Changchun Prefecture, the most expansive prefecture among the seventy-two prefectures of the Dragon泽 Kingdom, is located in the heartland of the Dragon泽 Kingdom. This region is characterized by numerous high mountains, steep peaks, canyons, and treacherous terrains, thus producing many venomous spiritual insects and beasts.
The Qingmu Academy established within the prefecture ranks among the top ten of the numerous Imperial Pole Academies.
The most famous feature of the entire Changchun Prefecture is the Green Shade Mountain Range, one of the six forbidden areas of the Eastern Region, perpetually shrouded in poisonous mist.
However, recently, many cultivators have been drawn to the Green Shade Mountain Range, seeking out the special spiritual herbs and medicines produced within.
This is because the poisonous mist enveloping the Green Shade Mountain Range is undergoing a periodic weakening, significantly reducing the threat of the mist.
Even low-level cultivators dare to venture into the outer regions, searching for some of the local specialty spiritual medicines, hoping to make a fortune.
On this day, in the outer reaches of the Green Shade Mountain Range, a team of six, all with Foundation Establishment stage strength, hurriedly flew over a hill shrouded in dark miasma.
After these people departed, a figure wearing a bamboo hat appeared in the empty sky above the hill, seemingly out of nowhere. He held a cyan jade slip in his hand, constantly examining it.
This person was none other than Zhang Ling.
It has been over a year since the encounter with the Zhenhai King. He had traveled arduously, rushing for more than a month, before hastily arriving at this Green Shade Mountain Range.
He came here, naturally, to take advantage of the period when the Seven-Colored Mirage Poison in the Green Shade Mountain Range was weakened, to enter the depths and search for the possible existence of top-grade Wood Spirit Stones.
"According to the map, with my escape speed, flying south for a day should take me into the depths of the Green Shade Mountain Range. I hope I can really find top-grade Wood Spirits here," Zhang Ling muttered, tossing the jade slip into his sleeve, and with a few flashes of faint yellow light, disappeared without a trace.
Unbeknownst to Zhang Ling, moments after he left, a male and a female cultivator arrived above the hill he had just passed.
Neither of them were ordinary cultivators, both possessing strength at the mid-stage of the Core Formation realm. The woman was dressed in a long skirt, her face covered with a light veil, her eyes indifferent.
The man wore a gorgeous gold-threaded robe, a white jade crown on his head, and appeared very young, only seventeen or eighteen years old, resembling a young master from a wealthy family.
The only strange thing was that his arms were covered with patches of verdant scales.
The golden-robed man suddenly chuckled, "Sister Mu, rest assured, if that person really escaped into the Green Shade Mountain Range, he is definitely seeking his own death."
Hearing this, the veiled female cultivator shook her head. "Although Third Uncle was besieged by us before, and severely injured by Great Uncle's Yellow Dragon Diagram, he still holds the Dragon Scale Sword, and his strength should not be underestimated."
"So what?"
The golden-robed man immediately retorted, "Hasn't the power of the Dragon Scale Sword been sealed by Great Uncle using a bloodline secret technique? Even if Third Uncle can still activate it with his bloodline power, it can only exert two or three tenths of its power at most.
Moreover, the Yellow Dragon Diagram is temporarily lent to you, Sister, and it can definitely suppress Third Uncle. And Sister, have you forgotten that the Azure Wood Seal in my hand is also a pseudo-spiritual treasure with some strength, assisting from the side will definitely capture Third Uncle. I don't know why Third Uncle betrayed the family, could it be true that the ancestor has a problem as he said..."
This child's personality was unrestrained, and he seemed to speak without thinking, blurting out a long string of words, but towards the end, his voice became lower and lower, as if he had remembered something.
"Sixth Brother, be careful what you say. We only need to carry out the family's mission, don't overthink other things," the expressionless veiled woman frowned slightly and reprimanded him.
"Hehe, Sister Mu." Seeing that the female cultivator seemed about to get angry, the golden-robed man quickly shrank his neck and stopped talking.
However, after flying for a while, the man couldn't help but bring up another topic. "By the way, Sister Mu, it seems that the Zhenhai King was seriously injured a year ago, by an unknown cultivator, do you know about this? I wonder who has such ability. I heard that the unknown cultivator has a Dragon Fish Diagram from our clan, which seems to be related to the Dragon..."
"Hmph, don't inquire about this matter. We should now focus on searching for Third Uncle's location, bringing him back is our mission," the veiled female cultivator glanced at the man, her tone even colder.
The golden-robed man chuckled dryly, seemingly wanting to say something more, but seeing the woman's cold gaze, he swallowed his words back.
Their escape light was also very fast, and in the blink of an eye, they disappeared into the mist and miasma.
A day later, in a vast expanse of white mist, Zhang Ling was flying rapidly, covered in a layer of yellow light.
The mist was cleaved into an arc by his escape light, and vaguely visible beneath were the vast canopies of trees, forming a dark shadow. Occasionally, the sounds of many venomous insects could be heard.
This white mist is the Seven-Colored Mirage Mist containing the Ten Absolute Poisons, deep within the mountain range. Although it appears as a white mist to the naked eye, when a cultivator's divine sense penetrates it, what they sense is not white mist, but a dazzling colored mist swirling with various colors.
He had been in this mist for over an hour, and felt that this poisonous mist was indeed quite peculiar.
Spreading divine sense to sense the situation in this area consumes divine sense power greatly compared to the outside world, easily causing fatigue.
Roughly estimating, the consumption of divine sense here is three to four times that of the outside. Occasionally, some illusions can be seen before his eyes.
The deeper he goes, the richer the surrounding spiritual energy becomes, especially the abundant Wood Spiritual Energy, causing this place to be filled with towering ancient trees and exotic flowers and herbs.
However, this place is indeed not suitable for staying for a long time. Over time, even Core Formation cultivators will be greatly disturbed.
Having arrived at this place, how to search for the possibly existing top-grade Wood Spirit Stones is naturally not by blindly searching.
The Green Shade Mountain Range is very vast, and he cannot search every area. In addition to the poisonous mist, some powerful venomous beasts are hidden here. Some of their strengths are not weaker than Core Formation cultivators.
Even if he had such strength, it would take at least several years.
Moreover, according to past records, the period of weakening of the Seven-Colored Mirage Poison here is only about half a month.
He had already made some plans for this matter. After learning that top-grade Wood Spirit Stones might exist here, he had paid close attention to the Green Shade Mountain Range during his travels these past few years, collecting more intelligence information.
Although much of the information was useless, there were still a few pieces of information that provided reference value.
Deep within the Green Shade Mountain Range, there is a swamp with three-colored soil, which is Zhang Ling's first target. That swamp is the exact place where top-grade Wood Spirit Stones have been produced.
In addition, the southernmost part of the swamp is also close to a Green Wood Stone mine. According to rumors, the Dragon family initially turned the Green Shade Mountain Range into a forbidden area in order to mine that Green Wood Stone.
Zhang Ling also knew something about Green Wood Stone. It is a special spiritual mine with a scarce output. It is not hard in itself, has emerald green wood grain, and also carries a rich rotten wood miasma, which is highly poisonous.
But it has many uses. A wide range of uses is to raise venomous insects and beasts. It can also be directly burned with fire spiritual power to condense several special wood spiritual poisons, and the toxicity and power should not be underestimated.
Although poisonous methods are a niche side path in the cultivation world, there are also cultivators who have made a great name for themselves with them.
Among them, the most famous spiritual poison is the Withered Wood Poison, which is condensed mainly from Green Wood Stone. It is a not weak method. Generally, high-level cultivators who are contaminated with it will gradually mummify.
Of course, that Green Wood Stone mine has long been mined out and is now just an abandoned mine.
With this basic information, Zhang Ling can also avoid some detours. He plans to go to that swamp first to try his luck.
