Chapter 97: with translation of chapter title

At noon, the scorching sun blazed like fire, all things lay straight beneath the scorching sunlight, as if briefly losing vitality; even the bustling streets of Tiandou City seemed to quiet a little, leaving only the faint chatter from small shops along the road.

The fountain beside the road continued to spray water as usual; under the blazing sun, the rising water vapor quickly evaporated, vanishing without a trace.

After leaving Tiandou City, the group flew toward its northeast; after several tens of kilometers, far off, the four noticed a vast expanse of lush forest.

After ten thousand years of development, the original Sunset Forest has largely disappeared, but it still counts as a decent hunting‑soul forest, so its area remains considerable; only the number and quality of soul beasts within are somewhat lacking.

In this forest, even the strongest soul beast is at most a thousand‑year cultivation; most are hundred‑year or ten‑year, the varieties are mixed but the quality uniformly poor; yet because it lies so close to Tiandou City, it occasionally releases soul beasts captured elsewhere to maintain a bare ecological cycle.

Otherwise, within a few years the soul beasts here would go extinct, degrading into an ordinary forest that would eventually be developed by humans…

The four flew at an altitude of about one kilometer; looking down from that height, they easily spotted a thin layer of light mist covering the entire forest above.

"That is miasma, a poisonous gas formed when animal or plant corpses are left untreated and untouched by wind or rain; its toxicity varies greatly, depending entirely on the cause of its formation and the environment."

"The deeper one goes into the Sunset Forest, the thicker this miasma becomes, eventually turning seven‑colored, proving its toxicity has reached the point where it can easily poison humans and even soul beasts."

Shu Yan spoke softly.

The Snow Emperor released his spiritual power, instantly gauging the situation several dozen li ahead.

"The deeper we go, the denser the seven‑colored miasma and marsh gas become; even at the thickest point they extend to about three hundred meters in altitude—our target lies there, correct?"

Shu Yan nodded and said softly: "Yes, fly toward where the miasma is thickest; that should now be a canyon with a drop of over three hundred meters, its perimeter lined with tens of thousands of Blue Phosphorus Seven Absolutes Flowers and Blue Phosphorus Nine Absolutes Flowers forming the Blue Phosphorus Toxic Array. After ten thousand years, these flowers have grown into plant‑type soul beasts, and they themselves carry the Blue Phosphorus Snake Venom, the ultimate poison of the world. Though we possess the Ultimate Ice protection, these toxins are nearly ineffective against us, but caution is still wise."

The Ice Emperor snorted disdainfully at his words and interjected: "What's there to worry about? Snow and I are right here—never mind toxins, even seven or eight hundred‑thousand‑year soul beasts wouldn't be a match for us. Ultimate Ice counters all toxins, or any ultimate attribute can utterly suppress toxins that haven't reached that level. With Snow and I present, you and Jiujiu can rest easy."

Although the Ice Emperor's words sounded a bit arrogant, they were true.

The Snow Emperor's soul power surged in his hand, condensing into an egg‑sized ice‑blue diamond crystal; the Ice Emperor similarly formed a green‑blue diamond crystal, then took the Snow Emperor's crystal, smiled at Xu Jiu Jiu, and said with a chuckle:

"Good Jiujiu, don't move around; let big sister add another layer of protection for you…"

Xu Jiu Jiu gave a helpless smile, allowing the Ice Emperor to fuse the two crystals into her body.

The two crystals entered her body; one went into Xu Jiu Jiu's sea of spirit, the other drifted toward her dantian. The two strands of Ultimate Ice swiftly merged without harming or affecting her, leaving a seemingly thin, translucent white membrane over her entire body.

"These ice crystals are condensed from my and Bing'er's origin soul power, possessing the purest Ultimate Ice and Ultimate Ice‑Snow. Their energy is enough to let Jiujiu temporarily resist external toxins and other disturbances, and to purify the air and external energy. The soul power we left behind should last about three days; if any remains, you can simply refine it—don't worry, it will do you no harm."

The Snow Emperor said softly.

"Thank you, Snow Sister, Ice‑Ice Sister…"

Xu Jiu Jiu thanked them gently; although her own starlight attribute gave some resistance to toxins, the toxins here were not ordinary, and only with the protection of the Ice Snow Dual Emperors could she feel safe entering.

As they spoke, Shu Yan, who had been observing the terrain and the thickness of the poisonous clouds below, suddenly said: "This is the place; let's go down."

The terrain below had already taken on a slope; the poisonous clouds and miasma were so thick that from above nothing could be seen, nor could the situation below be known.

The Snow Emperor gazed at the heavy poisonous clouds and miasma, then lightly extended a fair finger, concentrating his soul power into a point that shot out like a ray. A tremendous sound came from the clouds and miasma below; instantly, cold descended, and the ice spikes that burst forth tore a huge gap in the nearly seamless poison barrier, revealing the variegated vegetation below and the dense miasma rapidly returning to its original state.

The four landed steadily through the breach; a terrifying shockwave swept outward five meters around them, instantly turning countless variegated plants into scattered fragments and juice.

But unexpectedly, this variegated world below, while still toxic, was far less terrifying than the poisonous clouds and miasma above.

In this variegated world, the poison barrier appeared seven‑colored, and the ground was full of bizarre, vivid vegetation so lush that their thick leaves and petals blocked the view, leaving no trace of land visible to the four.

Because the seven‑colored poison barrier here was not as thick as outside, the view was unobstructed; the Snow Emperor pointed again toward a downward slope, and the toxic plants along the way were frozen at an astonishing speed, the cold spreading, even pushing the seven‑colored poison aside.

"Let's go; the air here has little moisture, otherwise I could in an instant turn this place into something like an ice‑locked forest, making our movement much easier."

The Snow Emperor led the way down the ice‑locked path, the Ice Emperor took Xu Jiu Jiu's hand and followed, Shu Yan glanced around, sighed, and hurried after them.

The danger here is no less than that deep in the mixed zone of the Star Dou Great Forest, but with the Snow and Ice Emperors leading the flight, he naturally had nothing to worry about, feeling as if he were on a leisurely outing.

After walking about ten minutes, the four stopped before a huge skeleton exposed on the rocks. The original white bones had turned seven‑colored; the rich, strange colors combined with the eerie surroundings undoubtedly made a terrifying sight, and the deeper they went, the more such scenes appeared.

"Tsk tsk, the poison barrier here is still fierce; this itself is a strange cycle—these corpses produce miasma, and they themselves are nutrients for the barrier. Thus the barrier continually kills nearby soul beasts, their corpses generate more miasma, nutrients pile up, and before long this place will become a true poison‑forest. Tsk tsk…"

The Ice Emperor sighed, but felt nothing else; whether toxic or not, it had no effect on him.

The Snow Emperor stared into the distance and said softly: "The poison barrier here, as well as the outside miasma and poisonous clouds, bear traces of artificial control; otherwise, given this environment and terrain, these barriers and gases could not remain so placid within this range. I sense a great drop ahead, where vast and terrifying plant‑type soul beasts lurk, and the poison barrier's toxicity is even greater than here. As for below, I feel the heavy poisonous clouds slowly sinking, and thereafter there seems to be an extremely strange energy…"

The four lingered no longer; led by the Snow Emperor, they moved swiftly at a height of about three to four meters above the ground, soon arriving in a world starkly different from before—a verdant green realm.

Here the ground no longer bore other seven‑colored vegetation, yet the seven‑colored poison barrier remained; within view, vast expanses of emerald sheen appeared, with dwarf emerald plants arranged uniformly, a faint emerald mist rising upward and gradually spreading outward.

These emerald plants are not tall, barely half a meter high.

Yet their appearance is remarkably uniform: each bears nine leaflets resembling a human hand, though some have seven fingers and others nine.

At the top of each plant sits a large emerald flower, and the emerald mist is released from the stamens of these flowers.

Looking through these emerald plants with the aid of spiritual power, Shu Yan made out the scene beyond the green vegetation.

Vast miasma‑laden poison clouds were slowly descending and depositing; their concentration there even exceeded that outside by a considerable margin. Since the clouds sink downward, the terrain there must be much lower than surrounding areas—it seems they are only a short stretch away from their true destination.

Just as the Snow Emperor was about to act again to clear the way, Shu Yan reached out and stopped her.

"Snow Sister, we shouldn't be so direct here."

Shu Yan said somewhat helplessly; the Snow Emperor paused slightly, then spoke softly:

"Tell me the reason."

Shu Yan sighed lightly and explained: "It's simple; these plants ahead are called Blue Phosphorus Seven Absolutes Flowers, among the most toxic plants of the present age, bearing the famed 'corrosive first' deadly poison and also a neurotoxin that directly endangers nerves. The Blue Phosphorus Seven Absolutes Flowers encircling this canyon are at least a kilometer wide, many of which have even evolved into Blue Phosphorus Nine Absolutes Flowers, meaning they have become plant‑type soul beasts. Since the Blue Phosphorus Seven Absolutes Flower holds a king‑like status in the plant world, those that have become soul beasts—the Blue Phosphorus Nine Absolutes Flowers—are at least ten‑thousand‑year cultivations."

"Facing tens of thousands of ten‑thousand‑year soul beasts, if we could kill them in one strike it would be fine, but if we cannot wipe them out at once, once they organize resistance and combine with this environment favorable to them, the collective Blue Phosphorus poison cloud they generate could easily overwhelm even a Titled Douluo, and the trouble would be enormous."

The Snow Emperor blinked slightly, then slowly withdrew his hand; he was confident he could annihilate them all, but as Shu Yan said, it would be utterly unnecessary and would only invite trouble.

"Of course, passing through here ourselves is not difficult; these beings dread the cold, whether it's your Emperor‑Freezing Heaven, Snow Sister, or the Ice Emperor's Eternal Freeze Domain—adjust the range of release and we can pass easily."

The Ice Emperor's eyes lit up beside him; in the next instant, a emerald‑green burst of light erupted from her, forming a shield about five meters in diameter.

"Let's go; it's actually that simple. I was just wondering whether to fly straight over, but I discovered that even the air seven or eight hundred meters up is laced with this stuff, especially the miasma above the canyon, which is so thick it's almost solid, and the surrounding poison keeps pouring in—taking this route would surely require great effort."

With the aid of the Ice Emperor's weakened Eternal Freeze Domain, the four quickly passed through the endless Blue Phosphorus Seven Absolutes and Nine Absolutes Flowers, finally reaching the canyon's edge.

The canyon's edge was extremely sharp, as smooth as a blade‑cut.

Within the countless Blue Phosphorus poison clouds, there remained endless seven‑colored poison barriers; the rich emerald and seven‑colored hues nearly filled the entire forward view. True to the Ice Emperor's words, to enter the canyon from above one would have to pierce a poison barrier over a kilometer deep, virtually solid—a losing proposition.

The Ice Emperor did not withdraw his weakened Eternal Freeze Domain; he took the lead, then brought the three others downward in flight.

En route, the Snow Emperor casually swung his sword, cutting down several ten‑thousand‑year seven‑colored vines; when light returned, the miasma‑poison clouds vanished abruptly, and the previously obscured view became bright again.

Although I had expected the depths not to be ordinary, seeing it with my own eyes still left Shu Yan stunned.

The Snow Emperor's three daughters also wore a dazed look; fresh, life‑filled air swept in, and the dense, almost tangible heavenly‑earth elemental energy in this space was virtually inexhaustible.

Here the sky was seven‑colored, bathing the whole world in a dream‑like fairyland's brilliant beauty; on the stone walls near and far behind them, thick deep‑blue vines grew—of the same kind as the soul beasts that had attacked them earlier, but these lower vines were far lovelier, lacking killing intent and brimming with life‑force.

It is hard to imagine that, amidst countless horrors and dangers, it is not a more terrifying hell but a true paradise on earth, an existence like a fairyland.

……

(Chapter End)