Chapter 157: Nine Nether Earth Fruit (1/2)

After leaving the first mountain, the dangers in the environment gradually increased.

Some poisonous insect demon beasts that were impossible to guard against would suddenly attack from time to time. Although it would not really injure the two of them, it was enough to cause them trouble.

Some areas were even covered by the troublesome illusion array fog again, causing the areas that cultivators could pass to be compressed.

On the few paths that were not shrouded by fog, there were even monsters guarding the pass.

After all, this was the outer mountain range of the Medicine Garden. Apart from the fog, there were also many demons deliberately placed here to guard the mountain.

In the sect alliance competition, it was easier to gather fodder on the spot. These demons were used as tools to test the participating cultivators.

Some overly powerful demons had already been killed or sealed by them.

However, there were some demon beasts equivalent to the Qi Refinement realm and a few weak Foundation Establishment demon beasts, and they were the most difficult monsters to guard.

Right now, what was placed in front of Jiang Li and Shenshan Qiuhua was a huge swamp.

The two sides of the swamp were covered in fog. At the entrance, someone erected a wooden sign that said, ”The nearest and most dangerous path.”

From the looks of it, other than traveling, they would have to pass through the checkpoints before continuing forward.

”This is the closest route to the second mountain. We're two days later than the others. If we want to catch up, we can only pass through here.”

Jiang Li stood at the entrance of the swamp. He picked up a tree branch and threw it in. In less than two breaths of time, the tree branch slowly sank.

From the looks of it, it was absolutely impossible to walk through the swamp. If one wanted to get close, they had to fly at a low altitude. Doing this would not only consume spiritual qi, but it would also prevent cultivators from using the artifact for aerial combat, making them feel restricted.

However, as the wooden sign said, this should be the nearest route.

Jiang Li had spent quite a bit of time in the coffin the moment he entered the mountain, while Shenshan Qiuhua had already walked quite a bit of distance. However, while escaping, she directly walked in the opposite direction in the fog, directly flying back to the original location.

After dealing with the pursuers, it was impossible for them to set off immediately. They found a place and let Shenshan Qiuhua meditate for half a day before they set off together again.

Therefore, this dragged on for two days. If they did not catch up soon, their rankings might be at the bottom.

This second mountain was shaped like a camel.

In the middle, the terrain of the camel's back was relatively flat and easy to traverse. It was covered in mud. The nearest route was through here.

If one wanted to pass through this place, the most basic requirement was to be able to fly at a low altitude. Furthermore, one had to have a certain amount of combat ability while flying.

There were so many Qi Refinement realm cultivators participating in the competition, but just these two conditions would probably eliminate a large number of them.

If he headed towards the two sides of the fog, there should be other entrances. The difficulty of the hurdles he encountered would be lower, but he might have to take a long detour and waste more time.

Jiang Li saw many footprints at the entrance to the swamp.

It seemed that many people had come here before. Some chose to continue forward, while others circled around the edge of the fog in an attempt to find another entrance.

Jiang Li and Shenshan Qiuhua did not hesitate for long before they decided to pass through.

Jiang Li took a step forward, and his feet seemed to be stepping on solid ground. However, if one observed carefully, one would notice that there was still a few centimeters of distance between his feet and the swamp.

It was even simpler for Shenshan Qiuhua. Stepping on the flying sword was like stepping on a sliding board as it slid forward. She was even more comfortable than Jiang Li.

Gurgle~

Not long after the two of them stepped into the area of the swamp, the surface of the surrounding mud suddenly started to move, and a large amount of smelly air bubbles surged out.

Three swamp monsters over two meters tall suddenly burrowed out of the ground and pounced towards Jiang Li and Shenshan Qiuhua.

That disgusting and dirty appearance was really the nemesis of body cultivators. At this moment, Jiang Li did not want to touch them at all.

Bang!

A black mud bomb flew over with a splash of muddy water. The two elite disciples hurriedly split up to dodge to the side.

Among the three swamp monsters, there was actually one that could spit mud.

The power of this mud bomb was not great, but it was extremely disgusting.

Jiang Li, who was in a clean state, could barely endure being hit by this thing. However, if it hit Shenshan Qiuhua, it would at least make this young lady stink for three days. She would probably cry for a long time.

At this moment, the two of them became extremely wary of the monster. They could not allow themselves to get hit.

Shenshan Qiuhua stepped on the water sword and drew a huge arc on the flat swamp terrain, avoiding several smelly mud bullets in a row.

She adjusted her direction and slashed out blazing sword lights with the fire sword.

The first strike dried the mud on the surface, the second strike shattered the hardening mud shell, and the third strike finally killed a long-furred demon that was revealed from underneath the mud shell.

This long-furred demon was the true form of the swamp monster.

They looked like sloths or water monkeys.

The swamp monster's true form was hideous and ugly. The fur on its body was black and hard, more than three feet long. It was these long fur that carried a large amount of mud that formed the swamp monster's appearance.

Their bodies were covered in fur and thick mud, forming an extremely thick layer of mud armor. Their defense was quite strong. Even the sword light of the Shu Mountain sword cultivators took three tries to kill one.

To an ordinary Qi Refinement realm cultivator, it would probably be quite troublesome.

It was unknown how many cultivators had already died in the mud.

The remaining two mud monsters rushed over from the other two directions. Jiang Li could not just stand there and watch. It was not right to keep letting an injured person take action.

He did not plan to solve the problem with his fists. He gently threw out two seeds.

Demon Awakening! Wood Dragon Art!

As the green light expanded, the two seeds that were only slightly larger than sand instantly grew and swelled, transforming into two wooden dragons that were ten meters long in the air.

With a silent roar, they swam nimbly in the mud, quickly rushing forward and wrapping around the other two swamp monsters. They tightened their grip and strangled the monsters on the spot.

Jiang Li had dragon blood in his body. Although it was not much, he was still affected by it. When he cast the spell, a little bit of dragon qi was infused. Among the various demons he awakened, the dragon form was the strongest.

After dealing with the three swamp monsters, the two of them had no intention of going forward to harvest the loot.

It was said that the eyes of the swamp monster could be used as alchemy materials. Three pairs of eyes could probably be sold for a few spirit stones.

However, they were not people who lacked these spirit stones, and they could not stand this smelly loot.

Seeing the three corpses sink into the mud again, the two of them continued forward, but they were also a little more wary of what was below their feet.

...

In the coffin, the Nine Nether clone still had not completely digested the legacy of its predecessor.

However, at this moment, he still opened an eye on the tree statue and looked at the 31 captives below.

On their bodies, the clone smelled a familiar scent.

When they were out on a mission in the Southern Seal Kingdom, Lu Qianqian could smell that there was something wrong with their blood.