“How does this poison compare to the Weak Water and the Strange Winds?” Fang Yun asked.

Hua Yuqing replied, “The Weak Water and Strange Winds are very strong, but the skin-eating poison is even more ferocious. The fog before us is light, but once the poison fog doubles in density, the protective poetry of a Presented Scholar level won’t last a few breaths. Moreover, the power of an ordinary The Courage to Write cannot resist this poison fog at all. Only when one reaches the great accomplishment of The Courage to Write at the first realm can one barely resist it, and among us, only Yan Yukong can do that. Or if one’s The Courage to Write directly ascends to the second realm, then even without expending a bit of the power of The Courage to Write, the poison fog would be repelled.”

“But what about what Semi-Saint Wang Chong said, ‘A gentleman can avoid the four poisons’?” Fang Yun asked.

“Yes, delicious food, beauty, bravery, and eloquence, though beneficial, are also great poisons that ordinary people should stay away from. If one reaches the second realm of The Courage to Write, they need not fear, which is what is meant by ‘A gentleman avoids the four poisons.’ If any of us could enter the second realm of The Courage to Write, we wouldn’t need to care about this level of skin-eating poison,” Hua Yuqing explained.

“If this sixth corridor is like the previous five, where all clans are forbidden from fighting, we could join forces to break through this poison fog. But we not only need to expend energy to avoid these mists, we also have to guard against sneak attacks from the Demon Barbarians. Once a battle starts, even if we aren’t killed by the Demon Barbarians, we might be poisoned to death.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to, but that I can’t,” someone sighed softly.

The dog looked pitifully at the bull, which glared back at it.

Before entering the Comet Corridor, Fang Yun had guessed that there might be poisonous gas or something similar here. He didn’t expect the sixth corridor to become a land of deadly poison. Naturally, the tests would get harder the further one went, and this poison fog was particularly in the penultimate corridor, indicating that it was far more dangerous than it seemed.

Fang Yun asked, “Yuqing, which of the Demon Clan can control the skin-eating poison fog?”

Without hesitation, Hua Yuqing replied, “Over ten percent of the snake sub-tribes can control the skin-eating poison fog, and a few centipede demons can do it too.”

“We often encounter poison-controlling snakes on the battlefield, and the skin-eating poison fog is among them,” Sun Naiyong said.

Fang Yun frowned slightly and said, “If I remember correctly, among the Demon Clan’s holy sons this time, there is a Demon Snake Holy Son. Is that holy son skilled in using poison?”

Kong Delun replied, “That Demon Snake Holy Son is quite famous; I remember he is a master of controlling poison.”

“What would you do if you were the Wolf Savage Holy Son or Longling, knowing that the Snake Clan Holy Son is here?” Fang Yun asked.

“You’re right, Fang Yun. The Snake Clan Holy Son in the sixth corridor is like a fish in water. This poison fog is beneficial and harmless to him. If nothing unexpected happens, that Snake Clan Holy Son is probably already on the way waiting for us!” Hua Yuqing said.

Fang Yun looked at the light green mist ahead and slowly said, “If someone wants to help me, there’s no need to come, because you’ll only hold me back; if someone wants to repay a favor, there’s no need to come either. As a member of the human race, everything I’ve done before is part of my Path of the Saints, and I don’t need you to repay it. My Path of the Saints does not differentiate between inside and outside The Holy Land. If someone wants to go to the seventh corridor, or even wants to sit on the throne of stars, then please come with me, break through the mist, trample the Demon Barbarians, and see the world beyond the poison fog!”

After speaking, Fang Yun turned around to scan the crowd, making eye contact with each person.

Some avoided his gaze, some were resolute, some were doubtful, some were ashamed, some were helpless… a variety of expressions were abundant.

“I can only come to the Comet Corridor once in my life. If I don’t see what the seventh corridor looks like, I will never be content. I will go,” Yan Yukong said.

“My goal was to see the seventh corridor and then return. I definitely won’t sit on the throne of stars. Now that Fang Yun is leading us through the sixth corridor, it’s a rare opportunity that I won’t give up!”

“I’ve gotten used to following Fang Yun all the way, so I might as well keep going,” Han Shoulu said with a smile.

“I won against Fang Yun on the road to The Holy Land before entering. If I can’t even go forward with him now, how can I face others in the future? I must go through. If I can survive, I can tell people that in The Holy Land, in the Comet Corridor, in front of the Demon Barbarian Holy Son, I, Mo Shan, didn’t just follow behind Fang Yun. I, once fought side by side with him!”

Mo Shan’s words touched many Presented Scholars.

“Ah…” Zong Wude sighed, “Mo Shan, your words are too harsh! I was inferior to him on the road to The Holy Land. If I don’t go to the seventh corridor now, I’ll never surpass him. And this time, it might be my only chance to walk side by side with him. For the future, so I can say I didn’t hide behind, I have to go!”

“Mo Shan, you bastard! Let’s go then! I… also want to fight side by side with Fang Yun,” Jia Jing’an revealed a faint smile, which held no decisiveness, no resoluteness, just a hint of nostalgia.

Only by constantly moving forward, to get better, does one have the right to be nostalgic, otherwise, it’s just regret.

Those who originally didn’t want to go looked at these people, at these companions who had come forward with them, and suddenly remembered Xun Ye’s regretful expression under the avalanche slope, and the envious gaze at the head of the Falling Star Bridge.

Those people gave up, those people regretted, did they want to become those people?

Shi Tang stepped forward with a smile, “I don’t want to be laughed at by Xun Ye.”

“Ah… alright, I’ve also scolded Xun Ye, I can’t be worse than him, right? I’ll go through this sixth corridor, not to repay Teacher Fang, nor for any human race spirit, I just want to see if the scenery beside Fang Yun is more beautiful than behind.”

Fang Yun took a deep breath, suppressing the warmth welling up in his eyes.

Li Fanming placed all the carrots from his pocket in front of the big rabbit, patted its head with a smile, and said, “I’m going to the seventh corridor, and I can’t take you, a dumb, clumsy, and gluttonous creature with me. If you don’t see me again, remember to be good, eat less, and don’t bankrupt your new owner.”

The big rabbit’s eyes widened, looking at Li Fanming with confusion and anxiety, showing a questioning look.

Li Fanming squatted down, smiling as he stroked the rabbit’s head, and said to everyone, “If I return to The City of Confucius, I’ll treat all of you to flower wine.”

“It’s a deal!”

The big rabbit paused, then suddenly started eating the carrots voraciously, taking big bites and chewing each piece carefully.

I will eat more, I will become stronger, and if you don’t come back, I will avenge you!

The big rabbit ate while tears streamed down its face, then ate with even more vigor.Li Fanming seemed oblivious to everything as he stood up and turned around.

The remaining spirit beasts silently watched their master, tears welling up in their eyes.

Niu Shan and Quan Xi couldn’t understand what they were saying, but they could see the meaning.

“Let’s go, to the seventh corridor,” Fang Yun said.

Hua Yuqing took out a medical book and said, “I’ll clear the way with this medical book. This thin poison fog is a piece of cake for me. If it were thirty percent denser, I wouldn’t be able to handle it.”

“I have a copy of ‘The Annals of Defending the City,’ written by my Sun family’s ancestors. It contains many methods to counteract the poison demons of the Demon Barbarians. Although I’ve only transcribed two volumes of this military book and its power is very weak, it is still a military book, and it’s not difficult to use it to avoid poison for a short time,” Sun Naiyong said.

“My Courage to Write has reached a great level of mastery, and I can hold out for a while. As for creating poetry to ward off poison, I really can’t do it. Even if I could, it would probably be a waste of talent,” Yan Yukong said.

The other Presented Scholars showed the same regretful expression. Previously, everyone had exhausted their minds in front of the avalanche slope to resist the avalanche, and then they had broken through the corridors one after another. Although their talent was full, their minds were like candles about to burn out, unable to create powerful enough poetry to turn the intangible into reality.

“We’ve seen plenty of the beauty of nature and could recite poetry effortlessly, but now, to use poetry to drive away poison fog and poison demons is truly difficult. However, after being baptized by the power of the God of Literature multiple times, our strength has improved. Even if we encounter the holy son of the snake clan, we need not fear!”

“Forward!” At Fang Yun’s command, everyone began to move forward.

Hua Yuqing’s chest floated a thin medical book. Although it was a copy of his ancestor’s medical book and its power was very weak, it was enough to deal with this level of poison fog.

The yellowed cover of the medical book emitted a white light, like a large umbrella covering everyone.

“Go!”

Within a faint green poison fog, on a barren path, the group quickly moved forward under the protection of the light umbrella formed by the medical book.

Suddenly, Quan Xi barked loudly, and everyone immediately looked around, ready to act at any moment.

“What’s wrong?” Fang Yun asked.

Quan Xi nervously said, “I smell the scent of the snake clan. It’s very distinctive, definitely left by a holy son of the Demon Clan!”

“Halt! I didn’t expect him to arrive so quickly. Delun, since you say you know him, what other habits and preferences does he have?” Fang Yun asked.

“Torture.”

“What!” Everyone’s gaze swept over Kong Delun, then they vigilantly searched the surroundings for traces of the snake clan’s holy son.

Kong Delun grimaced and said, “We, the outstanding descendants of Prominent Families, all go to certain places for experience. Apart from the Two Realms Mountain, there are other places, which I’d rather not mention. I once went out on patrol with a team and found another team slaughtered, and the scene of their death was too gruesome to bear. Ordinary Demon Barbarians kill either for food or just to kill, but this holy son of the snake clan likes to torture the human race in various ways, filling them with pain before eating them.”

“And then?”

Kong Delun’s face changed slightly as he said, “The scene was extremely tragic, I don’t want to describe it. In short, only a beast could do such a thing. Later, our side investigated and found out it was the work of snake demons, and the main figure was that holy son of the snake clan, She Ku, so I’m very familiar with him and know he’s a master of controlling poison.”

“What exactly did they do!” Sun Naiyong asked through clenched teeth.

Kong Delun spoke in a low voice, “I’ll just mention some of the most common things, like, they would insert many snake eggs about to hatch into people’s mouths and then let the baby snakes burst out of the belly. Also…”

“Knowing he deserves to die is enough,” Fang Yun said.

“But he’s very cunning! Not only is he ruthless, but he’s also very good at hiding his tracks. To avenge his torture, we’ve tried to capture and kill him multiple times. Not to mention Imperial Scholars taking action, even a few times when Hanlin Scholars took action, they came back empty-handed. If I’m not mistaken, he will weaken and assassinate us along the way, and only when our strength is reduced to the limit will he officially appear to take action.”

“Sssssss… You guessed right! This sixth corridor is my feast, and your funeral! Sssssss…”

The sound of the demon snake hissing came from all directions. (To be continued.)