The sky is gradually brightening up.

  The rain stopped and the wind died down. The first ray of light on a clear morning, passed through the thick clouds in the sky and the fog drifting among the withered trees, and shone down.

  In the forest, it was quiet everywhere, but slowly, with that ray of light, it gradually became noisy. In an unknown place, the first bird call sounded. Suddenly, along with the gaps between the branches and leaves sprinkling down rays of light, the entire forest seemed to wake up from its nocturnal slumber, near and far, everywhere was filled with cheerful calls in the early morning, welcoming this new day.

  At this moment, the forest is filled with a thin mist like white gauze. As people walk through it, their faces feel subtly moistened. The exceptionally fresh air in the woods, when inhaled, truly has an expansive and refreshing effect on the mind and chest.

  The ghost took a deep breath of the morning air, expressionless, gazing forward, and even the little grey creature on his shoulder stretched out a lazy waist.

  Dozens of feet ahead, in the direction of the golden light pillar last night, the fog suddenly became thicker and more obscure, making it impossible to see clearly. However, this fog was different from the miasma on the edge of the inner swamp, its color was not gray, but a pure white appearance. Looking far away, I saw the fog drifting gently between the trees, thread by thread, layer upon layer.

  There, perhaps it is where the treasure lies!

  The ghost slowly turned his head, looking to the side, and Lu Xueqi was standing two zhang away from him, wearing a white dress like snow, silently staring at the fog in front of her.

  They still didn't make a move after all.

  For a whole night, after the astonishment and hidden excitement of their first meeting, there was only long silence between them.

  The distance between the two was only three feet, yet it seemed like an even greater chasm than the "Abyss of Death" of years past, deeply etched between them and in their hearts.

  Even when the dazzling golden light column soared into the sky, they turned around and gazed at the faces illuminated by the golden light in the sky, and in this strange and unfamiliar place, they quietly looked away with a few more icy feelings.

  Past events have changed after all...

  Lu Xueqi seemed to have sensed something, turned her head around, and met Gui Li's gaze with her clear eyes, perhaps with a hint of ripples deep within, but at this moment, no one could see it anymore.

  She gazed at the man in front of her, standing beside her among the trees. At this moment, taking a closer look, she finally realized that he was no longer the young boy he used to be!

  The once familiar face now has more vicissitudes and calmness, but less innocence and smile.

  She slightly lowered her head, her eyes like water, lingering on the Tianyue divine sword in her hand, as if thinking about something. After a moment, her voice was soft and fleeting, suddenly saying: "You come back!"

  She didn't lift her head, nor did she make any movement, and even her facial expression didn't change in the slightest. The only thing that changed was her hand grasping Tian Yue's, with her long and pale fingers gradually tightening.

  "...... Zhang Shidi!" she said softly.

  Come back...

  These four words are the language drifting in the morning breeze, surrounding him, and then like pebbles, one by one, rushing into his heart.

  The ghost took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The icy Soul Devourer in his sleeve, like the most loyal friend, never left him!

  A long time.

  When he opened his eyes, there was a faint smile, and he said slowly: "This name, I won't be using it for much longer."

  Lu Xueqi's mouth moved slightly, and she slowly lifted her head up, but ultimately didn't say anything, remaining silent.

  They stood like that, but the distance between them seemed to have grown a little farther. The morning light shone on the absolutely beautiful woman's face, slowly releasing a breathtaking beauty that moved people's hearts, and the thin mist floating in the forest also seemed to be attracted by her, surrounding her and lightly dancing around her.

  At that moment, her face seemed a bit blurry too.

  Lu Xueqi turned around, took a step forward, and without saying anything else, walked towards the depths of the fog, leaving behind the man who was standing there.

  Just then, as her figure was gradually fading into the fog, she suddenly heard the man's voice behind her, slowly saying: "Will you kill me?"

  Her figure disappeared in the white fog, and no one could see her eyes, her expression, or her body again.

  In this silent morning, I don't know how long it took, but her faint voice finally came from the mist: "I will. So when you can kill me, just do it..."

  The sky is bright, but the feeling of walking in the fog is still dark. The fog in this area is much thicker than elsewhere, and visibility is limited.

  The ghostly figure walked through the forest, and had already noticed that this place was different from the outside, except for the fog. Although it was also a forest, it was vastly different from the one outside. Except for the tall trees that still stood upright in the fog, there were very few of the dense shrubs and thorns that covered the ground in the outer forest, perhaps because the fog here was too thick, blocking out the sunlight.

  But what was most astonishing was that the countless poisonous insects and ferocious beasts, as well as the rare flowers and strange grasses that once filled the Dead Swamp Forest, had suddenly vanished. Gui Li walked through this forest for at least half an hour without seeing even a single poisonous insect.

  Here, it seems that there are no animals at all, a bleak and desolate atmosphere.

  The demon frowned and continued walking forward. The little gray on his shoulder was also much quieter, holding tightly onto his clothes, but a pair of quick eyes were still rolling around, constantly looking around in all directions. Without the thorns and bushes, as well as those annoying poisonous insects and beasts, it felt much easier to walk on the ground. This was the first time since entering the inner swamp.

  Lu Xueqi entered the fog ahead of him, while Gui Li waited outside, deliberately delaying for a long time before entering. By now, he had no idea where Lu Xueqi was.

  He was walking in the woods, carefully paying attention to any possible movements around him, but his mind kept drifting back to the white-clothed woman.

  "Come back..." Guilian whispered to himself in a voice that only he could hear.

  Qingyun Mountain, Dazhu Peak, Shoujing Hall, Small Courtyard, Bamboo Forest...

  His lips moved slightly, and a faintly bitter smile appeared as he said, "I can't go back now, right, Xiao Hui?"

  "Squeak! Squeak!" Little Hui, the monkey, softly cried out twice, but it was unclear what he meant.

  The ghost stretched out his hand and stroked Xiaohui, after a moment, he suddenly regained his spirit, smiled brightly, took big strides, and walked into the depths of the fog.

  After walking for a short while, the trees in the forest became increasingly larger and thicker. Towards the back, almost everywhere were giant trees that two people could not wrap their arms around. Gui Li stared at his surroundings, secretly shocked.

  For the past decade, he has been stimulated by the battle at Qingyun Mountain that year, and under the influence of the law-protecting treasures, Xiè Xuě Zhū and Xiè Huàn Yuǎn Yǐ Huà, in addition to being devoted to cultivation, his temperament gradually became violent and bloodthirsty. He also learned other knowledge from the Ghost King. This generation's Ghost King is indeed a rare talent, with high moral integrity and extensive knowledge of various subjects.

  Due to Bi Yao's relationship, the Ghost King almost regards him as his own, pouring his heart into teaching him. Under his intentional cultivation, today's Gui Li is not only superior in terms of Daoist magic and martial arts, but also in knowledge and experience, far surpassing that ignorant young disciple from Qing Yun Men back then.

  He is now observing the trees in the forest, which are actually not all rare and unheard of, including oak trees, maple trees, pagoda trees, etc., which can also be found in ordinary mountains outside the dead marsh. But what's strange is that the various trees here are particularly huge, and it's already astonishing to have only half their size, let alone so many trees gathered together.

  What's even stranger is that in the place where these giant trees are, it should be full of life, but under this thick fog, not only can't see any animals, even the thorny shrubs that were occasionally seen when just entering, have all disappeared. Even on the ground, except for the occasional exposure of the giant tree roots, it's just solid and slightly yellow mud, there isn't even any grass.

  Under the cold mist, there is a solemn and murderous atmosphere.

  The ghost frowned deeply, pondered for a long time, looked around, and saw that the giant trees were towering into the sky, straight and high, and he was walking in the forest, as if trapped in a huge maze.

  He suddenly swung his sleeve, and the whole person rose into the air, unwilling to stay in this strange place for a long time. He rode on the soul-eating beast, in the dark blue light, flying forward.

  With this speed, it naturally became much faster. However, considering that the alien treasure might be nearby, Gui Li did not fly to the top of the forest, but instead flew six feet off the ground, quickly flying and carefully searching the ground at the same time.

  Time slipped away quietly, and the forest was still silent, with only his breaking sound echoing through the woods. The trees in the forest grew bigger and bigger as he walked deeper into the woods, and now most of the trees that entered his eyes were already incredibly thick, requiring six or seven sturdy men to encircle them. Without thinking, he knew that these trees must have lived for hundreds or even thousands of years!

  In an increasingly eerie atmosphere, Gui Li's figure suddenly stopped.

  It's been daylight for a long time, but the fog here seems to have no signs of dispersing, as if this layer of fog has coexisted with this forest since ancient times.

  Right in the deepest part of this forest, a ghostly figure stands in mid-air, looking forward.

  Before him stood an imposing wall!

  Wooden wall!

  Coarse tree bark, hard and with slight cracks, suddenly protrudes from the depths of the fog, a three-zhang-high wooden wall, as strong and powerful as a dragon, lying horizontally in the midst of giant trees, deeply rooted in the mud.

  The ghost gazed at it coldly, motionless, scrutinizing the wooden wall carefully, his eyes twitching slightly. Then, he slowly moved closer, leaning against it, gently stroking it with his hand.

  At the moment of contact, a warm and rough feeling was transmitted, and Gui Li thought of something in his heart, but he didn't dare to believe it. He withdrew his hand, and his body slowly floated forward along this wooden wall.

  A white mist gradually dispersed in front of me, and slowly condensed behind me. The wooden wall in front of me grew higher and thicker, gradually changing into a circular shape, while its height continued to rise steadily.

  Finally, at a height of nearly six zhang, he reached the end of this wooden wall and Gu Lian's body stopped.

  He took a deep breath, but still couldn't calm his mind. In the unstoppable heartbeat, everything in front of him passed through the mist and finally appeared before his eyes.

  This massive wooden wall, at the end of the fog, harmoniously merges into an even larger entity.

  In the sky, a ray of sunlight suddenly broke through the mist, only to disappear again, blocked by the fog.

  Gui Li finally confirmed the unbelievable guess in his mind just now.

  That huge wooden wall is a section of tree root...

  The fog was layered and drifting aimlessly, he was slightly panting due to being too shocked, then suddenly lifted his head, those eyes like rays of light piercing through the fog, rushing forward, straight up.

  It was as if a silent flash of lightning, a loud rumble, the entire forest also trembled for it. What appeared before him was a giant tree that completely transcended his imagination. The trunk was so thick and rough in the mist that it seemed to have no edges, wrapped in coarse bark, like a huge mountain peak towering into the sky, piercing through the fog, as if drilling into the clouds!

  The ghost was as insignificant as an ant in front of this giant tree.

  What a scene would it be if there was a giant tree with roots that reached as high as six zhang?

  The ghost slowly withdrew his gaze, at this moment, the little gray on his shoulder called out in a low voice, as if it was also somewhat uneasy. The ghost slightly tilted his head to the side, suddenly smiled and said lightly: "The world is so big, there's nothing strange about it, we are indeed frogs at the bottom of the well. Little Gray, let's go! Let's take a good look at this tree!"

  Underfoot, the dark blue light emitted by the scattered souls of the devouring spirits suddenly brightened, and after a moment, leaning upwards, Ghost Ji let out a sharp whistle. Along with that sound that shattered the air, one man and one monkey shot straight up into the sky, disappearing into the layered mist.

  A strong gust of wind hit his face, its speed making it feel a bit fierce. In this foggy atmosphere, it was somewhat similar to when he first entered the inner swamp, surrounded by the poisonous gas wall. However, there were differences - firstly, there was no toxic air, and secondly, he could see further away. The layers of fog had condensed to an extremely high altitude, and Gui Lai flew upwards along the trunk of this unimaginably enormous tree, already flying for nearly half a time unit. Yet, the fog still hadn't dispersed, making him wonder if it wouldn't just connect with the cloud layer in the sky.

  At the same time, Gui Li also noticed that the trunk of the giant tree in front of him was also changing. On the ground, it was naturally the base of this giant tree, which was thick and unimaginable, and on the tree body, except for the rough bark, there was nothing else.

  But after flying for so long, branches began to appear on this giant tree, and the most striking thing was that from just now, a strange plant similar to vines appeared, entwining around the trunk, with large leaves and colorful flowers blooming at the top of the branches, red, yellow, orange, purple, really beautiful, and as the wind blows, it seems to have a faint fragrance.

  But even now, he still can't see the trunk of this giant tree clearly, how thick is it?

  The wonder of creation is truly beyond imagination. The extraordinary tree in front of us must have been thousands, if not millions, of years old to have grown so enormous!

  "Hiss!"

  A loud, sharp sound pierced the air, and a dark blue-green light flashed, bursting out of the mist. The fog under his feet also rose with his figure, drifting up slightly before gently falling back down, as if the waves were gently calming.

  The ghostly figure finally burst out of this fog!

  The world is vast and wide!

  The sky is a brilliant blue, with not a cloud in sight, and the air is crisp and clean. However, at my feet, a thick white mist swirls around, enveloping the massive tree in front of me. The closer I get to the tree, the thicker the fog becomes.

  At this moment, Gui Li was already in mid-air and finally saw clearly the giant tree in front of him.

  Even at such a height, the trunk of this giant tree presented in front of him was still as thick as hundreds of meters, and thinking about the distance from the ground to now, what was in front of him was not a tree, but a towering mountain!

  But this is obviously just a tree.

  And it still stretches upwards, and on the huge trunk, except for the similarly astonishing thick branches, it still stretches straight into the sky.

  The ghostly figure raised its head and gazed into the distance, where in the depths of the blue sky, a faint shadow seemed to appear.

  He suddenly smiled, facing the blue sky.

  What man, facing this time and scene, can't help but feel a surge of heroic emotions?

  He soared into the sky and vanished into thin air!

  The speed is getting faster and faster, with the strong wind blowing against my face like a knife.

  The higher it flew, the smaller the trunk of the giant tree became. Later on, it had already shrunk to only dozens of meters in size. Despite this, it was still astonishing and shocking. At this moment, clouds began to appear, drifting around the tree from time to time.

  This giant tree seems like a ladder that reaches the sky in ancient legends!

  It flew up another fifty feet or so, and the ghostly figure finally came to a stop in front of him. The straight tree trunk suddenly split into two massive branches that stretched out to the left and right.

  Ghost Lian pondered for a moment, then slowly flew over and landed on the fork of this giant tree. Although it was called a fork, with the enormity of this giant tree, dozens of people could stand here without feeling crowded. As soon as Ghost Lian landed on the tree, "Squeak" sounded, Xiao Hui jumped down first, looked around curiously, and then carefully touched and poked at the trunk of the tree, obviously very curious, it was the first time in his life to see such a huge tree, even for a monkey, he was shocked.

  The demon's faint smile didn't waver as he ignored Xiaohui, and with a burst of speed, he flew up to the tree. His heart was truly shaken. Before this, he couldn't have imagined that there would be such an enormous tree in the world. And at this moment, after his initial shock had passed, he thought to himself: Could it be that the mysterious treasure is actually on top of this unimaginable giant tree?

  Two branches forked, roughly the same size, almost all with a thickness of tens of meters, suspended in mid-air, like two giant dragons leaping in the air. From here on, the leaves and branches gradually became more luxuriant, and the distance they stretched was surprisingly long, standing at this fork, both sides were invisible to the end.

  The demon thought for a moment and then made up his mind. He turned around and called out in a low voice: "Xiao Hui."

  The little monkey Xiao Hui was jumping around on the tree trunk, seemingly not afraid of being so high off the ground. Sometimes it would run to the edge of the trunk and look down with its head tilted, showing remarkable bravery. This time, hearing its master's call, it let out two "squeaks" and jumped back excitedly, leaping onto Gui Li's shoulder.

  The demon's face cracked into a faint smile as he said, "Let's go!"

  The little grey eyes were rolling around, nodding frequently, it seems that the monkey's curiosity is also quite fierce, grinning from ear to ear and laughing non-stop, looking very excited.

  The demon looked around to the left and right, hesitated for a moment, then without further hesitation, remounted the soul-devouring steed, and amidst a dazzling display of dark blue light, flew towards the branch on the left.

  This flight was a long time, but although it was in the high air, there were still countless huge leaves on the giant branches of this tree, extremely lush. But for some reason, no fruit or flowers were seen, instead, from the bottom of the trunk, an unknown vine entwined this giant tree, with fresh flowers blooming and branches swaying.

  As the kite flew higher and higher, the branches on this side gradually became smaller, but for some reason, those vines became thicker and thicker, and the blooming flowers became more and more numerous, until later they were everywhere, dazzling to the eye, and the air was filled with an inexplicable fragrance.

  Suddenly, Gui Li's body, which had been flying rapidly, came to an abrupt halt in mid-air, and the sudden stop produced a faintly audible sharp sound.

  The tree trunk in front of me was suddenly completely covered by countless vines, with fresh flowers competing for beauty, from top to bottom like a sea of flowers, condensing into a wall. In the midst of this sea of flowers, a stone gate stood out, five zhang high and three zhang wide, rigidly embedded in the tree trunk, surrounded by countless vines and flowers, leaving only the middle thick and solid giant stone, with four large characters carved on top in ancient seal script.

  "Heavenly Emperor's Treasure Vault!"

  Faintly, there is a sound like that of a great bell, echoing in the blue sky, shaking the heart and soul.

  The fierce gaze was immediately withdrawn and fell on the white figure in front of the stone gate, amidst the sea of flowers.

  It seemed that she also heard the movement behind her, and the woman in white slowly turned around. Countless beautiful flowers under the blue sky suddenly burst into laughter, setting off her stunning beauty, proudly blooming!

  In the sea of flowers, she is the most beautiful and elegant color.

  The ghostly figure hovered in mid-air, and for a moment, a hundred emotions swirled together in his heart, leaving him stunned.