Chapter 1258: The Death Swamp

Before them lay an endless swamp, utterly silent.

It was a true stillness, as if all sound had been swallowed up.

This tranquility stirred unease in their hearts.

Bai Guang had fled in panic earlier, not seeing the path ahead, and before he knew it, they had plunged deep into this black swamp!

"Swoosh!"

Ye Yuan's figure materialized. He scanned the surroundings, his expression turning grim.

"Big Brother, something's wrong here! How about we turn back?" Bai Guang swallowed hard.

Bai Guang felt a wave of agitation; even with his strength, he sensed danger. This swamp was no ordinary place.

Ye Yuan sighed. "We can't go back! Haven't you noticed? This swamp has twisted space, making north and south indistinguishable. If we turn back, we won't be retracing our steps!"

Bai Guang was startled. He focused his senses and found that, as Ye Yuan said, he could no longer tell east from west.

"Big Brother, this..." Bai Guang began to panic.

Suddenly, Ye Yuan's mind stirred, and he released Shi Potian.

"Master!" Shi Potian said respectfully.

"Do you know where this is?" Ye Yuan asked.

"If I'm not mistaken, this should be the legendary Death Swamp!" Shi Potian said.

Ye Yuan's face changed. "You mean this is the Death Swamp, known as the graveyard of the divine realm?"

Shi Potian was surprised. "So Master has heard of the Death Swamp. Yes, it is indeed called the graveyard of the divine realm, having swallowed countless lives of divine path experts!"

Bai Guang was horrified. "So powerful? Then we're doomed! What's in here that even divine path experts can't handle?"

Shi Potian said, "No one knows what lies in the Death Swamp, because all who enter die. But I've heard that its ruler is the legendary Soul-Devouring Tree!"

"The Soul-Devouring Tree! Does such a thing really exist?" Ye Yuan exclaimed.

Bai Guang looked bewildered. "What are you talking about? What is the Soul-Devouring Tree?"

Ye Yuan's expression darkened. He said gravely, "I once saw scattered records in ancient texts. The Soul-Devouring Tree, like the Kunlun Divine Tree, is a legendary existence! Legend says that in a distant era, a earth-shattering expert died with resentment, his fury condensing into a tree—the Soul-Devouring Tree! After its birth, it would appear randomly across the divine realm, devouring the lives of the strong, growing more powerful, and killing all its enemies. It is said that no matter how strong a warrior, once within ten thousand zhang of the Soul-Devouring Tree, their soul would be reaped without any resistance!"

Bai Guang was shocked. "This... this is too absurd! Can the soul of a divine path expert be reaped so easily?"

Shi Potian, however, said, "Master is not wrong. The Soul-Devouring Tree is even more powerful than you imagine. Perhaps... it has surpassed the divine realm!"

Ye Yuan took a deep breath and said to the two, "Guard me while I recover my strength, then we'll move. Hmm? Watch out!"

Using the Dragon God's Voice had drained him greatly. He wanted to rest here, but the Death Swamp seemed unwilling to give him that chance.

"Gurgle..."

Bubbles rose from the black water in the swamp, breaking the silence.

Ye Yuan stared grimly at the swamp, uncertain what lurked within.

"Swoosh!"

A gray-brown shadow shot out of the swamp, charging at Ye Yuan.

It was a giant crocodile!

The crocodile opened its massive maw and snapped at Ye Yuan.

Ye Yuan's face darkened. He activated both the Sword Domain and the Profound Turtle Divine Body Art simultaneously!

"Boom!"

With a loud crash, the crocodile slammed into what felt like an iron plate and fell helplessly back into the swamp.

Seeing this, Bai Guang laughed. "Haha, what a fool! It dared to bite Big Brother, not knowing he's cultivated a turtle shell!"

But Bai Guang found he was the only one laughing.

Ye Yuan's expression was extremely serious. "This is a Blackwater Crocodile. It's incredibly strong! That strike just now was likely on par with a human top ten divine king!"

Bai Guang was puzzled. "Just an ordinary top ten divine king—what's that to us?"

"One is nothing, but what about thousands or tens of thousands?" Ye Yuan said grimly.

As if to confirm Ye Yuan's words, the black swamp suddenly boiled.

"Gurgle..."

Seeing this, Bai Guang's face changed drastically.

The next scene made their scalps tingle!

Countless Blackwater Crocodiles surfaced from the swamp, filling their sight as far as the eye could see!

There were no less than tens of thousands!

One alone was as strong as a top ten divine king; with tens of thousands combined, even if Ye Yuan had three heads and six arms, he would be no match!

"These things are tough. Let's go!" Ye Yuan said grimly.

Without hesitation, the three turned and fled!

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh..."

The Blackwater Crocodiles wouldn't give them a chance. Countless figures leaped up.

Ye Yuan flicked his wrist and unleashed the Angry Sword Fire Lotus.

"Boom!"

A terrifying explosion cleared a bloody path.

But what shocked the three was that Ye Yuan's Angry Sword Fire Lotus had only knocked the crocodiles back.

It hadn't killed a single one!

With Ye Yuan's current strength, killing a top ten divine king was not difficult.

Yet this attack had failed!

"These things have strong defenses! Head that way, there are fewer crocodiles!" Ye Yuan shouted.

The crocodiles kept attacking, and the three did not dare slack off, using all their skills to drive them back.

"Righteous Sword!"

Ye Yuan's physical strength was greatly depleted, so he had to use yuan force techniques.

He dared not hold back and struck with the Righteous Sword.

The terrifying sword intent raged, finally cleaving the thick-skinned crocodiles into pieces.

They had been heading toward a less dense area, and this sword finally opened a path, breaking out of the encirclement.

The three sped away, not daring to stop for a moment.

Ye Yuan's strength had not recovered, and his yuan force was greatly depleted; he could no longer fight.

They fled for who knows how long until the crocodiles were no longer in sight, then finally stopped.

Bai Guang's face was pale. "An army of these Blackwater Crocodiles could wipe out the divine realm! I wonder what kind of place the Divine Fall Mountains are, to produce so many beings comparable to top ten divine kings!"

Before he could reply, Ye Yuan's expression suddenly changed. A dangerous aura once again surged into his heart!