Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

The morning mist enveloped Yunxia Market like a light veil. The team members gathered at the Po Jun Demon Hunting Team's base, preparing to embark on a new demon hunting expedition.

After a period of rest, everyone has returned to their peak condition.

Gao Yuan's gaze swept over the fully equipped team members, and he nodded in satisfaction: "Our target this time is the Poison Swamp area. Is everyone ready?"

The area around Wind Spirit Canyon is actually a low-danger zone, suitable for ordinary small teams.

In other areas, it generally takes a late stage of Qi Refining to gain a foothold. After this period of adjustment, the team's strength has greatly improved. Otherwise, Gao Yuan would not have dared to lead everyone to the Poison Swamp area.

Everyone responded that they were ready.

Seeing that everything was ready, Gao Yuan pointed forward and said, "Let's go!"

The team left the market town; Wind Spirit Canyon was the shortest route into the Cloud Mist Mountains.

After passing through Wind Spirit Canyon, the team headed southeast towards the Poison Swamp area.

The further you go in this direction, the more hazy the air becomes, as if veiled in a layer of gray gauze.

After five days, the team had completely left the Wind Spirit Canyon area and entered the Poison Swamp area, where the scenery ahead began to change.

The dense forest gradually thinned out, replaced by a boundless swamp, with bubbles rising from the bottom from time to time, releasing a mist with a sweet, fishy smell when they burst.

"We've entered the outer edge of the poisonous swamp." Cheng Jin's spirit-detecting disc hovered in front of us, surveying the surrounding environment. "The concentration of poisonous gas in the air is increasing. Everyone, take the poison-avoidance pills."

As instructed, everyone took the pills brought by Pharmacist Chen. A cool sensation immediately flowed through their bodies, forming a faint protective aura on their skin.

When the poisonous gas came into contact with the spiritual light, it emitted a faint hissing sound and was blocked from entering.

Lin Zhao noticed that the plants here were different from those elsewhere. The tree trunks were twisted, the leaves were purplish-black, some vines wriggled like living things, and the flowers on them emitted a captivating fragrance.

"Be careful of those 'Drunken Immortal Vines'," Pharmacist Chen said softly, pointing to the vines. "Their fragrance can induce hallucinations, ultimately becoming their nourishment."

As if to prove his words, a cluster of Drunken Immortal Vines suddenly sprang up and shot towards Li Hao, who was walking at the front.

The vines shimmered with purple light, and their tips secreted a transparent venom.

Li Hao was prepared; the Xuan Tie Shield automatically flew up, its earthen-yellow spiritual light shining brightly.

The vines struck the shield with a dull thud, and the venom was blocked by the spiritual light, emitting wisps of blue smoke.

Chu Xin lightly touched the ground with the tip of her sword, and a powerful surge of cold air completely froze the vines.

Over the next few days, the team continued deeper into the swamp, where the path became increasingly difficult to traverse.

The soft mud occasionally tried to swallow their boots, and poisonous insects would occasionally leap out of the puddles, but they were all repelled in time.

Lin Zhao's water and fire beads were constantly rotating around him, sensing the anomalies in the environment.

Suddenly, the Water Spirit Orb shone brightly with blue light, pointing to a puddle on the left front: "There's something there."

Almost at the same moment he spoke, several dark figures suddenly darted out of the puddle.

They were several venomous snakes, completely black in color, with rooster-like growths on their heads and eerie red lights flashing in their eyes.

"A crested snake!"

The venomous snake was incredibly fast, transforming into several streaks of black light as it pounced on the group.

Li Hao's black iron shield unfolded in time, and the earthen yellow spiritual light formed a protective shield. When the venomous snake struck the shield, it made a sizzling sound as it corroded, and the shield dimmed noticeably.

Gao Yuan's heavy sword then slashed out, and dark red spiritual light drew a crescent-shaped trajectory in the air.

The two venomous snakes were struck by the sword energy and severed in two, but the venomous blood gushing from the broken ends continued to spray forward.

Upon seeing this, Lin Zhao's Fire Spirit Orb glowed brightly red, and scorching flames erupted, completely evaporating the poisonous blood.

The flames burst into a blinding light when they came into contact with the poisonous blood.

"These poisonous creatures are more troublesome than expected, and they are very aggressive." Gao Yuan's expression was solemn.

Cheng Jin examined the surrounding puddles: "I'm afraid this is just the beginning. According to records, the most common poisonous toad in this area is the blue-eyed poison toad, whose venom is even more terrifying."

The group moved forward with even greater caution, each person fully focused, their magical artifacts remaining in a semi-activated state, their spiritual light standing out starkly against the gloomy backdrop of the poisonous swamp.

The deeper they went, the denser the poisonous fog became. Even with the protection of the poison-avoiding pills, the group began to feel somewhat uncomfortable.

The toxic gases in the air seemed to have a life of their own, constantly trying to erode the protective aura.

Suddenly, Cheng Jin's spirit-detecting disc emitted a rapid warning light: "Strong energy fluctuations three hundred meters ahead! It's the Green-Eyed Poison Toad! Oh no, it's discovered us!"

Almost simultaneously, a low croak of a frog echoed from afar. The sound was not loud, but it seemed to resonate directly in everyone's minds, causing a moment of dizziness.

After the frogs croaked, the surrounding poisonous fog suddenly became active, surging towards the squad as if under command.

"Form the formation!" Gao Yuan shouted, planting his heavy sword in front of him, and dark red spiritual light spread outwards from the sword.

The team members immediately took their positions.

Wu Laodao quickly set up the Qingyuan Formation, inserting the formation flags into the swamp. Emerald green spiritual light rose up, and a fierce battle began to fight against the poisonous fog.

The toxic fumes crashed against the protective barrier like living things, producing a corrosive sound that made your teeth ache.

The aura on the surface of the domain fluctuated violently, but eventually stabilized.

Through the thick poisonous fog, a huge figure slowly emerged.

It was a toad the size of an elephant, dark green all over, with pustules covering its skin and oozing colorful venom.

What's most unsettling are its emerald green eyes, which seem to swirl with vortexes, and looking at them for too long can make you dizzy.

Blue-eyed poisonous toad!

It crouched in the center of a large puddle, surrounded by dense toxic energy; the colorful poisonous mist emanated from the bumps on its body.

"Cultivation level is at the seventh level of Qi Refining," Cheng Jin's spirit detection disc reported, "and it can exert strength close to the eighth level of Qi Refining here."

The green eyes of the blue-eyed toad swept over the team, a hint of anthropomorphic mockery flashing in them.

It opened its mouth wide, but instead of croaking, it spewed out a stream of dark green venom. This venom spread rapidly after leaving its body, forming a large net that enveloped the team.

The toxicity caused everyone's protective aura to flicker erratically.

Before the poison net even arrived, the cloying, rotten smell already hit them, and even with the protection of the poison-avoiding pills, everyone still felt dizzy.

"Don't take it head-on! Attack the tumor on its back!" Gao Yuan shouted, and his heavy sword plunged into the mud. Dark red spiritual light burst out from the sword's axis, forming a hemispherical protective barrier.

Li Hao's black iron shield flew into the air, its earthy yellow spiritual light merging with the dark red barrier to reinforce the defense.

The poisonous net crashed against the barrier, producing a tooth-grinding corrosive sound. The dark green poisonous light clashed fiercely with the red and yellow spiritual light, blooming into an eerie halo above the poisonous swamp.