Chapter 4544 — The Five Poisons Swamp
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 3
Activating the teleportation array would take time to prepare, and there was every chance the Old Sect of the Western Hills would catch up during it. Yet flying straight across carried its own peril: the spirit beasts roaming nearby would be quick to take notice. Either choice came with risk—but to stay alive, he had no choice but to gamble.
"That array is one-way. It only sends you out—it won't bring you in," the Ghost Thing replied.
"What? My god! Then how am I supposed to escape into the Southern Isle? Senior, you're playing me... that's a death sentence..." Wei Zhao was stunned. This had been the only way he could see to shake off the Old Sect of the Western Hills—how could it be a one-way array?!
As for the other option, flying straight into the Southern Isle Forest, he saw no feasibility in it at all. For one thing, there was simply no avoiding those extremely dangerous spirit beasts; for another, even if he could avoid them, he still wouldn't lose the Old Sect of the Western Hills—the man was far faster than he was.
"Wrong. Who ever told you flying here was about getting into the Southern Isle? You think the Southern Isle is your own back garden, to stroll into whenever you please? Have you already forgotten the hardships you suffered before?" The Ghost Thing curled his lip with an easy, unhurried smile.
"But if we don't go into the Southern Isle, what then? Are you planning to scare off that old monster the way you did last time, Senior?" Wei Zhao's eyes lit up, though he immediately talked himself out of it: "No, that won't work. A trick like that only works once. The Old Sect of the Western Hills isn't a fool—how could he be duped twice in a row?"
"Of course not. He may walk a crooked path, but he's no brain-dead child—how could he possibly be fooled twice in such a short span? If even their number two man were that sort of trash, the Western Hills Heretical Sect would have been wiped out long ago!" said the Ghost Thing.
"Brain-dead child..." Wei Zhao could not help grumbling inwardly. It seemed this trip to the mortal world had truly left its mark on the Ghost Thing—not only was he reduced to his present sorry state, he had picked up a whole mouthful of modern vocabulary...
"The reason I had you flee here isn't to get you into the Southern Isle, and it certainly isn't to bluster and scare off that crooked cultivator. It's because there's something here that can save your life—something that will leave that old Western Hills monster absolutely helpless." Watching the Old Sect of the Western Hills draw ever closer, the Ghost Thing was brimming with confidence, not a trace of panic about him.
"Leave even the Old Sect of the Western Hills helpless? Could it be that a friend of yours is here, Senior?" Wei Zhao's spirits surged at once. Before, he might not have believed any spirit beast could stand against a mountain-opening stage heretic cultivator of that caliber—but after witnessing the Grand Spirit Beast Gathering last time, he had seen the formidable depth of the spirit beast clan. Given the Ghost Thing's stature, if he truly had a friend or two to call upon, dealing with one Old Sect of the Western Hills ought to be no trouble at all.
"No. I've never had many friends, and even the ones I had are no longer in the Southern Isle." The Ghost Thing's answer plunged Wei Zhao's heart again, and the next sentence left him shocked and ashen-faced: "To shake off that crooked cultivator's pursuit, you must enter the Five Poisons Swamp!"
"What? Senior, didn't you say the Five Poisons Swamp is a place where the five elements destroy one another—that anyone who enters is doomed without exception?" Wei Zhao cried out in alarm.
"Indeed. Which is why you must now channel your true qi with all your strength, protect yourself and this spirit bird as best you can, and simply fly straight down," the Ghost Thing instructed.