After an indeterminate stretch of time, Ji Changkong’s heavy eyelids fluttered, and he stirred back to consciousness. The moment his eyes snapped open, he was confronted by a suffocating, inky black miasma.

A jolt of alarm shot through Ji Changkong; he immediately felt the poisonous air clogging his chest, a sensation so intense he felt he might be instantly poisoned to death. Without a second thought, Ji Changkong activated the Yuan Power surging within him, desperate to see if he could force the toxic vapor out of his body.

Surprisingly, the instant he engaged his internal power, the blood within him felt as if it were boiling. Within moments, he was drenched in sweat, and the poisonous miasma he had inhaled seemed to be leaching out through his pores along with the perspiration.

The painful constriction in his chest vanished instantly. Ah!

With a sharp cry, Ji Changkong bolted upright. His eyes darted around wildly, and he was horrified to realize he was lying right beside the Dragon’s Poison Mire.

Faint, black vapor rose sluggishly from the mire’s bubbling surface, gathering above him as the suffocating. Where was the Thousand-Year Violet Gold Toad?

His expression shifted slightly, and Ji Changkong urgently searched for the beast that had bitten him into unconsciousness. Just then, he felt a searing, bone-deep pain in his left leg.

Looking down, he saw his entire leg covered in dense rows of tooth marks left by the Thousand-Year Violet Gold Toad’s bites. “Eh!” Ji Changkong gasped, staring at his left leg in disbelief, his face a mask of utter confusion.

Before he blacked out, he vividly recalled that the wounds on his leg were not tooth indentations but bloody, gaping holes! Yet, upon waking, those gashes that had cut down to the bone had miraculously healed, leaving behind only shallow or moderate bite marks.

What on earth had happened? He tentatively moved his left leg and found that apart from the deep ache, there seemed to be no functional impairment—no numbness, no weakness, and no sign of rot.

Did the Thousand-Year Violet Gold Toad’s teeth not contain potent venom? Ji Changkong grew even more perplexed.

He managed to stand with difficulty, his gaze sweeping to the area where he had last fought. He then noticed that the Thousand-Year Violet Gold Toad was long dead, a massive hole skewered through its back, its form limp and motionless.

Saliva! His heart skipped a beat.

Ji Changkong banished further thought, clinging only to the purpose of this perilous journey. Enduring the needle-sharp agony in his left leg, he painstakingly moved step by step.

It took him a full quarter of an hour to finally reach the spot where the toad lay. Prying open the toad’s ghastly, gaping maw, Ji Changkong fought back waves of nausea from the stench.

He retrieved the White Jade Vial he had prepared earlier and carefully began collecting the thick, viscous saliva from within the creature’s mouth. Only after the vial was full did he finally let out a sigh of relief, a brilliant smile blooming across his face.

Regardless of the ordeal, he had obtained the Thousand-Year Violet Gold Toad’s saliva. The thought that this viscous substance could erase the four terrible scars marring Ji Wanyun’s face sent a surge of excitement through him.

... After resting for a while, once the pain in his left leg subsided enough for him to manage, Ji Changkong picked up the small half-jar of Fire Dragon Brew nearby and took several long, noisy gulps.

An immediate, ravenous hunger struck him. Glancing at the dead Toad beside him, Ji Changkong observed that despite its hideous exterior, the belly he had flipped over was startlingly snow-white.

The flesh beneath appeared crystalline and pure; it looked as though it might actually taste good. His eyes flickered.

He happened to spot a pile of dry kindling nearby. A thought sparked, and Ji Changkong, moving with a slight sluggishness, gathered the brittle branches into a heap.

He pulled a small dagger from his robes, began slicing a generous chunk of the snow-white, tender meat from the toad's underside, speared it onto a sharpened twig, and propped it over the pile of fuel. Striking flint, he ignited a fierce blaze and added a few spices he carried.

In a brief time, a magnificent aroma began to drift from the large piece of roasting Thousand-Year Violet Gold Toad. So fragrant!

I didn't expect this ugly thing to have such fine meat! Complimenting it inwardly, Ji Changkong instinctively licked his lips, preparing to gorge himself.

Splash! The sound of splashing water suddenly erupted from the distant Dragon’s Poison Mire.

A monstrous figure, savage and hideous, burst forth, spreading vast, fleshy wings. A sudden gale whipped up, and with a mere effortless sweep of its massive body, it traversed dozens of zhang distance, landing directly before Ji Changkong.

This was an unimaginably terrifying, colossal beast, its hide the same murky brown as the Mire water, smooth, and seemingly imbued with a subtle, dark sheen. The teeth in its cavernous maw stood upright like a row of gleaming sabers.

Ji Changkong had no doubt that one bite would shred anything—be it a Blood-Veined Giant Crocodile or a Saber-Toothed Rhinoceros—into pieces. This giant beast, stretching five zhang long, possessed no feathers but sported two long, fleshy wings, articulated by joints, their edges appearing sharp as blades, lending it an aura of fierce keenness.

Sky-Yuan Pterosaur! Ji Changkong’s face went ashen.

He dared not move, staring numbly at the immense beast, momentarily paralyzed, unsure of what to do. The Ji family, having lived at the foot of Green Rock Mountain, was responsible not only for cultivation but also for monitoring the Southern Barbarians beyond the Cloud Mist Great Marsh for Green Rock City.

Consequently, the Ji family’s knowledge of the Cloud Mist Great Marsh ran far deeper than that of ordinary people. Ji Changkong had once overheard his Second Grand-Uncle, Ji Yuxing, and Third Grand-Uncle, Ji Yusheng, discussing the Cloud Dream Great Marsh.

They had spoken of the Sky-Yuan Pterosaur as the most terrifying and dreadful entity in that realm of savage beasts, proclaiming it the king to which all other creatures bowed! However, even Ji Yuxing and Ji Yusheng only knew of the Sky-Yuan Pterosaur through hearsay.

Though they occasionally ventured across the marsh to survey the Southern Barbarians, they always deliberately avoided the Dragon’s Poison Mire—a nexus of ferocious beasts—and thus had never actually seen the true king of the Cloud Dream Marsh. Yet, with just one glance, Ji Changkong was certain: this monstrously huge and hideous creature was indeed the Sky-Yuan Pterosaur, the overlord that commanded the submission of all beasts in the Cloud Dream Great Marsh!

Its presence was too deeply imprinted. In the month Ji Changkong had spent near the Cloud Dream Great Marsh, he had never felt such an overwhelming, suffocating aura of might from any other beast—an aura that crushed the very will to resist.

Furthermore, before he lost consciousness, he had witnessed it leap skyward from the Mire, forcing all other creatures to prostrate themselves, and he had seen its claw descend, savagely impaling the vicious Thousand-Year Violet Gold Toad and pinning it tragically to the ground. ...

Having confirmed the presence of the Cloud Dream Overlord, the Sky-Yuan Pterosaur, Ji Changkong remained utterly rigid, his eyes locked on it, his heart a tumultuous mess, wondering what the creature intended. After locking gazes with its pair of colossal, crimson eyes for a moment, he surprisingly sensed no violent rage emanating from it.

It simply observed him calmly, its giant red eyes actually seeming... soft.

Ji Changkong was startled, finding the sudden bizarre thought in his mind laughable. For this infamous overlord of the Cloud Dream Marsh to regard him with something akin to tenderness seemed utterly absurd, even to himself.

After a while, the aroma from the large piece of Thousand-Year Violet Gold Toad meat roasting on Ji Changkong’s spit intensified. As he stood paralyzed with indecision, he suddenly noticed the Pterosaur’s crimson eyes fixed intently on the cooking meat in his hand.

It looked... as if it craved the delicacy, desiring cooked meat.

“Uh...” Ji Changkong paused, a strange, twisted curve forming on his lips. He cautiously tossed the just-cooked chunk of meat toward the Sky-Yuan Pterosaur.

Before the large piece of meat could even settle, the Pterosaur extended its neck and caught it in one swift gulp. It chewed briefly, then swallowed everything whole.

The chunk Ji Changkong himself might not have finished in one sitting was gone in a single swallow. Observing it, it seemed as if, had it not been for the pleasure of savoring the cooked taste, it could have bypassed chewing entirely and sent the food straight down its throat.

It was... truly immense!

Clearly, that single portion was not nearly enough to satisfy it. After swallowing, it opened its massive crimson eyes again, gazing expectantly at Ji Changkong.

The look seemed to ask: ...Got any more? “Yes, wait a moment!” Ji Changkong exclaimed, then felt a rush of self-mockery; he was interpreting the beast’s intent through its eyes, and he was actually complying!

With clumsy haste, Ji Changkong carved an even larger slab of the snow-white raw meat from the Toad, skillfully working over the still-burning fire pit once more. Soon, the rich, mouth-watering scent of roasted meat permeated the air again.

This time, Ji Changkong hesitated no longer. Ensuring the meat was perfectly cooked, he immediately threw it over.

This piece was substantially larger, and the Pterosaur chewed for a longer time before swallowing it down. More?

The Sky-Yuan Pterosaur continued to gaze at him yearningly. Ji Changkong was covered in sweat, unsure if it was from anxiety or the intense heat of the fire.

Under the creature's unwavering crimson stare, Ji Changkong began moving again, gathering more kindling. He then divided all the remaining meat of the Thousand-Year Violet Gold Toad into portions, spearing each piece onto sharpened twigs and setting them over the fire.

One piece, two pieces, three pieces... Almost all the snow-white tender flesh from the Toad, which was the size of three men, was roasted and tossed to the Sky-Yuan Pterosaur.

Midway, Ji Changkong snatched a piece to eat while roasting the next batch. Only when there was no meat left did the Pterosaur finally cease its eager watchfulness.

Raising its massive wings, the gale roared, and it suddenly soared toward the Dragon’s Poison Mire, slowly sinking back into the depths. Letting out a breath, Ji Changkong inwardly sighed with relief, ignoring the pain in his leg.

He wanted to take his collected saliva and flee this dangerous place immediately. Splash!

The Sky-Yuan Pterosaur leaped out of the Dragon’s Poison Mire again, flying straight toward Ji Changkong once more. As the colossal body rapidly approached, Ji Changkong felt a surge of despair.

I have no more meat for you this time; surely you aren’t going to eat me? “Eh!” Ji Changkong suddenly cried out.

He noticed that clutched beneath the Pterosaur’s massive talons was something dark and indistinct. This time, it did not look like it had come back demanding more cooked meat.

...