South Dream Water Kingdom

Qin Yang knew perfectly well that his and Zhang Zhengyi's identities were suspicious. Anyone with half a brain would be suspicious.

It was just that everyone here was a Foundation Establishment cultivator. No one believed two Qi Nourishing cultivators could stir up much trouble, and nobody wanted to create unnecessary complications here. Besides, Bai Yutang had acknowledged that they had prior ties, so everyone simply played dumb.

In the end, they simply looked down on the two Cheap Senior Brothers.

Qin Yang himself knew very well that he had no way to leave on his own right now. That old bastard Steward Qiu was hiding killing intent. Others only assumed he was guarding against dangers that might emerge around them, but Qin Yang sensed it with utter clarity. It was like thorns at his back, jolting his mind into frantic pounding every so often.

That old bastard truly wanted to kill him. Even with only a trace of suspicion, he clung to the idea of killing by mistake rather than letting anyone go.

But they had already entered this place—why was he still dwelling on what had happened before? Qin Yang's face darkened as he stood behind Bai Yutang, pondering what to do next.

Before long, the people from Ten Thousand Eternity Commerce returned, though two were conspicuously missing. Steward Qiu casually brushed it off, saying the two had gone to scout the surroundings and see whether they could bypass the swamp.

It did not matter whether others believed it. It was enough that he believed it himself.

When they returned to the swamp's edge, Qin Yang quietly took out two Wind Travel Talismans from his reserves and casually stuffed them into his boots. True Essence surged through him as he slowly activated the talismans along the Dao-patterned rune paths inscribed upon them.

Activating the talisman core allowed one to trigger the entire talisman in a single burst. It was faster, but its duration was short. With this method of activation, the talisman itself would not instantly dissipate, giving it a longer duration at the cost of somewhat reduced speed.

Just like the Autumn Cicada Talisman, the advantage of this activation method was that once activation began, there would be almost no spiritual energy fluctuations afterward.

Unfortunately, aside from talisman masters who possessed a deep understanding of talismans themselves, few others understood this method. Its activation process was relatively complicated and involved controlling True Essence. Guiding True Essence through the rune paths was even somewhat harder than crafting talismans directly...

After activating the talismans, Qin Yang continued silently circulating the Conceal Void Art, suppressing every trace of spiritual energy fluctuation from his body.

"Everyone, be careful." With a low shout, the group entered the swamp one after another.

The moment they entered, Bai Yutang could not help recalling what Qin Yang had told him before. Though he was doubtful, the speed beneath his feet rapidly climbed. At such speed, the mud traps in the swamp were almost entirely useless.

As Bai Yutang accelerated, the people from Boundless Dao Academy accelerated as well. Qin Yang said nothing and blended into the crowd.

Perhaps because there were quite a few experts here, after charging through the swamp for half an hour, none of the previous strangeness appeared. There was only the swamp's own deathly silence, with no other danger in sight.

Qin Yang secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps that strange thing had indeed sensed that it was no match for them and had hidden itself of its own accord.

Splash.

After they raced onward for a while longer, the sound of someone falling into water suddenly came from behind them.

"Liu Fei is gone!" An expert from Ten Thousand Eternity Commerce cried out in a hushed voice.

"Go! Don't stop! Everyone, be careful!" Steward Qiu's face was gloomy. His gaze was sharp as a hawk's as it swept around the area, and he barked in a low voice.

At once, the group's speed increased by another third. Quite a few people began circulating their True Essence to move faster.

Spiritual energy fluctuations spread outward. Qin Yang, who was running ahead with the crowd, slightly changed expression and unconsciously quickened his pace by another third.

Splash!

Another sound of falling water rang out. The group turned alertly toward it, but all they saw was a small puddle with droplets splashing up. Not even half a shadow of a person could be seen.

"Wang Hu is gone too..." The subdued cry made everyone's expressions turn ugly.

Two Foundation Establishment cultivators—even if they were not particularly powerful—had Magical Artifacts to protect them and True Essence guarding their bodies. What kind of thing could make two Foundation Establishment cultivators vanish in an instant without even the time to sound a warning?

"Damn it, what kind of ghost is this? Get the hell out here!" A burly man's eyes reddened as he strode toward the small puddle. He gripped a long spear overflowing with spiritual radiance, killing intent bursting from his entire body.

When he reached the puddle and looked inside, the burly man's eyes widened as he cried out.

"Wang Hu!"

Within the small puddle, sparse waterweed slowly drifted apart, revealing a corpse with its skull missing, quietly floating within.

The corpse's clothing was intact, with no other wounds visible. Its eyes were open as though staring fixedly ahead, and a faint, not-quite-smiling expression hung on its bluish-white face, making it all the more eerie.

As if it had seen the burly man approach, the corpse fixed its gaze on him. Its mouth opened slightly, and one arm seemed to struggle as it reached out of the water.

Seeing this, how could the burly man think any further? The one below was his friend. Almost instinctively, he stretched out his hand to grab the corpse's hand.

When he had pulled Wang Hu's corpse halfway out of the water, a furious, alarmed roar came from behind him.

"Let go, now!"

Unfortunately, it was already too late.

A sudden change erupted.

Behind the corpse, a monster with a mouth but no eyes, no nose, and no ears surged out from the rear, its enormous maw gaping wide.

The creature was pitch-black all over and generally resembled a water crocodile, yet its body had no scales. Its skin was smooth but utterly without luster. After charging out, it ignored the burly man's spear. Its body swayed through the air as though it had appeared from nowhere, and its enormous maw instantly emerged at the man's side. It bit down on his head and dragged him into the puddle, vanishing without a trace...

At last, everyone had seen the scene clearly, yet it only made their scalps tingle and the hairs all over their bodies stand on end.

That monster was terrifyingly fast, with no discernible aura. Even a Foundation Establishment cultivator's True Essence protection was like paper before its sharp teeth, unable to provide the slightest obstruction.

Another one had died...

There was no time for them to delay. If they tried to return the way they had come, who knew what they would encounter along the way? At this point, their only option was to press onward.

Qin Yang continued running with them, an inexplicable thought rising in his heart. That monster was not afraid of them—it was afraid that they would escape the swamp. That was why it had only attacked after they had reached the middle.

Could this thing truly possess such powerful intelligence? Qin Yang moved closer to Bai Yutang and asked in a low voice, "Senior Brother Bai, do you know what that monster is?"

"I'm not certain, but I do have a vague guess." Bai Yutang's expression was solemn. Only after pondering for a moment did he slowly speak.

"It is said that south of Tongqu Prefecture lies South Dream Water Kingdom. Waterways crisscross its lands, and there are many who drown there, so Water Ghosts are common. In very rare cases, a Water Ghost may seize the body of an aquatic spirit creature, becoming a monster neither dead nor alive. They love eating human brains, especially those of young children. When hunting, they use corpses by the water's edge to lure children, often using the children's relatives as bait. Some can even cast transformation arts, allowing their targets to see the close ones they wish to see..."

"Especially sensitive to spiritual energy fluctuations?"

Bai Yutang gave Qin Yang a serious look, then nodded.

Qin Yang silently nodded and lowered his head to continue running.

Yet only moments later, two splashes sounded at the same time—one not far from his side, the other from behind...

Qin Yang's expression froze as he turned his head with difficulty to stare at Bai Yutang.

"Very rare cases?"

"..."

Thanks to Lifengjian kevining for the tip. Thank you, thank you. Someone finally tipped me—you have good taste, hahaha...