Battle Through the Heavens: Xiao Yan, who was kidnapped to another world

Located in the poisonous swamp, he will immediately leave the team and escape the swamp as quickly as possible if anyone raises a different opinion, without caring about the life or death of his clients.

This is the rule that even if Zhou Ze charges the lowest fee, people who want to enter the poisonous swamp will not hire him, even if there are rumors that Zhou Ze has actually entered the core area, even if someone has personally witnessed Zhou Ze coming out of the death zone!

Xiao Yan and the other four followed Zhou Ze. The path they took was winding and twisting, but according to Zhou Ze, it was absolutely safe.

In this poisonous swamp of Chuyun, someone actually dared to say it was absolutely safe, a statement that left Xiao Yan speechless.

"Stop!" Zhou Ze suddenly roared after a while.

"What's wrong?" Xu Chuan asked, frowning.

It was quite obvious that Xu Chuan's words had violated the rules set by Zhou Ze, so the moment the words left his mouth, Xu Chuan regretted them, "No, I'm not that..."

"Shut up! Stop making noise!" Zhou Ze hissed in a low voice, seemingly completely unconcerned about Xu Chuan's words.

Seeing Zhou Ze's expression, Xu Chuan swallowed hard, silently took a step back, and dared not say another word.

Xiao Yan frowned slightly. Zhou Ze's behavior at this moment was very strange. He looked as if he had heard some subtle sound. But Xiao Yan could guarantee that there were no strange sounds within a one-kilometer radius, and even the cries of magical beasts were very rare!

After listening intently for a moment, Zhou Ze swallowed hard, then, disregarding the dirty mud beneath his feet, he simply lay down on his side, pressing his ear tightly against the mud.

Seeing Zhou Ze's appearance, Xu Chuan and the others realized something was wrong and held their breath, afraid that their breathing would affect Zhou Ze's judgment.

"...Which of you is of the earth element?"

After listening for a moment, Zhou Ze stood up with a grim expression, glanced at the five people, and asked in a deep voice.

"Me." After hesitating for a long time, Xu Chuan raised his hand.

"Fire attribute?"

"Me." Xiao Yan raised his hand.

"Alright, you two, come with me," Zhou Ze said, exhaling after carefully examining Xiao Yan and Xu Chuan for a few moments.

"What about us?"

Upon seeing Zhou Ze's appearance, the three who were not chosen panicked.

Zhou Ze acted as if he hadn't heard them, and without hesitation put on a hat and gloves, covering his entire body, he turned around and ran towards the center of the poisonous swamp.

After quickly fixing their clothes, Xu Chuan and Xiao Yan caught up with Zhou Ze.

After a brief hesitation, the other three followed.

Chapter 159 Suffering Pill and Ritual

Zhou Ze was fast, but only relative to a three-star fighter.

Aside from initially feeling a bit uneasy because he wasn't sure if his landing spot was safe, Xu Chuan quickly adapted to Zhou Ze's speed and followed silently behind Zhou Ze and Xiao Yan.

The other three eliminated contestants were also quite capable, but they couldn't notice Zhou Ze's change of direction immediately. So, after Zhou Ze took a detour, the three of them accidentally touched a bright flower and died from an unknown poison.

Although he had been taking detours, Xiao Yan, who had previously recklessly entered the dangerous area, noticed that Zhou Ze seemed to be heading towards the inner area.

"Do you want to enter the dangerous area?" After a while, Xiao Yan couldn't help but ask.

One sentence made Xu Chuan stop in his tracks. If Xiao Yan hadn't caught him in time, he might have fallen into the mud at his feet.

"No, we're going to a dangerous area? The money I paid is only enough to wander around the edge, right?" After being helped up by Xiao Yan, Xu Chuan thanked him and stood up, looking at Xiao Yan with a blank expression.

Zhou Ze stopped in surprise, turned around, and as if he hadn't noticed the bewildered Xu Chuan, his gaze fixed on Xiao Yan. "You entered the inner area under the guidance of another guide?"

"Uh... actually, I went in alone, without anyone to guide me." Xiao Yan hesitated for a moment, but didn't lie.

"You went in alone?" Zhou Ze frowned. "How long did you stay inside?"

"About three minutes." After entering and exiting several times, Xiao Yan's total time in the danger zone did not exceed three minutes.

"Three minutes?" Zhou Ze gave Xiao Yan a deep look, then took out two pills from his storage ring. "Suffering Pills, crude pills that can immunize more than 90% of the toxins in the peripheral areas. One for each of you." He handed the brown pills to the two of them.

Zhou Ze's gaze startled Xiao Yan slightly, as if Zhou Ze had seen through him. However, Xiao Yan readily accepted the pills that Zhou Ze offered and put them in his mouth.

'Azure Wave Flower, Fallen Fruit...'

The method of making the Suffering Pill was very crude. Just by swallowing it, Xiao Yan was able to determine all the medicinal ingredients contained in the pill.

"Was this collectively made by the guides of your Suffering Town?" Xiao Yan asked after swallowing the pill.

"I suppose so, but under normal circumstances, we wouldn't let outsiders like you know," Zhou Ze nodded without any attempt to hide it. "Even if the Poison Sect Master himself came, he wouldn't know about the Suffering Pill."

The Poison Sect is a rising power in the Izumo Empire. It is said that its leader is a legendary Dou Zong powerhouse, and its sphere of influence covers one-third of the Izumo Empire. The town of Suffering happens to be within the Poison Sect's sphere of influence.

"But you let us know, and even gave it to us," Xiao Yan reminded him.

“Because you walked into the danger zone alone without a guide and stayed there for about three minutes,” Zhou Ze snorted, “if nothing unexpected happens, you will become a guide in the future.”

"Me? Become a guide?" Xiao Yan frowned, utterly puzzled.

"He'll be my guide? And what about me?"

During Xiao Yan and Zhou Ze's conversation, Xu Chuan, who had been nervously watching the pill in his hand, finally swallowed the Suffering Pill after Xiao Yan took it without any problems.

However, this time Zhou Ze did not answer Xiao Yan's question, nor did he pay attention to Xu Chuan's words. After confirming that Xu Chuan had taken the Suffering Pill, Zhou Ze continued to advance into the interior.

It seemed that because Xiao Yan and Xu Chuan had both taken the Suffering Pill, Zhou Ze no longer took a detour this time and continued to move straight inward.

As the distance to the danger zone decreased, other guides appeared in the surrounding area, some with three people, some with five, and some with a full complement of seven.

Just like Zhou Ze's choice, the members of the teams led by those guides only had earth and fire attributes, as if all the other explorers had died in the edge areas.

However, unlike Zhou Ze, those guides took the longest possible detours when leading the group, doing their best to avoid poisonous creatures. Compared to Zhou Ze's straight-forward approach, the guides' routes seemed somewhat comical.

This is precisely why the three most unique individuals quickly attracted the attention of others.

Although the guides were somewhat surprised, they quickly recovered, knowing the effects of the Suffering Pill. No one was in trouble, but the adventurers who had hired guides were a different story. Only a few were momentarily distracted; most showed signs of frustration, and some even wandered onto paths the guides hadn't taken.

Only a few were lucky; over 90% of the adventurers who went down the path the guide hadn't taken died a gruesome death, seemingly because the intensity of the poison in the vicinity had increased significantly as they approached the danger zone.

Normally, the life or death of strangers would have nothing to do with Xiao Yan, and wouldn't even be enough to distract him for a moment. However, after a member of a three-person team died due to his inner turmoil, Xiao Yan's soul power immediately locked onto the team's guide.

Upon noticing the death of the fire-attribute warrior in his squad, the guide froze, his expression as if the deceased adventurer were not his guest, but his family.

However, after a brief hesitation, the guide gritted his teeth and decided not to take the long way around. Instead, he charged straight into the danger zone, just like Zhou Ze.

However, he didn't seem to explain what happened to the other earth-attribute warrior before he sprinted forward. The earth-attribute warrior who obediently followed behind the guide soon died in the mud below.

The guide did not turn around until the earth-attribute warrior had completely breathed his last.

Having already suspected something because of the guides around him who were also heading towards the dangerous area, Xiao Yan, upon seeing this scene, finally confirmed his suspicions completely.

In the danger zone... no, perhaps in the more central death zone, an "antidote" that is tied to the lives of these guides is being created. Without that "antidote," these guides may not die, but for them, death may be the only relief.

'The danger zone is just ahead...'

About half an hour later, Xiao Yan saw the boundary line between the edge area and the danger zone, a 'line' that completely separated the two areas.

If the edge area was a stinking, foul-smelling pile of silt, then the danger zone was a beautiful paradise with clear waters and lush mountains. In the distance, Xiao Yan could even vaguely see snowflakes falling from the sky.

At the edge of the dividing line between the two areas, Zhou Ze stopped and looked at the falling snowflakes.

These snowflakes were pristine and flawless. Even just looking at them made Xiao Yan feel a chill that seemed to pierce his very bones, as if the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame within his body couldn't withstand this coldness...

"If we continue to use our soul power to touch these snowflakes, let alone be a guide, it will be a question whether we can even take the next step."

Just as Xiao Yan was about to intensify his efforts and use all his soul power to investigate the anomaly of these clean and flawless snowflakes, Zhou Ze suddenly spoke up.

Ok?

For a moment, Xiao Yan hesitated.

Seemingly noticing that Xiao Yan was only hesitant but still preparing to continue using his soul power, Zhou Ze raised his hand and pointed at Xiao Yan's lower body, "Aren't you going to take a look?"

Subconsciously looking down, Xiao Yan saw his feet, which were completely covered by ice and snow.

Without the slightest pause, all of Xiao Yan's soul power was drawn back into his body. At the same time, deep purple flames erupted from within him, completely melting the ice and snow covering his feet in the shortest possible time.

"Deep purple flames?" Zhou Ze's gaze fell on Xiao Yan's flames. "A new strange fire?"

"Soul power? Strange fire? What are those?"

If Xu Chuan hadn't asked that question with a bewildered look, Xiao Yan might have really thought that all cultivators across the continent, regardless of strength, knew about the existence of soul power and strange fire.

"It's just the beast fire of the Purple Flame Serpent, only with some slight mutations." As he withdrew the flames, Xiao Yan's lips twitched slightly, and he said softly.

"Oh, beast fire." Zhou Ze nodded, but his expression clearly showed that he didn't believe what Xiao Yan said.

"What is that thing? Why is it freezing my feet?" Xiao Yan didn't explain, but asked in a serious voice.

"No, you two, please explain what soul power and strange fire are first!"

Xu Chuan knew that the sudden appearance of ice and snow on Xiao Yan's body was very strange, but neither Zhou Ze nor Xiao Yan explained what soul power and strange fire were, which left Xu Chuan at a loss.

“A cold poison that only appears at specific times,” Zhou Ze still ignored Xu Chuan, “and it only affects a specific group of people.” He looked at Xiao Yan meaningfully.

"...A cold poison that only works on people who enter dangerous areas without a guide?" After a brief hesitation, Xiao Yan exhaled and asked.

"You knew when it would appear? You're quite perceptive," Zhou Ze nodded. "Then, you should know what the initial form of this cold poison looks like, right?"

Xiao Yan did not answer. He thought of the inexplicable toxin he had felt when he first entered the dangerous area alone.

"So what exactly are soul power and strange fire?" Xu Chuan unleashed a powerful battle qi, and an earth-yellow battle qi armor condensed on his body. "You two, do you even know how to respect the strong?!" He glared at Xiao Yan and Zhou Ze, who had been ignoring him.

"Shut up!"

Xiao Yan and Zhou Ze roared simultaneously, and their fighting spirits, far superior to Xu Chuan's, directly enveloped him.

"Okay, I understand!" The moment he sensed the intensity of the two battle energies, Xu Chuan stopped instantly and answered respectfully.

"You're a Dou Wang?" Compared to Xu Chuan, who immediately became obedient, Xiao Yan was more concerned about Zhou Ze's strength. "Why didn't I notice anything before?"

Xiao Yan frowned deeply. Earlier, he had used his soul power to scan the entire town of Suffering and confirmed that all the guides in Suffering were at the Dou Zhe stage, but now the intensity of the Dou Qi that Zhou Ze was unleashing...

"Do you know how this poisonous swamp was formed?" When he unleashed his battle aura, Zhou Ze knew he would inevitably be questioned by this alchemist who seemed to possess a strange fire, so Zhou Ze's reaction was very calm.

"...I heard it's the place where a certain person with a 'Calamity Poison Body' passed away." Frowning, Xiao Yan uttered the rumor he had read in the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture.

“That’s right, the place where a person with the Calamity Poison Body passed away in ancient times,” Zhou Ze raised an eyebrow slightly, somewhat surprised that Xiao Yan could say such a thing. “It is said to be the place where a person with the Calamity Poison Body who broke through to the Dou Sheng realm passed away.”

'No, so what exactly is this Calamity Poison Body? How did it suddenly become a Battle Saint?' Xu Chuan lamented inwardly, forcing a smile.

"A Dou Sheng?" A thought flashed through Xiao Yan's mind. "Is the guide in your Suffering Town a descendant of that Dou Sheng?"

“You overestimate us,” Zhou Ze chuckled. “We guides are nothing but a bunch of delusional poisoners.”

After shaking his head, Zhou Ze continued.