Chapter 1230: Xing Hall Master's Out-of-Body Calamity

The power the man-eating lotus devoured in an instant was swift, ruthless, and precise. Just as Elder Ji had said, even ordinary cultivators at the Mortal Transcendence realm would likely find it difficult to escape.

If such a thing were planted in a mansion, it would be difficult for ordinary people to get in.

"Besides the man-eating lotus, the swamp also harbors some unique venomous insects beneath its surface," Elder Ji explained. "If you fall in and get bitten, you'll be paralyzed on the spot, unable to exert any of your strength. You'll eventually sink into the swamp, becoming just bones. Every year, no fewer than 100,000 master teachers and cultivators die here. Because of this, it was once designated a forbidden area, where cultivators were not allowed to venture!"

As Elder Ji spoke, he took a piece of cooked meat from his spatial ring and casually threw it into the nearby swamp.

The cooked meat initially floated on the mud. A moment later, some black-armored insects emerged from the mud and began to bite it. In the blink of an eye, it visibly dissolved into a thick liquid, as if corroded by strong acid.

Seeing this, everyone's expressions turned grim. They had known how terrifying this place was before arriving, but they hadn't expected it to be *this* terrifying. Even though they were all cultivators above the Primordial Spirit realm, they couldn't help but feel a chill down their spines.

"However, everyone doesn't need to worry too much," Elder Ji continued. "Even the most deadly place will have a glimmer of life. Inside the swamp, there are some exposed patches of ground, connected like floating bridges. As long as we find these spots, we can continue forward without too much concern!"

Elder Ji smiled, swayed his body, and covered more than ten meters, reaching a solid spot within the swamp. "Everyone, stick close behind me. Don't step wrongly or fall behind!"

After speaking, he continued to leap forward. After more than a dozen consecutive leaps, he was already hundreds of meters away.

Zhang Xuan looked closely. The places Elder Ji landed were slightly different in color from the rest, having a faint greenish tint. Although no vegetation grew there either, they gave a feeling of being able to nurture life, completely unlike the surrounding dark, murky areas.

"The probability of these patches of ground forming naturally is very low," Zhang Xuan mused. "They were likely constructed by previous generations..." He didn't know the origin of the swamp, but once formed, it would undoubtedly be a complete collapse. The presence of spots where a person could stand every few tens of meters strongly suggested they were man-made.

"Let's go!"

Not dwelling on these issues, Zhang Xuan had the flying sacred beasts wait where they were. He and the others followed closely behind and leaped across. Everyone was a Saint realm expert with powerful memory. Although Elder Ji had only traversed the path once, they had already memorized the exact locations and followed closely, without the slightest deviation.

"Elder Ji, I heard there are sacred beasts here. How do they survive?" one of them asked. It was already so troublesome for them to enter once; how did the sacred beasts manage to live here?

"As you go deeper into this swamp, there are some landmasses, the largest of which are only a few kilometers in diameter," Elder Ji explained. "Due to the unique environment, some spirit herbs or special ores can be born there. Many sacred beasts, in order to improve themselves, claim these areas as their territory and guard them. They fight with cultivators who come to explore, and even kill them!"

Elder Ji gestured, "Look, there's one up ahead!"

Everyone looked and indeed saw a patch of land not far away. It was lush green, like an isolated island in the sea, covered with various types of vegetation, and even many birds lived there. They advanced quickly, and after more than ten minutes, they arrived before it.

This landmass was about five hundred meters in diameter. A small hill stood on it, suspended above the swamp, resembling an inverted turtle shell. Arriving above it, everyone descended.

"Let's move quickly. We should try to reach the center of the swamp before dark. Otherwise, the swamp becomes even more terrifying at night!" Elder Ji said, seeing that everyone was curious and intending to wander around the landmass.

"Understood!"

Zhang Xuan glanced at the sun and instructed, "Let's go!" Although it was still early before dark, the swamp's area was simply too vast, and they couldn't fly. If they continued at this pace, it would likely take one or two hours to cross, so they couldn't afford any delay.

With Elder Ji leading the way, it was indeed much safer. They bypassed any landmasses inhabited by sacred beasts in advance and avoided dangerous areas. After nearly two hours of travel, they finally reached the deeper parts of the swamp. On the way, they encountered several groups of exploring cultivators. When these cultivators saw them, they actively steered clear.

To conceal their identities, although they weren't wearing master teacher robes, their strength was evident. In cities, with the Master Teacher Pavilion overseeing things, people generally followed rules and dared not act recklessly. But here, if anyone found treasures in another's possession, there were many instances of mutual interception, murder, and robbery. This kind of place was like an outlaw territory. As long as a body was thrown into the swamp, even if a master teacher arrived, it would be difficult to investigate.

"The island ahead is the center of the entire swamp," Elder Ji said. "To search for the Ghost Lair, we must first come here, and then figure out a way to investigate it bit by bit. Even I don't have a better method!"

They walked for another half an hour. The sun was already setting in the west when Elder Ji finally pointed forward and spoke. Following the direction of his finger, everyone looked. They immediately saw a massive landmass appear before their eyes, seven to eight kilometers in diameter. A steep mountain peak stood within it. Various dense vegetations covered it, and from afar, it looked like a city.

"Let's go over there!"

Following closely, everyone quickly arrived on the island. It was no different from the landmasses outside; in fact, the spiritual energy here was even denser, giving a refreshing and comfortable feeling.

"No wonder sacred beasts live here and are unwilling to leave," Zhang Xuan thought. "Cultivating here truly yields twice the results with half the effort!" After feeling it, he nodded. This place, rich in spiritual energy, was a natural cultivation treasure ground. Cultivating here would undoubtedly lead to a much faster advancement rate than outside. Many sacred beasts must have also discovered these secrets and, despite knowing the dangers, still flocked to it.

"Let's rest here tonight. We'll search for the Ghost Lair at dawn," Elder Ji announced. "At night, the venomous insects in the swamp will crawl out, and it will be dangerous if we encounter them..." With a flick of his wrist, he took out some high-level sacred beast urine and sprinkled it around to warn off venomous insects and beasts, preventing them from approaching.

Having traveled this far, everyone had also felt the swamp's terror. Without further words, they took out the supplies they had prepared. With fine wine and roasted meat, their meal was quite substantial.

After dinner, Zhang Xuan didn't rest. He sat cross-legged on the ground and continued cultivating. The Heaven's Path True Qi flowed within his body, repeatedly cleansing his Nascent Soul, striving to make it transform as quickly as possible. After cultivating the Five Radiance Golden Body to the perfect realm, Zhang Xuan had integrated many cultivation techniques from the Master Teacher Pavilion's Defense Hall into the Heaven's Path Golden Body. The effect was quite good. At this moment, even if his physical body couldn't compare to the Golden Origin Cauldron, it wasn't far off.

"Hmm?"

After cultivating for an unknown period, he suddenly felt a rapid energy fluctuation not far away. He turned his head and saw Hall Master Xing's face flushed red, seemingly unable to suppress the power within his body.

"What's wrong?" Zhang Xuan asked, taking two steps to reach him.

The others were also startled awake from their cultivation and gathered around in unison.

"Teacher Zhang, I might be undergoing the Primordial Spirit Tribulation..." Hall Master Xing said.

Zhang Xuan frowned. Hall Master Xing's Primordial Spirit had been damaged, but with Zhang Xuan's help, it was repaired. He soon broke through to Half-Primordial Spirit and reached the Pseudo-Primordial Spirit realm. Under normal circumstances, he could trigger the lightning tribulation whenever he wished to become a true Primordial Spirit realm expert. Why was it suddenly starting here?

"What's happening?" Zhang Xuan asked.

"I don't know either. I only cultivated for a short while just now and felt my Primordial Spirit had reached a state of fullness. I tried to suppress it, but I couldn't..."

His face flushed, and True Qi radiated from Hall Master Xing's pores. Immediately after, everyone felt dark clouds gathering overhead, and the lightning tribulation had arrived.

"Don't be nervous, it's just the Primordial Spirit Tribulation," Zhang Xuan said with a smile, motioning for everyone to leave the tribulation zone so as not to be affected. As the Hall Master of the Combat Master Hall, his combat power was astonishing. Although the tribulation came somewhat suddenly, it shouldn't be difficult for him to pass it.

*Boom!*

No sooner had he finished speaking than the lightning struck down, plummeting straight.

*Whoosh!*

With a mental command, Hall Master Xing's Primordial Spirit left his physical body and flew straight towards the lightning.

*Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!*

Upon contact, it immediately resembled cotton wool being scorched by intense fire. Its form continuously shrank, seemingly enduring unbearable torment.

"Huh?" Zhang Xuan's brows furrowed.

"The Primordial Spirit Tribulation is extremely dangerous. Isn't it normally resisted with the physical body?" Elder Wu exclaimed, somewhat unbelievable. "Hall Master Xing, why did your Primordial Spirit leave your body to meet it? This... this is too dangerous!"

During the Primordial Spirit Tribulation, lightning tempers the Primordial Spirit. Under normal circumstances, to make it easier to pass, many cultivators use their physical bodies to resist a portion of the lightning, allowing the Primordial Spirit to absorb the rest. Hall Master Xing, however, directly sent his Primordial Spirit out to face it, which was no different from seeking death.

"He seems to be out of his own control..." With a flicker of his Eye of Insight, Zhang Xuan's expression darkened.

"Out of control?" The others were puzzled.

"A Witchcraft Master must have acted on him," Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes. "Knowing he was about to break through, they manipulated his Primordial Spirit. They want to use the power of the lightning to eliminate him first, or perhaps to make us expend our energy taking care of him..."

"Witchcraft Master? We... we've been discovered?" Elder Wu and the others' faces all sank. They had changed out of their master teacher robes and come here without any delay, intending to find Emperor Qingtian's teacher before that individual discovered them. They hadn't expected to know nothing about their opponent, but one of their own had been targeted first.

"It seems so..." Zhang Xuan nodded and continued to look up at the sky. He saw that under the scorching lightning, Hall Master Xing's Primordial Spirit was becoming weaker and weaker. It could be completely consumed at any moment. Although his own strength was formidable, his Primordial Spirit had been damaged before, and he wasn't prepared. So when the Primordial Spirit Tribulation struck and his Primordial Spirit resisted head-on, he was already struggling to withstand it.

"If this continues... Hall Master Xing might die..." Pavilion Master Wei and Pavilion Master Liao were filled with anxiety. As old friends who had known each other for hundreds of years, the two couldn't just watch their friend be struck to death by lightning.

"Teacher Zhang, do you have a way? You must save him..." The two looked over in unison. If anyone here could save him, it could only be the person before them.

"Don't worry..." Zhang Xuan would have acted even without them saying anything. Without the slightest hesitation, his Eye of Insight flickered as he gazed forward.