Jing Province Yunmeng

On the Cloud Ship, the passenger areas were divided into four levels—A, B, C, and D. Area D was on the very bottom; any lower, and it was the cargo area where all sorts of supplies were stored.

It could be said that Area D had the worst conditions of the four passenger levels.

Liang Zhaohuang and his companion had two tickets, and each was assigned a small compartment, though it was barely enough for an ordinary person to stretch out in.

"At least it isn't one big communal bunk."

Looking at the crude little compartment, Liang Zhaohuang could only comfort himself.

Not only was Area D low in position and cramped in space, its spiritual energy was also thin. Liang Chen tried cultivating for a while, but the efficiency was even worse than back in Liangyuan Village.

Shaking his head helplessly, Liang Zhaohuang gave up on the thought of cultivating aboard the Cloud Ship and instead began silently reciting the Peacock King Mantra. Cultivating the Five-Colored Buddha Light only required sincere mantra recitation and had little demand for spiritual energy.

All these years, Liang Zhaohuang had never once slackened in his cultivation of the Peacock King Mantra.

Not only could it strengthen his Five Elements Dharma Eye, but the Peacock King Mantra was also the only thing he had brought with him from his previous life, and Liang Zhaohuang always carried a certain yearning for it in his heart.

He sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, silently reciting the Peacock King Mantra. After reciting it one thousand and eighty times, a new wisp of Five-Colored Buddha Light would be born and fly into the five-colored halo behind his soul's head.

By now, the Five-Colored Buddha Light contained within the five-colored halo behind Liang Zhaohuang's soul had already reached ninety-seven thousand eight hundred wisps. He was still thirty-one thousand eight hundred wisps short of reaching the number of one yuan.

Time flashed by amid Liang Zhaohuang's mantra recitation and cultivation. In the blink of an eye, five days passed, and the Cloud Ship flew away from Ganquan Mountain in Yang Province, beginning its flight toward its next destination, Jing Province.

The enormous Cloud Ship flew through the sky like a floating island, fast and steady.

According to the itinerary provided aboard the Cloud Ship, it would arrive at Jing Province City in twenty days.

If Liang Zhaohuang and the others were to travel on their own, going from Yang Province to Jing Province City would take at least over four months—and that was assuming no accidents happened along the way.

As the Cloud Ship flew through the sky, Liang Zhaohuang hid in his quarters and silently recited the Peacock King Mantra, wanting to take advantage of this journey to cultivate more Five-Colored Buddha Light. He paid little attention to the situation outside.

In the blink of an eye, the ship had already been flying for over ten days. On this day, Liang Zhaohuang was silently reciting the Peacock King Mantra when sudden bursts of clamor came from outside.

This was also one of the drawbacks of the D-rank passenger area: there was almost no soundproofing or protective insulation, so it was very easy to be disturbed.

Liang Zhaohuang tilted his ear and listened. From outside came bursts of startled cries, all shouting things like "Cloud Dream," "Cloud Dream Marsh," and "Cloud Dream Great Marsh."

He immediately understood: the Cloud Ship had already reached Cloud Dream Marsh in Jing Province.

Jing Province had the Cloud Dream Great Marsh, occupying nearly half of Jing Province's territory. It was a perilous land famous throughout the entire Great Jin Immortal Dynasty.

Liang Zhaohuang was also somewhat curious about such a famous and dangerous place. Added to the endless noise outside, he had no mind to continue reciting the mantra. He immediately left his compartment and went outside, preparing to take a good look at the Cloud Dream Great Marsh.

On the deck of the Cloud Ship's Area D, many passengers had already gathered, all watching Cloud Dream Marsh below as if admiring a scenic view.

Among these passengers were also some traveling merchants and peddlers, seizing the chance to sell all kinds of goods.

These traveling merchants were stationed aboard the Cloud Ship year-round, following it through the various provinces. They did business with the passengers aboard the Cloud Ship, and also bought and sold local specialty products from east to west, making a modest living by following the ship and drinking a little of its leftover broth.

It was said that in the A, B, and C passenger levels above, there were even permanent shops, auction houses, and the like.

A Cloud Ship was a moving city.

When Liang Zhaohuang arrived on the deck, he soon saw that the clan chief, Liang Xuelin, was also there, occupying a spot at the edge and looking down over Cloud Dream Marsh below.

He immediately stepped forward, stood beside the clan chief, and looked downward.

What entered his eyes was steaming clouds and glowing mists, vapor spreading everywhere. Occasionally, a gust of wind blew apart a stretch of cloud and fog, revealing the waters below, shimmering in every color under the sunlight.

Cloud Dream Marsh, said to be extremely dangerous, now looked unexpectedly beautiful.

"Do you think Cloud Dream Marsh is beautiful?" Beside him, the clan chief Liang Xuelin seemed to have guessed his thoughts and said in a deep voice, "Zhaohuang, you must know that in this world, the more beautiful something is, the more dangerous it often is."

"You see its clouds and mists curling about, dreamlike and illusory. In truth, all of that is Soul-Bewitching Mist and Poisonous Miasma. Who knows how many great demons and poisonous insects are hidden within?"

"Because of this unique environment, there are also many demonic cultivators, evil cultivators, rogue cultivators, criminal cultivators, and the like hiding inside."

"The imperial court has organized campaigns to purge this Cloud Dream Marsh many times, but every attempt ended in vain. Some even suffered disastrous losses."

Clan chief Liang Xuelin shook his head as he spoke.

"In such a dangerous place, even this cross-province Cloud Ship doesn't dare pass through it. It can only detour around the relatively safer areas on the outskirts."

Liang Zhaohuang marveled inwardly and opened his mouth, about to speak, when he suddenly saw the clouds and mists churning deep within Cloud Dream Marsh in the distance, revealing a strange scene.

There were jade trees and jeweled branches, heavenly flowers blooming, jade towers and crystal palaces, immortals dancing—like a realm of immortals, summoning everyone to enter. A voice seemed to ring out in his heart:

Go! Go! That is the immortal domain. Enter, and you will attain the Dao and become an immortal!

Liang Zhaohuang's mind fell into a daze, and he wanted to step forward. At that moment, deep in his consciousness, the five-colored halo behind his soul suddenly turned, and Five-Colored Buddha Light bloomed, instantly driving away all the daze and illusions in his heart.

When Liang Zhaohuang looked again into the depths of Cloud Dream Marsh, what immortal realm was there? It was clearly a colossal creature swallowing and spitting out clouds and mist.

That great demon was shaped like a Giant Python, yet two fanlike shells grew on its back, and its ferocious head faintly took the form of a dragon.

"What kind of demon is this? It's so powerful! Just a little aura leaking out from far away can bewitch cultivators into throwing themselves into its net!"

Liang Zhaohuang was shocked. Seeing that clan chief Liang Xuelin beside him also had unfocused eyes and was walking forward, wanting to climb out of the Cloud Ship, he hurriedly grabbed him.

Looking around again, he saw that more than half of the cultivators watching Cloud Dream Marsh aboard the entire Cloud Ship had already been bewitched. In particular, most of the cultivators in Area D were minor Qi Refining cultivators, making it even harder for them to resist. Some had already climbed onto the edge of the Cloud Ship, preparing to leap down into Cloud Dream Marsh.

At that moment, large swathes of azure light suddenly appeared around the Cloud Ship, wrapping the entire ship and also blocking those cultivators who wanted to jump off.

"Dong..."

The next instant, the sound of a bell rang out from the top of the Cloud Ship, spreading to every corner of the vessel.

Immediately, all the cultivators lost in the illusion awoke one after another amid the bell's toll. Some looked blank; others wore expressions of alarm.

"What happened to me?"

Beside him, the clan chief, Liang Xuelin, had also come awake. His face was full of bewilderment as he asked.

However, before Liang Zhaohuang could answer him—

A deep, heavy voice rang out from the top deck of the Cloud Ship, barking, "A great demon has appeared in Cloud Dream Marsh. Everyone return to your own quarters. Do not spy on Cloud Dream Marsh!"

"A demon! A great demon!"

"Did we fall into that great demon's trap just now?"

"What kind of demon is it? How can it be so powerful!"

Cries of alarm and bursts of discussion rose all around, but these low-level cultivators did not dare disobey the senior's command. They had also been frightened by the abnormality just now and no longer dared look at Cloud Dream Marsh, so they all turned back to their quarters.

"Let's go, Zhaohuang. We're going back too."

At this moment, the clan chief, Liang Xuelin, also showed alarm on his face. Not daring to linger any longer, he pulled Liang Zhaohuang and headed back.

Liang Zhaohuang did not object, but as they walked back, he deliberately glanced at the Cloud Ship's flight direction. It showed no intention of going deeper into Cloud Dream Marsh to seek trouble with that great demon. Instead, it had shifted a little farther out of Cloud Dream Marsh, as if clearly intending to stay far away from that great demon, far away from Cloud Dream Marsh.

"What exactly was that great demon?"

The doubt in Liang Zhaohuang's heart still could not be resolved.

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