Published at 16th of December 2025 8:23 am

Chapter 1922: The Giant Quicksand Vortex! (Part 2)

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An hour later, inside the mountain cave.

Luo Qingchen slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, his once paper-white face regaining a hint of blood color. Although he was still far from his peak state, the Chaotic Power circulating within him had already recovered to about fifty percent, enough to handle most unexpected situations. The effect of the Elixir combined with the self-operating Chaos Technique finally allowed him to catch a breath.

Lin Wan’er had been guarding the cave entrance all along, and now that she saw him rise, her tense expression relaxed slightly: "Brother Luo, can we set off now?"

Luo Qingchen nodded, his gaze sweeping over the still sleeping Bai Ling’er and the nervous Su Xiaowan: "Hmm, it’s not safe to stay here for long. We’ll head southwest and leave this swamp as soon as possible."

Su Xiaowan hurriedly wiped it clean, although the Turtle Shell was still somewhat dim.

She carefully wrapped it again and tucked it into her arms, tightening her muddy, oddly-scented clothes, and said with a bitter face, "Southwest... but it’s all mud here, how do we walk? And what if we encounter those big creatures again? Can Ling’er scare them off once more?"

Luo Qingchen glanced at Bai Ling’er, the girl’s sleeping face was serene, and the leaves of the Nine Revolutions Soul Revival Grass on her brow were still dim. The fleeting Dragon Soul wave earlier seemed like an illusion. "Ling’er’s power is uncontrollable; we can’t rely on that. Be cautious, and adapt to circumstances." He paused and looked at Su Xiaowan, "Prepare those random Talismans of yours; they might come in handy."

"Oh..." Su Xiaowan puckered her lips, took out a colorful stack of Talisman Paper from her Storage Bag, and patted them like a treasure, "I’ve been saving these for a long time. I hope they’re useful in this ghostly place."

The three of them no longer delayed, with Luo Qingchen leading the way, Lin Wan’er carrying Bai Ling’er in the middle, and Su Xiaowan closely following Lin Wan’er, carefully stepping out of the mountain cave covered with vines.

Leaving the relatively dry hilltop, their feet immediately sank into the thick, slippery black mud below. Each step was extraordinarily difficult, not only requiring force to pull out their deeply sunk ankles but also remaining constantly vigilant for quicksand or deep pits that might swallow life. The pervasive stench in the air grew stronger, mixed with the odorous decay of plants and stagnant water, causing nausea.

Luo Qingchen channeled Chaotic Power into his feet, trying his best to step on relatively solid grass roots or rotten wood, while extending his Divine Sense outward, scanning tens of meters within for any wind or grass movements. However, the strange thing about this swamp was that it seemed to naturally suppress and interfere with Divine Sense, reducing its range by almost half compared to the outside world, making the perceived scenes somewhat blurry, as if covered by an invisible veil.

"This cursed place, you can’t even see the road." Su Xiaowan trudged through the mud, complaining softly, "And it’s so quiet... eerily quiet."

It was indeed very quiet. Apart from the "squelch" sound of their feet in the mud and the occasional strange insect chirps or the sound of water bubbles from afar, the entire swamp seemed to have fallen into a state of deathly silence. The sky was still that lead-grey color, the low clouds pressing down heavily, hard to breathe, impossible to discern the time or direction. Without the faint guidance from the Star Map fragment, they likely would have long been lost in this boundless ink-black mire.

After about an hour of walking, the surrounding landscape began to change. The twisted strange trees, initially scattered sparsely, gradually became more numerous. These trees were completely black, the bark shriveled like an old man’s wrinkles, and the leafless branches reached up like ghostly claws. Among the trees, more brightly colored but eerier plants began to appear.

For example, a blood-red "water lily" the size of a basin floating on the murky water, with its center filled with dense black spots resembling eyeballs, exuding a faint sickly sweet fragrance that lured unknown insects to approach, only to snap shut its petals and devour them.

Another plant grew close to the ground, resembling vine-like dark green plants with sharp, gleaming green thorns, clearly toxic. They spread silently in the marsh like lurking venomous snakes, and if one carelessly stepped on them, they would ensnare and pierce you.

"Watch the left!" Luo Qingchen shouted softly, his Black Dragon Sword slicing out a precise grey Sword Qi that severed a dark green poisonous vine quietly reaching for Su Xiaowan’s ankle. The cut vine oozed stinky dark green liquid from its severed end, falling onto the mud with a "sizzle" of corrosive sound. Horrified, Su Xiaowan quickly stepped back a few paces, patting her chest: "Scared me to death! Thank you, Brother Luo!"

"Stay close and don’t get distracted," Luo Qingchen frowned, sensing that as they ventured deeper, the danger of this swamp was gradually increasing.

Lin Wan’er also braced herself, her Longsword slightly drawn, Heavenly Essence Spiritual Power circulating, always ready to counter any potential attacks. As she walked, she kept an eye on her surroundings, trying to find relatively safer paths.

"Brother Luo, look ahead!" Lin Wan’er suddenly pointed to the right front.

Luo Qingchen followed her direction, seeing at a distance of several dozen meters an area where the water’s edge seemed different from the surrounding environment. It was no longer covered with black mud but appeared to be a grey-white, sand-like surface, sparsely dotted with low, grey-green shrubs.

"It looks... like it might be drier there?" Su Xiaowan also noticed, her eyes lighting up.

Luo Qingchen focused his senses, noting that the Spiritual Energy in that area seemed slightly more active than in the depths of the swamp. Although still mixed, the cold and decayed feeling had noticeably lessened. "Let’s go check it out, maybe we can take a short rest."

The three lifted their spirits and quickened their pace, heading towards the grey-white sandy area. As they neared, the mud underfoot became shallower until finally setting foot on the relatively solid sand surface.

This sandy area was not large, measuring about a hundred meters in diameter, like an island surrounded by the black swamp. The sand was coarse, an unnatural grey-white color, and stepping on it made a "rustling" sound. The grey-green shrubs grew strangely too, with thick leaves edged with fine serrations, emitting a faintly bitter aroma.

"Phew, finally a chance to catch our breath." Su Xiaowan plopped down, massaging her sore calves, "Walking through that mud really isn’t for humans."

Lin Wan’er carefully laid Bai Ling’er down, letting her lean against a shrub and exhaled lightly. Though the Spiritual Power depletion wasn’t much during their swamp trek, the mental tension and physical exhaustion were very real.

Luo Qingchen didn’t rest immediately; he cautiously surveyed the surroundings. The grey-white sandy area seemed abrupt, not fitting with the surrounding sinister swamp environment. He walked to a grey-green shrub, picked a thick leaf, and rubbed it between his fingers. The leaf contained a faint purifying energy, albeit weak, but indeed present.

"The soil and plants here seem somewhat special," Luo Qingchen mused, "Perhaps it’s related to some balance within this swamp."

Suddenly, a drastic change occurred!

The grey-white sand beneath the trio’s feet, without any warning, began to shake violently! As if some huge creature beneath the ground was awakening!

"What’s happening?!" Su Xiaowan jumped in fright.

Rumbling—!

The center of the sandy area suddenly collapsed, forming a massive quicksand vortex! A strong suction came from the vortex’s core, frantically pulling them in!

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