The sky is gray and overcast, looking very low. There are occasional gusts of cold wind blowing from somewhere unknown, making people feel cool when they brush against their bodies.

  A stretch of wild grass and reeds beside a marsh, with an indistinct small path leading into the distance.

  Zeng Shu and other Qingyunmen disciples stood at the entrance of the Death Swamp, looking inside. All they saw was a vast expanse of water and lush grasses, with an occasional solitary tree standing tall amidst them. The air was filled with a faintly foul smell, while above the swamp floated a thin mist like gray silk, making it impossible to see far ahead, adding to the mystery.

  Zeng Shu furrowed his brow, turned around, and the thirteen young disciples of Qingyunmen, led by Xiao Yicai, all had a serious expression.

  Since ancient times, the Dead Marsh has had a notorious reputation of being "easy to enter but hard to exit", and no one knows what kind of evil things are hidden inside. This time, the group from Qingyun Gate came west, and among them, Xiao Yi's talent and cultivation made him the leader. He gazed deeply into the Dead Marsh for a long time, then calmly told everyone: "Yesterday, Li Xun, the master of Fengxiang Valley, sent me a letter, politely suggesting that we join forces with Qingyun Gate to eliminate the evil creatures, so they took the lead and have already entered the Dead Marsh."

  The people behind him were in an uproar, but only Lu Xueqi's face was calm, standing beside her senior sister Wen Min, silently staring into the dead zone. On the other side, Lin Jingyu, who had come down from the mountain for the first time, let out a cold hum.

  Xiao Yizai said lightly, "Actually, everyone is very clear about what Huixiang Valley means. If they get that nameless treasure first this time, their momentum will naturally surge, and the position of leader of the righteous path may also be coveted by others." He paused for a moment, then a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, "However, everyone doesn't need to worry, I think there are early signs of anomalies here, but until today no one has obtained that treasure, it's clear that there must be many twists and turns. Let them seek fortune eagerly, we just need to be careful and cautious after entering this Dead Marsh. The Dead Marsh is notorious for its dangers, unpredictable perils, and who knows if there are also demonic cultists here. After going in, everyone must look out for each other, remember, remember."

  Zeng Shu said: "What Xiao Shixiong said is right, it's getting late, why don't we go in too?"

  Xiao Yicai nodded and said, "Alright. After entering, everyone should not stray too far apart. Also, do not casually fall to the ground, lest you be injured by poisonous insects or lose your footing and fall into a bottomless swamp."

  The crowd nodded in unison, and Xiao Yi's right hand waved, summoning the "Seven Star Celestial Sword". He flew up, first heading inside, followed by the Qingyunmen disciples who rose to their feet, transforming into dazzling rays of light of different colors, closely following behind.

  A moment later, this batch of young talents from the Qingyun Gate disappeared into the misty fog of the Dead Marsh. The empty space at the entrance suddenly fell into a vast and eerie silence, with only the water grass in between, and suddenly, a bubble emerged from nowhere, "gurgling" sound, echoing far away here.

  With a "slap", Zhou Yi's heavy palm hit his own right neck, and instantly a red mark appeared on his neck. However, the mosquito that had been biting him flew away with a buzzing sound, seemingly proudly flying in circles in front of his eyes before finally flying away contentedly.

  On Monday, Xian's face was gloomy, and small bumps from mosquito bites could be seen on his face from time to time. Although they were not serious, he looked very disheveled. At this moment, he loudly complained, saying: "What kind of ghost place is this? Where did so many damn mosquitoes come from? In just one day, I've been sucked dry of half my blood!"

  The little ring walking in front turned around and asked with some concern: "Grandpa, are you okay?"

  "Cut the crap, can't you see I'm busy?"

  Xiao Huan frowned and said: "It's strange, these mosquitoes are really something, why do they only bite you? I and Bao Er sister have nothing."

  The beautiful woman in the yellow goose dress standing next to Xiaohuan also stopped and looked back. She was walking with Xiaohuan and Zhou Yixian through this swamp, Zhou Yixian being careful but still getting muddy and wet, while she seemed to be gliding effortlessly, without a single speck of dirt on her clothes.

  On Monday, Xian felt annoyed in his heart. Looking around, he found a small tree beside him. He carefully walked over and tried it out. The soil on the ground was still quite hard, so he sat down with a thud and said loudly, "I'm tired of walking, let's take a rest."

  Xiao Huan slightly apologetically, glanced at the beautiful woman in yellow beside her, who was called Ping Er Jie by the other woman. She smiled and said: "It's okay, let's take a break!"

  Xiao Huan looked at her with gratitude, then glanced around, only to see the vast expanse of the four directions, and not far away, the gradually thickening fog made it impossible to see clearly. If it weren't for this bottle sister leading the way, she really wouldn't have been able to get in.

  At this time, she couldn't help but say: "Sister, is it because of me and Grandfather that we're holding you back? Otherwise, wouldn't flying through the air be much faster?"

  The woman smiled and said: "It doesn't matter, I didn't come to this dead swamp to hurry along anyway."

  Xiao Huan was taken aback for a moment, then said: "Sister, aren't you here to steal the rare treasure from the Dead Marsh on behalf of your Harmonious Union Sect?"

  It turned out that the woman in yellow dress, was Jin Ping'er, who was as famous as Gui Li and Qin Wu Yan. It's unknown how Xiaohuan and Zhou Yixian got to know this renowned new generation master of the demonic sect.

  But Jin Bao'er obviously favored Xiaohuan more, and was very fond of her. Upon hearing this, she smiled and said: "Yes! But since there are so many people here this time, let's take it slow, no rush."

  Xiaohuan felt a little strange in her heart, but after thinking about it carefully, she thought it was probably a secret of the Hehuanpai sect and didn't dare to ask further. She changed the subject and said: "Sister, we've been walking in this Dead Marsh for a day now. Along the way, I think you seem very familiar with the road. Do you know the way?"

  Jin Bier shook her head and said: "I have never been here before."

  Xiao Huan was taken aback.

  Jin Bier looked at her and saw that Xiaohuan's bright eyes were full of doubt, and couldn't help but laugh: "Have you heard of an ancient book fragment that records all sorts of strange rumors and bizarre creatures?"

  Xiao Huan thought for a moment and said, "Could it be 'Shen Mo Zhi Yi'?"

  Jin Ping'er nodded and said, "That's right. This book was written by a mysterious person from ancient times. Legend has it that there were originally nine chapters, but most of them have been lost. Apart from the 'Yao Shou Ling Shou Pian' (Mystical Beasts and Spiritual Beasts Chapter) and 'Jing Guai Pian' (Spirits and Monsters Chapter) which have been passed down, I also obtained a fragmentary chapter called 'Shan Shui Pian' (Mountains and Rivers Chapter), in which there are some records of the dead marsh at the end."

  Xiao Huan finally understood, but before she could say anything, there was another crisp sound from the other side of Zhou Yi Xian's place, followed by the sound of Zhou Yi Xian cursing loudly, probably bitten again by some unknown mosquito and sucked dry.

  Xiaohuan was worried that she and he were grandfather and granddaughter, so she thought about it and realized that although there were many mosquitoes on this road, they didn't bite her or Jinping'er at all, but only bit Zhou Yixian. There must be something strange in between, and since she didn't have the skill for it, it fell to Jinping'er.

  She turned back and looked at Jin Bao'er, who smiled and said calmly, "Sister, what's wrong?"

  Xiao Huan smiled wryly and said, "Sister, my grandfather... this, I know you have great abilities, why don't you help him?"

  Jin Bier looked at Zhou Yixian with a somewhat disdainful expression, but when she turned her head and saw Xiaohuan's pleading gaze, she shrugged and said, "Alright, I'll let him off easy for your sake."

  She took out a small white jade bottle from her bosom and handed it to Xiaohuan, saying: "There is some medicine in this bottle. Tell him to apply it on his body and mosquitoes will naturally keep away."

  Xiao Huan happily accepted it, with a smile all over her face, and said: "Thank you, sister." After speaking, she quickly walked to Zhou Yi Xian's side and handed the bottle to him. Zhou Yi Xian was stunned for a moment, then suddenly jumped up and loudly scolded: "You have such good stuff, but you actually didn't..."

  Jin Ping'er's face turned cold, and she stared at him. Zhou Yixian suddenly lost his voice, as if he had something to hide, lowered his head, took the bottle, poured out the liquid medicine, applied it to his body, and after a moment, he only felt a refreshing fragrance. The mosquitoes that were flying around and disturbing him just now suddenly disappeared. This time, both his body and mind relaxed.

  Xiao Huan slowly walked back, handed the bottle to Jin Ping'er, hesitated for a moment, and said in a low voice: "Sister, do you still resent my grandfather's past mistakes?"

  "Hmph!" Jin Ping'er's face turned slightly cold, and she said: "Three years ago on the East Sea coast, he spouted a bunch of nonsense that nearly put me in a desperate situation where I'd never be reborn. If it weren't for you, sister, discovering it early and sacrificing a year of your own yang life to cast the 'Soul-Gathering Array' for me, replacing the evil spirit that possessed my body, I would have been worse off than dead by now. This old scoundrel, if not for..."

  Xiao Huan gently pulled Jin Ping'er's hand and softly called out: "Sister."

  Jin Bier looked at her and let out a soft sigh, then immediately put on a smile, with affectionate eyes, patted her hand and said: "Alright, alright, since I have you as my good sister, I've long put the past behind me. It's just that sometimes when I see your grandfather, I still can't help but feel unhappy and want to make him suffer a bit. Hehe, good sister, you won't blame me, will you?"

  Xiao Huan smiled and shook her head.

  Jin Bier's smile was about to speak, but suddenly her face turned cold, and she quickly turned around, shouting: "Who is it?"

  Xiao Huan and Zhou Yi Xian were both startled, looking around in all directions, but only saw a vast expanse of fog surrounding them, with lush aquatic plants everywhere. Except for the occasional bubbles rising to the surface of the water, there was not a single sound or movement.

  But for some reason, looking at Jin Bao'er's usual calm and composed face, it suddenly became solemn and cautious, and contrary to her gentle and quiet conversation with Xiao Huan, a cold and murderous intent was revealed, as if she had become a different person, like an formidable enemy who should not be underestimated.

  After a moment, from the depths of the thick fog in the distance, a voice suddenly came, saying faintly: "Jin Xianzi, we agreed to meet at 'Heishui Gou' yesterday to discuss important matters, why didn't you come?"

  Jin Bier seemed to have already known who the visitor was, her face slightly relaxed, but the vigilant color in her eyes did not decrease at all, and her tone of speech was also not polite at all, coldly saying: "I don't know the way."

  The person in the fog seemed to be stunned, and didn't speak for a long time. After a while, he said: "What, does Golden Immortal think that the Union of Joy is no longer interested in this matter?"

  Jin Ping'er hummed and looked ahead, saying: "Three days ago, four disciples of the He Huan Sect were killed in the northwest of Dawang Village, six miles away. They were poisoned with 'Black Chanchan Powder'. Was it you who did it?"

  The person in the fog seemed to hesitate for a moment and said, "No."

  Jin Ping'er said coldly: "Hei Chan San is a unique product of the Wan Du Men, what can you say about this?"

  The figure in the fog didn't speak, remaining silent for a long time before saying faintly: "Jin Xianzi, if I were to take action, there would be no need to use poison."

  Jin Bier hummed again, but did not refute, apparently on this point, there was no dissent.

  "That person said again: 'However, since the relationship between you and me is involved, and it's also related to me, after this matter is settled, I will naturally give you an explanation. How do you think? This time coming from the west, there are many strange things happening, I'm afraid there's another plot, I hope the immortal maiden will consider carefully and prioritize the big picture.'"

  Jin Bier slightly furrowed her brow, pondered for a moment, turned around and said to Xiaohuan: "Xiaohuan sister, you and your grandfather rest here for a while first, I'll go ahead and discuss some things with others, I'll be back before nightfall." After a pause, she lowered her voice and asked: "The thing I gave you, do you still have it?"

  Xiao Huan nodded and patted her left hand.

  Jin Ping'er smiled slightly, grasped her hand and whispered: "Deadly perils lurk everywhere, I'm just ahead not far from here. If you need anything, I'll be there in an instant. Just don't wander around carelessly, especially don't stray far from this place."

  Little Ring nodded and said, "Sister, rest assured, I know."

  Jin Bier smiled and let go of her hand, saying: "You be careful with everything, if anything happens just call me."

  After that, she looked around again and suddenly her body rose into the air, with a purple glow appearing under her clothes, supporting her beautiful figure as she flew forward into the thick fog.

  Xiao Huan looked at the disappearing figure of Jin Ping'er in the fog, then turned around and walked to Zhou Yi Xian's side. At this moment, Zhou Yi Xian was leaning against a small tree, free from the disturbance of mosquitoes, and suddenly felt much more relaxed, but still complained: "If I had known it was like this here, I wouldn't have come even if you killed me."

  Xiao Huan smiled and said: "No one forced you to come, it's just that you wanted to follow along yourself."

  On Monday, Xian hummed and then said to Xiaohuan: "I'm telling you, it's better for you to stay away from that woman. Haven't you heard the rumors these years? She has killed countless people and is extremely promiscuous, seducing numerous young men from good families..."

  Xiao Huan snorted and said with a hint of anger: "Grandfather, how can you say that!"

  Xian swallowed her words and didn't say anything more on Monday.

  The two of them waited here, watching as the originally gloomy sky gradually darkened, but Jin Bao'er still hadn't returned. Xiao Huan slowly became worried and had the intention to go take a look ahead, but considering Jin Bao'er's instructions, plus her own lack of confidence, she ultimately didn't dare to leave.

  After waiting for a while, Xiaohuan couldn't help but feel anxious and uneasy. She looked up at the sky and saw that the dark clouds were getting thicker. It seemed not only was it going to get dark soon, but there was also a good chance of rain.

  Xiao Huan suddenly fell silent and let out a soft cry, remembering that she had rushed to come here and had brought everything with her, but had forgotten her rain gear. If it were to start raining now, wouldn't that be terrible? She quickly turned around and asked Zhou Yixian: "Grandfather, did you bring an umbrella?"

  Xian was taken aback on Monday, saying "Umbrella?" A moment later, he immediately understood, looked up at the sky, and stuttered, "I... I thought you brought one."

  "Ah! This is terrible, what if it starts raining now?"

  On Monday, Xian looked around and saw that there was only a small tree behind him, while the rest were all pond water grass. There was no place to take shelter from the rain, so he couldn't help but exclaim: "This is terrible! Let's find a place to hide from the rain!"

  Xiao Huan immediately shook her head and said, "No way, Bottles sister said that we can't wander around randomly, otherwise there will be danger."

  Xian said in a bad mood on Monday: "Can't go? Can't go until the rain comes, we're afraid of getting pneumonia!"

  Xiaohuan's brow was also furrowed, and she was anxious when suddenly a faint rustling sound came from the front, followed by footsteps. Xiaohuan's heart skipped a beat as she almost blurted out "Binger jiejie", but quickly closed her mouth. A figure emerged from the dense fog in the distance, with what seemed to be a smaller shadow following behind. At the same time, a familiar complaining voice drifted over.

  "Following that stinky little brat, I'm really cursed for eight lifetimes! Not only do I have to be on edge every day, but I also have to come to this godforsaken place and get bitten by mosquitoes. Just let him suck my blood dry already!"

  "Squeak, squeak......"

  Xiao Huan was taken aback, and the person who came was not someone else, but a wild dog Taoist who had seen his fortune in Dawang Village. Following behind him, jumping up and down, was the monkey Xiao Hui, only Ghost Ji was nowhere to be seen.

  The wild dog walked and walked, his eyes swept around, but he saw Xiao Huan and Zhou Yi Xian standing in front of him, with a strange expression on their faces looking at him, also startled, said: "Huh? You're not those two fortune tellers, how can you be here?"

  The little ring hadn't replied yet, when the small grey eyes behind the wild dog suddenly recognized the woman in front as a familiar person. It let out two sharp cries, used its hands and feet to exert force, and instantly jumped to Xiao Huan's side.

  Xiao Huan saw it and immediately smiled, bent down to pick up Xiao Hui, and didn't care that Xiao Hui's hands and feet were a bit dirty from the journey. She laughed and said: "How did you come here?"

  Xiao Hui seemed to understand her words, smiled with a split lip, and immediately pointed his monkey claws backwards, gesturing continuously at Xiao Huan, chattering non-stop.

  Xiao Huan didn't understand what he meant, but seemed to guess that Xiao Hui meant that Gui Li was just ahead, and his heart moved, thinking secretly: Could it be that Bao Er sister is going to meet with Gui Li?

  Just as she hesitated, a loud clap of thunder suddenly rang out in the sky, rumbling and spreading, and after a moment, a heavy downpour started, with raindrops as big as beans falling from the sky.

  Xiao Huan let out a sharp cry, covering her head with her hand, and subconsciously ran towards Zhou Yi Xian while hugging Xiao Hui, anxiously saying: "Grandfather, what to do?"

  Xian Zhou couldn't help but smile wryly, and with a decisive move, he flipped his clothes over his head and said, "No choice, can't walk away, no place to hide, might as well get soaked!"

  The little ring was silent, only to see the sky and earth covered in a gray mist. The rain grew stronger, and before long, her shoulders were half wet. Her snow-white skin was faintly visible, sparkling and captivating. Even Monkey Little Gray was unusually well-behaved at this moment, shrinking into a ball and curling up in Little Ring's arms.

  "Hehe!"

  Suddenly, a few snickers came from the side. Xiaohuan turned to look and found that Ye Gou Dao Ren was calmly taking out an umbrella from his backpack and opening it up, looking extremely pleased with himself.