As a loud rumbling sound was heard, everyone looked back to see a massive cloud of smoke rising into the air, and it seemed that the valley had completely collapsed. Cha Wenbin didn't tell Zhuo Xiong that his grandfather was buried with their ancestors, but instead said he was hit by a large boulder.

  Although he had only recently met his own "grandfather" and was still confused, the blood relationship that had been revealed made Zhuo Xiong very sad. For a time, the one who raised him became an enemy, while his biological grandfather passed away suddenly, this series of blows was not something an ordinary person could withstand.

  Chao Zi comforted Zhuo Xiong for a while, and this man held back his tears, walking silently in the middle of the team. As for what was going on at the top of the mountain, Old Wang himself didn't know either. The information they had in hand was only that much, because several times they sent people up the mountain, but they all ended up with no news. According to Old Wang's words, this was a remnant of prehistoric civilization. In his view, even when the prosperous Tang Dynasty entrusted Li Bai to explore it once, he ultimately retreated after knowing it was difficult, and since then, no one else has set foot on Mount Qi Feng again.

  As for the Gu poison that Leng Yiran was afflicted with, it was also done by Hua Baihu. When the time comes, she will naturally wake up. As for this kind of heresy, Zha Wenbin knew the reason even if he knew it, but there is nothing to be done about it. This thing has nothing to do with the art of gods and ghosts from the beginning, it's just that a kind of insect temporarily occupies people's thinking, when the time comes, the insect will come out automatically, and people will be fine.

  Hengmei heard that Hua Bai Hu Zi had died, and tears flowed continuously. He cried out loud and followed Zhuo Xiong closely, never leaving his side, as he had also heard that Zhuo Xiong was the grandson of Hua Bai Hu Zi.

  This dense forest, completely invisible to any signs of human activity, the towering old trees, even light can hardly enter three points, gloomy and oppressive atmosphere weighing on everyone. This team is back to its original state when they first entered Qingcheng, only each person has their own thoughts.

  Chaozi was always on guard against Lao Wang, afraid that he would resort to some evil trick halfway through. To him, using coldness as a threat meant that any reason was unforgivable.

  The dream in Zha Wenbin's heart had been lingering for a long time and couldn't be shaken off. Why did the things he encountered later seem so ordinary compared to his dreams? Moreover, once the Heaven-Defying Soul-Devouring Technique was used, one would surely lose their soul. This technique had been viewed as a forbidden curse by the sect since its creation, so why was he still alive? What's more, he couldn't understand why he ended up lying naked in that coffin. Chaozi had already said it wasn't his doing, but he had no memory of that segment at all. The most important thing was the last person he saw, the one who turned back and smiled faintly - that person was actually himself. This perfectly verified his dream, where the one emerging from the coffin to accept the worship of thousands was indeed him, Zha Wenbin. As for what Old Wang said about the divine tree, he wasn't interested in the slightest. What he was thinking about was where the stairs below led to. Three-legged Toad, are you following him?

  Lao Wang could not understand the death of Hua Bai Hu Zi, and Cha Wenbin's being stoned to death seemed like a ridiculous excuse to him. This far-fetched reason didn't seem convincing at all. Of course, he had too much on his shoulders; within the organization, he was the only one still alive in Qi Feng Shan for the time being.

  As for Zhuo Xiong, perhaps only he himself knew what was in his heart. The only one who could prove all this was probably Zhuo Yu Gui down the mountain. He hoped that Zhuo Yu Gui could tell him who was real, but the blood-colored totem on his chest was now faintly burning.

  The terrain was undulating and uneven, Zha Wenbin couldn't even tell east, south, west or north, just like he couldn't find the way down the mountain. The compass needle continued to rotate on its own, since entering this place, it had never been useful. It's also true that someone who can set up such a large formation wouldn't let these young people easily break through.

  In the quiet forest, not even a bird was seen. If a Ba Shan ape were to suddenly appear, Cha Wenbin would guarantee that he wouldn't make any sudden moves, because absolute silence often represents absolute danger. In this world, only death can reach such a state. He wasn't a god, just a Taoist priest; without his Taoist robes, what difference was there between him and a rural farmer? Cha Wenbin had never thought that he would experience all of this; in his world, family was everything. If he had another chance to choose, he could give up the Book of Fate, Heaven's Will, and the Tao - as long as his daughter lived well. But in this world, there were no ifs; this too was fate.

  After walking aimlessly in the forest for two hours, Leng Yiran finally woke up, no different from when he had just fallen asleep. His first action upon waking was to grab Chu Zi's ear and scold him for taking so long in the woods.

  Several people tacitly concealed the experience of this journey from her, and if possible, they hoped she would never find out. Chaozi's bag still had a small amount of food left, and several people let Cold Yiran eat more, especially Old Wang, who actually felt guilty towards his niece in his heart.

  The road still needs to be walked, waiting for death is not Zhang Wenbin's style. When he found the footprints of someone who had stepped on it in front of him, his overjoyed expression was self-evident. The grass by the side of the road had obvious signs of being trampled, and the broken stems were only a few hours old, still very fresh. The moss on the ground proved that someone had walked here before, and from the chaotic footprints, it seemed that there was more than one person.

  "Is it Wang Yue?" Old Wang frowned at the footprints, because he knew that apart from them, another group of people, a very unfriendly group, had also come here.

  "Are those Japanese people you were talking about?" Cha Wenbin asked.

  He carefully examined the footprints, measuring their size with his fingers and comparing them to the impressions. After repeating this process several times, he said: "From the footprints, it appears that there are four people in total - two men and two women. They came from the back mountain and went towards the front."

  "Four people?" Old Wang asked?

  Chaozi looked at him with disdain and said coldly, "Don't doubt the scout's ability." The little witch next to him had been resting for too long, several days, and was now full of energy. She slapped Chaozi on the head: "What are you talking about? And why are you speaking to Uncle Wang like that?" But this time Chaozi didn't laugh with her as usual. With a dark face, he said, "You'd better behave yourself, it's very dangerous here!" He ignored her, which made her stomp her feet in anger.

  "Old Wang, what's wrong?" Cha Wenbin looked at them like that, fearing that if they continued like this, internal contradictions would be exposed before they even left the mountain. It was better for him to take charge of the situation himself.

  Old Wang knew he was at fault and didn't argue with Chaozi. He pulled Zhang Wenbin, pointing to the footprints on the ground: "Since there are only four people here, there's a problem. When they entered the mountain, adding Zhuo... plus the guide, there were eleven people in total. Except for the leader, Wang Yueyi, and the two women, the other seven people were all equipped with German-made military equipment, looking like they had received professional training. With the Japanese being meticulous and strict about team discipline, they had no reason to split up and walk separately. However, looking at these footprints, they walked in such disarray, unless..."

  "Unless they've encountered something major." The crowd turned around to see Zhuo Xiong with a leaf in his mouth, calmly saying. Seeing his serious expression, the stone on everyone's heart was slightly put down, and he quickly walked over, saying: "I agree with Chaozi's opinion, based on our scouts' experience, this group of people should be escaping, not searching, so their chances of encountering unexpected events are very high. From a time perspective, it won't exceed three hours. If we follow their footprints, we may encounter them. Since they're up to no good, there's no need for us to hide and sneak around either. What's your opinion, Wenbin?"

  Cha Wenbin had originally considered going down the mountain, and the myths and Japanese people had nothing to do with him. However, he knew that this group of people was brought up the mountain by Zhuo Yuguang, and Zhuo Xiong also understood in his heart, so he decided to help Zhuo Xiong untie this knot.

  "Alright, let's follow the trail. You two are good at scouting, Zhuo Xiong will lead the way, Chao Zi will bring up the rear, Leng Jie will stay by my side, and Old Wang will be in front of Chao Zi. Pay attention to any slight movements around you, let's move out!" With Cha Wenbin's order, the team quickly fell into formation, following the footprints left behind by Wang Yue, and set off in pursuit.

  At the wave of Zhuo Xiong's hand, the team stopped advancing. The pit had already appeared in front of them. Footprints ended here and disappeared from view. Judging from the newly fallen leaves and moss around, both Zhuo Xiong and Chaozi were certain that they had fallen down. Zhuo Xiong suggested going down to take a look. Zha Wenbin knew what he was thinking in his heart. This time, even Chaozi did not stop him, but silently helped him tie the rope, letting him slowly slide down. Fortunately, this pit was not so deep.

  "There are only three samurai swords below, and there is a cave entrance. It looks like someone just went in from here. Do you want to wait for me on top while I go take a look inside?" Zhōu Xióng shouted from below.

  Cha Wenbin gave Chaozi a look, and he immediately shouted: "Wait for us, don't act alone!" After finishing, he grabbed the rope and slid down. In a moment, Chaozi shouted from below: "Wenbin brother, that kid is gone, he must have entered the cave, what should we do?"

  As soon as he finished speaking, the burly man didn't say another word and grabbed the rope to descend.

  Wen Bin's face turned red with rage, and he stomped his foot, shouting: "Damn it!" The calm and collected Lei was shocked, her eyes wide with surprise... it turned out that Wen Bin could also curse.

  "Look at you two, one old and one young! You both go down first! I'll be right down!"

  Old Wang naturally knew what Cha Wenbin meant, and no matter what, he wouldn't let himself fall alone again. However, this was indeed his own fault, so he slid down first. What about Leng Yiran? She had no idea what was going on, and with both hands grasping the rope, she slid down quickly and was caught steadily by Chaozi. Cha Wenbin then tied a dead knot at the top of the rope, and not feeling secure, he covered it with a pile of leaves to ensure that no one would notice, before finally landing last.

  After getting out of the pit, the yellow soil that was buried by Wang Yue's gaze had already been dug up by Chaozi. A few white bones were shocked and extremely regretful, but they couldn't say anything again. Cha Wenbin gave him a glance, telling him to bury it back! However, Old Wang still noticed the chrysanthemum patterns on those Japanese swords, and he deduced that this was very likely from the previous wave of Japanese people.

  "Earlier, Blind Man said there were three knives, now only one is left. Without using hands, that kid must have taken one away, and another was taken by that meat-faced guy who jumped down earlier. His body shape was stubbornly squeezing into the hole, I couldn't stop him even if I wanted to, almost got stuck myself. But, no gain without pain." Chaozi had an inexplicable fondness for cold weapons, and without asking Wenbin's permission, he casually pulled out a knife, shouting as he held it for self-defense, "Blind Man, are you down there?" The long echo reverberated freely in the narrow cave, and soon, a response came from below: "I'm down here!"

  Chaozi cursed and scolded in his mouth, and only said one sentence to Zha Wenbin: "I'll go down first and watch that kid!" After finishing, he jumped into the cave with both feet, like a roller coaster, swooshing down. Zha Wenbin was so angry that he stared wide-eyed. In a moment, someone shouted from below again: "Come down, there's a road here!", it was Chaozi's voice.

  Cha Wenbin looked at the piles of white bones beside him, and his heart had an inexplicable premonition. The feeling was not good or bad, but rather very vague.

  "Old Wang, you take her down the mountain first, it may be very dangerous here." Cha Wenbin said to Old Wang.

  Old Wang's face showed a bitter expression as he said, "Wen Bin, it's not that I don't want to go down. This ancient mountain is not something an archaeologist like me can just climb up or down at will. If it were that easy, we wouldn't have had to go through so much trouble to bring you..."

  Ling Wu, who was quietly listening on the side, suddenly chimed in: "Wenbin brother, Chaozi and the others have already gone downstairs. Why don't we go down too? This place looks so mysterious, what if there are antiques down there?"

  "Antique?" Zhang Wenbin had just taken a sip of water and almost spat it out. This girl was really too naive, but the more she was like this, the more he couldn't put his mind at ease. To be honest, letting Old Wang take her away, he himself didn't have any confidence either.

  Old Wang saw the doubt in Cha Wenbin's eyes and said, "Wenbin, you and I are brothers, Chaozi also grew up under my care. As for this girl, since she became like a daughter to me, I understand your thoughts. Let's go down together!"

  Zha Wenbin looked at Old Wang in front of him, who seemed to have aged ten years overnight, and slowly nodded: "Let's go, you guys go first, I'll cover the rear."

  read3;