# CHAPTER 9: CHEST-DEEP PUTRID MUD > *"Whoever sleeps in dirty gutters is never afraid of being swallowed by the mud. At the muddy bottom, only fangs and claws can save their lives."* --- ### I. ENDLESS MIRE & MILLENNIAL SCENT OF DEATH Stepping through the boundary of the Poison Mist Forest, the solid ground completely disappeared. In front of Chu Ye's eyes is a vast sea of ​​black mud with no shore in sight — The Putrid Fens. The air here is thick with a dark purple color of toxic miasma. Each bubble of swamp air the size of a ceramic bowl continuously emerged from the bottom of the mud, exploding *poof...poof...* emitting streams of blue smoke that reeked of the smell of long-rotted corpses. The water's surface glistened with a strange rainbow-colored oily residue, where poisonous moss fibers clung tightly to rotten tree stumps submerged in the water. — *BOOM!* Chu Ye took a step down. The black mud, cold as ice, immediately swallowed his feet, then quickly flooded up to his knees, then his waist! Every time he lifted his foot, the thick layer of mud held his skin tightly like the hands of countless unjust souls at the bottom of the grave trying to drag him down. The muddy water spilled over the edge of his iron spiked armor, up to his chest! The bone-chilling cold of the swamp water caused Chu Ye's muscles to contract. The wound that was slashed by the Maniac Sword Slave on his shoulder when it came into contact with the muddy water immediately throbbed like acid was thrown at him. Tiny pieces of poisonous moss were clinging to the wound, trying to eat and slip into the muscle fibers. But at that moment, the **Primal Bloodstone** capsule implanted in Chu Ye's sternum suddenly burst into flames! A bright red stream of heat immediately swept across his chest, burning away all the toxins from the muddy water that had just entered the wound. The skin around the cut closes tightly, completely preventing the corrosion of miasma. Chu Ye took a deep breath. The pungent smell of sulfur entered his nose, but thanks to the medicinal power of the Qingluo Antidote Pill pill protecting his throat, his lungs still maintained strange alertness. He raised the Blackbone Staff and Short Bone Cleaver sticks high out of the water, used his arms to trace each patch of poisonous duckweed, and slowly crawled through the sea of ​​black mud. --- ### II. SWAMP LEECH PACK & UNDERWATER RUMBLING The swamp was eerily quiet. There was no roaring ocean waves like on the rocky beach, nor was there the sound of wind whistling through the woods. There was only the sound of muddy water splashing with every move of Chu Ye, and the eerie groaning of the rotten mangrove trees slowly sinking deep into the swamp bottom. Suddenly, Chu Ye stopped. Under the black muddy water that was up to his chest, there were tiny underground vortexes winding around his calves. — *Tickling... slippery...* A slimy feeling stuck tightly to his left calf, through the torn fabric, penetrating into his skin! The sharp pain felt like dozens of needles penetrating deep into the blood vessels at the same time! **Giant Swamp Leech**! The most virulent bloodsucking demon of the rotten swamp! They are more than two meters long, their bodies are as big as an adult's biceps, they have no eyes or nose, only a round suction cup mouth containing three rows of razor-sharp serrated teeth. When clinging to their prey, they will secrete a fluid that paralyzes the nerves, then drain the victim's blood in less than half an incense stick! Chu Ye did not panic. Old Guo's survival experience from the encounter with the leech tank taught him how to deal with these animals: absolutely do not use your hands to yank them hard, because their serrated teeth will bite off large pieces of flesh, causing bleeding to death! He planted the Blackbone Staff stick on a ledge at the bottom of the mud to maintain balance, his left hand reached into the leather bag on his side, and picked up a handful of **white salt** - the spoils of war taken from Old Guo's bag! He slid his hand under the murky water, vigorously rubbing a handful of salt into the sticky body of the leech monster clinging to his calf! — *SOOOO!* Encountering salty salt, the giant leech's body immediately convulsed crazily! Its suction mouth released, green mucus erupted, foaming the muddy water. As soon as the leech was released, Chu Ye's right hand swung **Short Bone Cleaver** and slashed into the water! — *WASH!* The sharp blade cut the monster's body in half. Black blood poured out, making the swamp water boil. But the smell of black blood immediately alerted a group of giant leeches hiding in the surrounding mud! Dozens of underground waves rushed from all directions, round suction cups emerged from the muddy water, emitting terrifying shrill sounds! --- ### III. DOG-BEATER CLEAVES THE MIRE: SLAUGHTERING WATER MONSTERS Surrounded in a chest-deep sea of mud, all ordinary light attacks or dodging attacks are completely useless! Black mud holds the legs tightly, limiting movement speed to a minimum. This is the most perfect natural trap that has buried thousands of martial arts masters when they were banished to this place. But for Chu Ye - a man who once fought for every piece of rat meat with a pack of rabid dogs, and once lay in the dirty water of a death row - mud is not a grave. It is **the battlefield of wild beasts**! — "Dog-Beater Wave-Quelling Strike!" Chu Ye roared. With both hands, he tightly grasped the trunk of Blackbone Staff, put all the heat of Bloodstone into his arms, plunged the tip of the iron-covered staff straight into the mud bottom, and then used the force of his arms to twist a round corner! — *BAM!* A black column of muddy water accompanied by tall mud exploded into the air! The extremely strong concussion force shook the entire surrounding underground water area, knocking dozens of giant leeches out of the water. While the leeches were falling in the air, Short Bone Cleaver in Chu Ye's hand drew sharp, fan-shaped blades of light! — *Whoosh! Bang! Whoosh! Bang!* Each slash is precise to the molecular level, cutting each leech in half before they can touch the water again! The foul-smelling black leech blood poured down like showers, drenching Chu Ye's long, sticky hair and iron-spiked armor. The largest king leech - a monster more than a meter long, its body covered with a gray cartilaginous shell - suddenly shot up from the deep mud bottom like a black arrow, its giant suction cup full of teeth biting straight at Chu Ye's head! The distance is less than half a meter! Chu Ye did not shy away. He tilted his head slightly, letting the sharp horn spike on the armor's shoulder blade pierce straight into the edge of the monster's suction cup! — *BANG!* The horned spike penetrated the king leech's mouth, blocking its bite! At the same time, Chu Ye's right hand swung Blackbone Staff up from the water, the rusty iron nail at the tip of the stick stabbed into the monster's soft throat, piercing its entire body! — *BOOM!* The king leech's body exploded into two halves, its intestines and black blood splashing. The remaining small group of leeches smelled the lord leech's blood and immediately panicked and turned their heads to dive deep into the muddy bottom, not one of them dared to come close to the figure of the bloodthirsty beggar standing tall in the middle of the black swamp! --- ### IV. THE CRYPT EMERGES THROUGH TOXIC MIST Chu Ye gasped, each mouthful of white air mixed with the purple miasma. He bent down, used muddy water to clean the blade, then reached into his chest to check. Half of the broken ceramic bowl still lay there intact, cold and sharp. He continued to wade through the mud and move forward. After more than an hour of struggling with the sea of ​​black mud, the ground under Chu Ye's feet began to gradually rise. The mud gradually receded to his knees, then to his ankles. Before his eyes, a high mound covered with moss and gray boulders rose from the surface of the swamp. On that mound, a massive ancient structure appeared in the mist: it was the entrance to a royal crypt abandoned thousands of years ago — Savage Warrior Crypt. On both sides of the entrance gate of the tomb are two giant stone statues of warriors whose heads were beheaded, green moss covering the intricate sword cuts. Around the tomb gate, dozens of iron stakes stood in the ground, covered with bleeding iron chains. And on a rotten wooden chair covered with leather placed right in front of the vaulted door of the crypt, a figure was sitting huddled next to a pile of ashes. He was a fat middle-aged man, but now his body had shrunk a lot, his face full of fat and flesh was smeared with mud and festering scars. He was wearing a tattered prison guard's uniform, his right leg was tightly chained to a thousand-pound block of rock, while his left leg... had been cut off at the knee, bandaged with rotten-smelling rags! Next to him is a leather whip covered with a rusty iron hook - a weapon that once spread terror to thousands of death row prisoners in the capital. Chu Ye stopped walking. His eyes narrowed, the fire of hatred that had been suppressed for many days suddenly burned fiercely in the bottom of his eyes! The legless man was sitting and chewing on a dry bone next to a pile of ashes... It's none other than **Peng Lei**! The cruel head warden of the imperial death prison!