When the two disappeared into the jungle, Shen Long frowned. "It takes two people to find some wood?"
"Isn’t it obvious?" Dong Zhengyang sneered. "They most likely want to speak privately about something and don’t want us to hear."
"Huh?" Shen Long raised an eyebrow and said in a deep voice, "I didn’t expect them to persist in their old ways. Should I follow them to check?"
"No need." Dong Zhengyang waved his hand. "All foxes show their tails sooner or later. Let’s go. We’ll follow their wishes and head further up."
The four of them got up one after another and proceeded slowly along the edge of the swamp.
「Meanwhile!」
Dongfang Wuheng and Murong Xiong stopped by a large tree. Murong Xiong turned and swept his gaze over the jungle behind him. Seeing no one following, he whispered, "This Qin Feiyang truly is crafty!"
"How so?" Dongfang Wuheng inquired.
"Think about it!" Murong Xiong continued. "He has us traveling every day while he secludes himself in the ancient castle, reaping all the benefits. I fear if this continues, his power might surpass ours." He huffed coldly.
"His cultivation speed is indeed fast, but it’s absolutely impossible for him to catch up with us so soon," Dongfang Wuheng said. "However, we indeed cannot let him continue his seclusion. I called you here to discuss how to lure him out of the ancient castle."
In fact, Dongfang Wuheng had been seeking opportunities all along the way. However, the dangerous beasts they encountered were not particularly strong, and their small group could easily deal with them. If he were to ask Qin Feiyang to come out for such minor threats, it would seem unreasonable.
After some contemplation, Murong Xiong’s eyes lit up. He whispered, "I have a plan. If we’re lucky, we might even be able to kill one or two of them."
"Do tell." Dongfang Wuheng was slightly startled, his interest instantly piqued.
Murong Xiong leaned over and began whispering in Dongfang Wuheng’s ear. Excitement gradually flickered in Dongfang Wuheng’s eyes.
「Speaking of Dong Zhengyang and the others.」
After walking non-stop for less than an hour with no discoveries, they turned back and returned to their resting place from the previous night. The round trip took an hour.
Dongfang Wuheng and Murong Xiong were already waiting there. Next to them lay an ancient tree trunk, more than 150 meters long. Several people holding hands wouldn’t have been able to encircle its thickness.
"How did it go?" Dongfang Wuheng smiled as he looked at the returning four.
"No discoveries," Dong Zhengyang shook his head.
"It seems we can only cross this swamp by bridging it," Dongfang Wuheng said, pointing to the ancient tree beside him with a laugh. "Fortunately, we were lucky. Murong Xiong and I found an ancient tree. I measured this ancient tree; it’s 152 meters long. From my observations, the distance between each earthen mound doesn’t exceed 130 meters. As long as there are no accidents, crossing it will certainly not be a problem."
Dong Zhengyang looked the ancient tree up and down and nodded. "It’s indeed long enough, but I suggest splitting this ancient tree in half."
"Why?" Dongfang Wuheng was puzzled. "Isn’t it good as it is?"
Murong Xiong nodded. "That’s right. A whole tree trunk should be sturdier than one split in half, right?"
"I’m suggesting this for everyone’s safety," Dong Zhengyang explained. "When split in half, both cut surfaces will be flat. Walking on a flat surface will be safer than walking on a round trunk. As for its sturdiness, that’s not a concern at all. This ancient tree is so massive that, let alone splitting it in two, even if it were chopped into firewood, it’s not something you or I could break by stepping on it."
After Dong Zhengyang finished, he took out a war sword from his Qiankun Bag. He swung his hand, and Sword Qi emerged like a rainbow. With a CRACK, the ancient tree was immediately split in half.
But just as the tree was split open, Dong Zhengyang and the other three frowned instantly. The middle section of the tree was hollow!
"What’s going on?" Dong Zhengyang suddenly looked up at Dongfang Wuheng and Murong Xiong, his eyes fiercer than ever.
This was no small matter!
If they hadn’t split the ancient tree open and discovered it was hollow, then once it was laid as a bridge, the moment they put weight on it, the trunk would break! The consequences would be unimaginable. The hollow part was in the middle section; if it broke, they would all fall into the center point between two earthen mounds. Dangling in the air, unable to reach either side, not even a god descending to Earth could have saved them.
"We didn’t know either!" Dongfang Wuheng and Murong Xiong looked flustered under the intimidating gazes of Dong Zhengyang and his companions.
Shen Long said solemnly, "You two found this tree. How could you not know?"
Dongfang Wuheng anxiously said, "We did find the tree, but we really didn’t know it was hollow inside..." Pausing here, Dongfang Wuheng suddenly raised his eyebrows, looked up at the four, and asked, "Are you implying that Murong Xiong and I rigged this?"
"Isn’t that so?" Dong Zhengyang shot back. "You hollowed out the tree. Then, when we pass over it, you just need to tamper with it slightly to make us fall into the swamp to our deaths. I was wondering why both of you objected when I suggested splitting the tree. It turns out there was a hidden agenda here! Honestly, I truly believed you had genuinely repented this time. However, I was astounded to find out you still harbor such treacherous ambitions!" Dong Zhengyang was enraged; murderous intent flashed in his eyes.
Dongfang Wuheng’s face alternated between pallor and crimson. As soon as Dong Zhengyang finished speaking, he retorted angrily, "If you want to condemn someone, you can always find a pretext!"
Jian Wei snapped, "The evidence is right in front of us! How can you still call this a trumped-up charge?"
"Fine," Dongfang Wuheng said. "Since you say so, let’s talk facts. If Murong Xiong and I were to hollow out the tree’s core, wouldn’t we need to break the bark first?"
"Correct," the four men nodded in agreement.
Dongfang Wuheng continued, "Then look closely. Is there any trace of the bark around the hollowed-out area being damaged?"
The four men took a closer look, and their eyebrows instantly raised. The bark was intact! They also noticed that the hollowed-out area looked as if it had been gnawed by ants; it was irregular, and the marks appeared to be very old. Moreover, upon closer observation, the entire core of the trunk was hollow, though the cavity was small and inconspicuous, which was why they hadn’t noticed it before.
Discovering this, Dong Zhengyang and his companions exchanged glances; it seemed they had wrongly accused Dongfang Wuheng and Murong Xiong. Swamps were teeming with insects like ants; the hollow core was likely caused by insect infestation.
Dongfang Wuheng gave a cold smile. "Now, what else do you have to say?"
Dong Zhengyang frowned, cupping his hands in apology. "I apologize. It was my carelessness that led to this misunderstanding."
"Sigh!" Dongfang Wuheng heaved a deep sigh. "I’m not blaming anyone. I just want to say that, as fellow disciples and partners, we should trust each other more."
Jian Wei sneered, "If you two hadn’t abandoned us to save yourselves back then, would we be so suspicious now?"
"Ultimately, it was indeed our fault. But now, we have already repented. Why do you still have to dwell on it? Does doing so benefit anyone?" Dongfang Wuheng said dejectedly.
Shen Long said, "Alright, let’s put this incident behind us. We’ll find another ancient tree."
Murong Xiong said discontentedly, "This time, you four go. That way, you can’t accuse us of tampering with it again."
The four men exchanged glances, then turned and entered the jungle.
The moment the four men left, Murong Xiong’s face darkened, and he snarled, "That Dong Zhengyang really deserves to die!"
Dongfang Wuheng sent a telepathic message, "Lower your voice! Don’t let them hear you."
Murong Xiong glanced at the jungle where Dong Zhengyang and his men had disappeared and thought,
What should we do now?
Dongfang Wuheng said inwardly,
Wait and see.
He then turned to survey the endless swamp, his gaze flickering uncertainly.
This matter, in truth, wasn’t so simple. Although they hadn’t hollowed out the tree’s core, they had *deliberately chosen* it. In other words, this specific ancient tree was one that Dongfang Wuheng and Murong Xiong had intentionally sought out. Their purpose was just as Dong Zhengyang had guessed: once the bridge was laid and they were crossing it, a slight manipulation would cause the ancient tree to break. At that point, even if they couldn’t kill all four of Dong Zhengyang’s group, they could at least eliminate one or two. As a bonus, they could also lure out Qin Feiyang—killing two birds with one stone.
However, they hadn’t expected Dong Zhengyang to make the unconventional decision to split the ancient tree in half, directly causing their plan to be foiled. It would be a lie to say they weren’t infuriated. Yet, facing Dong Zhengyang’s group, they could only suppress their anger.
「In a short while.」
The four men emerged from the jungle. Dong Zhengyang carried a robust ancient tree trunk on his shoulder, similar in size to the one Dongfang Wuheng and Murong Xiong had found.
THUMP!
Coming to the edge of the swamp, Dong Zhengyang put down the ancient tree trunk and then drew his war sword to split it in half. Its core was also somewhat hollow and contained some white, ant-like insects, but the damage wasn’t severe.
Next, Dong Zhengyang lifted one half of the ancient tree trunk, stood it upright, and then slowly lowered it towards the nearest earthen mound in the swamp.
THUD!
With a soft sound, the other end of the ancient tree trunk gently landed on the mound. The bridge was complete.
Dong Zhengyang stood up, wiped his sweat, inspected the bridge, then turned towards Shen Mei and the other four, asking in a grave voice, "Are you all ready?" Once they stepped onto this bridge, there would be no turning back.
"Whew!" The five of them took a deep breath and nodded at Dong Zhengyang.
"Then let’s go!" Dong Zhengyang waved his hand, took the lead, and stepped onto the bridge, heading towards the earthen mound on the opposite side. Shen Mei and the others followed closely behind him.
Throughout the crossing, all six of them kept their eyes locked on the swamp beneath the bridge, ready to react to the slightest unusual movement.
Whether it was luck or because there truly were no dangerous beasts in the swamp, about 100 breaths later, they reached the first earthen mound, shaken but unharmed. The mound was covered with shrubs and wild grass. The soil was a bit soft but firm enough to stand on.
They still didn’t dare let their guard down. Only after carefully checking and confirming there was no danger did they begin to search for the next landing spot.
Shen Mei said, "Look, that small earthen mound to our front-left is about 130 meters from here. This ancient tree trunk is just long enough."
"Alright, let’s go there." Dong Zhengyang nodded, lifted the ancient tree trunk again, and quickly set up the next section of the bridge.
They still encountered no danger along the way.
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Subsequently, the six of them crossed more than a dozen earthen mounds in succession without encountering any beasts blocking their path.

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