System Possession, One Sword Shocks the Gods

148: Poison Valley Drifting Footprints, Heart of the Wood SpiritOutside the valley, the poisonous miasma surged. The sounds of intense fighting and energy collisions echoed continuously, mingled with the angry cries of a woman and the greedy, cruel laughter of several men.

Ye Chen hid behind the Formation at the cave entrance, his gaze piercing through the thin poisonous miasma to see the situation at the valley’s mouth.

A woman dressed in a plain dress, about twenty years old and with a clear, pretty face, was currently as pale as paper, with a trace of blood remaining at the corner of her mouth. She was surrounded by streaks of emerald-green light, filled with vibrant vitality that seemed out of place in this deathly, poisonous valley. Her cultivation was around the Earthly Fiend Realm Fifth Level, but her aura was somewhat chaotic, clearly having suffered significant internal injuries.

Besieging her were five strangely dressed Cultivators with colorful paint smeared on their faces. They wore revealing clothing adorned with various poisonous insect decorations. Their demonic aura was a dark green color, carrying strong corrosive and numbing effects—they were clearly Disciples of the Witch Poison Sect, a local evil Sect of the Southern Desolation. The leader’s cultivation had reached the Earth Fiend Realm Sixth Level, while the other four were all at the Earth Fiend Realm Fourth Level.

”Little girl, if you know what’s good for you, hand over the ’wood spirit heart’! How can a Loose Cultivator like you be worthy of such a natural treasure? Offer it to our Young Lord, and perhaps we’ll spare your life and take you in as a bed-warming maidservant!” that sub-leader of the Earth Fiend Realm Sixth Level said with a lewd laugh while conjuring a Poison Fiend Palm print.

The woman in green gritted her teeth and held on, the willow-leaf-like soft sword in her hand waving out layers of green sword screens. These screens contained pure wood-attribute vitality, barely resisting the onslaught of poison techniques from all sides. However, that vibrant wood-attribute Protective Aura seemed to have an Innate disadvantage against the poison techniques of the Witch Poison Sect, being constantly corroded and dissolved.

”The wood spirit heart is a Legacy of my Sect. Even if I die, I will never hand it over to you wicked people!” The woman’s voice was cold and clear, carrying a sense of determination.

”Sect? Hmph, just the Hundred Flower Valley that was wiped out long ago! Once we kill you, the wood spirit heart will be ours regardless!” The sub-leader gave a cruel laugh, his offensive becoming even more urgent. With a wave of his hands, countless poison needles as fine as ox-hair and shimmering with a ghostly blue luster shot toward the woman like a rainstorm, sealing off all her paths of retreat—Thousand Poison Heart-Severing Needles!

The woman’s face changed drastically; she had no way to dodge. A flash of despair crossed her eyes, and she was about to desperately activate her Origin to perform a secret technique of mutual destruction.

At that moment, a sudden change occurred!

A gray sword qi streaked out from within the valley without warning, arriving first despite being launched later, and stood with incredible precision before the woman. The sword qi seemed simple and unadorned, yet it carried an essence of all things returning to silence and reverting to their source.

The moment the poison needles shooting through the air touched the gray sword qi, they seemed to lose all power and properties. Their luster dimmed, their toxicity vanished, and then they fell to the ground with a clinking sound like ordinary iron filings!

”Who is it?!” the Witch Poison Sect sub-leader shouted in shock.

The other four Disciples also acted as if facing a great enemy, quickly tightening their Formation and looking warily toward the valley.

The poisonous miasma parted slightly, and a tall figure walked out slowly. He wore ordinary blue robes, his face calm and his eyes deep, holding an ancient-looking long sword in his hand—it was Ye Chen.

He didn’t want to meddle in others’ business, but the Witch Poison Sect’s cruel actions sparked his disgust for the Dark Hall. More importantly, the pure life aura emitted by the wood spirit heart on the woman caused the chaos ancestral talisman he had just begun refining to produce a faint resonance. Chaos gives birth to all things and naturally encompasses life. This wood spirit heart might be beneficial for his further understanding and application of the aspect of ’Life’ within the chaos ancestral talisman.

”Who is Your Excellency? How dare you interfere with the business of our Witch Poison Sect!” The sub-leader felt slightly more at ease upon sensing that Ye Chen only had a cultivation of the Earth Fiend Realm Fourth Level (Ye Chen had deliberately restrained his aura), but that strange sword strike earlier made him not dare to underestimate him.

Ye Chen did not answer. His gaze swept over the men and finally landed on the woman in green, speaking indifferently: ”Are you a Disciple of the Hundred Flower Valley?”

Seeing someone help, Su Miaojin was first pleasantly surprised, but after seeing Ye Chen’s cultivation, a flash of worry crossed her eyes. She nodded: ”I am Su Miaojin, and my late master was the last Valley Master of the Hundred Flower Valley. Thank you, Young Master, for your help, but this matter has nothing to do with you. The Witch Poison Sect is powerful; you should leave quickly.”

She was kind-hearted and did not want to involve the innocent.

Ye Chen’s heart stirred slightly. He had heard a little about the Hundred Flower Valley; it was once a small righteous Sect in the Southern Desolation known for its medical arts and wood-attribute Cultivation Techniques, said to have been destroyed by rival forces many years ago.

”Want to leave? Too late!” The Witch Poison Sect sub-leader’s gaze turned cold. ”No matter who you are, since you’ve seen this, don’t think about leaving alive! Form the Five Poison Grand Array!”

With his command, the five Witch Poison Sect Disciples quickly took their positions. The dark green demonic aura surged from their bodies and intertwined in mid-air, instantly transforming into a poisonous miasma Domain covering dozens of feet! Within the Domain, five-colored poisonous mist churned, condensing into phantoms of five venomous creatures—a centipede, a snake, a scorpion, a gecko, and a toad. They let out strange hissing cries, carrying strong mental attacks and physical corrosion as they pounced toward Ye Chen and Su Miaojin from all directions!

This Five Poison Grand Array was a combined attack Formation of the Witch Poison Sect. Its power was immense, enough to trap and kill a Seventh Layer of the Disha Realm or even an Eighth Level of the Earth Fiend Realm Cultivator!

Su Miaojin’s face turned pale. She knew the power of this array and hurriedly activated her wood-attribute Protective Aura, forming a bright green light shield around her, but the shield dimmed rapidly under the erosion of the poison mist.

”Young Master, be careful!” she cried out urgently.

Facing the notoriously fierce Five Poison Grand Array, Ye Chen’s expression remained calm. He didn’t even use his Guixu Sword Intent, merely raising his left hand slowly.

Deep within his Qi Sea, the chaos ancestral talisman brightened slightly, and a surge of pure Chaos Origin power flowed out.

His left palm faced upward with fingers slightly spread. In an instant, a miniature Chaos Vortex appeared in his palm, rotating slowly. Within the vortex, it seemed as if earth, water, fire, and wind were being born and destroyed, and Yin and Yang Qi were intertwining, emitting an ancient aura that could devour and evolve everything.

”Chaos Myriad Transformations — Heaven Devourer!”

He gave a soft shout, and the small Chaos Vortex in his palm suddenly expanded, turning into a gray vortex about a meter in diameter that hovered above him and Su Miaojin.

The pouncing phantoms of the five poisons and the churning five-colored poisonous mist, upon touching the gray vortex, seemed to encounter a bottomless abyss. They were forcibly pulled, shredded, and then swallowed by an irresistible suction! Whether it was the toxic energy or the mental attacks within, they were instantly decomposed and assimilated by the Chaos Vortex, turning into the most primal Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, which instead replenished Ye Chen’s consumption!

Within just a few breaths, the fearsome Five Poison Grand Array was swallowed completely by the Chaos Vortex! The Domain collapsed, the poison mist dissipated, leaving only five pale-faced and dumbfounded Witch Poison Sect Disciples!

”This... what Demonic Technique is this?!” The sub-leader was terrified to the point of Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, pointing at Ye Chen with a trembling voice. He had never seen such a strange method that could directly devour their poison techniques!

Su Miaojin also covered her small mouth in shock, her beautiful eyes filled with disbelief. She could feel that the level of power contained within that gray vortex far exceeded her understanding.

Ye Chen did not give them time to react. His figure moved like a ghost, appearing before the Earth Fiend Realm Sixth Level sub-leader, and he swung the guixu sword casually.

The sword light flashed, and the sub-leader couldn’t even let out a scream. His Protective Aura shattered like a bubble, a red mark appeared at the center of his forehead, and his life was instantly annihilated by the Sword Intent.

Seeing this, the remaining four Disciples were terrified to the core and turned to flee.

Ye Chen’s eyes were cold as he pointed his fingers like a sword, and four streaks of Chaos Sword Aura shot out, precisely entering their hearts from behind.

The four corpses fell to the ground and were quickly corroded by the remaining poisonous miasma.

Ye Chen swept his sleeve, and Chaos Fire flickered past, turning the corpses to ashes and erasing all traces.

After finishing all this, as if he had only done a trivial matter, he turned to look at Su Miaojin, who was still in shock.

”Why are the Witch Poison Sect people hunting you? Just for the wood spirit heart?” Ye Chen asked. He felt that the matter might not be that simple.

Su Miaojin came back to her senses and hurriedly bowed respectfully, saying gratefully: ”Thank you, Young Master, for saving my life! If not for you, Miaojin would surely have met a cruel end today.” She hesitated slightly before saying: ”They are hunting me partly for the wood spirit heart, which is vital to the Legacy of my Hundred Flower Valley. On the other hand... they seem to want to find the entrance to the ’Hundred Flowers Secret Realm’ through me.”

”Hundred Flowers Secret Realm?” Ye Chen’s eyes flashed.

”It is a small grotto-heaven and blessed land discovered by our Ancestral Master back then, hidden deep within the Poison Dragon Swamp. Not only does it contain our valley’s Legacy, but there might also be... a soon-to-mature ’nine-orifice immortal lotus’!” Su Miaojin lowered her voice. ”The Witch Poison Sect’s Young Lord had his cultivation go wrong, and he urgently needs the immortal lotus to purify the toxins and stabilize his Foundation, which is why they are so desperate.”

nine-orifice immortal lotus? Ye Chen’s heart stirred. This was a natural treasure that could purify all poisons, stabilize one’s Dao Foundation, and even enhance the Divine Soul! For him, who had just made a Breakthrough and needed to stabilize his Realm, and might face various poisonous methods in the future, this item was equally attractive.

Moreover, the Poison Dragon Swamp... that was exactly one of the areas he planned to pass through on his way deep into the Southern Desolation.

He looked at Su Miaojin; this woman was not bad in nature and was the legitimate successor of the Hundred Flower Valley. Perhaps this was an Opportunity.

”The Poison Dragon Swamp is exceptionally dangerous. Going there alone is no different from seeking death,” Ye Chen said calmly.

Hearing this, a trace of bitterness and resolve appeared on Su Miaojin’s face: ”Miaojin knows her strength is low, but I must follow my Sect’s final instructions. Even if it is a dragon’s pool or a tiger’s den, I must venture into it.”

Ye Chen pondered for a moment and said: ”I also happen to be heading deep into the Southern Desolation. If you trust me, you can travel with me. In exchange, after arriving at the Secret Realm, if we obtain the immortal lotus, I need three of its lotus seeds.”

Su Miaojin suddenly looked up at Ye Chen, her beautiful eyes flashing with surprise, hesitation, and a trace of wariness. The person before her had unfathomable strength and strange methods; traveling with him was like asking a tiger for its skin. But as he said, if she went to the Poison Dragon Swamp alone, her hope of survival was slim. With his help, there might truly be a chance... She looked closely into Ye Chen’s eyes; they were deep but clear, with no lewdness or greed, only a sense of openness and calm.

After thinking for a moment, Su Miaojin gritted her teeth and made a decision: ”Fine! Miaojin trusts the Young Master! If we get the immortal lotus, I am willing to offer three lotus seeds to repay the Young Master’s kindness for saving my life and escorting me!”

Ye Chen nodded: ”I am Ye Chen.”

He looked up at the sky and at several strong auras faintly coming from further away, saying in a deep voice: ”This is no place to linger. The Witch Poison Sect people will soon notice the anomaly. We must leave immediately for the Poison Dragon Swamp.”

A new journey, accompanied by new opportunities and risks, thus began.