Chapter 19: Inside Green fog swamp sect

Feng Xin and the mirage dragonfly quickly made their way to the Green fog swamp sect in silence. The Mirage dragonfly had regained some of its strength back as it could now keep up with Feng Xin's movement, though Feng Xin had deliberately slowed down so that it could keep up without straining itself too much.

The damage from the leaves of eternal winter had left some remnant effects on the mirage dragonfly, although Feng Xin did his best to mitigate the damage, it would still take a while for complete recovery.

There was a huge gap between the two. Feng Xin was at the tenth stage of the core formation realm which is the late stage of the realm otherwise known as the core completion stage, while the mirage dragonfly was at the fourth level of the core formation realm also known as the core condensing stage.

There was already a huge divide in cultivation realms not to mention the quality of the core between the two as Feng Xin had a gold core. As for the Mirage dragonfly based on what Feng Xin had deduced, it seemed to have an orange core that had motes of blue in it.

The duo moved for over ten minutes before Feng Xin stopped and signaled the Mirage dragonfly to stop too. There wasn't anything of note in the area as it looked similar to the rest of the swamp. There were trees, vines, weeds, and shallow brackish water in the area.

The mirage dragonfly twisted its head sideways with a puzzled look as if to ask why they stopped in a random place. It didn't sense any enemies within the area. Feng Xin didn't respond as he stretched his right hand forward, then curled his hands as if tearing or scratching at something with his fingers.

With the downward motion of his tearing hand, the scene of trees, vines, and swamps started changing. By the time Feng Xin had brought his hand downwards, the scene before them had already changed. What was just a normal swampy look had now been replaced by a tall green wooden gate with a beautifully crafted Tupelo tree emblem in the middle of the gate.

There was golden calligraphy beneath the engraved tree emblem with the words "Green Fog Swamp Sect". The name had some aura of vitality to it and even a faint pressure. The pressure had zero effect on Feng Xin and the mirage dragonfly but to someone in the foundation establishment stage and even the first level of the core formation realm, they would be hard-pressed to stand normally before the pressure from that calligraphy.

The mirage dragonfly was surprised when the scene changed. It had not detected any arrays or qi fluctuations in the area. The sect was hidden under an illusion array prepared by a skilled array master whose comprehension and abilities were likely higher than the mirage dragonfly. But in front of Feng Xin, it was a different case.

Feng Xin's brow formed a small frown as he was in deep contemplation.

"Strange, I don't sense anyone active within the sect. There's no scent of blood or chaotic qi from a fight either." Feng Xin silently thought to himself as he pushed the doors of the Green fog swamp sect open.

A killing formation array was triggered the moment Feng Xin tried to forcefully open the sect's gates but it was soon frozen solid before it could even retaliate with Feng Xin forcing the entrance gate wide open.

What welcomed them was a compound was silence. Only the sound of wind brushing against the leaves could be heard. 

The inside of the sect was completely different from the gloom of the outside. There was minimal green fog within the sect. There were no multitudes of hanging vines, the brackish water, or the large variety of insects that could be seen roaming around outside of the sect. The sect had an air of a lush herb valley to it. There were different kinds of flowers planted on the sides of the paved pathways. The pathways seemed to have been made from some earth-red rock. They were paved, smoothened, and somehow seemed to meld seamlessly with the plants around them.

The sect lands rose upwards the further one moved in. There were about 5 peaks within the sect. Feng Xin and the mirage dragonfly immediately made their way deeper into the sect. They passed by small clustered buildings that seemed they were housing of some sort. From their size, it looked like they could house just a single person. Though small in size they were beautifully designed. They had gently curving yellow tiled roofs and red walls that matched the color of the pavements around the sect. There was a board above the entrance to those buildings. The board had the name Outer sect sleeping quarters written over it with elegant calligraphy.

As they continued moving forward, the quality of the buildings they kept passing by continued to increase in elegance and size. There were lecture halls, mess halls, some combat arenas, and some fine courtyards. These courtyards seemed to be the living area of the inner sect and core disciples. They were much larger and more widely spread from each other.

All this while, as they moved they never came across a single person. Feng Xin didn't stop for a second and headed in the same direction he had been moving towards from the moment he stepped into the sect, which was the central region where the five peaks were located. The closer they approached the area, the richer and higher the quality of qi became. 

The buildings were getting fewer and fewer with every rise. However, though they were few they were grander in size compared to all the other buildings they had passed by. In particular, there were a few buildings that stood out. One was a tall green ancient looking pagoda that had a rich smell of herbs with a tall gate outside with the words Alchemy division written over it. The others were not pagodas but tall dome-shaped pavilions. They each were of different divisions namely; the Formation Array division, Blacksmithing division, Library Hall, Disciplinary Hall, Sect Missions Hall, and lastly Logistics Hall.

There still wasn't anyone in sight even in these buildings despite their clear importance to the sect. It created a rather odd atmosphere in the whole place. Just ahead on the path leading to the central peak, Feng Xin managed to spot a disappearing purple-black smog on one of the peaks that were to the left of the central peak.

His nose flinched a little as he quickly diverted his route heading in the direction of the peak with the disappearing purple-black smog. Within a few minutes, Feng Xin and the Mirage dragonfly had already arrived at the bottom of the peak. There were winding steps leading up to the peak which the duo quickly scaled. The qi was 4 times denser and richer compared to all the places they had passed through.

"The owner of this peak must have high status in the sect," Feng Xin thought.

The mirage dragonfly quickly lost itself to the density of the qi in the place as it greedily opened its pores to absorb the qi. It looked like a starving and dehydrated victim who was offered a jar of cool refreshing water and a piping hot tasty meal. Feng Xin ignored the gluttonous look of the mirage dragonfly as they soon reached the top. The area was completely flat like a plain. The size was roughly a quarter of the size of the sect.  the shortest route to reach it.

The area at the top of the peak had a quaint serene atmosphere. It had scaled-down versions of various halls and pavilions Feng Xin had passed by on his way here. There was a library, alchemy hall, blacksmithing hall, and a very large herbal garden. There was even a small river that flowed around the area with small bridges all over the place. There was an extremely large pavilion with orange tiled roofs. The purple-black smog looked to have originated from there as a few remnants were being carried over by the slow wind in the place.

Feng Xin quickly made his way there with the Mirage dragonfly at his back greedily absorbing the qi in the area as they moved.

"I would stop absorbing more qi from this area if I were you, not unless you want to pass out," Feng Xin said as he cast a sideway glance at the Mirage dragonfly.

The Mirage dragonfly was at first puzzled at why Feng Xin said that before small faintness washed over it. It shook its head a couple of times to try and remove that feeling from its body. When that didn't work, it rapidly flapped its wings till there was a metallic rapid vibration sound coming from them as golden specks of dust with bits of dew started being produced from its whole body. Purple-black liquid began ejecting from its body and immediately evaporated from the high heat produced by the wings that were in rapid motion.

This went on until the Mirage dragonfly was sure there was no purple-black liquid coming from its body. It stopped the rapid motion of its wings as it stared around with some weariness, unlike its earlier carefree appearance. It had let down its guard since Feng Xin was around and it had experienced personally how powerful he was. If anything unexpected were to happen, it was sure Feng Xin would be able to solve it easily. Feng Xin's presence had made it forget the one thing every resident of the green fog be they spirit beast or human had to be weary of, which was poison.

Brute strength was a measure of ability in most places but in the green fog region, poison was the true king. Half the creatures and plants in the area were naturals at it, while the other half were skilled in awareness and speed. There were some who were skilled in both such as the green flash viper that was terrifyingly skilled in poisoning, high-speed attacks, and evasion. It was one of the 3 false kings of the lower southern region of the green fog swamp.

Though occasionally there would be oddities such as the green flowered babirusa. It was large, wasn't fast, relied on brute strength, and didn't have any poisoning abilities whatsoever. However, though it lacked both speed and poison, it had a few abilities that enabled it to stand at the peak with the best of them. One of them was the ability of the green flower on its head that helped it rapidly heal from wounds which included even poison.

To survive in the Green Fog region, you either were great at fighting with poison or dealing with it. One small misstep and you would not know how you died, which was why the residents , even ones that had lived in the area for century were constantly on guard against it, which the mirage dragonfly seemed to have forgotten.