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  Southern Xinjiang, the Great Mountains of Ten Thousand

  The chill of the cold wind gradually made people feel a sense of coldness, and the low-hanging black clouds in the sky and the increasingly obvious deep cave, all showed that the legendary devil's cave was getting closer. Lu Xueqi and others stood at a distance of tens of meters outside the Zhenmo Ancient Cave, gazing in the direction of the cave.

  In the distance, a stone statue stood alone at the entrance of the Town Demon Cave, its back to them and facing deep into the cave. There was nothing else around.

  Li Kun looked at the cave and seemed to be somewhat inexplicably tense, saying in a low voice: "It's here."

  The gloomy wind howled, seemingly suddenly rising several pitches, making people shudder. Lu Xueqi, Zeng Shushu, Li Kun and others were deeply rooted in the Tao, so they naturally didn't fear the yin energy contained in this gloomy wind. The dozen or so Fengxiang Valley disciples who followed them also looked like top-notch experts, and none of them showed much discomfort.

  Zeng Shu turned his head and said, "The demonic energy here is indeed extremely heavy. However, after observing for a long time, not a single demon beast has appeared, which is quite strange."

  Lu Xueqi nodded, but her calm and cold expression didn't change at all. She said lightly, "Since we've come here, let's just go ahead. If there are any magical beasts or evil spirits, it's better to deal with them sooner rather than later." After saying that, she didn't even wait for Li Xun and the others to respond, and directly walked forward.

  Li Kun and Zeng Shu exchanged a glance, Zeng Shu dryly laughed and shrugged his shoulders, following behind. Li Kun looked at the slender figure from behind, suddenly sighing quietly to himself. For him, that silhouette had appeared in his dreams countless times, but when they finally had the chance to be together, it seemed as though they were even farther apart.

  He hesitated for a moment, waved his hand and beckoned to his fellow disciples behind him, and followed suit.

  In the distance, near the mysterious stone elephant at the entrance of the Town Demon Ancient Cave, a black shadow suddenly flashed by and darted into the cave. It was Hei Mu's figure.

  Almost as soon as Hei Mu's figure flashed to the entrance of the cave, a low growl suddenly came from the depths of the cave, which was the voice of the fierce spirit Black Tiger. Immediately, the misty smoke in mid-air began to condense, and it seemed that the fierce spirit was about to reappear. Just at this moment, Hei Hu, who was hiding behind his black clothes, suddenly said in a low voice: "Big brother, don't come out yet, listen to me."

  The ferocious black tiger sneered, but the white mist continued to condense, apparently ignoring Hei Mu's words. "You beast, how dare you come back?"

  "Hei Mu stood in the shadow of a corner of the cave and said, 'After you appear, it's inevitable that you'll disturb these people who have come over. Today, there are many people coming to this Zhen Mo Gu Dong, what is going on? Don't you know yet?'"

  The white mist of the void suddenly stagnated in mid-air, neither increasing nor dispersing. After a moment, Hei Hu's voice coldly said: "What do you mean?"

  "Hei Mu said coldly, 'They came here to deal with the people in this cave. Isn't that what you wanted? Besides, you've already let someone in earlier, so why not let a few more in now? What's the harm?' "

  Outside the cave entrance, footsteps echoed in the distance. A line of people approached this ancient and mysterious cave.

  The white mist suddenly dispersed, and in the midst of the strong gusts blowing from the depths of the cave, it vanished into thin air. Almost simultaneously, Hei Mu's black figure also disappeared into the darkness.

  Lu Xueqi, Zeng Shushu and Li Kun's figures appeared in the next moment, standing at the entrance of the Demon-Suppressing Cave.

  Zeng Shu carefully looked into the depths of the cave, his brow furrowed in concern. The eerie atmosphere and heavy yin energy made him feel uneasy. Li Xun, standing beside him, also frowned slightly, but his eyes betrayed a hint of surprise and curiosity. He slowly paced back and forth near the entrance of the cave, but everything was quiet, except for the biting cold wind.

  This seemed to have left Li Xun somewhat perplexed, he gazed at the Demon-Suppressing Cave, gloomy and speechless, as if pondering something.

  Unlike the two men, after arriving outside this cave, Lu Xueqi quickly shifted her attention from the dark depths of the Town Demon Cave to the mysterious and lonely female stone statue beside it. She slowly walked in front of the statue, gazing at it intently.

  The stone statue of the woman had withstood countless years of wind, frost, rain and snow, and everywhere on her body could be seen signs of erosion. Yet, as if she were alive, Lu Xueqi clearly saw that the expression on the stone statue's face was still vivid and lifelike. Her countenance was faintly sorrowful, with a hint of heartache, and her eyes seemed to hold a deep sense of bewilderment, silently gazing into the depths of the mysterious ancient cave, as if waiting for something, yet also seeming to confide in it.

  But who else has heard her whispers over these millions of years?

  "Lu Shimei, Lu Shimei!"

  Suddenly, several surprised shouts came from the side, Lu Xueqi's whole body shook, and she involuntarily took a step back, waking up from her inexplicable daze, looking to the side.

  Zeng Shu's face showed a few parts surprise and concern, saying: "Lu Shimei, I called you several times, why did it seem like you didn't hear me at all?"

  Lu Xueqi's face turned slightly pale, and she slowly clenched her fists, which had been hanging by her waist. However, she discovered that her palms were somehow covered in cold sweat. She took a deep breath to calm down and said calmly, "It's nothing, what did you guys find?"

  Zeng Shu shook his head and said, "No, except for the eerie gusts of wind here, I haven't seen any traces of a single demon beast." He turned to Li Xuan and asked, "Li Shixiong, what did you discover?"

  Li Xuan fell silent for a moment, shook his head and said, "Nothing, but this place is really strange."

  Zeng Shuqiu said: "Strange, what's strange?"

  Li Xun was startled and hastily forced a smile, saying: "No, I was just looking at this place which was originally the lair of beast demons, but there are no beast demons coming or going, so I find it strange."

  Zeng Shu smiled and said: "That's also what I think, I'm feeling strange too, what about you, Lu Shi Mei?"

  Lu Xueqi did not answer immediately, and the bright and clear eyes slowly flashed with light, looking at Li Xun again. Li Xun suddenly coughed and turned his head to look at the other disciples of Fengxiang Valley, saying: "You few come over, don't be too far away."

  Lu Xueqi looked gloomy for a moment, then turned her head to look at the stone statue of the woman again and said: "No matter what, we've come here, so there's no reason to give up halfway. Let's go in."

  Zeng Shu nodded and said, "Not bad." After finishing speaking, he turned his head to Li Xuan and asked, "Brother Li, what do you think?"

  Li Kun still frowned, as if he had an unsolved thought hanging in his mind at this moment, but after a while, he said: "Lu Shimei is right, let's go in."

  Zeng Shu turned around and said, "Since that's the case, let's go in. However, this place is not ordinary, so we should be more careful. How about this? I'll lead the way first, Lu Shi Mei you follow closely behind me, Li Shi Xiong you bring up the rear, and the others will follow behind us with Huo Xiang Gu Shi Xiong in the middle, alright?"

  Li Kan nodded and was about to respond when Lu Xueqi suddenly said indifferently, "This won't do, let's change it."

  Zeng Shu and Li Xuan were both stunned, Zeng Shu said: "Lu Shi Mei, what do you mean?"

  Lu Xueqi hesitated for a moment, then said: "I'll go ahead, Zeng Shixiong will be at the back, and everyone else including Li Shixiong will be in the middle. Since Li Shixiong and you are all disciples of Fengxiang Valley, if something happens, it's good to have someone who can give orders."

  Li Kun's face changed slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but Zeng Shu had already smiled and said: "Ah, that makes sense, how did I not think of that? Lu Shimei is right, let's settle it then."

  Li Kun furrowed his brow, but ultimately closed his mouth and didn't speak, tacitly consenting. Lu Xueqi looked at him, then turned her head to say to Zeng Shushu: "Zeng Shixiong, you're walking in the back, with a better view, so you can see the overall situation and think strategically."

  Zeng Shu smiled slightly, suddenly in an angle that Li Xuan and the other disciples of Huo Xiang Valley couldn't see, with his back to them, he winked at Lu Xueqi, then laughed: "Don't worry, Lu Shimei, with me covering the rear, no trouble will arise, haha..."

  Lu Xueqi looked deeply at Zeng Shu, and suddenly a faint smile seemed to appear on the corner of her mouth, but it immediately disappeared. Even so, this fleeting beauty had already caused the young disciple of Fenghuagu, who was secretly glancing at her from afar, to be moved. Someone couldn't help but let out a sigh.

  Li Kun hummed, his face cold and stern, and suddenly disappeared without a trace. Lu Xueqi's expression turned icy again, looked around, and said, "We're going in." After that, he ignored everyone else and walked away first.

  Zeng Shu turned around and smiled at Li Xuan: "Li brother, let's go too."

  Li Xun nodded, beckoned to the other Fengxiang Valley disciples, and followed them. When everyone had entered the dark and profound cave with Jixue Qi, Zeng Shu seemed to be in no hurry, gazing at the surrounding scenery for a moment, as if thinking about something. After a while, he smiled mysteriously and slowly walked into the ancient cave.

  The heavy footsteps echoed from the darkness and into the transmission room, and the entrance to the demon cave fell silent once again. As the footsteps grew fainter and farther away, they finally disappeared, and a figure suddenly flashed in the darkness. The black wood figure emerged from the darkness and slowly walked to the front of the stone statue of the woman, silently gazing at the statue.

  Behind him, a faint white mist slowly rose and condensed, and the huge shadow of the ferocious black tiger reappeared. However, at this moment, he seemed to have no intention of immediately confronting Hei Mu with malicious words. Instead, he turned around and gazed into the darkness deep within the cave for a long time. Suddenly, he let out a cold laugh and said, "The people of Zhong Tu are always scheming against each other, never stopping even when they arrive here, and yet they still can't stop fighting."

  Hei Mu turned around and said lightly: "Human hearts have always been this way, don't mention them, even you and I, and even the empress back then, weren't they also like that?"

  "What?!" The gigantic body of the ferocious black tiger turned around, its speed so swift and rapid that it let out a muffled growl similar to that of a wild beast in mid-air. When he looked at his face again, it was already filled with rage, his eyes bulging to the extreme. All he heard was him roaring: "What did you say? You actually dare to insult the princess, and still in front of the princess's statue?"

  In front of this terrifying and gigantic corpse, Hei Mu's body looked extremely small, but somehow, although his face couldn't be seen clearly, from his calm tone, it could be heard that he didn't have the slightest hint of fear, rather, it seemed to be deep-seated fatigue.

  "Big brother, if the queen hadn't had a plan from the beginning, what do you think could have sealed that undying and indestructible demon in this ancient cave all these years?"

  The ferocious black tiger was obviously furious about this, but apparently didn't want to admit it, and roared: "What nonsense are you talking about? Those were all mother's back then!"

  "Alright." Suddenly, Hei Mu acted out of character and abruptly interrupted the fierce spirit Black Tiger's words, saying: "You don't have to always mention 'wife' this and 'wife' that. As for showing respect to your wife, I'm not one bit less than you."

  The enormous body of the ferocious black tiger stiffened for a moment, and his face involuntarily revealed a hint of astonishment. After a while, he didn't get angry, but instead, his expression became even calmer. Looking down at this family member from his past life, he suddenly smiled and said faintly, "What's wrong with you? In the past, Father would never speak to me like that."

  Hei Mu seemed to be self-mocking, coldly laughing for a moment before slowly shifting his gaze back onto the delicate stone statue of the witch girl Ling Leng. He spoke slowly: "Yes, I wouldn't have spoken like this in the past, but why have I become like this now? Even I don't know, who can tell me?"

  "The evil spirit Black Tiger said coldly: 'That's your own business, I'm not interested and don't want to know. Just tell me one thing.'"

  Hei Mu stared blankly at the exquisite stone elephant and said, "What?"

  "Back then, it was you who betrayed the will left behind by the mistress, committing a great evil and helping that demon find the five sacred artifacts of the Five Tribes of Nanjiang, bringing him back to life. But today, why are you letting me release this person into the cave, plotting against him?"

  "Hei Mu's gaze never left Linglong's stone statue, and after a long while, his voice was low and filled with sorrow as he said: 'Your Majesty was wrong to seal away the Beast God back then. We followed Your Majesty and demanded the art of longevity, which led to the creation of such monsters. I thought the Beast God was innocent, but unexpectedly it vented its anger on the world, causing this unprecedented disaster. I was also wrong.'"

  Hei Mu's face was ashen, his smile ghastly. Suddenly he turned around, opened his arms wide and let out a shrill cry, shouting towards the sky: "Wrong, wrong, wrong! So it turns out we were all wrong!"

  That cry echoed far and wide, the mountains responded, but the heavens were indifferent, as if nothing had ever changed, coldly gazing at the mortal world.

  The gigantic body of the ferocious black tiger stood by, also silencing as it gazed at the suddenly convulsing figure of Hei Mu. Not a word was spoken, it simply stood silently behind him, its complex eyes flickering slightly in their sockets, yet without a hint of tears.

  Whether it's him or Kuroki, in this desolate world, they have long lost the right to cry for thousands of years!

  It was only Lu Xueqi in the Demon-Subduing Cave, who suddenly seemed to feel something, stopped in her tracks, turned around and looked back at the road they had come from. Behind her, the road was pitch black and silent, with nothing but silence, not a single sound.

  It was just that sudden and intense palpitation, which had been surging in my heart for a long time without calming down.

  Li Xuan, who was following closely behind her, said in a low voice: "Lu Shimei, what's wrong? Have you found something?"

  Lu Xueqi slowly turned around in the darkness, facing forward, but there was also a vast and profound darkness.

  She stood in the darkness, silent for a moment, then softly said: "Nothing, let's keep going." She took a deep breath in the darkness, gathered her spirits, and walked forward with her head held high. The darkness before her quietly dispersed because from her hands, the Tianjue divine sword gradually lit up, its gentle pale blue light softly enveloping her back, looking like a dream.

  Behind him, countless people held their breath in an instant.

  Only then did that beautiful figure resolutely walk towards the dark path ahead, although she looked a bit lonely, but without any hesitation.

  This road, this life, how should it be walked?

  She didn't look back.

  Deep within the ancient demon cave.

  The flame was quietly burning in that ancient fire basin, but if you looked closely, you would find that under the light of the fire, there was no wood or oil to be seen in the fire basin, and this continuously burning flame seemed to be a rootless fire.

  The flames danced in mid-air, tongues of fire flickering, illuminating the face of the beast god and casting a shadow on the figure of the man who was slowly approaching.

  The ghost walked to the other end of the flames, his face slowly appeared in the light, and at the same time saw a familiar face in front of him.

  Still sitting on the ground leaning against the small stone pedestal, the beast god smiled slightly and looked up and down at Gui Li, saying: "I knew someone would come sooner or later, but I didn't expect it to be you who arrived first." He paused for a moment, smiling and said: "Looking at your expression when you saw me just now, you don't seem surprised. Did you already know my identity before we met this time?"

  The demon slowly shook his head, facing this young and gentle-looking man, it was really hard to associate him with the beast demon who brought a catastrophe to the entire world, but this was indeed the fact.

  "I found out later." He replied calmly.

  The beast god looked at him and said gently, "Oh, I'm very interested. How did you guess it? Was it from the rumors of my appearance, or my clothes, or my various actions that you guessed my identity?"

  "Neither is," Gui Li said.

  The beast god seemed to come with interest and said: "Oh, what is that?"

  The ghost turned to him and said, "It's it."

  The beast god nodded slowly and said, "Not bad, this is indeed the best method, it can't go wrong." Beside him, the giant beast let out a low growl.

  The beast god stretched out his hand, but from a distance, the ghostly figure could also see that the hand was unusually pale, as if it didn't look like a human hand at all. The withered hand seemed to be the same as when he saw the great witch in Qiuli Valley.

  Just as the seemingly weak hand patted a few times, it seemed to get some comfort, and the beast god calmed down, slowly lying on the ground. At the same time, the little monkey Xiao Hui, who had been waiting on Gui Li's shoulder, slowly slid down, touched his head on the ground, and looked at Gui Li and Beast God again, seemingly feeling that there was no strong hostility between these two people as expected.

  It thought for a moment, then slowly, slowly approached the glutton, who also seemed to have noticed this, turned his head and stared at the gray-haired three-eyed monkey's approach. Soon, Xiao Hui approached the glutton's side, smiled with its mouth open, spread its hands, and even wagged its tail behind it. Then, it slowly stretched out its hand and reached for the glutton's head.

  The line of sight between Gui Li and Shou Shen was temporarily attracted to Xiao Hui, but the two of them didn't speak, they just silently watched. Watching Xiao Hui's movements, Gui Li suddenly had a stir in his heart, it was as if he had seen this before, many years ago, when he was still the ordinary Zhang Xiaofan, on Da Zhu Peak, Xiao Hui was also like that with Tian Naiyi's big dog.

  The beast slowly straightened its body, but didn't immediately stand up. It seemed to be somewhat perplexed. It turned its head to look at its master, the Beast God, who appeared to be nonchalant and showed no signs of displeasure. Then it turned back around, just as Xiaohui's hand was about to reach its head.

  In the midst of their meal, suddenly a low and loud snort was heard from the nose of the boar, as if it were showing off. Xiao Hui was startled and quickly withdrew his arm, only to find that the boar had not made any attacking moves, but was instead watching him vigilantly with its eyes.

  Xiao Hui let out a chuckle and jumped up and down on the ground, then suddenly leaped forward and landed beside Tian Gu. Tian Gu was clearly startled, shrinking back in surprise, but Xiao Hui had already slowly reached out to touch its head. To him, Tian Gu's terrifying and ferocious skull seemed instead to be a very intimate place.

  Gluttony let out a low, rumbling growl from its massive mouth, seemingly complaining about something. But after a moment, it slowly lay back down on the ground, resting its head on its own arm, looking somewhat drowsy. Xiao Hui sat on top of Gluttony's body, occasionally letting out soft "squeaks" of laughter as it gently stroked Gluttony's head.

  Between the two spiritual beasts, it seemed as if there was no longer any distance between them.

  The gazes of Kii and Shishin slowly withdrew from them, and for a moment, they both fell silent.

  It wasn't long before the beast god suddenly smiled and said, "Actually, they are happier than us, aren't they?"

  The ghost did not speak.