Chapter 90 — The Mantis

The night was vast and dark, bleak and brimming with killing intent!

The Dead Marsh, the Bottomless Pit.

This stretch of land looked flat by day, yet for some reason bore such an odd name. Only the villagers who had lived near the Dead Marsh for years knew that in this area, the great stretch of ground in the middle looked no different from its surroundings—all tangled weeds and wild grass—but was in fact a huge bottomless mud pit, and the mud within had an extremely powerful suction. An ordinary person who stepped in by mishap would be sucked down in moments, to rot forever, silent and unmarked, in the depths of the marsh.

That was how the Dead Marsh got its name: the marsh held countless such terrifying places that killed without a trace!

And yet these young people of the righteous path were clearly not to be compared with ordinary folk.

The dozen or so Canglan Sect disciples had traveled through the Dead Marsh for several days, meeting along the way disciples sent by the Brahma Sound Temple and the Fenxia Valley. The three parties joined together, and it turned out each had acquaintances present.

The Brahma Sound Temple was still led by Fa Cheng and Fa Jing. Among the Fenxia Valley disciples were Li Xun and Yan Fei, but after they met, the relations between the groups were rather different. The Canglan Sect disciples led by Xiao Yichen got along harmoniously with the Brahma Sound Temple people, laughing and talking, but the Fenxia Valley group kept a faint distance from both great sects, as if deliberately maintaining a gap.

Everyone understood the subtlety in their hearts, but on the surface they remained courteous. The three great righteous sects were still of one mind, slaying demons and vanquishing evil for the justice and morality of the world, and destroying the Demonic Cult!

That night the group camped near the Bottomless Pit. They lit a bonfire, and after repeatedly warning his juniors not to wander off, Xiao Yichen drew Fa Cheng of the Brahma Sound Temple and Li Xun of the Fenxia Valley aside and conferred with them in low voices.

At that moment Li Xun wore a slight frown, a faint contempt hidden deep in his eyes, though his face still kept its amiable look. He said in a low voice, "Senior Brother Xiao, aren't you overthinking this?"

Xiao Yichen smiled faintly. "If Senior Brother Li has any insight, pray speak! I am all ears."

Seeing that both Xiao Yichen and Fa Cheng had turned their eyes to him, Li Xun paused, then said, "In my view, ever since our three sects entered the marsh, we have swept all before us. The Changsheng Hall disciples sent against us have been routed again and again. And after the battle of Canglan Mountain years ago, the Changsheng Hall's masters are dead or wounded. Apart from Yuyang Zi still stubbornly holding things together, the rest are not worth worrying about. Yet you say tonight is full of hidden peril, Senior Brother Xiao—isn't that going too far?"

Xiao Yichen pondered a moment, then said, "What Senior Brother Li says is indeed reasonable. But among the Changsheng Hall of the Demonic Cult, the master Yuyang Zi has extremely high cultivation—he alone is not to be underestimated. Moreover, from the time the Changsheng Hall rose to rank among the four great factions of the Demonic Cult, eight hundred years have passed. A centipede, though dead, does not stiffen; and they are determined to have this treasure of the Dead Marsh. They may well turn desperate and strike at any cost. We had best be careful!"

Fa Cheng nodded and said, "Senior Brother Xiao speaks sense. We must indeed be on our guard."

Seeing the two of them speak thus, Li Xun could hardly say more, but his nature was proud, and the look in his eyes still betrayed some of it. He said mildly, "Then, by the two senior brothers' reckoning, what should we do tonight?"

Fa Cheng glanced at his expression, paused a moment, and turned to look at Xiao Yichen. But Xiao Yichen appeared utterly at ease, as though he had noticed nothing at all, and still smiled as he said, "Senior Brother Li is indeed discerning. With your great talent, when the deed is done in days to come, the first merit shall be credited to Senior Brother Li."

Li Xun smiled faintly, and did not even make a show of declining the praise.

Watching from the side, Fa Cheng looked at Xiao Yichen's face, betraying neither joy nor anger, and suddenly the figure of a youth named "Zhang Qingyue" flashed before his eyes. If only he were here today as well—how good that would be...

A pain rose in his heart for no reason, and he gave a soft sigh. Then he heard Xiao Yichen begin issuing instructions in a low voice, and he quickly gathered his attention to listen. Xiao Yichen lowered his voice and said softly:

"Brothers, tonight we..."

The night seemed to deepen yet further.

Night in the Dead Marsh seemed likewise to be shrouded in black clouds, perhaps because mist rose from that vast swamp each time darkness fell.

The sky was a murky gray, and never mind the moon—not even half a star could be seen.

Near the Bottomless Pit, where the young disciples of the righteous path lay down to sleep, all was silent, without a sound, save a few embers of campfires still stubbornly burning.

Peering into the darkness, one could dimly make out those righteous disciples curled up beneath their clothes and blankets, covering themselves head to foot; the young, after all, had not cultivated enough to withstand the bone-piercing cold of the marsh at night.

The disciples of the Long Life Hall had soundlessly encircled the group from every direction, and in the darkness they waited quietly for Yu Yangzi's command.

Slowly, Yu Yangzi extended his one remaining right hand.

Meng Ji, standing at his side, suddenly said in a low voice, "Sect Master."

Yu Yangzi's hand paused. He was faintly displeased, but Meng Ji did after all hold no small place in his heart, so he reined in his temper and asked, "What is it?"

Meng Ji seemed to sense his displeasure as well. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "Sect Master, look at these righteous folk—how is it they haven't even posted a night watch?"

Yu Yangzi was taken aback, then scoffed, "These greenhorns, so proud and puffed up. All these days I've been laying down lure after lure, and long ago they decided we were not worth a single blow. They don't take us seriously at all. No night watch—hardly surprising!"

Meng Ji's expression shifted, but in the end he said nothing.

Yu Yangzi paid him no further mind. He flipped his right hand, and a strange mirror, black on one face and white on the other, appeared in his palm; then it flew up into the air, streaking a dazzling arc of light across the night.

All the disciples of the Long Life Hall cried out at once, their voices carrying far through the darkness, and surged forward, bearing boundless killing intent!

Within that fragile remnant of light there was a faint desolation.

The last of the embers, at that very moment, quietly went out!

Darkness swallowed all!

A moment later came a sudden clear, sharp ring, a clang like a dragon's cry.

A streak of green light, a streak of blue, a streak of gold, a streak of white, a streak of azure.

Five brilliant, dazzling rays, in that black curtain of night, like sharp swords piercing the vault of heaven, burst suddenly forth from the deepest dark and hurtled toward the disciples of the Long Life Hall.

And behind them, more dazzling lights appeared, one after another.

Yu Yangzi saw it all, and his face changed drastically!