Chapter Twenty-Five: The Southern Heaven Boundary Stone, the Marshburst Fruit

The man waved his hand, conjuring a violent gale that tore through the barrier of the quicksand formation before him.

However, as the wind subsided and the dust settled, he froze—there was nothing inside. Only sand swirled in the wind; the two figures had vanished.

"Impossible! I've been played!" A flash of shock and fury crossed his eyes. "What a cunning formation master!"

...

Yuedong and Qinglan moved with the lightness of dragonflies skimming water, their footsteps hurried as they dashed across the marshlands. They were now a mere ten miles from the Southern Boundary Stone.

Yuedong’s face was pale, revealing a subtle, hidden frailty. "This is the Earth-Hidden Profound Trace. I have only just begun to grasp its techniques and cannot teleport us very far. That man’s cultivation is too terrifying; we will only be safe once we enter the Southern Boundary."

Qinglan said nothing. Their pace did not falter, and they streaked across the water like two gentle breezes.

They were now only five miles away.

Suddenly, an intensely scorching aura erupted behind them. A wave of powerful spiritual energy, surging like molten magma, rolled toward them.

"I truly underestimated you." A cold, biting voice pierced the air. The man from the Zhu family approached rapidly, appearing like a storm of fire and leaving a trail of steaming heat in his wake.

"To think mere rogue cultivators could deploy a third-tier formation! You intrigue me more and more!"

His eyes burned with intense interest, his expression cold and stern. At this point, Zhu Ning was already dead, and there was no need to avenge her. However, the dignity of the Zhu family could not be offended; these two had to die. He had never expected two nameless rogue cultivators to possess a third-tier formation map—it was a genuine surprise.

Third-tier formation maps were incredibly precious; even with the deep foundations of the Zhu family, they possessed very few. The Peacock Pavilion showcased countless treasures, and whenever a map of this caliber appeared at their auctions, even the Zhu family had to pay a painful price to acquire it.

He now viewed the pair as prey already in his trap, and he could not help but act with a casual air.

Just then, Qinglan suddenly stopped and looked back with a sneer. "I have something even more interesting here!"

As she spoke, she pulled out a red fruit, flicked her wrist, and hurled it backward. Fueled by her spiritual energy, the explosive fruit shot toward the man like a cannonball.

"Boom!"

In an instant, the fruit detonated in mid-air. A violent explosion erupted, distorting the surrounding air. Dust and mist were swept up by the massive shockwave, forming a yellow-green fog that blotted out the sky.

The Zhu family man dodged the blast in a somewhat disheveled state. He quickly recognized the item as the Zhu family’s signature Red-浆 Explosive Fruit. A surge of anger rose in his chest, and just as he was about to berate them, he realized something. His expression shifted drastically, and he quickly covered his nose and mouth with his sleeve.

An incredibly pungent, vegetal stench instantly permeated the air. Like an invisible tidal wave, it swallowed the freshness of the atmosphere, replacing it with a nauseating, putrid odor—as if some long-buried, decayed plant had been fermenting in endless darkness for ages, only to be released at this very moment.

Yuedong was shocked. "Is this the fruit Zhu Yue tried to detonate earlier?"

Qinglan’s lips curled into a playful smile. "Exactly!"

...

The man ultimately failed to escape the cloud. He began to cough violently, his complexion turning a sickly green as if eroded by poison. Worse yet, his body began to suffer from paralysis, his limbs becoming unresponsive.

A flicker of rage flashed in his eyes, and he prepared to continue the hunt.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"

Ten more Red-浆 Explosive Fruits detonated in the air. The spiritual energy of the entire marsh was contaminated, turning foul. The aquatic creatures below, driven by the sudden, unbearable stench, had nowhere to hide and fled in a panic toward deeper, darker waters. A carp as white as snow even swam away muttering curses.

"Ugh!"

Whether he was driven mad by rage or nearly choked by the stench, the Zhu family man roared, "I truly underestimated you! To use my own clan’s secret treasures to stall me—how despicable!"

He bellowed, attempting to use his spiritual energy to dispel the smoke and stench. But while he struggled against the foul air, Qinglan and Yuedong moved like lightning, putting distance between them. Taking advantage of the time bought by the fruits, they finally reached the Southern Boundary Stone.

The massive stone shimmered with a deep, bluish-gray luster. It was uniquely shaped, wide at the top and tapering toward the base, standing like a giant, inverted pillar of heaven and earth, firmly rooted in the shimmering marsh. Its surface was dense with marks carved by time and water, riddled with countless holes of varying sizes that added a sense of weathered beauty.

To the eyes of the mundane, it might just be an ordinary rock. Yet, in the vast legends of the cultivation world, it held a legendary status.

Long ago, a terrifyingly powerful rogue cultivator, capable of founding his own sect, had pursued and slaughtered mortals, leaving a trail of blood that stained the lake red, until he reached this very spot.

The desperate survivors fled to this place and hid behind the stone.

The evil cultivator, filled with disdain, prepared to strike, but a spiritual light flashed from the stone. A terrifying formation suddenly activated, descending like the canopy of heaven, isolating the cultivator from the world behind the stone. The cultivator roared, his spiritual energy surging like rays of light piercing the firmament as he struggled in vain.

When the formation faded, the cultivator’s corpse fell into the water, splashing into the depths, where it was consumed by the myriad aquatic creatures.

Since then, no one had dared to act presumptuously before this monument.

...

Qinglan and Yuedong finally arrived before the Boundary Stone. However, before they could catch their breath, the Zhu family man appeared before them once more. He radiated a terrifying pressure, yet he looked utterly ridiculous.

His robes were tattered, and he was covered in the nauseating stench and mottled green residue, no longer possessing his former inscrutable air.

But none of that mattered. The man’s spiritual energy locked onto them, and chains of magma erupted from behind him, instantly encircling Qinglan and Yuedong.

Yuedong frowned, preparing to deploy a formation, but the man closed in instantly. His voice dripped with cold malice. "Trying to use the same trick again? Don't be delusional. I won't give you another chance!"

A scorching chain of fire cut through the air, forcefully interrupting Yuedong’s formation.

The man approached slowly, a cunning look on his face, his tone dripping with temptation. "Formation master, if you hand over the third-tier map, perhaps I can spare your life."

Yuedong struggled, ignoring the man’s empty words, his mind focused on the ancient legend of the Boundary Stone.

Seeing this, the man’s expression darkened. He said coldly, "Stubborn to the end. I intended to grant you a swift death, but so be it—I shall capture you first and slowly scour your consciousness."

One had to understand that a cultivator’s sea of consciousness was protected by layers of mental barriers. Forcibly intruding to search it was akin to the torture of slow slicing. The man’s words were nothing short of cruel.

While all this was happening, Qinglan remained silent, constantly recalling words she had once overheard.

A sigh echoed in her mind.

"Alas, our noble families can only enjoy the offerings of the mortal realm. Once one reaches my level of cultivation, they are no longer permitted to enter the territories of the great sects."

These words had come from the head of the Mu family—Mu Yu.

Qinglan was waiting. She was waiting for the one who would enforce this rule to appear.