bookbashuk Chapter 288 The Rotten Toad King!
Chapter 288 The Rotten Toad King!
Chapter 288 The Rotten Toad King!
"what--"
Half an hour later, Jiang Yi, who was sitting cross-legged in the spirit-gathering array set up by Chen Jinshu, was awakened by the lingering consciousness of the intense pain from the removal of his soul imprint.
Jiang Yi looked at Chen Jinshu, who was tending to the Xingyueqin not far away, with a hint of lingering fear.
"senior……"
"Will I really... never be possessed again?"
"The soul imprint has been removed, and I have also refined Xuan Yinzi's remaining soul using the Xuanpin Treasure Furnace," Chen Jinshu said with certainty.
"However, there is a section in the Secret Record of Three Elements Body Seizure and Rebirth that states: If the soul of a vessel is severely damaged, the sea of consciousness will be like a broken lantern, exerting an invisible attraction on the remnant souls in other vessels."
Even if separated by thousands of miles, it might still attract the remnant soul, allowing for the final possession.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yi's face turned deathly pale, and his fingers unconsciously clenched the hem of his robe, his knuckles turning blue.
"Then...then I..."
"Your soul is now riddled with holes."
"With your cultivation at the early Foundation Establishment stage, you probably wouldn't even be able to fully execute the Crimson Flame Sword Technique. If the remnant soul in the other vessel senses your current weakness..."
Qingheng materialized from Chen Jinshu's hairpin, her emerald green dress fluttering as she landed beside Jiang Yi.
She reached out and pressed her hand against his forehead, closed her eyes to sense for a moment, and frowned: "This is indeed bad. The cracks in his soul are spreading like a spider web. If there is no external force to repair them, they will collapse on their own in three months at most."
Jiang Yi's lips trembled, and he suddenly struggled to his feet, kowtowing heavily to Chen Jinshu: "Please, senior, save me! Jiang Yi is willing to pay any price!"
Chen Jinshu silently watched his back as he lay prostrate on the ground.
After a long while, she finally spoke: "I remember the ghost child mentioned a third-tier spiritual herb called 'Nine Yin Corrupting Heart Grass'. This herb grows in extremely yin and poisonous places, and ordinary people will die if they touch it. However, if it is refined using special methods, it can be transformed into 'Corrupting Heart Soul-Sustaining Pill' to repair the soul, which is specifically used to treat the injury of a torn soul."
Jiang Yi suddenly looked up, hope igniting in his eyes: "Where can we find it?"
"Deep within the swamp of putrid poison."
"However, according to the information I have obtained, and what Youxi said before, the poisonous toad king guards this herb in the heart of the swamp."
"The Corrupt Toad King?" Qingheng floated to Chen Jinshu's shoulder, her small face serious.
“That’s a third-tier demonic beast, equivalent to an early-stage Golden Core cultivator, and they usually live in groups. You alone…”
"Therefore, compensation is required."
Chen Jinshu turned around, her gaze falling on Jiang Yi's face, and said with great interest:
"I will gather herbs and refine pills for you; in return, you must offer the Jiang family's ancestral Golden Elixir Sword Technique, 'Crimson Flame Sword Manual.' Is this a fair deal?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yi was immediately stunned. The family's sword technique was the foundation for the Jiang clan's foothold in the Crimson Flame Mountains. Before his death, his father held his hand and instructed him, "As long as the sword technique remains, the Jiang family's spirit will never perish."
But at this moment... he looked down at his trembling hands, and the sharp pain from the depths of his soul reminded him: if he has no life, how can he talk about inheritance?
"I do," he replied hoarsely, bowing his head once more.
"If you can save my life and help me completely get rid of the danger of being possessed, I will offer you the Crimson Flame Sword Manual with both hands."
Chen Jinshu nodded and took out a blank jade slip from his storage bag, tossing it to him:
"First, memorize the first three moves of the sword technique as a deposit. After you obtain the Corrupting Heart Grass and refine it into a pill, you can complete the rest of the mental cultivation method."
Jiang Yi took the jade slip without hesitation and immediately used his divine sense to inscribe the three sword moves of the Crimson Flame Sword Art: the opening move "Crimson Flame Wilderness," the offensive move "Burning Heaven Slash," and the defensive move "Fire Wall Revolving," along with the accompanying mental cultivation method.
During the process, veins bulged on his forehead. His soul was damaged, and using his divine sense was like scraping bone with a dull knife. But he gritted his teeth until the jade slip turned reddish, then collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.
Chen Jinshu carefully put away the jade slip and said to Qingheng:
"You stay in the cave to look after Jiang Yi and set up the Green Vine Domain just in case. I will take the substitute puppet and the Yinshan Sparrow to the swamp."
As soon as she finished speaking, a clear chirping sound came from the spiritual plant space.
The Yinshan Sparrow transformed into an icy blue light and streaked out, circling several times in the air before landing on Chen Jinshu's shoulder.
"Mid-stage Golden Core, the power of Xuanbing has been stabilized." Chen Jinshu gently stroked its wings, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes. "On this trip to deal with the Corrupting Toad King, your Frost Divine Power is just right to counter its poisonous miasma."
……
Three days later at dawn, at the edge of the putrid swamp.
Chen Jinshu was dressed in a dark green outfit, covered with a "Hundred-Refined Gauze Robe" to protect against poisonous miasma, and his face was covered with a thin veil formed from the spiritual energy of green wood.
The stand-in puppet followed beside her, dressed in the same attire, but its eyes were slightly vacant.
She only used a wisp of divine thought to control it, and her main task was to act as bait when necessary.
The swamp ahead presented a bizarre scene: gray-green poisonous miasma surged like living things, and inky black bubbles rose from the surface of the swamp, releasing a dizzying stench when they burst.
The dead giant tree lay crookedly stuck in the mud, its branches covered with dark purple moss.
"According to Youxi, the Nine Yin Corrupting Heart Grass grows beside the 'Corrupting Heart Pool' in the heart of the swamp, and is guarded by three Corrupting Poison Toad Kings."
Chen Jinshu cautiously extended his divine sense, penetrating a hundred feet to investigate the surrounding situation.
"The toad kings are nocturnal, and this should be their most relaxed time, but..."
In the blink of an eye, the swamp suddenly churned violently!
"Gurgle—roar—!"
A deep, thunderous roar came from the depths of the swamp. Three enormous black shadows broke through the poisonous miasma, leaped into the air, and then crashed heavily back into the swamp, splashing up a ten-foot-high wave of putrid mud.
Upon seeing this, Chen Jinshu's expression turned slightly serious.
Then you see the three rotten poisonous toad kings, each the size of a house, with dirty green skin covered with pus-filled venom glands, spewing out dark green poisonous mist with every breath.
Their gaping mouths and tongues are covered with barbs.
"We've been discovered?" the stand-in puppet asked.
"No," Chen Jinshu sneered.
"They deliberately released their auras to lure me into a trap. These three toad kings are quite intelligent and know how to work together to set an ambush."
As soon as she finished speaking, the toad king on the left suddenly opened its mouth, and the poisonous bead shot out, transforming into a dark blue poison arrow that shot towards her!
At the same time, the toad king on the right swept its long tongue like a whip, curling towards the substitute puppet.
The one in the center swelled its venom sac and spewed out a rain of poison, blocking all escape routes!
"Green Vine Domain Opens!"
Qing Teng was prepared from the side, his hands forming a hand seal.
Centered on her, countless cyan-gold vines suddenly sprouted within a ten-zhang radius, weaving together to form an impenetrable cage.
The poisonous beads struck the vine wall, splashing venom, but failed to corrode it instantly.
The poisonous rain fell on the outer edge of the area, hissing and sending up plumes of blue smoke.
"Mystic Ice Phoenix, freeze the poison glands of the one on the left!"
A beam of icy blue light shot out from his shoulder.
The Yinshan Sparrow let out a long cry, spread its wings, and scattered its icy feathers into the frigid mist.
It hovered above the left toad king's head, aimed at the largest pus-filled venom gland on its back, and sprayed out a highly refined "Mysterious Ice Breath"!
"hiss!"
The surface of the venom gland was instantly covered with a thick layer of ice.
The Toad King roared in pain, twisting its body wildly in an attempt to shatter the ice, but the power of the Xuanbing had already seeped into the venom glands, temporarily freezing their ability to secrete venom.
Taking advantage of this brief moment, Chen Jinshu manipulated his stand-in puppet to rush towards the Toad King on the right.