A low, mournful howl came from all directions, and on the plains two hundred miles outside of Qingyun Mountain, more and more strange beasts from the southern border appeared and gathered. Some of the beasts continuously let out long, angry roars towards the sky. Among the beast group were six or seven especially gigantic, demonic beasts that far exceeded the size of the surrounding ordinary ferocious beasts. They stood in the midst of the beast group, turning their heads to let out low howls, and the surrounding demon beasts seemed to be especially fearful of them.

  The smoky rain was hazy, the sky was filled with thick dark clouds, and gradually, a faint light flashed in the cloud layer at the edge of the horizon. After a moment, the rumble of thunder finally came.

  The dark and oppressive world, the unspeakable vicissitudes of life.

  A flash of lightning illuminated a lithe figure, and the giant bird demon that had just returned from the River City Gate descended from the sky. With the remaining light of the lightning, all the beast demons saw that the big bird's claws were grasping two people. At this moment, hundreds of beast demons near and far let out a loud roar, the momentum was so powerful that it made one's hair stand on end.

  The huge wings fluttered in the wind and rain, the big bird circled above the beast group for a while, suddenly loosened its claws, two human shadows fell down like stones, but looking over, the human shadows were tumbling in mid-air, but there was no struggle of waving hands and feet, but rather a very stiff appearance, it seemed that halfway through, these two poor people had already been unable to withstand the great power of the giant bird beast, and died under its two huge claws.

  The beast's roar on the ground suddenly surged, the sound of gnashing teeth rose and fell, in an instant at least dozens of fierce beasts' bodies leapt up and pounced, in the bleak rain color, only a few blood colors were faintly visible, and finally disappeared again.

  A gigantic bird of prey circled in the sky, let out two sharp cries, and then flew for a moment before seeming to discover something. It folded its wings and descended from the sky, diving deep into the dense pack of beasts. Just as its massive body was about to touch down, it suddenly spread its broad wings again, letting out a loud "whoosh" sound, creating a powerful gust of wind that knocked over several ferocious beasts nearby, which let out mournful cries.

  A strong gust of wind blew by, and the giant bird floated over the beast group, with countless beast demons bowing their heads in awe and dodging along the way. Occasionally, it encountered a few other powerful giant demon beasts, which also seemed to stare at each other without showing weakness. The giant bird floated all the way, its body sometimes up and sometimes down, either sweeping over the top of the beast demons' heads or flying over the branches of trees. When it encountered a huge and terrifying demon beast like an elephant, it directly flew under the elephant-like demon beast's body.

  The wind and rain swirled, thunderbolts flashed across the sky, and the giant bird's silhouette in the storm seemed to drift like a floating duckweed. Finally, it let out another shrill cry and fell from mid-air.

  That was the deepest part of the beast demon group, a piece of strange and fierce beasts under the dark pressure, under the flash of lightning in the sky, a oilcloth umbrella suddenly appeared, with several peach blossoms painted on the green umbrella surface, gently floating in the wind and rain.

  The giant bird landed beside the umbrella, and only then could it be seen clearly that another wooden stick was tied to the handle of the umbrella, lengthening it, and inserted between a rock. Under the umbrella, a young man in elegant silk clothes was drinking from a wine pot and cup. Beside the young man was a ferocious beast, Gluttony, who looked somewhat sleepy, lying on the rock. When he saw the giant bird land, Gluttony only opened his eyes slightly, took a look, and then closed them again.

  The surrounding beasts let out an uneasy howl, the giant bird landed on the ground, chirped twice in its mouth, and with a flap of its massive wings, it instantly blew away more than a dozen beast demons from their original place. For a moment, the sound of surprise and anger rose and fell, but none of the beast demons dared to come up and challenge it. The giant bird glanced around with an arrogant expression, as if looking down on these beast demons, then turned its head to face the young man, and in an instant, it seemed particularly respectful.

  "Ka, ka, ka......" The giant bird cried out towards the young man under the umbrella. To his surprise, the young man seemed to understand the bird's language and nodded slowly. The giant bird cried out a few more times before standing still, then stretched out its beak to clean its feathers for a bit. But with the rain pouring down from the sky, it had already soaked through its entire body. After a few attempts at cleaning itself, it quickly gave up and lifted its head to gaze at the dark night sky, slowly tucking its head under its wings to escape the wind and rain.

  The rain grew heavier, and the young man drank cup after cup, never stopping, only occasionally becoming distracted, staring blankly into the distance for a moment before lowering his head in silence to drink again. No matter how much strong liquor he drank, there was never a hint of drunkenness on his face.

  Finally, the wine was finished, and in the wind and rain, it slipped gently from his hand to the muddy ground. The young man slowly stood up, and the surrounding beasts were startled, revealing an extremely fearful expression. But in the eyes of that young man, these countless ferocious beasts seemed like nothing at all, without any concern. His eyes, at this moment, silently gazed at the horizon, where dark clouds gathered and the wind and rain howled.

  Tiao Tiao let out a low cry and stood up beside him.

  The young man fell silent, turned around and gently patted the dog's head, and said after a long while: "Do you feel lonely too, Huanhuan?..."

  The beast let out a low growl, but in the end, no one knew what it meant. The young man looked up at the sky, remaining silent for a long, long time, without uttering another word.

  ********

  The Qingyun Mountain, the Tongfeng Peak, after a night of heavy rain, was still pouring down. The righteous people led by the three major factions were gathered in the Yuqing Hall to discuss and debate, with voices rising from time to time. The three high-ranking officials, Daoxuan Zhenren of the Qingyun Gate, Puhong Shangren of the Tianyin Temple, and Yuyi Lian of the Fenxiang Valley, sat at the top, whispering to each other about something, all with furrowed brows, apparently worried and anxious about the current beast disaster.

  Suddenly, a hurried footsteps came from outside the Jade Clear Palace, and everyone was stunned. They saw that Xiao Yicai, a disciple of the Qingyun Gate, quickly walked into the Jade Clear Palace, paused for a moment, nodded to the surrounding Orthodox people, and then quickly went straight to Daoxuan Zhenren and whispered in his ear.

  Everyone's eyes were fixed on the two of them, and they all saw that Xiao Yichen's face was stern and not normal. As he spoke, Dao Xuan Zhenren's originally serious face became even more solemn, with no hint of a smile left. The atmosphere gradually became tense, and people's hearts also rose, vaguely feeling an inexplicable pressure slowly descending upon the place.

  Dao Xuan Zhen Ren looked at Xiao Yi Cai after hearing his words, and asked in a low voice. Xiao Yi Cai nodded silently, with a determined expression. Dao Xuan Zhen Ren let out a sigh of relief, nodded, and Xiao Yi Cai quietly turned around to stand behind him. Pu Hong Shang Ren and Yun Yi Lan also looked over at this moment, and Pu Hong Shang Ren chanted: "Amitabha Buddha, Dao Xuan sect leader, could it be that there is news about the beast demon?"

  Daoxuan Zhenren nodded, stood up, and the crowd in the arena below stirred. Daoxuan Zhenren composed himself, his expression gradually revealing a resolute look, and said loudly: "Fellow Taoists, I just received news that a large group of beast demons has appeared on the barren land 200 miles outside Qingyun Mountain, and will arrive soon. Also, in the outskirts of Heyang City below the mountain, there have been sporadic discoveries of beast demon tracks."

  As soon as this remark came out, it immediately caused a commotion among the crowd. In an instant, shock, fear, indignation, and sighs appeared on everyone's face. The disaster that had been weighing heavily on people's minds for many days finally arrived.

  "Everyone, the great calamity is now before our eyes. The fate of all living things in the world depends on this battle between us and these demons. All of you present are righteous and virtuous immortals who have attained the Dao. For the sake of all living beings, we must exert our utmost strength in tomorrow's battle. As the saying goes, 'Heaven's will is self-evident.' I believe that Heaven will not abandon humanity. These demons may be rampant for a time, but they will surely not last long."

  Among the crowd, after a moment of silence, someone spoke up and said: "What the immortal said is true."

  "With real people having so many experts here, we can work together and fight with all our might. It shouldn't be difficult to defeat that demonic beast!"

  "Exactly, exactly..."

  For a moment, everyone seemed to be motivated, and their expressions slowly began to relax and become cheerful. After all, no matter what, there were still three major sects here, and these powerful people. To say more, on this Qingyun Mountain, there was also the legendary invincible and unbeatable Xianjian Sword Formation. Looking at Daoxuan True Person's confident expression, what was there to worry about?

  Daoxuan Zhenren smiled slightly under the gaze of countless righteous paths, and said a few words to the crowd before walking back into the inner hall of the Yuqing Temple with Pu Hong Shangren, Yun Yiluo, and Xiao Yicai. As soon as they avoided the sight of the crowd, Daoxuan Zhenren's face suddenly turned heavy, while Pu Hong Shangren and Yun Yiluo's faces were also not relaxed. The group walked into a quiet room in the inner hall, with Xiao Yicai following last, closing the door behind him.

  Dao Xuan Zhen Ren turned around and said to Xiao Yi Cai: "Yi Cai, tell me the detailed situation."

  Xiao Yizai nodded and said, "Yes. My disciples patrolled the mountains and rivers below Yangcheng, and received reports one after another within a day. Especially at the head of Yangcheng, my disciple personally saw a giant bird demon appear, and its appearance was extremely similar to that of the 'Shura Bird', one of the thirteen beast demons that have been rumored about in recent days."

  Daoxuan Zhenren and the other two seniors exchanged a glance, their faces all heavy. Xiao Yi's expression turned solemn as he said: "In addition, the remaining fellow disciples who were secretly investigating in the surrounding areas have reported back one after another, all of whom have discovered scattered traces of demonic beasts. Among them, the area 200 li southwest is particularly dense. However, several fellow disciples and disciples who went to investigate beyond 200 li have not returned with any news despite waiting for a long time."

  Xiao Yicai's face gradually turned gloomy as he spoke, Dao Xuanzhen's face sank, while Yun Yiluan beside him let out a sigh, and Pu Hong Shangren whispered Buddhist scriptures.

  Daoxuan Zhenren nodded thoughtfully and said to Xiao Yicai, "It seems that it won't be wrong. The beast demon has indeed arrived. Yicai, you go down the mountain again and inform all the disciples who are investigating in various places to withdraw and gather around Qingyun Mountain within a hundred miles. Remind them not to cross the border to investigate without permission, nor can they take the initiative to fight against the beast demon, lest something unexpected happens."

  Xiao Yicai nodded and seemed to remember something, saying: "Master, what about the civilians in Heiyang City?"

  Dao Xuan Zhen Ren fell silent for a moment, then turned his head to look at Pu Hong Shang Ren and Yun Yi Lan. Pu Hong Shang Ren clasped his hands together and bowed his head, while Yun Yi Lan said calmly: "Now that things have come to this point, everything should be decided by the Sect Leader Zhen Ren first. Please let the Sect Leader Zhen Ren make the decision."

  Dao Xuan Zhen Ren nodded slightly, seemingly expressing his gratitude. After a moment of contemplation, he spoke to Xiao Yicai: "This matter is indeed thorny, but the city of He Yuan is too dangerous, and we are currently unable to descend the mountain to protect the people. You must immediately go down the mountain to He Yuan City, lead all the Qing Yun disciples in He Yuan City, and tell the people of He Yuan City to quickly head north, at least beyond the Qing Yun Mountains. The beast demons' greatest target at this moment seems to be our Qing Yun Mountain's Orthodox Dao, not those civilians, so they may be temporarily safe."

  Xiao Yizai hesitated for a moment, but looking at Daoxuan Zhenren's expressionless face, he finally nodded silently and said in a low voice: "Yes, I'll go now."

  "Also, inform the other six leaders of Qingyun immediately and have them come to Tongtian Peak at once. I need to see them right away, there's something that needs to be discussed."

  Xiao Yizai nodded and said: "Alright, I'll go right away."

  Dao Xuan Zhen Ren sighed and said: "Be careful on your way, go."

  Xiao Yicai nodded and backed out.

  ********

  "Fantasy Moon Cave Mansion?" Zhou Yixian was taken aback, his eyebrows furrowed, and a rare serious expression appeared on his face. He hesitated for a moment before asking, "What do you ask this for?"

  "Are you not usually knowledgeable and experienced? I suddenly became interested in this cave, so I asked you. How much do you know about the Phantom Moon Cave?"

  On Monday, Xian looked at Gui Li with a glance, only to see that his face was expressionless, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking in his heart. He had a profound and mysterious look on his face. At this time, they were still in the city of He Yang, but the atmosphere in He Yang City had changed dramatically due to the arrival of the giant monster bird last night. The original worries had finally become a reality, and the people who were already on edge were now under intense terror, with more and more people collapsing at the brink. On the streets, one could occasionally see people talking nonsense loudly, acting like lunatics.

  Xian withdrew her gaze on Monday, turned over the idea in her mind, and slowly said: "You, you shouldn't be thinking of doing something inexplicable, should you?"

  Xiao Huan and Ye Quan's gaze fell on Gui Li, and the little gray on Gui Li's shoulder seemed to have sensed something, making a face at them. Gui Li said calmly: "What do you think I can do?"

  On Monday, Xian Gan smiled and said: "Actually, I don't know much about the Huan Yue Dong Fu either. This cave was not originally famous, but because a thousand years ago, the Qing Ye ancestor closed his door to comprehend the Tao, and the ancient sword of slaying immortals appeared inside, it became famous all over the world. However, in recent years, it has only been used as a collection place for the ancient sword of slaying immortals, and only the Qing Yun sect master can enter, so its reputation has gradually faded away."

  "Ah, is there more?"

  Xian hesitated for a moment on Monday and said, "I don't care what you want to do, but it's better not to go to that place."

  The ghost raised an eyebrow and said, "Why?"

  Xian let out a sigh on Monday and said, "You're not unaware of your current identity. The Fantasizing Moon Cave Mansion is a place of great importance, and if you're discovered by someone when you go up to the Qingyun Mountain... Don't forget that at this moment, there are tens of thousands of people from the righteous path on the Qingyun Mountain. If your identity is exposed, it's likely that even if you turn into a bird, you won't be able to escape."

  The demon's voice was cold and stern: "That's my business, just tell me about the Phantom Moon Cave Mansion."

  Monday Xian shook his head and muttered in a low voice: "Young people these days are really impatient... Alright, that cave is called Huan Yue, which is said to have strange rocks that shine brightly on moonlit nights, like a dream. But more importantly, inside the cave there is a naturally formed illusion, so that when you enter, it's as if you've fallen into a dream, and unless your willpower is strong, you'll get trapped in it and can't pull yourself out, ruining all your cultivation in an instant."

  The ghost's expression changed slightly, and he said, "What? There's still something like this?"

  On Monday, Xian hummed a sound, looked up and down at Gui Li with a glance, and said: "I advise you not to have any illusions. You enter that Fantasy Moon Cave Mansion, there is only one dead end."

  The ghost let out a cold laugh and said, "What makes you think so?"

  Monday Xian Dao said, "I know you're not convinced in your heart, and I also know that you have a strong character, but let me tell you the truth," his face slowly turned solemn, unexpectedly with an aura of unyielding dignity, he said in a low voice, "The so-called determination is not about how strong your character is. In my opinion, your life has been turbulent and stormy, with countless sorrows and regrets in your heart. If you fall into the fantasy realm, I'm afraid it will be difficult to avoid stirring up those emotions and being unable to extricate yourself."

  He paused for a moment, seemingly hesitant, but after a brief moment of contemplation, he finally said: "Also, the treasure on your body is an extremely evil and ominous object. The blood vessels and soul in your body have long been merged with the demonic power of the Blood-Drinking Pearl. Such a demon would be harmful to you in that kind of fantasy realm, so I advise you to give up this idea."

  Ghostly gaze at Zhou Yi Xian, as if it was the first time he discovered this person, silently staring, Zhou Yi Xian also calmly faced him, after a long while, Ghostly didn't say a word, slowly turned around and left.

  At this moment, another commotion broke out in the city of Hezhou. A large number of Qingyun disciples appeared on the streets, loudly telling the people something. Zhou Yixian and others were shocked, squeezed over to listen carefully, only to find that the Qingyun disciples were announcing to the crowd that the beast demon was about to arrive, and it was extremely unsafe inside the city of Hezhou, asking the people to head north, at least until they had crossed the Qingyun Mountains.

  Zhouyi Xian's face turned gloomy, shaking his head and sighing nonstop. He turned to Xiaohuan and the others and said, "Alas, this is a disaster! I don't know... Hmm? Where's that Gui Li guy?"

  Xiao Huan and the wild dog Daoren were both stunned, hastily turning around, but only to see that behind them was empty, the crowd was crowded with countless people, yet nowhere could be seen the ghostly figure of Ji Li.

  In the vast sea of people, the noise was deafening. Zhou Yixian stood in the crowd with a furrowed brow and shook his head. Xiao Huan, who was beside him, remained silent, only gazing quietly into the distance. After a long while, he let out a soft sigh, and in that sound, there seemed to be a hint of sorrow and resentment.