Chapter 104 Scarlet-Refining Three-Headed Snake
"Huh, you woke up already?"
Wu De felt slightly surprised inwardly, quickly stopping his steps. With a loose hand, he threw Lu Li down.
Lu Li didn't have time to react, directly falling to the ground with a thud. Getting up, he glared at Wu De, "You did that on purpose, right?"
"What on purpose? You're heavy as hell, my hand's gone numb from carrying you."
Wu De said, plopping down on the ground, slightly frowning. "Speaking of which, it's strange. Why would the Soul-Taking Bell be in the hands of a little girl at Qi Refining stage six?"
"What Soul-Taking Bell?" Lu Li sat down next to Wu De.
"That little girl's bell from earlier. Let me tell you, that's a treasure. Even Nascent Soul grandmasters would retreat upon seeing it..."
"That powerful?" Lu Li was startled, then looked suspiciously at Wu De, "How do you know?"
"None of your business." Wu De glanced casually at Lu Li, not giving him any explanation.
Lu Li immediately felt this old man wasn't simple. If nothing else, his knowledge wasn't something ordinary people possessed. But seeing the other didn't want to explain, he didn't bother digging deeper.
The two rested for a while. Wu De stood up, patted his rear, and said, "Let's go, time to set off. That girl isn't simple. Better not run into her again."
Lu Li seemed thoughtful and quickly followed.
The two traveled eastward. At first, there were many mountain ranges and forests, but the further east they went, the more desolate it became. Gradually, the forests began to recede, with only occasional small hillocks appearing.
Several more days passed.
Even small hillocks became scarce. Looking around, everything was a hazy gray. Within dozens of li in sight, only a few towering ancient trees stood lonely.
Lu Li asked, "Is this the Great Marsh?"
Wu De stared ahead, nodding in response, "This is the edge of the Great Marsh. Going further in is the true Great Marsh territory."
"Where's the Soul-Calming Flower?"
"Should be about five or six more days of walking. But I haven't been to the Great Marsh for a long time. Whether there are still Soul-Calming Flowers there is hard to say."
Saying this, he tapped his foot, lightly landing on a patch of green grass ten zhang away, turning to shout at Lu Li, "Follow me. Don't be fooled by the calm here. There might be big fellows underfoot."
Lu Li knew the "big fellows" referred to Demon Beasts hidden in the soft soil below. Hearing this, he didn't dare be careless. With a slight movement, his body seemed weightless as he lightly landed behind Wu De.
Wu De gave Lu Li an appreciative look and continued forward.
At the same time, he grew even more eager for Lu Li's movement technique. Thinking to himself, this kid yields to softness but not force. Looks like I can't screw him over too much, or he probably won't willingly hand over the movement technique.
Lu Li naturally didn't know Wu De was still thinking about his movement technique. If he knew what Wu De was thinking, he'd surely praise the old man for being clever. Indeed, while Lu Li showed no mercy to enemies, he was truly good to his own people.
Like with Chen Zhong, anything he didn't need himself, he gave to the other without hesitation.
Two days later.
The two arrived before a stretch of pale purple mist that seemed boundless. Wu De's expression turned slightly grave, saying, "This is the miasma I mentioned. Inhaling a little isn't a big deal, but if you inhale too much, it'll cause indelible damage to your body."
Saying this, he took out a jade bottle, poured out a green pill from it, and swallowed it. "Let's go. Some Demon Beasts like staying under this mist. You need to stay alert later."
Lu Li nodded, also taking an antidote pill, then carefully followed.
After entering the mist, Wu De slowed down considerably. Each time he landed, he would release his Divine Sense to sense the area, only continuing forward after confirming safety.
At first this was fine, but as time passed, he gradually couldn't handle it anymore. Finally, he had Lu Li walk in front.
Lu Li had learned quite a bit along the way. He understood that anywhere with green grass was safe to land on. Although the ground was still soft, at least he wouldn't sink.
But those lifeless areas couldn't be stepped on at all. One step would definitely sink deep.
Thus, they traveled safely for another half day. What made Lu Li frown was that after walking this long, they still hadn't left the mist area. He turned around and asked, "Is it all mist zone from here on?"
Wu De shook his head, "Based on my experience, we should leave the mist zone after another half day of walking. The land outside won't be soft anymore. But the road after that will be even more dangerous. You need to be on full alert."
Even more dangerous?
Lu Li thought, I've heard you say "dangerous" so much along the way my ears are calloused, but haven't seen any danger yet. Shaking his head, he leaped forward, landing another twenty zhang away.
Just as he landed, Lu Li's hairs immediately stood on end, exclaiming, "So many weird snakes!"
His Divine Sense probed, seeing countless weird snakes crawling on the grassland thirty zhang away. These weird snakes were only as thick as an adult's arm but over two zhang long. Their scarlet skin was covered with black spots, clearly highly venomous.
What was even more shocking was that all these snakes had three heads, extremely bizarre.
"Scarlet-Refining Three-Headed Snake!" Wu De also landed, probing with his Divine Sense. His face immediately turned ugly. "This is troublesome. These things are extremely troublesome to deal with, and they carry potent venom. Even Qi Refining stage twelve cultivators bitten wouldn't last an hour."
"Antidote pills useless?" Lu Li frowned, asking.
"Useless. Antidote pills only protect against miasma, not venom."
After Wu De finished speaking, both fell into a dilemma.
Ahead, only that patch of grassland was safe to land on. Other places were muddy, and under the mud there might be even more formidable creatures. If they carelessly stepped there, it would probably be even more troublesome.
In other words, that group of Scarlet-Refining Three-Headed Snakes occupied the only path forward.
"Charge through. We've come all this way. Giving up now would be a pity!" After a moment of silence, it was Lu Li who spoke first.
"Alright then, let's risk it." Wu De narrowed his eyes, looking into the distance, saying solemnly, "Kid, let me make this clear first. This marshland is dangerous everywhere, no joking matter. You better not do anything to harm your companion, or... I'll never forgive you."
A flash of surprise appeared in Lu Li's eyes, then disappeared. Nodding, he said, "Don't worry. Although I don't particularly like you, at least you saved me once before. I promise I won't screw you over this time."
"You have some conscience, kid." Hearing Lu Li mention the previous incident, Wu De nodded inwardly, thinking this kid's heart wasn't completely rotten.
The two discussed some more, deciding to adopt a fighting retreat method to cross that grassland. Once decided, Lu Li didn't waste words. With a sway of his body, accompanied by a gust of wind, he landed onto the grassland.
Rustle rustle rustle...
The moment he landed, the surrounding Scarlet-Refining Three-Headed Snakes immediately seemed to see a feast, excitedly raising their heads and shooting toward Lu Li.
Distant three-headed snakes also moved upon hearing the commotion, raising their three heads five chi high, flicking their tongues as they advanced toward Lu Li.
By now, Wu De had also landed. Seeing this, his expression suddenly changed. Reaching out, he threw several flame bombs around. Amidst the popping explosion sounds, he urged, "Don't get bogged down in a fight! Quick, go!"