Exploring the Ruins was as difficult as ascending to the heavens!
To Fang Xing, the two months he spent in the depths of the Sinkhole from the Immortal Ascension Plateau was nothing more than a time for him to drink, sleep, play cards, and quarrel. But to the Reverence Sky, Beast Taming, Moon Worshipping, and Alliance, it was a calamity. It was a painful memory that no one wanted to recall, a journey where they could lose their lives at any time, a journey that was more difficult than ascending to the heavens.
In two months, the most powerful exploration team in the history of the Sinkhole only had about a hundred people left. Almost half of them had lost their lives in all kinds of dangers. And among the cultivators who had lost their lives, not only were the weaker cultivators, there were even four late-stage Golden Core cultivators and ten mid-stage Golden Core cultivators who had lost their lives. Many of them had died in unknown ways.
On the third day of the journey, a member of the Reverence Sky clan was dragged away by a vicious python in the forest while he was fetching water. Not even his bones were left.
On the seventh day of the journey, a spatial rift appeared in the sky. Two members of the Moon Worshipping clan who had been flying in the sky collided head-on and were torn apart by the rift. They died without a trace. Even Granny Yao, who was right next to them, was unable to save them in time.
On the twenty-first day of the journey, the cultivators who had followed the safe route encountered a herd of beasts that had been alarmed by the aura of a newly ascended seventh rank beast and were frantically fleeing for their lives. Although the cultivators hurriedly ran into each other, the path was narrow and treacherous. High up in the sky was filled with spatial turbulence, so no one dared to fly into the sky. They could only occupy a limited safe spot on the ground. How could there be enough space for so many people?
For a time, everyone was thrown into chaos. When the herd of beasts passed by and the group reorganized, they discovered that they had lost thirty-six people in one go.
On the thirtieth day of the journey, the cultivators flew past a dark valley that was more than a hundred zhang wide. They had been flying in batches. The first three batches were fine, but when the fourth batch was flying, they suddenly triggered some kind of restriction in the valley. In an instant, dozens of black lightning bolts struck the sky. The batch of cultivators that were flying through the sky were struck by the lightning bolts, turning into charred bones and plummeting to the ground.
This time, they lost another twenty-seven cultivators.
… …
… …
People were dying, people were dying non-stop. The initial excitement of the cultivators had already dissipated, leaving only a belly full of fear.
There were too many dangers in the Sinkhole. Usually, the cultivators hid in the periphery of the Sinkhole, and it was enough for them to survive carefully in the forest overrun with fierce beasts. However, now that they were going into the Sinkhole, it was equivalent to challenging the dangers of the Sinkhole. Although they had Magu to guide them, the path that Magu pointed out only had a general direction of safety because it was a long time ago. On this path, the changes in the path, the movement of the spirit veins, and even the migration of fierce beasts could all become variables on the path of exploring the Sinkhole, bringing unexpected dangers.
There were casualties, but the journey had to continue, and so did the deaths.
This seemed to be the price of entering the depths of the Sinkhole.
The only exception was naturally Fang Xing's group. Because he controlled Magu, the crimson dragon he was in was firmly protected by the cultivators in the middle of the group. It was very difficult for him to encounter danger, or perhaps even if he did encounter danger, the large golden core cultivators wouldn't dare to put him in danger. Even the nine golden core servants by his side benefited greatly and didn't lose a single person.
But fortunately, Fang Xing had very few people by his side, so it wasn't too scary.
Just as they were about to enter the depths of the Sinkhole, another problem was placed in front of the cultivators. A seemingly endless black swamp appeared on their predetermined path. This black swamp didn't exist according to Magu's description, and this kind of swamp was the easiest place to breed demons. The various clans didn't dare to act rashly, so they could only pause their journey and turn back to ask Magu.
At this moment, Magu was sitting cross-legged on the crimson dragon's back, looking at herself in the mirror. One end of an Immortal-Binding Rope was tied to her ankle and the other to Fang Xing's arm. At this moment, new skin had already grown on her. It was delicate and fair, and her facial features were perfectly proportioned. She was the living embodiment of a delicate beauty, but unfortunately, like an unfinished painting, there were always some flaws.
When Hen Tianning received the report from an outsider, he didn't go find Magu, but instead went to find Fang Xing, who was sleeping on the dragon's head. He shook him awake and told him what happened. Only then did Fang Xing arrive in front of Magu in a daze. He stretched and asked, "Those old fellows said that a black swamp appeared in front of us that doesn't exist on the route. What's going on?"
Magu was slightly startled. She pulled a veil over her face and said, "Take me out to have a look!"
Fang Xing had no choice but to grab her arm and lift her up.
At this moment, Magu's injuries were mostly healed, but she still didn't have the strength to truss a chicken and was no different from a mortal.
However, she was also tricked by Fang Xing. When she took the third Immortal-Painting Pill, she felt that her bones were weak and her meridians were weak. She once asked Fang Xing about it, but Fang Xing's answer was very straightforward, "It's the Immortal-Painting Pill, after all. Before it's completed, your bones aren't fixed, and your meridians aren't in place. Naturally, you can't use spiritual power or divine abilities. Just stay here!"
Magu finally understood that the Immortal-Painting Pill this little demon gave her could give her the appearance of a fairy, but at the same time, it was a kind of poison that controlled her. Unless she stopped using the Immortal-Painting Pill, she wouldn't be able to use spiritual power or divine abilities.
She accepted her fate and thought that it was the price she had to pay.
Fang Xing carried Magu and flew out of the palace. The red dragon and the nine golden core servants naturally followed behind him. Everywhere they passed, the cultivators all opened up a path. Soon, they arrived at the front of the group. In front of them was a huge black swamp. They couldn't see the end of it. Hundreds of feet above the swamp, there were black snakes swimming in the air. It looked especially terrifying.
The black snake in the sky appeared and disappeared from time to time. It was a unique void rift in the Sinkhole, but it was the most dangerous thing in the Sinkhole. Not only was it terrifying, but it was also faintly discernible. Sometimes, such a rift would suddenly appear in a clear sky. Among the cultivators, at least six people had already lost their lives to such a void rift. As a result, no one dared to soar into the sky.
"Goddess Ma, according to what you said earlier, we should be arriving at Three World Mountain very soon. By then, we will have truly entered the depths of the Ultimate and will be able to see the Holy Zhi Palace. However, why did a strange black swamp suddenly appear along the way? According to your description, this place should be a plain. Could it be that we went the wrong way? "
Seeing that Magu and Fang Xing had caught up, the purple-spotted old cultivator cupped his hands and asked in a deep voice.
Magu didn't answer. She focused her attention on the surrounding mountains and had someone probe the direction of the surrounding spirit veins. After a moment of consideration, she raised her head and said, "Judging from the surrounding terrain and the direction of the spirit veins, we're on the right path. In fact, there's nothing strange about this strange swamp. The terrain and mountains I remember in my mind are from many years ago. It's reasonable for the terrain to change over the past few decades. The weather in the Ultimate is strange. An earthquake or a waterfall can form a black swamp like this. I don't know if there's any danger inside. Why don't we test it out? If there's no danger, we can just fly over. Otherwise, we'll have to take a detour. According to what I know, taking a detour will take at least ten more days to reach Three World Mountain.
The old cultivators fell silent when they heard that. A moment later, Granny Yao of the Reverence Moon Clan spoke in a deep voice, "We've already spent two months on the road. Including the first ten days, we've spent seventy days. Seven red lanterns have risen in the sky, and there are only twenty days left before the ninth moon rises into the sky. Although the Daoist Palace ruins are not far away, we can't afford to waste ten days …"
The others had the same thoughts as her. They nodded to one another and didn't intend to take a detour. After a brief discussion, they ordered their men to capture a few living low-level beasts to use as scouts. The purple-spotted old cultivator and Granny Yao each used their spiritual energy to capture a few beasts and used their arts to toss them into the swamp. The beasts struggled and sank into the swamp, but no other dangers appeared.
This kind of scouting was carried out three times. After the third time, they were almost certain that there were no other dangers in the swamp. The Golden Core Realm cultivators used their transcendence vision to peer into the swamp, but they didn't discover any signs of demons or beasts living in the swamp. Furthermore, the swamp seemed to have formed not too long ago, so the possibility of beasts living in it was rather low. After a brief discussion, they prepared to fly over.
"Hey, why don't we take a detour!"
While the old cultivators were using various methods to probe the swamp, Fang Xing was squatting by the side of the swamp and peering into it for a long time.
"Haha, could it be that Chief Xing has discovered something?"
The leader of the Small Tribes Alliance, the smiling old man Luo Musang, glanced at Fang Xing and said with a smile.
Now that they knew that Fang Xing had become the Chief of the Heaven Abhorrer Clan, they began to address him as "Chief Xing". However, there was no respect in their words. After all, the Heaven Abhorrer Clan had declined and was on the brink of destruction. Fang Xing had relied on kidnapping Magu and the crimson dragon by his side to make it to the core of this expedition. Naturally, he didn't receive much respect.
The deeper they went into the Bottomless Ruins, the less value the Magu in Fang Xing's hands held, and the less fear the cultivators had of him.
Although it wasn't explicitly stated, everyone knew that the moment Magu lost her value as a guide in front of the Four Banes, it would be time for the cultivators to bare their fangs and claws at Fang Xing. The Vermilion Bird's aura was faintly discernible. Although it also indicated that it was in the depths of the Bottomless Ruins, the cultivators really didn't have much interest in capturing it. Instead, they all treated the crimson dragon as a sacrifice.
"It's nothing. I just feel a little uneasy in such a large swamp …"
Fang Xing smiled and stood up. He did not explain further.
Granny Yao of the Reverence Moon Clan smiled eerily and said, "Little brat, don't worry. We've lived for almost a thousand years, how can we not know the meaning of caution? We'll naturally take extra precautions and won't let you lose your life in the swamp. Granny can't bear to do that either! " Her blurry old eyes made her words seem very kind and benevolent, but it made people feel uncomfortable.
When Fang Xing heard this, he could only helplessly say, "Whatever, I have no objections!"
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