Chapter 59: There Is A Way

Morning came, and they were already up an moving, looking for next node or a place filled with residual hostility to cultivate. Yu Mei’s deduction was correct and there was node not far.The beast that claimed it was a full head larger than the water beast Lin Feng had bound days earlier, with thick armored plates, six jointed limbs, and a residual aura so dense. It had clearly fed on every challenger that wandered into its territory for a long time.

Lin Feng simply commanded.

"Go."

The Ironback Marsh Reaver charged first, a living battering ram of plate and muscle. The Skypierce Eagle dropped from the mist above, barbed limbs aiming for the seams between armor. The bound water beast rose from the basin itself, turning the stagnant water into grasping spears.

Even Yu Mei joined in with her earth elemental power. Mud thicker than a man’s waist erupted from the basin floor and locked around the creature’s rear limbs. Even then it was a brutal fight.

When the end came, the residual field that exploded outward afterward was the richest he had ever tasted. He sat there immediately and cultivated. The hostility poured into his meridians like molten metal, packing his foundation tighter and pushing hard against the next threshold. When he finally stopped, his entire body felt heavy and overfull. There was progress but it was also still too slow. They did not rest long.

Over the next two days the pattern repeated across three more nodes and one ancient residual sink. Each fight was harder than the last. Each residual field was denser. Lin Feng’s Rage Points climbed steadily.

[Current Rage Points: 84,900]

By the evening of the third day they camped on a high, wind scoured root platform. The three bound beasts took up their perimeter. Lin Feng sat with his elbows on his knees, staring at nothing.

"Fifty three days left on the original deadline," he said. "At this rate I’ll need three or four weeks for Level 6, maybe longer for Level 7. I simply don’t have the time. Binding or even killing that mythical thing at my current strength is a joke. I’m not getting there fast enough."

Yu Mei was silent for a long time. When she finally spoke, the reluctance in her voice was obvious.

"There’s a way."

Lin Feng’s head snapped up. "What?"

"I shouldn’t be saying this." She exhaled through her nose. "Damn it. The restricted zones. They contain spirit stones, residual pills, concentrated qi jades, cultivation resources the Orchid Veil has been harvesting for generations. That’s why the zones are restricted. That’s why the swamp is so important to them. The outer restricted pockets only have basic grade materials. The deeper you go, the higher the quality. The absolute best are in the deepest layer and they’re guarded and heavily sealed. Your watch token will alert the sect the moment you approach any of them. They have the authority to enter and remove you by force."

Lin Feng stared at her. The pieces clicked together with almost insulting clarity.

"That’s why the swamp matters so much to them," he muttered. "And if I’m using those resources to get rid of the beast the swamp hates..."

"The politics become complicated," Yu Mei finished. "I don’t know which side the swamp would take if Orchid Veil tried to drag you out."

Lin Feng looked down at the watch token on his wrist. The idea of a direct quarrel with an entire sect currently ranked somewhere between "unwise" and "suicidal." But the alternative was running out of time and dying in here anyway.

He stood up.

"Then we ask the only one who might actually have a say."

Yu Mei’s eyes narrowed. "You can’t be serious."

Lin Feng already was. He stepped to the edge of the platform, gathered what residual hostility still clung to the air, and pushed his voice out the same way he had on his first day in the swamp direct, shameless, and just loud enough to be rude.

"Hey. I know you’re listening. You want that mythical beast handled? Then you need me stronger and faster right?So here’s the question. Are you willing to mask the token or override the alert while I’m inside those zones, as long as I only take what I need to deal with your problem?"

Silence...

For several long breaths nothing answered. Even the bound beasts shifted uneasily.

Then the mist at the far edge of the platform drew back. Roots and vines twisted upward, weaving into the familiar vague feminine upper body and face. The swamp’s voice came warmer than the air around them, and far too calm.

"You are learning to negotiate. Good."

"The resources in the restricted zones were grown from my own residual flows. Orchid Veil harvests them by old agreement, not by ownership. If you take only what is required to reach the strength necessary for the task, I will suppress the token’s signal while you are inside. The moment you take more than you need, or attempt to carry materials out of the swamp, the suppression ends and the sect will be alerted"

The vine face tilted slightly.

"Additionally, every resource you consume will be tallied. Fail to remove the beast, and the debt will be collected from you in ways you will not enjoy."

Lin Feng met the woven eyes. "And if Orchid Veil still tries to interfere?"

"Then they will discover that their old agreement has... complications." The swamp’s voice carried the faintest edge of amusement. "Do not make me regret this."

The vines unravelled. The mist closed back in. The presence vanished as thoroughly as if it had never been there.The three bound beasts stirred as if they had felt the swamp’s attention pass over them. Yu Mei’s expression was unreadable.

"You just made another deal with it," she said.

"Yeah, but i had no other choice. I’m done waiting for the slow cultivation and i need to get stronger at any cost."