Chapter 979: The Ten Thousand Poison Desert

"Never heard of it, doesn't matter. Let me tell you, there's a place in the Ten Thousand Poison Desert that no one has ever found. It's the Ten Thousand Poison Cave. It's said to be the lair of all kinds of poisons, and should have plenty of good stuff."

The academy recently received news that someone has spotted the Ten Thousand Poison Cave. So we're taking this chance to send a reconnaissance. If you can find that cave, it won't be a wasted trip.

Li Qingyun's purpose in telling Ye Liuyun this was clearly to incite him to search for the Ten Thousand Poison Cave.

As for the trial, Li Qingyun thinks it poses no difficulty for Ye Liuyun.

"Alright! I'll go look for it then!" Ye Liuyun agreed.

He knows that whenever Li Qingyun urges him, it seems to send him on an adventure, but if successful the reward is huge.

He cannot let this opportunity slip.

But the desert is vast and boundless; without any clue from Li Qingyun about where to find the cave, he'll have to rely on himself.

"Why is that Li lunatic urging you again?" Ling Shuang asked as soon as Ye Liuyun returned.

Seeing Li Qingyun's mysterious demeanor, she knew nothing good was afoot.

Ye Liuyun didn't hide it from her, quietly telling Ling Shuang and Yuan Datou about the search for the Ten Thousand Poison Cave.

"Are you crazy? No human can enter the Ten Thousand Poison Cave. Anyone who goes in never comes out alive!"

Ling Shuang had evidently heard of the Ten Thousand Poison Cave before.

"Where there's danger, there's reward!" Ye Liuyun knew there would be danger, but had no intention of backing down.

"I'm coming with you!" Yuan Datou, seeing Ye Liuyun's resolve, immediately decided to accompany him on the adventure.

"You two… really have no sense of self‑preservation!" Ling Shuang was left speechless by Ye Liuyun and Yuan Datou.

From then on, everyone spent the journey cultivating to boost their strength.

Ye Liuyun directly took Ling Shuang and Yuan Datou back into the Xuan Kong Shi to cultivate, accelerating their progress.

When Li Qingyun summoned them, the Flying Boat had already arrived at the edge of the Ten Thousand Poison Desert.

Ye Liuyun and the others disembarked, and looking ahead saw endless desert, not a single tree in sight.

Li Qingyun spoke: "I'll follow you, but I won't fight for you, nor protect your safety. The poisonous corpses and Yuan Dan you obtain here can be taken back to the academy for points. Let's begin now!"

After speaking, he crossed his arms and watched the scene.

The Elder of that rank directly piloted the Flying Boat deeper into the Ten Thousand Poison Desert, clearly hoping to seize the chance to find the Ten Thousand Poison Cave.

The many disciples glanced at each other, and eventually all gathered around Ye Liuyun.

"Senior Brother Ye, we'll all follow you!"

"Yes! Our lives now depend on you!"

They all knew Ye Liuyun was not only powerful but also possessed many treasures, so staying with him seemed safer.

For a moment, flattery poured in. Even disciples who entered the inner gate before him began calling him senior brother.

Ye Liuyun didn't like such attitudes much. But since they were all from the same sect, he would try his best to look after them.

"I'll do my best!"

Ye Liuyun said simply, effectively agreeing, and led the way into the desert.

Seeing Ye Liuyun's agreement, they immediately followed him gladly toward the desert.

No one dared to break away from the group to venture alone.

Li Qingyun trailed leisurely behind, offering no judgment on any of their actions.

His duty was originally only to prevent the disciples from encountering unforeseen danger.

But in this Ten Thousand Poison Desert, danger had already far exceeded expectations. He felt that only a perilous trial was truly meaningful.

Thus, even if all the disciples died here, he would not intervene; they must grind it out on their own.

He followed them solely to safeguard Ye Liuyun's safety. Moreover, if they locate the Ten Thousand Poison Cave, he can report its location to the academy.

After entering the desert, Ye Liuyun and the others found sand dunes encircling them everywhere; the horizon was invisible and no path lay ahead.

They simply kept moving toward the desert's interior.

At the desert's edge, poisonous creatures were few, but as they went deeper, venomous scorpions and insects began to appear in greater numbers.

Moreover, the cultivation realms of these poisonous insects kept rising.

They hide within the yellow sand, extremely concealed, often ambushing from the ground; even Divine Sense finds them hard to detect.

Thus, whether one gets attacked by poisonous insects is purely luck.

After only half a day's march, two disciples had already been ambushed by poisonous insects. Fortunately they each possessed antidote pills, and no one was injured or left behind.

Many disciples donned defensive armor to repel the insects. Even Ling Shuang and Yuan Datou wrapped themselves tightly in armor.

Ye Liuyun himself had been attacked by venomous scorpions, but after his Physical Body was altered by the Hidden Dragon Pool, lower‑level poisons cannot pierce his skin.

Therefore, against these lower‑realm poisons, he uses no special defense.

As they ventured deeper, the poisonous creatures they encountered grew larger in size.

That turned out to be a boon; larger bodies are easier for their Divine Sense to detect.

"Everyone, watch out—scorpion swarm!"

Ye Liuyun, while walking, suddenly stopped to warn the group.

He immediately donned Exotic Scale Armor for protection.

His Divine Sense detected hundreds of red scorpions circling toward them.

These scorpions were about the same size as them, with realms ranging between Creation First/Second Tier and Yin‑Yang Eight‑Nine Layers. A tough battle seemed inevitable.

He instantly drew his Mountain‑Slicing Sword, taking a firm stance. The other disciples also brandished weapons, ready to fight.

Soon, the group saw a single bright‑red scorpion tail protruding from the yellow sand, its poisonous stingers pointing toward them and advancing.

As they drew near, the scorpions leapt out of the sand, lunging at them.

"Kill!"

With a shout, Ye Liuyun struck first, slashing a blade toward a charging scorpion.

When he drew his blade, he felt the scorpion shell was unusually hard. Fortunately, he was using an artifact, and he split that red scorpion in two.

He casually gathered the corpse and continued hacking away.

The other disciples also rushed in, beginning to slay those red scorpions. But the disciples without artifacts were clearly at a disadvantage, finding it hard to Yi Dao the scorpion open.

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