"An Xiaoyu is terrifying! In just a few minutes, she absorbed thirty points of my energy!"

Only after seeing An Xiaoyu leave did Guan Zian, feeling a great weight lifted off his shoulders, dare to speak. In the few minutes after the hug ended, he lost another ten points of energy.

"Now I finally understand how Brother Jiang feels. Who is lucky enough to enjoy such a beauty?" Luo Nan said with lingering fear.

"No wonder Brother Jiang has such a powerful battle pet despite his low cultivation level. You must have been a super ninth-tier expert before, but your cultivation level dropped due to being with Miss An, and you've now fallen to the level of a newly entered eighth tier!" Even the usually calm Song Ji spoke up at this moment. He rarely admired anyone, but at this moment, his respect for Jiang Yuan was like a surging river. He was definitely a devoted lover who would give up his strength for love.

"Strange, why don't I feel anything?" Yang Binghai asked, looking puzzled.

"She only absorbs men's energy!" Jiang Yuan said casually, holding the little dumpling in his arms.

"So that's how it is, no wonder!" Zhou Han nodded thoughtfully.

"Jiang Yuan!" Yang Binghai called out, then hesitated before saying, "I think everything Miss An did just now was actually to provoke you. You don't need to take it to heart!"

"Do I seem to care?" Jiang Yuan's eyes were calm and indifferent, then he added, "That's just how she is; she'll come back after she's done throwing a tantrum!"

"Brother Jiang, Miss An is heading towards the Dead Spirit Swamp, and she's already entered the swamp's territory after only ten miles!" Luo Nan said worriedly, looking at the simple map circulating among the mercenaries.

"What did you say?"

Jiang Yuanteng stood up straight.

“Miss An has headed towards the Dead Spirit Swamp, and she’s about to go in!” Luo Nan repeated.

Damn it!

"Brother Jiang, where are you going!"

Jiang Yuan cursed angrily, spread his divine wings, and chased after them, ignoring the persuasion of Luo Nan and the others.

"Oh dear, what's going on here!" Luo Nan was completely exasperated. Wasn't it agreed that they would first check the perimeter? Why were they all acting like they were being chased to their doom?

"Men, they may be cold-hearted with their words, but their actions speak louder than words!" Unlike the other men, Yang Binghai wasn't puzzled when she saw Jiang Yuan chasing after her; instead, she smiled like a proud aunt the whole time.

"Big sister, are you watching a drama here?! If Jiang Yuan and An Xiaoyu leave, how are we going to get back from the edge of the Dead Swamp?" Zhou Han pressed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

"Right, what do we do? Do we chase after them and see how the plot unfolds?" Yang Binghai said, realizing what was happening.

"What else can we do but chase after them!"

"What if they enter the Necropolis Swamp?"

"Then we'll hold out, even if it kills us, until they come out! Maybe they'll share some of the 50,000 bounty with us when they do, then our trip won't have been in vain!"

...

"An Xiaoyu! Where are you? Stop playing hide-and-seek with me!"

"You perverted rabbit, if you don't come out now, I'm really leaving!"

In the desolate forest, Jiang Yuan had wandered further and further away, even though he had already noticed something was wrong with his surroundings.

There was not a trace of green in this forest, only the twilight, the old but still dying grass roots and rotten wood, and even the air here carried a strong smell of decay.

"There's no swamp here, so we shouldn't have reached the Undead Swamp yet!" Jiang Yuan looked up and could feel his senses being compressed again. With his senses suppressed and the thick fog making it difficult for him to perceive anything a hundred meters away.

"Rabbit, are you there? If you don't answer, I'm leaving! Don't cry later if no one comforts you!" Jiang Yuan shouted energetically. He was still somewhat wary of the Dead Spirit Swamp, after all, it was the Tomb of the War Lord, a dangerous place full of perils.

"I was just kidding you before. You're so cute and pretty, who wouldn't want you? Besides, you've already practiced the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra, so why are you still so worried about your physique!"

"Alright, come out! It's too dangerous here, I'll take you out to play!"

Jiang Yuan had already considered retreating after stepping into this place. The fact that this place blocked his senses was beyond his expectations. He had always relied heavily on his Heavenly Eye and was most afraid of having his senses blocked. Therefore, this place was a den of dragons and tigers for him.

Click!

A crisp sound rang out from the withered forest. Jiang Yuan looked down and saw a dead branch that had been rotten for many years.

"You scared me!" Jiang Yuan subconsciously scanned the area with his Heavenly Eye, but he immediately discovered something fishy.

Unclaimed marks of the dead have been discovered!

The mark of the dead is fading. Shall we use the Death Chant?

"How could there be a mark of the dead among these withered branches?"

Jiang Yuan was quite puzzled, and the mark of the dead only began to dissipate because he had crushed the withered branches, which was completely illogical.

"Never mind, finding that stupid woman is more important!"

He kicked the dead branch aside and continued shouting An Xiaoyu's name.

Jiang Yuan didn't realize that when he kicked away the withered branch, the entire barren forest seemed to come alive, and a strange power was slowly awakening.

"Where did this woman go?" Jiang Yuan was frantic with worry.

"Something's not right, I feel unusually irritable today!"

He clearly noticed his own agitation, so he forced himself to calm down. "This godforsaken place can block perception, but celestial bodies are the darlings of the battlefield and possess unique battlefield rules. Presumably, the connection between the Celestial Demon Body and the Celestial Poison Body will not be disturbed!"

In desperation, Jiang Yuan came up with a solution. He immediately put it into action, suppressing the Great Wilderness Divine Wood Codex and then activating the Heavenly Poison Body.

The incompatibility of their constitutions meant that the Heavenly Poison Physique could not flourish in him, especially since his compatibility with the Heavenly Poison Physique was too low, making it impossible for him to utilize its full potential.

"Celestial perception!"

Jiang Yuan closed his eyes and quietly felt the guidance from the rules of the battlefield.

*Whoosh!* The muscles in his body twitched almost imperceptibly, and Jiang Yuan opened his eyes, a look of delight on his face. "Stupid woman, this time I'll find you and see if I don't curse you to death!"

"Lightning Bolt Infused with Magic!"

Jiang Yuan condensed the lightning patterns under his feet and then quickly ran towards the direction he sensed. After all, An Xiaoyu could move, and if he lost his senses, he didn't know when he would be able to find her again.

"What a pungent smell!" Jiang Yuan slowed down in front of a dense forest. There was a strong smell of decay, as if something that had been rotting in the mud for years had been dug up.

Waaaaah! Nobody wants me anymore!

"A bunch of blind, deadbeat men, I curse you to be single forever!"

Intermittent sobbing sounds reached Jiang Yuan's ears. Although the sound was mostly blocked by the thick fog, Jiang Yuan was still able to discern the specific location.

"Now you know how to cry? You were running around so happily just now!"

Jiang Yuan muttered angrily, but after he finished cursing, he still followed the sound of crying.

The stench of decay in the withered forest grew stronger, and Jiang Yuan's unease intensified. All he wanted now was to find Yu Tu and take her away from this awful place.

However, fate had other plans, and a scream shattered the silence of the barren forest.

"ah!"