In the dark cave, a faint footstep sounded, and a faint blue light flickered from the front. Behind the light, the figures of Gui Li and Jin Ping Er appeared.

  Two people had already ventured deep into the town's ancient cave, yet this eerie cavern seemed to have no end in sight. The dark and damp road twisted and turned, seemingly stretching on forever. The light from the Soul-Devouring Stick could only illuminate a distance of six feet ahead, while the surrounding areas were shrouded in an unsettling, profound darkness.

  Among them, as if there were mysterious eyes staring at these two intruders.

  Jin Bier walked not far behind Gui Li, and for some reason, she slowly felt herself becoming a bit tense. At the end of this road, no one knew where it would lead or what was waiting for them there.

  Even if she saw the ferocious monster at this moment, it's likely that it wouldn't shake her determination. However, this void of darkness instead made her start to feel uneasy.

  The eerie footsteps suddenly stopped.

  Jin Bier's heart skipped a beat, and she almost bumped into his back. She quickly stopped herself, put her whole body on guard, and quietly looked around in all directions, lowering her voice to say: "What's wrong, did you find something?"

  The ghost turned his head to look at her, under the faint blue light, Jin Ping'er's skin looked somewhat eerie and beautiful. He was silent for a moment before saying, "Your breathing sounds a bit disordered."

  Jin Bier was taken aback for a moment, her eyebrows furrowed, and then she slowly straightened up, letting out a cold snort.

  The ghost looked at her, didn't say much, and turned around to continue walking slowly. After a few steps, he heard the woman behind him take a deep breath, and after a moment, she followed up again, but her breathing had already returned to calmness.

  From behind, the man's back was reflected in Jin Biaoer's eyes, thick and steady. For some reason, Jin Biaoer felt a sense of relief. On his shoulder, however, the monkey had its head down, looking unspirited, only its long tail hanging down, swaying back and forth with Gui Li's pace.

  The pale green light emanating from the Ghostly Hand's Soul Devouring seemed particularly soft in the darkness, and the murderous aura that the Blood Bead had once possessed now seemed to have vanished.

  The light flashed across the stone wall, illuminating the past and then slowly returning to darkness. Jin Ping'er silently looked around. After entering the Town Demon Ancient Cave, the unique cold wind here was bone-chilling, almost freezing people's blood into ice blocks. However, as they went deeper into the ancient cave, the cold wind not only didn't get stronger but gradually weakened instead.

  At this moment, they almost can't feel the existence of the wind, only without the sound of the wind, the surroundings are a dead silence. Looking at the places illuminated by the light around them, Jin Ping'er's eyebrows furrowed tighter and tighter.

  When Jin Bao'er first entered the ancient cave, she didn't notice the stone walls around her, but as she went deeper, she found that the legendary Demon-Suppressing Cave actually had more and more signs of human construction. The surrounding stone walls, although worn by time, were not naturally formed, and even the road beneath their feet, though winding and curved, was relatively flat with few ups and downs, making the journey surprisingly easy.

  But in this cave, there was not a hint of the stench of evil spirits, nor were there any terrifying human or animal skulls on the ground. This ancient demon-suppressing cave seemed to be just a clean and quiet place, where did it seem like the lair of the world's number one demon?

  And so they turned another corner.

  ※※※

  That darkness suddenly thickened, like an invisible wall, instantly appearing in front of them. The light emitted by the soul-eating creature was actually bounced back at that moment when the two turned around, almost simultaneously, Gui Li and Jin Ping'er's bodies froze, then quickly floated backward with incredible speed.

  "Rumble!"

  A loud muffled sound, and the ground they were standing on just now exploded with two big holes, broken stones flying wildly and hitting the surrounding stone walls with a crash.

  That dark thing was like a loud roar, rushing over the corner like a mountain collapse, and pouncing on them head-on. Gui Li and Jin Ping'er still couldn't see what kind of monster or evil spirit it was until this moment, Jin Ping'er's face turned slightly pale, her body moved slightly, and she had already flashed to a distance of one zhang behind.

  In the midst of that strong wind, suddenly a bright green light burst forth, enveloping Gui Li's entire body in a green halo. Standing beneath what seemed to be an endless expanse of darkness, he gazed coldly at the black wall ahead. Even the three eyes of Xiao Hui, the monkey on his shoulder, lit up simultaneously, flashing with a faint golden light.

  That black curtain enveloped everything, the wind was strong, and even the rocks that had just fallen to the ground were blown up again. But in this darkness, Gui Li's figure stood still, his green light not dimming but growing stronger. From his right side, a brilliant light burst forth, and in an instant, his palm had stretched out and inserted itself into the darkness.

  The intense blue light that had been lingering on the edge of Gui Lie's right hand suddenly disappeared when he inserted it into the darkness, as if blocked by some object. But a moment later, a loud rumbling sound was heard, and from within the black curtain came a "huffing" sound. A moment later, seven holes were forcibly torn open, and dazzling blue light burst out from within.

  A loud, anguished roar burst forth from the front, and the black curtain that had been like a mountain suddenly dispersed. The darkness still lingered, but deep within it, two enormous red eyes appeared.

  The Soul-Devouring Staff in Gui Li's hand emitted an increasingly strong glow, and with the help of this light, both Gui Li and Jin Ping'er standing behind him could see clearly. It turned out that the guardian here was actually a huge black bat, its entire body pitch-black except for two eyes that glowed blood-red. Earlier, it must have been the massive body and wings that blocked their view, making them unable to see this monster's true form for a moment. However, they feared that such monsters usually attacked in this manner, suddenly striking in the dark, which indeed made people easily frightened and at a loss for how to counterattack.

  At this moment, the black bat's wings had seven wounds torn open by Gui Li, and its eerie pale blue blood splattered all over its body. It was clearly badly injured. But such a monster was never timid, instead it seemed to have fallen into a state of frenzied rage, opening its huge mouth to let out a furious roar, flapping its wings, although somewhat unsteadily, the darkness surged again, and flew over.

  A cold light flashed in Gui Li's eyes, and the blood-sucking bead on the top of his Soul-Devouring Rod also lit up at the same time. Just as the bat-like creature was about to pounce, a sudden "squeak" sound came from Gui Li's shoulder, and a gray shadow flashed by. It turned out that Xiao Hui had jumped out from his shoulder and charged towards the monster, which was many times larger than a monkey.

  The ghost's eyebrows furrowed, and even Jin Ping'er, who was standing behind him, was taken aback for a moment. At a glance, the two animals flying horizontally in mid-air were vastly different in shape.

  Just as Jinpinger was thinking this and even slightly worried about the monkey, a cyan light flashed, and Xiao Hui's body suddenly began to grow larger. In just a short moment, it transformed from a small grey monkey less than three feet tall into a massive, furious, and shrill three-eyed spirit monkey that filled the entire cave space, its eyes glowing bright red.

  Two giant beasts collided in mid-air with a loud crash.

  The surrounding stone walls seemed to be unable to withstand such a huge impact, and they began to shake violently. Jin Ping'er even felt that the ground under her feet was shaking. However, Gui Li, who was standing not far from the two giant beasts in front, slowly regained his composure, with a hint of a faint smile at the corner of his mouth, completely disregarding the falling rocks and the ominous atmosphere around him.

  The gigantic black bat was also startled by the sudden appearance of the giant ape, but it still ferociously pounced over. Just as the gray shadow flashed by, Little Gray quickly dodged between the bat's claws and slipped in. Two huge palms reached forward and grabbed the roots of the bat's wings near its body.

  The bat let out a shrill scream, as if it felt fear for the first time, but the three red eyes in front of it were even more terrifying. The sharp fangs flashed by in the darkness, and then it let out a long wail towards the sky.

  That roar was like a tidal wave, rumbling through the cave and going forward with an unstoppable momentum, as if it were defiantly challenging all things in this world!

  Under the black and cyan flashing light, amidst the alternation of ferocity and anger, in the midst of the giant ape's frantic howling, its massive arms danced wildly, like a demon laughing maniacally!

  "Hiss!"

  Blue blood splattered instantly, a huge black bat was torn in two by the three-eyed spirit monkey and thrown far away.

  In the distance, that long echo still resonates, layer upon layer, endless and uninterrupted.

  The fury of one angry man can go this far!

  The giant ape slowly turned around, lowered its head and looked down, that man was still standing in place, staring at it.

  The blood-red glow in its eyes slowly disappeared, and suddenly it stretched out its hand to scratch its head, grinned, and quickly shrunk back to its original size, transforming into a small grey figure.

  It crouched on the ground, turned its head, looked at its master, and occasionally touched its forehead with its right hand. The long tail behind it swayed gently. Gu Yi looked at Xiao Hui, a warm smile slowly appearing in his eyes. Only when facing this monkey could he smile so wholeheartedly.

  He smiled and held out his hand.

  Xiao Hui "squeaked" a few times, jumped up with both feet, and quickly climbed back onto Gui Li's shoulders, lying down and grinning from ear to ear, looking very pleased.

  Guile thought for a moment, then reached out and picked up the little monkey Xiao Hui, holding it in both hands and examining it carefully from head to toe. The three-eyed gray monkey blinked its eyes together, unsure of what Guile was going to do next. Jinping also slowly walked forward at this time, standing aside and watching Guile with a thoughtful expression on her face, seemingly lost in thought.

  The demon king looked at Xiao Hui for a moment, nodded, put it back on his own shoulder, then stroked its head, and suddenly smiled:

  "After we go out, I'll buy you wine to drink!"

  Jin Bier was lost in thought, when suddenly she heard the words, and for a moment, she didn't react. Her mouth was agape, and her mind went blank for a split second. On the other hand, the monkey was taken aback at first, but then it burst into joy, chattering "hee hee hee" nonstop, jumping up and down on Gui Li's shoulders, baring its teeth and claws. After a moment, as if suddenly coming to its senses, it yanked off the large wine sack that had been slung over its shoulder for a long time but was now empty, without even looking at it, and flung it to the ground with all its might, producing a loud "thud" sound, sending dust flying high into the air.

  The ghostly figure smiled faintly and walked forward, gradually dissolving into the darkness. However, under the cyan glow, his silhouette stood out vividly in the dark, as did the gray-haired monkey's joyful silhouette, which seemed to be one with him, inseparable. Jinping'er slowly took a few steps forward, gazing at the silhouettes of the man and the monkey, and couldn't help but feel a chill run down her spine. Unbeknownst to her, the surroundings had gradually lost the illumination of Gui Li's Soul-Devouring Cyan Light, and darkness was falling. Jinping'er came back to herself, stretched out her right hand, and the purple glow reignited, reilluminating the surroundings.

  She steadied herself, just thinking of quickening her pace to catch up with Gui Li, when suddenly a black shadow flashed in the darkness ahead and came rushing towards her.

  Jin Bier was startled and hastily concentrated her mind to be on guard, but unexpectedly the figure crept closer, under the purple light, it turned out to be the little monkey Xiao Hui.

  Jin Bier wrinkled her brow, but she still felt relieved in her heart. She just didn't know what this strange and formidable monkey, which was as eccentric as its master, had come back for.

  Xiao Hui jumped a few times to the front of Jin Ping'er, looked around, and suddenly showed an angry expression on her face. She shouted loudly at Jin Ping'er. Jin Ping'er was startled, spread out her hands, and asked in surprise: "What are you doing?"

  Xiao Hui glared at Jin Ping with all three of his eyes, but Jin Ping, who was originally a stunning beauty, seemed to have no effect on the monkey. Xiao Hui looked displeased and pointed to the ground, whereupon Jin Ping looked down and let out an "ah" before taking a step back, only to find herself standing right on top of the large wine bag that Xiao Hui had discarded earlier.

  Xiao Hui resentfully picked up the wine bag again, dusted it off with his hand, and surprisingly hung the large wine bag back on himself. Jin Ping'er was both angry and amused in her heart, scolding: "Hey, dead monkey, that's something you threw away yourself, why are you being so fierce to me?"

  Xiao Hui let out two strange cries of "squeak squeak" in front of Jin Ping'er, bared his teeth and made a ghostly face, then suddenly turned around and scurried back, disappearing into the darkness ahead, apparently chasing after the fierce ghost.

  Jin Bier was stunned for a moment, and finally shook her head with a bitter smile, following him.

  ※※※

  Deep within the ancient demon cave, the flames in the fire basin continued to burn silently. The dusty past seemed to still linger in this quiet cavern, faintly reverberating. Neither the beast god nor the mysterious woman in black spoke a word; they both remained silent, as if still immersed in that unbearable past. Even the glutton beside them appeared to be sleeping, lying on the ground with a hint of fatigue.

  But just in this silence, suddenly, the glutton seemed to be startled by something, and it abruptly lifted its head from between its claws, its huge copper bell-like eyes staring towards the distant exit, emitting a piercing roar, with a hint of unease.

  The beast god slowly opened his eyes, slightly furrowed his brow, and in the darkness, it seemed that the woman also let out a soft "huh".

  That faint, distant howl, though somewhat weakened, still came from afar like a ferocious wild beast, breaking through the silence with abandon and arriving in an instant.

  "Someone has arrived." The beast god said calmly.

  The woman in the darkness fell silent for a moment, then suddenly sneered: "Someone can actually find this place, I'm afraid it's mostly that old man Yun Yiluan who sent someone over to die, and by the way, to probe your bottom."

  The beast god's face still looked tired, and he seemed to be indifferent, saying: "Whatever, I'm too lazy to care about it. However, these people have actually managed to enter the cave so deeply? Listening to that sound, it seems they've already passed the area where the black bat is. But if they can get into this cave, they'll probably be able to handle the black bat as well. The only thing is that there's a black tiger evil spirit at the entrance of the cave, and yet they were able to sneak in without making a sound. The black tiger didn't make any noise either, which means things are not simple."

  The woman's voice in the darkness suddenly said, "Since you are no longer an indestructible body, can your current serious injuries cope with these enemies of unknown strength?"

  The beast god smiled and said, "I don't know, but I'm not worried."

  The woman said: "Why?"

  "The beast god smiled and said: 'With you here, what am I afraid of?'"

  The woman's voice fell silent for a moment, then coldly laughed and said: "Whether you live or die has nothing to do with me. Don't think that just because I helped you once, I'll definitely help you again. With your kind of evil magic, although we have some connection, who knows when you might turn against me in the future? It's better for you to die sooner rather than later!"

  The beast god coughed twice, and his face seemed to still be in some pain, but the smile at the corner of his mouth didn't diminish in the slightest. He looked into the dark and said, "I'll die sooner or later, so you can rest assured. However, before that, aren't you supposed to comprehend this Wu tribe's inherited Eight Fiendish Mystical Fire Formation? If I were to die, wouldn't everything fall apart for you?"

  The woman snorted and said, "The formation is right here, what can you do to me?"

  "The Beast God smiled and said: 'The Eight Trigrams Mysterious Fire Formation Diagram that has been passed down to this day, only exists in two places - here and the Xiangxi Valley Mysterious Fire Altar. The diagram in Xiangxi Valley has already been damaged, so now it's just left with this place. You still haven't grasped the secrets of the formation, so I'm the only one who can activate it for you to study. If you had a Mysterious Fire Token in hand, you could also start the formation, but unfortunately, you don't have one.' He paused and a hint of melancholy flashed across his face, 'Now you should know that this formation was set up by Linglong back then to restrict me. If I were to die, this formation would also disappear into thin air, so wouldn't you end up with nothing?'"

  The woman fell silent for a moment before saying, "You win this time. I'll take care of these people."

  The beast god slowly shook his head and said, "It's not that I'm cruel, it's just that you have your own concerns, so you're restricted by others. However," he slowly raised his eyes, looking towards the depths of darkness, "can you tell me, who is it that you must take risks with me to comprehend this formation?"

  There was no answer, and the surroundings were silent. It seemed that just a moment ago, the mysterious woman in black had already walked far away. The flames in the fire bowl were still burning, reflected in the eyes of the beast god.

  The beast slowly stood up, continuously letting out low growls, appearing very uneasy. The Beast God silently stared at the empty darkness in front of him, silent.