Facing the fierce ghost, Mr. Gui still hadn't emerged from that coffin, but he had become much more cautious. The faint, eerie ghost fire in mid-air burned silently, gradually growing brighter and larger, casting an eerie green glow on the faces of the people around him.

  Guile's gaze was fixed on the cluster of dim green light, his face expressionless. Suddenly, he took a step forward. Almost at the same moment Guile moved, the ghostly fire seemed to be stimulated by something and suddenly burst into radiance. However, this time it did not split into five parts to form the five-star pattern array, but instead rose sharply as a cluster of dim green light, bringing with it a gust of wild wind that blew down dust in the dark mansion. Zhou Yixian and the other two were caught off guard behind him, rubbing their eyes in unison.

  At this increasingly tense moment, the air was filled with an eerie and mysterious aura, as if some kind of sinister and mysterious spell was about to be cast. Ghostly faces confronted the usually enigmatic Mr. Gui, who didn't dare to be careless, and was fully on guard. Suddenly, his eyebrows shot up, and his entire body abruptly rose into the air, almost at the same time, a deafening explosion echoed from deep within the foundation of this haunted mansion, causing the entire house to violently shake, like an earthquake.

  A gigantic, deathly pale white bone arm burst out of the stone slab on the ground, heavily smashing onto the spot where Gui Li had been standing. The originally intact blue brick stones were instantly shattered into powder, with debris flying everywhere. The entire room was suddenly enveloped in a cacophony of wailing spirits. Gui Li flew into mid-air as the white bone arm seemed to be driven by some mysterious force, surging upwards and pouncing towards him.

  The ghost's eyebrows were tightly furrowed, but there was no panic in his expression. His eyes reflected the white shadow of the giant arm that was charging towards him. Just as it was about to hit him, he dodged to the right and avoided it by a hair's breadth. The giant arm crashed down to the ground, sending sand and rocks flying everywhere once again.

  At this moment, the house was filled with a eerie atmosphere, and the strong wind howled. Zhou Yi Xian and the other two people were tightly backed against the wall, wanting to leave but not daring to move, lest they be accidentally injured by Bai Gu in the chaos. Fortunately, it seemed that Ghost Mr.'s attention was focused on Gui Jie, and the three of them hid in the corner beside the altar table, avoiding Bai Gu's harm. However, as they watched from amidst the flying sand and stones, the originally not-so-spacious room suddenly became crowded with a giant white bony arm chasing after Gui Jie's shadow.

  But it seemed that was still not enough, just as Xian's mind was murmuring on Monday, a deep and muffled cry came from the depths of the earth, with a hint of irritation and ferocity in the voice, as if a fierce soul that had been suppressed for a long time finally had a chance to breathe and vent its pent-up anger.

  The dark mansion shook violently, the earth cracked and stones split, and at the moment when the white bones flashed, another huge white bone arm stretched out from the ground, fiercely colliding with Gui Li. Gui Li dodged between the two white bone arms, his eyes fixed tightly, but so far, he had not counterattacked.

  The room suddenly seemed even more crowded.

  Bleak and desolate, eerily dancing in mid-air, the terrifying scene unfolded quietly within this haunted mansion. Despite the intense battle between Ghost Mr. and Gui Jie, they seemed to have a tacit understanding, as their magical powers were confined within the mansion. Neither Ghost Mr.'s ghostly techniques nor Gui Jie's movements extended beyond the walls of the house.

  Above the dark mansion, that faint ghostly fire was burning coldly, casting an eerie green glow below. White bones danced in the air as the ghostly figure seemed to be shrouded in an aura of strange and ominous energy. However, no matter what, up until now, Mr. Gui still had no way to deal with Gui Lie. From within the coffin, Mr. Gui's voice let out a cold hum.

  Suddenly, the ghostly fire in mid-air burst into a brilliant light. The two giant white bone arms that were flying and chasing each other came to an abrupt halt, followed by what seemed like a mournful cry. A sharp, ear-piercing "crack" sound erupted, and the two white bone arms suddenly appeared with countless cracks from top to bottom. In an instant, they disintegrated into countless small pieces, their edges razor-sharp, resembling a rain of bones or a swarm of man-eating bees, covering the sky and pouncing on Gui Lian.

  On Monday, Xian and the other two people's faces turned pale, Xiao Huan even let out a loud cry. In this small and cramped netherworld, the two giant arms were already extremely difficult to avoid, and now they had transformed into a sky filled with tiny bone fragments, dense and numerous, how could they possibly dodge them all?

  His face was as cold as frost, staring at the bones that filled the sky. Just as the bones were about to crash into him, he suddenly dropped from mid-air at high speed and plunged towards the ground. His body moved with a speed akin to lightning. The countless bones in mid-air seemed to have a life of their own, emitting a sharp cry as they halted their momentum in mid-air, changing direction and chasing after him.

  Guī Lì turned around and fell to the ground, but before he could steady himself, Guī Lì slapped his hand on the ground and his entire body flew out horizontally in a direction that happened to be where Mr. Guī's coffin was located.

  In mid-air, that cluster of dark fire shook and flashed down like lightning, while the countless bone fragments behind it chased after with a howling wind. The strong gusts blew through the entire room, causing it to shake violently. Gui Li's clothes fluttered in the wind, making a rustling sound. Just as he was being attacked from both front and back, he suddenly threw out the Soul-Devouring Black Rod in his hand. The force of the throw was immense, with an eerie power propelling it forward. The dark red Blood-Sucking Pearl at the tip of the rod began to glow, and threads of blood silk appeared one by one, a scene of demonic energy at its peak.

  It just so happened that the direction in which the soul-devouring creature flew was precisely where Zhou Yi Xian and the other two were, Zhou Yi Xian, Xiao Huan, and Ye Gou Dao Ren had not yet reacted when a black light suddenly rushed before them, and even before it drew near, an eerie and extremely cold aura filled the air around them, with an inexplicable and demonic power stirring within their bodies, as if it was about to burst forth from their very being.

  In the blink of an eye, the Soul Devourer flew to his side, and with a "chi" sound, it was deeply embedded in the wall beside Zhou Yi Xian's head, almost completely submerged.

  On Monday, Xian was shocked and lost his color, even forgetting to scold the ghost. In an instant, he only felt a chill from head to toe, as if the black stick beside his ear had an invisible hand that wanted to pull him over. His heart filled with fear, he struggled to move his body away, and finally took a deep breath.

  At this moment, the bone fragments and the ghostly fire that were flying everywhere suddenly stopped in mid-air, suspended for a moment. Then, a low hum with a hint of pain came from within the wall, and a human-shaped clod of earth flew out intact, pouncing on Gui Li. The countless bone fragments lost their spiritual power and fell to the ground, while the ghostly fire seemed to shine brighter, flying back onto the clod of earth.

  A shrill cry, a light whistle, his right hand beckoned, the black soul-stick flew back, stabbed into the soil from behind, instantly the earth collapsed, but a black figure flashed out, lightly floating like a ghost, and landed on the mysterious coffin in the depths of the house.

  The soul-devouring sword slowly fell back into Gui Li's hand, and he stared at Gui Xian. However, Gui Xian didn't make a move, and instead slowly turned around to face Gui Li, asking, "How did you discover my hiding spot?"

  The demon was silent, not responding, and only coldly stared at him. Mr. Gui's black veil fluttered slightly as he nodded and said, "Alright, you and I may not necessarily be friends in the future, and it's natural that you won't speak. However, today is not over yet, and I want to see how good your skills are, considering you're a legendary figure who has mastered the true methods of the three major factions."

  The ghost's pupils slightly contracted, and although he had just taken the upper hand by unexpectedly using Soul Devour to attack Ghost Mr. in his hidden location, his expression did not relax in the slightest. He deliberately pretended to be careless, stabbing Soul Devour into a clod of earth, but Ghost Mr. was as elusive as a ghost, empty and hollow, with no signs of being affected by the Blood Pearl's power. This person was mysterious and unpredictable, truly one of a kind in Ghostly's lifetime.

  As they watched the two confront each other, it seemed that another fierce battle was about to ensue. Zhou Yixian's soul had barely calmed down when he hastily pulled Xiao Huan and Ye Gou Dao Ren away. The two were shocked awake and realized that this place was extremely dangerous with two people with such extraordinary abilities competing against each other. They quickly scrambled to find a hole in the already damaged wall and escaped through it. Just as they were leaving, Xiao Huan seemed to remember something and casually reached out to take Zhou Xingyun's spirit tablet away with her.

  The three of them left the house one after another. Gui Li and Gui Xiansheng were both clearly visible, but Gui Li didn't react, and Gui Xiansheng was too busy dealing with his arch-nemesis to pay attention to him. Just as they had barely left, a strong gust of wind suddenly blew through the mansion again, sending sand and rocks flying everywhere. Zhou Yixian and the other two were standing outside the wall, but they were still blown back several feet by the fierce gale.

  On Monday, Xian La pulled Xiao Huan back a great distance, at least three zhang away, before turning around to gaze afar at that house. From this far away, it was already impossible to sense that there were two powerful beings fiercely battling within that house, as if they had always kept their powers under control within the confines of that house. Looking from afar, that house was now flashing with strange lights, aside from the initial faint green glow, and had begun to flicker with golden, red, pale white, cyan, and many other bizarre glows; if not for the eerie and murderous aura, it would have looked quite beautiful.

  Xiao Huan gazed at the house and softly said to Zhou Yixian, who seemed to be preparing to run away: "Grandfather, is it okay for us to just leave like this?"

  Zhou Yixian and the wild dog Taoist walking beside him were both stunned, turning their heads to look at Xiaohuan. Zhou Yixian frowned and said: "Foolish girl, what are you thinking? Those two guys are ruthless killers, we're lucky to escape with our lives, why stay here?"

  Xiao Huan hesitated for a moment and said: "But... but he did it to save us after all..."

  The wild dog Taoist looked at her without speaking, and Zhou Yi Xian said impatiently: "I'm saying, why are you so confused? The Ghostly Sect's power is very high, what's there to be afraid of? Besides, they're biting each other, no, that's not right, one is called Gui Li, the other is called Gui Xiansheng, it should be said that they're fighting each other. They're fighting each other, what does it have to do with us? Let's go quickly, let's go!"

  As he spoke, he pulled Xiao Huan's hand and walked away. Xiao Huan hesitated for a moment, but was eventually dragged along by Zhou Yi Xian. The Wild Dog Taoist turned his head to look at the eerie mansion with flashing lights, where chaotic lights flickered and a fierce gust of wind howled. His eyes were complex, silent, and paused for a moment before turning around to chase after Zhou Yi Xian and the others.

  ********

  In the depths of the mansion, more than half a teacup's worth of time had passed, and the originally chaotic room was now in complete disarray. Everywhere were scattered stones and broken walls, even the originally dilapidated ground now seemed as if it had been ravaged by an earthquake and then plowed by oxen, with uneven clods of earth and jutting rocks, leaving hardly any place to stand.

  While Gui Li and Mr. Gui were both floating in mid-air, they stopped for a moment, gazing at each other, seemingly with faint gasps of breath. Only Xiao Hui on Gui Li's shoulder appeared somewhat impatient, yawning listlessly and stretching its waist.

  "Unexpectedly, your cultivation has progressed so quickly. In just ten years, you've managed to merge the true teachings of Taoism, Buddhism, and Demonology into one. Truly not simple."

  The demon Lian gazed at the mysterious black-robed man and said coldly, "I didn't expect that you wouldn't be from the demonic sect, but rather a practitioner of the Southern Ghost Dao's witchcraft."

  At this point, his eyes suddenly showed a dark red light, staring at Mr. Ghost, and his voice also became cold, saying: "Since you are well-versed in the ghostly way, what about the technique of returning Bi Yao's soul to her body..."

  Before he could finish, Mr. Gui interrupted him: "You're wrong, I may know a thing or two about ghostly arts, but the art of reviving souls is a secret technique of the Black Sorcerers from the Southern Frontier, and I don't know it; otherwise, with my relationship with the Ghost King, I would have rescued Miss Biyao long ago."

  The ghost stared at him coldly, with a flickering red glow in his eyes, as if considering whether to believe Mr. Gui's words. But then Mr. Gui fell silent for a moment before suddenly saying: "Since you insist on protecting those three people tonight, I'll let them off this once out of respect for our shared affiliation with the Ghost King Sect. You and I fighting here doesn't have much significance; why not just call it quits?"

  He coldly smiled to himself, now he was no longer the ignorant young man he once was. The intense battle just now, if his skills were not enough or if he had been careless for a moment, he would have died countless times already. At that time, no one would have said anything about being from the same Ghost King Sect. However, Mr. Gui was indeed an enigmatic figure, and although Gui Lie was not afraid of him, he knew from their previous battle that this person's skills were unpredictable and extremely difficult to deal with. He did not want to recklessly provoke him either. So, he nodded slightly and calmly said: "So be it."

  The ghostly gentleman slowly descended, and at this time the mourning hall was in disarray. The original coffins were mostly broken into pieces, but the one on the ground was surprisingly intact. The ghostly gentleman landed on it, remained silent for a moment, and said: "What brings you to Qingyun Mountain this time?"

  "The demon coldly said: 'What are you doing here?'"

  "Ah, the world is in great chaos," said Mr. Gui calmly. "In such a chaotic era, demons and monsters run amok. This time, the righteous path and the demon beasts are destined to clash on Qingyun, an unavoidable battle. What a grand spectacle! How could I not come and take a look?"

  The demon king looked at him and said: "As you said, who can win between the righteous path and the beast?"

  The demon master's eyes suddenly flashed with an unusual light, as if he had thought of something. He said: "The beast demon's strength is unexpectedly strong, beyond the expectations of all people in the world. Especially the first beast god, no one has seen him take action until now, and no one knows what his abilities are like. But being able to command these countless powerful demons, this person must be an extraordinary figure who can shake heaven and earth. In this great war, I'm afraid the beast demon's chances of winning are as high as 70%."

  The ghost's pupils slightly contracted, and after a long silence, he said, "Those three orthodox sects, aren't they all on the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation?"

  Mr. Gui smiled slightly and said, "That's right. The Qingyunmen's Tianxian Sword Array is indeed a rare and exceptional technique, even after a thousand years it remains one of the top super-mystical Taoist arrays in the world. If the Orthodox Dao wants to win this time, they probably have their hopes pinned on this sword array, otherwise there wouldn't be so many Orthodox figures gathering at Qingyun Mountain instead of going elsewhere."

  The ghost's face was complex, as if recalling something from the past, with a hint of pain on his face.

  The ghostly gentleman gazed at him with a profound expression and suddenly said, "Although you rose to prominence at a young age, there are some secrets hidden in the blue clouds that I'm afraid you still don't know about?"

  The ghost's face changed, and he turned his gaze to Mr. Gui, as if wanting to see through him. After a while, he slowly said: "Please enlighten me!"

  Mr. Gui looked at Gui Li with a calm tone, but his eyes seemed to have a deep meaning, saying: "The Qingyun Mountain's Exterminating Immortal Sword Array is extraordinary and can be used to slay demons and evil spirits. For thousands of years, it has been the treasure that guards the mountain gate of the Qingyun Sect. Legend has it that this sword array was derived from the unnamed ancient scroll obtained by the founder of the Qingyun Sect, Qingyunzi. A thousand years ago, a rare talent named Qingye was born and spent 13 years in seclusion at the 'Huan Yue Dong Fu'. After emerging from his retreat, he personally created the sword array, gathering the spiritual energy of the seven peaks of the Qingyun Mountains to form the array, transforming the killing energy of heaven and earth into a sword, making it invincible under the heavens."

  His voice paused for a moment, and then his tone seemed to drift away, but his eyes were fixed tightly on Gui Li, saying slowly: "And this shocking and astonishing ultimate formation technique cannot be separated from a divine sword."

  The demon's face turned cold and he said, "Ancient sword 'Exterminating Immortals'?"

  "Exactly! The origin of the ancient sword 'Slaying Immortals' has always been shrouded in mystery, and even the people from Qingyun Mountain can't give a clear explanation. However, one thing is certain: the first time this sword appeared in the mortal world was after Qingye spent 13 years in seclusion at the Fantian Cave Mansion. And ever since then, this divine weapon has never been kept by the master of Qingyun, but rather placed within the Fantian Cave Mansion behind Qingyun Mountain."

  The ghostly gentleman stopped, and in the midst of the gloomy mansion, a temporary silence fell. The ghost gazed at him deeply and slowly asked: "How did you know so much?"

  Mr. Gui shook his head and said, "You don't have to worry about me, but what I'm telling you is indeed the truth. So, the secret of Qingyunmen's Xianjian Sword Array is probably mostly in that Fantasy Moon Cave Mansion that only the Qingyun Sect Master can enter." He smiled and said, "Do you understand?"

  The ghostly figure didn't say a word, but silently stared at this person. After a while, he coldly said: "What kind of person are you?"

  "Anyway, just remember I'm not your enemy, that's all."

  The ghostly figure gazed at the person for a moment, then suddenly turned around and slowly drifted away. As his shadow was about to disappear, a faint voice seemed to come from afar, but it was unclear whether it was his voice or just the wind.

  The ghostly gentleman stood alone in the darkness, motionless. The faint, eerie glow of the ghost fire slowly faded away and eventually went out completely, plunging the mansion back into silence.

  Just a moment later, from the dark figure, a low, cold laughter sound came out.