An exceedingly fine crack had appeared in the old bone markings.
A faint white light seeped through the crack, as though something was about to crawl out.
Yang Yong was about to take a closer look when a voice suddenly sounded in his mind.
"Smells good... smells good..."
The voice was very young, like a four- or five-year-old child's.
Its words were indistinct, their endings soft and trailing, as though it had only just learned to speak.
Yang Yong stopped short.
"Who's there?"
"Smells good. Under the water smells good. Want to eat."
Yang Yong looked down at his wrist.
The voice was coming from the White Bone Ring.
Young and muddled, it sounded like sleep talking.
Of all the things he carried, he had never imagined that the Nine Nether Yuanchen White Bone Ring would be the first to gain intelligence.
"You want to eat what's under the water?" Yang Yong asked inwardly.
"Eat."
The voice said, "Smells good."
The corner of Yang Yong's mouth twitched.
When other people's artifact spirits awakened, they were either mature and steady or could at least manage a complete sentence.
His was an out-and-out glutton.
But on second thought, this was a good thing.
If the White Bone Ring wanted to eat it, that meant whatever lay beneath Black Water Marsh was useful to it.
If it was useful, it was worth the risk.
Yang Yong hesitated no longer.
He decided to assault Black Water Marsh head-on.
The Ten-Thousand-Forged Primordial Furnace swayed, and Yang Yong flashed inside.
The furnace spun once, then headed straight toward Black Water Marsh.
This time, he held nothing back.
The Heavenly Dragon Slash unfurled behind him, three thousand throwing knives spreading like a peacock's tail.
Their light illuminated the entire way.
The blades sliced through the Gray Mist