The southern wilderness is located in the far south of the Divine State's vast land, where it is said that there are treacherous mountains and rivers, and an abundance of poisonous insects and ferocious beasts. The most obvious dividing line with the Central Plains region is at the southernmost point, where suddenly, like flat ground rising up, a majestic mountain range emerges one after another, towering into the clouds, separating north and south.

  Since ancient times, few people have gone to the southern border from the Central Plains. The reason is simple: first, the road is treacherous; second, there are many ferocious beasts and poisonous insects, as well as miasma and bad water, and the land is mostly barren and unsuitable for farming. Later on, it was unknown when it started, but rumors began to circulate that in the endless great mountains of the southern border, there were various savage tribes, with rough hair and a taste for blood, cruel and fond of killing, among which there were even terrifying beasts that ate human flesh. From then on, no one dared to go there again, and instead, the world was shocked and worried day and night that those tribes might one day suddenly emerge from the great mountains and invade the Central Plains, bringing disaster to the world.

  However, over the past thousand years, there have been no rumors of barbarian tribes harming people. Although occasionally in the southern border areas, there have been a few instances where strange creatures were spotted, but most of them ended without incident and were gradually forgotten by people. Nowadays, even for those living in the southern border areas, it's likely that only mothers would mention "those barbarian monsters will come to catch you" when putting their children to sleep at night. In everyday life, no one ever thinks about whether these mountain tribes really exist, let alone in the distant Central Plains region.

  It is said that in those ten thousand great mountains shrouded by layers of mist, it has now become a place forgotten by the people of the world.

  However, the ordinary people of the world have forgotten these alien tribes, but some cultivators and Taoist practitioners have not. Regardless of whether they are orthodox or evil, as long as they have a certain amount of experience, they know that the reason why the southern alien tribes have been unable to wreak havoc on the world for thousands of years is because the righteous sect "Fengxiang Valley" has made great contributions.

  A hundred thousand towering mountains stood tall, isolating the north and south, making it impossible for the people of the Central Plains to head south, and those barbarian tribes also found it difficult to move north. However, a thousand years ago, an unimaginable heavenly calamity descended from the sky, causing countless casualties among the people within a radius of thousands of miles. After the calamity passed, someone discovered that in the towering mountain range, the mighty power of the heavenly thunder had actually split open a certain part of the high mountain, revealing a narrow and dark path only three feet wide.

  It was from that time on that the world spread the rumor of the existence of a savage tribe hidden in the depths of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, who would occasionally invade and harass the people at the borders, causing the border people to suffer unbearably until the appearance of the Huixiang Valley sect.

  Fengxiang Valley is the most mysterious and legendary among all the orthodox sects, with a history dating back over 1,500 years. As early as then, there were disciples of this lineage traveling the world. If only considering its origins, only Qingyun Gate and the Demon Sect have longer histories than Fengxiang Valley, not even Tianyin Temple can compare to it.

  Although this sect was once very low-key, although from time to time there would be a few high-ranking Taoist masters who appeared, their influence on the world's situation was not great. Until 800 years ago, this sect found a mountain valley near a black tunnel in the southern border and settled down, calling itself "Fengxiang Valley". In the past 800 years, incredible masters have emerged one after another, and its power has grown stronger day by day. Today, it is already on par with Qingyun Gate and Tianyin Temple, becoming one of the three major sects of the righteous path in the world.

  And correspondingly, the current Valley Master of Huixiang Valley, Yun Yi Lan, is also a renowned figure in the Orthodox School, on par with Dao Xuan Zhen Ren of Qingyun Gate and Pu Hong Shang Ren of Tianyin Temple. However, this person has always been low-key, and in terms of fame, he is not as well-known as the above two.

  Due to geographical reasons, Huoxiang Valley has almost instinctively taken on the responsibility of guarding that dark and narrow path known locally as the "Black Hole". Since then, there have been no more rumors of barbarian monsters harassing the common people. Therefore, in the hearts of the local people, Huoxiang Valley has a very high reputation and is revered as a divine being.

  These records are all recorded in the Demon King Sect, and Gui Li has also seen them over the past decade. Now, he slowly recalled them in his mind. At this moment, it was already the third day after he asked Zhou Yi Xian about the news of the fishman monster and headed south. Along the way, he rushed to hurry, and finally arrived near the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.

  The night was deep, and the moon was full in the sky. The cloud layer was quite thick, and there were only a few stars visible, but the moonlight was clear and bright, shining down on the world, and also illuminating the mountain where he stood, making it fairly bright.

  Guile stood on the hill, looking south with a slightly furrowed brow. Little Gray was still perched on his shoulder, holding an unknown wild fruit in its hand and savoring it with relish.

  Along the way, in the first two days, he still found signs left by Killer Whale and Shang, but today, Killer Whale and Shang have completely lost contact. However, from the information they left behind in the past few days, Killer Whale and Shang, who are skilled in tracking techniques, have confirmed that those mysterious fish people are rapidly heading south, with the obvious goal of returning to their old nest in the southern border.

  Have they already clashed with those mysterious fish people?

  The demon king let out a faint sigh, and a hint of worry flashed across his eyes. The southern barbarians were completely different from the people of the Central Plains, which had been mentioned many times in the remaining records of the Gui Wang Sect. Those people didn't understand what it meant to cultivate or practice the Tao, but they seemed to have all sorts of strange and bizarre magic and spells that defied comprehension.

  Shaolin monk was not old, with a violent temper, but among the new generation of disciples in the Ghost King Sect, he was indeed an outstanding figure, usually following Gui Lian, and was actually a capable assistant.

  This mysterious disappearance made Gui Li somewhat worried. However, at this moment he gazed forward, only to see the dark night, with a black shadow looming in the south, as if some giant creature was lurking in the darkness, its eyes glowing like embers. It seemed that it was the legendary Ten Thousand Great Mountains. And somewhere beneath those mountains was the legendary mysterious Valley of Burning Incense.

  The southern border has always been within the sphere of influence of Xianggu Valley. For a lone demonic sect disciple to enter, danger is inevitable.

  The ghost was deep in thought, when suddenly he had a feeling, looked up at the sky, and saw a lonely moon hanging in the distance, piercing through the thin black clouds, as if it also had a few points of mystery.

  A dark red light suddenly appeared in the night sky, under the clear moonlight, swept across the horizon, and fell towards a mountain peak in the south.

  The ghost's gaze was fixed on the strange red light, his eyebrows furrowed, and after a moment, he seemed to have made up his mind. He patted Xiao Hui on the shoulder, and immediately, a green glow erupted from under his feet, carrying him and Xiao Hui slowly upwards. Suddenly, they accelerated rapidly, chasing towards the direction of the red light.

  ※※※

  In the night sky, it was unknown when it started, but the dark clouds gradually increased, and the lonely moon at the horizon also gradually dimmed its light. It seemed to have a kind of mysterious and eerie atmosphere that was unique to the southern border, which became more and more intense on this night.

  That mysterious red light flew for a while, and landed on a mountain about ten miles south of the mountain where Gui Lian was hiding. The southern border has many mountains, and there are also many trees and woods on the mountains. However, in the forest of this nameless small mountain, there is an ancient temple. The red light fell in front of the ancient temple, and a burst of light flashed, revealing a thin old man.

  He looked around for a while, making sure no one was there, then walked into the ancient temple.

  Desolate mountains and wild ridges, desolate ancient temples, yet someone comes here in the dead of night, naturally there are things that cannot be told to others. A moment later, a ghostly figure slowly emerged from the shadows of the trees outside the ancient temple. His gaze swept over this nameless ancient temple, then he looked up at the sky again. The dark clouds in the night sky grew thicker, gradually covering the moonlight.

  His figure flashed and silently swept past the ancient temple.

  The ancient temple was clearly abandoned for a long time, with ruins and broken walls everywhere inside the temple. Even the main hall looked damaged from the outside, with holes all over the place. The cold night wind blew in, causing the broken windows to creak and sway, making the low hum sound particularly desolate in the darkness, with a hint of eeriness.

  "Boom!"

  A faint sound, as if someone had lit a fire starter, a weak light flickered on in the great hall, but this light was dim and could only illuminate a small part of the main hall, while places slightly further away were still shrouded in darkness.

  "Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp..." Suddenly, a strange and inexplicable sound rang out in the great hall. The sound was like the wailing of ghosts at midnight, or the nocturnal flight of poisonous insects. As soon as it was heard, it made one's scalp tingle with fear, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

  The ghost hid in the dark and quietly looked towards the grand hall.

  Suddenly, under the dim lamp in the great hall, apart from the old man I saw earlier, there were two more people. One was over thirty years old, of medium build. The other was quite tall, but for some reason, his entire body was tightly wrapped in a cloak, even his head wasn't exposed at all. And that strange, inexplicable voice was actually coming from this person under the cloak.

  The sound echoed in the dim and ancient temple, becoming increasingly eerie, as if an evil spirit had awakened.

  He stared coldly, also hearing this strange language for the first time, naturally not knowing its meaning, but seeing the expressions of the other two, he knew there would be consequences. Sure enough, the mysterious person spoke for a while, then stopped temporarily, and the middle-aged man who had been listening intently beside him turned to the old man and said: "The patriarch said: This time we returned without success, and instead lost men, exposed our tracks, all because of your inaccurate information... The Beast God King has already flown into a rage upon hearing this..."

  When the middle-aged man said the two words "Beast God", his voice suddenly dropped, and the tall figure wrapped in a cloak also seemed to shudder.

  The old man also furrowed his brow and said, "We originally agreed to inform the Beast God Emperor of the location of the 'Heavenly Emperor Dark Stone'. According to our knowledge, that strange stone is indeed in the Heavenly Emperor Treasury within the Dead Swamp. How can this be blamed on us for inaccurate information?"

  He glanced at the mysterious figure under the cloak, and a hint of sneer flashed across his lips as he said, "I'm afraid it's just that you're not up to the task yourselves?"

  As soon as this was said, the mysterious figure wrapped in wind suddenly responded with a series of strange sounds: "Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp...". Although Gui Li, who was hiding on the side, didn't understand the meaning behind it, he could tell from the urgent and sharp tone that the mysterious person was extremely angry.

  The mysterious man "chattered" for a while, and the middle-aged translator's face also gradually became difficult to look at. After waiting for him to stop, the middle-aged man hesitated for a moment before saying: "The tribe leader says: Although they have never been to the Death Swamp, they also know that there has never been any human activity there. But this time, suddenly, countless high-ranking cultivators from the Central Plains appeared, naturally... it's because your information is incorrect."

  The old man looked at the middle-aged person, seemingly finished speaking, and couldn't help but pause. The mysterious person had spoken for a long time, but when the middle-aged person translated it, there was only this one sentence. It seemed that the mysterious person in between had many curses and evil words, which the middle-aged person did not want to translate.

  The old man hesitated for a moment, seemingly still unwilling to turn against the mysterious person, and said: "This time, the Heavenly Emperor's treasure house has emerged, with great omens and portents that have shaken the world. I suppose those powerful cultivators from the Central Plains have also gone to investigate upon hearing the news. This is beyond our control."

  The mysterious man wrapped in wind robes, still fuming with anger, let out another strange cry. The middle-aged man listened intently, nodding repeatedly, and then said to the elder: "The clan leader says that the Tian Emperor's Dark Stone is extremely important to the Beast God King, and this time, returning empty-handed has enraged the Beast God King, who killed several clansmen on the spot..."

  The old man's face turned solemn upon hearing this, his emotions seemingly heavy, but a hint of mockery still flashed in his eyes.

  The person in the middle continued to translate: "So please hurry up and find out who has this gemstone, so they can go again to retrieve it and present it to the Beast God King!"

  The ghostly figure lurking in the corner suddenly stirred, having heard them mention the Heavenly Emperor's Dark Stone several times. Could it be that this was the same mysterious stone swallowed by Xiao Hui?

  At this time, only the old man nodded thoughtfully for a moment, then nodded and said: "Alright, we'll take care of this matter. We'll give you an answer within three days."

  The mysterious man hummed and said a few words, whereupon the middle-aged man nodded to the old man and said: "The clan leader has agreed, saying that we will meet again in three days at this place."

  The old man nodded and was about to say something, but the mysterious person turned around and walked out directly, not even looking at them again, extremely arrogant and rude.

  The old man's face changed, looking at the mysterious person's back with a furious expression. The middle-aged man hastily pulled him and shook his head repeatedly. The old man looked at him and finally restrained himself.

  After that mysterious figure's tall silhouette disappeared into the darkness, the old man suddenly let out a "hiss" and cursed: "What kind of thing are you, just a bunch of beasts!"

  The middle-aged man smiled and said: "Master Shu, don't be angry, don't lower yourself to their level."

  The old man sneered, "I'm too lazy to bother with them," and turned his head to look at him, saying, "Speaking of which, Sun Tu, you lived among those beasts for three years learning their bird language, I'm afraid you suffered a lot?"

  A middle-aged man called Sun Tu smiled and said, "As a disciple, I have received great kindness from my master's door, but unfortunately, my talent is shallow. I am suffering from being unable to repay the kindness of Master Gu and all the masters. Now that there is this opportunity, how dare I not do my best!"

  The ghost's fierce expression changed suddenly when he heard the two words "Valley Master", and his heart skipped a beat.

  That master uncle smiled, seemingly very pleased, patted Sun Tu's shoulder with his hand, and suddenly sneered: "Fortunately, the host is wise and knows that I am usually calm, so he sent me to meet these beasts. If it were that old guy Shangguan Ce who came, wouldn't things have gone wrong on the spot?"

  Sun Tuguan smiled and his expression became somewhat strange. He responded with a "yes" but seemed to not dare to turn around and look at Shangguan Ce again.

  At this moment, Gu Lie had no doubt that Shangguan Ce was one of the top figures in the "Fragrant Incense Valley" of the Southern Region, although he rarely traveled the world, his reputation was already well-known. Especially ten years ago, during the Qingyun War, Gui Wang used a clever plan and sent Zhou Yin to disguise himself as Shangguan Ce to secretly attack the monks of Tianyin Temple, which succeeded in almost destroying both the Qingyun and Tianyin sects. At that time, Gu Lie was still a Qingyun disciple named Zhang Xiaofan, who was present at the scene, naturally leaving a deep impression on him with this name.

  Two people were shouting at the mysterious man, calling him a "beast". The identity of that mysterious person seemed to be on the verge of being revealed. However, the usually righteous and dignified Huo Xiang Valley sect was now emitting an unbelievable evil aura.

  The ghost gazed coldly at the two people in the grand hall, with a faint, icy smile of disdain at the corner of his mouth in the darkness.

  In the hall, the two men discussed for a few more sentences. Sun Tu blew out the candles in the great hall with one mouthful of air, and the two of them walked outwards, seemingly wanting to leave this place. Gui Li frowned in the dark, just as he was pondering, suddenly, from outside the ancient temple, a strange and eerie howl came out!

  Everyone in the ancient temple was shocked, and the old man and Sun Tu stopped at the same time.

  The sound was shrill and angry, with a hint of panic in between, but it sounded more like the howl of a wild beast than a human cry. However, Ghostly discerned that the voice seemed to be coming from the mysterious figure wrapped in a cloak earlier, and his eyebrows furrowed involuntarily. At the same time, Old Man and Sun Tu also recognized the sound, their faces changing drastically as they suddenly rose into the air and flew out of the temple.

  Deep in the mountains and forests, there are actually people ambushing!

  The moonlight was cold and eerie, as if it had an even more sinister tone.

  ※※※

  Outside the ancient temple, far behind a mountain ridge.

  A purple meteor burst forth in the night sky, shooting up to mid-air before slashing down.

  Dozens of feet away, Gui Li also felt that chill killing aura. His pupils shrank, and in an instant, he recognized what kind of treasure it was.

  Those two people in the valley flew over, but the old man's Tao was obviously much higher than Sun Tu. In just a short while, he had pulled Sun Tu down several feet away and already had an additional dark red immortal sword in his hand, flying quickly towards the purple light flashing place.

  Just as he was about to fly over the hill, a loud roar echoed through the dark night sky, filled with despair. The old man's face changed drastically, and his feet moved even faster, shouting as he flew past. The ghost quietly followed from another direction, also flying over the hill.

  A bloody aura suddenly came face to face. The cloak that was cut in half floated slowly from mid-air, and the dark red blood splattered everywhere. The mysterious figure who revealed his true form turned out to be a fish-headed human, but at this moment, he was actually cut from head to toe, split into two halves by a knife, and his corpse fell to the ground. However, the murderer had already disappeared without a trace.

  The old man was shocked and furious, the murderer had struck and killed in an instant, then disappeared from sight. This kind of skill was truly not ordinary. Although he didn't like these fish people at all, he knew that the valley master had important business to discuss with these barbarians, but this time someone had suddenly risen up and assassinated them right under his nose. If they were to investigate further, he would really have a hard time explaining himself.

  At this time, Sun Tu also rushed to the scene and saw this bloody picture with his own eyes, and he was immediately stunned.

  The old man's face turned extremely ugly, and he suddenly sprang up, with a dark red glow supporting him under his feet. He flew into the air, looked around, but only saw the surrounding darkness, the vast forest, where could he find the murderer's trail?

  Suddenly, he shouted loudly: "Which superior person is here? Please come out and meet me. Lu Shun from the Valley of Burning Incense pays his respects!"

  The sound echoed far and wide, and after a moment, it reverberated back from the mountains and forests, everywhere was "Lv Shun please teach... Lv Shun please teach..."

  Nothing but silence remains besides this.

  Lü Shun's eyes were about to spew out fire, and after a moment, he fell to the ground. He hastily ordered Sun Tu: "You collect the clan leader's body and bring it back to the valley. The murderer must have struck recently and is sure to still be nearby. I'll dig three feet into the earth if I have to, but I will find this person."

  Sun Tu hastily nodded and said, "Be careful, Master."

  Before the words had fallen, Lü Shun suddenly rose and plunged into the darkness of the forest. Sun Tu turned around, looking at the corpse that had been split in two on the ground, a bloody smell rushed to his nose, and he couldn't help but show a look of disgust, and spat.

  The demon slowly retreated back, pondered in the dark for a moment, and then carefully looked around at the terrain again. His gaze fell on the ancient temple he had just come out of, and he immediately slipped past it silently.

  The night is cold and dark, with black clouds covering the moon.

  Although it was only a short while, the ancient temple suddenly seemed to have darkened even more, with only occasional moonlight peeking out from behind black clouds illuminating some areas, but returning to darkness after a moment.

  The ghost slowly walked out and stood on the empty ground in front of the main hall, with a pair of eyes staring tightly at the main hall.

  A cold wind blew in, and the broken window made a strange "creak" sound, echoing softly in the darkness.

  "You're indeed formidable, Young Master! I managed to deceive Lv Shun, but I couldn't deceive you!"

  In the darkness of the great hall, a faint voice suddenly echoed out, softly floating away.