Chapter 1295: A Boat Made of Naihe Bamboo

"What bamboo? You have no idea! Fine, I'll first seal the power of these green bamboos, then you carefully dig them out. They'll be of great use later." The ghost shaman sneered and said.

As soon as he spoke, his figure emerged, and he opened his mouth to spew a stream of gray smoke that enveloped the cluster of green bamboos.

The moment the smoke touched the bamboos, it quickly seeped into them, and gray patterns appeared on the bamboos as if sealed.

Seeing this, Han Li's eyes flickered, and he waved his hands.

Two crescent-shaped golden beams shot from his palms, swiftly digging into the ground, lifting the cluster of green bamboos along with the surrounding soil, and storing them in the Flower Branch space.

"Forgive me for the detour. These green bamboos are quite useful to me, so I hope you won't mind," Han Li said, turning to Shi Chuankong and the others.

"No matter. But Fellow Daoist Han, who is this?" Shi Chuankong waved his hand and looked at the ghost shaman.

"This is Fellow Daoist Ghost Shaman, a remnant soul I rescued on the way." Due to the ghost shaman's special identity, Han Li did not elaborate, despite his good relationship with Shi Chuankong.

"So you are Fellow Daoist Ghost Shaman. A pleasure to meet you." Shi Chuankong cupped his hands in greeting.

The ghost shaman glanced at Shi Chuankong, nodded, and flew back into the black box.

Collecting these green bamboos was just a small interlude, and they soon continued on their way.

With Han Li protecting them and the presence of Ti Hun, who specialized in countering ghosts, the group's journey went relatively smoothly.

After another month of swift travel, Han Li and his companions finally emerged from the Hundred Ghost Forest and arrived at a vast, boundless gray wasteland.

"How much farther to the Yellow Spring Marsh?" Han Li asked, gazing into the distance.

"We're here, we're here. Look far ahead, you should see a red region. That's it," the ghost shaman quickly replied.

Han Li's pupils contracted. At the edge of his vision, he could indeed see a layer of red mist rising like steam, covering a large area.

Seeing this, he called out and shot forward.

Zi Ling and the others quickly followed.

The air was filled with an indescribable, unique odor that made breathing difficult, and the feeling grew stronger as they approached.

When they drew near, Han Li and the others saw before them a vast body of water, a lake.

The lake was so wide it was almost like an ocean, its far shore invisible. Near the shore, the water was as smooth as a mirror, without a single ripple.

But as their gaze moved farther, in the high sky above the central area of the lake, they could see a thick layer of blood-red clouds pressing down, merging with the chaotic clouds below to form a vast chaotic region.

To the north of the dark red lake, the sky seemed torn open, and a blood-red waterfall poured out, hanging like a red ribbon in the sky.

The waterfall appeared fierce, with towering blood waves, but when it crashed onto the lake surface, it lost all momentum, as silent as a feather falling into water, very strange.

Along the lakeshore, at intervals, stood stone fortresses over a hundred zhang tall, all dark red, with huge banners bearing strange totems, some ox-headed, some horse-faced, not identical.

"That... is the garrison of the Four Ghost Clans," the ghost shaman's voice rang out.

Han Li's mind stirred, and his divine sense instantly spread out, probing into those dark red stone fortresses.

After checking, he frowned and looked at Ti Hun, who shook his head at him.

"Empty," Han Li announced to the others.

"See? Now you should believe what I said, right?" said the ghost shaman.

"Since the Four Ghost Clans have no troops stationed here, that saves us a lot of trouble. Now, tell me, where is the Six Paths Reincarnation Disk?" Han Li said.

A faint light flashed at his waist, and the ghost shaman's remnant soul drifted out like smoke, pointing to the center of the lake and saying:

"It's right in the center of this marsh."

Han Li looked at the chaotic blood clouds in the center of the lake, his expression darkening, and asked:

"Didn't you say before that the Six Paths Reincarnation Disk was by the lakeshore? Why is it now in the center of the lake?"

"This... this, I was afraid that if you knew it was in the center of the Yellow Spring, you wouldn't dare to go," the ghost shaman said, his expression changing, a hint of fear in his eyes, as he spoke sheepishly.

In fact, Han Li had no idea what the Yellow Spring Marsh was, let alone its dangers. Even if the ghost shaman had directly stated the true location of the Six Paths Reincarnation Disk, Han Li would not have been intimidated.

"From what you say, the Yellow Spring Marsh is also a dangerous place?" Han Li asked.

"Since Fellow Daoist Han asks, you probably don't know why this marsh is called 'Yellow Spring.' Let me explain," the ghost shaman said, his expression easing slightly.

Han Li exchanged glances with Zi Ling and the others, then they all gathered around to listen carefully to the ghost shaman's words.

"This dark red lake is called the Yellow Spring Marsh because the lakebed is covered with soul-devouring springs that can absorb a person's three souls and seven spirits. Once all are absorbed, the soul falls directly into reincarnation, while the body remains at the bottom, slowly corroding and merging with the marsh," the ghost shaman explained.

"So what? Just fly high enough and don't get sucked in," said Jin Tong.

"You're not wrong, as long as you don't touch the lake water, you won't be attracted by the soul-devouring springs. But do you see that chaotic blood cloud in the lake?" asked the ghost shaman.

"What's so strange about that blood cloud?" asked Shi Chuankong.

"The blood cloud is not strange; the strange thing is the wind that blows it," said the ghost shaman.

Han Li pondered for a moment but found nothing peculiar about the wind on the lake, though the blood cloud was too rich in foul odor, clearly not a good place.

"The wind in the blood cloud is just the visible wind; the invisible wind is even more dangerous..." said the ghost shaman.

"Old ghost, stop beating around the bush. Just say it all at once," Jin Tong said impatiently.

"I'm about to say it... This is the positive and negative whirlwind. The wind is not strong, and if you're not careful, you might not even notice it. But in truth, it's spread across almost the entire marsh. If someone is caught in it, in no time, all their flesh and blood will be stripped away. Whether you're a Taiyi or Da Luo, or a wild beast, the difference is just a matter of time," said the ghost shaman.

"And worse, once caught in the positive and negative whirlwind, it's hard not to fall into the water, and then the soul will be devoured, falling back into reincarnation," Han Li frowned, adding.

"That's not too hard. We can cross the lake with a treasure boat, carefully avoiding those whirlwinds, and we should be able to reach the center," Ti Hun said, frowning slightly.

"Absolutely not. The water of this marsh is like the Ruo Water of the Ninth Heaven; even a goose feather won't float, and a fallen leaf won't drift. No matter how powerful the treasure or immortal boat, it will sink directly into the lake," said the ghost shaman.

Hearing this, Jin Tong turned his wrist, and a flash of light appeared in his palm, revealing a tuft of snow-white fur.

Han Li raised an eyebrow, recognizing the fur as Xiao Bai's down, wondering when Jin Tong had pulled it off.

Jin Tong held the tuft of fur in front of him and gently blew on it. The fur fluttered up and landed on the lake surface.

As expected, just as the ghost shaman had said, the fur drifted left and right, gradually sinking to the bottom.

"Even fur can't float?" Jin Tong said, somewhat disappointed.

Han Li frowned, then suddenly remembered something. He turned his wrist, and a green light flashed in his palm, revealing an object.

"You had us cut down these green bamboos to use for crossing the river, right?" Han Li asked.

"Correct! Fellow Daoist Han is indeed quick-witted! On the Yellow Spring Marsh, the only thing that can float is probably this Naihe Bamboo. So if you want to cross, you have to make boats from this bamboo and sail across," the ghost shaman nodded and said.

Han Li then raised his hand and tossed the three-foot-long green bamboo into the air. It fell straight into the water.

The bamboo entered the water without splashing a single drop or making a sound. After half of it submerged, it bounced upward, tilted, and floated quietly on the surface.

"With Naihe Bamboo boats, how do we deal with the positive and negative whirlwinds?" Han Li looked at the ghost shaman and asked.

"The positive and negative whirlwinds seem chaotic and spread across the lake, as if impenetrable. But I spent hundreds of thousands of years observing them and discovered a hidden waterway. If we follow that path, we can avoid the whirlwinds and cross," the ghost shaman said with a "heh heh" laugh.

Hearing this, Han Li turned his wrist, and a jade slip appeared in his palm. He tossed it to the ghost shaman.

"Use your divine sense to inscribe the distribution of the positive and negative whirlwinds on this lake onto the jade slip, and mark the path of that hidden waterway clearly," Han Li said calmly.

The ghost shaman caught it, his expression slightly awkward.

He chuckled twice, then closed his eyes, gripped the jade slip tightly, and began inscribing with his divine sense.

The others took out the Naihe Bamboo they had cut down and piled it in bundles before them.

"The whirlwinds are dense on the lake, so the waterway is probably narrow. Although we have plenty of bamboo here, it's not suitable for making large boats. We'll make two small bamboo boats that can hold one or two people. Then, only one person needs to accompany me on the boat; the rest can stay in my cave-heaven treasure. One boat for crossing, one as a spare, just in case," Han Li said.

"Fellow Daoist Han, your foresight is always so thorough. I have to admire you," Shi Chuankong said sincerely.

Jin Tong and Ti Hun exchanged glances and smiled, as if sharing in the pride. Only Zi Ling gave Han Li a deep look, a faint smile curling at the corner of her mouth.

Han Li just smiled slightly without saying much and began making the bamboo boats.

Soon, two small bamboo boats, three zhang long and six chi wide, were completed. They were of moderate size and quite exquisite.

Meanwhile, the ghost shaman had finished mapping the whirlwind distribution on the lake and handed the jade slip back to Han Li.