Xiang Yi nodded. "Daoist Priest has a sharp eye. This bone lotus possesses the power to ward off poison, but under the erosion of such virulent toxins, it will inevitably be affected. Once all the lotus petals are tainted, this treasure will reach the end of its life and cannot be restored. However, there is no need for fellow Daoists to worry; the bone lotus will last long enough for us to finish the mission. It seems the Purple River crocodile's cries did not disturb the ferocious beasts within the Purple Mist Deathland. Without further ado, we should move..."
In the dense purple mist, vision was heavily impaired, and spiritual sense was even eroded by the poisonous fog, making them dare not release it to scout.
In such an environment, everyone felt deeply insecure. No one spoke, and they advanced in silence.
The sheer expanse of the Purple Mist Deathland was surprising. After traveling for quite a while, there was no sign of the toxic mist dissipating; on the contrary, its color grew even darker than when they had first entered.
This indicated that Xiang Yi was leading them deeper into the Purple Mist Deathland.
The forest grew sparser, and the soil on the ground turned purple, creating an almost dreamlike scene. Yet Qin Sang and the others could not relax in the slightest.
Before long, the group noticed another abnormality: there seemed to be something amiss with the path Xiang Yi was leading them along, taking them in several circles.
"Fellow Daoist Xiang, you couldn't be lost, could you?"
Everyone eyed Xiang Yi suspiciously.
Xiang Yi gestured for them to stay quiet. He looked left and right, cocked his ears to listen, and then a look of delight appeared on his face. Pointing forward, he said, "Found them! Quick! Don't let them escape!"
At this moment, everyone also faintly heard sounds—what seemed to be animal cries, and in no small number.
Along the way, they had been avoiding the strange beasts here. Now Xiang Yi was actually actively seeking trouble with them.
"These are small beasts called purple ferrets, the favorite prey of the Purple Star Eagles..."
Xiang Yi picked up his pace and quickly explained, "In the direction we are headed, there is a nest where a large flock of Purple Star Eagles roosts. The Purple Star Eagles are extremely formidable; even if we joined forces, breaking through would cost us a heavy price. Purple ferrets, on the other hand, are much easier to deal with. By hunting purple ferrets and using their carcasses to lure the Purple Star Eagles away, we can pass this obstacle without breaking a sweat."
"The Commercial Alliance's preparations are truly thorough," the Liu couple praised.
Everyone's confidence grew, and they hoped to complete the mission as soon as possible so they could attend to their own affairs.
Following the sound, they gave chase at high speed. Before long, they noticed the purple mist churning ahead, and could faintly see a group of small beasts the size of civets leaping and running across the ground.
These small beasts looked similar to yellow weasels and were of comparable size, but their fur was entirely purple, and even their pupils were deep purple.
The purple ferrets were extremely alert. Before the group could draw close, they sensed something amiss and stopped romping.
A cluster of purple ferrets stood on their hind legs like humans, their purple pupils glaring in the group's direction. Bizarre noises issued from their throats, and an undisguised madness gleamed in their eyes.
"Strike!"
Xiang Yi barked in a low voice. With a flick of his finger, a streak of light shot forth, transforming into a spiritual net that descended overhead.
Qin Sang and the others refused to lag behind.
With unspoken coordination, they summoned their magic treasures to seal off every direction, leaving no chance for the purple ferrets to escape.
*Whoosh!*
Qin Sang commanded his ebony sword to pierce the purple mist. Its sword radiance surged several tens of feet, turning into an insurmountable barrier in front of the purple ferrets.
After entering the Purple Mist Deathland, Qin Sang had tried releasing the Flying Yaksha. He found that although its physical body was robust—faring somewhat better than their own—it was likewise eroded by the purple mist, which rapidly drained its corpse qi.
It was not suitable to use here.
*Puff! Puff! Puff!*
Under attack, the purple ferrets flew into a frenzy.
Deep purple smoke billowed from their bodies. In an instant, the smoke spread everywhere, and their figures vanished into it.
This smoke not only mingled with the virulent poison of the deathland, but also carried the purple ferrets' innate divine ability; if a magic treasure remained engulfed in the smoke for too long, its spiritual nature would suffer severe damage.
It was similar to the Blood Filth Divine Light, though far weaker in power.
When Xiang Yi had warned them earlier, Cui Ji had immediately recalled his experience from twenty years ago, and cast several glances at Qin Sang out of habit.
Since everyone was prepared, the smoke was largely ineffective. The purple ferrets were soon driven out by the spiritual net descending from above, shrieking in panic as they scurried in all directions.
As a result, they posed even less of a threat to Qin Sang and the others and were all slaughtered.
The group went forward to clean up the carcasses.
There were quite a few purple ferrets in this group. Qin Sang openly stowed away several, and seeing this, the others followed suit. Xiang Yi made no move to stop them.
Carrying the carcasses, Xiang Yi led them back to the correct path, heading straight into the depths of the Purple Mist Deathland.
The forest changed even more drastically. The ancient trees here grew exceptionally tall and had all undergone mutations. Their branches were covered in sharp thorns gleaming with purple light, evidently harboring lethal poison.
Moreover, the branches swayed without wind, as if hunting for prey, practically turning into treants.
After racing ahead for some distance, the group was forced to halt.
"Why is there a high cliff blocking the way? Have we reached the end of the Purple Mist Deathland?" someone asked with a frown.
Their path forward was blocked by a cliff face. There were restrictions in the air, and the branches of the towering canopy posed far too great a threat.
Xiang Yi replied calmly, "We are still far from the end; this can only be considered the outer perimeter of the Purple Mist Deathland. Seeing the cliff indicates that the pass I mentioned earlier is near. Head right."
Before long, the group halted before a canyon, scarcely daring to breathe.
They looked up into the distance.
Above the canyon, fierce winds howled. They could only vaguely make out silhouettes circling high in the sky, beating their wings and stirring the sea of mist, while shrill screeches rang out from time to time.
Though they could not clearly see the appearance of the Purple Star Eagles, the sheer number of those shadows was enough to make their scalps tingle.
"Under normal circumstances, Purple Star Eagles do not stray too far from their nest. As long as we charge through the canyon, we won't need to worry."
As Xiang Yi spoke, he retreated some distance to an open clearing.
He tossed the carcasses of the purple ferrets onto the ground, cast several restrictions onto them, and then led the group to hide at the foot of the cliff, barking in a low voice: "Detonate!"
*Bang! Bang!*
The purple ferret carcasses had remained fresh. When they exploded, flesh and blood burst into fine fragments, spattering everywhere, and a potent scent wafted outward toward the canyon.
Smelling the scent of the purple ferrets, the Purple Star Eagles went wild at once. A massive flock of dark shadows threw the purple mist into disarray as they vied with one another to soar out of the canyon, hurtling toward the site of the corpse explosions.
"Go!"
Xiang Yi waved his hand sharply, and the group took the opportunity to slip into the canyon.
Most of the Purple Star Eagles had been lured away by the scent, but their movements were still discovered by the eagles remaining in the canyon. Accompanied by furious shrieks, these Purple Star Eagles attacked them like mad.
At the same time, the eagles fighting for food outside received the signal and were rushing back.
Being trapped in the canyon would bring unthinkable consequences.
Everyone summoned their magic treasures, enduring the onslaught of the Purple Star Eagles while keeping up their pace without stopping.
By the time they broke through the canyon, the flock of Purple Star Eagles had already caught up. Just as Xiang Yi had said, however, after pursuing them for a short distance, the beasts gave up and returned to their nest.
Chapter 750