Chapter 1341: Toxins

Jian Changsheng felt a sudden weight on his back as a poisonous spider dropped from above and landed directly on him.

Reacting instinctively, Jian Changsheng, without a glance behind him, lightning-fast grabbed two of the spider's legs. A surge of potent killing intent twisted within him as he flung it over his head, slamming it down in front of him. Its monstrous fangs narrowly missed his neck.

"These venomous creatures are terrifyingly ugly!" Jian Changsheng cursed, his eyes recalling the terror of being overwhelmed by these poisonous insects when he had previously stumbled into the Ghost-Mocking Abyss.

Before he could finish speaking, a venomous snake lunged at his arm, which he dodged by shifting his body. But the next moment, a millipede hidden in the nearby ground suddenly spewed a cloud of toxic gas, which Jian Changsheng inhaled before he could react. Even though Jian Changsheng reacted swiftly, immediately holding his breath, that small inhalation still made his vision blur and everything around him begin to spin.

"Damn it!" Jian Changsheng barely kept himself upright, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the overwhelming swarm of venomous insects around him. He wasn't afraid of fighting these insects, but the situation was different this time. The sheer number of venomous creatures surrounding them was too great, and their methods of poisoning were impossible to guard against. Once the toxins entered the body, they were extremely difficult to eliminate.

Jian Changsheng slapped and killed the millipede, then turned to look behind him. He saw that Sun Bumian had also been bitten by a centipede, ants, and a poisonous rove beetle, respectively. His face was now purple, and his entire body had swollen. As for Jiang Xiaohua, his figure was almost invisible, completely swarmed by countless venomous insects.

Jian Changsheng knew that if they didn't fight for their lives, they would all perish in the Ghost-Mocking Abyss!

Suppressing the toxins in his body, he took a deep breath and reached his hand towards the void behind his waist, as if grasping an invisible sword hilt. Just as he was about to draw his sword, a thunderous roar erupted from the cliff above!

Bang—!!!

The roar echoed, but looking up, they could only see pitch darkness. The Ghost-Mocking Abyss was simply too deep. They could vaguely discern dark masses rapidly crawling down the cliff face, cascading like a waterfall. Immediately afterwards, those dark shadows began to emerge from the darkness, and Jian Changsheng and Sun Bumian finally discerned their outlines.

They were countless scorpions.

"A second Level Eight Calamity..." Sun Bumian mumbled, swaying dizzily on the spot as if he had drunk bad alcohol. "This is truly over now."

Jian Changsheng's eyes were bloodshot, and the hand gripping the invisible sword hilt showed dark, bulging veins. If it were only these venomous insects, he might still be able to carve out a bloody path. But with the addition of the Toad Poison Head, their chances of survival were slim. Now, with another Scorpion Poison Head appearing, it was equivalent to a direct death sentence.

Meanwhile, a commanding, oppressive voice boomed like thunder from above!

"—All of you, stop right now!!"

The moment the voice rang out, both the overwhelming swarm of venomous insects and the poised Toad Poison Head instantly trembled and prostrated themselves without hesitation. The abyss, which had been a chaotic mess, instantly fell into dead silence.

Sun Bumian, who still had several venomous insects clinging to him moments ago, pulled them all off in one go. His face turned even darker purple. He looked up at the cliff face, where a massive scorpion was slowly emerging, carrying a figure dressed in opera robes on its back.

Seeing this, Sun Bumian's tense heart immediately relaxed, and the Samsara mark that had just gathered in his eyes gradually dissipated. Dizzily, he gave the person on the scorpion's back the middle finger.

"Red Heart... you son of a bitch..."

As he finished speaking, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground.

The scorpion legion reacted like a black wave. Chen Ling, standing on Xie Yi's back, lightly landed on the ground. His gaze swept over the poisoned and unconscious Sun Bumian, the motionless Jiang Xiaohua lying on the ground, and the pale-faced Jian Changsheng, whose hand was still grasping the void behind his waist. His eyes were filled with surprise and confusion.

How could these three be here?

Jian Changsheng, who hadn't activated his ancient killing intent, was also severely affected by the poison at this point. Chen Ling and the scorpion in front of him began to appear as double images. He blinked hard, again and again, staring at the figure in the large red opera robe, a bewildered expression appearing on his face.

"Red... Heart... your... face..."

Chen Ling's gaze sharpened. Subconsciously, he turned his head, hiding his face in the darkness. He frowned and asked, "Why did you come to the Ghost-Mocking Abyss?"

"We... dreamed of you... so... we came... to see... you..." Jian Changsheng struggled to stay conscious, but after uttering the last word, the spreading toxins finally overcame his mind. His pupils dilated, and he collapsed rigidly to the ground.

Chen Ling immediately turned back, jumped off Xie Yi's back, and checked their condition. Both were poisoned, and the toxins from various insects had mixed. Jian Changsheng was in better shape; Asuras naturally possessed extremely tenacious vitality, and with his body filled with ancient killing intent, he should be able to recover on his own after a while. However, Sun Bumian's situation was more problematic. He had been exposed to the most poison. If not for his auspicious constitution's suppressive effect on toxins, he would likely have already perished.

"Croak—!!" The toad looked at Chen Ling with confusion and tentatively croaked.

"They are not enemies, they are my... guests," Chen Ling said, standing up with a grave expression. "Carry them all to the palace and find a way to detoxify them!"

At Chen Ling's command, the venomous insects that had been attacking Jian Changsheng and the others swarmed forward, lifting the two men onto their backs and moving in a grand procession towards the underground palace.

The Toad Poison Head realized it had made a mistake, its head drooping in front of Chen Ling, not daring to utter another croak.

"Chanyi, this is not your fault. I ordered you to guard the Ghost-Mocking Abyss well," Chen Ling said, waving his hand. "You... did very well."

Only then did a glimmer of light return to Chanyi's eyes, but he still dared not look directly into the King's eyes.

Chen Ling was about to say something else when a chaotic rustling sound came from nearby. Several small venomous insects seemed to be trying to carry Jiang Xiaohua, but despite putting all their strength into it, they couldn't lift him, becoming flustered. Seeing this, Chen Ling walked straight towards them.

"What's wrong? If you can't carry him, let the ants do it..."

Before Chen Ling could finish the word "carry," he suddenly froze on the spot. Jiang Xiaohua was lying neatly on the ground, hands folded over his chest, showing no signs of poisoning. Instead, the venomous insects that had just bitten him were all stiff, lying on their backs, utterly dead.

At that moment, Jiang Xiaohua was looking at Chen Ling with wide, innocent, and clear eyes.

"You..." Chen Ling was momentarily speechless.

Jiang Xiaohua hesitated for a moment, then tentatively spoke: "Or... should I just get up and walk?"