A densely packed group of people gathered outside of Wasteland Town the next day. Noise mingled together and turned into a loud tide that spread into the distance.

Xiao Yan’s group stood at the back. They studied the thousand plus people gathered in front and involuntarily shook their heads in a speechless manner. It was the first time that they had seen experts gather in such a scale.

A short distance in front of this enormous group was an original forest that was filled with an ancient aura. Thousand-foot-tall trees stood like numerous giants. The trees blotted out the sun. Even the light from the sky had difficulty lighting up the forest. At a glance, the deepest parts of the forest were permeated with a frightening darkness. Occasionally, some ferocious beast roars were emitted from within, causing one to feel a chill within one’s heart.

“These people have all been lured by the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree to the point of losing their reasoning...” Xiao Yan shook his head. The Ancient Wasteland Region was called the forbidden grounds of humans. Even an elite Dou Zun would likely die after entering it. However, many of those gathered here only had the strength of Dou Zongs or even Dou Huangs. If these people entered the ancient region, any trouble they met would kill them. They would turn into fertilizer for the towering trees.

“However, this Ancient Wasteland Region is indeed quite terrifying...” The Little Fairy Doctor softly stated. Everyone felt tiny beneath the giant trees. One felt an insignificance when viewing an extremely long number of years that stretched back to ancient times. This region was known as the oldest place on the continent.

Xiao Yan nodded. He withdrew his scanning eyes. There were too many people present. He was unable to find a familiar figure. After withdrawing his gaze, a commotion began to gradually spread across this enormous crowd. It seemed that these people were planning to charge in.

“Rumble!”

Thousands of people ran, causing the land to tremble and rumble. Loud roars sounded as countless numbers of figures rushed away with a “swish” sound and anxiously charged into this quiet ancient region.

Xiao Yan could not help but shake his head as he watched the frightening activity these people created. He softly said, “We will enter after most of them have gone in. Since they wish to be the ones at the frontlines, we’ll let them do as they please...”

The Little Fairy Doctor’s trio smiled and nodded upon hearing Xiao Yan’s words.

The group sat in a quiet spot. They waited for around half an hour before Xiao Yan finally got up. He looked at the forest, which appeared chaotic due to the large number of people. Only then did he wave his hand and say, “Let’s get moving. Everyone, be careful!”

Xiao Yan’s toes pressed on the ground after his words sounded. He took the lead as he transformed into a black figure that charged toward the ancient forest with lightning-like speed. Cai Lin, the Little Fairy Doctor, and the others followed close behind.

“Chi!”

The light around Xiao Yan suddenly dimmed the moment he charged into the ancient forest. Waves of the scent of rotten leaves spread in all directions.

Xiao Yan’s figure paused for a moment after entering the forest. He glanced at the many small groups a short distance away, but he did not have any intention of stopping and chatting with them. His toes pressed on a tree branch, and his figure continued to hurry forward.

Xiao Yan’s group was quite fast. Within less than ten minutes, they had already advanced over five kilometers. There was no unexpected occurrences along the way. Even though they occasionally met one or two ferocious beasts, these beasts would be attacked by everyone as a group and be turned into mincemeat.

Although the journey was smooth, Xiao Yan ended up knitting his brow. The Ancient Wasteland Region was known as forbidden ground to humans. It was impossible for it to be this peaceful. This place might only be an edge, but things should not be this smooth...

A caution gradually rose in Xiao Yan’s heart when these thoughts appeared. His forward moving speed had slightly slowed. All he did was follow the large group in front from afar. With these people as the scouts, Xiao Yan’s group would have sufficient time to react even if something unexpected occurred.

Cai Lin and the others understood the thoughts in Xiao Yan’s heart. Hence, they remained cautious as well.

The caution felt by Xiao Yan’s group increased as they gradually traveled farther from the border of the Ancient Wasteland Region...

“Swish!”

A couple of figures flashed through the dimly lit forest and came to an abrupt halt on a huge tree.

“A poison fog has risen around here...” The Little Fairy Doctor’s pretty eyes swept around her. She was extremely attuned to poison fog. Hence, she detected the poison vapor the moment it appeared.

Xiao Yan’s group was slightly startled when they heard her warning. A poison in this Ancient Wasteland Region was an extremely troublesome problem. If one inhaled too much, even an elite Dou Zun would end up dying from it.

“Consume these Poison Resisting Pills. It will help resist this poison.” The Little Fairy Doctor smiled. She handed a couple of scarlet medicinal pills out to Xiao Yan’s group. She was indeed inferior to Xiao Yan when it came to pill refinement, but her understanding of poison was likely at a level where even ten Xiao Yan were inferior to her.

Xiao Yan shrugged his shoulders. He took the medicinal pill and stuffed it in his mouth. He was just about to speak when the group in front suddenly transmitted miserable screeches, causing some chaos.

“Looks like they have been poisoned...” Xiao Yan shook his head. The poisonous vapor in this place was quite lethal. If one’s strength was inadequate, inhaling even a little of it could be fatal. These people had tasted the terrible fate from being overconfident.

“Let’s get moving...” Xiao Yan softly spoke after watching everyone consume the Poison Resisting Pill. They increased their speed. He did not possess the heart to rescue all those unlucky individuals. Since they had come this far and couldn’t resist the greed in their hearts, they were responsible for their own fates.

With the increase in their speed, the surrounding poison fog became denser. Those miserable cries that were being transmitted also became sharper. In the end, a wild and violent Dou Qi fluctuation was emitted. It was likely from some of the poisoned experts, who had lost their sense of reasoning.

“Bang!”

Xiao Yan’s group frowned as they shuttled through the poison fog. An extremely intense Dou Qi fluctuation was suddenly transmitted from a short distance in front of them. Xiao Yan’s brow twitched when he sensed this fluctuation. He reduced his speed, and his body appeared on the ground. He looked at a completely black corpse on the empty ground in front of him. The face of the corpse still retained fear and regret.

“An elite Dou Zun...” Xiao Yan softly sighed. This unlucky fellow was a genuine Dou Zun. It was unexpected that even an expert was unable to endure the poison.

“The poison in this place is likely a little mysterious. An elite Dou Zun is able to unleash his Dou Qi and wrap it around his body. An ordinary poison would be useless against them.” Xiao Yan revealed an expression of contemplation as he muttered.

The Little Fairy Doctor was startled when she heard this. She immediately nodded and grabbed some poisonous vapor in her hand before absorbing it into her body. Her delicate figure suddenly trembled a moment later while her face turned quite ugly.

“What’s the matter?” Xiao Yan hurriedly asked when he saw the Little Fairy Doctor’s ugly expression.

The Little Fairy Doctor gently exhaled. She softly said, “It is indeed strange. This is not poison, but it is poisonous worms[a][b]...”

“Poisonous worms?” Xiao Yan was startled. His eyes stared at the poison fog, but he did not find any traces of poisonous worms.

“These poisonous worms are extremely tiny. They are so small that they are invisible to the naked eye... they drift within this forest. Those people have sucked in hundreds of millions of tiny poisonous worms... it is likely that these things also exist in your bodies. My body hides an extremely lethal poison. They will be poisoned to death by my poison Qi the moment they enter my body.”

“Hiss!”

Xiao Yan’s group involuntarily inhaled a breath of cold air when they heard her words. Their bodies felt completely numb.

Xiao Yan reacted quickly after feeling numb for a moment. The Heavenly Flame within his body suddenly began to circulate. It swept over every part of his body, and its high temperature seeped into his blood vessels.

“Chirp chirp!”

While Xiao Yan was circulating his Heavenly Flame, a chirping sound that caused one’s skin to turn numb suddenly rang out. It appeared as though a countless number of poisonous worms were being burned to death in an instant.

“These damn things...”

Xiao Yan’s expression was gloomy. He flicked his finger and clusters of black ashes shot out from it. They were the ashes from those poisonous worms that had entered his body.

Xiao Yan swiftly gathered a cluster of Heavenly Flames within his hand after expelling the poisonous worms in his body. He subsequently slapped the flames into Cai Lin, Qing Lin, and the Elder called Qing Cheng. Its high temperature entered their bodies through their skin, and a chirping cry was also emitted from their bodies, causing one’s heart to feel cold.

“Do not step out of a fifty-foot-radius around me. These poisonous worms can ignore the Dou Qi protecting one’s body. “

Xiao Yan’s eyes cautiously swept around him as he opened his mouth and exhaled. A cluster of purple-brown flames with a trace of white floated above his head as a frighteningly high temperature spread apart and coincidentally covered the area within a fifty-foot-radius around him.

The poison fog appeared to be startled when this high temperature spread. It quickly pulled away and no longer dared to permeate the fifty-foot-radius around Xiao Yan.

“Just this layer of poison fog alone will be able to block eighty percent of the people. This Ancient Wasteland Region does live up to its reputation...” Xiao Yan sighed in relief after expelling the poison fog. If not for the Little Fairy Doctor’s ability to detect poisons, the amount of poison worms in their bodies would have increased. Once the number of poison worms had reached a frightening level, they would have caused their group to suffer heavy casualties and injuries.

“Hee, however, just this alone will not be able to block us!”

Xiao Yan clenched his hand. His eyes were fiery hot as he looked toward the deeper regions of the Ancient Wasteland Region. It was likely that some of those experts with ability had already charged in. Hence, he also needed to increase his speed...

He would definitely obtain the Bodhisattva Heart!

[a]It’s a poison made from poisonous worms?

[b]forgot the "not"