Chapter 107: The Perils of the Dark Swamp

After the saber-toothed tiger was trapped in the swamp, Wu Tian realized he had fully entered the Dark Swamp territory. From this moment on, every step could be a matter of life and death.

“It seems I have to test each step carefully. Otherwise, no matter how strong I am, I won’t be able to free myself if I get trapped.” Wu Tian stood still, pondering how to avoid these dangers.

Suddenly, a wave of dizziness washed over him, and his fully restored health began to plummet rapidly.

“Not good! This is poisonous miasma—its toxicity is severe. Losing 50 health points every second! If this keeps up, I’ll be dead in no time!”

Realizing he had been poisoned, Wu Tian quickly swallowed a top-grade Blood Nourishing Pill, which was supposed to dispel negative effects. Yet, it had no effect, not even restoring health as it should have.

“Damn! Even the top-grade Blood Nourishing Pill is useless. I’m completely doomed!” Wu Tian nearly lost his mind. He hadn’t even been swallowed by the abyssal swamp, but the poison was about to kill him. “Stay calm, stay calm! Wu Tian, if you die first, Xiao Hui and the others will be finished for sure.”

He took several deep breaths, trying desperately to calm himself, but it was no use.

Suddenly, a bright idea struck him. Though the Blood Nourishing Pill was ineffective, he could still craft antidotes himself.

With this thought, Wu Tian immediately checked the system’s marketplace, searching by category. Sure enough, he found a batch of antidote recipes. Among them, a recipe called “Jade Dew Pill” caught his eye.

Jade Dew Pill: An earth-grade pill capable of neutralizing all poisons. It is effective against common beast venom, plant toxins, insect poisons, and miasma toxins.

Seeing this, Wu Tian decided to exchange for the recipe. His poison was exactly miasma toxin, and this pill was earth-grade, costing 100 exchange points—that is, one million taels of silver. Still, he gritted his teeth and made the purchase.

“There’s no time left. I’ll just have to let the system cheat me this once.” Wu Tian exchanged the recipe with a heavy heart, then began searching in his spatial ring and system backpack for the ingredients needed to craft the Jade Dew Pill.

Fortunately, Wu Tian had a wealth of alchemical materials on hand; he had everything required for the Jade Dew Pill. Without these materials, he might have already been dead. Once prepared, he summoned the Gathering Yang Cauldron, placed the ingredients inside, and initiated the alchemy technique.

Ding!

“Player Wu Tian’s alchemy attempt failed. Alchemy proficiency +1.”

Ding!

“Player Wu Tian’s alchemy attempt failed. Alchemy proficiency +1.”

Ding!

“Player Wu Tian’s alchemy attempt failed. Alchemy proficiency +1.”

…

“Damn it! Are you kidding me? I inherited the legacy of the Pill God, and now you want me to keep failing? Heaven, are you trying to kill me?” Wu Tian was on the verge of tears. He had tried dozens of times with no success, and his health was nearly depleted.

Ding!

“Player Wu Tian’s alchemy attempt failed. Alchemy proficiency +1.”

Wu Tian continued to fail, his health almost at zero, with less than half a minute before death.

“Alchemy technique, if this doesn’t work, I’m done for!” Wu Tian roared.

Boom!

The Gathering Yang Cauldron let out a muffled sound as its lid was suddenly pushed open.

“Congratulations, player Wu Tian has successfully crafted 20 Jade Dew Pills of earth-grade quality. Alchemy proficiency +1.”

Hearing the system notification, Wu Tian quickly popped one Jade Dew Pill into his mouth. Immediately, the rapid loss of health stopped. He then took several Blood Nourishing Pills, restoring his health to full.

“Whew… that was too close. I almost died!” Wu Tian finally exhaled in relief, but his expression suddenly changed. “No, Xiao Hui might still be in danger. I must find her quickly!”

He then took out the Soul Pearl, which glowed brightly, indicating Xiao Hui was nearby.

Breaking off a tree branch, Wu Tian probed the ground for safe footing while quickly advancing toward Xiao Hui’s location.

At that moment, the dense miasma dissipated as suddenly as it had appeared. When the fog cleared, Wu Tian saw Xiao Hui and several others lying on the ground, barely conscious. Their health was completely drained, and even the divine beast Xiao Jin was on the verge of death.

Wu Tian hurried over and fed them each a Jade Dew Pill along with several Blood Nourishing Pills.

A minute later, their health was fully restored, and they slowly regained consciousness.

“Is this hell? It doesn’t look anything like I imagined.” Niu Wuji rubbed his eyes groggily.

“This isn’t hell—it’s paradise,” Wu Tian said with a tense face finally breaking into a smile. He had arrived just in time.

“Master!” Xiao Hui saw Wu Tian alive right before her and immediately hugged him tightly. “Master, I’m so glad you’re safe. Seeing you is the greatest happiness!”

“Damn! Hearing that from you makes me realize how close it was. You all entered the Dark Swamp while I was covering for you. Then a sudden wave of miasma poisoned everyone. Luckily, you saved us just in time; otherwise, we’d have met death for sure.” Niu Wuji said with lingering fear after processing the situation.

“Here, take one Jade Dew Pill each. Use it immediately if poisoned; it can neutralize most toxins.” Wu Tian handed them each a pill, then his face grew serious. “Now I understand the danger of the Dark Swamp. The miasma isn’t the greatest threat—every step ahead could be fatal. We must travel together. No one can get separated, or we’ll be doomed forever!”

“Absolutely. We’ll follow your lead closely,” Niu Wuji nodded seriously.

“From now on, Xiao Hui will never leave Master’s side!” Xiao Hui nodded resolutely.

“Your health has basically recovered. Let’s move on. We’re still some distance from my destination. Each of you take a long branch to probe the road ahead, so we don’t fall into the abyssal swamp.”

With that, Wu Tian’s team set out again. The Dark Swamp was eerie, surrounded by towering ancient trees. The ground was covered with thick grass, making it impossible to tell if it was solid earth or a deadly abyss below.

Wu Tian moved cautiously and slowly—there was no other way to survive.

“Coo coo!” The forest echoed with sinister birdcalls, adding to the terrifying atmosphere.

“Master, this place is so creepy. I’m scared! Can I hold your arm?” Li Qingqing said pitifully, clutching Wu Tian.

“Qingqing, don’t be rude! Master is clearing the path for us. Don’t disturb him,” Li Tiedan said sternly.

“It’s alright. Hold my hand,” Wu Tian said gently.

“Boss, I want to too!”

“Scram!”

Suddenly, all the birds around took flight, disturbed by something nearby, as if danger lurked close.

“Goo!” A low, terrifying growl sounded. A massive crocodile, nearly human-sized, crawled swiftly toward Wu Tian.

“Damn! A level-six beast! That’s a level-six ‘Swamp Crocodile’!”