Entering Lei Marsh

Li Fan emerged from the quiet room, smiling broadly as he made a mental calculation.

The leopard, the Kun, and the sword intent were stacked in a row, squatting at the doorway watching him.

"You guys go do whatever you want, go eat barbecue, I'm fine." Li Fan gave them a fake, cheerful smile.

"Kun said, 'You've been holed up inside for seven days; everyone's scattered now.'"

"Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, 'Boy, what's wrong with you? Why did your Dao Heart suddenly collapse?'"

Li Fan paused for a moment, then looked up and saw that the auspicious clouds of the Immortal Palace were no longer visible in the sky. He then said, "I'm going on a long journey to Lei Marsh to seek opportunities. Kunbao will guard the house. If anyone comes looking for me, just say I'm in seclusion and that my sword intent will come to my aid."

"Kun, bring back more meat."

Then the two chubby little guys jiggled and ran off to play.

"Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, 'You're not taking them with you? Are you going to hunt down the Nangong Family? But with your Dao Heart unsettled and your primordial spirit in such a state, are you really sure you're okay?'"

Li Fan put on the human skin Daoist robe, then took out a veiled hat of Unknown Face and put it on. "I finally managed to get them to agree to this, so I have no choice but to go."

Besides, Nangong Wuqing dared to give me attitude, which offended me. If I don't get her head, I'm afraid my skills will be stagnant. I can't hold back my anger.

Furthermore, misfortune may be a blessing in disguise; it's not necessarily a bad thing. If things go well, there might even be a great opportunity.

"As long as you Profound Heaven Sword Intent your limits, that's fine. But I'm warning you, although that guy surnamed Chen's cultivation is trash, he managed to shatter your Dao heart with just a few words. You'd better be careful."

"Hehe, I know he's powerful, but Mr. Chen has really helped me a lot. I'm actually a little reluctant to kill him, hehehehehe!"

Li Fan chuckled as he summoned the Demon Slayer Sword, which leaped into the Sword Light and flew straight south.

The man surnamed Chen really helped Li Fan a lot; his words were a wake-up call for him.

The Way of Tai Su Transformation is by no means without obstacles and bottlenecks; it's just that, unlike the Tribulations of Killing, Emotion, and Thunder, time and external manifestations are particularly obvious.

The tribulations of the Dao body reside in the Dao heart; in reality, they are mental tribulations that occur constantly!

The mental hurdle is hard to overcome, but it's also easy to overcome.

For example, the Qiongqi Dao Body only cares about the thrill of killing and eating. After it has had its fill of killing, it then witnesses an even bigger and more ferocious terror, which teaches it a lesson about its own limitations, and the little tiger will then submit.

For example, the Five Mountain Gods' Divine Body, as an entry-level transformation, does not require any Daoist heart. As long as you follow the order of the Five Elements' mutual generation, and make the five Daoist bodies generate and nourish each other, forming an internal cycle and mutually restraining each other, and do not cause the Five Elements to become imbalanced, then there will be no major problems.

But it was Chen Bin's remark about "your mother's taboo" that reminded Li Fan.

He almost missed a crucial element, which led to this near-out-of-control situation.

That's right, Li Yi!

This transmigrator's physical body is also Li Fan's Dao body!

It is the transformation of his Dao body in this Taiji Realm!

He was the one who used this change the longest, was most deeply affected by it, and was most significantly influenced by it, to the point that Li Fan always maintained a dominant position and found it difficult to notice how Li Yi was influencing his own temperament.

But this influence does exist, and it even poses a potential psychological threat!

Li Fan also understood what was missing to untie the Rubik's Cube, the knot in Li Yi's heart.

It's actually quite simple.

Li Yi wanted to avenge his mother.

Chen Bin is right. Li Fan doesn't actually harbor that much resentment towards the Nangong Family. He's an outsider and doesn't want to get involved in the power struggles of the natives. He just wants to cultivate immortality and attain enlightenment.

But Li Yi is only ten or eleven years old; in any case, he doesn't understand anything.

He didn't understand why he had to be locked up behind high walls from birth, why he had to be bullied since childhood, or why so many people wanted him dead.

That father probably never even met her, he only had one mother, and the days they could spend together were probably very few. In order to let her son see the sky outside the high walls, she finally smashed her head against the wall and died. She was wrapped in a straw mat and buried under the palace wall, never getting to see her one last time.

It's no wonder he felt an inexplicable affinity for Fuling; perhaps the maids and servants who serve others are automatically drawn to the image of another woman in Li Yi's eyes?

So even if he was beaten to death, he never wanted to go back inside those palace walls.

Therefore, he was fundamentally resistant to having even the slightest relationship with the Liqiu Palace.

Therefore, it would be difficult to quell Li Yi's hatred without shedding a drop of blood and killing several people.

The Nangong Family, who habitually flaunt their power and domineering ways, not content with killing their servants and maids, even skinning them alive to make lamps as punishment, have truly stung Li Yi this time.

So Li Fan had a face-to-face talk with Li Yi in the room, literally speaking...

The Nangong Family is doomed; even if the Sanyuan clan were to protect them, they would be doomed.

This was said by Li Yi.

Li Fan agreed.

But then we need to hurry.

This time, Li Yi implicated him, causing him to lose his composure and become out of control for seven days before he regained his composure. It's likely that Nangong Wuqing's team has already entered Lei Marsh.

Lei Marsh is a vast swamp, shrouded in thunderstorms on the outside and submerged year-round. For about ten months of the year, it is a vast expanse of water. Only in autumn and winter, when the water level drops and the thunderclouds disperse, can one fly over it and travel by boat. Moreover, the weather is unpredictable, and even Nascent Soul Stage cultivators cannot visit the core area every year. In fact, some opportunities may not be found for three to five years.

Such a place is naturally deserted, but it has become a paradise for demonic beasts and spiritual plants, like a natural treasure trove. It only Door Opening a few times a year, attracting cultivators to flock in and collect the rare treasures inside.

However, since it's an annual event, all the good stuff on the outskirts is snatched up, making the great opportunities in the heartland even more coveted. Moreover, the closest creatures to Lei Marsh aren't humans, but the monsters of the Ten-thousand-mountains. The Middle Valley Dojo is heavily guarded precisely to prevent monsters from sneaking up on Lei Marsh.

Therefore, every time Lei Marsh, cultivators and demons would inevitably fight to the death for the supreme treasure, resulting in mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Of course, there were even more cases of people betraying each other. So those who came to seek opportunities probably didn't lack the spiritual materials that grew in Lei Marsh Swamp. The spoils from the fighting and plundering alone were enough to make them rich.

According to the map provided by Daoist Tian Shu, the thunderclouds are blocked by the continuous mountain range to the north. The fastest and most convenient route is to enter the heart of Lei Marsh Swamp directly from the central valley of Lingqiu Mountain. Moreover, due to the years of campaigns against Lei Marsh by Ink Bamboo Mountain, the great demons near the central valley have almost disappeared. However, demons gather in large numbers on the east, west, and south sides. You might accidentally run into a great demon that has entered Lei Marsh Swamp to snatch its Heavenly Treasure. This route is also the safest to enter the swamp.

Therefore, most independent cultivators enter from the valley of Ink Bamboo Mountain. Occasionally, even the demonic beasts of the Ten-thousand-mountains will take advantage of the chaos and sneak into the swamp disguised as humans. After all, the territory of demonic beasts is divided according to strength. Lei Marsh is filled with rolling thunder, and even Nascent Soul Stage level demonic beasts dare not approach it on ordinary days. The remaining spiritual materials in the swamp are also treasures to demonic beasts, making the fighting and plundering even more brutal.

It was obvious that Nangong Wuqing and her group were also trying to avoid demons by entering the Leize from the north entrance of the Lei Marsh through the Middle Valley Dojo Lingqiu Mountain, but they might not be able to return via Ink Bamboo Mountain.

When the thunderclouds regroup, the northern entrance will be closed first. However, there are still many rivers to the east that irrigate the Nanyu Mountain Plain, the heartland of the Nangong Family, and eventually flow into the South China Sea. Therefore, Nangong Wuqing and his group do not need to rush back north when the thunderclouds regroup. They can stay in the Lei Marsh for a while longer and return directly to the Nangong Family's territory in Nanyu Mountain from the east.

If they continue on this path, Li Fan won't be able to wait for them at Five Sons Peak. Therefore, he needs to take the initiative, chase after them, and take advantage of their scattered adventures in Lei Marsh Swamp to eliminate Nangong Wuqing's bodyguards one by one. Finally, he should kill Nangong Wuqing to vent Li Yi's anger.

Sigh, you know, Li Fan, a pacifist, was wholeheartedly seeking immortality in the mountains. What did he do to deserve this? Why did they have to come and give him the cold shoulder? Now look what's happened, he can't concentrate on his cultivation. So, for the sake of a stable Dao heart, he can only trouble the Nangong Family to lend him their heads. In the end, it's all the Nangong Family's fault!

So, enveloped in Sword Light, he flew over Lingqiu Mountain and arrived at Middle Valley Dojo. At that moment, Li Fan felt that he hadn't come to the same map twice. It was like he had gone directly from a single-player game to an online game!

People! People everywhere! They're all spiritual practitioners!

He arrived late, but he could still see hundreds of airships lined up in a long row, taking off and landing at the valley entrance. The sight of travelers filing out of the ships and transferring in groups was quite spectacular! It was just like a certain transportation hub! There were at least two thousand people!

How come there are so many people cultivating immortality?

Li Fan frowned and stared for a while, then scratched his head and did some mental calculations.

Well... actually, it's about right. Just consider Changsi City, which has a population of 2.4 million. There are 20 proper Nascent Soul Stage cultivators, 2,000 Golden Core Divine Hardness cultivators and generals, and 50,000 to Foundation Establishment cultivators and soldiers. That's quite a lot of people. If they were spread out over such a large capital city, they might not even cause a ripple. But if they were all gathered together, wouldn't that be a sea of people?

Moreover, the Li Country been peaceful for so many years, and the population of the prefectures, counties and districts is quite large. Even if talented people gather in the capital and sects, there will inevitably be many independent cultivators, even those in the Foundation Establishment Qi Refining Stage, who dream of coming to Lei Marsh to try their luck and seek immortal opportunities. There are probably quite a few of them!

Why can someone in the Foundation Establishment stage come too?

Why can't they come? Lei Marsh doesn't have level restrictions, so why can't they come in and take a look at the map?

Because there were simply too many people below, in huge groups, Li Fan didn't bother sending out invitations to pay his respects this time. He simply flew over the valley. It was obvious that the guardian, Real Person Huang, had opened the mountain formation. He only used his Divine Sense to scan the area and, finding no demons or monsters, let them all pass.

This is clearly the usual practice for Lei Marsh. As long as you don't cause trouble under the nose of Ink Bamboo Mountain, once you're in Lei Marsh, whether you're looking for opportunities, killing to steal treasures, or even trying to commit suicide, Ink Bamboo Mountain has no say in it.

So Li Fan rode his Sword Light around and got a clear picture. These Foundation Establishment definitely couldn't have crossed the fourteen peaks of Ink Bamboo Mountain on foot. They probably went to the vicinity of Lou Guan Tower, spent money to get on the merchant guild's flying boat, and then went straight to Zhonggu.

Once the flying boat arrived outside the Middle Valley Dojo, just as Li Fan had seen earlier, travelers entered the valley to change boats and find merchant ships planning to venture deeper into the swamp to mine, where they could work as laborers. Alternatively, they would stay near the valley entrance, seeking opportunities and trying their luck.

Even if they got in, with their Foundation Establishment stage cultivation, they probably couldn't Lei Marsh. They'd likely only be able to hunt and gather rare spiritual materials on the outskirts with merchant caravans, or perhaps form teams of ten or twenty to hunt a few demonic beasts—that would be their limit. In reality, they wouldn't be much different from the demonic beasts that flooded into Lei Marsh...

But you can't blame them for dreaming. Everyone has to have dreams. Maybe picking up a corpse will turn their life around...

As for Nascent Soul Stage level cultivators, needless to say, they probably went deep into the core even earlier when the thunderclouds were weakening, directly competing with this old hag and that old hag for Heavenly Treasure.

Looking at the map that Daoist Tian Shu gave him, the descriptions of many core areas were not very detailed. If Li Fan's estimation was correct, those areas were probably places where some Heavenly Treasure grew. The coordinates should also be the secrets of the Seven Star Temple, which they had omitted, which was to be expected.

However, the battles in such places are bound to be extremely dangerous. Nangong Wuqing has four Nascent Soul Stage by her side, and she probably only has one and a half reliable bodyguards. Chief Clerk Chen, so she probably won't go too deep into the battlefield of Nascent Soul Stage cultivators. Li Fan estimates that she will probably wander around the central region, trying to get some Golden Core Stage opportunities, or recruiting some rogue cultivators to be her lackeys.

Throughout the entire Lei Marsh, the fiercest competition for opportunities likely comes from the Golden Core Stage cultivators and Inner Core demons. At this time, everyone who enters the swamp is both hunter and prey.

Recalling the endless stream of flying boats and Sword Light passing overhead in the past two months, Li Fan guessed that the Southern Faction of Ink Bamboo Mountain was probably a mutual aid group established for such occasions. Cultivators from other regions and sects were likely also forming groups together.

A rough estimate suggests that at least two or three thousand Golden Core have entered the mortal realm.

This is probably not enough. This time, in order to guard against the cult in the north, the nobles probably didn't even have time to explore Lei Marsh, right? If we add the monsters of the Ten-thousand-mountains, it will be even more chaotic!

Another bloody night in Changsi City...

No, actually, most people in Changsi City that night were just bystanders, with a few taking advantage of the chaos to loot; very few actually participated in the fighting.

This trip to Lei Marsh will likely be even more intense and chaotic than the one in Changsi City. If the Nangong Family's team is wiped out in the chaos, it will probably be very difficult to trace it back to him, right?

Having made up his mind, Li Fan didn't bother with the surrounding caravans or the Foundation Establishment martial artists. He simply flew over on his sword and headed straight for Lei Marsh.

He took out the Si Nan, glanced at it, and that was it. It spun like a top, clearly indicating too many opportunities and too much interference, making it unusable for navigation. He could only try his luck.

In short, first Lei Marsh deep into the Thunder Swamp, follow the map's directions, check out several relatively stable resource gathering points nearby, ask around, and see if there's any news about the Immortal Palace.

Surely a group of people can't see such a big cloud flying in the sky? Anyway, as long as Lei Marsh isn't sealed off for the next two months, he'll be able to capture the Nangong Family sooner or later.