One of the Soul Ascension Realm Expert from earlier…
Observing the Soul Ascension Realm Expert that had appeared at the edge of his divine sense, Xuan Hao could not help frowning after discovering that the Soul Ascension Realm Expert did not seem to have noticed him as he continued moving in his direction.
This…
As the Soul Ascension Realm Expert got closer, Xuan Hao could not help showing an expression of surprise.
Not only was the Soul Ascension Realm Expert in a horrible state with only half his body left intact, but over half of what remained of his body had already been covered by some sort of black spot that was spreading to what remained of the body. Given another few minutes, the Soul Ascension Realm Expert would most likely be forced to abandon his body!
Even if the Soul Ascension Realm Expert could survive, losing his body was sure to be a major blow that would result in him having to waste thousands of years recovering the damage his soul would inevitably receive by flying through the miasma of the Great Poison Swamp.
After all, even if the miasma was easy to resist for someone as long as they reached the Domain Lord Realm, this took into account the fact that one had a physical body!
Wait… With the restrictive force around, how will he even fly his soul out of this place in the first place…?
Suddenly remembering the restrictive force that prevented him and others from flying inside the Great Poison Swamp, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a bit curious about whether or not the restrictive force would also affect someone who had no physical body. If it really did… The Soul Ascension Realm Expert in front of him would end up dead the moment his physical body was consumed by the strange power eating away at it!
Hm? Isn't this... That terrifying creature from the ancient sect ruins!? But how did it appear here…?
Cursing silently to himself as the Soul Ascension Realm Expert got close enough for him to properly start examining the black spot slowly growing bigger, Xuan Hao subconsciously began moving away from the Soul Ascension Realm Expert.
No matter how curious he was about the black spot, Xuan Hao didn't dare try his luck at investigating what had happened to the Soul Ascension Realm Expert after feeling the terrifying aura that lingered around the black spot slowly consuming the physical body of the Soul Ascension Realm Expert.
Even if he didn't investigate the situation more clearly, he was at least certain about one thing, the group of Soul Ascension Realm Experts had also entered the ancient sect ruins. The only difference being that they ended up fighting against the terrifying creature that he had managed to avoid.
"…"
Looking at the deteriorating situation of the Soul Ascension Realm Expert who ran within a distance of only a few dozen meters of him without noticing his presence, Xuan Hao felt happy that he was not the one that ended up facing the terrifying creature in a fight!
He might be strong enough to face off against a Soul Ascension Realm Expert… But there was no way he would be able to escape alive against a creature that had ended up destroying a group of at least 6 Soul Ascension Realm Experts!
Let's leave this place for now…
Not wanting to stay around the Great Poison Swamp for even a second longer after knowing that he might end up encountering the terrifying creature from the ancient sect ruins, Xuan Hao picked up the young boy before moving in the same direction as the half-dead Soul Ascension Realm Expert-
Swish-!
Given that he had no idea where he was inside the Great Poison Swamp, it was by far the best option he had, as the Soul Ascension Realm Expert should be doing his best at getting out of the Great Poison Swamp as quickly as possible before losing his physical body.
"W-who!?"
Having not bothered concealing himself as he was just trying to leave the Great Poison Swamp as quickly as possible, the Soul Ascension Realm Expert up ahead slowed down for a short moment as he looked towards Xuan Hao with a cautious expression on his face.
"…"
Swish~
Seeing the reaction of the other party, Xuan Hao just ignored him as he increased his speed even further before directly overtaking the Soul Ascension Realm Expert who was barely able to use his movement technique at this point in time.
Standing around and chatting with one of the people who had hunted him down earlier was not really something Xuan Hao was interested in. The fact that he didn't return the favor by attacking the other party while he was in a half dead state could already be considered him being quite merciful.
Not that Xuan Hao believed that the other party would be able to make it out of the Great Poison Swamp in his current state...
The forest of the poisonous devil trees covered with devil bugs was still a thing and with the dark spot trying to devour his body, there would be no way for him to pass through the devil bugs without getting attacked!
"Hey! Wait up fellow cultivator, I-"
Listening as the sound of the half dead Soul Ascension Realm Expert faded away before completely disappearing, Xuan Hao focused his full attention on his surroundings to look out for any of the other Soul Ascension Realm Experts that should have been around…
However, in the end, none of them appeared by the time he reached the wall of poisonous trees with devil bugs crawling all over them.
…
I-I'm back at the poisonous devil trees again!
As Xuan Hao reached the poisonous devil trees, the young boy who had been dragged along looked towards the poisonous devil trees in front of him with a dazed expression on his face. Not really comprehending what had happened ever since he had left the ancient sect ruins… Well… To be honest, he didn't really fully understand what he went through inside the ancient sect ruins either…
"You helped me escape from the ancient sect ruins, so in turn also helped you leave that place safely. Unfortunately, I can't help you when it comes to crossing this place… This is where we part ways, you will have to do the rest on your own…"
Swoosh~
Before the young boy had any time to say anything, he realized that Xuan Hao who had been standing right beside him casually strolled inside the forest of poisonous devil trees. Even when he was covered by the devil bugs, the young boy did not see his pace changing, as the young boy speechlessly watched how Xuan Hao soon disappeared behind a few trees.
"This…"
Not knowing what to do after seeing Xuan Hao dissapearing, the young boy could not help shivering all over as he slowly realized that he would have to enter the forest of poisonous devil bug trees once again to leave the Great Poison Swamp. Nobody would be able to help him when it came to this!
"I… T-these small bugs are n-nothing compared to the ancient sect ruins!"
Encouraging himself as he said this, the young boy slowly felt his courage increasing as he began sealing off his dantian to prevent any qi from getting detected by the devil bugs.
Swish~
Moving closer and closer to the forest, the young boy could feel his heart beating loudly in his chest as he closed both of his eyes before taking the final step forward into the poisonous devil tree forest-
Rustle~!
Rustle~!
Rustle~!
The moment he took the step forward and entered the forest filled with poisonous devil trees, the young boy could not help freezing on the spot for a moment as he felt the countless small feet of the devil bugs making their way up his legs before quickly covering his entire body.
I hate this!
Not able to think anything more than this with the devil bugs crawling all over him, the young boy slowly began moving forward as he remembered how Xuan Hao had casually strolled through the poisonous devil tree forest while covered by devil bugs.
From how casually senior treated this, I'm sure that the devil bugs won't do anything as long as I act the same way senior did…
Feeling a wave of confidence suddenly appear out of nowhere as he remembered how easily Xuan Hao had deal with the devil bugs, the young boy felt more confident than ever as he continued deeper inside the forest.
Unknowingly, the young boy's fear of the devil bugs had already completely disappeared at this point in time. The only thing that remained was the fact that it was a rather uncomfortable experience to have countless small devil bugs crawling all over one's body.
Compared to the first time he entered the poisonous devil tree forest; it could be said that the young boy's personality had changed on a fundamental level!