Chapter 172: Chapter 170: Poison-Devouring Pearl

But Jiang Jichen had faced desperate situations like this thousands of times before.

Never mind his past life; even in this one, his entire path had been a journey through one desperate situation after another.

Therefore, he remained as calm and composed, as fearless and dauntless as ever.

Guo Qishan, Zhongg Li, and the Independent Cultivator Captain all retreated simultaneously after launching their attack, leaving only three people in the valley.

"You two, go first!"

Jiang Jichen grabbed Yee Youmeng and Luoo Long and, with a powerful heave, threw them over a hundred meters, straight out of the valley entrance.

There was a Restriction at the valley entrance, isolating the inside from the out. Thus, the valley was its own self-contained world, and the situation inside could not be seen from the outside.

Now, Jiang Jichen was the only one left in the valley. At the same time, the Poison Beetle King lunged forward to kill him. There was no escape!

He didn’t even have time to activate his Void Shadowless Technique.

The Poison Beetle King had just been injured and was now enraged to the extreme. Therefore, this was the most powerful strike it could unleash.

An Earth Realm Poisonous Insect was equivalent to a human in the Foundation Establishment Great Perfection Realm!

This full-power strike was even swifter and more ferocious than before. A toxic rain, a poisonous mist, and a venomous light all merged into one, crashing down upon Jiang Jichen and completely submerging him.

In such a situation, even an ordinary human Cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Great Perfection Realm would have faced certain death.

Jiang Jichen’s expression turned solemn. A Six-layered Golden Spiritual Pattern Space manifested around his body, and the Power of Undying Body suffused his every cell. He had instantly activated his strongest defensive state.

Then, Jiang Jichen neither retreated nor advanced. Instead, he took a step forward and dropped into a large hole in the ground, his body plummeting straight down.

SIZZLE...

When the toxic rain, poisonous mist, and venomous light struck the ground, they corroded away even a thick layer of earth. If Jiang Jichen had remained there, he would have likely been annihilated into nothingness, not even dregs left behind.

Jiang Jichen had dived into the hole just in time and was now moving quickly through it, evading the Poison Beetle King!

From the Poison Beetle King’s perspective, the insignificant human had been submerged by the toxic rain, mist, and light, and was undoubtedly dead. However, it didn’t immediately return to its underground tunnels. Instead, it lay on the ground and began to absorb the poisonous misty Essence Qi from the air.

The dead Spirit Cultivators had been dissolved by the venom, transforming into a vast, dense cloud of poisonous misty Essence Qi that drifted through the valley’s air.

This poisonous misty Essence Qi was the favorite meal of the Poisonous Beetles. But the smaller ones didn’t dare to compete with their king. A few well-sized Poisonous Beetles were also absorbing the Essence Qi not far away, but the Poison Beetle King shot over, brutally crushed them into a pile of mangled flesh, and then sucked them up with its proboscis in a single gulp.

Witnessing this, the other Poisonous Beetles were scared into silence, not daring to move another inch.

And so, the Poison Beetle King once again lay comfortably on the ground, contentedly absorbing the poisonous Essence Qi in the valley.

The dense swarm of surrounding Poisonous Beetles waited quietly. Only after the Poison Beetle King had finished absorbing the Essence Qi, left, and returned to its underground nest could they begin to feed.

Underground, since the vast majority of the Poisonous Beetles had gone to the surface, the deep tunnels were now empty. The shadow of a Poisonous Beetle was rarely seen.

After traveling through the smaller tunnels for a while, Jiang Jichen finally emerged into a massive, main tunnel.

This main tunnel was even larger than the Poison Beetle King’s body. Clearly, following it would lead directly to the king’s nest.

Jiang Jichen advanced along the main tunnel. A divine light flowed in his eyes, allowing him to see in the dark!

He saw that the tunnel was filled with an incredibly dense, ink-black poisonous mist. Even a Foundation Establishment Cultivator would be unable to survive here.

Perhaps only a Cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Great Perfection Realm could possibly pass through this main tunnel.

But Jiang Jichen had no such problems. The ink-black poisonous mist had only a minor effect on him. Moreover, with his Undying Scripture and Source Character Qi Condensation techniques operating simultaneously, the mist could not harm his physical body and was repelled from his skin.

Because he had consumed the White Turtle Longevity Grass, undergone the Ten Thousand Thunder Tempering Body, and possessed profound Cultivation Techniques, Jiang Jichen was able to quickly reach the end of the main tunnel. There, he was surprised to see an Earth Palace.

The Earth Palace was a single story, its great gates wide open. It was built from bluestone and exuded an air of ancient, weathered history.

Jiang Jichen walked inside without hesitation. The Earth Palace was vast and empty, except for a Dao Platform shimmering with Spiritual Light that Jiang Jichen spotted in the very center.

Above the Dao Platform, an emerald-green pearl floated in mid-air, endlessly absorbing the wisps of poisonous gas from its surroundings.

’The Poison-Devouring Pearl? No, this should be a fragment of the Poison-Devouring Pearl. What is it doing here?’

This time, Jiang Jichen was truly shocked. He never thought he would encounter this mysterious pearl, a treasure that had shaken the All Heavens and Myriads of Worlds.

The Poison-Devouring Pearl, the foremost strange poisonous object among the Six Paths, was an existence on the same level as the second-greatest Killing Array, the Azure Heaven Killing Array.

It devours the myriad poisons of heaven and earth; where its light shines, the Ten Thousand Realms fall silent!

Legend had it that the Poison-Devouring Pearl, much like the Azure Heaven Killing Array, had been shattered into countless pieces and scattered across the various realms!

He couldn’t imagine what earth-shattering event had occurred in the distant past to shatter even Supreme Divine Artifacts like the Azure Heaven Killing Array and the Poison-Devouring Pearl.

At this moment, Jiang Jichen suddenly understood why the former Spiritual Energy Peak Forest had become the Poisonous Mist Peak Forest. It was all because of this Soul-Devouring Pearl fragment.

This Earth Palace was also clearly the Poison Beetle King’s residence; it usually cultivated here.

The Power of Poison Spirit here was incredibly dense. If not for the Dao Platform suppressing it, this place would have long ago become a forbidden poison domain that no one could enter. Instead, it had become the perfect cultivation ground for poisonous creatures.

No wonder the Poison Beetle King had been able to cultivate to the Earth-level Spirit Insect Realm. It had clearly been cultivating here for a considerable time. However, Jiang Jichen could tell from the soil in the tunnels that this Poison Beetle King had only discovered the Earth Palace within the last ten years!

Jiang Jichen had heard from Wei Xiaohao that the strongest Poison Beetle Kings in the Poisonous Insect Valley were only at the Initial Stage Earth Level of Spirit Insect. But now, in just ten short years, this Poison Beetle King had already advanced to the Earth Level Perfection Tier of the Spirit Insect Realm. This was clearly the effect of the Soul-Devouring Pearl fragment.

’The Soul-Devouring Pearl is a Supreme Treasure. Even as a fragment, it can still be controlled, just like the One Corner of the Sky Killing Array!’

The Divine Thought flashed through Jiang Jichen’s mind. He then floated down beside the Dao Platform and reached out to grab the Soul-Devouring Pearl fragment.

BOOM!

However, the moment Jiang Jichen grasped the Soul-Devouring Pearl fragment, the entire Earth Palace began to tremble. In fact, the entire Poisonous Mist Peak Forest began to Wind Rise and Clouds Surge. The poisonous mist that had drifted above the peaks for countless years now converged with terrifying speed toward a single point.

That point was precisely the location of the Earth Palace, deep beneath the Poisonous Insect Valley where Jiang Jichen stood!

No one knew what was happening. They could only see that the perennial, drifting poisonous mist in the peak forest was dissipating, and the sky was gradually beginning to clear.

"What’s happening?"

At that moment, Guo Qishan, Zhongg Li, the Independent Cultivator Captain, and the others who had escaped the Poisonous Insect Valley watched this scene in utter shock.