Chapter 125 : Flame Poison Scorpions
The treasure-hunting tiger failed in its first mission, beaten to the prize by someone else?
The little white tiger was furious, the little white tiger couldn't believe it, the little white tiger wanted to scratch someone!
Seemingly sensing the sudden agitation of the white cat in her arms, Yun Qingyue withdrew her gaze from the stone forest and began gently stroking the little white cat's back to calm it. "No rush, let's wait and see."
Though she said this, Yun Qingyue clearly wasn't one to sit idly by. She quickly resumed carrying the little white cat toward the stone forest, but this time she carefully concealed her aura, and also reminded the little white cat to suppress its divine pressure. So when the human and cat drew closer, before they could even see who was inside the stone forest, they first encountered "living" poison scorpions.
Yes, after the little white tiger suppressed its pressure, these scorpions finally dared to "live" and appear before them. Not only that, the scorpions clearly didn't welcome these uninvited guests. Spotting them from a distance, they raised their tails high in warning.
These scorpions were called Flame Poison Scorpions, fourth-grade fire-attribute spirit beasts, with their scorpion kings reaching fifth-grade. They typically thrived near volcanoes, their bodies scarlet like flames or crystallized red gemstones. If not for the black gleam at the tip of their stingers that made them look menacing, many would likely be misled by their beautiful appearance.
Yet countless incidents proved that these beautiful little scorpions were truly dangerous. A palm-sized Flame Poison Scorpion could fatally poison a beast a hundred times its size of the same rank, and even high-grade beasts stung by their fire poison would suffer greatly.
Now a group of about a hundred Flame Poison Scorpions had discovered them, with a hundred stingers glowing with black light pointed in their direction, poised to strike.
Yun Qingyue's footsteps faltered, showing hesitation. The scorpions noticed this and intelligently spat a droplet of venom onto a nearby black rock. This rock, which had withstood desert winds and scorching sun for ages, sizzled upon contact with the scorpion venom and instantly dissolved, leaving a palm-sized deep pit with edges blackened as if scorched by fire.
The Flame Poison Scorpions' threatening message was unmistakable. More than a hundred scorpions waved their upraised tails, as if saying: take one more step, and we'll poison you worse than this rock!
Yun Qingyue was indeed intimidated, though not necessarily afraid. Still, with poison so potent, confronting them would be troublesome. After contemplating, she lowered her head to consult the little white cat in her arms: "Can you control your pressure's range to target only these scorpions here, without alerting those in the stone forest and whoever is inside?"
Jiang Mo felt even more intimidated than her Senior Sister. She had only seen powerful poisons corrode surfaces in television dramas before, but how could those staged poisons compare to the venom of these Flame Poison Scorpions? And how could anything match the shock of witnessing this firsthand?
The little white cat, nestled in her Senior Sister's arms, silently retracted her paws, but upon hearing the question, regained some confidence.
Though she was a late-blooming cultivator, controlling divine pressure was a basic skill similar to controlling spiritual energy. So the little white cat quickly recovered from her fright and proudly indicated she could do it.
A strand of divine pressure unique to divine beasts was released, directed toward the hundred or so smug Flame Poison Scorpions.
In an instant, the previously threatening scorpions froze. Then came a "rustle rustle" sound, apparently the bewildered scorpions communicating with each other. This communication lasted only briefly before the stiffened scorpions suddenly dropped to the ground with a "plop," their legs splayed out motionlessly.
If not for knowing these scorpions' habit of playing dead, the little white tiger might have thought her pressure had killed a large number of them. But knowing they were feigning death made the scene rather comical.
The little white cat suppressed her wildly curving lips, barely maintaining her dignity, though her swaying tail betrayed her smugness.
Yun Qingyue noticed this, her crystal eyes filled with amusement. She stroked the little white cat's head and whispered a "thank you," then casually swept out a sword energy that transformed the feigning scorpions into genuinely dead ones.
The ruby-like beautiful scorpions, once slain, possessed a certain broken beauty like shattered gemstones. Yet however beautiful they looked, the blood flowing from their bodies was equally poisonous, corroding the ground where it fell. Yun Qingyue, holding the little white tiger, dared not walk on it, but gracefully leapt over before entering the stone forest area.
Afterwards, they continued to encounter scorpions from time to time, as if these deadly little creatures had claimed the entire stone forest. Fortunately, with little white tiger present, these scorpions quickly transitioned from active to playing dead, and then from playing dead to truly dead.
Before they knew it, the human and cat had ventured deep inside.
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Since entering the secret realm, Ruan Le had been having a difficult time.
Being the sect leader's personally-taught junior disciple, even though her cultivation wasn't the best among her senior brothers and sisters, she had still represented Tiandao Sect in visiting Xuanqing Sect during the Three Sect Martial Arts Competition. Even if she didn't participate in the formal competition, she gained valuable experience from the trip. This time was similar—beyond the ten senior disciples participating in the competition, she secured one of Tiandao Sect's five additional slots.
Before entering the secret realm, Tiandao Sect disciples naturally made arrangements. Like the communication talismans Su Hao distributed to his sect members, Tiandao Sect disciples also had communication devices, but more advanced than Su Hao's jade tokens.
Their communication tool was a small bronze mirror designed in the Eight Trigrams pattern. Besides having the same positioning function as the jade tokens, it could also transmit images for conversation. Additionally, this Eight Trigrams mirror served as a protective treasure, automatically defending its bearer. Such a valuable item wasn't easily obtained—it was said to have been personally bestowed by the Tiandao Sect Leader.
This demonstrated the Tiandao Sect Leader's care for his little disciple Ruan Le.
Following their leader's example, most Tiandao Sect disciples doted on their little junior sister. Even before entering the secret realm, many senior brothers had promised to find her first thing—or more accurately, to protect her.
However, reality proved that promises made before entering secret realms faced too many variables. Ruan Le, who usually had good luck, discovered after entering the Canglán Secret Realm just how unlucky she could be—she landed near a volcano and immediately stepped on dozens of tiny scorpions. Initially unconcerned, she nearly had her foot corroded by the Flame Poison Scorpions' venomous blood.
Fortunately, she reacted quickly, immediately slicing off her shoe sole to avoid being corroded by the poison. But afterwards, no matter where she went, she always saw Flame Poison Scorpions—they were like lingering ghosts, always appearing in her field of vision.
That's when Ruan Le realized she was in trouble. She wasn't like Yun Qingyue and the others with their formidable Nascent Soul cultivation; her cultivation was only at mid Golden Core stage, practically the lowest among the three sects' disciples in the secret realm. Flame Poison Scorpions were fourth-grade spirit beasts, many with cultivation comparable to hers, and some even exceeded her level. Just a small touch of their poisonous blood could potentially end her life!
Recognizing the danger, Ruan Le made an immediate decision to flee the volcanic area. But as soon as she moved, those lingering Flame Poison Scorpions discovered her intentions, and thus began Ruan Le's nightmare.
From within volcanos, under rocks, in soil mounds, and even behind an inconspicuous roadside grass, countless Flame Poison Scorpions suddenly appeared.
The largest was almost basin-sized, its body turning from bright red to dark crimson. The smallest were similar to those tiny scorpions she accidentally stepped on, appearing crystal clear. But most were palm-sized, beautiful and dazzling like rubies... unfortunately, she couldn't appreciate their beauty because she couldn't afford to provoke even a single one.
The Flame Poison Scorpions' cultivation level corresponded to their size. Ruan Le, with only mid Golden Core cultivation, could barely withstand the poison from newborn scorpions, let alone the larger ones.
Ruan Le was immediately terrified by the overwhelming scorpions. Fortunately, she still had the protective treasure given by her master to save her life, and she barely escaped from the volcano cluster. But Flame Poison Scorpions were extremely vindictive creatures, and their collective power was formidable. Rather than abandoning their revenge, they launched a massive pursuit, leaving no spirit beasts alive in their wake.
So from the moment she entered the Canglán Secret Realm, Ruan Le had been in a state of flight. She hastily checked her Eight Trigrams mirror, but before she could discover its rules and patterns, she headed straight for her highest-cultivating senior brother Jiang Shen.
On her way to seek refuge with her senior brother, Ruan Le entered a desert and unexpectedly came upon the black stone forest.
Normally, Ruan Le, who was fleeing for her life, should have had no attention to spare for sightseeing. But the moment she saw the black stone forest, she was somehow bewitched and immediately turned toward it.
The pursuing Flame Poison Scorpions followed closely behind, swiftly occupying and surrounding the entire stone forest, giving her no chance to change her mind and turn back.
Ruan Le was trapped in the stone forest, relying only on a formation to temporarily hold off the scorpion swarm. As for treasure hunting, how could she think about that when her life was at stake? When she took out the Eight Trigrams mirror again, hoping to see if any senior brothers or sisters were nearby who could help, she discovered the mirror had seemingly turned into an ordinary one—besides seeing her own reflection, she couldn't contact anyone!
When it rains, it pours. Ruan Le looked at the Flame Poison Scorpions gathering in increasing numbers outside the formation, piling higher and higher, feeling utterly hopeless—she didn't even dare escape by sword flight because the scorpions' tail stingers could fire projectiles that could ignore defenses and turn her into a pincushion in seconds.
Meanwhile, on the other side of a wall (a scorpion wall) separating her from Ruan Le, Yun Qingyue carrying the little white cat observed this spectacular scene and also fell into silence.
Faced with this scene, there seemed no need to worry about alerting anyone—who knew if the person inside was even still alive?
After a brief silence, the little white cat suddenly stretched out her paw and tapped her Senior Sister's hand, her eyes bright as she said: "Senior Sister, the treasure is right below your feet. Let's start digging."
Yun Qingyue was speechless upon hearing this. She raised her eyes to look around and discovered that besides the wall of Flame Poison Scorpions stacked like acrobats, around them once again lay hundreds of scorpions playing dead... it seemed that for all their ferocious appearance, Flame Poison Scorpions were actually quite timid at heart.