Sage of Humanity-Chapter 779 - 777 Five Poisons Pond

In the Cloud River battlefield, there are many perilous forbidden lands, many of which are occupied by Overlord-class Demon Generals, such as the territory of the Berserk Giant Ape within the Great Wilderness Mountain, a place no cultivator would dare provoke casually.

However, there are also many areas that are merely environmentally harsh, so harsh that even those in the Cloud River Realm find it difficult to endure.

The Five Poisons Pond is undoubtedly one of those places.

The conditions inside are not much different from those of the Ten Thousand Poisons Forest, teeming with all sorts of venomous creatures whose toxins, constantly released, envelop the entire Five Poisons Pond in a poisonous fog that no wind can disperse.

However, relatively speaking, the toxicity of the many venomous creatures and poisonous fog in the Five Poisons Pond is much more severe than that of Ten Thousand Poisons Forest.

After all, one is a forbidden land of the Spirit Stream battlefield, and the other is a forbidden land of the Cloud River battlefield, and there is still a difference in levels.

Within this forbidden area, the most prevalent are various venomous spiders, centipedes, frogs, snakes, and scorpions.

Hence the name Five Poisons.

Although it contains the word 'pond,' it is not merely a small pool of water—viewed from the sky, it appears as a vast expanse, an abyss of unknown depth.

At a glance, the bottom of the Five Poisons Pond is completely out of sight.

It is rumored that Overlord-class Demon Generals exist here, but such a dangerous place normally keeps cultivators far away, so whether there are actually Overlord-class demon beasts is uncertain.

Lu Ye, commanding his own spirit ark, hovered a hundred yards above the abyss, looking down at the churning poisonous fog below, as if monstrous creatures could emerge at any moment.

"This place..." Lu Ye glanced leisurely at Hua Ci, "is extremely dangerous! Are you sure you want to cultivate here?" frёewebnoѵēl.com

Hua Ci's eyes shone with excitement. Although she had located Five Poisons Pond on the ten-part map and deduced that it was suitable for her cultivation, she had never actually visited before, nor had she thoroughly investigated the conditions of Five Poisons Pond.

Only upon seeing the environment with her own eyes did she immediately confirm that this was the place she had been dreaming of.

To others, this location might be utterly horrifying, but she was irresistibly drawn to it.

"Of course!" Hua Ci smiled, took a step forward, and leaped off the spirit ark, descending towards the area below, her garments fluttering beautifully, like a banished fairy.

Lu Ye stowed away the spirit ark and followed closely behind.

Meanwhile, he submerged his mind to observe the reaction of the Talent Tree.

Scoarcely had they entered the range of the Five Poisons Pond when grey mist began to rise from the Talent Tree, increasing in intensity the further down they went.

This showed the harshness of the environment, likely ten times worse than that of the Ten Thousand Poisons Forest.

Yet Hua Ci seemed exhilarated, looking around as if she were not in a deadly location feared even in the Cloud River Realm, but rather in a beautifully scenic garden.

This woman...

Lu Ye watched her enchantingly retreating figure and slowly shook his head.

If he did not have the Talent Tree by his side, he likely wouldn't have even had the right to approach her.

Hua Ci did not descend to the deepest parts; although she could use toxins for cultivation, she also had her own limits. Due to the inheritance she received, her sensitivity to toxins was sharper than anyone else's.

Thus, although she did not have a Talent Tree, she could still clearly perceive that the deeper they went, the fiercer the toxins contained in the environment of the Five Poisons Pond became.

The point they stopped at was the most suitable place for her to cultivate.

Lightly landing on an adjacent protruding rock wall, Hua Ci took a deep breath, spread her arms as if to embrace the entire Five Poisons Pond.

"From now on, this is my territory," she declared joyfully.

Unfortunately, Lu Ye was the only audience member.

Having cultivated in the Ten Thousand Poisons Forest, which ceased to exist on the day she emerged, Lu Ye found it hard to imagine what it would be like after Hua Ci eventually emerged from cultivating in such a place.

Would even the Five Poisons Pond become a safe area?

If so, her cultivation progress would be terrifyingly rapid.

"Are you sure you don't want to reconsider?" Lu Ye asked as he looked toward the nearby rock wall, where a black snake as long as a chopstick was rapidly moving while flicking its tongue, clearly emitting poisonous gas from its mouth.

"What's there to reconsider?" Hua Ci responded with a smiling tone.

"I can't stay here with you to cultivate forever."

If the supplies for the Talent Tree were abundant, he could stay longer, but living in such an environment would definitely deplete the Talent Tree's reserves quickly.

Even setting up a Formation might not be able to withstand the corrosive toxins.

Hua Ci turned to look at him, her lips curving in a smile: "I appreciate the thought, but I'm not a child. Cultivation is inherently a dull affair; there's no need for company. You've been mostly alone on your journey as well—if Amber and Yiyi weren't with you, wouldn't you also have been solitary? If I can't even handle this solitude, how can I continue to cultivate?"

Lu Ye nodded: "You stay here, I'll go down and have a look."

With that, he flashed downward, Hua Ci wanting to stop him but was too late.

If he couldn't stay with Hua Ci here permanently, then at least he could ensure there wasn't anything in the vicinity that could threaten her life.

Although she didn't say it outright, Hua Ci knew exactly what Lu Ye was thinking, and her heart warmed instantly.

Soon, she felt intense fluctuations of spirit force emanating from below, occasionally accompanied by the sounds of blades clashing, along with various peculiar shrieks and roars.

It seemed that Lu Ye was engaging with something.

Lu Ye didn't return until the next day; his clothes were neat, but Hua Ci could tell at a glance that they were freshly changed.

Approaching Hua Ci, he casually tossed her a storage sack, slightly regretful, "The rumors were wrong; there are no Overlord-class Demon Generals here."

He did encounter many demon generals of the Cloud River Realm tier, diverse in kind, but none were Overlord-class.

He was quite keen to test his skills against an Overlord-class demon general.

Hua Ci took the storage sack and upon opening it, saw it was packed with demonic pills, many green snake gallbladders, and some venom sacs, clearly Lu Ye's gains from this expedition.

Just from these spoils of battle, it was evident that Lu Ye had killed a significant number of venomous creatures.

"This is…" As Hua Ci spoke, she suddenly pulled a flower out of the storage sack. The flower was entirely black, about the size of a palm, and at first glance, it looked like it had a sinister smiling face imprinted on it.

"Devil's trumpet?" Hua Ci was astonished, looking at Lu Ye, "You found this below?"

Lu Ye nodded, "There's a large patch at the bottom of the pond. I wasn't sure what it was, but it felt highly toxic. I brought one back to see if it's useful to you?"

He made such an assessment because many venomous creatures lived in that area, and these creatures seemed fond of this kind of flower.

"Useful, very useful to me!" Hua Ci nodded assertively.

"Then I'll go and gather some more." Lu Ye said, preparing to leave again.

Hua Ci grabbed his arm, shaking her head, "No need; leave some thoughts for me. One day I will go down and gather them myself."

Lu Ye thought for a moment, then relented, "Alright then."

In cultivation, the fear is the lack of goals; without goals, there is no motivation.

Leaving those devil's trumpets as Hua Ci's goal might make her cultivate even harder.

There were still many venomous creatures in the Five Poisons Pond that Lu Ye hadn't dealt with, but these creatures were not much of a threat to the current Hua Ci.

"You should go; it's not good to stay here for too long." Hua Ci's tone was soft and tender.

"Then I'm leaving."

Turning around, as if remembering something, Lu Ye then said, "Oh right, I have something else for you."

"What?" Hua Ci was curious.

"Give me your hand."

As told, Hua Ci extended a small, fair hand, delicate as if carved from white jade.

Lu Ye clenched his fist, apparently holding something, and gently placed it in her hand.

Expecting something delightful, Hua Ci's face was full of anticipation, but as she felt the fuzzy sensation mixed with slight sharpness on her palm, her expression changed drastically as if struck by lightning, turning deathly pale.

Looking up, she saw a mischievous smirk spreading across Lu Ye's face.

Looking down again, when Lu Ye moved his hand away, a spider with eight legs was crawling on her palm.

In that instant, Lu Ye could almost see the fine hairs on Hua Ci's delicate skin stand on end.

Jerkily pulling back her hand, she flung the spider away as if severely frightened, following instinct, she wrapped herself in a fragrant breeze and plunged into Lu Ye's arms, clinging tightly to him, her body trembling uncontrollably.

The mischievous smile on Lu Ye's face instantly froze.

He had never expected such a reaction from Hua Ci.

He remembered, back on Chess Island during the Spirit Stream Defense Battle, when Loo Yushan from the Thousand Contraptions Pavilion produced a life-like spider-like cover armorer, Hua Ci had been so scared she smashed the spider with a slap.

He had only intended to tease her before parting, but it seemed he might have taken the joke too far.

Feeling the astonishing curves and contours against his chest, with her intoxicating scent in his nostrils, and her hair tickling his face as it fluttered in the wind...

Inside Hua Ci's chest, her heartbeat was fierce and rapid, like the pounding of a war drum, her head buried in his embrace as if only in this way she could find a trace of security.

A wave of guilt overwhelmed Lu Ye as he gently patted Hua Ci's shoulder, opening his dry lips to soothe, "I..."

But then the flesh around his waist was suddenly pinched and twisted fiercely by Hua Ci.

After a severe venting, Hua Ci finally stepped back, her beautiful eyes filled with a mist, staring wide-eyed at Lu Ye.

Lu Ye felt rather awkward, avoiding her gaze, scratching his head, and gave a forced chuckle, "I'm going now, take care of yourself, and I'll visit you when I have the time."

Until the end, Lu Ye never dared to meet Hua Ci's eyes directly.

Fortunately, he knew that Hua Ci wouldn't really be angry or detest him over this matter, but it seemed like he had bullied her quite harshly this time.

He silently decided not to do such a thing again.

Feeling a bit of regret that he hadn't bid farewell properly, this parting was ambiguous, and it was uncertain when they would meet again.