The swamp was a stinking mess of mud and rotting vegetation. Small trees rose up from the mud in small clusters. Heaps of plants dotted the area, forming small mounds. If I squinted my eyes, I could make out small wisps of steam rising from these mounds. A thick layer of algae covered everything, making it difficult to tell which was solid land and which wasn’t; solid being relative in this case. In fact, I wasn’t sure if there was any solid land.
What surprised me most was how hot and humid it was. After the cool shade of the forest, I found the sudden change to be unpleasant to say the least. This was on top of the disgusting smell that filled my nostrils. When this was all over, I would need to take a long bath in order to wash the stench from my body; maybe several baths. From the expressions on their faces, the others felt the same.
The swamp also turned out to be bigger than expected. It stretched across the width of the valley, about a mile in total, and I estimated that it was about half a mile long. Or would it be a mile long and half a mile wide? I wasn’t sure. Regardless, in order to cross it, we would need to traverse across half a mile of filth and muck. On the other side was another forest similar to the one behind us.
Going around the swamp wasn’t an option. The ends of the swamp reached the large hills that marked the borders of the valley. While Cultivator Thurstan and Cultivator Euphemia never said anything about what would happen if we left the valley, I imagined that leaving the test area would disqualify us.
The four of us stood near the edge of the swamp, staring out at it. Well, three of us stood since I still carried Cultivator Harlow in my arms.
“Cultivator Harlow,” I said as an unpleasant thought occurred to me. “What would have happened if you hadn’t broken through the array?”
She grimaced.
“Given what I know about illusion arrays,” she said. “We wouldn’t have noticed anything amiss until one of us, or perhaps even all of us, fell into this swamp. The shock would have allowed us to see through the array, but it would have been a nasty surprise.”
I shuddered at the idea that we almost fell into this swamp. Just standing near it left me feeling grimy. Just how much worse would it have been if I had fallen into the mud? And that wasn’t even taking into consideration the potential threats hiding beneath the swamp’s surface. There could be all kinds of dangers lurking in the mud, just waiting to ambush us.
“Thank you, Cultivator Harlow,” I said. “You saved us from a most unpleasant fate.”
Clarissa grimaced and nodded.
“Indeed, Cultivator Harlow,” Cultivator Willow said with a sigh. “And I apologize for my harsh words earlier. You didn’t deserve them.”
Cultivator Harlow gave her a smug look, before facing the swamp again.
“At least crossing it won’t be a problem,” I said. “At least not for me. I don’t know about the rest of you.”
In the months leading up to the entrance exam, I learned a number of supplementary techniques from Astra and Raphael. They weren’t fighting styles, mystic arts, or cultivation techniques. Rather, they were useful tricks that most cultivators learned for their utility. One of these supplementary techniques was a movement technique called Lighter Than Air.
As the name suggested, cultivators lightened their weight using this technique, allowing them to move faster. It also allowed them to walk on water. At the highest levels, cultivators could tread air using this technique. It was a popular technique of Clan Wind Dance’s junior generation, due to their affinity for Wind.
Astra and Cultivator Raphael didn’t bother with it themselves, since Golden Core cultivators and above no longer needed the technique. However, for Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment cultivators, it was incredibly useful. That said, the technique came with a downside. In order to use it, one needed to continually move. Stopping, even for just a second, negated its effects. In this case, if I used the technique to cross the swamp but stopped halfway through, I would fall in.
Another downside to the Lighter Than Air technique, at least for me, was that I wasn’t proficient at it. I focused more on practicing my martial arts and my mystic arts rather than the supplementary techniques Astra and Cultivator Raphael taught me. If I had known that I would’ve needed them for the entrance exam, I would have practiced them more. That was another weakness that I needed to rectify.
This meant that while I could still use the technique, it would take all of my concentration to do so. If something distracted me, I would end up falling into the swamp. That in itself wasn’t so bad, aside from the stench. With my spirit sense, I saw that the swamp wasn’t that deep. I estimated that it only reached up to my waist. However, that would still put me at a disadvantage if something ambushed us.
“Getting across isn’t the problem,” Cultivator Willow said. “I don’t have any personal experience dealing with environments like this. However, from what I’ve read and heard, swamps and the like are favored by venomous spirit beasts. Snakes, insects, and so on.”
Cultivator Harlow chuckled.
“It’s a good thing that you didn’t leave me behind then, isn’t it?” she asked in a triumphant voice. “Especially given my expertise.”
Cultivator Willow sighed.
“You’re never going to let that go, are you?” she asked.
“Oh, I might in a few years. Until then? Absolutely not.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Enough bickering,” I said. “I don’t want to fail this test just because you two can’t seem to get along.”
Cultivator Harlow snorted.
“Considering that our halls are rivals, we’re being downright cordial with each other,” she said.
I blinked at her.
“Truly?” I asked.
While I learned a lot about the Dawn and Dusk Sect, I didn’t know much about the relationships between the halls that made up the sect. I knew there was tension between the Dawn Halls and the Dusk Halls due to their respective natures, but that was it. I had been too busy making up for a lifetime of ignorance to delve too deeply into the topic.
“Truly, Cultivator Darian,” Cultivator Willow said. “However, you are correct. I’m willing to stop bickering with Cultivator Harlow as long as she agrees to do the same.”
Cultivator Harlow mulled it over before nodding.
“Deal,” she said. “I’d prefer not to fail this test.”
With that settled, I opened my mouth to discuss our next move, but then movement in distance caught my eye. I watched as another one of the exam participants emerged from the forest. He rushed forward without slowing down, no doubt in a hurry to make it to the other side of the valley. Given his lack of reaction, I realized that he was still caught up in the illusion array. I started to warn him, but he moved too fast and fell into the swamp before I could. He thrashed around in a panic, flailing his limbs about. In his panic, it was possible that he would drown despite the mud’s shallowness.
“Should we help him?” Clarissa asked, her voice filled with concern.
Cultivator Harlow scoffed.
“Why should we?” she asked. “He’s not part of our team. Leave him.”
I raised an eyebrow at her.
“Aren’t you supposed to be a spirit doctor?” I asked. “I’m surprised by your callousness.”
“I only have so much time and energy to spare,” Cultivator Harlow said. “Time and energy that would be better spent helping out my teammates rather than complete strangers.” She mimicked my expression and raised an eyebrow at him. “Besides, I don’t see you rushing over to help him.”
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She had a fair point. We had enough troubles of our own to worry about. Besides, the other participant had one of the talismans that Cultivator Thurstan and Cultivator Euphemia gave us. His life wasn’t in any danger, unless he chose not to rip up his talisman.
As soon as I thought that, a red ball of light shot up into the sky and exploded into countless red sparks. A second later, Cultivator Thurstan flew over and fished the other exam participant out of the swamp before flying away.
“See?” Cultivator Harlow said. “He’s fine. We didn’t need to do anything at all.”
Given what we just witnessed, I suspected that the lights that Cultivator Harlow saw earlier came from other exam participants who fell into this same swamp. If it hadn’t been for her expertise with arrays, we would have suffered the same fate.
“Now then,” Cultivator Willow said. “As entertaining as that was, shall we get going?”
We all nodded.
“I should warn you that I’m not very proficient in the Lighter Than Air technique,” I said. “If something happens, I’ll fall into the mud. Perhaps someone else should carry Cultivator Harlow.”
Cultivator Harlow and Cultivator Willow both gave me incredulous stares.
“Lighter Tha-…Were you planning on running across the swamp?” Cultivator Harlow demanded. “While carrying me no less?”
I gave her a confused look.
“Yes?” I said in a hesitant tone. “I thought that was the plan.”
“So did I,” Clarissa said.
Cultivator Willow sighed.
“The Lighter Than Air technique is an intermediate movement technique that most cultivators don’t learn until they reach peak Qi Condensation,” she said in a wry tone. “Even I don’t know it.” She shook her head. “However, I’m not surprised given that you are both Wind Dances. From what I’ve heard, your clan excels in movement techniques.”
I hadn’t heard that, but it made sense to me. Wind was all about agility, speed, and movement. However, I didn’t have an affinity for Wind, so that didn’t apply to me.
“Regardless,” Cultivator Willow said. “We don’t have to run across. I have something prepared for this.”
With that, she pulled a wooden boat out of her storage ring and placed it on the mud. Built from some kind of white wood, it was elegant and simple in design. It was also large enough to hold all of us with room to stare. Her storage ring must have been better than mine, because there was no way my storage ring would have been able to hold a boat of this size. Not only that, but the boat was a magic treasure as well, based on the faint amount of qi it emitted.
“While it isn’t a flying boat,” Cultivator Willow said. “This magic treasure of mine is useful for situations like this. Everyone climb aboard.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. Something told me that Cultivator Willow prepared that boat for this exact scenario. From the look in her eyes, Cultivator Harlow shared my suspicions. However, neither of us said anything. After all, we were also benefiting from Cultivator Willow’s…foresight.
The four of us climbed into the wooden boat. To free up my hands, I placed Cultivator Harlow down. As soon as everyone was on board, Cultivator Willow formed a series of hand seals and the boat started moving across the swamp. While it was slower than my fastest running speed, it wasn’t slower by much so we made good time. At this rate, it would only take us a few minutes to get across the swamp.
However, we all remained vigilant. No one wanted to fail the test or die due to complacency. Our vigilance bore fruit when we noticed subtle movement in the mud. If we hadn’t been paying attention, we wouldn’t have noticed it. We prepared for battle. Since Cultivator Willow was piloting the boat, it fell to the rest of us to drive off any threats.
A large toad poked its head out of the mud. Its skin was a mottled brown and green, allowing it to blend in with the rest of the swamp. The toad stared at us with its beady black eyes.
“A Poison Eye Toad!” Cultivator Harlow exclaimed, sounding more excited than afraid.
Her yell must have angered or scared the toad, because it let out a croak before it sprayed a sickly green mist in our direction from its eyes. Given its name, it didn’t take a genius to figure out that this mist was poisonous.
There wasn’t any room to dodge, since the boat wasn’t that large, forcing everyone to shield themselves. I used my turtle shell magic treasure since the only defensive mystic art that I knew was Heavenly Shield, and I wanted to avoid revealing my status as a divine demon for now. Everyone else used their own defensive measures.
The yellow shield created by the turtle shell magic treasure protected me from the mist, and I noticed that everyone else also remained unscathed. However, the wooden boat wasn’t so lucky. As soon as the mist made contact with the boat, it started smoking and eating away at it. This caught me off guard since even low-grade magic treasures were several times more durable than their mundane counterparts. A poison that could eat away at a magic treasure was potent indeed.
Wait a moment.
I looked at my turtle shell magic treasure and realized that the poisonous mist was also eating away at the yellow shield. While the magic treasure itself was fine for now, it wouldn’t be long before the poison breached the shield and started damaging it as well.
I formed a hand seal, ready to incinerate the Poison Eye Toad with a Fireball so it would stop spraying poison at us. However, just as I finished the seal, Cultivator Harlow pulled my leg, throwing me off balance. I let out a yelp as my Fireball shot off into the air, missing the Poison Eye Toad by a large margin.
“Don’t!” Cultivator Harlow said. “Keep its body intact. The eyes of a Poison Eye Toad are a key ingredient in several medicines.”
I gave her an incredulous look. We were facing a spirit beast that shot poisonous mist out of its eyes, and she was worried about keeping its body intact? Had she gone crazy? Our survival took priority!
Thankfully, Clarissa was able to make up for Cultivator Harlow’s insanity. She swung her sword, and an arc of Wind-aligned qi shot towards the Poison Eye Toad. A Windblade, one of Clan Wind Dance’s signature mystic arts. The Windblade rushed towards the Poison Eye Toad. The creature tried to dodge, but it was too slow. The Windblade sliced it clean in half. The two halves of the Poison Eye Toad started sinking into the mud.
Cultivator Harlow formed a hand seal before making a grabbing motion. A hand made from qi formed in the air and grabbed the two halves of the Poison Eye Toad before bringing it to the boat.
“Are you insane?” Cultivator Willow demanded. “You risked our lives for the sake of some measly reagents?”
Cultivator Harlow ignored her and started cackling as she grabbed the Poison Eye Toad with her actual hands and harvested its eyes. Her cheeks were flushed and she wore what could only be described as a deranged smile. I think I even saw a bit of drool at the corner of her lips. Disturbed by this sight, I stepped away from Cultivator Harlow. There wasn’t much room on the boat, but I wanted to put as much distance between us.
“Senior Brother Darian, I’m scared,” Clarissa whispered while staring at Cultivator Harlow.
I nodded in agreement. However, before I could say anything, I noticed movement off to the side of the boat. Several dozen mottled green and brown heads popped out of the mud. Almost as one, they all let out angry croaks before shooting poisonous mist in our direction. A cloud enveloped us, eating away at our shields and the wooden boat at a speed visible to the naked eye. We had less than a minute before the boat disintegrated and we fell into the mud. When that happened, we would be at a severe disadvantage. Our shields were in worse condition. I didn’t think they would last even that long.
“Hold on!” Cultivator Willow yelled. “Keep them distracted while I get us out of here.”
The boat’s speed doubled, but the Poison Eye Toads chased after us. They continued to spray poison in our direction. Without hesitation, I formed a hand seal and spat a serpent made of crimson fire out of my mouth. In terms of damage, Fireball was the more powerful mystic art. However, I could use Fire Serpent to attack multiple enemies in a row.
I pointed a finger at the nearest Poison Eye Toad and the crimson serpent flew towards it. The Poison Eye Toad tried to evade, but the crimson serpent caught up to it anyway. It wrapped around the toad and burned it to ashes within seconds. I then directed the crimson serpent to attack the next Poison Eye Toad. At the same time, Clarissa swung multiple times, sending out a series of Windblades. While a few missed, most of them hit their targets and sliced several Poison Eye Toads in half.
Cultivator Harlow, perhaps realizing how dire our situation was, didn’t try to stop me. Instead, she started throwing silver needles at the Poison Eye Toads. She seemed to have an infinite number of needles, since she kept throwing them out in a constant barrage. Whenever one hit a Poison Eye Toad, the creature would fall over and start sinking into the mud. I didn’t know if they were dead or just paralyzed. Neither did I care. Once again, I made a mental note to avoid making enemies of Cultivator Harlow.
The three of us killed several of the Poison Eye Toads, but more and more of them kept popping out of the mud. For every one we killed, two more appeared. It was like trying to fight the tide, pointless and futile. At best, we could only delay the inevitable.
However, it wasn’t hopeless. At the speed we were going, it wouldn’t take us long to reach the other side of the swamp. We just needed the boat to last that long. On the other hand, our shields looked like they would fall apart at any moment. I didn’t know what the poisonous mist would do to human flesh, and I didn’t want to find out.
Sweat ran down my back and my nerves thrummed with tension. Despite this I wasn’t afraid. In fact, I found myself smiling. I must have looked like a madman. Here we were, being chased by spirit beasts that sprayed poison from their eyes, and I was smiling. Perhaps Cultivator Harlow wasn’t the only crazy one in our group.
What had Astra called our mother? A martial idiot, that was it. Perhaps I was a martial idiot just like our mother.
It was a close call, but we reached the other side of the swamp just before the poisonous mist ate through any of our shields. I expected Cultivator Willow to slow down once we neared the other side. However, she sped up instead.
“Get ready to jump!” she yelled.
Realizing what she planned to do, the three of us nodded, and I grabbed Cultivator Harlow once more since I didn’t know if she could walk again. Seconds later, the wooden boat crashed into solid land. At the same time, we all jumped. The force of the impact sent us flying forward, and we ended up tumbling into the forest on the other side.
Once I stopped rolling, with Cultivator Harlow in my arms, I propped myself up and looked back towards the swamp. However, it took me a few moments to get my bearings since I was a bit dazed. To my relief, the Poison Eye Toads didn’t chase us any further. They all let out angry croaks at us, before they turned around and left, disappearing back into the mud. I slumped with relief when I saw this. We made it. We were safe.