Heavenly Flames' Message?

After memorizing the location on the scroll, Lin Mu was about to put it away when his fingers brushed across it. He suddenly sensed something unusual, and under the perception of a Dou Emperor, that feeling quickly became clearer.

"This is..."

Only when Lin Mu's fingers passed over the scroll did he realize that there seemed to be an extremely well-hidden inner layer within it.

This hidden layer was almost impossible to detect with the naked eye.

Lin Mu tried to tear it open, but to no avail. Clearly, whoever had made this scroll was no ordinary person. With no other choice, Lin Mu could only release his Dou Qi.

Dou Qi gathered at his fingertips and flowed across the scroll. Since Lin Mu had already memorized the surface content, Black-White Dou Qi immediately began to burn like flames. Yet this Dou Qi, which could easily melt metal, failed to burn the scroll before him.

"Boom..."

The outer layer gradually began to peel away.

When Lin Mu saw the contents within, surrounded by strange black-and-white aura, he could not help but stop flying.

The hidden layer within seemed to be the real map.

Both the directions and terrain were recorded with complete clarity, and the map was likewise surrounded by endless lightning!

It seemed that what he had seen earlier had merely been a copy.

What Lin Mu cared about even more was the special pattern at the center of the map. It was composed of black and white, the two colors seeming to form a unique flame-like design.

"Flames?"

Looking at the Black and White Flames, Lin Mu was momentarily at a loss.

However, these flames clearly did not look ordinary. The entire map seemed to have been divided apart by the Black and White Flames. One half, though filled with endless lightning, was dense with trees and brimming with vitality.

The other half was likewise filled with endless lightning, yet it was riddled with devastation. The earth was cracked, and everything was steeped in deathly stillness.

It was hard to imagine that such an extreme contrast could truly exist in this world.

"A single flame created two entirely different landscapes around it. With such power... could it be a Heavenly Flame?"

Lin Mu transformed into a streak of light and sped toward the border of the Cloud Empire.

"This should be ten li away from Lightning Swamp."

Lin Mu gazed into the distance. He could indeed sense the aura of lightning permeating the air. Clearly, the power of lightning from Lightning Swamp had already faintly spread this far.

Suddenly, a burst of commotion caught Lin Mu's attention.

Only then did Lin Mu notice that there was a small village below. He descended into the village and found an elderly man.

"Young man, you don't look like you're from the Cloud Empire. Could it be that you've also come for that swamp?"

Before Lin Mu could speak, the old man had already noticed him.

Lin Mu nodded. "How did you know, sir?"

"This old man has lived here his entire life. I've seen who knows how many people come here. They all wanted to seek opportunities in that swamp, but in the end, fewer than one in ten made it out alive..."

The old man sat in his chair and let out a long sigh. A deathly aura clung to him, one that did not seem like something a living person could emit.

"Young man, I advise you to leave. You're still young. Don't throw your life away here."

The old man tried to persuade him.

"What exactly is inside Lightning Swamp?" Lin Mu could not help asking.

"Lightning Swamp? That is quite a fitting name. People once called it Yin Yang Mud Swamp. As the name suggests, it connects the realms of yin and yang. The power of lightning there is thick as mud. It is truly terrifying!"

Lin Mu narrowed his eyes. He could sense that there seemed to be some kind of seal within the old man's body. It made his entire person seem steeped in deathly stillness, no different from someone on the verge of dying.

"Thank you for the warning, sir. But I crossed two countries to get here. I have to see it for myself."

Lin Mu smiled and turned to leave.

Only after Lin Mu had left did the old man slowly raise his head, as though muttering to himself, "Another one..."

"That man must have entered Lightning Swamp before. Could there be some kind of curse within it?"

"By that logic, Hai Bodong really was fortunate to survive. But according to him, he only entered the outer region. Perhaps the true terror is hidden in the deepest part."

Lin Mu soon arrived outside Lightning Swamp. Feeling the power of lightning filling the air, Dou Qi surged from within him and shielded his entire body.

Incomparably profound Dou Qi emerged around him. At the same time, Lin Mu continuously circulated the Six Paths Samsara Method in his heart. This pushed the aura around his entire body to its peak.

Passing through layer upon layer of lightning, Lin Mu finally entered Lightning Swamp. He had intended to land on the ground, only to notice that the ground here was filled with terrifying lightning power. Just as the old man had said, the lightning power was as thick as mud.

"Truly terrifying."

Lin Mu noticed rows of white bones scattered across the ground not far away.

They appeared to belong to unfortunate people who had landed on the ground and been pulverized by the lightning power.

"This truly is an excellent place to cultivate the Nine Thousand Lightning Arts." Lin Mu's eyes burned with excitement. He had originally thought that coming here to cultivate the Nine Thousand Lightning Arts would be enough.

But now, Lin Mu instead wanted to thoroughly explore this place.

"If there truly is a Heavenly Flame here, it is no wonder so many people are drawn to it. I just wonder which Heavenly Flame it is."

Lin Mu flew forward. Every bolt of lightning along the way tried to strike him, only to be directly rebounded by the terrifying aura surrounding him.

Lin Mu took note of his surroundings. Though lightning was everywhere, the trees were unusually lush. This bizarre environment left him with a faint sense of unease.

"The map is right. It's just that I'm still on the outskirts of Lightning Swamp. If I want to find out whether two extreme environments truly coexist here, perhaps I'll have to..."

With that thought, Lin Mu wasted no more words. His battle qi surged, and a massive phantom of a Kun Peng began to emerge above his head. As he unleashed the Kun Peng Method, his speed rose once again. It was as though he had shattered space itself, tearing through the air and vanishing from where he stood.

Lin Mu's destination was the place marked on the map where the Black and White Flames burned!

Boom!

Lin Mu's figure nearly merged with the enormous Kun Peng phantom. Streams of golden energy surged forth like lightning, shattering the lightning around him.

Using the Kun Peng Method, Lin Mu traveled unhindered all the way to the very heart of Lightning Swamp. Yet the sight before him left him utterly dumbfounded.