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

But now...

Feeling the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame flowing within his body, the Fire Refining Talisman in his Niwan Palace, and the Xuan Heavy Ruler, Xiao Yan's lips curled into a subtle smile.

"Let me think... This must have happened nearly a thousand years ago, right?"

After gathering his thoughts, Li Zong slowly began to speak.

"At that time, I was just a newly born Netherworld Poison Flame. Normally, it would take me thousands of years to condense a complete spirituality and be able to live by my own will."

"But soon, Li Zong arrived at this swamp..." Li Zong chuckled at this point, "Speaking of which, you probably don't know why Li Zong came to this poisonous swamp, do you?"

"At that time, he met a friend who, upon learning that Li Zong possessed the Calamity Poison Physique, excitedly pulled out a book, pointed to the text, and asked him, 'Have you ever been to the largest poisonous swamp in the Northwest Continent?'"

The smile on Li Zong's face was absolutely genuine. After all, without that person, Li Zong, with his Calamity Poison Body, would have died silently somewhere on the continent instead of coming here and eventually becoming the body of the Netherworld Poison Fire.

"Without that person producing the Seven-Colored Poison Manual, Li Zong might have wasted his entire life in the south of the continent," Li Zong clicked his tongue. "With that person's help, Li Zong and his group headed towards the northwest continent..."

Seven-Colored Poison Scripture...

Upon hearing this word, Xiao Yan pursed his lips. Although he had some expectations when he heard Li Zongqian's words, he did not expect that the book mentioned in the Cloud Poison Swamp was actually the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture.

However, the owner of that cave was probably just someone who happened to obtain the poison manual later on.

“Unlike now, the Chuyun Poison Swamp back then was a complete death zone. Not to mention Dou Zong, even Dou Zun could die here if they weren’t careful,” Li Zong continued.

"The group of five, four Dou Huangs and one Dou Zong, only took two steps forward before the four Dou Huangs were completely petrified by a special toxin..."

"Those four Douhuang stone statues in the Town of Suffering? But, they're not located at the edge of the swamp, are they?" Xiao Yan asked curiously.

“Because Li Zong isn’t dead yet. How could I manipulate the Poison Swamp to expand little by little if he’s still alive?” Li Zong said matter-of-factly. “However, those four Dou Huangs weren’t actually dead at that time; they were simply petrified. If Li Zong had taken them away directly, there would have been a chance to save them. But, unfortunately, Li Zong thought that the Poison Swamp back then was controlled by someone, just like it is now…”

"So he went crazy and headed into the swamp. Although he was a poisonous body, the toxins in his body were already on the verge of exploding. So, unfortunately, he died the moment he entered the current death zone."

Xiao Yan could roughly guess what happened next: the Netherworld Poison Fire accidentally entered Li Zong's body, and then, with the help of the swamp's potent toxins and Li Zong's body, it quickly gained sentience and began to transform and expand the swamp...

Leaving aside for the moment why Li Zong needed to expand the Poison Swamp, Xiao Yan asked with a puzzled look, "So, after all this time, what is your relationship with Zhou Ze?"

"Oh, I forgot to mention, one of the four Dou Huangs who died was surnamed Zhou, and he was born into a rather large family," Li Zong said with a smile. "Moreover, as the strongest member of the family at the time, his storage ring contained the Earth-rank part of their family's inherited cultivation technique."

"Zhou Ze is a descendant of that Dou Huang. He came to this poisonous swamp to wash away his shame or retrieve that Earth-rank cultivation technique?" Xiao Yan's eyes lit up, and he understood everything. "But, due to carelessness or a mistake... or more directly, because he couldn't defeat you, he became a puppet under your command?"

“That’s right!” Li Zong snapped his fingers and said excitedly, “When he entered the town of Suffering, the first thing he saw was the four most conspicuous stone statues, and one of them was missing Li Zong, which is my statue. So, he spent about two or three years investigating everything in the town of Suffering and the Poison Swamp, and finally confirmed that Li Zong was still alive!”

"So, after hiring a guide, he, like you, stepped into the death zone. However, the guide who led him failed the mission and died tragically before his eyes," Li Zong smiled brightly. "Then, I appeared before him and told him that everything he guessed was correct, and that if he wanted to stop or kill me, he had to find an alchemist with a strange fire..."

"No wonder he kept testing whether I had a different kind of fire," Xiao Yan suddenly realized. "But you were still lying to him, weren't you?"

“Of course,” Li Zonglie began, “I’m not stupid. Even if I did have such a weakness, how could I possibly expose it to someone who wants me dead?”

"So, why do you want an alchemist with a strange fire to come?"

Xiao Yan already understood the relationship between Zhou Ze and Li Zong, but he was puzzled as to why Zhou Ze wanted an alchemist with a strange fire to come. He himself had traveled thousands of miles from the Jiama Empire to search for the possible Netherworld Poison Fire because he had the Burning Technique. What was Li Zong's purpose?

“When magical beasts devour each other, they can increase their strength. Even the toxins in the poisonous swamp can become more terrifying after devouring each other,” Li Zong no longer concealed the greed in his eyes for Xiao Yan… or rather, for the strange fire within Xiao Yan’s body. “So, as a strange fire myself, can I gain further improvement after devouring it?”

Although he was occupying Li Zong's body, Xiao Yan could clearly sense a kind of greed and craving from a wild beast.

"I have a few more questions," Xiao Yan said, unconcerned by Li Zong's gaze. He simply raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Before I die, can you resolve the doubts in my heart?"

"Go ahead and tell me. I'm in a good mood today, so I'll make an exception and resolve your doubts!"

The Netherworld Poison Fire may have absorbed some of Li Zong's memories, but it definitely did not inherit the memory that "humans are all incredibly treacherous." Or perhaps it thought that with the strength of a four-star Dou Zong and in its own home field, it was impossible for it to lose to a human who looked to be only a one-star Dou Ling.

"So, my first question is, what you used to control those guides... is actually just the blood poison that seeps into the meridians through breathing in the death zone... or maybe blood worms?" Xiao Yan asked his first question.

"Didn't you already confirm it?" Li Zong rolled his eyes, somewhat bored. "It enters the meridians with each breath, and gradually enters the dantian with the circulation of battle qi. As long as there are enough of them, even a Dou Zong of the same level as me will be affected. With the help of specific battle techniques, it can completely control the dantian of people who enter the death zone, making them guides."

"So, if you wanted, even those two Dou Zong would become your puppets?"

"How could that be? Those two are both poison masters at the Dou Zong level. Although we couldn't clear out the bloodworms that entered their dantian at the beginning, they haven't breathed since. There aren't enough of them. Let's distract them for a moment."

Li Zong spoke these words without reservation. Although Xiao Yan didn't know where his confidence came from, he could at least guarantee that no additional Dou Zongs would appear in the event of a battle.

"The second question," Xiao Yan continued, nodding slightly to confirm there was no threat from the black portal, "why do you keep letting this poisonous swamp expand? I remember you said before that a thousand years ago the edge of the poisonous swamp was basically level with those four stone statues, right? But now it has swallowed up almost half of the town of Suffering, hasn't it?"

“In fact, most of the town of Suffering is already within the influence of the Poison Swamp,” Li Zong pointed out the error in Xiao Yan’s words, and at the same time, he smiled very confidently, “You know, right? The Netherworld Poison Fire is a strange fire that has been nurtured into a spirit by poisonous miasma.”

Xiao Yan nodded slowly. It was precisely for this reason that he came here to search for the possible Netherworld Poison Fire.

“However, the toxins that this poisonous swamp can produce have reached their limit. The most potent toxin it produces can only affect a Dou Zong,” Li Zong said with a smile. “But that’s only the limit of the toxins in this swamp!”

"...Is the Calamity Poison Body of a Dou Sheng real?" Xiao Yan thought of something.

"Yes, one Dou Sheng and six Dou Zun exist!" Li Zong's face was full of fanaticism. "However, in order to prevent her place of death from becoming a truly barren land, that Dou Sheng created an entire spatial realm in the deepest part of this poisonous swamp!"

A Dou Sheng is able to control a region of heaven and earth, and can freely mobilize the energy of heaven and earth for attack and defense. Of course, most importantly, a Dou Sheng-level expert can create a space in the void that can be inhabited.

"In that spatial realm..." Xiao Yan's lips twitched slightly, "it didn't completely collapse?"

“No, in fact, it’s still incredibly sturdy,” Li Zong said with a smile. “However, I dare not go in. Although it’s called Netherworld Poison Fire, it contains toxins born from the Calamity Poison Body at the Dou Sheng level. Who knows if the toxins inside have developed sentience after thousands of years?”

"Therefore, in order to enter that place and guard the entrance to the spatial realm, I can only continuously expand the swamp and increase my strength. Once I reach the Dou Zun level, perhaps I will be able to survive inside!"

Xiao Yan's eye twitched. If everything developed as the Netherworld Poison Fire had predicted, perhaps the strongest Netherworld Poison Fire in history would be born on the Dou Qi Continent in the future.

Chapter 166 War Begins

"It seems you're all right now?"

After the fervor on his face gradually subsided, Li Zong looked at Xiao Yan again.

"You could say that," Xiao Yan nodded and said with a smile, "Thank you for the information." Actually, there were still some questions he wanted to ask, such as the formation outside, how he managed to control all the toxins in the swamp, and what those poisonous insects were...

However, Xiao Yan is not a poison master after all, so understanding these things is not of much use to him. As for the formation, it should be Li Zong's own relic if nothing unexpected happens. In that case, he will have plenty of time to study it slowly after absorbing the Netherworld Poison Fire.

"However, I will not surrender so easily!"

“Of course, you humans always like to do this kind of futile resistance,” Li Zong said, not surprised by Xiao Yan’s words, “Spatial blockade!”

With a roar, a massive surge of energy erupted from his body, causing the void to ripple like water before solidifying completely again after a brief writhing motion.

In this strange space, Xiao Yan, along with the still rippling water, was completely frozen in place.

“Although I entered Li Zong’s body unconsciously and took control of it,” Li Zong slowly approached Xiao Yan, “that was absolutely the most crucial transformation in my life. Otherwise, right now I might only be able to control my original body or those toxins…”

"But you happen to possess a different kind of fire. On this continent, there aren't many toxins that can have a sufficient effect on people with different kinds of fire... Perhaps this is why the Netherworld Poison Fire doesn't rank high on the list of different kinds of fire?" Halfway through his sentence, Li Zongyou seemed to have thought of something and nodded with interest.

"However, precisely because I control Li Zong's body, simple things like spatial sealing are..."

"I admit, I did forget at first that you are a different kind of fire with a human body," Xiao Yan's voice interrupted Li Zong's speech. "However, you may not have a chance to correct your talkative habit!"

After the azure flame detached from the Xuanzhong Ruler, it transformed into a crescent-shaped beam of light half a zhang long, heading straight for Li Zong's chest.

"Tsk..." After easily dodging the light, Li Zong looked at Xiao Yan, whose aura had undergone a huge change, with disgust. "Dou Huang... no, in terms of Dou Qi level alone, he's already at the Dou Zong level?"

"But how long can you use this secret method to enhance your strength?"

Accompanied by countless pale purple butterflies, Li Zong's figure disappeared from the spot.

"Unfortunately, this secret technique won't end until I devour you!" With a slam of his foot into the ground, kicking up some dirt, Xiao Yan appeared beside Li Zong, who had reformed into human form. "Mountain-Splitting Collapse!"

The heavy Xuanzhong Ruler, wreathed in cyan flames, shattered the makeshift spatial barrier and slammed heavily into Li Zong's back.

"cough."

As he spat out some greenish blood, Li Zong hurriedly turned around and kicked the Xuan Heavy Ruler. As the owner of the Calamity Poison Body, Li Zong's physical strength was not high. Even with the support of Dou Qi, this kick only made Xiao Yan's right hand, which was holding the Xuan Heavy Ruler, feel a little strain.

However, Xiao Yan also took a few steps back using this relatively weak force, and then uttered a soft sentence:

"burst!"

The name "Mountain Crash" might sound a bit rustic, but it was Xiao Yan's first successful example of applying the hidden energy of the Eight Extremes Collapse to a weapon. Moreover, after several improvements, the level of hidden energy contained in this strike far surpassed that of the Eight Extremes Collapse.

"Oh!"

A muffled thud suddenly rang out, but this thud came from Li Zong's body.

"Pfft!"

The moment the explosion occurred within his body, a bluish-purple flame suddenly rose from Li Zong's body, and his slightly shattered flesh returned to its original state.

"...Are you human or a magical beast?"

By now, even someone as dense as Li Zong could sense that something was amiss. "Battle Qi at the level of a Battle Spirit, physical attributes at the level of a fourth-tier magical beast—are you really human?"

Boom!

After placing the Xuan Heavy Ruler on the ground, Xiao Yan looked at Li Zong with a smile, "You've become much weaker. Leaving aside your reluctance to use poisonous battle qi, your spatial manipulation skills are probably inferior to even those two Dou Zong from before, right? And besides, your physical body..."

After giving Li Zong a deep look, Xiao Yan continued, "I've been wondering before, even if you develop sentience in the shortest time by relying on Li Zong's body, it will still take several decades. During that time, won't the body that has already died decompose?"

The moment the Xuan Heavy Ruler touched Li Zong's body, the peculiar sensation made Xiao Yan feel something was wrong. After his inner energy erupted and he saw the shattered and rotting flesh, Xiao Yan understood everything.

“That’s right. Even though the swamp’s poisonous miasma stopped damaging Li Zong’s body after I entered it, and even nurtured his body at the same time as me, his body was still in a terrible state when I was born with a complete consciousness.”

The green poisonous flames swirled around Li Zong's body, and after all his physical injuries were healed, Li Zong withdrew them. "Speaking of which, it seems I've gone astray..." With a flick of his sleeve, a green poisonous wind swept towards Xiao Yan.

"Although a different kind of fire can grant immunity to most toxins, what if you've already exhausted all your battle qi?"

After dodging the green poisonous wind, a emerald green ghost claw hidden within the wind firmly left a huge claw mark on Xiao Yan's chest, with no blood flowing out from beneath the claw mark.

Xiao Yan's expression changed slightly. Without hesitation, he took out a snow-white pill from his Awakening Flame Ring and put it in his mouth. A moment later, his throat moved slightly, and then he spat out a mouthful of poisonous blood.

"A high-grade sixth-rank pill, the Blood Purification Pill—you really do have a high-level alchemist teacher behind you," Li Zong nodded silently, not launching a sneak attack on Xiao Yan. "However, even so, how many high-grade antidote pills do you have?"

"...More than you can imagine." Xiao Yan smiled, not to be stubborn, but because he knew that a different kind of fire could make him immune to most toxins, he still refined a total of fifty similar pills in order to absorb the Netherworld Poison Fire safely.

"Heh, stubborn as a mule." With a cold laugh, countless scarlet poison needles formed behind Li Zong. "Continue!" As Li Zong's figure disappeared, the countless scarlet poison needles instantly shot towards Xiao Yan.

Meanwhile, outside the poisonous swamp.

'It should be inside, right?'

After several days of travel, Little Fairy Doctor, on the other side of the Izumo Empire's edge, finally arrived at the edge of the Izumo Poison Swamp. Looking at the swamp ahead, devoid of any birdsong, beasts, or insect sounds, Little Fairy Doctor breathed a sigh of relief, 'Hopefully I'm not too late…'

Although Little Fairy Doctor knew that as a mere Dou Shi, she certainly couldn't help Xiao Yan much, the stirring in her heart still made her bid farewell to Granny Medicine and her husband, and travel a long distance to come here.

"Want a safety map?" A somewhat lewd-looking man approached Little Fairy Doctor and asked.

“No need, I have a map,” came the roughest voice from Little Fairy Doctor’s mouth. “Besides, the amount of medicine you have isn’t even enough for me as a snack, so don’t embarrass yourself by showing it off.” Her crumpled right hand emerged from her sleeve and slapped the man hard.

"Be smarter in your next life." With that, Little Fairy Doctor walked straight into the swamp.

The lewd man turned into a pool of foul-smelling liquid in just three or four seconds.

"That woman is ruthless..." A man who was also buying a map by the swamp glanced at the pool of liquid and clicked his tongue in admiration.