Three days later, Chu Ning, with a new appearance, arrived in front of a marshland.
Since witnessing the fellow disciples’ betrayal, Chu Ning had become even more vigilant.
He not only changed his appearance but also enhanced his aura to the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining.
At least this way, others hopefully won’t feel like they could easily manipulate him, potentially avoiding some trouble.
However, during these three days, Chu Ning didn’t encounter any other people.
Thinking about it, this seemed normal. After all, the Spirit Realm is vast, and having three people transmit to a close location was already quite rare.
Along the way, Chu Ning did come across several Red Fire Spiders and other Demon Beasts.
But dealing with these Tier One Intermediate Demon Beasts was effortless for Chu Ning.
Even though he had the Puppet Bird to scout the way and the Cyan Light Bead that illuminated at night.
Chu Ning still chose to meditate and rest at night.
And continued the journey during the day, now arriving at this marshland.
Chu Ning had already memorized the map in his mind, although this area was far from the core Array Formation Land, it was closer than the previous Blue Moon Cave.
Beyond this marshland, paths from other directions would start converging.
There should be other disciples as well.
"Ying!"
As Chu Ning stopped, from his sleeve, Ling Xiaobai, who was released from the Spirit Beast Bag, let out a call.
Ling Xiaobai could grow and shrink, a capability gained after upgrading to a Tier One advanced Demon Beast.
Initially, Chu Ning hadn’t noticed until entering the Spirit Realm, feeling Ling Xiaobai was too conspicuous outside. Only then did the little one shrink into the sleeve.
Facing Chu Ning’s query on why it previously didn’t mention having other Talents, Ling Xiaobai replied pitifully that it wasn’t exactly a Talent.
Thus, Chu Ning let it go.
At this moment, hearing Ling Xiaobai’s call, Chu Ning instinctively looked to the front left.
"Spirit Medicine?"
Chu Ning naturally trusted Ling Xiaobai’s senses.
But in the middle of the marshland, where flying was impossible, collecting it might be inconvenient.
While Chu Ning was thinking of this.
"Ying!"
Ling Xiaobai already dashed out instantly.
The little creature might not fly, but its speed was barely affected.
Dashing over the marshland, it was so fast it didn’t sink.
In a flash, Ling Xiaobai reached the center and, among many plants, bit off a lotus-shaped Spirit Plant.
Then, raced back towards Chu Ning.
When Ling Xiaobai arrived in front of Chu Ning, he took the item from its mouth to see.
Discovering it’s a lotus-like item, yet compared to ordinary lotus seeds, these were red.
Even without peeling the lotus, the red color was evident inside.
"Mist Fire Lotus."
Chu Ning now recognized the item’s name.
Reportedly excellent for refining Fire Attribute Elixirs, judging by the Mist Fire Lotus’s age, it should be quite valuable in Spirit Stones.
"This marshland, with its inability to utilize Wind-controlling Flight, makes collecting Spirit Medicine inside very inconvenient.
Otherwise, in an outer area like this, Spirit Medicine of such age and level couldn’t possibly remain.
It would have long been harvested by senior disciples."
Chu Ning murmured softly, holding the Mist Fire Lotus, then asked Ling Xiaobai:
"Xiaobai, do you want to eat it?"
"Ying!" Ling Xiaobai shook its head.
Chu Ning then chuckled helplessly, saying:
"I almost forgot, you’re Ice Attribute. Other attributes’ Spirit Medicine and Spirit Fruit don’t matter, but this is Fire Attribute."
As he spoke, Chu Ning placed the Mist Fire Lotus into a Jade Box and stored it back into the Storage Bag.
Then, Chu Ning gazed at the marshland.
"Xiaobai’s speed doesn’t cause sinking; if I used the Thunder Shock Step, it might be possible, but..."
Thinking this way, Chu Ning shook his head.
No need to risk it, especially since he didn’t know if there were other hazards beneath the marsh.
Despite the map’s previous notation indicating this marshland’s area spans several hundred miles, Chu Ning decided to circumvent it.
After checking the direction with the Guiding Needle, Chu Ning turned east along the marshland’s edge.
He didn’t use Thunder Shock Step, merely employed simple Wind Manipulation Technique to walk near the ground.
The speed was slightly slower, but it offered a more relaxed pace.
After walking about two hundred miles, Chu Ning faintly saw the marsh’s end.
With Chu Ning using usual Escape Technique or Wind-controlling Flight, two hundred miles could take less than an hour.
But Chu Ning didn’t hurry too much, taking nearly one and a half hours.
At this moment, the Puppet Bird still flew ahead.
As he was about to reach the marsh’s end, Chu Ning halted.
Since the Puppet Bird previously failed to promptly spot the bushy-browed disciple hiding behind a boulder, Chu Ning now controlled the Puppet Bird to fly over a broader range.
While flying forward, he also explored to the sides.
Through the Magic Mirror, Chu Ning saw in his right front.
A swarm of flying ants gnawing at some kind of Demon Beast on a large tree.
At this point, the Demon Beast had only a bit of flesh left, already entirely consumed, leaving skeletal remains.
Chu Ning couldn’t discern what type of Demon Beast it was.
But the swarm of flying ants, Chu Ning recognized.
Azure Sky Ants, one of the most troublesome Demon Beasts in the Spirit Realm.