After a while, Zeng Shu and others finally came back to their senses. The three of them looked at each other, and they all saw the utmost shock in each other's eyes. But what was different was that Lu Xueqi and Wen Min, the two women, had more panic and confusion in their eyes.

  "This secret, which only a few of Da Zhutai's and Xiao Zhutai's disciples knew about, and was privately ordered by Dao Xuan Zhenren several times not to be leaked, has actually been revealed?"

  Unlike Wen Mian and Lu Xueqi, Zeng Shu was more surprised by the news itself that "Zhuxian Ancient Sword" was damaged and unknown. However, after regaining his composure, he burst out laughing and said with a relaxed expression: "Cloud Master, why are you playing a joke on us three juniors? I almost got scared to death just now! The Zhuxian Ancient Sword is the supreme treasure of Qingyun Gate, personally kept by the gate master. How could it be damaged?"

  Among the laughter, Zeng Shu continued to shake his head and smile, turning to look at the two companions beside him, wanting to see their reaction to this ridiculous rumor. However, after he turned around, the smile on his face slightly froze. Lu Xueqi and Wen Min's faces had not a hint of a smile, instead, the two women furrowed their brows, their complexions seemingly pale.

  Above the hall, only Zeng Shu's laughter echoed, and quickly subsided. Yun Yiluan smiled slightly and said: "It turns out that it was a rumor, then it would be best, otherwise the destruction of the Xianjian ancient sword would really be a shocking event in the world."

  Lu Xueqi suddenly took a step forward, coldly saying to Yun Yiluan: "Elder Yun, this matter is naturally just an unfounded rumor, not worth believing. But I don't know how you came to hear such a baseless and despicable rumor?"

  As the conversation went on, Lu Xueqi's voice became increasingly cold and detached, sounding somewhat rude. However, Yun Yilun seemed well-cultivated and didn't take offense at Lu Xueqi's attitude, still maintaining his warm demeanor as he waved his hand and said: "Actually, this rumor only started circulating in the southern border recently. I overheard some of my junior disciples talking about it, but I thought it was probably just a baseless rumor. Thinking about it now, with Daoxuan Shixiong's abilities, how could such an absurd thing happen? But since several of you have come, I'll take this opportunity to ask: from what the three of you have said, I can see that it's indeed just a rumor. My heart is truly relieved! Hehe."

  She smiled and spoke out, looking very happy. Lu Xueqi and the other two slightly furrowed their brows, this kind of thing, how can it be casually asked in public? Moreover, Yun Yilans identity is not ordinary, how can such rumors be directly asked face to face? Thinking about it, he probably has another idea.

  In Yun Yilang's laughter, the three people of Qingyunmen fell silent. Lu Xueqi's face was as frosty as ever, her eyes gleaming with an increasingly sharp light. Wen Mian's expression was also extremely unpleasant to look at. Zeng Shushu, being smooth and tactful, saw that the atmosphere in the scene was becoming more and more awkward, so he hastily coughed and stood up in front of Lu Xueqi, bowing his hands and saying: "Cloud Master, esteemed seniors sent us to Nanjiang to track down the beast demon's trail. Do you have any leads to share with us? Otherwise, we'll just be running around blindly."

  Yun Yiluan glanced at Zeng Shushu, nodded slightly, but didn't speak. He looked back and Li Xun understood, taking a step forward, bowing his hands to Zeng Shushu: "Zeng Shixiong, I'm Li Xun, under the master's orders, I'll be your guide in Nanzhong for this period of time, for all of you..."

  "Hmph!" A faintly angry cold hum came from the side, before Li Xun had even finished speaking. Li Xun's words paused, and his face suddenly turned ugly, but fortunately Wen Min was quick-witted and hastily laughed: "Li Shixiong, there's no need to trouble you with this, we also have someone among us who has been to Nanzhong before, so we still know some of the roads."

  Li Xuan took a deep breath, his eyes darting to the side where the white-clad figure stood, and his lips twitched slightly. Suddenly, all his anger seemed to dissipate, replaced by a soft sigh, and he said with a bitter smile: "Sister, it's not that I want to do anything, but recently our sect has received news about the missing Beast God."

  As soon as this was said, Lu Xueqi, Zeng Shushu and Wen Min's three people suddenly changed their expressions. Zeng Shushu happily asked: "Is this really true?"

  Li Xun nodded and said, "Not bad. In any case, the foundation of Huixiang Valley in Nanjiang for hundreds of years is still more familiar than others." After speaking, he intentionally or unintentionally glanced at Lu Xueqi again, and Lu Xueqi's face was indifferent, turning her head away.

  "Where is the Beast God at this moment?"

  "According to our information, that demon has fled into the depths of the mysterious and profound Ten Thousand Great Mountains, heading towards his lair."

  Zeng Shu and others were all stunned, saying: "Ten million Great Mountains?"

  Li Kan nodded and said, "That's right. There's no need for me to say more, I'm sure you've all heard about it before. The place is full of danger and mystery, one of the most evil places in the world. Originally, if you hadn't come, I was going to lead my fellow disciples to go to the Ten Thousand Great Mountains to search for something. Now that the three of you are here, we can travel together, isn't that better? I have no other intentions, it's just that having lived in the Southern Border for many years, I know a bit about the mysterious and treacherous Ten Thousand Great Mountains. If I were to be your guide, perhaps it would be beneficial for all of you."

  He sneered twice after finishing speaking.

  Zeng Shu furrowed his brow and glanced at Wen Min and Lu Xueqi behind him, saying: "Wait a moment, Brother Li. The three of us need to discuss something."

  Li Xuan nodded and said, "Please proceed, everyone."

  Zeng Shu-shu and the other two retreated to one side, speaking in hushed tones. From Li Xuan's perspective, most of the time it was Zeng Shu-shu who was talking, occasionally Wen Min would interject with a couple of sentences, while Lu Xue-qi remained silent, only nodding or shaking her head from time to time.

  That woman in white, as if forever so ethereal and otherworldly, stood there quietly. Li Xun gazed at Lu Xueqi from afar, for a moment seemingly entranced. Just then, someone suddenly patted his shoulder, and Li Xun's heart skipped a beat, unable to believe that someone had sneaked up so close without him noticing; he hastily turned around, only to find it was Yun Yilan.

  Li Kun's face turned red and he said in a low voice: "Master, I was impolite. Is there something?"

  Yun Yi Lan glanced at Lu Xue Qi and said expressionlessly: "Don't forget the burden on your own body."

  Li Kun's body shook slightly, and he said in a low voice: "The disciple understands."

  Yun Yi Lan nodded and said, "You take care of them, I'll go first." After speaking, he didn't even bid farewell to the three people from Qingyunmen, and walked away on his own. Li Xuan watched as Yun Yi Lan's figure disappeared behind the door of Shanhe Hall, with a mix of emotions in his heart, and an uncertain expression on his face.

  At this time, the three people from Zeng Shu's side seemed to have already discussed and agreed on something, and walked back. Zeng Shu walked over with a smile on his face, saying: "Li Shixiong, we three have come to an agreement, what about Yun Shibo?"

  Li Xun said with a hint of apology: "My family master had something urgent to attend to, and seeing that the three of you were in discussion, he instructed me not to disturb you, so he left first. Please forgive my rudeness."

  Zeng Shu hastily said, "No, no, it's us who were too rude. If there was anything wrong earlier, please, Li Shixiong, you must tell Yún Shībó about it. We are juniors and don't know the rules or the heights of heaven and earth. It would be better if he didn't mind."

  Zeng Shu's words flowed out of his mouth like a stream, and Lu Xueqi and Wen Min's faces were slightly embarrassed. However, Zeng Shu was calm and composed, not showing any signs of embarrassment at all. Li Xu also smiled and nodded, saying no more than: "What is the result of their discussion?"

  Zeng Shu cupped his hands and said, "This time I'm still going to have to trouble Brother Li."

  Li Kan's face flashed with joy, and he returned the courtesy: "Where, where, we are originally a family of righteousness, it is only natural that we should do so." As he spoke, his gaze swept towards Lu Xueqi, then returned, and he coughed, saying: "However, the Great Mountains of Ten Thousand are indeed a treacherous place. You all still need to make early preparations. Come, I'll first tell you some things that require attention."

  Zeng Shu smiled and said: "Thanks for your trouble, Master Li." As he spoke, he turned his head and beckoned with his hand, saying: "Two sisters, come over quickly and listen together."

  Lu Xueqi furrowed her brow, seemingly somewhat unwilling, but was pulled by Wen Min on the side and still walked over.

  A low voice echoed in the mountains and rivers hall

  ※※※

  Deep in the mountains of Ten Thousand Great Mountains, leaving behind the last hint of darkness, crossing over the last crooked old tree, Gui Li and Jin Ping Er finally walked out of this dark forest. Outside the forest, on this day, it was a rare warm sunshine that could be seen in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, shining down warmly, brushing against their bodies, falling on those twisted trees, but still unable to shine into that mysterious and eerie forest.

  Jin Bao'er opened her arms, although she had been here once before, but walking out of this forest was still a feeling of relief for her. Indeed, if one walked in a forest filled with poisonous insects and drizzle for several days, no one would be in a good mood.

  Standing outside the forest, it's as if the breath in his body has become warmer and more comfortable. Jin Ping'er took a deep breath with satisfaction, turned her head to look at Gui Li, and saw that Gui Li's face, which had just walked out of the dark forest, still had an air of indifference, but also showed a clear sign of relief.

  After a brief pause to catch his breath, he looked up and gazed into the distance. On this rare fine day, the view was expansive, with distant mountains seemingly stretching on forever. The mountain ranges undulated, one peak connecting to another, all the way to the farthest reaches of his line of sight, without any end in view.

  Gui Li's expression changed slightly, and Jin Ping walked to his side, looked at him and smiled: "How about it? Didn't expect the evil land of Nanjiang to be so vast? I was also surprised when I first came here."

  The ghost's gaze was distant and piercing, lingering on the shadows of the mountains as he said faintly, "How much farther is it to that Devil-Conquering Ancient Cave you spoke of?"

  Jin Ping'er smiled charmingly and walked two steps forward, standing in front of Gui Li and gazing out at the endless mountains for a while. She then stretched out her hand, pointing to one of the peaks that was dark and eerie from top to bottom, saying: "Do you see that black mountain peak? Once we cross over it, at the foot of the mountain is where the Town Demon Ancient Cave is located."

  The ghostly figure raised its eyes and looked into the distance, and indeed saw that very strange mountain peak. From afar, it seemed that there was not a single ray of sunlight there, but instead, it was always shrouded in a thin layer of dark mist, revealing an air of mystery.

  The ghost nodded and said, "Then let's go."

  After finishing speaking, he moved forward, but Jin Bier didn't move her feet and remained standing in the same place. Gui Li walked a few steps, feeling that Jin Bier hadn't followed up, slightly surprised, turned around to look back, saying: "What's wrong?"

  Jin Bier gave him a white eye, but even that scowling expression, in the warm and sunny sunlight, had a few parts of charm. She said: "You are naturally a formidable figure, unfortunately, the one in front of you is a weak woman, now she can't walk on the road."

  The demon sneered faintly: "Among all the women in the world, it's still not your turn to play the role of a weak woman."

  Jin Bier smiled and didn't get angry, she found a dry stone to sit on by herself. Gui Li didn't take Jin Bier's words seriously, but he also felt that in the past few days, they hadn't had a good rest in this strange black forest. So he also sat down not far from Jin Bier, and stopped insisting on continuing their journey.

  The little monkey Xiao Hui, who had been lying on his shoulder, let out two "squeaks" and seemed to suddenly wake up from its lethargy. It jumped down from Gui Li's shoulder, looked around in all directions with its three eyes blinking non-stop, then flicked its tail and darted into the nearby grass with a rustle, disappearing from sight in an instant.

  Jin Bier looked in the direction he was heading and said, "It's all dangerous here, your monkey is running around everywhere, aren't you afraid of an accident?"

  The demon shook his head and said, "It doesn't matter, even if something happens to the two of us, that guy will still be fine on his own."

  Jin Bao'er let out a "heh" and laughed, covering her mouth as she said: "What's with 'a person', it's clearly just a monkey!"

  Gui Li looked at Jin Ping'er's face, which was as smooth and lustrous as jade, and couldn't help but reveal a faint smile on the corner of his mouth. He then shifted his gaze to the direction where Xiaohui had run off and said slowly: "In my heart, it is much better than countless people in the world."

  Jin Ping'er looked at his slightly pale face, and the smile on her own face slowly disappeared. She gazed thoughtfully at Gui Li, but Gui Li seemed to furrow his brow, and his expression suddenly turned solemn.

  Perhaps it's just suddenly realizing what you said in front of others?

  Jin Bier had always been an extremely intelligent woman, but she was not one of those quiet and gentle ladies in the world. She quietly looked at Gui Lian's gloomy face, her eyes shining with a soft and gentle light, but under her gaze, Gui Lian's face became increasingly ugly. Just as the awkwardness grew thicker and Gui Lian's eyebrows furrowed tighter, Jin Bier suddenly said:

  "What's wrong with you?"

  The ghost's expression changed, and he said, "What?"

  Jin Bier looked at him with a seemingly smiling yet not quite smiling face, and her eyes seemed to hold another meaning. She spoke softly: "You seem somewhat ill at ease?"

  The ghost let out a stern cough and said, "None."

  Jin Bier seemed not to have heard his response, and continued on her own: "Is it that in front of a woman like me, you suddenly said some things from the heart, making you feel a bit embarrassed?"

  The ghost's face suddenly turned cold, but before he could speak, Jinping had already continued: "In the past ten years, especially after Biyao's incident, you have never been alone with a woman for so long. Is it that in the unintentional days of our interaction, there is no longer too much animosity between us? You unintentionally said some words and felt sorry for her?"

  The ghost stared at Jinpinger, his eyes already cold and calm, saying: "What do you mean by these words, and why mention Biyao?"

  Jin Bier was not intimidated by his seemingly murderous icy gaze, but instead, she smiled slightly, and her eyes seemed to be provocative with a hidden excitement, flashing, "You're afraid, aren't you?"

  The ghost suddenly stood up and angrily said: "What am I afraid of? If you keep talking nonsense, I won't be polite!"

  "You're afraid you'll forget Bi Yao!" Jin Ping'er suddenly raised her voice, a crisp and clear sound like cutting ice and snow, inserting itself between the two people in that invisible space.

  The ghost's mouth, which had been open in a fierce shout, suddenly froze as if it had been struck by something, and no sound could be made. Jin Ping'er also suddenly fell silent, and the world around her seemed to have become quiet, with not a single sound or movement.

  At this time, the sky was a brilliant blue, with distant mountains undulating, as if the wind from the horizon blew, and the trees and bushes began to rustle.

  It's already afternoon. The wind swept across my face and through my hair.

  The sunshine became even more languid, and the two of them sat silently facing each other, with no one speaking.

  Jin Bier looked at the man in front of her, with a glint in her eyes that seemed to be both pitiful and coldly mocking.

  After a while, she gently tucked a strand of hair that had been blown onto her forehead behind her ear, and her voice softened slightly. She said faintly, "For the sake of that past infatuation, you don't even dare to believe yourself now, are you afraid that you'll forget her unintentionally?" Her smile was also faint, like a wildflower swaying gently in the wind. "Desperately suppressing yourself, constantly reminding yourself, who knows that the Ghost King Sect's First General, Gui Li, is actually such a pitiful person?"

  The ghost's face changed, with a mixture of pale and blue colors, suddenly he took a deep breath, looked up at the sky, held his breath for a moment, and then slowly exhaled. When he looked back again, his face had returned to normal, without any hint of sadness or joy, only a calm indifference.

  "Who do you think you are, speaking to me like that? What about yourself?" He said calmly, with a hint of mockery in his eyes, as if he had already forgotten the momentary loss of composure earlier.

  "Me? I'm no one, just a woman who's currently by your side!"

  The demon didn't notice the hidden thorn in her words, and turned his head away. At this moment, a gray shadow suddenly flashed out from the grass beside him, and it was Xiao Hui who jumped out. With a few quick jumps, he returned to Gui Li's side. Upon closer inspection, it could be seen that the monkey was slowly grasping many wild fruits in its hand, and even its mouth was still chewing non-stop. No wonder the familiar "squeak" sound couldn't be heard earlier.

  Guī Lì picked it up and spread his hands, Xiao Hui cracked a smile and put the wild fruit in Guī Lì's palm. The fruit was bright red, very lovely, although not big, but looked plump and tempting.

  The ghost took one and put it in his mouth, biting twice, only to feel that the taste was slightly astringent, but juicy and sweet, making it a rare delicacy. He nodded, divided several out, looked at Jin Ping'er, and handed them over, saying: "Little Gray is born with the ability to detect poison, the wild fruits he picks are all edible."

  Jin Bier didn't continue immediately, her gaze turned to the hand in front of her face and suddenly smiled: "You're sharing food with me like this, don't you have any other concerns?"

  The ghost's eyebrows furrowed, and he let out a hum, his palm flipping over to form a fist, about to withdraw. But just then, Jinping suddenly stretched out her arm, and to his surprise, she grabbed hold of his hand, smiling as she said, "I want it, I want it."

  The ghost's face changed slightly, and he looked at Jin Pinger, slowly spreading out his fingers to reveal the few wild fruits.

  Soft palm skin, far away, there is a faint and imperceptible breath floating in the wind. Jin Ping'er's gaze at this moment seems to have suddenly become as soft as ripples on water, gently flowing, stretching out her slender fingers, picking up those wild fruits from Gui Li's palm one by one.

  Slender fingernails, carelessly brushing against the rough skin on the palm, warm yet with an eerie chill.

  She gazed at the man in front of her, slowly and gently released her hand, then smiled slightly, picked up a wild fruit and put it in her mouth, took a few bites, and smiled saying: "It's delicious."

  Her smile is the most beautiful flower at noon, touching people's hearts.

  The ghost stared at her, speechless.

  Jin Bier's smile became even more charming and flirtatious as she laughed and said: "What's wrong, you're not saying a word, like a fool?"

  Guili gazed at Jinping'er, covering her mouth and smiling, but her face remained expressionless. Only after a moment did she suddenly say: "'Zi Mangjian' is an extremely evil and sinister tool, you can actually cultivate it to 'Na Yin Guiyuan', merging with your own veins, truly impressive."

  "Plop", the several wild fruits in Jin Biao'er's hand suddenly burst, and even the juice inside hadn't splashed out before being frozen into ice blocks by a strange, eerie cold air that had suddenly emanated, falling to the ground.

  Jin Ping'er's face, which was smiling warmly just a moment before, instantly lost its smile. Her eyes gleamed like knives, staring deeply at Gui Li.

  Gu Liang seemed to be completely unfazed, and said lightly: "It's just that although you are a pure yin body, in tune with the spiritual nature of the Zi Mang Blade, but the cold yin energy is too strong, solitary yin does not last long. You insist on cultivating, and the yin energy enters your body, causing all the meridians, qi, and blood to be injured. The power of this treasure is naturally extremely strong, but I'm afraid it will be even more difficult for you to advance further in your cultivation path."

  After finishing speaking, he ignored Jin Bao'er's extremely ugly face at this moment, turned around and walked away. At the same time, he called out in a loud voice, and the little monkey Xiaohui, who was eating wild fruit on the side, jumped over and jumped onto his shoulder a few times, continuing to walk towards the distant black mountain peak.

  Only Jin Bi'er was left standing in place, watching the back of the figure walking away. She slowly raised her right hand and looked at it silently. Under the sunlight, her pale, slender and beautiful palm shone like transparent jade, but from the deepest part, although not obvious, a faint unnatural pale blue color could still be seen, like fine blood vessels distributed in the deep muscle texture.

  Jin Ping'er's face sank like water, and she suddenly let out a cold hum. Without saying anything, she walked straight in the direction where Gui Li went. As she lifted her foot, she heavily trampled several wild fruits that had frozen into ice blocks, crushing them to powder.