Amid the partially rotted branches of a nearby Yellow Valley Tree, a strange “plant” was growing. It looked like a half-rotten spirit mushroom, and exuded the scent of decay — If a person didn’t happen to recognize it, they might’ve treated it as a piece of garbage and disregarded it.
However, Gu Zuo was someone who knew exactly what it was.
The Decaying-Tree Hundred Lobed Mushroom. It was a medicinal ingredient that was rumored to grow on rotting and poisonous dead trees. Although it couldn’t produce spirituality due to its growing environment and therefore wasn’t spirit medicine, the severe toxicity it contained was higher than many spirit medicines with poisonous properties!
The martial artists within the Yellow Valley Forest came to kill blood beasts and obtain blood galls, but few pharmacists would enter. And even if any pharmacists did go in, they wouldn’t necessarily recognize this unorthodox poisonous ingredient. Thus, it was as though this nearly ten thousand year old Decaying-Tree Hundred Lobed Mushroom was here waiting for Gu Zuo’s arrival with its extravagant lobes extended out in welcome.
Gu Zuo hurriedly said: “Big brother, you have to take that thing down. I can use it!”
Without the slightest hesitation, Gongyi Tianheng leaped into the air, and landed right beneath the Yellow Valley Tree. Soon after, with a flick of his finger, the Decaying-Tree Hundred Lobed Mushroom fell under the influence of a streak of qi energy and was caught in Gu Zuo’s outstretched hands.
Sure enough, the sticky poison coating the surface of this Decaying-Tree Hundred Lobed Mushroom also had no effect on Gu Zuo!
Gu Zuo’s thoughts moved, and this thing was put away. Immediately following which, he lowered his head and looked at his palms. He saw that they were still clean and fair without a speck of stickiness… Unexpectedly, not only was the poison ineffective, it couldn’t even get on him.
Upon seeing this, Tianheng hugged Gu Zuo tighter: “Ah Zuo?”
He didn’t like that Ah Zuo’s thoughts were preoccupied with other things.
Gu Zuo snapped out of it, and showed a great, big smile. He fed Tianheng a Detoxification Pill: “Big brother, let’s keep going!”
While holding him, Tianheng swiftly returned. Naturally, he had no objections.
After harvesting this mushroom, the two continued their hunting of blood beasts. It was just that, over the course of this hunt, Gu Zuo also used his psychic power to casually sweep across the half-rotted Yellow Valley Trees. He was searching for more traces of mushrooms or some other medicinal ingredients that similarly grew in the forest.
Indeed, the history behind the Yellow Valley Forest transforming into a blood swamp was already extremely ancient. In this long period of time, the number of strange and baffling medicinal ingredients that had been produced really wasn’t low. In the past, those people didn’t pay attention or had no way to harvest them, but as far as Gu Zuo was concerned, he was like a fish in water. He could get however much he wanted!
For a time, regardless of whether it was blood galls or various categories of poisonous ingredients, a substantial amount of everything was taken into the storage space by Gu Zuo. In this huge blood swamp, they didn’t see any signs of others. One would only see the two of them venturing straight into the depths of the swamp…
Suddenly, Gu Zuo grabbed Tianheng’s wrist: “Big brother, be careful! There’s a group of blood beasts up ahead!”
Naturally, Tianheng was swift to hug Gu Zuo tighter. He soared into the sky, and floated in the air.
That’s right. He had the help of the Detoxification Pill and was also composed of blood poison, so there were no problems being exposed to even more poisonous bloodlust while floating in the sky.
Down below, there were as many as seventy to eighty blood beasts rushing over from far away. Their shapes resembled charging bulls, and were completely blood-red. Compared to those the pair had hunted just a while ago, these ones were much larger. Although their size wasn’t as terrifying as that of wild beasts, their speed wasn’t much slower than the previous, smaller blood beasts.
If this progressed, once anyone was surrounded or met with a direct confrontation, most would be worn down, and lose their strength. Then, they would be invaded by the poisonous bloodlust and die.
Gu Zuo looked down.
Tianheng’s eyes glinted with a bloody light.
In an instant, an enormous Blood Palm soared out from Tianheng. It pressed straight down, and landed right on top of the group of bull-like blood beasts!
Boom—
Even the land let out a deafening rumble.
Under the incredible power of this Blood Palm, the flesh of those blood bulls burst and splattered, turning them into a pool of bloody paste! What was even scarier was that this bloody paste was rapidly swallowed up by the swamp below — Even though it definitely wasn’t the work of hidden blood beasts, such a strange event still transpired.
Gu Zuo inwardly shouted: Not good!
Ah, he needed time to snatch the blood galls!
The next moment, the space between his brows immediately shot out numerous strands of psychic power thread. In the air, they quickly materialized and thickened. After that, they swiftly pierced into the corpses of those blood bulls, and dug out the blood galls before they were completely swallowed up by the blood swamp.
Unfortunately, while all of the seventy to eighty blood beasts were slain, at least ten to twenty blood galls were devoured and digested by the blood swamp when they were dragged down. Only the remaining fifty to sixty had sank halfway, which allowed Gu Zuo enough time to remove their blood galls.
In this way, under Gu Zuo’s close pursuit, his frantic work was not in vain.
However, Gu Zuo still had some lingering trepidation: “Big brother, if you lose strength, you need to tell me without delay. Otherwise, so long as we’re not careful and step into the blood swamp, we’ll be dragged down and eaten by it.”
Tianheng gently touched Gu Zuo’s cheek: “Don’t worry, Ah Zuo.”
Just when Gu Zuo felt that this action was like that of a big brother whose personality had returned to normal, the asura incarnation’s head suddenly tilted, and he began to lick the side of his face.
Gu Zuo: “…”
Forget it. He had better stop daydreaming.
Afterwards, it was as though some switch had been turned on in this blood swamp. Group after group of blood beasts rushed out.
Gu Zuo discovered that their shapes were similar to lions, wolves, elephants, cattle, sheep, deer, and other such animals that tended to gather and form groups. These blood beasts also didn’t seem to have any unusual abilities — No. Perhaps the severe poison that coated their entire bodies was already their ability. Moreover, their stampeding and mauling powers were out of the ordinary.
The special terrain and environment of the blood swamp could cause great harm to any martial artists who went inside. Under the detriment of the poisonous bloodlust, so long as ordinary martial artists were slightly injured, the power of the poisonous bloodlust would immediately invade. At that time, the person would be turned into bloody fluids. How could this pose any threat to the blood beasts?
Due to a combination of multiple factors, the reputation of this dangerous and terrible place was well deserved.
Tianheng went on a killing spree.
Whenever a group of blood beasts rushed out, he would soar high into the air and thoroughly exterminate them with thunderous means. Every time Gu Zuo eagerly extracted the blood galls, he would see his big brother starting on the next group of blood beasts. Tianheng snatched away their small lives, allowing Gu Zuo to take over and cut out the blood galls.
One after another, the blood beasts perished in droves.
A strange feeling also gradually arose within Gu Zuo’s heart.
He started to slowly discover that the character flaws of his big brother’s asura incarnation weren’t limited to only the incarnation’s attitude towards himself. The asura incarnation was also addicted to killing!
Gu Zuo clearly sensed that the asura incarnation’s qi emissions became even more delighted and pleased after slaughtering several groups of blood beasts. Following that, he quickly and completely digested the power of the poisonous bloodlust. He didn’t need the Detoxification Pills provided by Gu Zuo anymore. Instead, he used this place’s poisonous bloodlust to make up for his own consumption. The blood beasts were being killed in succession inside the blood swamp, which set off large waves in the interior!
When Gu Zuo looked up, he could see that the current asura incarnation’s eyes no longer held the ambiguity and affection when beholding him like before. Rather, they were filled with an ice-cold austerity. It seemed that those blood beasts had turned into symbols in front of the incarnation’s eyes. And these symbols were filled with the same word over and over again — Kill!
Gu Zuo couldn’t help feeling anxious.
If big brother continued, wouldn’t he fall into a crazed state after killing too much? The main body could control his own occasional murderous thoughts very well. On the contrary, not only did this incarnation not control his impulses, he simply released them at will, causing a great disaster for the blood beasts!
Merely, was big brother truly the strongest one in this Yellow Valley Forest? Could he really be…completely unrestrained here?
Gu Zuo had such private worries in his heart. Under normal circumstances, Tianheng would definitely notice this difference in Gu Zuo, but now that he was devoted wholeheartedly to killing, Tianheng unexpectedly ignored those feelings that made Gu Zuo uneasy.
This unease quickly turned into reality.
Without realizing it, the two had already traversed the Yellow Valley Forest’s interior, and were approaching the swamp’s core area.
The swamp here was such a deep red that it almost turned black. Some of the qi emissions coming from the lifeforms inside were extremely powerful. Gu Zuo’s psychic power swept past them and flew far into the distance at incredible speeds. Even the tiniest bit of power he sensed still made his heart palpitate.
Gu Zuo narrowed his eyes.
The hair across his body trembled, but he wasn’t afraid at all.
In the arms of big brother, he felt relieved. The intense and imposing aura brought about by big brother’s wanton massacre was like a cover that protected him inside.
As a result, Gu Zuo’s line of sight fell upon a small decaying forest.
And within this small decaying forest, a blood tiger that was approximately six meters long sauntered out.
This blood tiger was special. It wasn’t only because its body was pure and limpid like a cut of blood jade. Unexpectedly, a pair of blood-red wings had grown alongside its back!
Gu Zuo’s heart suddenly jumped.
If it was like this, then their advantage in the sky had disappeared!
The asura incarnation wasn’t the least bit afraid. Almost the instant the blood tiger appeared, his gaze locked with those savage, blood-red pupils!
T/N: Thanks for the correction, Charysa.
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