劍問蒼天 - 第88章 死澤 - 翰墨軒

The sky was a dull gray, seeming to press down low, and a cold wind blew in fitful gusts from who knew where, making a man feel chilled to the bone whenever it swept over him.

Beside a marsh overgrown with tangled weeds ran a faint, intermittent path that stretched away into the interior.

Zeng Shuyan and the other disciples of the Canglan Sect stood at the entrance to the Dead Marsh, peering inward. As far as the eye could see, all was a vast blur—water weeds flourishing everywhere, with here and there a solitary tree standing erect amid it all. A faint, rotting stench drifted on the air, and over the marsh hung a thin mist like gray gauze that let them see only the nearby ground, making the place seem all the more mysterious and 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 Dead Marsh had borne the evil reputation of "easy to enter, hard to leave," and no one knew what dreadful things lurked within. On this westward journey, by rank and by cultivation alike, Xiao Yichen was tacitly the leader of them all. Now he gazed long into the depths of the marsh, then said to the others without any change of expression, "Yesterday, Senior Brother Li Xun of the Fenxia Valley sent me a letter. In very courteous terms he proposed that they join with our Canglan Sect to root out the demonic scourge—and so they have gone on ahead and already entered this Dead Marsh."

A stir ran through the group behind him. Only Lu Xueling remained calm, standing beside her senior sister Wen Pei and gazing silently into the marsh. On the other side, Lin Jinghong, who had come down the mountain for the first time, gave a cold snort.

Xiao Yichen said mildly, "Everyone knows well enough what the Fenxia Valley is really after. If they get their hands on that nameless treasure first this time, their prestige will soar, and in days to come I fear there will be those who fancy taking a turn at the seat of leadership of the righteous path." He paused there, then a faint smile touched the corner of his mouth. "But there is no need for haste. I reckon these strange portents have been appearing here for some time, yet to this day no one has obtained that treasure—which shows there must be many twists and perils within. Let them go, eager as they are for merit. Only once we enter this Dead Marsh must we be cautious in all things. The marsh's ill name is spread far and wide, its dangers beyond reckoning, and there may well be demonic cultists here as well. Once inside, we must all look out for 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 from one another, and above all do not casually set foot on the ground, lest we be harmed by venomous insects or lose our footing and sink into some bottomless bog."

The others nodded one after another. Xiao Yichen waved his right hand and summoned the Seven Stars Immortal Sword, then leaped into the air and flew in first. After him the Canglan Sect disciples rose one by one, each becoming a brilliant streak of a different hue, and followed close behind.

Moments later, this band of young Canglan Sect elites vanished into the mist of the Dead Marsh. The open ground at the entrance suddenly fell into a vast and empty silence—only among the water weeds a bubble suddenly rose from somewhere and went *glub*, a sound that carried far in the stillness.

*Smack.* Zhou Yixuan brought his hand down hard on the right side of his neck. The skin there immediately flushed red, but the mosquito that had bitten him had already flown off with a *buzz-buzz-buzz*, and seemed to circle once before his eyes in triumph before flying away well content.