Kitsune-yama, cold ice stone chamber.

  The demon silently gazed at Bi Yao, who was lying peacefully on the icy stone pedestal, surrounded by wisps of white smoke. The woman's mouth seemed to be forever curved into a faint smile. Did she still have any sensation now? Did she know that someone was guarding her side?

  Or perhaps, in her heart, she had never regretted anything, so she fell asleep with such peace of mind?

  For these, Gui Li had asked himself countless times, but he never knew the answer and didn't dare to think about it. Every time he thought about it more, he seemed to suffer a little more. However, his body was getting worse day by day. Although he had practiced the Three Volumes of Heaven's True Method, he gradually realized that the true methods of Buddhism, Taoism, and Demonism were also merging into one place, and his cultivation was progressing every day. But the demonic power of the Blood-Drinking Pearl seemed to be wandering in his body every day, like a ghost that couldn't be driven away, waiting for the final moment to perish with him.

  That icy feeling, Gui Li had long been familiar with it, from his youth to this moment, he had always accompanied himself with this feeling! Even if he died, he would still feel the chill of death.

  He smiled bitterly in his heart and took a last look at Bi Yao. This was the third day he had been guarding Bi Yao alone.

  "Take a good rest, I'll be back soon to see you." Guǐ Lì said softly. "Don't be afraid, your father and I are just temporarily leaving for now. Even if we die, I will come back to see you one last time before I die."

  He gazed at Bi Yao, smiled lightly, then turned and walked out of the icy stone room. A wisp of smoke drifted behind him like a thin veil.

  "Rumble!"

  The heavy stone gate slowly closed behind him, and Xiao Hui, who had been waiting beside him, jumped onto his shoulder with a soft "hiss". Gui Li stretched out his hand to gently stroke Xiao Hui's head, nodded slightly, and then walked out. Along the way, he either reached out to touch the walls or turned many corners to trigger mechanisms. As they walked, layer upon layer of mechanisms in the main hall of Huqi Mountain Ghost King Sect were activated, and more than ten heavy stone gates fell down.

  In the depths of Mount Huqi, the sound of mechanisms echoed everywhere at this moment, but there was only one figure, Gui Li. The others had left three days ago to follow Gui Wang to the Savage Sacred Temple. At this moment, Mount Huqi was desolate and quiet. As Gui Li walked out of the mountain, the warm sunlight on his body made him shudder involuntarily.

  "Rumbling, rumbling......" The last stone gate slowly closed, covering up the huge mountain belly, with a faint "clicking" sound mixed in, which was eerie to hear, knowing that it was the sound of the mechanism locking. Later, if someone didn't know how to open this mechanism and tried to force their way in from the outside, they would have to be like a god to move these tens of thousands of kilograms of giant rocks.

  The warm sunlight shone on his body, the little grey creature on Gui Li's shoulder stretched out its arms, arched its back and yawned. Gui Li turned his head to look at it and smiled slightly: "What's wrong? You look like you're about to fall asleep."

  Xiao Hui let out two "squeaks", rolled her eyes, and then waved her hands and feet, pointing towards the outside of the mountain. Gui chuckled and said: "You're bored, huh? Well, it's true that this place is desolate all around, with hardly any trees to be seen. No wonder you feel uncomfortable."

  Xiao Hui immediately nodded vigorously, jumped down from Gui Li's shoulders, chirped in his mouth, and danced with joy. Gui Li took a deep breath, turned around to look at the entrance of the cave, which had already merged with the mountain landscape, and couldn't see any signs of it. He nodded and said, "Alright, anyway we have to wait another month before going in to visit Bi Yao, let's take this opportunity to relax around here."

  Xiao Hui was overjoyed, bouncing and jumping on the ground with a big smile. Gui Li was infected by its mood and couldn't help but feel better too, laughing and scolding: "Alright, are you coming up or not? If not, then just stay here by yourself!"

  The little grey head shrunk back, "whoosh" and scurried back, climbing onto Gui Li's shoulder in a few swift movements, chuckling. Gui Li shook his head, a hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth, his hands moving deftly, the familiar icy sensation spreading once more. Gui Li seemed to have thought of something, hesitating for a moment. Xiao Hui found it strange that Gui Li still hadn't flown away, chirping twice, Gui Li turned back to look at it, then smiled faintly and said softly: "Life is desolate, why bother thinking so much?"

  Xiao Hui's eyes blinked twice, clearly not quite understanding Gui Li's sudden words. However, Gui Li didn't say anything else, and with a flip of his hand, a blue light emerged, and the Soul-Devouring Rod appeared, carrying them - one man and one monkey - straight up into the sky, leaving Huqi Mountain behind.

  ※※※

  The nearest place with human habitation to the Li Hu Qi mountain is a small town about 200 miles northeast, called "San Fu Town". San Fu Town does not have many people, but there are several villages around it, which can be considered lively. In the past, when the Gui Wang Sect was purchasing daily necessities such as grain and wine, they would generally go to more distant towns to buy them in order to prevent the Orthodox or other demonic sects from discovering the location of their main hall. However, before returning to the mountain, many disciples of the Gui Wang Sect would stop by San Fu Town for a rest.

  In the past, Gui Li brought Xiao Hui to Sanfu Town, although not many times, but Xiao Hui was extremely intelligent and remembered it firmly. At this moment, just out of Huqi Mountain, Xiao Hui waved his arms on Gui Li's shoulder, pointing in the direction of Sanfu Town, apparently wanting to go to Sanfu Town to drink and eat. Gui Li shook his head, but didn't say anything, turned around and flew towards Sanfu Town.

  A distance of two hundred miles is not far for a cultivator who practices flying in the void. In the blue sky and white clouds, only a faint black air can be seen, and a green light flashes and flies by, cutting through the air.

  Xiao Hui was restlessly squatting on his shoulder, occasionally tilting his head, and the long monkey tail also swayed back and forth. He didn't know if he was thinking about the delicious food he would enjoy later. Gui Li manipulated the Soul Devourer while looking down at his feet. The area around Huqi Mountain didn't need to be mentioned; it was a desolate and barren mountain range. After leaving the Huqi Mountains, the terrain became relatively flat, but the wilderness was vast and empty, with no signs of human habitation. From high above, only one ancient path stretched out lonely and desolate in the distance, disappearing into the unknown.

  The ghost suddenly sighed, but didn't say anything. Xiao Hui found it a bit strange and looked at his master with extra attention.

  After flying northeast for less than half a time, they had already flown over Sanfu Town. In the distance, only rows of houses were seen below, one after another. Xiao Hui was excited and chirped in his mouth, pointing downwards. Gui Li smiled and said, "Okay, let's go down now."

  A flash of blue light flickered, emitting a sharp "hissing" sound in the air, descending from the sky and landing on the streets of Sanfu Town. But as soon as it landed, the ghostly brow had already furrowed. Xiao Hui jumped down from his shoulder, scratched his head with his hand, looked around, apparently also somewhat perplexed. A moment later, it seemed to have felt something too, all three eyes lit up at the same time, chirping in its mouth, its face tense.

  The town of Sanfu in front of me seems to have become a deserted and empty town. The surrounding houses are mostly well-preserved, with only a few places showing signs of damage, but the people in the entire town have completely disappeared. A deathly silence hangs over this small town.

  The ghost let out a cold hum, and in his heart, he somewhat understood. Without saying anything, this place had become like this, mostly because of the beast demon's disaster. The people in the town either escaped to the north one step ahead, or if they were slow, they would likely be unable to avoid becoming food for the beast demons. A good small town had turned into this state. Thinking back, at this moment, on the vast land of China, how many more towns were like this?

  In the distance, a gust of wind blew in, stirring up some dust on the streets. On this warm day, however, the wind that blew into this small town seemed to be cold as well. Xiao Hui still appeared somewhat uneasy, drawing closer to Gui Li while looking around cautiously. Gui Li leaned down and picked up Xiao Hui, softly saying, "It's okay."

  Xiao Hui's eyes blinked, seemingly calming down with Gui Li. Gui Li took a deep breath and slowly walked forward, Xiao Hui climbed onto his shoulder, no longer making noise, quietly looking around in all directions.

  The town was silent except for the sound of the wind, and Gui Li walked quietly, having covered half of the street. Some houses had their doors and windows tightly closed, while others were wide open, as if they had been broken into by some beastly creature. However, there were no human corpses to be seen along the way, suggesting that the townspeople must have received news beforehand and mostly fled northward.

  Just then, a gust of cold wind blew by, and the creaky door on the left side of the street suddenly fell to the ground with a loud crash, echoing through the desolate streets. Gui Li and Xiao Hui turned their heads at the same time, only to see that behind the fallen door, an arm lay limply on the wooden board, motionless, while a faint smell of blood wafted through the air.

  The ghostly figure looked silently in that direction for a while, then turned his head and continued walking forward. Xiao Hui lay on Gui Li's shoulder, but kept looking back at the arm from time to time.

  He had been to Sanfu Town several times before, so he was somewhat familiar with the situation here. He walked slowly, remained silent for a long time, and then said: "I remember there's an inn ahead, let's go there, maybe we can still find something for you to eat."

  The little grey bird chirped twice.

  The sound of footsteps on the street seemed particularly loud at this moment, and the cold wind blew from behind in waves. They quickly arrived in front of that tavern. The tavern's sign had fallen off the doorframe and was lying upside down at the entrance, covered with a layer of dust. Gui Li looked at the nameless wooden sign for a moment, then stepped on it, leaving a footprint behind.

  Suddenly, Xiao Hui let out a low cry and stared at the inside of the tavern. Gui Li's body also suddenly stopped moving. A moment later, a low roar came from within the tavern.

  Is it a beast? This was Gui Li's first reaction. The howling sound seemed to have a few familiar tones to it.

  "Ahh..."

  Xiao Hui suddenly let out a sharp cry and rushed into the tavern. Gui Li was startled, not knowing why Xiao Hui had suddenly become agitated, but since Xiao Hui was his closest companion, he couldn't let him face whatever mysterious things were inside the tavern alone. Seeing Xiao Hui about to disappear into the tavern, Gui Li's expression changed, and with a flicker of movement, he followed Xiao Hui in.

  The next moment, he appeared in the tavern. When he saw clearly the things in the tavern, he couldn't help but pause for a moment.

  Inside the tavern, everything was in disarray, with pots and pans scattered all over the place, shards of broken dishes piled up, and the original tables and chairs were haphazardly arranged, with only a few still intact. The surfaces of the tables and chairs were also covered in thick dust. Yet, in this dilapidated tavern, on one relatively intact table in the center of the room, a jug of wine and several cups were placed, next to which sat a young man dressed in bright silk attire. Between him and Gui Li, on the empty space, a strange beast and Xiao Hui faced off against each other, its appearance ferocious and terrifying, its low growl tinged with a hint of surprise - it was the ferocious beast "Tao Tie".

  It was the mysterious young man who met with Gui Li in the deep forest of the desolate mountain on that day.

  The giant stretched out its long neck, staring at Xiaohui with four huge copper bell-like eyes, but Xiaohui's expression was no longer as tense as it had been at the beginning, and instead showed a few happy expressions. It chirped twice, smiled with an open mouth, and slowly walked forward, wanting to touch the giant's head with its hand.

  The Glutton let out a low growl, clearly not quite used to Xiao Hui's actions. Xiao Hui paused for a moment, blinked his three eyes, and circled around the Glutton's body twice, from left to right and then back again. The Glutton's long neck turned with Xiao Hui's movements, its mouth occasionally letting out low growls, but the hostility seemed to be decreasing, apparently it had some goodwill towards this three-eyed spirit monkey...

  At this time, the young man also saw Gui Ye, sitting still and motionless, but his expression seemed to have frozen for a moment, clearly not expecting to meet Gui Ye again in this place. However, he quickly recovered, smiled slightly, and nodded at Gui Ye. Gui Ye's surprise was no less than that of the young man, and at this moment, he was even more suspicious of the mysterious youth's identity, who could appear in a tavern in such a desolate small town, his origins were undoubtedly strange.

  At this time, Xiao Hui had approached the Glutton, suddenly opened his mouth and laughed, stretched out his hand to explore, and patted the Glutton's rough head. The Glutton let out a low growl, with all four eyes staring at Xiao Hui, looking fierce, but Xiao Hui seemed not to be afraid at all, instead finding it very amusing, and again used his hand to pat twice, making a strange and somewhat comical "puff puff" sound.

  The Glutton seemed to have no way with the little monkey, let out a loud snort, and hummed a helpless sound like a human, then lay down and ignored Little Gray. But Little Gray seemed to like this strange monster very much, getting close to the Glutton, touching it here and there, and showing great affection.

  That mysterious youth withdrew his gaze from those two spiritual beasts and looked towards Gui Li, smiling as he said: "Looks like they're quite good."

  The ghost nodded slightly and smiled faintly.

  The young man patted the chair beside him and said, "Actually, we two also have a pretty good fate, the world is so big, yet we can still meet here. Brother, why don't you come sit down, let's have a drink and chat for a bit."

  The little gray and the gourmand looked at each other, only to see that Little Gray's attention was now focused on the gourmand. He said lightly, "Alright." After speaking, he walked slowly over, but instead of standing beside the young man, he picked up another chair and sat down on the opposite side of the table.

  The young man's handsome face had a faint smile, he reached out to take a clean cup, placed it in front of Gui Li, then poured him a full glass of wine, and smiled: "Brother, you came to this desolate small town with no one around, what brings you here?"

  The demon's expression turned stern as he gazed at the young man and said in a deep voice, "Then what is it that you want?"

  The young man smiled slightly and said: "I was passing by this place, saw that there were still a few cups of leftover wine here, so I rested for a moment and poured myself a drink."

  The ghost turned his head and looked at Xiaohui, saying: "If I said that I also brought this monkey here to drink wine, would you believe me?"

  The young man was taken aback, glanced at Xiaohui, and suddenly burst out laughing. He clapped his hands and said, "Come on, come on! Let's have a drink together! Life is lonely anyway, it's rare to find someone with whom you can share a drink in this desolate corner of the world."

  He raised his wine cup to Gui Li, then drank it all in one gulp. Gui Li looked at him deeply and slowly repeated the sentence: "Life is originally desolate, heh, life is originally desolate..."

  He suddenly laughed out, his smile full of vicissitudes, raised the wine glass and drank it in one gulp. A fiery wine flavor went straight down from his throat to his abdomen, this remote small town's wine was quite potent.

  The young man smiled and said: "How is it?"

  The ghost's eyes gleamed as he reached out and took the wine jug, refilling their cups. "Good wine!" he exclaimed.

  The young man's smile grew thicker, and he slapped the table, laughing loudly: "Good, indeed it is good wine." In his laughter, the young man's expression gradually became more agitated, and suddenly he loudly chanted:

  "Past thoughts, many vicissitudes have passed, do you still remember, sorrowful person."

  White hair and withered lamp, walking to the end of the world, one morning's loneliness exchanged for a drunken sleep...

  As he finished reciting, his voice gradually turned desolate and his face revealed a hint of melancholy. After finishing, he lowered his head in silence, while Guilian quietly gazed at him, downing the wine in her cup in one gulp.

  ※※※

  As night falls, the cold wind rises, and a desolate small town echoes with a "woo woo" sound, as if someone is secretly crying in the distance.

  The night was deep and dark, like a tide that had submerged the earth. The monkey leaned against the glutton's body and fell asleep, while the ferocious beast also lay lazily on the ground. In the tavern, it was pitch black, and Gui Li and the young man sat in the darkness, neither of them making any move to find candles to light up the place.

  Perhaps in darkness, they feel more comfortable.

  They sat face to face for the whole day, occasionally saying a few words of no importance, occasionally drinking a few cups of wine, but more often they seemed to have stirred up thoughts in each other, silently pondering, reminiscing about their past lives.

  On such a quiet and clear night, in a remote and desolate place at the edge of the world, two strangers seemed to have known each other for a lifetime, treating each other with indifference.