Daoist Competition-Chapter 197 - 68: South Swamps and Waters, Demon General Blocks the Way

"A message from the sect—Senior Brother He will attack Centipede Ridge, Senior Brother Nian will attack Huoyan Port, and we are tasked with attacking Nandang Swamp." Fan Changqing casually tossed his Xiaoze Golden Sword aside, sat up straight, and his round, plump face carried a solemn expression.

His voice echoed in the grand hall, and as the people below listened, their expressions grew more serious.

Everyone knew that the Mingcang Sect had been at war with the Three Pools Lake Demons for more than a decade. Yet, to this day, they had never launched a frontal assault on Bixue Pond. They always struck from the east or west, so they were highly familiar with these two paths.

Centipede Ridge lay to the west, on the edge of Bixue Pond. It was a stretch of gentle slopes and flat terrain with no peaks or ridges, making it very accessible. Huoyan Port was to the east; a few decades ago, it was merely a shallow beach. Though now covered by lake water, the depths didn’t exceed thirty feet within a hundred-mile radius, and any setup there would be easily visible.

But Nandang Swamp was different. Its waters were vast, with countless lake islands shrouded in chaotic layers of mystical fog. One could call it the natural gateway to the outer area of Bixue Pond. Virtually no one in the Mingcang Sect had set foot there before.

However, Fan Changqing understood that his mission this time was to forge a direct path into the heart of Bixue Pond, clearing obstacles for the sect. He naturally couldn’t avoid the fight; he could only face it head-on. On the flip side, wasn’t this an excellent opportunity to earn even greater merits?

Moreover, he had prepared for this moment. His gaze shifted to a cultivator below as he smiled and said, "Junior Qin, bring it out."

A tall, slender cultivator stepped forward, coming to stand at the front of the hall. He held up a rolled scroll, which he slowly unfurled before the crowd, revealing a map of mountains and waterways.

Fan Changqing extended a hand from his sleeve and pointed. "Fellow Junior Brothers, please look at this. It is a geographical map of Bixue Pond that I managed to obtain. Though it only roughly outlines the islands of Nandang Swamp and the distribution of its Water Mansions, it’s detailed enough for our purposes."

The crowd examined the map and indeed found that it depicted the various lake islands. Moreover, there were annotations on the side for clarification. For a moment, their minds were set at ease. With this map, they wouldn’t be fumbling around blindly.

Seeing no signs of dissent among the group below, Fan Changqing nodded in satisfaction. Turning his head, he asked, "Junior Qin, which lake island is closest to us?"

Junior Qin examined the scroll in his hand, measured with his finger, and then looked up to say, "Senior Brother Fan, based on this map, in the northeast direction, the nearest island among the eighteen islands of Nandang Swamp is Guiyuan Island. The Island Master, Quan Gongwang, is an Ink Shrimp who has cultivated for no less than three hundred years. He possesses a Xuan Guang Third Realm cultivation and was once appointed as a Demon General by Luo Mengze."

Fan Changqing clapped his hands and laughed. "Good, we’ll go there!" Holding up a token, he activated it. The enormous silhouette of the Spirit Core Flying Palace pivoted in mid-air and swiftly flew toward their target destination.

About an hour later, a thick fog began to envelop the area ahead, with dense clouds occasionally drifting past. Whatever mixed within these misty clouds severely hindered the cultivators’ visibility, including those in the palace. Their eyes could barely discern anything clearly.

Suddenly, a golden bell rang out atop the grand hall. Fan Changqing immediately knew they were approaching a place with concentrated demon energy.

He waved the token and halted the Flying Palace, then turned to glance at Junior Qin with a questioning look in his eyes.

Junior Qin made a quick calculation with his fingers, then bowed and reported, "Senior Brother Fan, I believe we have entered the territory of Guiyuan Island."

At that moment, a disciple responsible for reconnaissance at the Wang Que post entered the hall to report. "Senior Brother Fan, there is a Xuan Guang Cultivation Demon General blocking the path ahead. He claims to guard this area, hurls insults at us, and demands that we retreat at once, or he will storm onto the hall and strike."

Upon hearing this, Fan Changqing chuckled and waved his hand, tossing out a black lacquered screen.

The object unfurled at the front of the hall, and the ink paintings on its surface seemed to come alive, dissolving and spreading outward. Before long, it projected the vast wilderness, shimmering lakes, and light upon its surface, mirroring the scene below. However, the one flaw was that the pervasive fog still refused to dissipate.

Directly below the Spirit Core Flying Palace, a formation of over a hundred battle flags stood tall, and on a black cloud roughly five acres in size, there was a Demon General with greenish skin and bulging eyes. He gripped a steel half-moon fork in his hand and shouted obscenities continuously. However, his words were garbled and incomprehensible.

Fan Changqing laughed at the sight and pointed downward. "Junior Brothers, who will go and slay this demon?"

Zhang Yan glanced around the hall, noticing that many cultivators were eager to volunteer. They all seemed eager for battle. Unperturbed, Zhang Yan smiled faintly and remained seated, confident that there would be plenty of opportunities to act with eighteen demon islands ahead.

Fan Changqing’s gaze swept through the hall before finally landing on the Feather Robe cultivator seated in the first position on the right. In a firm tone, he said, "Junior Brother Ren, this is the first battle. You will personally handle it."

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