The entry for cultivating immortality states that after dying a hundred times, I attained immortalit

There is a distance of about 160 li to the southeast, which Jiang Bai can cover in about half a day with his current speed.

Jiang Bai took out the animal hide map and, comparing it with the location given by Old Huang, confirmed that he was indeed on the southwest shore of Misty Lake. He closed his eyes and activated his [Killing Intent Perception] to its fullest extent. Within the perception radius, several auras filled with malice gradually emerged—some were clustered together, likely a camp; others drifted alone, probably rogue cultivators on patrol or scouting.

When Jiang Bai opened his eyes, his body swayed slightly, his aura gradually subsided, and he seemed to merge with the mist, having already activated [Shadow Stealth]. He clung tightly to the uneven black rocks on the shore, making his way towards the place where the water was loudest.

After walking about a hundred steps, hushed voices could be faintly heard through the fog.

"If we wait any longer, the fish will disperse."

"What's the rush? Aren't those iron-toothed crocodiles carnivorous? Wang Laowu and his group were here the day before yesterday, have you forgotten?"

"But we can't just sit here doing nothing..."

Though the voice was soft, it was exceptionally clear in the still fog. Jiang Bai held his breath and slowly approached, peering through the gaps in the fog: about thirty paces ahead was a relatively flat beach, where five or six people sat around a dying campfire. Several crude harpoons were stuck in the fire, and a few empty water pouches lay scattered on the ground. All the people were dressed in short clothes, with storage bags tied around their waists, and their Qi Refining levels were roughly between the fourth and sixth levels. The one speaking was a thin man with a sallow complexion, poking at the fire with a twig.

The short, stocky man said in a low voice, "Brother Liu, how about we go check out the east bank? I heard the water's shallower there, and there are fewer crocodiles."

The man with the slashed face sneered, "The east bank has long been occupied by the people of Black Reef Dock. You're going to your death!"

The short, stocky man fell silent.

After listening for a moment, Jiang Baijing quietly stepped back—these people were just an insignificant force among the many powers by the lake, trapped on the beach with no way to advance or retreat. He then turned to explore elsewhere.

Misty Lake was larger than imagined, with seven or eight camps scattered along its shore, each with a dozen or so people, or three or four, spaced a hundred feet apart, all wary of each other. Occasionally, one could see cultivators navigating small boats or planks to test the waters, but they would retreat in panic before venturing far, followed by low roars of beasts and the sound of planks cracking from within the mist.

Jiang Bai squatted down behind a towering lake rock, looking towards the center of the lake.

When the fog thins out a bit, you can vaguely see a dark outline, like a small island—this is probably where the jade scale fish gather, and also the waters where the iron-toothed crocodile lives.

Jiang Bai spread his [Snake and Python Sensing] across the lake. This technique is inherently less effective at sensing reptiles like crocodiles than snakes, but it's not entirely useless. It's like searching for pebbles in murky water; you need a lot of patience to spot the "hard lumps."

After a stick of incense had burned, Jiang Bai had a general idea of ​​what was going on: within a hundred feet of the island in the lake, there were at least six large creatures swimming slowly, their auras fierce and their strength comparable to that of a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator; one of them was a little further from the island, lingering near the shallow waters on the south side.

Jiang Bai turned his gaze to the beach where the five people had just been—right on the south side.

A thought quietly surfaced.

He crept back to the vicinity of the five-man camp, where he saw the man with the scaly face standing up and whispering to his companion, "We can't wait any longer! If we linger, the jade-scaled fish will scatter, and this trip will be for nothing! Let's all five of us prepare our talismans, aim at a crocodile, kill it, skin it, and extract its gall bladder; maybe we can exchange it for some spirit stones!"

"Brother Liu, are we really going to make a move?" The short, stocky man hesitated.

The man with the slender face roared, "If you're scared, get lost! Cultivating immortality is about courage. Those who are timid and hesitant, afraid of everything, should go home and take care of their children!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a loud "whoosh" suddenly rang out from the fog, as if a heavy object had burst out of the water.

The five men's expressions changed drastically, and they all grabbed their weapons.

Jiang Bai concealed himself in the shadows, quietly releasing a wisp of his aura, which carried a very faint toxic fluctuation, slowly drifting towards the lone iron-toothed crocodile he had just noticed—like attaching a fishy-smelling bait to a hook.

The lake surface suddenly exploded!

"roar--!"

A deep, thunderous roar shook the mist, and a thick, long black shadow suddenly leaped out of the water, splashing water everywhere. This shadow was three zhang long, covered in dark brown scales, and its huge mouth was wide open, revealing sharp, dagger-like teeth.

It was a Maracus.

It seemed to be enraged by the provocative aura. Its scarlet eyes locked onto its target in the mist, and its thick limbs paddled across the water like a black shuttle, rushing straight toward the five people!

"They're here! Prepare for battle!" the knife-faced man shouted sharply, already clutching a fiery red talisman in his hand.

But the Iron-Toothed Crocodile was much faster than they expected. In the blink of an eye, its massive body had reached the shallows, and its giant tail swept across, sending the campfire and a millstone-sized rock flying as they hurtled towards the five men.

Amid cries of alarm, the five scattered in all directions. The short, stocky man was unable to dodge in time, and a piece of gravel cut his shoulder, causing blood to gush out.

"Beast!" The man with the striped face gritted his teeth and activated a talisman, sending a fireball the size of a washbasin hurtling toward the crocodile's head.

The iron-toothed crocodile didn't dodge; the fireball struck its forehead scales, bursting into flames but leaving only a charred patch. Stimulated by the pain, its rage intensified; it opened its massive beak and unleashed a jet of water as thick as a bucket.

Chaos erupted on the beach.

Jiang Bai looked into the mist and sensed that the time was ripe. He suddenly moved and used the [Shadow Stealth] technique to its fullest extent. Like a shadow in the mist, he sped out close to the lake surface and was able to walk on the water.

In the [Killing Intent Perception], several points of light from Iron-Toothed Crocodiles were slowly moving in the direction of the center of the lake, not yet completely attracted by the commotion on the beach.

But danger remains.

Suddenly, a sound broke through the fog on the left!

Without turning his head, Jiang Bai suddenly shifted half a foot to the side, a dark light grazing his ribs and disappearing into the lake—it was a poisoned short crossbow bolt.

Someone is hiding in the fog, launching a sneak attack.

Jiang Bai's eyes sharpened, and his [Killing Intent Perception] locked onto a reef protruding from the water forty feet to his left. Without pausing, he immediately activated [Swift Shadow Step], increasing his speed by thirty percent, and sped towards the island in the lake like an arrow released from a bow!

Thirty zhang, twenty zhang, ten zhang...

The island shore was now in sight, a dark mudflat covered with slippery moss.

Three skeletons were half-buried in the mud on the mudflat, and at that moment they were all trembling slightly.

Jiang Bai's pupils contracted slightly—this was not a living person, but a dead one. Dark green poisonous miasma swirled around the skeleton, clearly indicating that it had died from a deadly poison. The body had not decomposed for many years, but had instead been permeated by the poison, becoming a semi-natural dead object.

[Poison Puppet Sensing] Spontaneously triggered.

Jiang Bai's mind raced, but his steps didn't falter. He pointed his right index finger at the three skeletons, and the power of the incantation, like an invisible thread, drew out the residual poison and resentment within the skeletons.

"rise."

A skeleton suddenly sat up from the mud, its empty eye sockets staring at Jiang Bai's back—there were two figures rushing out of the mist, one holding a knife and the other a fork, who were the accomplices of the one who had just shot the arrow.

The skeleton opened its empty jaw and spewed out a dark green poison gas that had been dormant for many years, rushing towards the two people!

"What is that?!"

Amidst cries of alarm, the two hurriedly dodged, while a skeleton beside them swayed and rose, rushing toward the misty side—where a third person was lurking.

Taking advantage of this brief delay, Jiang Bai stepped onto the mudflats, his figure flashing and disappearing into the dense rocky forest on the island.

The island in the middle of the lake is very small, only a hundred steps or so in length. The island is full of strange rocks, and the crevices of the rocks are covered with slippery moss and low shrubs. In the middle of the island is a shallow puddle that is emitting an abnormal silvery-white halo.

In the puddle, dozens of fish, each about the length of a palm, swam leisurely. Their bodies were covered with a layer of delicate, jade-like white scales, which shimmered with a soft luster in the dim light, resembling the finest mutton-fat jade. These were jade-scaled fish.

In the center of the school of fish stood a kingfish, far larger than its kind, about the length of a forearm. Its scales shimmered with a pale golden halo, and its movements were rhythmic. As Jiang Bai approached, the school of fish stirred. The ordinary jade-scaled fish scattered in terror, but this kingfish abruptly turned, its eyes fixed on Jiang Bai. Instead of retreating, it charged forward, its mouth wide open, revealing needle-like teeth. A chilling aura emanated from its body, its power comparable to a cultivator at the seventh or eighth level of Qi Refining.

"Interesting," Jiang Bai murmured, his hand already resting on the hilt of his bloodied sword. But he didn't draw it. He raised his right hand, fingers spread, and slowly pressed it towards the Fish King.

The oppressive aura of the [Ten Thousand Poisons Sacred Body] was released silently. It wasn't the oppressive feeling caused by spiritual power, but rather the awe-inspiring power originating from the pinnacle of life levels—like a wild rabbit encountering a tiger in the mountains, a fear etched deep in the blood. Dark golden poison patterns, formed by the fusion of nine deadly poisons, flowed faintly beneath the skin, emitting an aura unique to high-level poisonous creatures, capable of making lower-level life forms tremble.

The fish king's jade scales suddenly burst open! The trace of coldness on its body instantly dissipated, and a look of fear, almost like that of a human, appeared in its fish eyes. Then it desperately thrashed its tail, trying to escape.

At that moment, Jiang Bai moved. The Bloodstained Blade was drawn from its sheath, its blade a dark red. Though there was no sound of wind, its speed was so fast that it left only a blurry afterimage. The tip of the blade did not slash, but rather, like a viper flicking its tongue, it gently stabbed, precisely three inches below the Fish King's dorsal fin—the key point where demonic power flowed.

The blade pierced half an inch into the flesh, and the corrosive power of the [Corpse Poison Body] attached to the blade quietly seeped in. The fish king's body trembled violently, and its silvery-white body quickly turned ashen. It struggled to swim towards the deeper water, but Jiang Bai flicked his wrist, and with a slight turn of the blade, he lifted the fish king out of the water.

With his other hand, he had already prepared a jade bottle. As the fish king left the water, he gently stroked its abdomen with his finger, and a milky white, fragrant, viscous liquid slowly flowed out and fell into the jade bottle. This was the Condensing Essence Jade Liquid. The bottle was only half full, but the pure spiritual energy it contained was clearly perceptible within it.

Jiang Baigang sealed the jade bottle and put it away. Heavy footsteps and an angry shout echoed from the stone forest behind him: "Boy! You dare steal my prize?!"

A towering, burly man suddenly charged forward. Standing nine feet tall, his face was covered in thick, menacing flesh. He wielded a thick-backed cleaver as wide as a door panel, and his aura clearly indicated he was at the eighth level of Qi Refining. Two men followed behind him, both at the sixth level of Qi Refining. The burly man's eyes widened like copper bells, fixed on the bloodied cleaver in Jiang Bai's hand and the dying fish king on the ground, his eyes seemingly spitting fire: "I've been watching this fish king for three whole days! Who do you think you are, daring to try and steal it?"

Jiang Bai turned to look at the burly man, without saying a word.

"Hand over the jade liquid, and I'll leave you with a whole corpse!" the burly man roared, his cleaver already raised high.

Jiang Bai shook his head. He raised his left hand, palm up, and slowly closed his fingers. The [Poison Explosion Technique] within his body quietly began to operate—not to activate the original toxicity in the core poison pattern, but to suddenly compress and gather more than a dozen kinds of miscellaneous poisons and residual poisons that he had absorbed from various parts of the desolate state and stored in the remote parts of his meridians into his palm.

He then pushed outwards. There was no loud noise, only a muffled "poof" sound like a skin rupturing. A cloud of dark green poisonous mist exploded from Jiang Bai's palm, rapidly spreading outwards and instantly covering an area of ​​three zhang, completely enveloping him and the three rushing towards him.

The thick, toxic fog not only obscured visibility but also possessed strong corrosive and anesthetic effects. This fog was a mixture of various highly toxic residues, including bone-corroding water, heart-rotting grass poison, and bone mound corpse poison. While not fatal, it was exceptionally troublesome.

"Cough cough, what the hell is that!"

"My eyes! My eyes!"

From within the fog came the roar of the burly man and the screams of the other two.

Jiang Bai seized the opportunity and used [Swift Shadow Step] again, shooting his body backward. After several leaps, he passed through the rocky forest and rushed towards the lake.

Walking swiftly across the water.

The poisonous fog behind him slowly dissipated. The burly man brandished his knife and slashed at the last patch of fog, rushing out with a fierce expression on his face. However, all he could see was the fog swirling on the lake surface, and he did not see Jiang Bai's figure.

"Ah! You little bastard, don't let me ever see you again!" The roar echoed across the lake.

Jiang Bai was already a hundred feet away.

He concealed his breathing, and using the fog as cover, he circled around and quietly landed on the east side of the lake.

Along the way, [Killing Intent Perception] detected several hidden sentries, all of which were avoided in advance.

Half an hour later, he had moved far away from Misty Lake and stopped behind a dry earthen slope.

He took out the half-bottle of Condensing Essence Jade Liquid, uncorked it, and smelled it.

With its pleasant fragrance and pure spiritual energy, it is indeed a rare and excellent product. However, its dosage is too light, and it can only help others to calm their minds and promote the liquefaction of spiritual energy during the Foundation Establishment stage. It is still a long way from completely replacing the Foundation Establishment Pill.

Jiang Bai muttered to himself, carefully putting away the jade liquid. He would have to find another opportunity, or perhaps he should refine it himself.

He recalled that the "Black Swamp Poison Classic" probably recorded some alternative formulas to the Foundation Building Pill, but these formulas all required many precious main ingredients and the refining process was extremely difficult.

He shook his head, suppressing the thought for the time being.

Sit cross-legged and regulate your breathing for a moment.

The actions just now did not consume much spiritual energy; the main effort was in the use of the terms and the control of the rhythm.

"The combination of terms is like a mortal wielding a weapon."

Jiang Bai opened his eyes, his gaze calm. He said, "If used skillfully, even someone at the Qi Refining level can deal with many enemies. The key is not how powerful the term itself is, but when and how to use it."

The system did not provide any prompts, but the previous series of actions were the most appropriate understanding and application of the term.