"How is it? Did you find anything?" Zhang Yang asked.
"No, we've expanded the search area considerably. We even went back to the snowy ground, but we didn't find a single hair." The group shook their heads repeatedly, returning in great disappointment.
"Still nothing?" Zhang Yang's brows furrowed, filled with confusion.
"Ah, Elder Hong, why are you here? Where are the Grand Elder and the others?" Lu Gong asked, seeing Hong Tao beside Zhang Yang.
"If nothing unexpected happens, the Grand Elder and Elder Hu have suddenly disappeared, just like the people here!" Hong Tao said gravely.
This!
The news shocked everyone.
"What!? Even the Grand Elder has disappeared! My heavens, what is going on?"
"Heavens, this is too terrifying. Who could have done this? To make even the Grand Elder and Elder Hu disappear?"
"Could it be that the descendant of King Mo discovered us and made a move in secret? But if they were the ones, we shouldn't have failed to notice."
"Not the descendant of King Mo? Then could it be that the very ground beneath our feet is devouring people?"
Upon learning that Zhu Zhi had also disappeared, everyone panicked, and their morale plummeted.
Zhang Yang, who had been silent, suddenly widened his eyes and stared intently at someone in the crowd.
"What did you just say? Say it again!" Zhang Yang said sternly.
"Ah?"
The person was startled.
Thinking he had said something wrong, he nervously replied, "I didn't say anything just now, I just... just..."
"Speak boldly, I'm not going to blame you!" Zhang Yang pressed.
"I said, could it be that this land is devouring people?" the person replied.
Hearing this.
Everyone immediately looked at Zhang Yang, and Hong Tao even sat up abruptly!
"Zhang Tang, you don't actually think the land can eat people, do you?" Hong Tao asked.
Zhang Yang nodded slowly, voicing his suspicions.
"Elder Hong, do you remember what this place is called?"
"Thorn Marsh?" Hong Tao replied.
Zhang Yang nodded and smiled.
"Exactly. Since this place is called Thorn Marsh, don't you find it strange? The ground here is very hard, not like a marsh at all!"
"And we've been misled all along, thinking the Thorn Marsh should be in the deepest part. But is there a possibility that we are already in the marsh?"
"Only then can we explain why our people disappeared out of thin air, because they were swallowed by the marsh and taken to another place!"
This!
Zhang Yang's bold analysis surprised everyone!
But upon careful consideration, it didn't seem impossible.
"This is your speculation after all. Is there any way to verify it?" Hong Tao asked.
Zhang Yang narrowed his eyes, looking at the ground beneath everyone's feet, and suddenly said with a serious expression.
"Verifying it is simple. Just smash it for me!"
"Everyone, use your Yuan Qi to smash this land fiercely. Smash through it and see what's underneath. That will clarify whether my speculation is correct or not."
With that said.
Zhang Yang was the first to act, and the others followed suit, not to be outdone.
Everyone's Yuan Qi hubs spun wildly, all of them blasting towards the ground beneath their feet.
Instantly.
Mighty Yuan Qi surged, and dust flew from the black-green earth.
The group attacked the black-green land under their feet, smashing it furiously for nearly ten minutes.
The result made Zhang Yang even more convinced that the disappeared people had been swallowed by the marsh!
Because.
Even with so many experts at the Hunyuan realm attacking together, they only managed to create a pit less than half a meter deep in the black-green earth.
"This soil is outrageously hard. Continue!" Zhang Yang said.
Immediately.
He summoned the stone tablet.
Seeing this, the others also took out their respective weapons and continued to smash into the newly formed pit!
Boom!
Boom boom!
An hour passed.
After such intense use of Yuan Qi, everyone was somewhat exhausted.
But!
Effort pays off.
Zhang Yang's guess was correct. Beneath this hard ground, there was indeed a layer of soft marsh soil!
"Everyone, look quickly! This layer of marsh soil is moving. It's not fixed at this depth!" Zhang Yang shouted.
Hearing this, the others quickly looked at the sides of the pit.
They indeed found that the marsh soil layer, which had been at the bottom, had now moved to the top.
In the blink of an eye, the marsh soil layer had moved to the land they were standing on!
Clearly.
Zhang Yang's guess was correct, they had found the marsh soil layer.
"What next? What should we do? We've found the marsh soil layer, but we still haven't found any clues about the disappeared people." Hong Tao was still puzzled.
The others also looked at Zhang Yang with confusion.
They admired Zhang Yang's speculation; he could even think of such wild ideas!
But.
What should they do now?
At this moment.
Zhang Yang took a deep breath, his furrowed brows relaxed, and he said.
"We need to make a bold attempt. Find someone to jump into the marsh. Only then can we understand what's inside the marsh. I strongly suspect there's another space or tunnel within the marsh!"
"Those people who disappeared out of thin air likely vanished through the marsh soil layer."
The reason Zhang Yang speculated this was because when they found the marsh soil layer.
They found no belongings or bodies left behind by the disappeared people.
Therefore, Zhang Yang concluded that there was a high probability they were still alive.
They were just taken to another place by this movable marsh!
However.
Others couldn't believe his bold speculation!
"Enter... enter the marsh? If there's no space or tunnel inside as you say, won't we suffocate in the marsh?"
"Yes, blindly entering the marsh is very irrational. If your guess is wrong, we'll all be wiped out."
"Zhang Tang, it's not that we don't believe you, but your theory is too unbelievable. We really can't believe it."
Hong Tao was also full of doubt. A marsh is just a marsh, right?
How could there be another space inside a marsh?
"If Zhang Tang doesn't have a hundred percent certainty, I still don't agree. Let's think of other ways."
"It's alright, don't be afraid of sacrifice. I'll go down myself," Zhang Yang said.
"That's not what I meant. I meant, if someone really enters the marsh, how will they give us a signal?" Hong Tao asked, concerned about this point.
Hearing this.
Zhang Yang immediately smiled.
"Elder Hong, if you're worried about that, then there's no problem, because I have a way to solve it."
"Oh? What way do you have?" Hong Tao asked.