Chapter 1296: Ghost Temple in the Island Marsh

“The Great Marsh is far too vast. The water chart I drew only covers an area of a few hundred li in radius, starting from our current position and following that hidden waterway.” The Ghost Witch’s face was pale, and his voice sounded weak.

It seemed he had overconsumed his soul power.

Seeing this, Ti Hun formed hand seals and shot a dark red light toward the black square box. The light spread, enveloping the Ghost Witch’s phantom.

Bathed in the light, the Ghost Witch recovered slightly and thanked Ti Hun:

“Thank you.”

After examining the jade slip, Han Li did not put it away immediately. Instead, he raised his head, and a faint purple light flickered in his eyes as he probed into the Yellow Spring Great Marsh.

With the enhancement of his Netherworld Demon Eyes, the previously elusive forward and reverse whirlwinds were all revealed before Han Li.

The closer to the lakeshore, the smaller and harder to distinguish the whirlwinds; the closer to the lake center, the stronger and more obvious they became. Near the blood clouds, they churned the lake mist and the sky’s qi into a chaotic mess.

As the Ghost Witch had said, the distribution of these forward and reverse whirlwinds was extremely chaotic, with no discernible pattern at the moment. Similarly, the waterway the Ghost Witch mentioned was nowhere to be found.

“Fellow Daoist Ghost Witch, the distribution of these whirlwinds seems somewhat different from the water chart you drew, doesn’t it?” Han Li asked with a frown.

“These winds are chaotic and change constantly. What I drew was the water chart when the waterway appears. So we don’t need to follow the chart immediately; we need to wait until the marsh’s conditions match the chart. Then the waterway will naturally appear,” the Ghost Witch explained.

“Wait… how long will that take?” Han Li mused.

“The whirlwinds on the Great Marsh are unpredictable without long-term observation. However, judging from the blood clouds near the lake center, it shouldn’t be too long—at least a month, at most a year, and it will surely appear,” the Ghost Witch said.

Han Li gazed at the blood clouds in the Yellow Spring Great Marsh, pondered for a long time, and said:

“Then we’ll wait.”

Han Li and his group temporarily settled in a stone fortress by the lakeshore, waiting for over half a year.

One day, the wind over the Yellow Spring Great Marsh grew fierce. The massive whirlwinds that had previously only lingered at the lake center now spread across almost the entire marsh, only a few dozen li from the shore.

“The time has come. Now is the moment, haha…” the Ghost Witch laughed loudly.

“Now? Are you joking? This situation is clearly worse than before,” Shi Chuankong said in surprise.

The others also looked tense and uneasy.

“Fellow Daoist, you may not know this, but the path of life is hidden within the path of death. Originally, the forward and reverse whirlwinds were small and dense. Now many small whirlwinds have merged, becoming large and sparse, leaving a hidden passage in between,” the Ghost Witch explained.

With a flicker of purple light in his eyes, Han Li carefully examined the lake scene and found that the distribution of the forward and reverse whirlwinds in the Great Marsh now basically matched the water chart the Ghost Witch had drawn earlier.

“Indeed, I can see the entrance to the waterway that Fellow Daoist Ghost Witch mentioned. It should be correct,” Han Li said.

“Fellow Daoists, there’s no time to lose. We must set off immediately! The Yellow Spring Great Marsh is full of variables, and this situation will last at most a few hours. We can’t afford to delay,” the Ghost Witch said.

“Ti Hun and I will take Fellow Daoist Ghost Witch across the water by boat. The rest of you will stay in my cave-heaven treasure. Once we reach the destination, we’ll act together,” Han Li said.

Naturally, everyone agreed and nodded.

Han Li waved his hand, and a silver light flashed before him, revealing a silver light gate.

Jin Tong, most familiar with the Flower Branch Cave Heaven, strode in as if returning home.

Shi Chuankong glanced around briefly and also entered.

Zi Ling stopped at the entrance, turned back to look at Han Li, and said, “Be careful…”

Han Li smiled slightly and nodded.

After they entered the Flower Branch Cave Heaven, Han Li closed the silver light gate and said to Ti Hun, “Let’s set off too…”

While speaking, Han Li also sent a voice transmission to Ti Hun: “I’ll steer the boat carefully. You use your soul secret techniques to probe the surroundings and keep an eye on the Ghost Witch. If he makes any suspicious moves, kill him immediately. But don’t worry, I have my own ways to take you away.”

After advancing to the mid-stage of the Great Luo realm, Han Li now had much more confidence.

“Mm, I’ll be careful,” Ti Hun replied.

With that, the two leaped and flew down to the shore of the Yellow Spring Great Marsh.

Han Li waved his hand, and a flash of green light appeared. A delicately crafted small green bamboo boat emerged and descended toward the lake surface.

It was as light as a swan’s feather. When the boat entered the water, it only sank a fraction of an inch, floating steadily on the surface, stirring only tiny fish-scale ripples.

Han Li leaped first, lightly touched the bamboo boat with his toe, and landed on it. Ti Hun followed closely, standing behind Han Li.

“Fellow Daoist Ghost Witch, we’re about to set off. If anything changes along the way, be sure to remind me in time,” Han Li said, bending down to place the black square box on the bow.

A wisp of green smoke drifted out of the box, condensing into the Ghost Witch’s form. He smiled and said, “Fellow Daoist Han, rest assured. We are truly in the same boat now, sharing life and death. How could I dare not do my utmost?”

Han Li nodded and immediately waved his sleeve, sending a gust of wind sweeping across. The green bamboo boat shot out like an arrow.

The bamboo boat was extremely fast, skimming across the lake surface not as if breaking through water, but rather as if sliding on ice. Once it shot out, it headed straight for a cluster of opposing whirlwinds.

Seeing this, Han Li quickly waved his hand to retrieve a long green bamboo pole, struck the lake surface hard, and forcibly altered the bamboo boat's trajectory, making it slide past a pair of opposing whirlwinds.

"Hey, careful, careful now..." the Ghost Shaman exclaimed in alarm, constantly reminding him.

Han Li steadied the boat, began to slow down, and passed through a narrow channel between two whirlwinds, officially entering the entrance of the hidden waterway.

At the initial entry, the lake surface barely rippled, and the boat ride was fairly smooth. But the further inward they went, the greater the force of the opposing whirlwinds along the way. Although the bamboo boat was not in danger of capsizing, it became very difficult to control.

Han Li had to concentrate fully on controlling the boat, and most of the time he relied on the Ghost Shaman to identify the direction.

"Go left, circle around that big whirlwind, and you'll see the cloud wall behind it," the Ghost Shaman shouted loudly.

Han Li immediately struck the water surface with the bamboo pole, turning the bow to the left, and bypassed a huge opposing whirlwind.

Once on the other side, Han Li's eyes flickered slightly, and he saw a massive red cloud wall directly ahead, completely blocking the path forward.

He quickly plunged the bamboo pole into the water bottom, stopping the bamboo boat from charging forward.

"What's going on?" Han Li asked.

Seeing this, the Ghost Shaman was also stunned, looking utterly incredulous.

Han Li frowned slightly at this.

"Impossible, there was clearly a gap here..." the Ghost Shaman said, looking annoyed and hesitant.

Ti Hun stood behind, staring at the Ghost Shaman's figure with a hostile expression.

Han Li also stared at him for a moment. Seeing that his expression did not seem feigned, a hint of doubt flashed in his eyes. Could it be that the estimate was wrong, or had something changed?

At that moment, his gaze suddenly shifted. A faint purple light lit up in his eyes as he used his spiritual vision to look at the blood cloud wall ahead, and he couldn't help but let out a soft exclamation.

"What is it, Fellow Daoist Han? Have you found something?" the Ghost Shaman quickly asked.

"The waterway is still there, but it's blocked by the escaping cloud vapor," Han Li said.

Hearing this, the Ghost Shaman hurriedly looked down toward the base of the cloud wall and indeed saw that although blood clouds also gathered there, they were far less thick and dense than elsewhere.

"Let's go."

Han Li gave a soft shout, swept the long pole in his hand, and the bamboo boat charged straight toward the blood cloud wall.

With a soft "puff" sound,

Han Li and the others, along with the boat, crashed into the cloud wall. Their vision instantly turned completely blood-red, unable to see anything, and breathing through mouth and nose became very difficult.

But after a moment, Han Li suddenly felt his breath ease, the way ahead opened up, and they emerged from the high wall.

"We're out..." the Ghost Shaman said, overjoyed.

Han Li remained calm, looking around. He saw towering blood-red cloud walls on both sides, roaring and churning violently, formed by rows of opposing whirlwinds linked together, pulling at the clouds in the sky.

Traveling by boat in this place was like passing through a canyon with towering cliffs, requiring constant vigilance.

"Fellow Daoist Han, you can relax a bit for now. Once we enter this Dragon Path, it's safe, at least for most of the journey," the Ghost Shaman said with a sigh of relief.

"Dragon Path?" Han Li asked in confusion.

"I just made it up, for good luck, hehe..." the Ghost Shaman said.

Hearing this, Han Li said nothing more and carefully poled the boat forward.

...

Meanwhile, at the center of the Yellow Spring Great Marsh, there was a circular encirclement formed by opposing whirlwinds, condensing a massive ring of thick blood cloud walls, isolating a vast area within.

Inside this area, the sky was wide and the sea was vast, with no whirlwinds causing trouble. In the center floated a solitary circular island shaped like a wheel.

Though it was just a lone island in the marsh, it actually had six mountain ridges, converging from different directions toward the island's center. From a high altitude, they looked like spokes on a wheel.

Naturally formed, imposing in momentum.

At a glance, although no vegetation grew on the entire island, it did not appear desolate, because scattered across the island were stone steps, mountain paths, and some simple pavilions.

At the very center of the island stood a majestic stone hall built of piled gray-white boulders.

Around the stone hall, there were four flat plazas, each of different size and shape, all shrouded in mist.

In the cloud and miasma of these plazas, teams of ghost soldiers and cultivators were patrolling on duty.