28: A First Exploration of the Demon Realm: Bones as Boats

The wooden raft floated above the deathly silent black swamp, as if it had broken into a nightmare forgotten by the world. The viscous, filthy Devilish Qi was like a tangible shackle, suppressing the circulation of Spiritual Qi, and even breathing carried a chill that corroded the spirit.

In the distance, the towering and ferocious black Demon Palace, like a dormant giant beast, radiated a despair-inducing pressure. Nearby, the pale skeletons floating in the swamp and the twisted, wailing demonic shadows stimulated everyone's nerves every moment.

"The purity and density of the Devilish Qi here far exceed that of the sealed demonic source in the Immortal Palace..." Qu Feiyan's beautiful face turned pale, her voice trembling slightly. Although the 'Mortal World Charm Bone Cultivation Technique' she practiced was not of the Righteous Path, she still felt an instinctive repulsion and fear toward this pure, destructive Devilish Qi.

Su Wanqing's body was automatically suffused with moonlight, the cold radiance appearing exceptionally faint against the ink-colored background, yet it stubbornly dispersed the Devilish Qi attempting to erode them. She pursed her lips tightly and looked at Lin Xuan: "It is not advisable to stay here for long; we must find a way out as soon as possible."

A way out? Looking around, apart from the endless black swamp and that heart-palpitating Demon Palace, where could half a way out be seen?

Lin Xuan forced himself to calm down. His Golden Core Divine Sense was greatly suppressed in this Demon Domain, with a detection range less than one-third of what it was outside. He carefully sensed his surroundings, especially the strange swamp beneath his feet.

The swamp was not completely silent; those floating skeletons and struggling demonic shadows seemed to be bound here by some force, unable to escape. The wooden raft they were riding, made of Desolate Sea ancient wood, had its spiritual light rapidly eroded by the Devilish Qi upon entering this place, emitting "hissing" sounds; it clearly could not hold out for long.

They had to find a new means of transport, or... find the rules of this Demon Domain.

His gaze fell upon the giant skeletons in the swamp. These skeletons did not seem to belong to any known ancient creature; they had remained unrotted through endless years, and even under the erosion of such dense Devilish Qi, they maintained their pale color, seemingly possessing a certain resistance to Devilish Qi.

A thought arose in his mind.

"We need a 'boat'." Lin Xuan said in a deep voice, pointing to a skeleton in the swamp closest to them that resembled some kind of giant bird and had a relatively complete frame, "Use that!"

"Use bones to make a boat?" Gongsun Yu's eyes widened.

"The rules here are strange, and Spiritual Qi is suppressed; this wooden raft won't last long. These skeletons can exist here for a long time, so they must have special qualities and might be able to resist the erosion of Devilish Qi." Lin Xuan explained, while simultaneously maneuvering the collapsing wooden raft to slowly drift toward the giant bird skeleton.

Upon getting closer, the sheer size of the skeleton was even more apparent. Its wingspan was over ten zhang. Even though the flesh and blood had long since vanished, it still radiated a primitive aura. The surface of the bones was smooth and cold, and when touched, there was actually a faint, cool sensation that was completely at odds with the Devilish Qi.

Without delay, Lin Xuan pointed his fingers like a sword, his Golden Core Sword Qi flickering, and he carefully severed the parts connecting the skeleton to the swamp. Su Wanqing and Qu Feiyan also acted immediately, using delicate force to drag the massive skeleton out of the swamp as a whole and resting it on top of the wooden raft that had not yet completely sunk.

Having lost the spiritual support of the wooden raft, the skeleton began to sink slowly. Lin Xuan immediately leaped onto the back of the skeleton, channeling Spiritual Qi into his feet to try and stabilize it. Sure enough, the skeleton's resistance to Devilish Qi was far superior to the wooden raft; its sinking speed was extremely slow, and standing on it, the feeling of his Spiritual Qi being suppressed was also slightly alleviated.

"Everyone, get on!" Lin Xuan called out.

The three women immediately leaped onto this makeshift "white bone boat." The boat was wide enough to accommodate four people, and although it looked somewhat terrifying, at this moment, it gave them a rare sense of security.

Having lost its load, the dilapidated wooden frame was quickly swallowed and corroded by the black swamp.

Standing on the white bone boat, Lin Xuan tried to drive it with Spiritual Qi, but found the effect minimal; the suppression of Spiritual Qi here was beyond imagination. He pondered for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the wailing and struggling demonic shadows in the swamp, and a bold guess formed in his mind.

He circulated the Nine Revolutions Golden Body Art, and the power of his Yang Qi and blood surged out of his body, forming an invisible repulsive force that pushed against the swamp behind them!

"Whoosh—"

The white bone boat actually began to move forward slowly! Although the speed was not fast, it was indeed moving forward! It turned out that driving this white bone boat did not rely on Spiritual Qi, but on one's own Qi and blood or some kind of "force" that could create a counteraction with the Devilish Qi!

This discovery lifted everyone's spirits.

"I will help you!" Su Wanqing also attempted to channel her Taiyin Youying Bloodline Power. The cold moonlight circulated beneath her feet, forming a wonderful complement to Lin Xuan's Yang Qi and blood, and the speed of the white bone boat increased significantly.

Qu Feiyan and Gongsun Yu also exerted their abilities. Although the effect was not as obvious as Lin Xuan and Su Wanqing's, they also contributed their share of power.

The white bone boat began to sail slowly across this deathly silent Demon Domain swamp, heading in the direction opposite to the black Demon Palace, a direction that appeared empty. This was Lin Xuan's decision; that Demon Palace gave him too dangerous a feeling, and without any understanding of it, staying away from it was the only choice.

The journey became monotonous and oppressive. All around were the ink-colored sky, the black swamp, the pale skeletons, and the twisted demonic shadows. The erosion of the Devilish Qi was pervasive, requiring constant circulation of Cultivation Techniques to resist, which was extremely draining on the spirit.

They did not know how long they had been sailing; ahead was still a vast emptiness, as if this Demon Domain had no end.

Just as everyone was gradually being enveloped by despair, Lin Xuan's Divine Sense suddenly caught a trace of an extremely faint energy fluctuation that was different from the Devilish Qi—within that fluctuation, there was actually a hint of... spatial ripples?

"Over there!" Lin Xuan pointed sharply to the front left, "There is something unusual!"

He steered the white bone boat and turned immediately. As they approached, the feeling of spatial ripples became clearer. Finally, after passing through a particularly dense, almost impenetrable mist of Devilish Qi, the scene before them made the four of them hold their breath instantly!

They saw that floating above the black swamp ahead was actually a small island emitting a hazy white light! The island was only a hundred zhang in radius, and it was lush with greenery, with some plants they had never seen before that radiated pure Spiritual Qi! A simple thatched cottage stood in the center of the island, and in front of the cottage, there was even a pool of clear, Spiritual Qi-imbued spring water!

In this Demon Domain filled with death and filth, could such a pure land actually exist?!

Was it an illusion? Or... true vitality?

Alarm bells rang in Lin Xuan's mind. Unusual events must have a demonic cause! He fully activated his Divine Sense and the immortal abode pivot token to perceive it. The Spiritual Qi emitted by the island was extremely pure, and the spatial ripples were real; it did not seem to be an illusion.

But the more this was the case, the more incredible it felt.

"Be on guard, let's approach and take a look." Lin Xuan said in a deep voice, maneuvering the white bone boat to slowly sail toward that magical island.

Regardless of whether what lay ahead was hope or a deeper trap, they had to go and find out.