bloodnovel Chapter 502 - 501: Scarlet Venom Toad
Chapter 502 - 501: Scarlet Venom Toad
This toad is no more than two inches long, its entire body a deep crimson surpassing blood; its eyes gleamed with gold as it opened its mouth to let out a sound akin to that of a bellowing bull, producing a thunderous roar echoing with the name Jiang Ang.
"Scarlet Venom Toad!"
Zhong Ling, not lacking in insight, recognized it at a glance, and her expression changed drastically, quietly warning Ding Ling:
"Brother Ding, this is the King of Ten Thousand Poisons! If it gets too close, the poison will penetrate the brain, causing death without cure! If it sprays its original toxic gas at you, even a creature as venomous as the Lightning Mink would have a ninety-nine percent chance of instant death. We certainly can’t resist it, so we’d better retreat while it’s still some distance away."
Ding Ling nodded in agreement.
Now that Zhong Ling had brought him to the dwelling of the Scarlet Venom Toad, she wasn’t afraid of it running away.
It was evident.
This poisonous pool was where the Scarlet Venom Toad resided!
The Lightning Mink, also a highly venomous creature, must have been drawn here by something in this poisonous pool; otherwise, it wouldn’t stray far from Zhong Ling, its mistress, to come all this way.
And precisely because it ran to this peak and valley area,
there were many traces around here that were more apparent.
Other areas were merely fleeting, making it hard to track.
Therefore, even a Spiritual Beast Tamer like Zhong Ling found it difficult to locate it.
At this moment, seeing the poison miasma surge ever more fiercely, Ding Ling knew that it must have been the emergence of the Scarlet Venom Toad that caused the disturbance. Not daring to be negligent, he grabbed Zhong Ling and employed the Spiral Nine Shadows and Cloud Smoke Flying Evasion Technique at full force.
Under the propulsion of Fusion Qi,
he resembled a bolt of lightning, disappearing from the original spot in an instant.
Jiang Ang!
Just as he vanished, the Scarlet Venom Toad suddenly leaped to the spot where he had been standing, spewing out a stream of toxic gas that sizzled the ground, leaving a deep pit after a mere moment of corrosion.
It’s clear that had Ding Ling been any slower, he would have encountered considerable trouble.
Huff, huff!
As Ding Ling sped away, the Jiang Ang sound gradually faded, signifying that the Scarlet Venom Toad had not pursued.
On the way there, they took many detours,
but on the way back, it was much more straightforward, although there were still quite a few winding paths.
Under the peaks, amidst the valleys, were numerous natural caves and snake paths, where common people could easily get lost if they weren’t careful.
Ding Ling silently noted the path.
After escorting Zhong Ling to the top of the peak, he planned to return to capture the Scarlet Venom Toad.
Apparently,
Mu Wanqing and Duan Yu hadn’t been around, indicating they encountered some setbacks! The Scarlet Venom Toad wasn’t accidentally ingested by Duan Yu, which turned out to be good fortune for Ding Ling.
How could Ding Ling miss such an opportunity?
He had Zhong Ling lead him to find the deep ravine and trace the Lightning Mink to locate this Scarlet Venom Toad. Now that his wish had been granted, there was no reason to give up.
Zhong Ling, seeing Ding Ling about to return, couldn’t help but be shocked and worried:
"Brother Ding, the Scarlet Venom Toad’s poison is very potent. Are you really going?"
"Don’t worry. I’m immune to all poisons. Being cautious isn’t harmful."
Recalling how Ding Ling walked through the poison mist with ease and could transfer True Qi to her, allowing her to resist the miasma, Zhong Ling relaxed a bit but still felt tense thinking about the King of Ten Thousand Poisons:
"Then, you should return quickly and don’t force it if you can’t catch it. Safety comes first."
"Rest assured."
Ding Ling soared and leaped down from the peak, like a wild goose spreading its wings, swiftly diving into the depths of Cloud Mist Valley, disappearing in a blink of an eye.
Zhong Ling hurried to the side of the peak, overlooking the valley with furrowed brows, filled with worry.
Upon being asked the reason by Ling Yanqiu, Zhong Ling recounted everything in detail.
Ling Yanqiu gasped quietly, finding it hard to believe that such a poisonous creature still existed in this world. But now, it was too late to say anything, only to pray for Ding Ling’s safety.
...
Ding Ling returned to the front of the deep pool.
This time, he fully engaged the Nine Yang Divine Skill and Spiral Nine Shadows’ protective barrier, enveloping himself in Gang Qi. The nine figures split and merged, constantly transitioning between dissipation, sometimes activating the Cloud Smoke Flying Evasion Technique, making Ding Ling appear like green smoke rising into the sky, nearing the edges of the deep pool in an instant.
Now closer,
Ding Ling could clearly see.
The deep pool was several zhang deep.
The water resembled a scroll of green jade, so clear that the bottom was visible, adorned with a lotus-like strange flower, swaying uncertainly. At the bottom of the flower lay a faint green bead shimmering with radiant light.
The Scarlet Venom Toad lay crouched atop that green bead, inhaling and exhaling, streams of green air currents swirling uncertainly through its nostrils.
It seemed to spot Ding Ling, and its bean-sized green eyes suddenly burst forth with two beams of golden light. It seemed infuriated, opening its mouth wide to let out a roar.
Jiang Ang!
Whoosh!
Like a spring, it propelled itself with its hind legs, instantly leaping several zhang high onto the water’s surface, then bound toward Ding Ling, spewing forth a stream of toxic gas.
This toxic gas was markedly different in color from the water.
It was actually faint red!
Ding Ling’s body technique was superb, his nine figures split and merged within the void. The Scarlet Venom Toad couldn’t lock onto him, and in its rage, continued to spray toxic gas toward Ding Ling.
Seeing the toxic gas corroding the earth it traversed and the cave walls hissing with piercing sounds, being burnt through forming pit holes in mere breaths, Ding Ling was alarmed by the strong poison, unable to underestimate it. Initially, he aimed to capture it alive as it would yield stronger medicinal effects, but now it appeared somewhat challenging.
He would need to injure or kill it, at the very least, incapacitate its ability to consciously spray toxic gas.
Otherwise, Ding Ling wouldn’t dare approach it.
While it’s true he was immune to all poisons, fearing neither ordinary venom,
faced with the King of Ten Thousand Poisons’ toxic gas, he could only be bewildered and helpless.
One Yang Finger!
Ding Ling immediately employed his Finger Technique; arcs of Finger Force shot forth, as Ding Ling’s True Qi surged like a tide, not fearing backlash from excessive use of One Yang Finger. Thus, his One Yang Finger’s Finger Force flooded toward the Scarlet Venom Toad in a dense net-like fashion.
The Scarlet Venom Toad moved with incredible speed.
But in mid-air, it couldn’t easily change direction, getting struck in its abdomen by Ding Ling’s One Yang Finger’s Finger Force, letting out a painful cry and dropped to the ground, where Ding Ling unleashed a Finger-Pointing Divine Technique, whoosh!
A stone shot out like electricity, hitting the Scarlet Venom Toad’s head with a raucous sound, leaving it dazed for a couple of steps before it fainted right away.
Ding Ling was delighted.
Considering the circumstances,
the Scarlet Venom Toad was still alive.
That was perfect!
Given his initial intention to capture it alive, while the outcome was not the most perfect, it was still quite satisfactory.
He took out a furnace he had prepared beforehand.
This furnace he had acquired when seeking antidotes over mountains, left some fragments of gold with mountain sects back then as if paying for the furnace.