The Huosang Kingdom was merely a meager nation bordering the Eastern Sea.

It spanned a mere three thousand Li in territory, harboring a mortal population of eight million.

The White Jade Boat cleaved swiftly through the waters toward the Huosang Kingdom. However, contending with the heavy friction of the sea surface, the flying vessel could only traverse seven to eight hundred Li a day.

Four days later, with three to four hundred Li remaining, the hazy silhouettes of the Huosang Kingdom's mountain ranges finally breached the horizon.

"Senior Sister Ye, steer south!"

Xu Changshou ordered, pointing toward the distant coastline.

Ye Shanhu nodded, channeling Spiritual Qi to adjust the White Jade Boat's trajectory.

The Thunder Marsh was situated in the southern reaches of the Huosang Kingdom, adjacent to a small mortal settlement aptly named Thunder Marsh Township.

The township earned its namesake from a forbidden zone perpetually enshrouded in violent lightning-a domain where mortals would be rendered into ash upon taking a single step.

"Junior Brother Xu, are we heading directly into the Thunder Marsh?"

"Yes."

"Should we not seek out the Huosang royal family first?"

"First the Thunder Marsh, then the Huosang royals."

The royal capital of the Huosang Dynasty rested in the south-central territory, while the Thunder Marsh lay further deep in the absolute south.

By directing Ye Shanhu southward, Xu Changshou naturally prioritized the Thunder Marsh.

His reasoning was brutally simple.

Ye Shanhu had speculated that Martial Uncle Li Daotu would undoubtedly deploy hidden experts to guard the Exceptional Spirit Root. Making contact prematurely would only place their own private movements under the Sect's suffocating scrutiny.

Xu Changshou's pragmatic scheme was to first hunt the Black Antelope Thunder Ox within the Thunder Marsh, before seeking out the Exceptional Spirit Root.

After all, Li Daotu had never decreed a strict deadline for his arrival at the royal court; delaying by a few days held no consequence.

At high noon, Xu Changshou and Ye Shanhu finally stepped onto the soil of the Huosang Kingdom.

By the time they arrived at Thunder Marsh Township, the blood-red dusk of the following day was already bleeding into the horizon.

With night swiftly descending, hunting the Black Antelope Thunder Ox in pitch darkness was a fool's errand. Deciding to rest, the pair secured lodging at a mortal inn less than ten Li from the Thunder Marsh.

It was a decidedly mundane establishment.

After claiming their quarters and washing off the road's dust, the two descended to the main hall for sustenance.

Having endured days of arduous travel relying solely on dry rations, the rich aroma of cooked meat violently awakened Xu Changshou's appetite.

As an island nation, the Huosang Kingdom thrived on the ocean's bounty. Though merely mortal fare, the rich, savory feast of fresh seafood was deeply satisfying to his tired flesh.

Ye Shanhu, however, showed little interest in the oceanic spread, delicately picking at a few vegetarian dishes.

To a privileged cultivation heir of her standing, such coarse mortal sustenance was scarcely fit for consumption.

"Heed me, everyone! The innkeeper warns against wandering out tonight. The skies are foul, and there is grave fear the Thunder Beast will emerge to feast."

"Curse this wretched rain, and curse that demonic beast!"

"Hold your tongue and bar your doors. It is the only way to survive."

"Abominable! As long as that Thunder Beast draws breath, we mortals live on borrowed time."

"Truly! Our Thunder Marsh Township has suffered under its catastrophic shadow for far too long!"

"Do not despair. Word has it that numerous Immortals have descended upon our township these past few days to purge the beast."

"Yes! With the Immortals' intervention, our salvation is at hand. That beast is surely doomed."

Amidst their meal, the terror of the 'Thunder Beast' dominated every hushed conversation within the hall.

Tossing a copper coin, Xu Changshou pulled the innkeeper aside. He quickly deduced that the mortals' dreaded 'Thunder Beast' was none other than the Black Antelope Thunder Ox.

Ten years prior, an uninvited predator had encroached upon the Thunder Marsh-this very Demon Beast.

Claiming the lightning-dense zone as its lair, the Black Antelope Thunder Ox would violently emerge to hunt during heavy storms.

Wreathed in volatile static, a mere brush against its hide would reduce a mortal to charred meat. When provoked, it unleashed devastating arcs of lightning to slaughter anything in its path.

Over a decade, its death toll had climbed into the countless thousands.

To the mortals of Thunder Marsh Township, it was the ultimate terror-a nightmare invoked to silence crying children in the dead of night.

Eventually, a wandering Daoist passed through, claiming ties to the Immortal sects. He extorted travel funds from the desperate villagers, promising to petition the Immortals of the Western Continent.

In truth, that Daoist was a mere Rogue Cultivator from a minor clan. Upon returning to the cultivation world, he indiscriminately sold the intelligence regarding the Black Antelope Thunder Ox.

It was this very leaked rumor that had eventually reached Ye Shanhu's ears.

Glancing at Ye Shanhu, Xu Changshou furrowed his brow. "Senior Sister Ye, this complicates matters. Rival cultivators have already swarmed the Thunder Marsh."

Ye Shanhu offered a bitter smile. "It cannot be helped. The horns of a Black Antelope Thunder Ox are prime catalysts for forging lightning-attribute Pseudo-Artifacts. Such wealth naturally draws predatory eyes."

"It may not necessarily be a disaster."

A cold, calculating smile suddenly touched Xu Changshou's lips as a scheme formed in his mind.

These wandering cultivators lusted after the horns for their artifacts; he merely required the beast's hide to draft his talismans.

Even if another claimed the kill, he could simply exchange Spirit Stones for the flayed skin.

"How can dozens of greedy cultivators hunting our prey possibly be a boon?" Ye Shanhu asked, utterly bewildered.

Xu Changshou chuckled darkly. "Rest easy, Senior Sister Ye. The Thunder Marsh is no ordinary hunting ground. But I possess a hidden method to breach its deadly perimeter."

Ye Shanhu nodded slowly. "So long as you possess the means. I freely admit I lack the fortitude to withstand that lightning."

...

Nightfall.

Withdrawing to his solitary quarters, Xu Changshou retrieved a formation plate and anchored it to the floorboards.

It was a noise-severing array he had procured in the Sect's market-an essential tool to mask the Spiritual Qi fluctuations of his nocturnal cultivation from prying ears.

Drawing the Ferocious Bull King's pelt from his Storage Bag, Xu Changshou wielded the Five Clouds Sword with surgical precision, carving the thick hide into uniform slips of talisman paper.

Wasting nothing-not even the flesh of its severed head-he harvested exactly one hundred and twenty pristine slips.

Channeling a low-intensity Fireball Technique, he meticulously cured the blood-soaked leather. Selecting ten perfectly dried slips, he began drafting.

He poured his focus solely into drafting Sharp Gold Talismans.

Forged upon the vessel of a metallic Demon Beast's hide, the penetrating lethality of these talismans would easily double that of a standard array.

With ten lethal strikes now nestled in his robes, his arsenal of survival had grown exponentially deadlier.

Early the following dawn.

The moment a sliver of pale light breached the eastern horizon, Xu Changshou broke his meditation.

Following a brief, silent meal with Ye Shanhu, the duo marched directly toward the Thunder Marsh.

The marsh itself was geographically contained, spanning roughly a dozen Li in diameter.

It was heavily walled by unforgiving mountains on three fronts, leaving only a single entry point through a dense, primeval forest.

To breach the marsh by foot, one had no choice but to navigate this suffocating tree line.

Upon reaching the forest's edge, they discovered several dozen cultivators already entrenched. Sweeping his Divine Sense over them, Xu Changshou noted their auras ranged from the tenth to the twelfth layer of Qi Condensation, the vast majority being grizzled veterans with one foot in the grave.

Xu Changshou cast his gaze into the Thunder Marsh. Its depths churned like a violent ocean of sickly purple.

Dense clusters of Thunder Leaf Bamboo thrived within. Immune to the ravages of electricity, the stalks feasted on the catastrophic energy; the denser the lightning, the more aggressively they flourished.

Even from afar, the swaying of the purple bamboo violently rasped their leaves together, sparking visceral arcs of static that raised the hairs on the back of his neck.

In this world, the elemental affinity of lightning was synonymous with absolute destruction. A single, stray arc possessed the raw, catastrophic force to incinerate a mortal on the spot.

Plunged into such a concentrated storm, even seasoned cultivators would be swiftly reduced to ash, save for those few who cultivated the Dao of Lightning.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A suffocating, concussive rumble continuously echoed from the marsh's core, pounding violently against the chests of the gathered cultivators.

Ye Shanhu's complexion drained of color. "Junior Brother Xu, the catastrophic power in there is sheer madness. We should abandon this hunt."

"Fear not."

Xu Changshou shook his head, a cold confidence settling in his eyes. "Senior Sister Ye, remain here. I possess the absolute means to tread this domain."