Volcanic Age

Mount Ailao.

It was a precipitous mountain, with valleys running so deep that its ends could not be seen. It was also covered in clouds and fog all year round regardless of day or night, with towering peaks.

Between the peaks were perilous gorges that seemed to lead down to the depths of hell. The mountain range was shrouded by ancient trees, their ages a mystery, that turned the whole place dark.

Mount Ailao was known as a mountain of death. This was partly because of the precipitous terrain, but also due to the poisonous plants and beasts roaming the mountain.

The most infamous place in this region was the Poisonblood Valley, which was known to be an entire world on its own. No one knew what was inside and what happened in it. There had been multiple attempts to conquer the Poisonblood Valley since ancient times, but no one had returned alive.

The entrance itself was filled with all sorts of dangerous plants, which drove away most visitors. Although some made it deeper inside, even members of the Tang Family could not return unless they were lucky.

According to an anonymous survivor, all sorts of unimaginable poisonous creatures lived in the Poisonblood Valley, and because of its dangers, the valley was declared a forbidden zone not just by the official authorities, but also among cultivators.

However, there were men setting foot into that forbidden zone right now.

*

The sect master of the Diancang Sect had seven disciples, who were publicly called the "Seven Young Masters of Diancang"..

The last disciple of the sect master, Seventh Young Master Duan Hecheng, muttered as he stood at the entrance between the land of the living and hell.

"From this point forward is the notorious…"

Poisonblood Valley!

Its name alone sent shivers down his spine.

"It's not too late now."

Duan Hecheng turned around, eyeing the thirty determined cultivators.

"If you choose to leave, I won't punish you."

"No, sir!" the cultivators replied in unison.

"All of you must have heard of the dangers of the Poisonblood Valley, so you should know what's to come. We're setting foot into hell."

"We swore to follow you for life the moment you took us in. If you hadn't helped us, we wouldn't be standing here today."

Duan Hecheng closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again. His eyes reflected the faces of the cultivators who had resolved for death.

"Let's head inside."

Duan Hecheng led the thirty cultivators into the valley. The entrance of the Poisonblood valley was, like its name, just an entrance. The distance to the depths was considerable, so they had to walk about thirty minutes at least to get to the main parts.

However, no one present relaxed. A single mistake could cost them their lives. Here, overconfidence and complacency was fatal.

"It's so hot…"

Despite the short walk, sweat poured down their faces. They looked up only to see precipitous cliffs and tall trees, which blocked the sunlight and dimmed the surroundings.

"Young master, we should be arriving at the poison insect ar…"

Crunch, crunch, crunch!

The cultivator leading the way froze mid-sentence when he heard the strange sound from the surroundings.

"Prepare yourselves!" Duan Hecheng warned, his expression hardening as he drew his sword.

"Aack!"

He whirled around. A cultivator in the left wing screamed and started rolling on the ground. A monstrous insect the size of an adult palm clung to his leg.

"Poisonous insects!"

Poisonous insects were weak creatures at the bottom of the food chain in Poisonblood Valley, but they had the most numbers. Cultivators could never let their guard down because these creatures attacked anytime and anywhere, making sleeping and relieving themselves difficult.

"Watch o—urgh!"

Duan Hecheng tried to save the bitten cultivator and swung his sword, but his efforts were futile. A swarm of poisonous insects he hadn't detected came out of the valley. The mix of black and green in the insect swarm swallowed the cultivator before going on a rampage again.

"Don't let your guard down just because it doesn't take long to cure yourself! They exploit any opening and rush toward you!"

"Watch out not to get bitten!"

"Aaargh!"

Hell had just begun.

"Get a hold of yourself!"

*

A poisonous insect fell from a tree branch above, landing on Zhou Xuchuan's arm. Without warning, it sank its tong-like mouth without hesitation.

"Ah, so annoying."

Crush!

He swatted the insect, crushing it and scattering blood everywhere. The blood was also poisonous, but it was harmless as a result of his Hundred Poisons Immunity. There was no need to cure or detoxify anything, it wasn't necessary.

"Enough with these bugs!" Zhou Xuchuan decided, drawing his sword. He infused the blade with sword qi before swinging. He didn't put a lot of qi into it, since he had to prepare to fight the Seven-horned Serpent.

"Disappear!"

He spun, releasing the sword qi in the form of wind around him as it swept through his surroundings. The sword pressure within the sword qi wind pulverized the insects. Nearly a hundred insects around him had disappeared in an instant.

The ones that barely managed to survive were also rendered immobile, trembling on the ground.

"Since I've dealt with the annoying bugs, let me take my time looking around, shall I?"

Zhou Xuchuan started walking, holding his sword loosely. He wasn't actively looking for the Seven-horned serpent, since he already knew it lived in the cave at the end of the valley.

He had never been there, but he wasn't worried because of the accuracy of the records kept by the Dark Heavens Association. Those people had been exploring the Poisonblood Valley for a long time now.

He couldn't help but fear how strong they were again.

"Found it!"

He found some grass with colorful dots scattered across the leaves, a clear sign that they were poisonous. He dug out the soil around it with his hand, being careful not to damage the roots. After digging out the roots, he dusted off the soil before putting it in his mouth.

Anyone who saw that might wonder if it was a medicinal herb instead of poison, but…

"Hm, this tongue-numbing taste… poison!"

No.

"There's poison in the leaves and all the way down to the roots. It's not too potent nor too weak. It should be helpful in increasing my poison resistance."

The Poisonblood Valley was a forbidden zone, but members of the Tang Family ignored the warnings and came here regularly, since this place was like heaven for those cultivating poison arts, with spiritual medicines littered everywhere. However, even they couldn't dig deeper and only searched around the entrance before returning.

While Zhou Xuchuan had never trained any poison arts, he consumed poisonous plants specifically to increase his resistance.

Nom, nom…

A single leaf peeked out of his mouth, accompanied by a stream of dark blue, repulsive plant juice.

"Poisonous plants, poisonous plants…"

He put everything he found in his mouth, his jaws worked tirelessly, chewing on the plants firmly so that he could digest it. It was fine even if he couldn't eat everything. For this specific exploration, he had bought a mesh bag from a nearby herbalist. Clad in a Daoist outfit, holding a herb net and chewing on poisonous plants, he was a sight to behold.

Absorbed in plant gathering, he lost track of time. The sun couldn't be seen in the Poisonblood Valley, so he had no specific way of telling time either.

About two hours (judging by feeling) later, he stopped digging abruptly.

"Screams?"

Cries of beasts were common here, so he wasn't bothered by them. However, what he heard just now did not belong to a beast.

"Aaaack!"

It belonged to a human.

"There are humans nearby? Why?"

This wasn't the entrance, but a region filled with poisonous creatures everywhere. Even experts of the Tang Family wouldn't venture this far.

No, in the first place, most people would return after encountering a swarm of poisonous insects. It was hardly likely that there were people here.

"Aaack!"

His eyes narrowed, and his hand reached for his sword.

Who is it?

Zhou Xuchuan's face was tense. Killing intent, which he had never displayed before, started surging up. He circulated his qi to expand his senses. Although he couldn't tell exactly because of the distance, he detected several cultivators.

The Dark Heavens Association?

Few dared to venture this deep, making the Dark Heavens Association the most likely culprit, since they visited this place frequently. Not just medicinal herbs, they also collected all sorts of poisonous plants from around the world, and this place, the Poisonblood Valley, was a treasure trove for those in need of poison.

As far as Zhou Xuchuan knew, they collected poisons or hunted poisonous beasts for their internal cores, all while carefully avoiding the Tang Family.

Let's have a look.

If these men belonged to the Dark Heavens Association, he was planning to stay hidden until they left. Catching their attention at this point in time would bring an endless headache.

He gently walked forward, being careful not to make any sound. He slowed his pace, barely putting any weight on his feet, and focused on erasing his presence. His breathing slowed down to the point that some might mistake him for a corpse.

"Fuck off!"

When he approached the source of the screams, he could hear all sorts of sounds. He climbed onto a high tree branch to get a better view. In the distance were around twenty cultivators. They stood back-to-back, fiercely fighting off a swarm of poisonous creatures.

It didn't take long for him to see through their identities.

It's not the Dark Heavens Association.

Zhou Xuchuan inwardly sighed in relief, his tension easing. As apologetic as he felt, he could only be assured after some members were injured by the poisonous creatures.

The Archive of the Dark Heavens Association was a group full of experts, since they had to collect all sorts of spiritual medicines and hunt various spiritual and poisonous beasts. He could hardly believe that such experts would be injured by low-rank poisonous creatures.

Then who are they?

He was sure that they weren't from the Tang Family, which puzzled him even more. The Poisonblood Valley wasn't a place someone stumbled upon accidentally. As a forbidden zone, it had clear warnings near the entrance, not to mention signs of sword attacks etched into the rocks.

This meant that these people had come to the Poisonblood Valley on purpose, but no matter how much he thought, he couldn't arrive at an answer.

'Forget it, let's help them for now.'

Still, he did manage to figure out that they were from the Orthodox Faction.

*

"Huff, huff!"

It was a nightmare. The Poisonblood Valley was hell, and there was a reason it was designated as a forbidden zone. The countless poisonous insects did not give Duan Hecheng and his group a moment's rest, attacking them constantly.

And the further they ventured, the deeper into hell they descended.

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