Chapter 3986: Blackmarsh

A group of cultivators rushed through the city and towards the damaged section of the wall. It had to be defended, or else the insects in the marsh would pour through the gap and flood the city.

“Finally, reinforcements.”

“Hurry! We can’t hold on much longer...”

The reinforcements consisted of only about a dozen cultivators, but that was still enough for those who had been holding the line to breathe easier and take some breaks.

Half a day later, the insects retreated. The cultivators stayed at the damaged section of the wall until men from the city lord’s estate arrived with some special materials to repair it. Only then were the defenders truly able to relax, and dozens of them collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.

“It’s finally over.”

“Not even close. Without the support of a powerhouse, the insects will probably never be wiped out from the Blackmarsh.”

“Blackmarsh City will never know peace again.”

“Be content. At least we haven’t run into any Verdant Sages.”

“Do you think that Verdant Sages are numerous? They’re opponents for the top figures to deal with. For people like us, just facing a Scrollbane Centipede is incredibly difficult. Not only are those creatures as strong as a powerful Spirit Warrior, but they’re also invisible and able to move anywhere. It’s absolutely ridiculous.”

“What are you complaining about? I didn’t see you fighting against the Scrollbane Centipedes. Everyone in Blackmarsh City who’s above a Spirit Warrior has already been gathered to fight them. We’re already lucky enough...”

As he listened to the nearby conversations, Lu Yin silently leaned against the city wall, treating non-existent wounds with medicine. Upon arriving in Blackmarsh City, he had altered his appearance, disguising himself as a dour cultivator. He had done so precisely to avoid being discovered by Yong Heng.

In and of herself, Cheng Xue had no value. Her only value was in serving as a guide to Yong Heng.

Lu Yin understood perfectly well just how cautious Yong Heng was. The fact that a lead had been found through the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm already defied all odds, and it was only possible because there was no chance that Yong Heng could have considered this possibility. The man would have never dreamed that Lu Yin could use the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm.

Since a clue had been found, it could not be wasted.

Rashly searching for Cheng Xue’s bones would be of little use, even if Lu Yin managed to capture them. His goal was to use those bones to lure Yong Heng out. Besides, the reason why Cheng Xue was in the depths of Blackmarsh was also a mystery.

To avoid startling the snake, Lu Yin had refrained from sweeping the depths of the swamp with his consciousness, and he did not dare to make any move at all.

The fact that Cheng Xue was under the swamp strongly suggested a connection to either Silent Death or the Netherfiends, both of which were forces that even the Greater Sancti could not find. If Lu Yin did anything overt, he would surely be detected.

Since he could not make any progress by acting as a powerful cultivator, then he needed to approach the matter from the perspective of someone weak, possibly even an ordinary human.

The fact that either the Netherfiends or Silent Death had hidden themselves beneath the Blackmarsh rather than in some desolate place suggested that they were using the city’s bustle to conceal their traces. In that case, Lu Yin would use the city to conduct his search. That method was the least likely to be noticed.

It was so difficult to find a clue that any he found needed to be handled with the greatest caution.

A burly man patted Lu Yin’s arm. “Brother, thanks for earlier.”

Lu Yin smiled. “Think nothing of it.”

While fighting against the insects that had risen from underground, Lu Yin had casually saved this man. Without that help, the man would have been either crippled or killed. He really did owe his life to Lu Yin.

The burly man shuddered at the thought. “If not for you, I’d be dead, and my sister would have no one to look after her.”

“Brother, don’t say something so unlucky.” Beside the man stood a dark-skinned woman with delicate features. She had clearly been hardened after years of combat. Her eyes were resolute, and she carried a bow on her back.

She also offered her thanks to Lu Yin. “Thank you, for saving my brother.”

Lu Yin waved it off. “Everyone fighting on a battlefield should help each other. Next time, you might be the ones to save me.”

“Rest assured. With my arrows, no insect will even get close to you,” the woman firmly promised.

The burly man rolled his eyes. “That’s the same thing that you told me last time.”

The woman shot a vicious glare, and the man chuckled awkwardly.

“I still don’t know your name, Brother. I am Ling Guang, and this is my sister, Ling Shu.”

“Just call me Fugui,” Lu Yin said, with a straight face.[1]

Ling Guang and Ling Shu exchanged a strange look. “Fugui?”

Lu Yin smiled. “An elder gave me this name as a cultivator, saying that a humble name makes it easier to survive, as one is less likely to die.”

“Haha, so that’s how it is. Your elder was truly farsighted,” Ling Guang laughed. He had simply assumed that Lu Yin wanted to hide his identity, but the story behind the name left nothing to argue against.

Ling Shu also laughed and then started chatting with Lu Yin.

Two days quickly passed, and the bugs attacked Blackmarsh City again, resuming the previous slaughter.

Lu Yin fought together with Ling Guang and Ling Shu, relaxed and unafraid of the bugs. Even when a Scrollbane Centipede tried to ambush them, Ling Shu noticed it in advance, which allowed Lu Yin and Ling Guang to retreat in time. That particular encounter left Ling Guang shaken, as the three of them were no match for a Scrollbane Centipede.

For half a month, Lu Yin stayed in Blackmarsh City. Not only did he grow more familiar with the two siblings, but he also got to know the other defenders.

Most of the people fighting on the walls were independent cultivators. While their cultivation was nothing impressive, they all had rich combat experience and were particularly skilled at surviving.

During these few weeks, several women tried to seduce Lu Yin, which reminded him of his experiences during Earth’s apocalypse.

“Fugui, your swordsmanship is impressive. Have you ever visited the Seventh Night Pillar?” someone asked, drawing the attention of many others who overheard.

Lu Yin had revealed a hint of his true swordsmanship. While he only revealed a low level of cultivation, his sword skills were impressive enough that he had quickly become famous.

“No.”

“Then you really should. That’s the Sword Pilgrimage Grounds. Even the Four Commands Sword Sect sends their people there, as does the Fifth Night Pillar’s Azuresword Sovereign. Everyone in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse who uses a sword goes to that place to learn. That’s the home of the Nine Odysseys’ Sword Sovereign.”

𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

“It isn’t easy to get onto the Seventh Night Pillar, is it?” Lu Yin asked doubtfully.

Someone replied, “That used to be the case, but no longer. I heard that Senior Gu Duanke moved the stone wall that’s etched with sword techniques off of the Night Pillar so that anyone can study it. Still, you need to be careful. That sword intent can easily cause a backlash if you aren’t strong enough. I’d say that you should wait until you’re at least a late-stage Spirit Warrior before going, since that wall isn’t marked with ordinary sword intent.”

Ling Guang nodded his agreement. “Brother, don’t be in a hurry. Just wait until you have a breakthrough. I’ve even heard that Mr. Lu left his sword intent there. That’s not something that common folk should view.”

Lu Yin blinked. “

That

Mr. Lu?”

“Yes,

that

Mr. Lu,” Ling Guang answered seriously.

The expressions of the others nearby grew solemn.

“While Senior Gu Duanke is the Sword Sovereign of the Nine Odysseys, there’s no denying that Mr. Lu’s sword intent is likely even more powerful,” someone said with a sigh.

“When he attacked the South Domain from the West, instantly killing Cheng Gong at the base of Whither Peak, he proved that he is invincible beneath the Immortals. That attack was precisely sword intent.”

Someone argued, “But I heard that that sword attack was just a trick, though I don’t get how. Still, I believe that Senior Gu Duanke is the true Sword Sovereign of the Nine Odysseys. Lu Yin can’t compare.”

“That’s right, Lu Yin can’t compare.”

“I think that Mr. Lu’s sword intent is the strongest.”

“Absolutely not...”

The argument grew heated, echoing many other discussions that Lu Yin had heard during his time in Blackmarsh City.

There were some in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse who were grateful to him, while others despised him. This was perfectly normal.

Still, the majority were grateful to him. If not, he would have never been acknowledged by the will of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, and he would have never been able to merge his Karmic Dao with the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm.

“Enough. There’s no point in arguing about those top powerhouses. They live in their world, while we live in ours, and the two will never intersect. Instead, we should talk about digging for treasure in Blackmarsh City!” someone shouted.

The entire crowd immediately perked up at those words. The people present were in Blackmarsh City precisely to dig for treasure.

Lu Yin had heard about digging for treasure on his third day in the city. He had then realized that digging for treasure was his only option to get close to Cheng Xue’s bones.

There was treasure beneath the Blackmarsh—at least, that was what the legends said. These legends had spread wide and far, and some had even been proven to be true.

That was the only reason why Blackmarsh City existed, as well as why so many cultivators gathered there. What other resources could attract people into a swamp?

The legends claimed that some powerful faction had been buried beneath the vast Blackmarsh. No one knew the name of the sect, as it was said to be too ancient, which was why there were no longer any records at all.

In the Blackmarsh, people could dig for treasure. There were times when something valuable would be found, and over time, Blackmarsh City had been built.

The swamp gave Lu Yin a feeling similar to the West Domain.

Beneath the West Domain’s yellow sand lay the legacies of the Skyveil Megaverse’s spirit treasure formations, which prompted many to dig for treasure in the sand.

The Blackmarsh was exactly the same.

Still, the Blackmarsh was nowhere close to as vast as the West Domain, and after so many years, all of the treasures in the swamp should have already been unearthed. However, there were claims that the buried sect moved about, perhaps with the help of a spirit treasure formation, or for some other reason. There were even people who claimed that it was on the back of a giant scorpion that lived in the swamp, which caused the treasure to constantly move about and was why it was impossible to determine its location.

Additionally, Blackmarsh City forbade cultivators from damaging the swamp itself. Anyone who wanted to dig for treasure could not damage the swamp.

Blackmarsh City’s reasoning behind that rule was quite simple, as the city would only exist for as long as people continued to dig for treasure. Why else would anyone visit such a place?

Over time, it had become a destination for countless independent cultivators, each of whom dreamed of acquiring a vast fortune in one stroke of luck.

“Did you hear about that tomboy last year? Such amazing luck,” someone remarked.

“I heard about that. Some girl disguised herself as a man and went digging for treasure with a group. She actually unearthed a cultivated spirit seed, which allowed her to leap past multiple realms in an instant and become a Spirit Ancestor.”

“That’s nothing. In the past, someone even managed to dig up a spirit seed that belonged to an Ortuser. Now that was amazing.”

“Others have dug up rare resources which were bought by the city lord's manor. Those people also instantly soared into the heavens...”

At Lu Yin’s side, Ling Guang enviously commented, “If only we could dig up a cultivated spirit seed.”

Ling Shu said irritably, “Don’t say that! If you say it out loud, you definitely won’t find one.”

“Fugui, what do you want to find?”

Ling Shu also gave Lu Yin a curious look. He thought for a moment. “Spirit seeds.”

“Not a cultivated one?”

“A cultivated spirit seed would certainly be better, but that’s too much to hope for, isn’t it?”

“You’re practical, but even if you find spirit seeds, they’re not of much use. They’re also not enough, and they’re scattered all over.”

Lu Yin asked doubtfully, “Have you ever considered that this treasure digging might just be a way for Blackmarsh City to lure in independent cultivators?”

Ling Guang and Ling Shu exchanged a glance, and then they bluntly asked, “So what? As long as we can get something good, it’s fine. Nobody cares about the reason.”

Lu Yin thought about it and quickly agreed.

Cultivating was never easy for independent cultivators, and they would not ignore any opportunities before them.

“Actually, the best way to dig for treasure is to follow the city lord's manor. Doing so greatly increases the chances of success. Unfortunately, without enough strength or the right connections, it’s impossible to even get close,” Ling Guang commented with a shrug.

Ling Shu cleaned her bow and arrows. “We’re fighting with our lives on the line just to earn a bit of merit, hoping for a chance to join the city lord’s treasure-hunting team.”

“Does the city lord have a treasure-hunting team?” Lu Yin asked curiously.

“Of course. The city lord's manor takes treasure hunts very seriously. Many people have suspected the same thing that you just mentioned, so every few generations, the city lords of Blackmarsh City go out and uncover valuable treasures, dispelling those suspicions. All of the treasures that they find are real. Some people flee with whatever treasure they dig up, because some people have been killed for what they’ve found. That’s why everyone believes that the treasures are real and not just something Blackmarsh City has planted as bait.”

Lu Yin nodded thoughtfully.

1. Fugui literal meaning: “wealth and honor” / “prosperity and nobility.” It's a stereotypical name for a pet. Lu Yin is essentially saying "call me Fido." ☜