Guī Lì's gaze was fixed on Jīn Píng'er for a long time, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, but he didn't say a word. Under Guī Lì's subtle yet piercing gaze, however, Jīn Píng'er seemed completely nonchalant, as if she didn't think her words were inappropriate at all, and smiled brightly at Guī Lì.

  In the Xuanhuo altar, it suddenly became quiet. The little monkey Xiao Hui, who was lying on Gui Li's shoulder, seemed to dislike this atmosphere and moved its body, making a "squeak" sound twice, then jumped down from its master's shoulder and landed on the ground, looking around with its head before walking away by itself to the center of the Xuanhuo altar where there were countless red fierce gods carved.

  The demon slowly withdrew his gaze, looked at the little gray who was lying on the ground with great interest making faces at those fierce god patterns, and said slowly: "So to speak, you know a lot?"

  Jin Ping'er smiled slightly, her smile warm and gentle like a spring breeze, lightly sweeping across the cold palace hall, saying:

  "I'm just a weak and timid woman, how would I know anything? It's just that in the past, I was fortunate enough to have been to a few places, and the Ghost King valued me, so I came to assist you."

  She smiled and said, "Don't think too much about it!"

  The demon's brow furrowed in silence, and he didn't bother to respond to the subtle flirtation hidden in Jinping'er's gentle voice. After a moment of contemplation, he seemed to have suddenly forgotten why Jinping'er had appeared here so abruptly, and also forgot about the mysterious and eerie atmosphere that shrouded Jinping'er and even the Demon King himself. He simply said faintly, "In that case, I'll have to ask for your guidance."

  Jin Bier's eyes flashed with a hint of sharpness, but her face still wore a gentle and charming smile as she said, "Please speak, young master."

  Guili Dao said, "It seems you arrived here before me. As you said, the legend says that to subdue the Beast God, one must have the 'Eight Trigrams Mysterious Fire Formation' from this place. However, I'm not clever enough and can't figure it out. Does Miss Jin have any insights?"

  Jin Ping'er shook her head, and a hint of bitter smile seemed to appear on her face. "To be honest with you," she said, "I've actually been here at the Xuanhuo Altar for three days now, but I haven't gained anything. Apart from these messy images carved on the ground, I haven't discovered anything."

  The ghost's gaze suddenly fell on the dark red pattern at his feet, and unlike Jinpinger, including Xiaohui, he had personally experienced the power of the mysterious array in this Xuanhuo altar. The momentum that day was like a mountain collapse, and the terrifying flame beast was not a memory that could be easily forgotten. Perhaps it was because of this that Xiaohui was so interested in pouncing on the ground, scratching here and there, as if searching for something?

  Wasn't it that on that day, after the shocking and earth-shaking change, the volcanic lava burst into the sky and actually damaged the formation here?

  A thought flashed through Gui Li's mind, but he didn't express it. After a moment of contemplation, he looked at Jin Pinger again and said: "Miss Jin, no matter what, this is the only place we know that has the 'Eight Fiendish Mystical Fire Formation'. Since the Town Sealing Beast God can't do without it, why don't we stay here for a few more days? Perhaps there's still some hope."

  Jin Bier smiled and said, "Good."

  The demon king glanced at her, then withdrew his gaze and sat back down in front of the array diagrams on the ground. Before long, a faint fragrance wafted over, and a light rustling sound could be heard as Jinpinger also sat down not far from him. The distance between the two people seemed to have decreased slightly.

  The ghost's eyebrows furrowed, wanting to speak but stopping himself. He didn't even glance at the beauty beside him, only focusing his attention on this painting, yet somehow, in his heart, another thought suddenly emerged:

  On that day, Xiaobai said she was going to the southern border to find the 'Eight Trigrams Mysterious Fire Formation' manual, but there has been no news from her for a long time, and I don't know how she is now; while it seems that only this place in the world has clues about the Eight Trigrams Mysterious Fire Formation, but Xiaobai is obviously not here, so where will she be now?

  Is she all right...

  This faint idea kept flashing in Gui Li's mind over the next few days.

  ※※※

  It was just that the destruction caused by that sudden volcanic eruption on that day was even more unexpected, although the ferocious stone carvings on the ground still looked intact, but obviously they no longer had the spiritual energy or the powerful aura they once contained, and now they were just a few stiff stone carvings.

  Guilian and Jinpinger meditated together in the Xuanhuo altar for seven whole days, still without gaining anything.

  Meanwhile, some of Feng Xiang's disciples would occasionally come to inspect the place. There were even a few times when Feng Xiang himself led people over for routine inspections. However, today's Gui Li and Jin Ping Er had already made great progress in their cultivation and hid themselves in the dark area above the altar, easily evading these searches.

  It's really frustrating to always fail to grasp the key points.

  That day, the two of them sat in front of these stiff and rigid stone carvings for an entire morning. Suddenly, Jinping stretched her waist, and her slender figure seemed to be like a seductive snake's body, with a captivating charm that could entice one's soul. Unfortunately, at this moment, the only man by her side was still staring intently at the stone carvings on the ground, deep in thought, without noticing Jinping's enchanting performance.

  Jin Ping'er hummed softly, glared at Gui Li with a complex emotion flashing in her eyes, but it was only fleeting. A moment later, she let out a sigh and said, "What did you figure out?"

  The ghost's body moved slightly, and he slowly came back to his senses. He turned his head to look at Jin Ping'er, shook his head and said, "And you?"

  Jin Ping'er let out a bitter laugh and didn't respond, but Gui Li had already understood.

  "We've been staring at these ghostly things for seven days now. In these seven days, we've done our best, but not only can't we activate this formation, even touching some of the stone carvings is impossible - what's going on here?"

  The demon's expression turned solemn as he pondered for a moment, then looked up at the dark area above and said, "It was when I came to rescue someone that day that I triggered the mechanism in this hall, causing the Eight Fiends' Mysterious Fire Formation to be activated immediately. But..."

  He glanced at the central hall with a strange tone in his voice and said, "But that mechanism is now gone."

  Jin Bao'er followed his gaze and indeed saw a small stone pedestal protruding from the center of the hall, but it was charred and solidified into an unsightly lump, which didn't look like any ingenious mechanism.

  In fact, as soon as Gui Li arrived at this place and saw this scene, he knew that the first time he came here, the strange stone mechanism had already been destroyed. And when he came last time and saw those fierce stone carvings on the ground, his heart was filled with all kinds of violent and brutal auras, but this time, he didn't feel any of them at all.

  This piece of stone carving, which was once terrifying, has now become a lifeless and dead object.

  Two people fell into silence, not knowing what to say. After a while, Jinping seemed to think of something and raised her head, just about to speak, when suddenly her face changed and Gui Li's eyebrows furrowed. She turned around, and in the blink of an eye, she swooped down beside the little grey creature playing nearby, picked up the monkey, and with a flicker of movement, disappeared into the darkness above the Xuanhuo Temple hall.

  Jin Ping'er gazed at his figure with a clever glint in her eye as it disappeared into the darkness, smiled faintly, and then floated up herself, also disappearing into the dark.

  A moment later, a "creak" sound echoed through the main hall of the Xuanhuo Temple.

  The door was opened...

  The sound of footsteps echoed at the door, and it seemed that there were not a few people. However, a majestic voice was faintly heard among them, saying a few words before falling silent. Immediately afterwards, three men walked in from the open door.

  The first person was surprisingly Yun Yilun, the master of Fengxiang Valley. Following closely behind him, half a body length to his right, was his junior fellow apprentice Shangguan Ce. The last person, several steps away from the front two, was Yun Yilun's proud disciple Li Xuan.

  After the three people entered the Xuanhuo Altar, Li Xun, who was walking last, turned around and closed the thick door. The original light was immediately blocked outside, leaving only a faint darkness slowly flashing in here.

  ※※※

  Lost the former array spirit, originally icy Xuanhuo altar above three layers, now has long lost that bitter cold, leaving only a huge and hard rock indifferent. In the darkness, Gui Li and Jinping quietly passed through the dark hole, looking down in the darkness.

  It seems that Xiao Hui also knew that this time was no better than before, and the normally energetic little grey had become much quieter, obediently lying beside its owner.

  Yun Yiluan and Shangguan Ce walked slowly to the center of the Xuanhuo Altar, standing on top of the former Eight Fiends Xuanhuo Formation. From a distance, his face seemed to be shrouded in shadows as well.

  The three people below stood there, silent for a long time, without speaking, and the atmosphere was somewhat strange. And above their heads, Gui Li seemed to have noticed something, looked at Jin Ping'er, but happened to see that Jin Ping'er was also looking at him. Both of them saw the faint confusion in each other's eyes.

  Yun Yi Lan looked like he was frowning, perhaps his mood should have been that way from the start. Anyone who saw their years of hard work turn out like this would likely be in a bad mood. However, at first glance, his face seemed expressionless. But as you looked longer, it gave off an elusive and ever-changing feeling. Yet, if you observed carefully, you'd find that his facial expression had never actually changed; the only thing that had changed was your own perception.

  At least during those days in Qingyun Mountain, no one in the world would see this expression of his.

  After a long time, Yun Yi's gaze, which had been drifting aimlessly, finally came to rest on the strange red stone carvings on the Xuanhuo altar. He moved his eyes from one end to the other, from one side to the other, and then slowly walked to the center of the stone carving image, where a small blackened stone platform protruded. He stretched out his hand and gently stroked the stone.

  "How long has it been?" Yun Yilan suddenly spoke up, her voice low and husky as she asked this abrupt question.

  Shangguan Ce stood beside him, looking at his expression, which didn't show any surprise due to Yun Yiluan's sudden question. Apparently, he seemed to understand some things in his heart, but he didn't intend to answer and instead turned his head to look at Li Xun who was standing three steps behind the two of them.

  Li Kun's head slightly lowered, his expression respectful, his eyes closed, and he didn't make a sound.

  There was no turning back, but Yun Yiluan seemed to know everything behind him, and said lightly: "Xun Er is not an outsider, in the future he will also take over Fengxiang Valley, so there's no need to hide these things from him."

  Shangguan Ce's body trembled slightly, then calmed down. After a moment of silence, he said: "From the preparation to the formal summoning, it has been exactly thirty days since today, and 'Chi Yan Ming Zun' has not responded yet."

  Yun Yi Lan's face didn't change in the slightest, at most only his eyes flickered a few times, but the feeling it gave people was as if it had suddenly become even more gloomy. And above the Xuanhuo Altar, Gui Li's heart moved, not because he was surprised that Fengxiang Valley was also unable to repair this strange formation, but rather because Shangguan Ce had just mentioned something called "Chiyan Mingzun", which touched a certain place deep in his memory. Almost subconsciously, he felt what Shangguan Ce was referring to -

  That beast, whose entire body was wrapped in flames and was fiercely wild, could it be the key to the legendary Eight Trigrams Mysterious Fire Formation that had been shrouded in mystery for ages?

  The atmosphere in the Xuanhuo altar was somewhat strange, Yun Yilun's face didn't look good, he didn't speak, just pacing back and forth in the hall, as if thinking about some problem. Shangguan Ce also only looked at his master's figure, without speaking. As for Li Xun standing aside, he seemed to have maintained a humble posture, not saying a word.

  As time passed, Yun Yiluan's eyebrows gradually furrowed, and a sharp glint appeared in his eyes, as if something was fiercely struggling in his mind. But finally, he suddenly stopped in his tracks, took a deep breath, turned his head and looked back at Shangguan Ce and Li Xun.

  Shangguan Ce looked at Yun Yiluan and called out in a low voice, "Shixiong?"

  Yun Yi Lan seemed to have made up her mind, and without further hesitation, she said coldly: "Shangguan Shidi, the importance of this formation in the Xuanhuo Altar doesn't need to be explained. No matter what, it must be restored; otherwise, we won't have any other way to deal with him!"

  Shangguan Ce nodded slightly, without saying a word, but in the dark distance above the heads of these three people, Gui Li and Jinping'er were both startled at the same time.

  He?

  Who is he?

  Who did Fengxiang Valley want to use this strange formation against?

  In the quiet and mysterious altar, what was flowing at this moment seemed to be all intangible dark auras. However, the words Yun Yi Lan said next turned the faintly discernible darkness around them into cold and icy frost:

  "On that day, the lava erupted, causing great damage to the formation. The spiritual energy that our family had been absorbing for hundreds of years in Xiangxiang Valley was depleted, and we also lost the key to the formation, 'Xuanhuo Mirror'. That's why we can't summon Chiyan Mingzun to restart the formation. Originally, if that person hadn't appeared, it wouldn't have mattered, we could have started from scratch again. But now, we need to use this formation urgently." Yun Yiluo let out a cold hum, and three deep wrinkles slowly appeared between her eyebrows, revealing a hint of murderous intent. Her voice also became increasingly indifferent.

  Shangguan Ce's eyebrows were also deeply furrowed, but there was a hint of surprise on his face, and he exclaimed: "What? Could it be that Shifu has some other way to do it?"

  Yun Yi Lan's eyes seemed to flicker slightly, and she said: "The formation in the Xuanhuo Altar is set up according to the records of our sect's ancestors based on the 'Burning Incense Jade Book'. In the last part of the jade book, one of the ancestors wrote a note that seems to be an adventurous method to deal with the current situation where the Xuanhuo Mirror is lost and the Xuanhuo Formation cannot be activated. Maybe it can work."

  Shangguan Ce and Li Xuan's faces were both stunned, then overjoyed. "Burning Incense Jade Book" was the most precious treasure of Burning Incense Valley, which only the valley master could keep and comprehend. Since Yun Yilun said so, it seemed that there really was a brilliant and extraordinary ancestor who left behind an ingenious method.

  Shangguan Ce smiled and said: "Master brother, what is the wonderful method that the ancestor spoke of?"

  Yun Yiluan watched the excitement of the two with a serious expression, his face showing no joy. Instead, he seemed even more somber and silent for a moment before speaking slowly: "The ancestor who wrote in 'Burning Incense Jade Book' said: The Xuanhuo Array is born from the convergence of heaven and earth's evil energy, the Red Flame Beast is ferocious and violent, the spirit that the array diagram inherits is also one of the Eight Desolate Evil Gods. Based on this, if we examine the ancient books of the Southern Border, it should be said that using living people's blood as a sacrifice will make the evil energy thrive and all gods return to their positions, the ferocious beast appears and the fire array is formed."

  Shangguan Ce and Li Xun's faces changed drastically, they looked at each other in dismay, for a moment neither of them could utter a word.

  After a while, Shangguan Ce finally calmed down from his shocked and uncertain emotions, and hoarsely asked: "I-is this really written by the founder of our sect?"

  Yun Yi Han snorted and said: "Shangguan Shidi, are you suspecting that I'm impersonating the Ancestor to do this evil deed?"

  Shangguan Ce's face changed again, and he hastily said: "I don't dare, it's just that this matter of using the blood of a living person for sacrifice is clearly a demonic art, how can it appear on our sect's Jade Register..."

  Yun Yi Lan directly cut off Shang Guan Ce's words, coldly saying: "What you said is not wrong. Although this ancestor wrote down these words, no one has ever tried this method."

  Shangguan Ce looked at Yun Yiluan's gaze towards him, and suddenly felt a chill run down his entire body. He couldn't help but take a step back, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Li Xun standing behind him, whose face was ashen, looking utterly unwell.

  "Big brother, could it be that...?" Shangguan Ce seemed to have never spoken with such difficulty before, "Could it be that you plan on using this method?"

  Yun Yi's eyebrows rose, her expression stern but not angry. She coldly smiled and said: "If we don't use this method, what can we do? We've worked hard for hundreds of years, and just as things are about to come together, all these problems have arisen. Now even the most important formation has been destroyed. Do you want me to watch as all our past efforts go down the drain?"

  Shangguan Ce seemed to still have some doubts and argued: "Senior brother, big things are naturally urgent, but this method is really too much..."

  Yun Yi Leng coldly interrupted him, saying: "Shangguan Shidi, you persist in this way, is it not that your heart still retains a hint of understanding as an Orthodox cultivator? Over the years, for the sake of this great undertaking, what you have done is not entirely Orthodox either."

  Shangguan Ce was taken aback for a moment.

  Yun Yi's eyes were sharp as a knife, seeming to pierce through one's heart, staring at Shangguan Ce, saying: "And, Shangguan Shi-di, that day the Xuanhuo Altar was our sect's important place, precisely because you were in charge of guarding it. Who would have thought that it was actually under your care that today's disaster occurred? Do you know?"

  Shangguan Ce's body shook violently, and he suddenly lifted his head up. However, all he saw was Yun Yiluan's icy gaze, sharp as a knife, staring at him. Shangguan Ce's face was filled with agitation, his body trembling slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but somehow, under Yun Yiluan's gaze, he slowly retreated back. After a while, his face turned pale and defeated, and he said in a low voice: "I understand."

  Yun Yi Lan nodded and said: "Since that's the case, then you'll be in charge of this matter. Besides, Xuan Er," he turned his head to look at Li Xuan.

  Li Kun's face was also unusual at this moment. Suddenly hearing the master's call, his body was shocked, and he hurriedly said: "The disciple is here."

  Yun Yi Lan glanced at him and said: "You just follow your Master Uncle Shang, learn well, and also help him with his work."

  Li Kun's face turned pale, his voice suddenly hoarse, but he still said in a low tone: "Yes."

  Yun Yi Lan took one last look at the stone carvings on the ground, furrowed her brow, turned around and walked out without looking back. The heavy gate creaked shut behind her, leaving only Shangguan Ce and Li Xuan standing face to face in silence.

  For a long time, without saying a word, these two people slowly walked out as well.

  The Xuanhuo altar fell into silence once again.

  ※※※

  In mid-air, a faint sound echoed, and two figures floated gently down from the top. Xiao Hui chirped twice, jumped up and down on the ground, and then ran off to play on one side. In the first few days, it seemed to be quite interested in the stone carvings on the ground, but after several days, under the same circumstances, the monkey also lost interest.

  Gui Li and Jin Ping'er stood firmly on the ground, but for a moment, neither of them spoke. The atmosphere around them was still somewhat chilly, as if the strange aura that Yun Yiluan had emitted earlier had not dissipated yet.

  After a while, Jin Bao'er suddenly said: "What kind of person do you think that 'he' they mentioned just now is?"

  Gui Li looked at her and asked instead of answering: "What do you think?"

  Jin Ping'er smiled slightly and said, "I'm 90% sure they're talking about the Beast God. However, from their conversation just now, I'm not sure if they know where that Beast God is."

  Guilei nodded silently and said, "There's another thing, the Eight Fiends' Xuanhuo Formation is right here in the Xuanhuo Altar. From their tone, it seems they also want to use this formation to deal with the Beast God. Did they anticipate that the Beast God would definitely come to the Xuanhuo Altar? Or can this formation actually be moved?"

  Jin Ping'er's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, and it was clear that there were many details she couldn't understand either. For a moment, she fell into deep thought.

  The fierce gaze slowly shifted, falling onto the ferocious and sinister stone carvings on the ground. After a moment of silence, he suddenly let out a cold laugh and said: "Is this what they call the righteous path? Using the blood of living people to worship evil gods... Hmph, even in the demonic sects, I've never seen anything like this..."

  He hadn't finished speaking when suddenly, only the clear and crisp laughter of Jin Ping'er was heard from beside him. Within it, there was a faintly discernible strange tone, seemingly cold and mocking, yet also seemingly with a hint of hidden fear. "You, how do you know that such things don't exist within our Holy Sect?"

  Gui Lie's body shook, and he turned his head to look at her. He saw Jin Ping'er smiling and standing still, but she had already turned her head away and was no longer looking at him. Gui Lie frowned and said coldly: "What do you mean by these words..."

  Suddenly, the last "thought" word in his words had not been spoken, and Gui Lian's voice was hoarse. In that instant, he suddenly remembered when the great witch doctor treated Bi Yao, asking the ghost king to draw a blood array with fresh blood.

  The Demon King had almost instantly produced a sufficient quantity of fresh blood.

  That basin of blood-soaked fresh blood, yet where did it come from...

  The ghost stood there stiffly, feeling an icy chill all over his body, and suddenly he couldn't say another word.