"Is it that exaggerated?"

Seeing this, Zhang Yiyi seriously expressed her doubts. With so many monsters typically staying inside their beast bags, she had never seen any case of a monster suffocating in one.

Although Maoqiu was a fierce beast, it was essentially no different from the other monsters; how could it really feel that uncomfortable?

"This is not an exaggeration; it's a fact, okay! If you don't believe it, you can try going in and see for yourself!"

Maoqiu huffed heavily, its small eyes glaring in protest, "Unless absolutely necessary, I will definitely not go into that broken bag again!"

"Okay, okay, I won't force you to go there. Just hurry back; we need to prepare some things. We have to enter the Black Marsh in two days."

Zhang Yiyi patted Maoqiu's little paw and didn't say anything more to the little guy, heading straight back home.

Once she confirmed the real situation of the Black Marsh, she would find a way to get the registration list of the cultivators that the Bai family had previously gathered to verify. As long as those from the Yunxian Sect didn't use pseudonyms like she did, then the situation could basically be confirmed.

At that point, she just needed to send back the findings and evidence to her sect to complete this external mission. How the sect would handle the rest was not her concern.

During the next two days, Zhang Yiyi did not go out. Besides some necessary preparations, she spent the remaining time diligently meditating and cultivating at home.

During these times, Maoqiu loved to nestle in the spirit-gathering array set up by Zhang Yiyi and sleep soundly, not moving an inch.

Zhang Yiyi knew that for Maoqiu, this also counted as a form of cultivation. Of course, she didn't mind this little guy taking advantage of the spiritual energy during these moments.

Soon, the day of departure for the Black Marsh arrived.

Early in the morning, before dawn, Zhang Yiyi received a communication talisman from Zheng He.

Just as Zhang Yiyi was about to head out to attend to her business, she naturally didn't have the time to meet Zheng He, so she hurriedly replied, saying she had something to take care of and would contact him again in a few days.

"I'm going to the Black Marsh. Are you staying here or coming with me?"

Zhang Yiyi changed into a sharp men's outfit, simplifying her appearance to resemble how she looked when she signed up that day. To better fit this identity, she deliberately deepened her voice and asked Maoqiu.

Maoqiu had been sleeping soundly, and when Zhang Yiyi suddenly called it, it was somewhat displeased.

However, upon seeing her like this, it immediately understood what was about to happen. It quickly dropped its discontent and said, "I'll go with you!"

Staying in one place all day was boring. As a fierce beast, Maoqiu naturally enjoyed roaming around when conditions allowed. It certainly wouldn't care about a mere nest of low-level mutated ants.

"You can come with me, but since quite a few people have seen you, you need to stay in the beast bag first. You can only come out at an appropriate time."

Zhang Yiyi took the opportunity to set her requirements.

"..."

Maoqiu instantly felt torn. Hadn't it just started to slap itself in the face?

But if it didn't agree, it wouldn't be able to go out and explore.

In the end, Maoqiu still compromised and headed toward the annoying beast bag, but not before insisting that it must be let out as soon as possible.

Outside the Jiagu Guan, at the lookout pavilion, the Bai family's gathered team was ready to depart.

Zhang Yiyi, disguised as a man, blended into the crowd without attracting attention. Among the total of around one hundred fifty people, aside from a small number of Bai family members, the rest were newly recruited cultivators specifically called in for this mission.

Among all the cultivators, the proportion of Qi Refining stage practitioners was quite low. Zhang Yiyi thought this might have a lot to do with the increasingly powerful mutated ants.

The few external disciples from the Yunxian Sect had gone missing just as the dangers in the Black Marsh began to escalate, making it natural for the selection of Qi Refining stage cultivators to be less stringent at that time.

"Little brother, is this your first time here?"

While waiting to enter the Black Marsh, someone beside her quietly nudged Zhang Yiyi's arm and whispered, "I heard the casualties were quite severe for those who went in previously."

"And you still dare to come?"

Zhang Yiyi glanced at the speaker, who turned out to be a burly, clear-eyed fellow, so she didn't ignore him.

"I have no choice. My finances are tight lately, and I need to earn some spirit stones quickly; otherwise, I wouldn't dare risk my life like this."

The burly man lowered his voice further and said, "You don't seem to lack spirit stones; there's really no need to take such a risk in a place like this. Before we officially go in, the Bai family will confirm whether we can enter. You can just back out and go home."

Zhang Yiyi was surprised that he was genuinely concerned for her. For a moment, she didn't know how to respond.

However, the burly man thought Zhang Yiyi didn't believe him. He became a bit anxious and quickly added, "I'm not lying to you. A friend of a friend went in last time, and he was really strong, at the middle stage of Foundation Building, but even he didn't come back alive. Also, I've observed carefully, and out of the new recruits from the Bai family this time, less than twenty percent made it out of the Black Marsh intact. It's clear that the dangers inside are far beyond what the Bai family is saying."

One point the man didn't mention was that among the two out of ten who came back alive, most were familiar faces who had participated in the Bai family's mining operations multiple times.

He hadn't intended to meddle in such matters, but for some reason, upon seeing Zhang Yiyi, he couldn't shake the feeling that this clean and beautiful young man looked increasingly like his sickly younger brother. If it wasn't for the severe lack of money, he truly wouldn't want someone who resembled his brother to go and risk their life.

At least he was at the perfect middle stage of Foundation Building and had prepared some life-saving items for this trip, giving him some odds of survival; he might even have a chance among those who survived.

But the fragile young man before him was different. Not only was he at the early stage of Foundation Building, but he also had a naïve look about him, clearly someone who had come out to train from a small family, usually well-protected, unlike ordinary rouge cultivators like them.

"By the way, I heard that when the Black Marsh wasn't dangerous before, the Bai family would dare to temporarily recruit anyone for their mining team—sect disciples, members of prominent families, and loose cultivators would all be accepted as long as they registered. But later, due to too many accidents, they likely got worried about causing trouble, so they only started recruiting ordinary loose cultivators."

The man added this as well, making his persuasion very clear.

If it weren't for the fact that the Black Marsh was genuinely extremely dangerous now, the Bai family wouldn't have been so cautious about gathering personnel.

However, when this reached Zhang Yiyi's ears, it suddenly shocked her. She instinctively asked, "This big brother, when did the Bai family stop temporarily recruiting disciples from sects and prominent families?"