, Yan Shaozhe knew the teacher would kill him.
Hearing the decision to give up, Zhu Ziyang was disappointed but helpless. His strength simply wasn't enough.
"Sigh! You brat, how shameful for me as your teacher!" Just then, a familiar voice echoed in his mind — Electrolux's voice, full of disappointment.
"Teacher!" Zhu Ziyang's face lit up with surprise and joy. He hadn't expected Electrolux, who had been asleep for half a year, to wake up at this moment.
(End of Chapter)
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