Chapter 2408: Mo Bridge

## The Human Realm

Miasma Plague Lord held a crystal in his hand. The arc-shaped crystal was pure and flawless, slightly smaller than his palm. Strange patterns formed on its surface, resembling a crystal turtle shell.

Splash!

The crystal turtle shell emitted the sound of waves. To the naked eye, its interior seemed to be made of water, giving the small crystal a sense of profound depth and vastness, stirring up ripples.

"How could this be...?" The First Madam's expression turned to surprise.

Gu Lao flashed in front of Miasma Plague Lord, staring intently at the crystal turtle shell. "How could it react like this here? Could it be...?"

"Our suspicions were confirmed," Miasma Plague Lord said in a deep voice. "This Black Tortoise Saint Palace definitely has some connection with the secret realm at the bottom of Reflecting Moon Lake. The two places are connected, and that secret realm has already been opened by someone!"

Gu Lao and the First Madam both nodded. Facts spoke louder than words; the abnormal reaction of the crystal turtle shell was the best proof.

"What should we do now?" the First Madam asked anxiously. "My husband has already agreed to ally with Black Serenity Demon King. Should we continue to split our forces?"

"Black Serenity and I only have a verbal agreement; no oath has been sworn!" Miasma Plague Lord stepped down from the cloud couch, his gaze penetrating the golden pagoda and looking towards Dou Su. "There are undercurrents here, with the shadow of a Demon Saint behind them. If there were no better option, I wouldn't want to get involved in this mess. I can only trouble you, Madam, to remain here to mislead them. Remember to act cautiously!"

"Rest assured, husband, I understand," the First Madam replied without hesitation.

Miasma Plague Lord nodded. "That Black Serenity fellow is very cunning; I'm afraid repeating old tricks won't fool him for long, but we only need to buy some time. If he dares to come and question you, Madam, take the palace to another constellation to avoid the trouble. As for Fu Yuan and the others, if anyone wants to stay and try their luck, you don't need to force them."

After he finished giving instructions, Gu Lao asked, "Should we bring the Three Elders this time?"

They had chosen to ally with the Three Elders previously because they found the target they were dealing with was not simple. As expected, the elders ultimately helped them deter the Five Immortals Sect.

Now, it's unknown whether that secret realm was opened by someone or if it opened by itself due to the Black Tortoise Saint Palace's influence. If it's the latter, bringing the Three Elders would mean needlessly giving up many benefits.

"Bring them along! That secret realm couldn't have opened by itself. Don't forget how many times we entered without any clue. Someone must have intervened. I suspect it's the work of the Five Immortals Sect again!" Miasma Plague Lord's tone turned cold. "They definitely won't expect that this time, they'll still be in the open, and we'll be in the shadows! This time, we must thoroughly investigate what their intentions are!"

After the discussion, Miasma Plague Lord and Gu Lao used an illusion spell to quietly leave the palace and send a message to the Three Elders. Before long, the Three Elders arrived to meet them, but only two came; the brocade-robed elder was not present.

"Where is Elder Teng'an?" Miasma Plague Lord asked.

The Three Elders' Daoist names were Elder Qiu Zang, Lord Cha Yun, and Elder Teng'an. They also addressed each other by their Daoist names.

Elder Qiu Zang, knowing the reason, explained, "He has already entered Dou Su. We can't contact him now, so there's no need to wait."

Miasma Plague Lord and Gu Lao were secretly surprised, not expecting the Three Elders to be so bold as to enter now and participate in the struggle for Dou Su.

After a brief discussion, the four demons, guided by the crystal turtle shell, traveled through the fierce winds.

At this time, somewhere in the Nine Heavens Profound Gale, the Five Immortals were seated around a wooden statue. Different colored spiritual lights shimmered on their bodies, converging into a cloud-like mist that enveloped them, preventing the fierce winds from intruding.

Their location was not far from Dou Su.

At this time, two of the Five Immortals were also missing: White Immortal and Black Protector. Black Protector had volunteered, and White Immortal claimed to be skilled in divination, so everyone recommended him to go to Dou Su to divine its secrets.

The three immortals sat silently with their eyes closed, their spiritual energies connected to the wooden statue, seemingly waiting for something.

Suddenly, Fox Immortal opened her beautiful eyes and asked suspiciously, "Where is Miasma Plague Lord going?"

They had secretly used a method on Miasma Plague Lord, allowing them to monitor his movements without his knowledge.

Willow Immortal and Yellow Immortal woke up, their minds connected to the wooden statue, sensing Miasma Plague Lord's direction.

"Are they impatient and looking for opportunities elsewhere?" Willow Immortal guessed. Over this period, it was common for demon cultivators to leave one after another.

"Unlikely!" Fox Immortal stated decisively. The other six great constellations were not on Miasma Plague Lord's travel route.

Saying this, Fox Immortal stood up, put away the wooden statue, and prepared to follow.

"If we just leave, what about them?" Yellow Protector asked.

If White Immortal and Black Protector encountered danger in Dou Su and called for help, how would they feel to find their companions gone?

"Those two are cunning old foxes; no need to worry about them," Willow Immortal said. "Just leave them a talisman message." She flicked her jade-like finger, and a streak of light disappeared into the Nine Heavens Profound Gale. Then the three immortals no longer hesitated and pursued closely.

At this point, the remaining four demons (from the original five) and three immortals (from the original five), one group following the other, passed through the fierce winds and successfully found the well.

The illusion spell left by Qin Sang and Mo Yan did not work.

"This well could not have appeared out of thin air!" Miasma Plague Lord landed on the well's edge, surveying the surroundings. The more he looked, the more alarmed he became, and he stated firmly. "Could it really be the Five Immortals Sect's doing?"

If it were him, even with the crystal turtle shell, he wouldn't have discovered the mysteries here.

This indicated that the other party knew more about the Black Tortoise Saint Palace and that secret realm than he did!

A hint of worry flashed in Miasma Plague Lord's eyes. The Five Immortals were already difficult to deal with, and now his side was missing a key general. It was unknown who would prevail!

"Where does this well lead?" Elder Qiu Zang asked.

"Now that it has come to this, there's no need to hide it from you two," Miasma Plague Lord confessed. "If my prediction is correct, on the other side is the secret realm I mentioned to you both, and the entrance to that secret realm is at the bottom of Reflecting Moon Lake."

"Reflecting Moon Lake bottom?" Elder Qiu Zang and Lord Cha Yun looked at each other in shock.

Reflecting Moon Lake was not the dojo of any demon king, yet it was widely famous in Lotus Crossing Great Marsh. It was renowned for its beautiful scenery, with the reputation of "Lotus Marsh Reflecting Moon." On every full moon night, a continuous stream of fellow cultivators came to admire the moon in the lake.

This lake offered the sight of two moons: the moon in the sky and the moon in the lake.

They had even held a trade fair in Reflecting Moon Lake once, yet discovered nothing.

Unsure how long the other party had been inside, the four demons, unwilling to fall too far behind, wasted no time and leaped into the well.

As soon as Miasma Plague Lord left the golden pagoda, he was detected by the Three Immortals. They followed closely but did not act rashly, lurking outside. Only after the four demons had been inside for a while did they quietly approach the wellhead.

After a brief investigation, the three immortals also vanished into the well.

Looking at the scenery before them, both Qin Sang and Mo Yan had peculiar expressions, as it was too unexpected.

Upon entering the well, an arch bridge came into view. One end of the arch bridge was beneath their feet, while the opposite side of the bridge was completely dark. Mist coiled around above and below the bridge, making the view hazy and indistinct.

In the void, there was only this arch bridge, its destination unknown. It looked as if it had been drawn stroke by stroke by a painter.

They had actually returned to the ink wash painting!

Qin Sang looked at Mo Yan with a questioning gaze.

He had originally thought that the ink wash landscape had nothing to do with the Black Tortoise Saint Palace, but now it seemed that might not be the case.

If the other side of the bridge was also part of the Black Tortoise Saint Palace, what mystery did this ink bridge, embedded between sections of the Black Tortoise Saint Palace, hold?

Mo Yan, however, frowned deeply, pondered for a moment, then stepped onto the ink bridge one step at a time.

Qin Sang slowly followed.

Whoosh!

After they stepped onto the ink bridge, the surroundings suddenly changed. The gray mist transformed into extremely dense, boundless ink clouds.

Nothing could be seen in any direction; everything was obscured by the ink clouds, including what was behind them. Qin Sang summoned his Sky-Eye Butterfly, but its divine ability was also restricted.

Just moments ago, below the bridge, they could still see the other end of the arch bridge. Now, the ink bridge beneath their feet seemed to have stretched infinitely, and each 'brick' had become incredibly massive.

Qin Sang and Mo Yan walked on the bridge, the surrounding ink clouds seemingly moving with them, allowing them to only see a section of the bridge ahead.

They activated their escape lights, their speed drastically increasing. They flew for a long time, but the scenery did not change at all. They didn't know how far away the end of the ink bridge was.

The arch bridge they saw from below was not large; clearly, it had all been an illusion!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The surrounding ink clouds surged.

As the cloud energy surged, various strange cloud phenomena materialized in the sea of clouds: sometimes resembling an unparalleled fierce beast, other times transforming into cloud mountains, their shapes ever-changing.

The meaning of these cloud phenomena was unclear, but one thing was certain: never leave the bridge surface and get drawn into the ink clouds!

Suddenly, Qin Sang and Mo Yan stopped and exchanged a glance.

"They're here!" Qin Sang said in a deep voice.

Mo Yan sighed, "They still found us. It must be Miasma Plague Lord!"

They had deliberately left a mechanism at the wellhead; they would detect anyone who entered.

"I wonder how many came this time," Qin Sang said.

There seemed to be only one path here. If there weren't many enemies, they could set up an ambush on the bridge.

Unexpectedly, Mo Yan shook her head and said, "No need! They can't catch us, and if the Three Elders are also here, we'll lose our chance and miss the initiative!"

Qin Sang had only offered a suggestion. Seeing that Mo Yan had already made up her mind, he said no more and continued to activate his escape technique, speeding forward.

What they hadn't anticipated was that the length of this ink bridge far exceeded their imagination. After flying continuously for a month, they still couldn't see the end of the bridge.

One month, two months...

Lotus Crossing Great Marsh.

Ever since Yuan Luo and the others opened the Black Tortoise Saint Palace, this reed marsh had almost vanished. Patches of reeds still survived in the peripheral areas, but they couldn't form a significant landscape.

After the star gate closed, there had been no changes here, and many demon cultivators still guarded the area.

At this moment, a blood-robed young man walked among the reeds. His steps were light, and his feet remained unsullied by dust, indicating a high level of cultivation. The demon cultivators he encountered on the way consciously moved aside.

However, those demon cultivators would never have imagined that this was actually a Demon Saint!

Ghost Concealment Great Saint!

On that day, he learned the news from a demon lord, traveled south from the Arctic Ice Plains, and arrived at Lotus Crossing Great Marsh.

Ghost Concealment Great Saint, having concealed his identity and cultivation, walked to the edge of this reed marsh. He paused, his hands behind his back, looking outwards. The former reed marsh had transformed into vast, shimmering waters.

His gaze seemed to penetrate the lake's surface. He stared for a while, then raised his head and swept his eyes across the sky.

Ghost Concealment Great Saint sensed some subtle spiritual energies distantly observing this place; they were all fellow practitioners.

However, he should be the only one who had arrived in his true form.

All the Saints had lain dormant for countless years, waiting for an opportunity—a once-in-a-millennium opportunity for both the beings here and for all the Saints!

Before this opportunity arrived, no one wanted to see chaos erupt across the land, so they wouldn't act rashly.

Now, this opportunity was finally approaching.

Fortunately, he had the chance to seize the initiative!

Ghost Concealment Great Saint retracted the sharp glint from his eyes. Those spiritual energies had not detected his presence. However, if he were to descend now, he would certainly be discovered.

He stood rooted to the spot, not leaving for a long time.

A streak of escape light appeared in the sky, flashing past. Ghost Concealment Great Saint noticed the escape light and looked up.

"I wonder if Second Brother has any news of Eldest Brother's whereabouts!" Broken Scabbard sighed inwardly.

At that time, changes occurred one after another, and his brothers had no choice but to act separately. He followed Scarlet Meteor Mountain and Lunar Mire Tundra, but was ultimately blocked by the Nine Heavens Profound Gale, trapped outside the star gate.

Due to the prolonged lack of news from Eldest Brother and Second Brother, he dared not leave on his own and had been lingering nearby.

Not long ago, he finally received a message from Second Brother and was hurrying to meet him.

Broken Scabbard, lost in thought, passed through a reed marsh and noticed a figure among the reeds. Feeling that their demeanor was somewhat special, he couldn't help but take another look.

"Must be a master," a thought flashed through Broken Scabbard's mind, but he didn't pay much attention; the area now was hardly lacking in masters.

He flew out of the reed marsh and directly towards Reflecting Moon Lake.

By the time Broken Scabbard arrived at Reflecting Moon Lake, it was precisely the night of the full moon. The two moons competed in brilliance; the reputation of "Lotus Lake Reflecting Moon" was well-deserved!

Confirming there was nothing unusual in the lake, Broken Scabbard vanished into the lake bottom.

The bottom of Reflecting Moon Lake was not as flat as its surface; the terrain was uneven, with crisscrossing ravines, many of which were steep and bottomless.

Broken Scabbard traveled through the underwater mountains, eventually passing through a ravine and finding Stringless in front of a stone wall.

"Second Brother, Eldest Brother is missing!" Seeing Stringless, Broken Scabbard sighed in relief and said urgently.

Stringless nodded. "I went and saw. The place they went to has been sealed again for unknown reasons. However, Eldest Brother is with Daoist Qingfeng, so unless they're ambushed by a large group, they should be fine."

"I trust Eldest Brother's abilities; I just fear Daoist Qingfeng might not be reliable," Broken Scabbard repeatedly shook his head. Seeing Stringless remained calm, he asked, "What did Eldest Brother ask Second Brother to find before? Have you found a way?"

"I called you here precisely to help me try something!" Stringless gazed at the stone wall before him, raised his hand and pressed it virtually. The runes already carved into the stone wall instantly began to glow.

Broken Scabbard nodded, walked to Stringless's side, and was about to offer assistance when a voice unexpectedly rang out from behind them.

"Interesting..." Stringless and Broken Scabbard were startled, then spun around abruptly, and two attacks shot out like lightning.

"It's you!" Broken Scabbard exclaimed in surprise.

A blood-robed young man had appeared behind them at some point. It was the same person he had noticed in the reed marsh. The other party had followed him all the way there without him realizing it at all.

The two divine abilities reached the blood-robed young man and immediately dissolved, silently and without a ripple.

Stringless and Broken Scabbard saw this scene and couldn't help but feel terrified, their hairs standing on end.

The blood-robed young man scrutinized them with interest, repeatedly murmuring "interesting." "You are neither demon beasts nor spirits. What exactly are your origins? Could it be... artifact spirits?"