Misty Rain of the Old Times

The woman in red looked to be in her early twenties, but her actual age was hard to say. The Innate Realm could greatly extend a woman's prime. Before he could even say a word, she left. Chen Xuan shrugged helplessly and looked away.

The wound on her shoulder looked like it had been there for a while; there were three four-inch scratches with rough edges, and the bone was faintly visible. The injury wasn't serious, but being a girl, she couldn't keep a straight face. It was hard to tell whether she was in pain or worried about leaving a scar.

A creature capable of scratching a being at the Innate Realm is definitely not simple, but Chen Xuan suspected that it was injured by someone who practiced claw techniques.

Was the conflict with someone over the item she mentioned?
It seems that the Misty Swamp is not as peaceful as it appears. It's not surprising that she was able to escape from there, and that there are many more people who could do so. No matter how dangerous a place is, as long as there is profit to be made, there will always be people willing to take risks.

Looking again at the vast expanse of thick fog, Chen Xuan pondered for a moment before his gaze fell upon a fir tree not far away. It was so thick that it would take two people to hug it, yet it had grown so tall in this desolate place, seemingly untouched by human hands and not cut down for firewood.

Soon the tree fell, and a section of it was used to make a five-meter boat under Chen Xuan's feet. No one would come looking for a logging permit.

Standing on the freshly made boat that exuded the fragrance of wood, Chen Xuan waved his hand gently behind him, and the boat shot out like an arrow, flying close to the water's surface. It almost capsized due to the wind resistance, but he stepped on it in time to prevent it from capsizing.

Rowing a boat requires no oars and doesn't rely on waves; a simple wave of the hand provides powerful propulsion...

He soon entered the area of ​​dense fog, and the surging fog obscured his traces.

As they ventured deeper into the area, the initial visibility range was still over a hundred feet, but gradually the visible range became smaller and smaller. Even with Chen Xuan's current eyesight, he could no longer see anything beyond ten feet.

The thick fog was very quiet, with only the faint sound of rippling water. The silence was oppressive, making one feel uneasy, as if a monster might burst out of the fog at any moment.

Although visibility was limited, it did not affect the speed of the small boat under Chen Xuan's feet. He was not worried about suddenly hitting something. He could adjust his direction in time after it came into view. The reaction ability of a Grandmaster was beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

However, to be fair, the endless thick fog greatly affected his senses, reducing his perception to only about one-third of what it was outside. This didn't make him feel insecure, as his strength was his source of confidence.

Without a detailed map of the Misty Swamp, Chen Xuan knew nothing about what was inside and could only try to head towards the center.

The surroundings were nothing but thick fog, the light was very dim, and the water below the boat was of unknown width. Chen Xuan had no idea what kind of creatures might be in the deep water.

He wondered if he was heading in the wrong direction. He estimated that he had gone nearly a hundred miles into the thick fog without encountering any land. The foggy swamp was simply too vast.

The fog isn't always so thick it's impossible to see through; there are occasional times when it thins out, allowing sunlight to penetrate.

Continuing to speed forward, Chen Xuan suddenly smelled a faint scent of blood in the air. He wanted to go and see what was going on, but the small boat he was on was too fast, and he missed it. He had no choice but to turn around and head in the direction of the blood.

He soon spotted an island, though he had no idea how big it was, obscured by the thick fog. As he got closer, he slowed down the speed of his small boat.

Upon closer inspection, the tall trees on the gloomy island are silhouetted against the thick fog, with old vines resembling pythons; a single large tree is practically a miniature ecosystem.

The smell of blood was coming from the shore of the island, where there was a human corpse. It looked like it hadn't been dead for long, with half of its body submerged in the water. It was already dead, and Chen Xuan couldn't judge its cultivation level from the aura of the deceased.

Before he could examine it further, the water broke open with a splash, and amidst the spray, a huge black shadow dragged the corpse into the water in one gulp. The water quickly returned to calm.

Although it was only a fleeting glimpse, Chen Xuan clearly saw that it was a crocodile over three zhang long, which swallowed the carcass whole in one gulp.

The corpse had no obvious external injuries, but its chest was slightly sunken, indicating that it had been killed by a single blow. It hadn't been dead for long, which confirmed Chen Xuan's guess that the Misty Swamp must be quite lively, at least on the outer perimeter.

That's how nature works; anything edible is quickly devoured by living organisms and nothing is wasted.

The water where the crocodile had swallowed the body had not yet completely calmed down. There was a rustling sound coming from the jungle on the shore. Chen Xuan looked up and saw a golden shaggy cat that was nearly two zhang long.

Their eyes met, and it was unclear whether the mighty golden tabby was afraid of aquatic creatures or had a keen sense that Chen Xuan was the truth. After a moment of staring at each other, it let out a low growl, turned around, and disappeared into the jungle.

'If you dare pounce on me, I'll pet you like a dog.'

Thinking to himself, Chen Xuan looked to the right of where the tiger had appeared, a few feet away. There was a python that looked like a withered tree trunk, as thick as a washbasin and six or seven feet long. Its skin was the best camouflage, and it blended into the surrounding environment. Although it was a cold-blooded animal, its heartbeat could not escape Chen Xuan's perception.

If the tiger had stopped for a while longer, it would likely have been attacked by the python.

'This is only the outer edge of the Misty Swamp, not even the outer edge, and yet we've already encountered mountain lords two zhang long, crocodiles over three zhang long, and pythons six or seven zhang long. In such an environment, a single cultivator below the Innate Realm probably wouldn't survive a day. What must the depths of the Misty Swamp be like?'

Thick fog obscured everything, and even sounds couldn't travel far. After lingering for a while, Chen Xuan left the island, whose size was unknown, and continued deeper into the Misty Swamp. He was only following the scent of blood to take a look; it wasn't to avenge anyone or investigate the truth. He had other business to attend to.

As Chen Xuan continued deeper, he discovered a colossal creature following him in the unfathomably deep water. Its speed was not much slower than that of the small boat beneath him, clearly treating him and the boat as a gift from nature and wanting to eat them.

It occasionally approached the water's surface, and Chen Xuan could vaguely make out that it was a large fish more than ten meters long, entirely black, and capable of creating waves on the water's surface with a flick of its tail.

'What a huge fish! If we caught one, it would probably feed dozens of households in the village for a month. Luckily, I'm not hungry right now, and I can't eat it anyway, so I'll let you go.'

With a smile in his heart, Chen Xuan became interested in the race. He waved his hand behind him twice, and the speed of the small boat under his feet suddenly increased. He quickly left the big fish far behind. Tsk, weak fish, you want to eat me? You won't even get a fart.

As the fog thickened, more islands appeared, and the water narrowed. Chen Xuan's small boat nimbly weaved through the fog, seemingly skimming the surface, heading towards the depths of the fog maze.

After a while, he simply entered a river channel. The banks were covered by towering trees that blocked out the sun, making it extremely dark. With the thick fog obscuring the view, it felt as if he had entered night.

The waterways were intricate and complex, and Chen Xuan gradually slowed down the speed of his small boat. Although he didn't want to admit it, he realized that he might be lost.

It was quite embarrassing. Logically speaking, his memory should have been so good that he could remember everything he had been to, and his sense of direction was also quite good, but he still got lost.

There was nothing he could do; the surrounding area was shrouded in thick fog, making it difficult to see anything beyond a certain distance. As he wandered around the river, he became completely confused.

Getting lost was a minor issue. What troubled him after entering the Misty Swamp for some time was how to find the White Cloud Tree in this vast area, where there was thick fog everywhere. He didn't have X-ray vision, so he might pass by the White Cloud Tree without even seeing it.

Zhao Qingluan said that white cloud wood grows deep in the Misty Swamp, but does that thing only grow in the depths?

He was highly skilled and daring, showing no fear or unease even when lost in the dense fog of the primeval forest.

I decided to go deep into the Misty Swamp to see if I could find the White Cloud Tree. Getting lost is no big deal.

He stopped the small boat and immediately took to the air, passing vertically through the thick fog that was at least one or two thousand meters thick.

Then Chen Xuan was dumbfounded. Looking around, all he could see was a sea of ​​clouds rolling in all directions, with no end in sight. There wasn't even a mountain taller than the fog to serve as a reference.

Misty Marsh is a vast, boundless body of water, not towering mountains.

There were no landmarks in the sky, as we had ventured into the Misty Swamp for an unknown distance, and the sky was filled with clouds that obscured the sun.

He took to the air only to find his way through the thick fog, not to go too high. As a result, he seemed to be sandwiched between the clouds above and below. Looking out, the clouds above and the thick fog below seemed to form a thin slit on the horizon.

But this didn't stop him. He used up all the force of his leap, and after a brief moment of airtime, he was about to fall. He immediately used a method that everyone in his hometown would consider unreasonable: stepping on his right foot with his left foot, as if using force out of thin air, his figure rose again, directly piercing through the clouds above, and only then did he see the setting sun in the west.

With the sun as a reference point, his sense of direction returned. He floated down and landed back on the ground, standing on the small boat, and once again headed into the depths of the Misty Marsh.

He continued forward at a considerable pace for more than half an hour. Perhaps due to the ever-changing weather or environmental factors, after traveling an unknown distance in one direction, he noticed that the thick fog ahead was beginning to thin.

As he passed through the dense fog, he was momentarily stunned by the sight ahead.

Before him, the thick fog had dissipated for miles around, and the river beneath his feet meandered deeper into a mushroom forest.

It was a sea of ​​mushrooms, with all sorts of colors filling Chen Xuan's entire field of vision. Some were as small as a finger, while others were as large as small mountains. Many of the mushrooms were even emitting a hazy glow. Looking at them, it was a beautiful and dreamlike world.

However, the more beautiful something is, the more dangerous it is. The colorful mushroom environment was completely silent. Although the thick fog was gone, the area was visibly shrouded in a layer of grayish-red miasma.

Putting aside the potential dangers hidden inside, if an ordinary person were to wander in unknowingly under the cover of thick fog, they would probably die without even knowing how.

So where did this come from?

After a brief look around, if Chen Xuan hadn't been certain that he was deep within the Misty Swamp, he would have thought he had arrived on an alien planet.

He was merely slightly amazed by the scenery before him; he wasn't completely lost in thought. A thought struck him as he looked in a certain direction—there were actually people there… (End of Chapter)