Tite’s expression shifted slightly, a hint of unease flickering in his heart, but under the menacing stare of Yinji, he could only steel himself and rush forward.

Though Tite possessed considerable strength, he was still far inferior to a monstrous powerhouse like Yinji. He dared to provoke Hong Mandun and Ji Changkong, but he dared not trifle with Yinji.

Quickly, Tite moved from one foothold to the next, finally landing at the same spot where Ji Changkong was situated.

“Brat, your dog-shit luck kept you alive a little longer, but you’ll only survive for a while longer. Sooner or later, I’ll extinguish both you and him!” As Tite reached Ji Changkong’s side, he let out a cold snort, then deliberately sloped his shoulder, moving to brush against Ji Changkong as if by accident.

Ji Changkong’s pupils contracted sharply. Seeing Tite’s shoulder coming toward him, he immediately roared, “What are you doing?”

His startled shout instantly drew the attention of Huofeng and Xiaohan behind them. The expressions of the masters there turned cold, their icy gazes all fixing upon Tite.

Tite, who was preparing to employ a trick, immediately halted his intended movement upon noticing the attention of those great powers. He shrugged, “Why such a fuss? I just landed slightly off-balance.”

“Oh.” Ji Changkong’s expression grew strange. He pointed to a foothold at a moderate distance in front of Hong Mandun, suddenly saying, “Tite, do you see that small mound of earth and stone? The triangular one? I guarantee that is a safe path; if you step on it, I promise you will be unharmed.”

His words were spoken loudly enough for almost everyone to hear. Of course, most people took it as Tite being mocked, and they chuckled mockingly. Tite let out a cold snort, glaring darkly at him, “Brat, do you think I would believe you?”

Shrugging, Ji Changkong seemed unconcerned, “Believe it or not, but that one mound of earth and stone is the foothold. You only have a path to survival if you choose that one!” “Nonsense!” Tite cursed under his breath, opening his mouth to retort.

Just then, Yinji’s skull head from the distance drifted closer, hovering near Tite as if reminding him not to dawdle further.

Tite immediately clamped his mouth shut, glaring fiercely at Ji Changkong one last time before flying over to the foothold occupied by Hong Mandun.

Tite hesitated briefly, completely ignoring the mound of earth and stone Ji Changkong had indicated, and suddenly charged toward the furthest one. A subtle, cunning smile touched the corner of Ji Changkong’s mouth.

He knew Tite would do this. The mound he had just pointed out was the nearest safe foothold ahead. Had it not been for his words provoking Tite, Tite might have actually chosen that mound and settled there fortunately.

But because he had said it, and everyone assumed he was just mocking Tite—and Tite himself believed it—he naturally would rather die than choose that spot. Therefore, he could only choose the path to his death! “Thud, thud!”

Tite planted his feet firmly, sensing for a moment that nothing seemed amiss, and a look of surprised joy immediately appeared on his face. He glanced chillingly toward Hong Mandun and was about to say something when suddenly, strange sounds came from the foothold beneath his feet.

Like a foundational pillar snapping, the mound of earth and stone rapidly sank. A look of sheer panic flashed across Tite’s face as he instinctively moved to leap back.

Ji Changkong knew he was doomed. Based on his observations, every incorrect foothold contained some kind of restriction; once stepped upon, the restriction would immediately activate. Leaping onto it might be easy, but trying to leap back was harder than scaling heaven.

These mounds of earth and stone within the green swamp were riddled with all manner of arcane restrictions. The person who set these restrictions seemingly intended for people to test them with their very lives; moreover, even striking the mounds with divine weapons couldn't confirm their substance.

Only when a living soul leaped onto the mound would the restriction within activate, revealing the true nature of the earth and stone.

Yinji, Huofeng, and the others seemed to have known this all along, which is why they hadn't made any other useless attempts initially. Or perhaps they had tried before, discovered all methods futile, and thus resorted to this most desperate approach. His guess was perfectly correct.

The moment Tite began his leap, he seemed frozen by an invisible, intangible force, his body rigid, unable to move an inch further.

Tite’s body finally began to sink slowly along with the mound. His piercing shriek echoed in everyone’s ears, abruptly cutting off after a final, desperate cry.

Before his head vanished beneath the mire, three sickly green arms shot out, clamping onto Tite’s head. Tite’s soul transformed into wisps of dark vortex energy and was violently dragged deep into the green swamp.

Hong Mandun, standing near Ji Changkong, listened to Tite’s horrific scream with a face full of triumphant delight. He covertly winked at Ji Changkong and even gave him a discreet thumbs-up, signaling that he had done brilliantly.

Though he didn't know how, Hong Mandun was certain that Ji Changkong somehow possessed knowledge about the safe footholds ahead. With this assurance, the remaining journey for him and Ji Changkong would be infinitely easier; they were already in an unassailable position.

As the three green arms manifested, a chill ran down everyone’s spine. Huofeng, Xiaohan, and Yinji’s group, who should have been observing from a distance, frowned and hurried forward using the established footholds opened by those ahead.

Soon, these people stabilized at the foremost positions occupied by Ji Changkong and Hong Mandun, gazing solemnly ahead.

“The Green Slave Water Ghosts have appeared. It seems our direction is correct. Hmm, if we find a few dozen more safe spots, we should be able to exit,” Yinji said excitedly.

“Yes, it will be far more perilous from here on; even the correct footholds will attract attacks from the Green Slave Water Ghosts,” Tianlie nodded, then addressed Le’ao of the Three-Eyed Clan in the distance, “You come over. It’s your turn below. You only need to choose the correct foothold; leave the Green Slave Water Ghosts to us.”

Le’ao navigated the path using the existing footholds and soon arrived at Hong Mandun’s spot, his expression turning grim.

He had witnessed Tite’s gruesome death. Now, with the addition of the Green Slave Water Ghosts ahead, the pathfinding became significantly harder. He began to regret not taking the lead earlier; had he known, he should have scouted ahead of Ji Changkong’s group.

“I have a proposal.” Just as Le’ao was filled with apprehension, a calm voice suddenly rang out.

Yinji, Tianlie, and the others, who were about to urge Le’ao to hurry, looked at Ji Changkong beside them with impatient irritation. Yinji sneered coldly, “Brat, what proposal do you have? If it’s worthless, you’d best shut up!” Huofeng and Xiaohan, standing with Hong Mandun, exchanged strange looks and frowned at Ji Changkong without speaking.

Le’ao, who was just preparing to resign himself to fate, had his tongue poised to speak, but Ji Changkong’s words made him stagger slightly, forcing him to suppress his energy. His face flushed crimson. “May I proceed forward?” Ji Changkong suddenly asked.

Yinji found this amusing and laughed creepily, “Brat, have you been scared witless? Why the sudden desire to seek death?”

“I suddenly feel my good fortune will continue unabated. Let me try scouting ahead. For every foothold I find, it counts as one turn fulfilled for me and him [Hong Mandun]. When it’s our turn later, that will cancel out one round, how about that?” Ji Changkong pointed at Hong Mandun, looking calmly at Yinji, then glanced toward Huofeng in the distance, knowing she held considerable influence among this group.

The reason for this proposal was simple: he was certain he knew the locations of all the footholds within the next thousand zhang. However, if he missed the first thousand zhang of footholds, he would once again have to gamble on luck like everyone else.

If he could seize this opportunity to map out the initial sequence of safe spots, he wouldn't need to risk his life further by guessing later on—this was clearly a worthwhile trade. Otherwise, once those initial spots were passed, he would remain reliant on blind luck.

“Agreed!” Huofeng pondered under Ji Changkong’s steady gaze for a moment, then nodded.

Once she agreed, Yinji stopped arguing, letting out a cold laugh, “Brat, truly bold. Go ahead, hope you live a little longer.”

“I will deal with any Green Slave Water Ghosts that appear,” Xiaohan from the other side also seemed interested and volunteered, “If you find eight safe spots, it means you both skip four turns. With those four saved chances, you essentially won’t need our help for the rest of the path.” “Brat!” Hong Mandun gave a soft exclamation, his face filled with alarm, stopping short of saying more.

Ji Changkong smiled, giving him a look to ease his mind. Then, he swiftly flew to Hong Mandun’s foothold, standing beside Xiaohan. He pointed to a mound of earth and stone ahead, saying, “I will jump to that one. Pay attention to any anomalies that might appear around that area.” “En,” Xiaohan replied, slightly surprised, but nodding lightly, her expression remaining characteristically cool. The others nearby erupted in murmurs, discussing the situation in low tones.

Because the mound Ji Changkong indicated was precisely the one he had advised Tite to use earlier—the one Tite had disbelieved, choosing another mound instead, resulting in his tragic demise.

Ji Changkong chuckled, not wasting any more breath. He quietly gathered the power within his body. As the power of his bloodline surged, the small bird perched on Huofeng’s shoulder suddenly became alert, staring at him curiously, looking ready to leap onto him.

Opening his eyes, Ji Changkong took a deep breath and shot forward like a cannonball, crossing several dozen zhang before abruptly landing firmly on the predetermined foothold. “Thud, thud!”

After securing his footing, he didn't worry like others about whether this mound would sink further. Instead, he unhesitatingly condensed Azure Heavenly Thunder. Arcs of azure lightning crackled around the thunder in his hand, and an Azure Heavenly Thunder bolt rapidly took shape!

Just as the Azure Heavenly Thunder grew to the size of a watermelon, a Green Slave Water Ghost leaped high into the air, reaching for him violently from mid-flight. “Haste!”

Ji Changkong roared, sending the newly formed, watermelon-sized Azure Heavenly Thunder crashing into the Green Slave Water Ghost. As the azure thunder struck the creature, the azure lightning arcs immediately crawled like earthworms over its entire body. “Blast!”

Once all the azure arcs were on the creature, the Heavenly Thunder suddenly exploded, shattering the Green Slave Water Ghost’s body into pieces. Evil entities born of Yin energy lacked immunity to thunder and lightning; this Water Ghost was no exception.

As soon as this Water Ghost fell into the green swamp, three more immediately sprang up and arrived before Ji Changkong in an instant. At this critical moment, he didn't have time to condense another Azure Heavenly Thunder. Just as he cursed inwardly, Xiaohan’s assistance arrived precisely in time!

Three ice cones descended from the sky, instantly piercing the bodies of the three Green Slave Water Ghosts, blasting them away until they splashed into the green swamp far in the distance.

Ji Changkong inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, knowing he was fortunate not to have hesitated. The moment he landed on the spot, he started condensing the Azure Heavenly Thunder, preventing him from being dragged into the swamp.

His foot firmly touching the ground proved it was indeed a safe foothold, causing surprise to spread across many faces. They suddenly found Tite’s fate laughable; had Tite heeded his advice, perhaps he could have escaped disaster.

“Next time, please act faster. My target this time is that foothold,” Ji Changkong pointed to another mound of earth and stone. After receiving a nod of affirmation from the slightly surprised Xiaohan, he acted again.

Once his feet touched down, he immediately began condensing Azure Heavenly Thunder. This time, Xiaohan did not disappoint him; just as the Green Slave Water Ghosts began to materialize, the ice cones appeared in time, driving the creatures back into the green swamp.

The Green Slave Water Ghosts seemed immortal here; no matter how severely injured, once they fell into the green swamp, they would recover quickly. However, they would not re-attack a foothold they had already targeted, only focusing on the unverified ones ahead. “Next one!” Ji Changkong shouted, surging forward again.

Huofeng and Xiaohan followed closely behind, their eyes filled with astonishment as they tracked the emerging safe spots Ji Changkong had previously landed on, helping him clear out the newly appearing threats.

“One, two, three, four, five!” Yinji suddenly looked up, a flash of horrified, strange light in his eyes. “This brat knows the correct route!” Tianlie and Tu'tie beside him also wore looks of astonishment.

These cunning old foxes certainly wouldn't believe Ji Changkong’s tale of luck. Once or twice might be coincidence, but finding five consecutive footholds accurately? Anyone still believing this was good fortune must have a screw loose.

It wasn't just the great powers like Yinji and Tianlie; the other explorers, deeply worried about their own futures, were also filled with confusion. The young man who had wanted to strike at Ji Changkong earlier watched with an unpredictable expression, his mind clearly working hard.

Le’ao of the Three-Eyed Clan, who should have been scouting ahead, stared blankly at the constantly flying Ji Changkong and asked Hong Mandun beside him in a hoarse voice, “He… he deliberately set Tite up to die, didn't he?”

Hong Mandun let out a satisfied chuckle, shaking his head, “I don’t know.”

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