Chapter 812 – Death Swamp
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Lin Ming’s endurance was indeed extraordinary, but it wasn’t infinite. Flying at maximum speed consumed a massive amount of true essence. If a normal martial artist flew at half their max speed they could fly without trying, but when they flew at their speed limit, they wouldn’t be able to make it far before falling down from exhaustion.
Even though Lin Ming had support from the Gate of Healing, he still had to swallow down pills and absorb energy from spirit essence stones.
Luckily, when he had massacred the Jagged Slope Mountain Branch Division he obtained a massive number of medium-grade spirit essence stones. With the support of these spirit essence stones, he was able to greatly extend his limits.
Moreover, he now had a second Revolving Core in his dantian. Although he couldn’t freely control it as he could his first Revolving Core, it wasn’t a problem if he only used it as an energy reserve center.
Lin Ming got closer and closer to the Sea of Miracles. The uneasy feeling in the back of his mind also grew. He just didn’t know when Situ Bonan would finally catch up. Although the Asura Divine Kingdom was a far distance away from here, most of the journey could be crossed using transmission arrays.
2000 miles…
1500 miles…
1000 miles…
500 miles…
300 miles…
Lin Ming could already see the 8000 Mile Black Swamp ahead. It was an endlessly muddy beach, and above the beach were rolling black clouds that flashed with faint thunder light.
“Lin Lanjian, up ahead of you is the 8000 Miles Black Swamp. For all those under the Divine Sea, anyone who enters will arrive at death’s door. Even a Divine Sea powerhouse can fall within if their luck is poor. You have nowhere left to run!”
The Great Demon Envoy’s voice sounded out from the spirit boat, reaching Lin Ming’s ears through a true essence sound transmission.
Lin Ming ignored the message. He accelerated once more shooting toward the 8000 Mile Black Swamp.
As the old woman leaning on her walking stick saw this, she frowned. If Lin Ming was lost in the Sea of Miracles then it would be immeasurably difficult to find his corpse. When that time came, the Demon Emperor Armor and the Demon Emperor’s inheritance would also be lost forever.
“Lin Lanjian, if you enter the Sea of Miracles then, you’ll undoubtedly die. But if you go back with me and hand over the Demon Emperor’s inheritance and allow us to plant a spell within you, I can guarantee your life!”
Lin Ming sneered as he heard this, “You old witch, do you really think I’m a three year old child or something? I’ll enter this Sea of Miracles and see whether or not you dare to follow me!”
As he spoke he had already flown into the black swamp region.
When he stepped in he could suddenly feel an infinitely ancient and cold energy blow across him, filling him with awe and apprehension. There was endless black underneath his feet and great roiling black clouds above his head; it was absolutely dismal and disheartening.
If he didn’t use his perception to sense the road ahead then he wouldn’t have been able to see his five fingers even if he held them up in front of his face.
Just what was in this Sea of Miracles? And how was it related to the Eternal Demon Abyss?
“That brat really went in!”
The red-clothed little boy was anxious. Unconsciously, even the spirit boat slowed down. He didn’t dare to recklessly rush his way in. Even a top ranked Destiny Decree master was likely to die if they entered the 8000 Mile Black Swamp.
What should they do?
Lin Ming’s news had already reached Situ Bonan; he would arrive in another hour or so. If he were to discover that they lost track of Lin Ming because they feared the black swamp, then their fate would truly be miserable. This was because Situ Bonan’s life was nearing its end and he became increasingly paranoid and erratic in his behavior. It wouldn’t be strange if he decided to deliver unto them all a harsh punishment.
They had left a true essence mark on Lin Ming. But he definitely wasn’t a fool. After some more time passed, he would definitely be able to lift it on his own.
“Honored Imperial Scholar, Great Demon Envoy, I’m willing to go in!” The second Demon Envoy requested on his own initiative. Lin Ming was the basis of his heart demon. If he didn’t capture Lin Ming, he would never absolve himself of it.
The Great Demon Envoy didn’t answer. He thought for a moment and then lit a sound transmitting talisman for orders.
After several breaths of time, a purple sound transmission talisman lit up in front of them. This was Situ Bonan’s reply. “Bi Ruyu, second, third, and fourth Demon Envoy, all of you go together. As for everyone else, stand by and wait for further instructions.”
Bi Ruyu was the old woman with the walking stick. She paled upon hearing this order. Although she was the Imperial Scholar, she didn’t have much lifespan remaining, and her hopes of breaking through to the Divine Sea were slim to none. Her value to the Asura Divine Kingdom was far lower than the Great Demon Envoy and the red-clothed little boy.
Thus, this nearly suicidal mission had fallen onto her.
If it were possible, Bi Ruyu certainly didn’t want to enter too deep into the Sea of Miracles. But she also knew what her fate would be if she disobeyed his orders. She would suffer a fate much worse than if she died within the Sea of Miracles.
She poured all of the hate and resentment in her heart onto Lin Ming. She grit her teeth and looked at the direction where Lin Ming flew off to. “You little bastard, once I drain you of all your value, I’ll turn you into a wax statue so that you can suffer day and night!”
The Great Demon Envoy and the red-clothed little boy were left behind. In front of them, the spirit boat continued forward, turning into a beam of light that vanished into the endless black swamp.
“They’re continuing the chase?”
Lin Ming glanced backwards. He was only using 30-40% of his max speed to fly as he tried to restore his strength. As for Bi Ruyu, she also reduced the speed of the spirit boat. Flying within the 8000 Mile Black Swamp at high speeds was suicidal behavior.
The dark clouds above flashed with hints of thunder, but no bolts of lightning actually struck down.
The Sea of Miracles was also known as the Ocean of Endless Storms. The sea was always covered with infinite amounts of lightning, and the nearby 8000 Miles Black Swamp also perennially flashed with thunder.
With the support of the Heretical God Seed, Lin Ming didn’t fear the power of thunder at all. In fact, he even hoped that the thunderstorms here would become even more violent.
But the Sea of Miracles didn’t have just lightning. It had other things, horrible, terrifying existences that dwelled there. Those were truly the fatal dangers!
“A fog is coming!”
Suddenly, the entire black swamp was covered in a thick fog. The fog had come shrouding down from all directions. From the first moment Lin Ming noticed it, it only took several breaths of time until it became extremely heavy. It was similar to a syrupy black soup, able to be cut apart with a saber.
Seeing such a sudden scene occur, even though Lin Ming’s mind was stable and composed, he still couldn’t help but give birth to a feeling of unease.
“This fog can prevent perception and divine sense from penetrating outward.
He quickly discovered this point. This was obviously not a common type of fog. In this fog, his original 100 feet perception was reduced to a mere three feet in front of him. If he flew in this fog, he would be nothing more than a headless fly.
Chi chi chi!
He heard his bodily true essence rapidly being torn away. As he gazed around him, he saw that the surrounding fog seemed to come alive, constantly seeping and infiltrating into his bodily protective true essence. The power of the Demon Emperor Armor that melded with his true essence was rapidly melting away like metal being corroded by acid.
“What is this!?”
Lin Ming was horrified. He no longer dared to move forward, instead stimulating all of his energy to offset the corrosive mist around him. However, even in this case, the speed at which he replenished his bodily true essence was slower than the speed at which it melted away. After an incense stick of time, he could hear a ‘chi chi chi’ sound as the pair of bat wings on his back were swallowed up by the fog.
That was a heaven-step flight treasure created by Corpsemancer. Still, it deteriorated until there were only the bones left and even the bones melted away. It was like countless years of decay had been compressed into just several breaths of time.
This scene was truly fearful. If a normal heaven-step treasure didn’t have true essence poured into it, it would immediately melt within this black fog!
There was no need to imagine the result of an exposed human body being thrust into this fog.
If this continued, Lin Ming wouldn’t be able to last much longer. At this pivotal life or death moment, a sudden thought flashed through his mind.
That was right; he still had the Cosmic Melting Furnace!
Whispering a few words, the golden Cosmic Melting Furnace flew out from his dantian. It spun and spun, growing until it reached 30 feet in height. Lin Ming then dove inside. Although a heaven-step treasure would corrode, a quasi-Saint artifact might not!
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While Lin Ming encountered such a situation, Bi Ruyu and the three Demon Envoys weren’t off any better. They were also trapped in the black fog. The Godspeed Boat violently trembled, as if it weren’t able to withstand it for much longer.
Bi Ruyu’s complexion changed. If this continued, the Godspeed Boat would be destroyed.
“Exit the boat. We’re putting way the Godspeed Boat and reinforcing our bodily true essence!”
Bi Ruyu and the three Demon Envoys were top masters. Especially Bi Ruyu; she was a top 50 ranked Destiny Decree master. All of them were much more formidable than Lin Ming. If they concentrated on their bodily protective true essence, then even though it would still be melted away by this black fog, the speed of corrosion would be much slower than what had happened with Lin Ming.
The four formed a circle, blending their energies together and making sure their bodily protective true essence was constantly replenished.
However, good times never lasted. After several incense sticks of time, the black fog became increasingly strong, as if it had condensed into solid matter. Bi Ruyu and the three Demon Envoys felt an immense pressure growing against them. Their bodily protective true essence violently shook as if it could shatter at any moment.
Seeing the intensely shaking protective true essence, the three Demo Envoys blanched. If their protective true essence completely melted away, their fates could be imagined.
“We have to persist longer. If we’re already in such a poor state, Lin Lanjian must be even more wretched. He shouldn’t have any spare energy to erase the tracing mark on him. As long as we can withstand this black fog, we can capture that Lin Lanjian and get out of this damned ghostly hell hole! As long as we can return, that’ll definitely be a great merit. We will have top rewards given to us!”
As Bi Ruyu spoke, a faint hope ignited in the three Demon Envoys’ hearts. As long as they could catch Lin Lanjian, all of this suffering would be worth it. This fog might even be the end for Lin Lanjian. If that was true, then this fog would have saved them a great deal of strength. Otherwise, if they had to face the abnormally fast Lin Lanjian, that would really be a headache.
But the worse was still to come. The black fog became increasingly rich and thick as if it came from an inexhaustible source. The more they insisted, the more difficult it became. The four of them all huddled tightly together, their faces white and blood vessels popping out from all over their body. At this rate, it was unknown just how much longer they could continue shouldering it.
“C-could Lin Lanjian have already…?” The second Demon Envoy found it difficult to even speak.
“No, otherwise the tracing mark would have disappeared. But it’s strange, just how can he have lasted for such a long time?” Bi Ruyu asked, a bit blown away. But it was better if that Lin Lanjian didn’t die. The value of a living Lin Lanjian was far higher than just his corpse.
“Although he hasn’t died yet, he shouldn’t be able to live for much longer. Once this black fog disappears, we’ll catch him. I only hope that he can stick it out until that time, so he still has a life for me to torture!” Bi Ruyu evilly cackled.
While Bi Ruyu held onto her walking stick, she malevolently smiled as she licked her withered lips. Her face was pressed together, it was as wrinkly as a walnut.