Great Swamp of the Ancient Regions
Great Swamp of the Ancient Regions
However, the Great Swamp of the Ancient Regions was truly too vast. So many people were like a drop in the ocean, even when there were rare encounters things often remained peaceful.
The inside of the swamp was filled with miasma that lingered all year round. It had already settled in for over 10000 years of time, severely disturbing the spiritual energy flow here. It was a hundred times more complicated than the Black Cloud Earth Palace suppressing the Unholy Blood River underground.
Forget about Foundation Establishment stage and Aurous Core stage cultivators, even if a Nascent Soul stage old monster came in it would still be very difficult for him to discover the tracks of others.
It was precisely because of this that Lin Feng dared to swagger in onto the swamp.
Afterall, strictly speaking, the Great Swamp of the Ancient Regions belonged to the Great Zhou Empire.
Lin Feng just took out the House of the Marquis of Xuanji’s second steward and then was now barging into their backyard. Without the Great Swamp of the Ancient Regions’s special topography, he could just wait to be hunted down.
But this kind of complex topography had undoubtedly also greatly increased Lin Feng’s difficulty of finding the galactic sand. Blindly looking for it was no different from looking for a needle in a haystack.
"The system only mentioned that the Great Swamp of the Ancient Regions produced galactic sand, but it didn’t have the specific location. How should I look for it?". Lin Feng controlled the Black Cloud Flag and descended from the sky.
What entered the eyes was all swampland and quagmire. Some pulsed with bubbles while some looked ordinary, but they were actually even more dangerous. Unsuspecting people who set their foot down didn't need to think about coming back up anymore.
Lin Feng carefully studied the area and landed on a relatively dry piece of land. He stared at the thousand kilometer swampland before him and also couldn’t help but feel a bit worried.
Wang Lin’s expression was also down, he asked, "Master, how should we search for the galactic sand?".
"I would also want to know.". Lin Feng laughed helplessly in his heart, but on the surface, he didn’t reveal any signs. He said in a calm and composed manner, "Searching for the galactic sand is but a small matter. What’s more important about this trip is to train you well.".
Lin Feng turned his head looking at Wang Lin. He said slowly, "You should also know that your Innate Ability and talent are not outstanding.".
Wang Lin lowered his head. His master’s words had already shown consideration for his pride. He also knew that his Innate Ability was far more than not outstanding, it was practically terrible, even worse than that of an ordinary person.
That’s why ever since entering under Lin Feng’s teaching, Wang Lin had always been training with great diligence. With the help of the Pearl of Styx he has had a certain degree of success but compared to the speed of Xiao Yan and the other two who virtually had a new look every day, his improvement was virtually small enough to be negligible.
Being apprentice-brothers with these three monsters, Wang Lin’s pressure was even greater than when he was in the Mount Heng School. Even with his unwavering mind, his confidence was dealt a big blow. He could only work even harder.
Lin Feng said, "It is precisely because of this that I want you to receive even more polishing and training.".
"You have very good potential. You are a good piece of jade, but you need even more polishing than the average person to be able to let you glow with amazing splendor. Maybe all of this polishing will make you suffer a lot.". Lin Feng said word by word, "But I believe that you will ultimately succeed.".
Wang Lin’s heart warmed and he nodded his head, "I will definitely work hard, I will not disappoint Master’s expectations.".
Lin Feng nodded his head in contentment. He pointed at the endless swampland before them, "This Great Swamp of the Ancient Regions is your first training location. No doubt looking for galactic sand here is beset with difficulties, but you must remember that galactic sand is just an incidental goal. The key is that you must learn from the experience and hone yourself.".
"Your other three apprentice-brothers have been with me for a long time already. They have the ability to protect themselves so I let them out to train. At the moment your strength is insufficient, so this time I am following beside you to protect you.". Lin Feng continued saying, "Training is not about getting yourself killed. If there really is a danger, I will naturally come forward, but in any other instances such as the search for galactic sand and all else will have to be dealt with by yourself. Only when training is done like this can there be a visible effect.".
"Do you understand?".
Wang Lin bowed saying, "I understand, rest assured Master.".
Successfully bamboozling Wang Lin, Lin Feng’s face revealed a pleased smile.
The Wang Lin of now may be far from amounting to anything and thus searching for galactic sand in this vast swampland mainly still depended on Lin Feng himself, but he believed that Wang Lin’s blessing of 8 would also be great help.
At the very least it wouldn't let him return empty handed, right?
Not to mention his words just now were not just for show. Compared to the other three, Wang Lin was limited by his Innate Ability of only 5. The initial stage of his cultivation would be extremely difficult. Even though he had a will of 10 to support himself, as his master, Lin Feng also had to regularly encourage him.
Constant encouragement was beneficial to deepening the relationship between the master and disciple and at the same time building up Lim Feng’s glorious image in his disciple’s heart.
Thus, the method of searching soon became Wang Lin carefully scouting out the path in front step by step while Lin Feng followed behind pretending to be profound.
But Lin Feng wasn’t completely idle either. The spiritual energy in the swampland may have been chaotic, but he could still vaguely sense it in close distance.
"Hm? This mana fluctuation… A Foundation Establishment stage cultivator?". While walking, Lin Feng suddenly sensed a strong mana fluctuation right nearby him.
After having seen Nascent Soul stage old monsters and Aurous Core stage cultivators, Foundation Establishment stage cultivators could no longer attract Lin Feng’ attention. Even though compared to them, Lin Feng who was currently only in the great circle of the perfection of the Qi Cultivation Stage was still greatly behind in terms of mana and it was the difference between the river and the sea.
But with Lin Feng’s current strength, the majority of Foundation Establishment stage cultivators really weren't much of a threat to him. Unless the person also possessed a powerful magic item or trump card.
"Besides the one Foundation Establishment stage cultivator, there were also a couple in the Qi Cultivation Stages.".
Quietly sensing for a moment, Lin Feng had a good idea in his heart. He secretly transmitted his voice to Wang Lin, "Wang Lin, another few hundred meters forward and you will encounter a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator and a couple of Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators. I will not appear if something happens you deal with it yourself.".
"Communicating and interacting with others is also a form of training.".
Upon hearing this, Wang Lin nodded his head.
Lin Feng slowed down his speed and became increasingly further from Wang Lin. Miasma was heavy in the swamp and heavily affected the vision. If Lin Feng didn't use his mana, with the concealment of the system there wasn't anyone who could discover him from far away.
Both sides had already gotten very close. The fog spread apart revealing the figures of four people.
The one who attracted Lin Feng’s attention first was definitely the linen-robed middle-aged man amongst them because he was the Foundation Establishment stage cultivator that Lin Feng sensed before.
This person was tall and skinny, he was practically like a bamboo pole propping up the linen robe.
In addition, there were also two youths wearing tight uniforms and they both had Qi Cultivation Stage cultivation level. The two of them and that linen-robed middle aged man were gathered around a fine-clothed youth.
The fine-clothed youth may only have had a Qi Cultivation Stage cultivation level, but he was clearly the leader of the group. Looking at his demeanor, Lin Feng knew that this kid was the second generation of a noble family. The linen-robed middle-aged man should have been sent by his family to protect him.
Right now the fine-clothed youth had a stumped expression, "If I’d known earlier that the Great Swamp of the Ancient Regions was so boring I wouldn’t have come in.".
One of the followers behind him smiled kissing up to him, "Young Master, the reason we came in this time is mainly to earn merits.".
The fine-clothed youth said impatiently, "I know, do I need you to tell me? 3000 elite Divine Martial Soldiers coming in to capture rebels. So many people to split merits but there are only so many rebels. How much can I get?".
"3000 Divine Martial Soldiers, capturing rebels?". Lin Feng who was hidden far away heard their conversation and a thought appeared in his mind, "Looks like there were people resisting against the Great Zhou Dynasty’s rule, and after they failed they escaped into the Great Swamp of the Ancient Regions, hoping to use the natural defense of the swamp to evade their pursuers.".
The linen-robed middle-aged man’s skinny face revealed a faint smile, "Young Master Xue, there may be a lot of people who have entered this time, but the Great Swamp of the Ancient Regions' terrain is inherently limited. The number of people who can benefit is after all the minority.".
Towards the linen-robed middle-aged man, the fine-clothed youth Xue Chao still maintained a degree of respect. He nodded his head, "Taoist Ma speaks of the truth.".
Taoist Ma continued saying, "Moreover there are also their families and children who followed those rebels into the Great Swamp of the Ancient Regions this time. These people are very easy to capture, they’re virtually free merits.".
Xue Chao felt reinvigorated, "Exactly so.".
They were using mana to transmit their voices the whole time, but they didn’t know that everything was heard by Lin Feng who was at the side. Only after finishing their chat did they have the interest to go in front of Wang Lin and get a look at him.
Wang Lin brought his fists together, "My name is Wang Lin, greetings seniors.".
"Qi Disciple level 2 only?" Xue Chao rolled his eyes and turned his head not even looking at Wang Lin. Taoist Ma who was as skinny as a bamboo pole also didn’t have the interest to speak. One of the youths in a tight uniform smiled asking, "You dare to enter into the Great Swamp of the Ancient Regions with your mere cultivation level of Qi Cultivator level 2, you’ve got big balls.".
Wang Lin answered with grace, "I came here to train under my master’s orders. I am looking for something called galactic sand. Have any of you heard of this item before? If you could tell me, I will be deeply grateful.".
As he finished speaking, Wang Lin noticed in astoundment that the expressions of the four people across from him all changed. Their eyes stared straight at him.
The tight-uniformed youth who questioned him before continued asking, "You’re looking for galactic sand?".
Seeing this, Lin Feng who was in the shadows slightly furrowed his brows. Wang Lin also felt that something was a bit off. He carefully responded, "That’s right.".
Hearing this, that fine-clothed youth Xue Chao waved his hand.
"Take this person down first!".