77: The news spread

The news of the Buried Dragon Ancient Marsh swallowing the Zheng Family's team was like a drop of water falling into boiling oil, quietly exploding across the Southwest cultivation world.

At first, it was just sporadic rumors saying that a Zheng Family expedition team had met with disaster in the Ancient Marsh and was completely wiped out.

But as time passed, not a single member of the Zheng Family emerged from the marsh. The deathly silence that had lasted for days deep within the Ancient Marsh, along with a gradually spreading, unsettling aura of decay, caused the rumors to ferment rapidly.

The Zheng Family of Mount Qingyang was both enraged and terrified, and the Family's only three Foundation Establishment Cultivators gathered together.

In the end, they only dared to investigate the outskirts of the Ancient Marsh, not daring to venture deep into that gray-green mist zone that seemed ready to devour anyone who entered.

They brought back several fragments of Family-standard magic blades stained with blackish-red filth and completely devoid of spiritual power, as well as a lingering chill that originated from the depths of their Souls.

The news reached the nearest cultivation market and then spread further through the mouths of passing merchant caravans and Loose Cultivators, with more and more details added along the way.

The versions became more numerous and increasingly bizarre:

Some said a thousand-year-old Corpse King had emerged from the depths of the Ancient Marsh, while others said an ancient Devil Head's Seal was loosening.

Some even reversed the previous rumors of an 'exotic treasure appearing,' saying it was a trap to lure the greedy to their deaths, a feeding ground for some kind of evil entity... Panic began to spread.

The teams of Loose Cultivators and small families who had originally been attracted by the 'exotic treasure' and were either preparing or already on their way stopped to watch from a distance, or even turned around to retreat.

Within a radius of hundreds of miles around the Ancient Marsh, people were in a state of panic.

This wind, naturally, also blew to the Xuan Yun Sect's monitoring outpost.

Elder Zhou put down the communication jade talisman in his hand and tapped his knuckles lightly on the sandalwood tabletop, a hint of solemnity in his brow.

The jade talisman was an urgent report from the Sect's southwest branch, detailing the Zheng Family incident and the anomalies in the Ancient Marsh, and requesting instructions from the main Sect.

“Buried Dragon Ancient Marsh... one of the forbidden lands in ancient records, filled with miasmatic poison, overrun by Yao Beasts, and rumored to have unstable space.”

Elder Zhou muttered to himself.

“The Zheng Family isn't strong, but with two Foundation Establishment leaders and twenty skilled Disciples in the Middle to Late Stage of Qi Refinement, they perished inside silently without even being able to send out a distress signal...”

“This is definitely not something an ordinary Yao Beast or dangerous land could do.”

Green Feather, who was standing by his side, couldn't help but say, “Revered Master, could it really be related to demonic taint? Or... the work of other external forces?”

His temperament was more stable now, but the sharpness in his eyes remained undiminished.

“Hard to say.”

Elder Zhou shook his head. “The environment of the Ancient Marsh is special, the energy is chaotic, and conventional detection methods have very little effect.”

“The stains on the fragments brought back by the Zheng Family do show signs of erosion, but whether it's demonic taint requires further identification.”

“However, this happened as the Seal Tide cycle approaches and various nodes are becoming restless. We must be on guard.”

He pondered for a moment and made a decision:

“Green Feather, take my token and go to the contact points of the Divine Weapon Pavilion and Wonderful Sound Valley in this area. Inform them of the Ancient Marsh incident and propose that the three parties each send one Foundation Establishment Disciple to form a joint investigation team to conduct a preliminary reconnaissance of the outskirts of the Ancient Marsh.”

“Remember, only on the outermost edges, and absolutely do not go deep! The goal is to confirm the nature and scale of the threat and assess whether higher-level Sect forces need to intervene.”

“If you encounter any irresistible force, withdraw immediately.”

“This Disciple obeys your command!” Green Feather's spirit was roused as he cupped his hands in response.

“In addition.”

Elder Zhou called him back. “Inform Wu Ming of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion to use his secular intelligence network to closely monitor the movements of various forces in the southwest region after the Ancient Marsh incident, especially... whether anyone of unknown identity or suspicious behavior has appeared.”

“Yes!”

Green Feather left in a hurry. Elder Zhou looked out the window at the gloomy sky and sighed in a low voice, “Troubled times... the storm is coming.”

Almost at the same time the Xuan Yun Sect reacted, the atmosphere within the Qinglan branch of the Heavenly Supervision Department was equally tense.

Sikong Xuan had two dossiers spread out before him.

One was a preliminary report from the Southwest Prefecture branch of the Heavenly Supervision Department regarding the Ancient Marsh incident, worded cautiously but with concern for the unknown threat between the lines.

The other was a secret letter from the capital's main department, worded sternly, requiring all local branches to strengthen monitoring of various dangerous lands and ruins.

It ordered them to strictly prevent similar incidents from causing public panic or being exploited by those with ulterior motives, while hinting that the imperial court was currently experiencing undercurrents and that all regions needed to stabilize the situation.

“The Ancient Marsh... of all times, it had to be now.” Sikong Xuan rubbed his temples.

After Li Chongshan's downfall, Qinglan City and its surroundings seemed peaceful, but the remnants of the Third Prince had not been cleared, other princes' forces were infiltrating, and with the powerful entry of the Sects, his role as an administrator was not easy.

Now this strange matter had been added to the mix.

“My Lord, should we send people to investigate?” a trusted subordinate asked.

Sikong Xuan thought for a long time and slowly shook his head. “The Ancient Marsh is located in the Southwest Prefecture, which is not my jurisdiction. Crossing boundaries rashly will only invite criticism.”

“Moreover, the Xuan Yun Sect has already taken the lead in a joint investigation. Sects are better at handling these kinds of supernatural events than we are.”

“Our priority is to ensure the stability of Qinglan City and its surroundings, monitor any lowlifes who might take the opportunity to cause trouble, and...”

He paused. “Closely monitor movements in the East Sea. You have all seen the anomaly reports from the Sea Eye.”

The subordinates' expressions turned solemn.

The strange spatial disturbances and suspected external energy leaks at the Sea Eye were likely no less of a threat than the Ancient Marsh, and even more elusive.

“Dispatch two more patrol fast-ships, equipped with gang-breaking crossbows and early-warning dharma plates, and expand the patrol range around the Sea Eye. Any signs of abnormality, no matter how small, must be reported immediately!”

“Yes!”

...Xuan Yun Sect, Outer Sect Miscellaneous Service Yard.

Pillar (157) squatted by the medicinal field, holding a handful of freshly pulled weeds in his hand, but his ears were pricked up.

Two Outer Sect Disciples passing by to rest were lowering their voices, talking with excitement and fear about the 'Ancient Marsh Tragedy' they had just heard about.

“...I heard those two Foundation Establishment Junior Martial Uncles from the Zheng Family didn't even have time to sacrifice their Magic Treasures before they were dragged into the black mist!”

“More than that! I heard there are invisible claws in that black mist that specifically gouge out hearts and livers and suck out Souls!”

“Silence! Don't spread rumors recklessly! The Senior Brother in charge said the Sect has already made arrangements and will send people to investigate clearly in a few days.”

A slightly older Disciple scolded, but worry was also hidden in his eyes.

Pillar lowered his head and threw the weeds into the basket, silently noting in his heart:

The Ancient Marsh incident has reached the lower levels of the Sect, causing discussion and unease. The Sect intends to send people to investigate.

When he finished work and returned to the dormitory in the evening, several other miscellaneous workers in the room were also whispering, and the topic was inseparable from the Ancient Marsh.

Pillar, as usual, washed and ate in silence, and then lay down early on his hard wooden bed, closing his eyes to feign sleep.

His consciousness, however, through that mysterious connection, linked the scattered information he heard today with the previous rumors about the cold pool anomaly and Ice Puppet activity.

The Ancient Marsh is in the southwest, while the cold pool and Ice Puppets are in the north.

They seemed unrelated, but both involved 'anomalies' and 'unknown threats.' Whether this was a coincidence or some kind of omen... he couldn't judge. He could only compress these fragments, along with his own questions, into the symbols he was to send tonight.

In the dead of night, as if talking in his sleep, he spat out a few blurred syllables toward the wall.

Almost at the same time, 162, who was cleaning the bottom floor of the Xuan Yun Sect's Scripture Pavilion, took the opportunity while wiping the bookshelves to quickly scan a remnant of a local gazetteer that had been carelessly left in the to-be-categorized area by a manager.

One page mentioned an ancient alias for the 'Buried Dragon Ancient Marsh'—'Buried Demon Marsh.'

And there was an obscure annotation mentioning that in ancient times, this place had been the site of a secondary array for suppressing the 'Earth Lung Yin Fiend.'

Meanwhile, in an Artifact Refining workshop somewhere in the Divine Weapon Pavilion, thousands of miles away from the Xuan Yun Sect, the death warrior 163 was sweating profusely as he hammered a piece of iron blank.

In his ears was the idle chatter of the craftsmen during their break. An old Artifact Refiner grumbled, “...The world is not peaceful. Something happened in the southwest Ancient Marsh, and I heard the northern ice plains aren't quiet either.”

“Quite a few beast-hunting teams haven't returned... The things in the sea have also been very fierce lately, and the merchant fleets have all added guards...”

Pieces of seemingly unrelated information from different corners gathered along the invisible network toward the 'Nest' beneath the deep sea... In the 'Nest' command room, the information flow on the light screen was denser than ever before.

6's voice carried a hint of fatigue but even more focus: “Young Master, by synthesizing the information sent back by various hidden agents and external intelligence, it is basically confirmed:”

“The Ancient Marsh incident has triggered regional panic. The Xuan Yun Sect, Divine Weapon Pavilion, and Wonderful Sound Valley will organize a joint peripheral investigation.”

“The Heavenly Supervision Department's attitude is cautious, focusing on maintaining stability, but they have strengthened monitoring of the East Sea.”

“Internal suspicion within the imperial court has intensified due to the Ancient Marsh incident and the previously spread rumors. Two princes openly attacked each other at the court assembly today.”

“Furthermore, information correlation analysis shows that the 'Ancient Marsh anomaly,' 'Northern Ice Abyss/Cold Pool Ice Puppet activity anomaly,' and 'Sea Eye spatial disturbance intensification' show approximately synchronized fluctuation trends on the timeline.”

“Although the locations and forms of expression are different, they all point to signs of instability in nodes related to the Seal.”

“It is speculated to be related to the upcoming Seal Tide cycle, possibly as a precursor before the tide arrives.”

Lin Mo stared at the three red-marked time fluctuation curves on the light screen. The peaks and valleys of their rises and falls indeed possessed a certain obscure synchronicity.

“The tide is coming, and various weak points are moving in advance... It seems the time left for us may be even less than the estimated two-plus years.”

He said slowly, “The Blood Fiend Sect's actions at the Sea Eye are an attempt to pre-locate or try to open a passage before the tide officially arrives. As for the outbreak in the Ancient Marsh, is it a natural leak, or was it also triggered by an external force...”

There were many questions and few answers.

But one thing was certain: the balance was being broken, and the chaos was accelerating.

“4, notify the [Er] Squad. After completing the establishment of the second observation point and security defense, select two members who are most skilled in infiltration and disguise.”

“Try to approach the crowd of Loose Cultivators gathered outside the Ancient Marsh in the guise of wandering Loose Cultivators to collect more direct rumors and eyewitness information. It is absolutely forbidden to go within three miles of the Ancient Marsh entrance.”

“Notify all hidden agents to increase their vigilance. There may be screenings or mission changes within their Sects or organizations soon. They must respond appropriately, with self-preservation and maintaining their cover as the first priority.”

“Notify the core members of the kindling plan to keep a low profile for the time being, suspend all expansion activities, and check the concealment of their respective strongholds.”

Lin Mo turned his gaze toward the area representing the Sea Eye. “In addition, have our people along the coast spread a piece of news:”

“Say that there are rumors from old fishermen that on a full moon night, they once saw a blood-colored sail shadow flash through the thick fog in the direction of the Sea Eye, accompanied by faint, shrill wails.”

Since the water is already muddy, one might as well stir it a bit more.

By directing part of the Sea Eye's anomaly toward the clear target of the 'Blood Fiend Sect,' it would intensify the vigilance of the Sects and the imperial court toward the Blood Fiend Sect.

“Yes!” 4 took the order and quickly made arrangements.

Lin Mo stood alone before the light screen, watching the green network representing his own power quietly spread among the red markers representing various forces and crises.

The wind and rain are coming.