Chapter 88 — The Deathmire
劍問蒼天 · Page 1 of 5
The sky was a dull gray, seeming to press down low, and from time to time a chilly wind blew from who knew where, making the skin prickle with cold whenever it passed.
Beside a swamp overgrown with tangled weeds ran a faint, intermittent path that stretched deeper in.
Zeng Shuyan and his fellow disciples of the Canglan Sect stood at the entrance to the Deathmire, peering inward. Everywhere they looked was a vast expanse of dense water-weeds, with here and there a solitary tree standing upright amid it all. A faint rotten smell drifted on the air, and over the swamp hung a thin mist like gray gauze, so that only the nearby ground could be seen, making the place seem all the more unfathomable.
Zeng Shuyan frowned and turned around. The thirteen young disciples of the Canglan Sect, with Xiao Yichen at their head, all wore rather grave expressions.
Since ancient times, the Deathmire had borne the ill name of a place "easy to enter and hard to leave," and no one knew what monstrous things lurked within. On this westward journey of the Canglan Sect, by rank and cultivation Xiao Yichen was tacitly regarded as the leader of them all. Now, after gazing long into the depths of the Deathmire, he said to the others without any change of expression, "Yesterday Senior Brother Li Xun of the Burning Cloud Valley sent me a letter. In most courteous terms he expressed a wish to join with our Canglan Sect in rooting out the demonic brood; and so they have gone on ahead and already entered the Deathmire."
A stir ran through the disciples behind him. Only Lu Xueling stood calm beside her senior sister Wen Pei, gazing silently into the mire. On the other side, Lin Jinghong, who had come down the mountain for the first time, gave a cold snort.
Xiao Yichen said mildly, "The Burning Cloud Valley's meaning is plain enough to us all. If they are the first to seize this nameless treasure, their power will swell greatly, and in days to come I fear there will be those who fancy themselves fit to sit in the seat of leadership of the righteous path." Here he paused, then a faint smile touched the corner of his mouth. "But there is no need for haste. These strange portents have long been manifest, yet to this day no one has obtained the treasure; clearly there must be many perils and twists along the way. They are eager for merit—let them go. Only after we enter the Deathmire must we take the utmost care in all things. This mire's evil name is known far and wide, its perils beyond reckoning, and there may well be demonic cultists here as well. Once inside, we must all watch over one another. Remember this, remember it well."
Zeng Shuyan said, "Senior Brother Xiao is right. It is getting late—why don't we go in as well?"
Xiao Yichen nodded. "Very well. Once inside, we should not stray too far apart, and above all do not land on the ground carelessly, lest we be stung by venomous insects or stumble into a bottomless bog."
The others nodded one after another. Xiao Yichen raised his right hand and summoned the Seven Stars Immortal Sword, leaping up and flying inward at the lead. Then the Canglan disciples rose one and all, transforming into dazzling beams of varied colors that followed close behind.
Moments later, this band of young Canglan elites vanished into the mist of the Deathmire. The open ground at the entrance suddenly fell into a vast emptiness and silence; only among the water-weeds a bubble suddenly rose from somewhere and went "glub," carrying far across the stillness.
*Smack.* Zhou Yixuan brought his palm down hard on the right side of his neck. The skin reddened at once, but the mosquito that had bitten him was already buzzing away, seeming to circle once before his eyes in triumph before flying off well satisfied.