Chapter 699 700: Bone-Rotting Spirit Miasma

"Patriarch Long Yuan, isn't this a bit too unfair to those of us without Spirit Pets?" Qiu Yuan, the young master of Lingkong Cave, suddenly spoke up.

He glanced at Ye Xuan, his gaze landing on the Vast Light Grand Thousand Mirror in his hand, a flicker of burning desire in his eyes.

The Zhou family's ancestor, Zhou Yuetian, also spoke up. "The young master of Lingkong Cave is right. None of the rest of us have Spirit Pets. Wouldn't we be at a great disadvantage?"

The others remained noncommittal, watching coolly from the sidelines. Indeed, Ye Xuan was the only one present with a Spirit Pet, and when it came to personal gain, few were willing to yield.

Ye Xuan sneered. "A Spirit Pet is considered an extension of the Martial Artist. This is a common rule across the Celestial Profound Continent. By your logic, since my cultivation is the lowest here, shouldn't you let me have the first pick of any treasure we find? You can only act after I've made my move. Otherwise, wouldn't that be too unfair to me?"

"Hmph. Your low cultivation is your own problem. What does it have to do with us?" Qiu Yuan snorted.

"Alright, since there's a dispute, let's put it to a vote," Long Yuan said directly, frowning slightly. "All in favor of letting the master keep any treasure their Spirit Pet finds, please raise your hands."

In the end, only the Xiao, Xu, and Lin families raised their hands.

"Now, those who disagree, please raise your hands."

The Zhou family, the Helian family, Lingkong Cave, and the Yuchi family all raised their hands.

The Long family and the Langxie Sect abstained. Even so, Ye Xuan's side had lost.

Long Yuan gave Ye Xuan a wry smile. "Master Xuan Ye, it seems there's nothing to be done."

But to everyone's surprise, Ye Xuan suddenly laughed. "Fine. Since everyone has made a decision, it's not my place to object."

As his voice fell, he sent a message to the Little Purple Mink.

"SQUEAK SQUEAK."

The Little Purple Mink chittered and brandished its claws, then with a WHOOSH, it vanished into the mountain forest.

Ye Xuan said coldly, "Although we've established the rule that treasures found by a Spirit Pet don't belong to the master, the Little Purple Mink is still my Spirit Pet. If anyone dares to lay a hand on it again, don't blame me, Xuan Ye, for being merciless."

Everyone was taken aback, a bit stunned. Ye Xuan's move seemed utterly idiotic.

Anyone could see that Ye Xuan's action had just rendered their previous vote meaningless.

Even though treasures found by the Spirit Pet didn't belong to the master, if the Little Purple Mink really did find something, no one could attack it. In the end, the treasure would still fall into Xuan Ye's hands.

'But you're just a Tier Seven Martial King. If we really decide to make a move, what are you going to do about it?' The crowd sneered inwardly.

But just as Ye Xuan finished speaking, Xiao Wuji added in a cold voice, "Young Master Ye is a master invited by my Xiao family. If anyone dares to move against Young Master Ye or his Spirit Pet again, you will be making an enemy of the Xiao family. I hope you all consider your actions carefully."

"That Xiao Wuji..."

The crowd's expressions froze. The Xiao family was clearly stepping up for Xuan Ye. 'What are they thinking? He's just a talented young man. Is he really worth trying so hard to win over?'

But with Xiao Wuji having said his piece, even though the crowd was disdainful, they knew they couldn't make a move against the Little Purple Mink anymore.

Soon, the group set off once more.

Xiao Wuji swept forward and asked with concern, "Young Master Ye, are you alright? Your injuries..."

Ye Xuan shook his head. "I'm fine."

In reality, he had been faking his injuries. He had even deliberately coughed up that mouthful of blood.

After all, with his level of cultivation, it would have been suspicious if he had taken a blow from Yu Chi Bugong and emerged completely unscathed.

Xiao Wuji said worriedly, "From now on, stick close to me. Don't go more than three meters away. That bronze mirror you took out earlier must be an extraordinary treasure. I'd wager many people here have grown greedy. If you act alone, you could easily be in danger."

Ye Xuan nodded.

In truth, with his defenses, he could have blocked Yu Chi Bugong's attack without even taking out the Vast Light Grand Thousand Mirror. But to avoid suspicion, he had no choice but to reveal it.

"And your Spirit Pet... letting it loose in this Land of Miasma, won't something happen to it?"

Xiao Wuji understood Ye Xuan's reasoning, but according to his senses, the Little Purple Mink had already run off and disappeared. Could such a small creature really survive in this perilous Land of Miasma?

Ye Xuan smiled faintly. "Patriarch Xiao, you don't need to worry. That little one is incredibly clever."

Ye Xuan couldn't be sure about other things, but he was very confident about the Little Purple Mink's safety. The little fellow was exceptionally smart. When it came to treasure, it ran faster than anyone, and when it came to danger, it fled faster than anyone. Even the King of Gravel couldn't kill it; he believed it would be the same here in this Land of Miasma.

The group continued onward, exploring and searching for treasures as they went.

To their confusion, however, the number of Spirit Medicines in the dense forest seemed to have suddenly dwindled, and they could only find some low-grade ones.

"Huh? What a refreshing fragrance."

Suddenly, the group smelled a fresh scent and looked ahead. On the ground before them was a small, palm-sized puddle. The liquid inside had already dried up, but the remaining milky-white stain emitted a soul-refreshing aroma.

"This is... Spirit-Gathering Milk? How is it gone?"

Among the major factions, there were some with sharp eyes who immediately recognized the fragrance as that of the legendary Spirit-Gathering Milk.

Spirit-Gathering Milk was a Tier Eight treasure capable of cleansing the body and marrow, improving one's constitution, and, most importantly, strengthening the Profound Veins. It was an ultimate treasure even for Tier Eight Martial Emperors.

"Look, there are footprints here."

Next, the group spotted a set of prints by the puddle. Instantly, pairs of eyes shot toward Ye Xuan like sharp blades.

"Brat, these are clearly your Spirit Pet's footprints! Spit it out, where did your Spirit Pet take the Spirit-Gathering Milk?" Yu Chi Bugong whirled his head around and demanded furiously.

The footprints were tiny and dense, shaped like maple leaves. If they weren't the Little Purple Mink's, whose could they be?

Ye Xuan gave an innocent smile. "Patriarch Yuchi, I don't understand what you're saying. I've been traveling with all of you, so how would I know the whereabouts of the Spirit-Gathering Milk? Perhaps my Spirit Pet found the milk fragrant and was a little thirsty, so it drank it all."

"You..." Yu Chi Bugong's eyes darkened, his anger flaring.

Ye Xuan sneered inwardly. 'You all disagreed that a master should keep what their Spirit Pet finds? Fine. Then I'll make sure you get nothing at all. With a clever little devil like the Little Purple Mink scouting ahead and snatching everything up, it'd be a miracle if you found anything good.'

The members of the major factions all shot him unfriendly looks, but there was nothing they could do.

As they continued, the group did find a few things, but most were just Tier Seven Spirit Medicines. Tier Eight items were extremely rare.

「After advancing like this for an hour.」

Suddenly—

WHOOSH!

A white mist drifted over, weaving through the dense forest. The woods ahead gradually grew blurry.

"This is bad."

The expressions on the faces of every faction—except for the Xu, Lin, and Zhou families—turned grim. One by one, they took out various Pills and treasures.

The Langxie Sect took out translucent, crystalline beads and popped them into their mouths.

An elder from Lingkong Cave produced a white sphere. Fueled by his Profound energy, the sphere emitted a milky-white light that enveloped everyone from Lingkong Cave.

The Yuchi family brought out a small, cyan umbrella. As it spun, it scattered specks of cyan light that shielded the Yuchi members.

The Long family, surprisingly, took out an Array Disc. The disc was ancient and simple, clearly a very old artifact. It emitted streams of array patterns that enveloped the Long family members.

In addition, the Helian family took out Pills of all kinds—red, yellow, blue, green, at least five or six types—and tossed them all into their mouths at once.

Patriarch Xiao Wuji, however, looked toward Ye Xuan. "Young Master Ye."

Ye Xuan narrowed his eyes, probing the mist ahead with his Soul Sense. He said lightly, "This poison mist should be the legendary Bone-Rotting Spirit Miasma. I have some Antitoxic Pills here. All of you, take one."

Ye Xuan took a porcelain vial from his robes, poured out several milky-white Pills, and distributed them to the members of the Xiao family.

Seeing this, the members of the Lin, Zhou, and Xu families—who were here in the Land of Miasma for the first time—were all stunned.

"Everyone, what is all this...?" Ancestor Zhou Yuetian of the Zhou family asked in confusion.

Long Yuan paused, then said to the three families, "Huh? Didn't the Yuchi and Xiao families from your Celestial Capital Prefecture tell you? The reason this place is called the Land of Miasma is that this dense forest is filled with all kinds of poisonous mists. It's incredibly dangerous. The treasures we just took out are all to prevent the poison from entering our bodies."

"What? There's something like that here?"

The members of the three families were dumbfounded.

The five great families of the Celestial Capital Prefecture had all acted independently, so they had no idea there was any such thing as a poison mist.

Long Yuan glanced at the three families with a wry smile. "It seems you all came unprepared. What a pity. My Long family's Array Disc is an incomplete one left by our ancestors. It can block the invasion of most poison mists, but its range is small. It cannot accommodate any more people."

He then added, "If you aren't prepared, I'd advise you not to advance any further. The poison mist in this Land of Miasma is terrifying. Even a Tier Eight Third Layer Martial Emperor would have difficulty resisting it. One moment of carelessness will undoubtedly result in instant death."

The people from the three families were utterly dumbfounded, and their hearts sank. They really hadn't made any special preparations. Were they supposed to stop here?

After coming all this way, they were naturally unwilling to turn back. Besides, back in the wasteland behind them was that terrifying King of Gravel. With just their three families, they would probably die at the hands of the Gravel King before they even left this mysterious land.

Seeing the dumbfounded expressions on the faces of the three families, the members of Lingkong Cave and the other factions showed a hint of schadenfreude.

After a moment of hesitation, the three families also began taking out their own Antitoxic Pills.

They hadn't come to explore this mysterious land completely unprepared. They had at least brought some basic antitoxic Pills.