"Anyway, let's try to look for the Purple Qilin from up here where the poison can't reach us," Su Yang said.
"The poison mist may not affect us from up here for now, but once we reach the inner area, the poison mist will also be in the sky, and we won't be able to see anything from up here. Furthermore, the poison mist also blocks our spiritual sense, so we won't be able to look around with our Divine Sense," Xie Xingfang explained to him.
"That's fine. Let's just see what we can find from the outer areas." Su Yang nodded his head as the small wooden boat began traveling over the outer area of the Abandoned Forest.
As they spent an hour looking around the outer area, Su Yang noticed that there was a surprisingly high number of people exploring the Abandoned Forest.
"As one would expect from Cultivators— no matter how dangerous the place is, there will always be a Cultivator willing to explore it in hopes for a fortunate encounter." Su Yang spoke with a smile on his face.
"The poison mist in the outer area of the Abandoned Forest is somewhat endurable with the assistance of some medicine and treasures, but it is still very dangerous for the majority of Cultivators. In fact, the mortality rate just from the outer areas is extremely high at over 70%. The inner areas have a 90% mortality rate, whilst 99% of people who enter the center area will never come back." Xie Xingfang said.
And she continued a moment later, "Su Yang, compared to the most dangerous places in your world, how dangerous is the Abandoned Forest?"
"Hahaha…" Su Yang laughed at her question before speaking, "The Abandoned Forest is like a stroll in the park compared to some of the most dangerous places in the Divine Heavens. Although this place is indeed quite dangerous for the majority, as long as you prepare yourself properly, the Abandoned Forest isn't an issue at all."
"In the Divine Heavens, however, there are places that will remain dangerous no matter how much you prepare for it, and there are even places where your Cultivation cannot be used. For example, it's like trying to enter the Abandoned Forest while fully n.a.k.e.d, or swimming in the Jade Sea without any cultivation."
"Unable to use your cultivation?" Xie Xingfang covered her mouth from shock, as she cannot imagine doing either of what he'd just said.
"Anyway, the Abandoned Forest may be dangerous even for me if not for the poison immunity pill, but as I'd said, as long as you're prepared, this place isn't all that bad," Su Yang said, and they continued to fly around the outer areas.
A few hours later, once they have pretty much circled around the Abandoned Forest multiple times without seeing the Purple Qilin, Su Yang said, "Let's head to the inner areas now."
"Okay," Xie Xingfang nodded.
A few minutes later, Su Yang stopped the flying boat right before the poison mist that filled the air.
"What do you think, Su Yang? Will the poison immunity pill work?" Xie Xingfang asked him.
"Yes," he nodded before he continued, "However, I'd hoped to save the pill until we reached the center area, but this poison is much stronger than I'd anticipated, so I will have to consume it now."
"How long will the pill last?" Xie Xingfang then asked him.
"It mostly depends on the strength of the poison I am facing with it lasting 7 days usually. In this case, this poison is quite potent, so the pill will only last me four days before its effects go away. However, if the poison is already this powerful in the inner area, I can only imagine how much stronger the poison will be near the center. If we're lucky, I will have at most 24 hours before the pill becomes useless."
"24 hours… If we cannot find the Purple Qilin and obtain its blood before then, we'll retreat for the time being…" Xie Xingfang sighed.
A moment later, Su Yang retrieved the pill and tossed it into his mouth.
After swallowing it, he said, "Let's go."
Su Yang immediately controlled the flying boat to enter the poison mist. However, because of the density of the poison mist, they were unable to see anything while on the flying boat, forcing them to descend and travel on foot.
Once they were near ground level, they began flying around, as it was much faster than running with their legs, not to mention the puddles of toxic substances laying everywhere.
After traveling for a few minutes, they encountered their first spiritual beast— an enormous lizard with purple pointy scales and with a cultivation at the peak of the True Spirit Realm.
"That's a Bane Lizard! Even though it's only at the True Spirit Realm, its saliva is highly toxic and can instantly kill even a Cultivator at the Heavenly Spirit Realm!" Xie Xingfang warned him.
And right as the Bane Lizard noticed their presence, Su Yang swung his arm as though it was a sword.
Whoosh!
An arc of light created by Sword Qi flew at the Bane Lizard, separating its body into two pieces and killing it before it could even react.
'What was that? It resembled Sword Intent, but it felt nothing like it and it's so much more powerful!' Xie Xingfang cried inwardly after witnessing Sword Qi for the first time.
After killing the Bane Lizard, they continued to fly towards the center of the Abandoned Forest, encountering a spiritual beast every few minutes.
However, Su Yang would take care of these spiritual beasts with ease before they could even react, much less retaliate.
And as they got closer to the center of the Abandoned Forest, the spiritual beasts also grew stronger. But alas, before Su Yang's powerful Sword Qi, it didn't matter how strong they were, as they would inevitably be slain by him in a single strike.
As for Xie Xingfang, she closely followed Su Yang, silently admiring his domineering figure from behind, her gaze filled with wonder.
