Supreme of the Heavenly Realm
Chapter 200 - 197: The Swamp of Blood

Chapter 200: Chapter 197: The Swamp of Blood

Wangyue Corner sat at the southernmost tip of the entire Tiannan Region, resembling a crescent moon jutting out from the land, making it particularly conspicuous on the map.

Although Wangyue Corner was by the sea, the southern waters of the Tiannan Region were barren. Hence, the area remained largely unvisited, a haven for poisonous insects and fierce beasts.

Within Wangyue Corner, there lay a notorious swamp, rumored to be a place of great peril where no one dared to venture lightly. This infamous place was known as the Blood Swamp.

As various powers stepped into this region, the number of people appearing in the Blood Swamp had gradually increased. Not only were there strong individuals from the Six Great Sects, but also many prominent families from nearby secular nations had sent their elite, clearly seeking to seize this opportunity for training. Moreover, since the Blood Swamp was perilous yet undeveloped, it harbored numerous exotic treasures, including rare natural materials and treasures, which were a major draw for so many powerful individuals.

Of course, there was more than that attracting them. The Six Great Sects had jointly declared that anyone who killed members of the Black Demon Sect would receive rewards from them. Among these rewards were some quite excellent Martial Arts Skills, which served as one of the motivations for so many people to come here and encircle the Black Demon Sect.

After Ye Xuan entered the Blood Swamp, he went unnoticed by the Black Demon Sect, but he saw quite a few martial artists dressed in various attire. These people, clearly not Sect Disciples given their garb, included individuals from noble families as well as some renowned wandering martial artists, among whom were not a few experts.

Ye Xuan spent the entire day searching through the Blood Swamp and found nothing. As dusk fell, he started looking for a place to settle down. With many poisonous insects and fierce beasts, and numerous Black Demon Sect strongholds hidden within, even Ye Xuan could not guarantee his safety from a surprise attack while sleeping in the open.

However, he was fortunate that as night approached, Ye Xuan found a martial artist’s campsite. Tents and wooden shelters had been erected there, with bonfires built, clearly intended to face the oncoming night.

Since it was a loosely organized camp, Ye Xuan naturally entered without any barriers and did not attract any attention.

Ye Xuan glanced around and spotted some figures in the distance wearing black and red robes, their attire and badges suggesting they were Disciples of the Earth Evil Sect, a Second Grade Sect.

"The Blood Swamp is vast, encompassing five or six hundred miles, yet with so many of us here, we haven’t seen a single Disciple of the Black Demon Sect," a middle-aged martial artist whispered to his companion.

"Exactly, I came here to kill a few remnants of the Black Demon Sect and then trade for a set of martial arts I fancy. Now that I haven’t encountered a single one of them, this trip seems to have been in vain."

"The Black Demon Sect is cunning; maybe they knew about the large number of people coming from the Six Great Sects this time and have already fled."

"Possibly, otherwise, after tonight, we should leave this place to avoid encountering any dangerous poisonous insects or Demon Beasts and losing our lives. I’ve heard that quite a few people have already fallen victim to the poison and miasma here, meeting untimely deaths."

The martial artists’ murmurs reached Ye Xuan’s ears, causing him slight surprise. It seemed that not only had he come up empty-handed, but others had also failed to encounter even a shadow of a ghost, which was quite strange.

However, he wasn’t in a rush as the members of the Black Demon Sect had not been discovered yet. He didn’t believe that the remnants of the Black Demon Sect would remain hidden forever; like a snake lurking in the shadows, they were always ready to strike, just waiting for the optimal opportunity.

Finding a less crowded area, Ye Xuan built a bonfire in front of him and began to rest with his eyes closed. Meanwhile, his soul was secretly communicating with the Flood Dragon inside the Beast Soul Token.

"Little Long, how much do you know about the Blood Demon King of the Blood Swamp?"

The Blood Demon King was the overlord of the Blood Swamp and was surely well-acquainted with it. This was probably why the Black Demon Sect’s operatives could move through the Blood Swamp like fish in water, never once revealing their traces.

"What ’Blood Demon King’? It’s just a blood toad with good luck, a total weakling. I could deal with it in a minute," responded the Flood Dragon with a transmission, its tone filled with contempt.

"What’s the Blood Demon King’s cultivation like?" Ye Xuan knew that boasting was second nature to the Flood Dragon and didn’t bother to argue with it, so he changed his question.

"Mediocre at best. Probably equivalent to that of a Third Grade Martial Sect’s human. Just slightly stronger than your Hall Master," the Flood Dragon pondered briefly before replying.

"You call that weak?"

Ye Xuan was somewhat speechless. This creature was talking big without understanding the pain, as someone even stronger than Murong Yun was likely only to be dealt with by the Sect Master Ling Jingtian himself, an existence that could only be resolved by the effort of such a powerful figure.

While Ye Xuan was communicating with the Flood Dragon, sudden commotion erupted in the camp. The Earth Evil Sect disciples had begun to stir, moving through the crowd as if collecting something from each person.

"What? Earth Evil Sect is collecting protection fees? Fifty Xuanyuan Pills per person, why don’t you just go rob someone?" A Martial Artist suddenly shrieked, drawing many sidelong glances, and others quickly echoed the sentiment.

"Exactly, how can the Earth Evil Sect, a respectable Second Grade sect, engage in such extortion?"

"That’s right, after all, we are our own people. How can you target your own people and engage in such shameless deeds?"

Many Martial Artists began to express their dissatisfaction.

"What’s all the shouting about? Fifty Xuanyuan Pills to save your own life—isn’t that worth it? If it weren’t for our Deputy Sect Master of the Earth Evil Sect here to hold the fort, wouldn’t the Black Demon Sect have already attacked us? Quit your yapping. Either pay up or stand against our Earth Evil Sect and get out of here immediately!" snapped back one of the Earth Evil Sect disciples with a cold laugh.

Upon hearing that the Deputy Sect Master of the Earth Evil Sect was also present, the previously dissenting Martial Artists quickly shut their mouths. In such a situation, attempting to stand out could lead to a dire outcome. Being expelled from the camp would put them in great danger given their strength.

Fifty Xuanyuan Pills wasn’t too much to bear in the end, so they reluctantly accepted the situation.

Seeing this scene, Ye Xuan couldn’t help but be surprised. The Earth Evil Sect was playing a rather loud game. They were never this proactive when confronting the Black Demon Sect, but when it came to exploiting the weak, they were second to none. With more than a hundred Martial Artists in the camp, that amounted to five thousand Xuanyuan Pills—a significant sum. Ye Xuan remembered how he had to fight hard in three rounds in the arena to earn just fifteen hundred Xuanyuan Pills. Now, these people were making five thousand with one fell swoop; indeed, quite the profitable business.