With Shi Qingyun driving the Eight Directions Step at full power, he reached the edge of a black swamp in less than half a day.
Pitch-black miasma blanketed the swamp, which gave off waves of foul stench. Stark white bones floated on its surface, lending it an eerie, sinister air.
It looked every bit a forbidden zone for life, but Shi Qingyun paid none of that any mind. He could already sense a dense aura of life lurking deep within the swamp.
Certain that it was precisely what he needed, he no longer cared about the horrifying scene before him.
Shi Qingyun employed the Eight Directions Step, touching the tips of his toes to the foul-smelling black water, so lightly that he made not a sound.
Only a succession of afterimages remained behind him, capturing his various postures.
Like a phantom, Shi Qingyun swiftly approached the center of the Death Swamp.
Following the safe route recorded in his mind, Shi Qingyun finally stopped before a small hill.
"This is the place. Lucky me-no one's come yet."
"Looks like Shi Yi has kept everyone from the Primordial Divine Mountain occupied!"
But after looking at his surroundings, he realized it was also possible that no one had dared come here at all.
Though he had seemingly reached the center with ease, every step Shi Qingyun had taken had actually been fraught with danger.
Had he not firmly memorized the safe route, even the slightest mistake might have brought some horrifying consequence.
Moreover, he had a premonition that a mistake would not merely put him in possible danger-it would put him in certain danger.
As these thoughts ran through his mind, a rune lit up on Shi Qingyun's hand. The next moment, he slammed a crescent moon emanating a terrifying aura into the small hill before him.
A rumbling crash rang out. After the attack struck, a fissure rapidly split the hill down the middle.
In an instant, wisps of mesmerizing, multicolored mist drifted out of the crack. Within that vibrant mist, Shi Qingyun sensed currents of pure life essence.
How much life essence is down there for it to be spilling out like this? At the sight, Shi Qingyun immediately leaped down without hesitation.
As he descended, he could see traces left on the surrounding stone walls by the dense aura of life.
Wisps of green, threadlike material lingered in the cracks of those walls, giving off a faint glow.
Shi Qingyun thought to himself, How long has it been since anyone came here?
No wonder two pairs of wings had been specially marked on the beast-hide map. They were probably meant to warn those who came after not to approach lightly.
Yet along the way, Shi Qingyun found no danger. Apart from the growing darkness as he ventured deeper, there was nothing unusual.
Could there have been some mistake? Despite that thought, Shi Qingyun still quietly prepared himself.
Two runic seals, one black and one red, appeared in Shi Qingyun's hands. The instant he sensed anything wrong, he would blast them out without mercy.
I typed this on my phone, so there are quite a few typos. Please forgive them.
I've learned my lesson now ╰╯
Chapter 26: Danger
As Shi Qingyun slowly approached the central area, step by step, he began to sense something unusual.
Wisps of golden substance, like scattered, twinkling stars, were being drawn out of his body.
At that moment, Shi Qingyun resembled an ink-soaked brush dropped into clear water. The farther he walked, the more golden substance was forced out of him.
When that golden substance first began to be drawn out of Shi Qingyun, he felt no discomfort.
He did not consider it anything bad. After all, the divine essence he had seen at the entrance had been so rich and fragrant.
Now, all he could see was the blood pool brimming with life essence. A thin golden film had appeared over his eyes.
But the closer Shi Qingyun drew to the center, the weaker his body felt. He had the will but not the strength, and an inexplicable sense of danger shrouded him.
Shi Qingyun snapped back to his senses. Only then did he notice that more and more golden substance was being drawn out of him. He had become a figure shining entirely with golden light.
Shi Qingyun was startled. Could this stuff bewilder the senses? He hurriedly circulated his blood and qi, channeling a trace of yin-yang true meaning into his eyes. The film of light shattered instantly.
Did that colorful mist cloud my eyes? To think I actually let down my guard in a place this dangerous.
Shi Qingyun had no other recourse now. He could only muster the power of his blood and qi with all his might. His Qi-Blood Power thundered through his veins, but he could feel a sluggish resistance.
He immediately understood: that golden substance being drawn out of him was the divine radiance essence within his blood and qi! Shi Qingyun was filled with frustration. He had tried to steal a chicken, only to lose his rice as well.
Shi Qingyun accelerated the circulation of blood and qi through his body. In an instant, a translucent barrier, resembling both gold and jade, appeared before him.
As soon as the barrier appeared, the golden substance escaping from Shi Qingyun gradually diminished.
The situation had finally improved somewhat, but Shi Qingyun could still feel his blood and qi draining away. He clearly sensed the divine essence within it weakening.
His eyes also revealed the course taken by the life essence being drawn away.
Around Shi Qingyun, rivers formed from life essence floated through the air, flowing past him. He stood amid those golden rivers, yet could not absorb even the smallest amount.
That immediately dashed Shi Qingyun's plan to press forward by absorbing the energy within the golden rivers.
Shi Qingyun could only grit his teeth and keep going. As time slowly passed, the divine radiance within his blood and qi continued to drain away, and the rune fragments flowing through his meridians grew dim.
Shi Qingyun's condition deteriorated terribly. Little color remained in his face. His flowing black hair gradually became dry and brittle, as though he had aged several decades in an instant.
His once-rosy face had become deathly pale. His situation was perilous, as though a single careless moment could cost Shi Qingyun his life here.
He hurriedly took precious medicines and spiritual materials from his storage pouch to replenish his blood and qi, but the moment he brought them out, their energy was drawn away as well.
Despite this, Shi Qingyun continued forward with resolute steps. He understood that his best option now was to turn and leave. With the blood and qi he still had, he could barely manage to use the Eight Directions Step to escape.
But Shi Qingyun did not do so. Retreating might cast dust over his Dao heart. If he shrank back at the slightest danger, he could not be sure he would still have the courage to face something similar next time.
He could only keep walking. If he stopped, he might no longer have the courage or strength to move again.
Sunlight could not reach this underground cavern. Only the green, threadlike substances lingering in the cracks of the stone walls gave off a feeble glow, illuminating the darkness below.
Shi Qingyun's footsteps were heavy. Each step seemed to fall upon the beat of his own heart.
In that silent, empty space, his labored breathing and the heavy thuds of his feet striking the ground could be heard clearly.
The protective barrier before Shi Qingyun had long since contracted onto the surface of his body, clinging tightly to his flesh. Its once-radiant light had become dull and faint.
The golden divine radiance being drawn from Shi Qingyun gradually took on a tinge of blood-red.
What had begun as the extraction of divine radiance from his blood and qi had now become the extraction of his life source. Wisps of blood-red light drifted from Shi Qingyun like threads.
But Shi Qingyun had no way to stop it now. Having decided to keep going, he could no longer retreat.
Shi Qingyun's shriveled, cracked, bloodless lips were pressed tightly together. His dry, yellowing hair clung to his sweat, hanging in strands across his face.
Yet his gaze remained as unwavering as it had been at the beginning. Though his steps were slow, they were just as resolute as before.
He held a discolored piece of Treasure Medicine. As his fingers loosened slightly, the medicine, now grayish white, crumbled into dust and drifted to the ground.
He had exhausted both the Treasure Medicine he had gathered and the Treasure Medicine he had looted from the people of the Primordial Divine Mountain.
Those spiritual treasures and Treasure Medicines were the reason he had made it this far. Without them, he would have collapsed long ago. Fortunately, Shi Qingyun could already sense the dense divine essence ahead.
He took the storage pouch from his waist and loosened its drawstring. Streams of blood-red liquid flowed out, but Shi Qingyun had no time to absorb them.
He could only open his mouth and swallow the blood-red liquid into his belly. The instant it entered his throat, he felt an intense, searing heat.
It felt as though what he had swallowed was not some precious Treasure Liquid at all, but a burning coal.
Wherever the liquid passed, Shi Qingyun's organs became clearly visible, and waves of agonizing heat spread through him.
Fortunately, when the liquid reached his belly, the life energy it released replenished the life substance being drawn out of Shi Qingyun.
Shi Qingyun could only endure the pain and continue swallowing the blood-red liquid.
He knew that the moment he stopped, death would await him.
Please keep reading, dear readers.
Chapter 27: Yin-Yang Qi Displays Its Might
As Shi Qingyun replenished his life essence, it was drawn out again. Between replenishment and extraction, the energy within his body reached a strange equilibrium.
This intensified Shi Qingyun's suffering, yet he had no choice but to struggle to maintain that balance.
The heart-piercing agony forced cries from Shi Qingyun's lips. His wretched screams echoed underground like the cries of a vengeful ghost, making anyone who heard them shudder.
Enduring that pain as he slowly advanced, Shi Qingyun finally saw a glimmer of hope. Before him lay a pool of blood-red liquid, its bubbling sounds easing his taut nerves slightly.
A layer of gray-black mist swirled around the blood pool. That pitch-dark mass was clearly visible even from where Shi Qingyun stood.
At the center of that ominous mist, streams of green Life Source Qi gushed upward along with the blood-red liquid below.
The sight of that green Life Source Qi made Shi Qingyun quicken his pace. He had little time to consider the danger posed by that black mist formed from death energy.
Even if he had known how dangerous the black mist was, Shi Qingyun had no other choice. Having come this far, he could only move forward.
Besides, the blood-red Treasure Liquid he had collected earlier was no longer enough to sustain Shi Qingyun on the way back. Retreat now meant certain death.
Before long, Shi Qingyun reached the edge of the gray mist, still absorbing the blood-red liquid.
At the same time, he endured strands of red substance being drawn from his body. All that extracted energy flowed into the gray mist.
The golden river of energy ended at this black mist. As it passed through the mist and flowed inside, hissing sounds rang out.
Shi Qingyun felt the mortal danger that the gray mist posed. His senses were frantically sounding an alarm. He was certain that taking just one more step would bring unpredictable danger.
Shi Qingyun gritted his teeth. He knew he no longer had any chance to retreat. Then I'll take a gamble-with my life as the stake! If I fall here today, it can only mean this was my fate.
If I survive this calamity, then heaven's mandate is mine, and I'll surely return transformed into a dragon. Though he disliked the notion of heaven's mandate, Shi Qingyun could only comfort himself with it now.
Those jumbled thoughts flashed through his mind, but his feet stepped forward without wavering.
The next moment, Shi Qingyun plunged into the black mist. His small figure seemed to be swallowed whole by it.
The instant Shi Qingyun's body touched the gray mist, a succession of hissing sounds arose as it corroded him.
His treasured robe emitted a hazy, precious glow, doing all it could to resist the gray mist's corrosion.
But damage had already appeared along parts of its hem, and the damaged areas were slowly spreading.
Shi Qingyun had suffered such severe damage the moment he entered. He did not know how much longer the treasured robe could hold out. All he could do was walk-keep walking.
Braving the gray mist's corrosion, Shi Qingyun advanced step by step toward the blood pool. Wounds appeared across his face and hands.
White bone was faintly visible beneath his cheeks, and those stark bones still gleamed with a metallic luster.
He left a trail of sunken footprints in the ground. The blood staining them was swallowed by the black mist in an instant.
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