The night grew darker, and the Valley of Venom, which had been steeped in an invisible tense atmosphere all day, seemed to slowly fall into slumber. The dim lights flickered out one by one, except for that cold and desolate spirit hall.

  The door of the mourning hall was still open, and the cold night wind blew through it, making the candles that were still burning on the mourning hall flicker uncertainly, casting eerie shadows on the ground. Outside the door, in the distance, amidst the silence, there seemed to be a sound whispering softly, like sobbing, like low laughter, or perhaps just the sound of the wind rustling through the trees, making it impossible to discern clearly, but only feeling a chill in one's heart.

  In the faint light that still flickered from the candles on the mourning hall and shone out into the courtyard, this mountain valley night, outside the house was still floating with a faint mist, like a thin smoke, in the darkness and shadows, drifting back and forth, changing various shapes.

  And above the mourning hall, the person who stayed up all night to keep vigil was still only Qin Wu Yan.

  He was still kneeling in front of the coffin, his head bowed and his eyes wandering aimlessly as if staring at some unknown place. The bronze basin in front of him was already full of burnt paper money turned into black ash, which trembled with the occasional gusts of night wind. Occasionally, one or two scattered ashes were blown up by the wind, leaving the basin, slowly drifting around the room, and most of them quietly fell back onto the offering table in front of the coffin, landing on the three sacrificial plates.

  In the darkness, is there still a pair of eyes watching all this?

  The footsteps suddenly sounded, walking into the mourning hall on the flat ground. Qin Wu Yan's body shook slightly. Whoever it was, at this moment, the sudden sound of footsteps behind him was not a pleasant thing. He turned his head to look back, furrowing his brow, his face somewhat surprised, apparently the person who came was not within his expectation.

  What entered his eyes was a tall and majestic figure, but the attire was vastly different from that of an ordinary demonic sect disciple. He wore a Taoist robe, with a square face and a solemn expression - it was none other than Cang Song Dao Ren, the patriarch of the Myriad Poison Sect.

  Qin Wu Yan looked at Cang Song, Cang Song also glanced at Qin Wu Yan, neither of them spoke. Then Cang Song walked straight to the offering table in front of the coffin, picked up the incense sticks on the table, lit one of the remaining candles, and made a respectful bow to the spirit tablet. He took another step forward and inserted the incense stick into the incense burner.

  Qin Wuyan patiently watched every move of Cang Song Dao Ren, from head to toe. When Cang Song Dao Ren turned around again, Qin Wuyan slightly bowed his head, which was considered a courtesy as a disciple. Although there was no expression on his face, he spoke in a calm and polite tone: "Thank you, Master."

  Cang Song Dao Ren nodded and said, "I and the old man are after all host and guest for a while, although this incense is lit a bit late, but it's still my sincere intention."

  Qin Wu Yan remained kneeling, looking towards the memorial tablet and said calmly: "It doesn't matter, as long as the Daoist priest is sincere in his heart, I'm sure Master will be pleased from above."

  Cang Song Dao Ren gazed at Qin Wu Yan, looked for a while, and suddenly smiled, saying: "Qin Gong Zi, you seem to have never liked me."

  Qin Wu Yan's eyes slightly lifted, seemingly not expecting Qing Song Dao Ren to ask such a question suddenly. He looked at Qing Song Dao Ren for a moment before responding calmly: "Dao Zhang has misunderstood. You are the respected guest who was entertained by my late master, and in the Wan Du Men, you are also considered a senior with high virtue and prestige. I, Wu Yan, do not dare to be lazy or disrespectful. It's just that now that my master is unfortunately gone, I am filled with sorrow in my heart. If there is any disrespect or impropriety, please forgive me, senior."

  Cang Song Dao's face still wore a smile, and his gaze slowly shifted to the spirit tablet of the Poison God in front of him. On that spirit tablet, a box containing the seal of the Wan Du Men sect was quietly placed. Cang Song Dao looked at it for a while, then suddenly emitted several low, strange cries from his body, like the chirping of insects. Qin Wu Yan's face changed slightly, and Cang Song Dao also hesitated for a moment, but then suddenly laughed: "Old Sect Master, you can rest assured now! Look at what kind of disciple you've taught - such an outstanding one is truly not simple!"

  Qin Wu Yan's face sank, and a fierce glint flashed in his eyes as he said in a deep voice, "Dao Zhang, what did you just say?"

  Cang Song Dao Ren turned his head, smiled slightly, but didn't speak, and only lightly pulled up his sleeve. Qin Wu Yan's pupils contracted as he saw a small box stuck to Cang Song Dao Ren's arm, and the strange noise from earlier was coming from it again, clear and audible.

  Cang Song Dao's face wore a mysterious smile as he slowly extended his hand towards the spirit tablet, but just before the box on his wrist approached the spirit tablet where the Wan Du Men sect master's seal was placed, the box in front of the spirit tablet suddenly emitted a low, yet extremely clear insect chirping sound. The voice sounded exactly like the one coming from the box on Cang Song Dao's wrist.

  Cang Song Dao Ren slowly withdrew his arm and turned to look at Qin Wu Yan, saying calmly: "Seven-tailed scorpion?"

  Qin Wu Yan took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his eyes shone brightly. He suddenly transformed from being silent and depressed to being sharp and piercing. He slowly stood up from the ground, his eyes fixed intently on Cang Song Dao Ren, and slowly repeated: "Seven-Tailed Scorpion!"

  The originally gloomy and somber shrine, after he stood there for a moment, suddenly seemed to brighten up a bit, the cold air in the atmosphere also disappeared instantly, leaving only a fierce killing intent.

  Cang Song Dao Ren, however, couldn't see any sign of fear, and instead seemed to be completely unaware of the changes around him. He even asked Qin Wu Yan calmly, "Tell me, if your master knew that his disciples were causing trouble in front of his spirit so soon after his death, wouldn't he be extremely angry?"

  Qin Wu snorted coldly and said, "Master is a wise and intelligent person who has long seen through these so-called etiquette and customs. Let alone being disrespectful to him in front of his spirit, even if we disciples were to fight each other here, he would probably just laugh and watch the commotion."

  Cang Song Dao Ren nodded slowly, suddenly sighed and said: "Indeed, I have been with the old master for ten years, with his temperament, it's probably true." As he spoke, he looked at Qin Wu Yan and smiled: "Unexpectedly, you followed him for the shortest time, but instead became one of the most understanding people among all the disciples."

  Qin Wu Yan's expression didn't change, but his body took a step forward. He said coldly, "Dao Zhang, aren't you also extremely capable? Not only did you see my master clearly, but even my every move can't escape your eyes!"

  Cang Song Dao's smile on his face stiffened slightly, and his eyes glanced at Qin Wu Yan's footsteps before suddenly saying: "Isn't it already past your master's 49th day?"

  Qin Wu Yan was taken aback, unsure what to make of the sudden question from Cang Song Dao Ren. Tonight, this person's attitude was indeed strange and unpredictable. Moreover, he had already seen through Qin Wu Yan's actions on the door master's seal, so it was likely that he couldn't be kept here any longer. With these thoughts in mind, Qin Wu Yan calmly replied: "It's just past midnight now, what guidance do you have for me, Daoist?" As he spoke, he took another step closer to Cang Song Dao Ren.

  Cang Song Dao Ren took a step back and nodded: "That's good, let your master pass the seventh day safely, it can be considered as my intention."

  Qin Wu Yan was taken aback, and before he could react, Cang Song Dao Ren suddenly moved, flashing to the entrance of the spiritual hall. He took a deep breath and shouted loudly: "Ah, Master Yin's seal... Ah..." His first few words were filled with astonishment, but when he said the second half, although he was still standing in his original position, unscathed, Cang Song Dao Ren suddenly let out a pained cry, as if he had been ambushed by someone.

  Qin Wu Yan's face suddenly changed color, but it was too late to stop him. The voice of Cang Song Dao Ren had already echoed in the quiet and deep valley of poisonous snakes, reverberating endlessly. After a moment, even distant places seemed to have an echo bouncing back, and all over the mountain valley were faint "ah" sounds everywhere.

  At the very beginning, the Snake Valley seemed to be startled by something, and it was even more silent than before. But just after a moment, countless loud noises burst forth from all corners of the valley, like waves crashing against the shore. The sounds of questioning, scolding, shouting, and commanding blended together into an invisible wave that surged towards the ancestral hall from all directions.

  The old man turned his head and smiled slightly, waving his hand at Qin Wu Yan's pale face. "Nephew, I'll help you out this time. If you ever sit on the master's throne in the future, don't forget today's favor!" With that, he didn't say anything else, his figure flashing as he swiftly flew into the darkness outside the door just before Qin Wu Yan rushed over, and vanished from sight in an instant.

  Qin Wu Yan stood at the door, panting, his eyes blazing with anger. The sudden arrival of Cang Song Dao Ren had completely disrupted his plans. At this moment, the surrounding area was in an uproar, and it seemed that the mourning hall would be surrounded by the countless people of the three Shifu brothers. Qin Wu Yan stomped his foot fiercely, made a quick decision, and like Cang Song Dao Ren, plunged into the darkness outside the house, disappearing from view after a moment.

  The next moment, countless disciples of the Ten Thousand Poison Sect, holding torches and sharp blades, killing intent soaring, under the leadership of the three great senior disciples of the Poison God, stormed into the Poison God's Spirit Hall.

  But in the brief silence that followed, a furious cry of murder rose from the valley below, and swept through the entire valley.

  The night color has become even more profound.

  When the rising sun cast its first light on the earth, the Celestial Sword Taoist, who had flown out of the Valley of Venomous Snakes unnoticed, was already riding his sword in mid-air and appeared above a small city four hundred miles northeast of the valley. He looked around the city carefully from the sky, then seemed to have discovered something and immediately descended onto a small hill north of the city.

  On this nameless small hill, there are mostly wild maple trees. From the sky, it looks like a red carpet, very beautiful. In front of the maple forest, at this moment, three men and one woman are standing, who are Guī Wáng, Guī Xiān Shēng, Guī Lì and Yōu Jī.

  Seeing the green pine fall down, the King of Ghosts had a faint smile on his face and walked up to him, smiling: "How's it going? Still smooth?"

  Cang Song Dao Ren nodded and said, "Indeed, as expected by the Sect Master, Qin Wu Yan's injuries have recovered, and he has made a move in the box of Wan Du Men's master, Yin Xin. Most likely, he put the Seven-Tailed Scorpion inside. Whoever opens this box, Qin Wu Yan can manipulate it from behind the scenes, and no one can escape the scorpion's bite. With the strange poison of the Seven-Tailed Scorpion, this person will probably die."

  The King of Ghosts burst out laughing and turned to Mr. Gui and the others, saying: "You see, these earthy methods that have been used countless times already, yet there are still people using them!"

  Kui's face was pale and expressionless, he didn't say a word. You Ji also remained silent, only Mr. Gui said lightly: "The method is indeed somewhat outdated and rustic, but as long as it works, it's a good method."

  The Demon King nodded and said, "Not bad, it can be said that the Poison God is also a generation of heroes in our Holy Church, how did he take in disciples who are all such characters, really disappointing."

  Cang Song Dao Ren smiled and said, "However, that Qin Wu Yan is indeed a good person, what a pity."

  The Demon King looked at him and couldn't help but laugh again, everyone was silent for a moment, Ghost Ji stood aside, quietly looking at the Demon King with a frown, somehow he felt that the Demon King was a bit strange today.

  However, Gui Lie's idea didn't go any further because soon after, a heart-wrenching scream suddenly burst out from the small town in front of them which had just woken up at dawn. Immediately, countless shrill cries echoed everywhere, among which someone could be clearly heard shouting in terror: "Beast demon, it's the beast demon that has come..."

  A shrill and cruel whistling sound came from the south of the small town, and suddenly a large amount of smoke and dust rose up on the distant quiet plain, like thousands of soldiers charging forward. The shouting mixed with excited roars came closer and closer, bringing with it a bloodthirsty desire, and swarmed in. The five people of the Gui Wang Sect standing at the other end of the small town all flew into the air and flew towards the small town.

  Flying close, even if many people had seen countless grand scenes before, the scene in front of them still made them change color slightly. Countless monsters and mutated beasts roared and howled out of the smoke dust on the plain, their huge bodies, agile physique, sharp teeth and claws emitting a strong death intent in the morning light. And on the other side, the residents of the small city were shocked and lost, frantically running around crazily, but no one knew where it was safe to go.

  The dense sound of running grew louder and closer, until it reached a deafening level. More and more demonic beasts poured in from the south, charging towards the small city. The ancient paths and roads on the plains, which were once wide and expansive, had now become a playground for these demonic beasts. With their eyes glowing red, they surrounded the small city amidst thunderous roars. Those who failed to escape into the city were instantly engulfed by the dust kicked up by the demonic beasts, and in the gray mist, flashes of blood light flickered, accompanied by screams that soon disappeared.

  On the top of the small city, some people who still had a will to survive desperately pulled up the drawbridge of the city gate, temporarily blocking out these ferocious and cruel beast demons. Then, the beast demons seemed to come endlessly from the south, surrounding the small city on all sides.

  The five people in the sky all took a deep breath of cool air.

  In the distance, a shrill howl echoed through the desolate wilderness. The sound was sharp and piercing to the ear, with a hint of metallic clarity, as if it had pierced through the vast expanse of smoke and dust. The Ghost King's expression changed, and he said in a low voice, "It's here, this must be the demon beast. Everyone be careful, proceed according to plan."

  The rest of the people nodded slightly and dispersed, leaving only the Ghost King in mid-air, gazing at the sharp whistling sound for a few more moments, with a hint of a smile on his lips. He then flew upwards, disappearing into the clouds, vanishing from sight.

  As that shrill whistle grew louder, the countless monsters surrounding this small town simultaneously raised their heads and let out a loud roar. The various ear-piercing sounds mixed together, blending with the stench of beasts and the faint scent of blood in the wind, making one's hair stand on end.

  In the midst of smoke and dust, a sudden loud roar echoed, and the sharp whistling sound came to an abrupt halt. In mid-air, a brilliant light flashed, and suddenly, a gigantic beast emerged from the smoke and dust. From a distance, this beast resembled a tiger, with what seemed like a "king" character on its forehead. Its body was enormous, many times larger than that of a normal tiger, with sharp teeth and claws, and its fur was multicolored. The most peculiar thing about it was its incredibly long tail, which appeared to be even longer than its body. Compared to the ferocious beasts surrounding it, they seemed like mere kittens and puppies.

  The ghost hiding outside the city furrowed his brow and said in a low voice: "Qū wú!" (Note 1).

  The small town surrounded by the beast group was originally just a small pool, and this monster with a body as high as five or six zhang stood in front of the pool. The tiger's head almost reached the top of the pool. A strong bloody smell came with the wind, and the people on the city wall were either frightened to death or lost their souls and fled desperately.

  I let out a low growl, my eyes flashing with ferocity. Suddenly, I emitted a sharp howl and lifted my massive front paws, slamming them straight into the city gate. My razor-sharp claws easily pierced the thick wooden gate, and before the civilians who were desperately blocking the gate could even react, several of them had already been impaled by my enormous paws. The rest of the people were terrified, fleeing in all directions.

  I let out a loud roar, my sharp claws swiping down in succession. "Boom, boom, boom" - the sound of the impact was deafening. After a few moments, the battered city gate collapsed with a crash, and the entire city was filled with wails of despair in an instant. Meanwhile, the excited roars from outside the city also rose up, as countless ferocious beasts swarmed in, and in the blink of an eye, a bloody storm erupted.

  It cleared the city gate for other monsters, but it didn't go in to slaughter itself. It seemed that it had already looked down on such things, and at this time, it seemed to have discovered something. The tiger's head turned around, its huge body slowly twisted over, its nose constantly sniffing the air, as if trying to determine what something was like.

  Just as Jun Wu was hesitating and searching, a loud explosion suddenly came from the top of the small city wall in front of him. The city wall burst open, and Cang Song Dao Ren broke out of the hole and appeared right in front of Jun Wu. With lightning speed, he struck Jun Wu's chest with a yellow sword aura.

  Qian Wu let out a thunderous roar, and his massive tiger body flew backward, but Cang Song Dao Ren was after all a renowned figure for many years, and also the most outstanding master of the Qing Yun sect. His Taoist powers were not to be underestimated. Although Qian Wu flew backward, only a tearing sound was heard, and a huge wound over four feet long was slashed open on his chest.

  If it were an ordinary monster, this wound would have been fatal on the spot, but obviously, Qianwu is different from the ordinary monsters around him. As one of the thirteen demon beasts under the Beast Demon Seat, its vitality and demonic powers are far beyond those of other ordinary monsters. Although blood gushed out of his chest like a fountain, Qianwu didn't even glance at it, let out a furious roar, and pounced over in an instant, his movements not slowing down by much compared to before he was injured.

  Cang Song's face changed slightly, and he dodged the sharp claws of Jun Wu with a flash of his body. He quickly retreated from the beast group, flying towards the north of the small town. Jun Wu let out a loud roar, his eyes blazing with fury as he chased after Cang Song relentlessly.

  Cang Song Dao Ren originally wanted to quickly fly to the front of that unnamed small mountain, and then join forces with a few others to get rid of this demon beast. However, he had only flown less than half the distance when he felt a strong gust of wind behind him, and the hot air was almost at his back. Cang Song Dao Ren was greatly shocked, and in his haste, he turned his head to look back, and was even more shocked to see that this Qiong Wu's speed was actually incredibly fast, and after being injured, its four legs were like flying, like a swift wind and lightning, and it had actually caught up with Cang Song Dao Ren who was flying on his sword.

  Chased to the back of Cang Song Dao Ren, I didn't hesitate any longer, let out a loud roar and opened my big mouth to take a bite. The momentum was such that it would not be easy to quell the great hatred in my heart if I did not bite him into two pieces. However, Cang Song Dao Ren had cultivated for many years after all, and at this critical moment, he didn't panic. His body suddenly sank downwards, narrowly avoiding the disaster of being buried in the tiger's mouth. Even so, Cang Song Dao Ren also broke out in a cold sweat.

  Next, Cang Song Dao Ren no longer dared to be careless, driving the immortal sword up and down, left and right, making it impossible for Jun Wu to run in a straight line to exert his incredible speed. He barely ran to the front of the maple forest on that small hill, and by this time, Jun Wu had already been led away from the group of countless monsters by a certain distance.

  As he watched, the Taoist priest suddenly vanished into a red maple forest. Anger surged up in him and he charged straight towards the maple forest. But just as he was about to step into the forest, Mr. Gui's black figure appeared out of nowhere, his mouth chanting incantations softly. A moment later, his black robes fluttered up, and a strange spiritual energy slowly emanated from his body.

  Jian Wu Meng's violent stop made his feet slide forward for several yards, knocking down dozens of maple trees. But Jian Wu no longer cared about the forest under him or the suddenly disappeared Cang Song Daoist. His eyes only had the black figure floating beside him and the strange spiritual energy emanating from his body.

  But this time, Hui Wu didn't charge forward again. The giant tiger head shook violently, and a loud roar was heard. Suddenly, its mouth opened wide, and three black smoke streams floated out of its mouth. In mid-air, the smoke quickly condensed into three gruesome skulls holding large knives, which pounced on Mr. Gui with their teeth bared.

  Mr. Gui's body trembled slightly, this demon beast was not only ferocious and fast, but also knew the mysterious and sinister magic of the southern border, really not to be underestimated.

  However, Mr. Gui did not stop his spellcasting to avoid the three skulls that Xi Wu had summoned with his witchcraft. Just as the three skulls were about to reach him, two figures flashed out from either side - You Ji and Gui Li, who positioned themselves in front of Mr. Gui. You Ji's hands were clasped together, grasping a strange seal, her palms facing upwards and downwards in a gesture that was completely different from the Buddhist mudras of Zhongtu. In an instant, a beam of silver light appeared on her palm, rapidly expanding to envelop one of the skulls. The skull let out a violent shudder as if it had been scorched, and just as it was about to charge forward, its skeletal frame suddenly dispersed, shattered by You Ji's "Zhuque Seal".

  On the other end, Gui Lie's face was calm and expressionless as he faced the two ferocious skulls that were charging towards him. With a flip of his right hand, the Soul-Devouring Rod appeared in his hand, but this time he didn't follow his usual routine of using the Blood-Sucking Bead as the head. Instead, he strangely turned the black rod upside down, holding it with the cyan-black rod body facing forward, and charged out.

  Two skulls swung their knives down at the same time, but before they could reach within three feet of Hei Gun, under the urging of Gui Li's strange and wonderful magic, a bright red light suddenly flashed around Hei Gun's body. The rod instantly lit up, and black energy surged forth, making it even more eerie and terrifying than the two skulls. In an instant, the two sides collided, and Gui Li's black rod pierced through the two skulls' bodies like cutting tofu. The black energy churned, and after a moment, the two skulls opened their mouths wide, but couldn't make any sound. They silently dispersed, and even the remaining bit of black energy was absorbed by Hei Gun.

  The Ghostly Rod of the Demon's upper part, apart from the extremely evil Blood Sucking Bead, has a body that takes pictures of souls. It is the ancestor of these ghostly and demonic methods, and it is also their natural nemesis. In those years, when the old vampire used the skull formation to launch a sneak attack on Zhang Xiaofan, he suffered a great loss right here.

  I didn't expect these people to break through their own witchcraft so easily, and I was stunned for a moment. At this time, the ghost master's spell had been completed, his arms shook suddenly, and a red light descended from the sky, which was the Fulong Ding being sacrificed by him. In an instant, the sky turned crimson, and in the red light, there were faint sounds of birds chirping and cows howling, the sound was mournful, and the momentum seemed to be more powerful than before.

  A red glow descended like a curtain, instantly enveloping Shi Wu within it. Shi Wu only felt as if a great mountain had suddenly pressed down on his body, almost unable to breathe, but the demonic beasts of Nanjiang were always ferocious and violent. Shi Wu, deeply trapped in adversity, became even more enraged, and with a loud roar, he desperately struggled free.

  At this moment, a figure flashed on the Fulong Cauldron, and the Ghost King descended from the sky, flying down in the red light of the Fulong Cauldron like lightning.

  He seemed to have sensed something, and with great anger he raised his head, but the Ghost King had already arrived at his crown. A long whistle sounded, and all that could be seen was a chaotic flash of red light, dazzling and blinding. The surrounding area was unclear, and only the ghost king's shadowy figure could be seen flashing about, his hand suddenly producing an object, which shot down with a burst of auspicious energy, striking He's forehead in one swift motion.

  My body shook violently, from head to toe I trembled, after a moment the red light gradually subsided, the mysterious object in the Ghost King's hand also disappeared, but saw that my originally radiant fur suddenly dulled, the seven orifices on the tiger's head all flowed with blood. The Ghost King let out a long laugh, his right hand fiercely thrust down, forcibly inserting into my hard skull.

  Qiu Wu let out a thunderous roar, his body shook several times, and finally fell to the ground.

  Note 1: Shan Hai Jing, Hai Nei Bei Jing: Qūn Wú: In the Lin State there is a precious beast, as big as a tiger, with all five colors, its tail longer than its body, named Qūn Wú. Riding it one can travel a thousand li in a day.

  Another note: "Shenmo Zhiyi. Yaoshou Pian" says: In the southern borders of China, there is a strange beast that resembles a tiger, with five-colored fur and a long tail, commanding all beasts, called the King of Hundred Beasts.