Battle Through the Heavens: Purple Heaven Thunder Emperor

Chapter 267 Netherworld Poison Fire

Xiao Bai stood up, circled the quietly standing Heavenly Demon Puppet, and his eyes gleamed with satisfaction.

"Not bad! Although the materials are a bit inferior, with the body of a Seven-Star Dou Zong as the foundation, plus the enhancement of Dou Zun's bones, it should be able to reach the level of a high-grade Earth Demon Puppet."

With a flick of his finger, a drop of blood, shimmering with iridescent light, landed precisely on the puppet's brow, slowly seeping into its skin.

In an instant, Xiao Bai could feel that he could control the puppet in front of him.

With a thought, his soul power established a connection with the Heavenly Demon Puppet.

"rise!"

The lifeless eyes of the Heavenly Demon Puppet suddenly lit up with a red light, and it mechanically straightened its body, spreading out a powerful aura.

"Try throwing a punch."

Xiao Bai pointed to the stone wall on one side of the cave.

The Heavenly Demon Puppet flashed, its silver-white fist distorting space into a vortex, accompanied by a piercing sound of air being torn apart, and slammed fiercely into the stone wall.

"boom!"

The entire mountain trembled, and a crater several meters in diameter was blasted into the rock wall, with cracks spreading out like a spider web.

"Oh no, this place is going to collapse!"

Xiao Bai's expression changed slightly, and he quickly ran out of the cave.

Just then, Little Fairy Doctor's concerned voice came from outside the cave: "Little White, what happened?"

"Xian'er, run!"

Seeing the pretty little fairy doctor standing at the cave entrance, Xiao Bai grabbed her slender waist and hurriedly carried her away into the distance.

"Boom!"

Hearing the noise, Little Fairy Doctor hurriedly turned her head to look, only to see that the cave on the mountainside had suddenly collapsed, and countless boulders were rolling down.

In an instant, the thousand-foot-high mountain suddenly shrank considerably.

"Indeed, the power of this attack is almost comparable to that of a Seven-Star Dou Zong!"

Xiao Bai put the person in his arms down, narrowed his eyes slightly, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Is this the Heavenly Demon Puppet recorded on that bamboo scroll? It looks very powerful."

Little Fairy Doctor looked up at the silver-white puppet that had been following closely behind them, her face full of surprise.

"It's not a Heavenly Demon Puppet, but an Earthly Demon Puppet!" Xiao Bai nodded, then shook his head.

Bronze corresponds to human-level demon puppets, silver to earth-level, and gold to heaven-level. The demon puppet in front of us still has some potential to reach the heaven-level.

"Wow! What a cool puppet!"

Zi Yan skipped over, and when she saw the silvery-white Heavenly Demon Puppet, her eyes lit up, and she curiously reached out to touch it.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, her little hand froze.

She wrinkled her delicate nose, her big eyes filled with disdain, and withdrew her little hand.

Xiao Bai knew she was thinking of that taste from before, and he found it amusing. He put the puppet into his storage ring and turned to the two women.

"Get ready, we should head to the Izumo Empire."

Ziyan excitedly waved her little fist:

"Finally leaving! It's so stuffy here!"

The Little Fairy Doctor smiled gently:

"I'm ready and can leave anytime."

Three days later, at the border of the Izumo Empire.

On a cliff, Xiao Bai's aura suddenly changed, and he slowly opened his eyes.

"Call upon the Seven Star Dou Emperor!"

Feeling the powerful energy within his body, Xiao Bai exhaled a breath of turbid air. The energy generated from refining the Life-Transforming Fire over the past few days allowed him to break through to the High-Level Dou Huang realm in one fell swoop.

He stood up and gazed into the distance, his eyes bright and clear.

We're not far from reaching the Dou Zong level. After this incident, we should go to the Tianmu Mountains to take a look. According to the timeline, the energy tide there should be starting soon!

A moment later, Xiao Bai withdrew his gaze, and in a flash, he appeared in front of Zi Yan and Little Fairy Doctor.

"Xian'er, what's wrong with you??"

At this moment, Little Fairy Doctor was frowning slightly, staring blankly in one direction. It was the first time Xiao Bai had ever seen such an expression on her face.

"It's nothing!" Little Fairy Doctor snapped out of her reverie, shook her head slightly, smiled, and said, "Let's go!"

Xiao Bai's brows furrowed slightly. He walked up to her, gently stroked her fair face, and said softly:

"You must tell me if there's anything, okay?"

Little Fairy Doctor stared at him intently, hesitated for a moment, then parted her red lips slightly and whispered:

"I don't know what's wrong with me, but ever since I came here, I've had this inexplicable feeling, vague and intangible, like a hallucination!"

"induction?"

Xiao Bai was taken aback, a thoughtful look appearing between his brows. He had sensed something like this before, when he sensed the location of the Yaotian Fire in the underground magma.

However, that was a connection between two fallen heart flames.

What's going on with Xian'er this time?

"Is this sensation directional?"

After a long while, unable to come up with a solution, Xiao Bai gave up guessing and looked up to ask seriously.

"It seems to be in that direction!"

Upon hearing this, Little Fairy Doctor closed her eyes and carefully sensed something. After a moment, she hesitated for a moment before raising her arm and pointing in a certain direction.

Xiao Bai looked in the direction she was pointing, took out a map from his storage ring, and carefully checked the location.

"That direction... seems to be the Netherworld Swamp?" Xiao Bai frowned slightly and murmured.

The Netherworld Swamp is the most dangerous forbidden area in the Izumo Empire, perpetually shrouded in poisonous miasma. It is said that even a Dou Zong powerhouse who dares to venture in is likely to perish there.

But that place is also a sacred ground for the poison masters of the Izumo Empire, and it is said to hide countless opportunities.

Xiao Bai stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, then a glint of light flashed in his eyes.

"Neither Ziyan nor I have this feeling, so it's very likely related to your constitution, Xian'er!"

Little Fairy Doctor paused for a moment, then nodded thoughtfully:

"Perhaps... The Calamity Poison Body is rare to begin with, and the Netherworld Swamp has existed for countless years. Maybe there really is something there that is attracting me."

"In that case, let's go to the Netherworld Swamp!" Xiao Bai made the decision decisively. He wanted to see what was behind this sensation.

"Ah?" Little Fairy Doctor said with some worry in her beautiful eyes, "Isn't this too risky?"

"What are you afraid of! With me here, anyone who dares to block my way, I'll beat them up!"

Zi Yan waved her little fists excitedly, clearly showing her great interest in the adventure.

Xiao Bai smiled, ruffled Zi Yan's hair, then looked at Little Fairy Doctor and said confidently:

"Don't worry, I'm here, nothing will happen. Besides, if this feeling is related to your afflicted poison body, it might be an opportunity for you."

Upon hearing this, Little Fairy Doctor's beautiful eyes flickered slightly, revealing a hint of tenderness, and she nodded gently:

"Okay, I'll do as you say."

The three of them moved swiftly, transforming into streaks of light and hurtling towards the Netherworld Swamp.

The Netherworld Swamp is located on the southwestern border of the Izumo Empire.

Few people can say for sure how big the swamp is, as it is perpetually shrouded in poisonous mist, making it impossible for birds to cross.

Because of its large area, the outposts leading into the swamp have many supply points around the swamp.

Qingyou City is one of them.

As evening approached, Xiao Bai and his two companions entered Qingyou City and checked into an inn.

"Is this the Netherworld Swamp?"

Xiao Bai stood by the window, gazing in awe at the gray sky in the distance.

The sky hung low, with swirling dark clouds, as if covered by a cold veil that stretched to the horizon, seemingly endless, as if we were in two different worlds.

Suddenly, Xiao Bai's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he withdrew his gaze, looking towards a certain direction in the city.

"Interesting, there's actually someone this powerful!"

"This aura is already at the level of a six-star Dou Zong, and there seems to be more than one. It looks like something has appeared in this swamp. Be careful!"

Yao Tianhuo's voice echoed in Xiao Bai's heart.

"Um!"

Xiao Bai responded, secretly relieved that the Earth Demon Puppet had been successfully crafted.

Otherwise, if a six-star Dou Zong level expert shares the same goal as him, a conflict could really cause some trouble.

Silent all night.

The next day, the sky was bright.

Xiao Bai and his two companions stood before the swamp, where bubbling mud pools were everywhere, and the skeletons of various animals floated on the surface, riddled with decaying holes.

The swamp's surface was an eerie dark gray, occasionally bubbling up with murky bubbles that released a putrid, fishy stench when they burst.

Let's go!

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Bai moved, transforming into a black shadow and taking the lead into the swamp.

The poisonous fog and insects in the Netherworld Swamp did not have much of an effect on the three of them.

Xiao Bai possesses the power of thunder, making him extremely yang and masculine, a natural nemesis to these yin and cold things. Little Fairy Doctor, needless to say, finds this place more like paradise.

As for Zi Yan, the magical beasts and poisonous insects sensed her aura and either trembled or kept their distance.

They traveled without hindrance at an extremely fast speed.

"laugh--"

A dark shadow swept across the surface of the swamp, its toes lightly touching the dead wood protruding from the water. Each touch emitted a tiny burst of lightning, shattering the poisonous insects beneath its feet into dust.

Stopping on a crooked, withered tree, Xiao Bai tilted his head and asked:

"How is it? Can you sense how far it is?"

After carefully sensing for a moment, Little Fairy Doctor slowly opened her beautiful eyes and said softly, "It shouldn't be far; that feeling is becoming clearer and clearer."

Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Bai frowned, grabbed one of the women in each hand, and led the two women back into the thick gray fog. With a flick of his sleeve, he used his soul power to completely conceal the aura of the three of them.

Almost simultaneously, several white figures appeared from afar, their presence causing the poisonous mist in the air to condense into tiny ice crystals.

"Senior Brother Bingyuan, are you sure this is the place?" one of the white-robed elders asked, his voice like clashing ice blades.

The old man, known as Bingyuan, held a crystal-clear ice mirror, its surface shimmering with an eerie purple light.

"Junior Brother Bingfu, the guidance from the Xuanbing Mirror is never wrong. The Netherworld Poison Fire is in that ruin."

Just as the two were about to move forward, the sky suddenly darkened. A cloud of black mist appeared out of thin air, transforming into a figure clad in a black robe, with a ghostly red light flickering in its eye sockets.

"Heh heh, Ice River Valley's reach is really far-reaching!"

A chilling, hoarse laugh rang out:

"This Netherworld Poisonous Flame, my Soul Palace wants it!"

"Soul Palace!"

Bing Yuan's expression changed drastically, and his face instantly darkened:

"Such arrogance! He's just a protector. Besides, so what if he's from the Soul Palace? This isn't the Central Plains!"

"So what?"

With a flick of his sleeve, the figure in the black mist unleashed a powerful aura that swept out from the mist, scattering the surrounding poisonous fog in all directions.

"A Heavenly-level Protector, an Eight-Star Dou Zong!"

Bing Yuan sensed this aura, and his expression instantly turned ugly.

Hiding in the shadows, Xiao Bai's pupils contracted slightly, a wave of emotion surging within him—Netherworld Poison Fire, Ice River Valley, Soul Palace?

He never expected to encounter these two groups in this Netherworld Swamp, and from their words, he learned that there was actually Netherworld Poison Fire in the swamp.

"The Netherworld Poisonous Flame... It's actually the Netherworld Poisonous Flame, ranked twentieth on the list of strange flames!"

Yao Tianhuo's voice echoed in his mind:

"No wonder the little girl beside you sensed it; there might indeed be some kind of connection between the Calamity Poison Body and this poisonous fire."

Xiao Bai's eyes flickered as he stared intently at the two opposing sides in the distance.

The simultaneous appearance of Ice River Valley and Soul Palace has made this matter more complicated.

"Xiaobai, how about we back out first?"

Little Fairy Doctor gently bit her red lips, her beautiful eyes looking at Xiao Bai, a hint of worry flashing in them:

"I don't think that thing is very important to me."

All three of them are now at the Dou Huang level, and neither side seems to be friendly, so there's no need to take the risk for this.

Zi Yan pouted: "It's just a ball of fire, what's there to argue about?"

Xiao Bai shook his head slightly and lowered his voice, saying, "Things aren't that simple. Let's wait and see."

Just then, Bing Yuan calmed down and pondered:

"Guardian of the Soul Palace, the Netherworld Poison Fire is very important to my Ice River Valley. Please don't make things difficult for us. We will definitely repay you handsomely afterward. What do you say?"

A sinister laugh echoed from within the black mist: "Heh heh, what a coincidence! This Netherworld Poison Fire is also very important to this protector. Why don't you retreat?"

Upon hearing this, Bing Yuan's face darkened, and his gaze turned icy.

Just as tensions were running high, a violent energy fluctuation suddenly came from the depths of the swamp.

A purple beam of light shot into the sky, turning the poisonous fog into an eerie purplish-black color.

"The Netherworld Poison Fire is about to appear!" Bingfu exclaimed.

"Let's go!" Bing Yuan made a quick decision and led the Ice River Valley group towards the pillar of light.

The Soul Palace Protector let out a strange laugh and transformed into a cloud of black mist, rushing rapidly in that direction.

After both groups had gone far away, Xiao Bai removed his soul barrier. After pondering for a moment, his eyes hardened, and he said in a deep voice:

"Let's follow them and see what happens."

After saying that, he led the two women in the direction of the energy fluctuations and soon arrived at an ancient ruin.

The broken stone pillars were covered with dark green moss, and the air was filled with a nauseating stench.

"This site gives me a very strange feeling!"

Little Fairy Doctor gazed at the faintly visible ruins, her brows gradually furrowing, and murmured:

"I feel the poisonous fighting energy within my body circulating on its own, and it seems to be causing a tremor in the very essence of my Calamity Poison Body."

Xiao Bai grasped her hand: "Be careful, stay close to me."

Passing through the collapsed archway, the sight before them caused all three to gasp in shock—

At the center of a massive altar, a ball of eerie purple flame floated. The space around the flame constantly distorted, emanating a chillingly toxic energy.

Around the altar, the forces of Ice River Valley and Soul Palace were already locked in fierce combat.

"That's the Netherworld Poison Fire," Xiao Bai said, narrowing his eyes.

Suddenly, Little Fairy Doctor trembled, her face turning pale: "Little White...it's calling me."

Xiao Bai's heart skipped a beat: "What?"

Before he could react, Little Fairy Doctor had already uncontrollably walked towards the altar. Her eyes gradually glowed with an eerie purple light, and a faint poisonous mist began to swirl around her.

(End of this chapter)