"Ah!"

  A faint cry escaped her lips as Zhang Xiaofan woke up from her dream, panting softly in the darkness, feeling that she was drenched in cold sweat all over.

  These past few days, it seems that from the day he heard Fa Xiang talk about Pu Zhi, Zhang Xiao Fan suddenly started having that childhood nightmare again. That deeply etched scene of the village massacre flooded his mind, as if it was going to swallow him whole.

  The lighter was still lying beside him, and from the rod, a familiar slightly cool feeling came over, as if everything was just like before.

  However, after that, Zhang Xiaofan also felt that the strange treasure tied to his right arm seemed to be emitting a warm breath that was opposite to the burning fire poker, which was transmitted into his body.

  He suddenly felt suffocated, curled up quietly in the darkness where no one could see.

  Who knows, having too many secrets is also tiring?

  In the darkness, others were all asleep, and there were always night-watching disciples outside the stone cave, so everyone was very relieved. Listening to their calm and familiar breathing sounds, Zhang Xiaofan was dazed.

  In the distance, that soft and gentle voice, as if it were in a dream, seemed to carry her own warmth, faintly came through. The darkness cut off the line of sight, but Zhang Xiaofan felt as though he could see clearly, the beautiful woman smiling, sweetly asleep in this quiet deep night.

  Only she didnt know, in her dream, who was it?

  He stretched out his hand, gently grasping the fire iron, holding it to his chest, tightly clinging to it, as if only it could accompany him, never leaving or abandoning him.

  In a daze, he suddenly remembered that pair of calm and composed fox spirits who went to their deaths.

  If it were me, would I have the courage to die with the one I love?

  He was thinking quietly in the dark night.

  The sun rises in the east, and the sea breeze blows gently. On this day, the sky is high and the clouds are light, making it a fine and sunny day.

  Several people under the command of Da Zhu Feng left their stone cave residence, activated their flying treasures and flew towards the depths of Liu Bo Mountain, carefully searching along the way in hopes of finding the demonic sect members.

  Tian Linger took the lead, "Amber Zhu Xiang" shining brightly red light, flying in the front, Song Da Ren and He Da Zhi closely followed her, Du Bi Shu and Zhang Xiao Fan flew in the last.

  Among these disciples, except for Song Daren who uses the immortal sword "Ten Tigers", others use either Zhu Xiang or Bao Bi, and even strange and ridiculous things like dice and fire tongs. This is particularly eye-catching given that almost all Qingyunmen disciples use immortal swords.

  But after all, this is not Qingyun Mountain. On Liubo Mountain alone, lets not mention the people of the demonic sects, there are more than a dozen other orthodox factions, and various kinds of magical treasures are everywhere, its not that outstanding either.

  However, when the fellow Taoist disciples were bored and discussing in private, some busybodies evaluated everyones magic weapons. Then a "high-ranking person" pointed out that among the magic weapons held by everyone on Liubo Mountain this time, the strangest one was the dice magic weapon of a certain disciple of Qingyunmen Dazhufeng, while the most rustic one was also the fire stick magic weapon of a certain disciple of Qingyunmen Dazhufeng. It can be seen that Qingyunmen is leading the world, and it is indeed hiding dragons and sleeping tigers, not to be underestimated!

  I wonder what Tian Naiyi would think if he heard such an evaluation?

  At this moment, the disciples of various sects are gathering in groups of three to five and flying around everywhere. On the Flowing Wave Mountain, the wind is howling, and colorful lights are flashing rapidly, alternating between fast and slow, making a spectacular sight.

  Zhang Xiaofan looked to the side on the treasure sword, only to see the Orthodox crowd flying away in a fan shape. In his own group nearby, about tens of meters away, on the right-hand side were women dressed in the same color, naturally they were the disciples of Xiao Zhufeng, and Xue Qi was also flying among them, her clothes fluttering, her shoulders swaying, matching her cold and beautiful face, as if she had an ethereal air.

  Zhang Xiaofans heart skipped a beat, and he didnt dare to look again. He turned his head around and looked in another direction, only to find that it was also dozens of feet away. There were about six or seven disciples from the Longfeng Sect, including Qi Huan and Lin Jingyu. At this moment, Lin Jingyu also glanced over from afar, a smile on his face, waving his hand.

  Zhang Xiaofan smiled in response.

  Behind Longfengs many disciples, there was another group of people following closely behind. At a glance, they seemed to be the remaining disciples of Chaoyang Peak.

  Just then, a clear whistle was heard from the front, and Zhang Xiaofan looked forward to see Tian Linger grasping her spell, with amber red light flashing, "Woo" sound, carrying her beautiful figure, rushing straight up into the sky, several times faster.

  Song Daren was startled, knowing that his younger sister had a lively personality. This time she came out with great difficulty and didnt seem to have many constraints like on Qingyun Mountain. In recent days, once she came out, she often flew freely, which made Su Rou quite worried. She had told her daughter several times, and today when they were about to leave, she reminded Song Daren to keep an eye on her.

  Tian Linger had grown up in the love and pampering of everyone since she was a child, Song Daren wouldnt even say a harsh word to her, how could he keep an eye on her? In desperation, he had no choice but to speed up his own pace and chase after her.

  Zhang Xiaofan, He Dazhi and others naturally also drove the law treasure, closely following, in the blink of an eye, they had opened up a distance with Long Feng, Xiao Zhufeng and others.

  Zhang Xiaofan sped up and caught up with Tian Linger, flying beside her a zhang away, sneaking a peek at her. He saw that Tian Linger had a smile on her face, looking excited, wearing a red dress today, paired with the amber silk, making her look even more beautiful.

  In the midst of the wind, a chilling gust swept through, but amidst it, Tian Lingers joyful laughter was transmitted, and Zhang Xiaofan heard it in his ears, his heart warming up.

  "Little brother!" Suddenly came the voice of Song Daren beside him.

  Zhang Xiaofan hastily turned his head and said, "Whats up, Big Brother?"

  Song Daren wore his giant sword and smiled, saying: "Younger brother, I didnt expect you to make such rapid progress in your Taoist skills. In just a short time, youve already reached this level."

  Zhang Xiaofan felt grateful and said, "Big Brother Master, this is all thanks to your excellent teaching."

  Song Daren shook his head and smiled: "I dont dare to take credit, you see just now, Feis speed was actually faster than mine, Old Threes and Old Sixs."

  Zhang Xiaofan only then realized that he had just seen Tian Linger flying fast, and in his haste, he added strength to catch up, but didnt notice the side. Unexpectedly, he flew ahead of three senior brothers. However, looking at Song Daren and He Dazhi flying behind him, calm and composed, its likely that if they really took off, they might not be inferior to himself.

  Zhang Xiaofans face turned red and he said: "Big Brother Master, I..."

  He had only spoken half of his words when Tian Linger turned her head around, beaming with a smile. Seeing that it was Zhang Xiaofan, she became even more delighted and exclaimed loudly: "Xiaofan, isnt this way of flying comfortable? Look, how high the sky is, how blue it is?"

  Zhang Xiaofan turned his head, took a deep breath and smiled.

  The sky is high and the clouds are light, the blue is infinite, which indeed makes people feel happy and relaxed. But how can it compare to a heart-loving womans - a smile?

  Tian Linger advances into the wind, elegant and free. All that can be seen is the blue sky above her head, the green mountains below her feet, and in the distance, the endless azure ocean stretches out to meet the horizon, where the sea and sky merge into one line.

  The scenery is like a painting, so beautiful that its hard to take in. Tian Linger was in an extremely good mood, smiling sweetly as she turned her head and shifted her body over to the side. Zhang Xiaofan suddenly saw Tian Linger fly over and looked at her, saying: "Shifu, whats wrong?"

  Tian Linger smiled and said: "Xiao Fan, do you still remember when we caught Xiao Hui for the first time?"

  Zhang Xiaofan looked puzzled and said, "Whats wrong?"

  Tian Linger reached out and grabbed his arm, laughing: "Lets go!"

  Just as Zhang Xiaofan was wondering, Tian Lingers magic treasure suddenly sank rapidly, and it was actually descending downwards. Zhang Xiaofan quickly lowered his own magic treasure, closely following her. Behind the two of them, Song Daren and others were relatively far away, and they didnt hear what they said to each other. This time, they were caught off guard, and the magic treasure moved so fast in mid-air that it rushed forward in an instant.

  Three people cried out in unison, hastily stopping their movements and turning around to look. They saw the junior sister and brother, one in front of the other, flying towards the green forest below. They couldnt help but shake their heads and smile wryly, and had no choice but to quickly follow after them. After all, the sects orders were to search for the remaining demonic cult members, and searching this forest was just as good. However, by doing so, they had created some distance between themselves and Zhang Xiaofan and Tian Linger.

  Zhang Xiaofan closely followed Tian Linger, and in the blink of an eye they descended to below the forest. All he could hear was Tian Lingers soft laughter up ahead, as she turned her head and said: "Xiaofan, hurry up!"

  As she spoke, Amber Zhus clothes seemed to have a spiritual quality, like a spirit snake turning over, under her beautiful shadow, whirling and howling, red light flashing, flying into the vast forest. Zhang Xiaofan looked at the red shadow in front of him, his heart surging with hot blood, no longer thinking of other thoughts, he flew straight down.

  On this mountain top, the forest is also like other places in Liubo Mountain, with giant ancient trees everywhere, straight to the sky. Even on the ground, there are many shrubs and thorns, making it difficult to set foot.

  As soon as the two entered the forest, they felt the surroundings suddenly quiet down. The piercing wind sound was gone from their ears, and a refreshing air of trees came to them. Tian Linger had a smile on her face, standing on the amber brocade, her figure swift as electricity, darting back and forth among the countless giant ancient trees in this ancient forest.

  Zhang Xiaofan looked from behind, only to see that beautiful red shadow fluttering up and down, flying quickly among the dense branches and leaves, accompanied by a sharp and soft whistling sound. She was like the most beautiful fairy in the world, in this otherworldly place, in the ancient forest, in a world filled with countless green leaves that seemed to be full of smiles and faint cheers, she flew out the most beautiful dance posture.

  That figure, like lightning, like light, stuck to the huge trunk of the tree, seemed extremely dangerous, but brought gentle elegance, lightly slid over, without touching a bit.

  That figure, as if enchanted, as if intoxicated, in a daze, is once again the youth of years past, green hills and clear waters, with joyful and happy laughter echoing out.

  He suddenly opened his heart, laughing and releasing his arms, the fireflies bursting with a pale blue light, carrying him, chasing her, flying in this ancient and quiet forest.

  It seems that time will also be like this, and it will never end...

  ※※※

  The sky suddenly seemed a bit gloomy, and the thick clouds in the sky gradually increased.

  Zhang Xiaofan withdrew his gaze, thinking that this overseas place was after all different from the Central Plains. Just now it was still a clear sky with white clouds, but in the blink of an eye it seemed to be turning into overcast weather.

  He and Tian Linger flew in the dense forest for a long time, but didnt see any demonic cultivators. Finally, at a small mountain valley, Tian Linger saw a small stream below, and since they had been flying for half a day, she was also somewhat tired, so she called out to Zhang Xiaofan to land. At this moment, he was washing his face with the creek water.

  This small stream winds its way through the ancient forest, shallow and clear. There are many round pebbles in the water, which sparkle with a soft light as the waves ripple. On both sides of the stream, apart from some sandy shallows, there is dense forest further away, stretching out endlessly as far as the eye can see.

  "Xiao Fan." Tian Linger suddenly called out, Zhang Xiao Fan turned his head to look at her, but it was Tian Linger washing her face halfway, and in the creek water, an extremely beautiful stone appeared, she reached out and picked it up, delightedly turning her head to Zhang Xiao Fan and said: "Is this stone pretty?"

  Zhang Xiaofan glanced at the stone and saw that it was only the size of a thumb, but on top of it were three-colored stone patterns, roughly surrounding it in an orderly manner, like a ribbon. It was quite beautiful. He smiled slightly, looked up at Tian Linger, and just as he was about to respond, his mouth opened slightly, and he couldnt speak.

  That familiar, beautiful face smiled at him. The clear creek water from washing her face had not been wiped away, and sparkling water droplets lightly covered her pale face. From time to time, the water droplets slid gently down her skin, brushed against her cheeks, and lingered under her smooth, soft lips before finally falling with a touching elegance.

  And on that pair of bright and clear eyes, the long eyelashes also had a few water droplets condensed on them, as if like tears, but like white pear flowers after rain, so elegant and moving.

  Tian Linger rebuked: "Im asking you!"

  Zhang Xiaofan woke up with a start and said, "What?"

  Tian Linger held up the stone in front of him and said, "Doesnt it look good?"

  "Zhang Xiaofan took a deep breath, low and quiet, but it seemed to come from the deepest part of his soul: Its so beautiful!"

  Tian Linger nodded and smiled, took out a handkerchief from her bosom, wiped away the water droplets on her face, then carefully wiped the stone again, put it back in her bosom, turned around to Zhang Xiaofan, with the most beautiful smile in his eyes, said: "After we get back, Ill give this stone to Qi Ge, hes sure to like it!"

  The sky of Liubo Mountain seemed to have darkened a bit more at that moment.

  Zhang Xiaofan stood there, as if suddenly petrified, his head lowered, motionless.

  Tian Linger walked a few steps forward, feeling that there was no sound behind her. She turned around to see Zhang Xiao Fan still standing in the same place, motionless. She exclaimed: "Xiao Fan, lets go!"

  Zhang Xiaofan slowly raised his head, a faint smile spreading across his face, but his lips seemed to be trembling slightly as he whispered: "Sister, were going too fast. Why dont we wait for Big Brother and the others?"

  Tian Linger hummed and said indifferently, "Dont bother with them, lets just follow this small stream! Go upstream and see if there are any demonic sect thieves. By the way..." She covered her mouth and smiled lightly, saying: "By the way, take a look and see if there are any more beautiful stones."

  What is it, like a burning sensation in the body?

  What is it like to have an urge to shout at the sky?

  The original nine-underworld demon fire was burning in his heart, and the soul in his body was being ruthlessly refined thread by thread.

  He lowered his head, and his voice became somewhat hoarse, saying in a low tone: "Alright!"

  ※※※

  Amber red silk wrapped around her waist, set off her red figure, the more beautiful. The two people walked along this small stream for another half an hour.

  Along the way, Tian Linger was in a relaxed mood, looking around, while Zhang Xiaofan quietly followed behind her.

  This small stream seems not to be big, but its length is surprisingly long. After walking for so long, the source is still not in sight. Looking ahead, there is another small hill, and at the bend on top of it, there is a mountain stream, from which the creek flows out.

  Tian Linger walked for half a day and was somewhat tired, so she turned to Zhang Xiaofan and said: "Xiaofan, its getting late, lets go take a look at that mountain stream. If we still cant find anything, then well head back."

  Zhang Xiaofan nodded silently.

  Tian Linger took a couple more glances at her little junior brother, feeling somewhat puzzled in her heart, but she didnt pay much attention to it and turned around to head forward.

  The two of them quickly walked to the bend in the mountain stream, and upon looking inside, they were shocked. It turned out that behind the rocky cliff ahead was an extremely large cave, which appeared to be at least ten zhang high. The small stream flowed out from this cave. Because the rocky cliff blocked their line of sight, not to mention flying in mid-air, even standing nearby but a little further away, they couldnt see this cave, and it was indeed very hidden.

  Tian Linger furrowed her brow and asked Zhang Xiaofan, "Should we go in and take a look?"

  Zhang Xiaofan glanced at the cave and saw that except for a faint light at the entrance, it was pitch black inside, which made him feel uncomfortable.

  These days, especially after he came down the mountain, he entered two caves, one is the Wan Batu Cave in Kongshan Mountain and the other is the Heishi Cave outside Xiaochi Town, but neither of them left a good impression. At this moment, looking at this cave, he felt somewhat disgusted. Moreover, his current mood was really terrible, so he said: "Master sister, I think this cave doesnt seem to have anyone living in it either, why dont we go back?"

  Tian Linger nodded and said: "Okay! I think so too, then we..."

  Just as they were halfway through their conversation, a sudden whooshing sound came from above their heads. A moment later, the rustling noise grew louder and more incessant, as if many people were flying towards them.

  Zhang Xiaofan and Tian Linger immediately looked up, and after a moment, their faces turned pale. They saw that the clothes of the group of people in the sky were those of the Demon Sect, and judging by the number of people, there were at least several dozen.

  The two of them looked at each other in dismay. Tian Linger was relatively quick-witted and knew that there were many powerful people in the demonic sect. At this moment, if they rashly flew up to escape, it would be difficult to avoid them. In a desperate situation, they had no choice but to take a risk. She pulled Zhang Xiaofans hand, and the two of them ran into the dark cave.

  Darkness swallowed up the shadows of the two people.

  Before long, people from the demonic sect began to fall down one after another. The target was indeed around this mountain stream. Later, it seemed that someone had lit torches, and then everyone actually walked towards this cave.

  Zhang Xiaofan and Tian Linger, who were originally hiding near the cave, had to grope their way back into the cave quietly. At this moment, both of their hearts were hanging in mid-air, as the difference in strength between the two sides was too great, and if they were discovered, they would be powerless to resist.

  Fortunately, because there were many demonic sect members and they didnt seem to have expected that righteous path cultivators would appear here, along the way they also didnt control their chatting and footsteps. They coincidentally covered up those slight movements and sounds of the two people.

  They walked and stopped, and finally arrived at a spacious place. The people from the demonic sect stopped, and those holding torches found some stone crevices around them and inserted the torches into them, apparently they often came to this place.

  The empty space in this cave lit up.

  Zhang Xiaofan and Tian Linger also stopped, hiding in a darker corner, holding their breath.

  Zhang Xiaofan secretly looked out and saw that the demonic cultivators in the distance had formed a semicircle, each finding large rocks to sit on. Some of them appeared to be rough and simply sat directly on the ground.

  From a distance, it was clear that the people of the demonic sect were indeed very different from the orthodox scholars. There were many strange and bizarre-looking individuals, which left a deep impression on Zhang Xiaofan. A wild dog Daoist with a dogs face was also seated among them, along with Old Man Ye, Liu Heng, Lin Feng, and that beautiful young woman whose name he didnt know.

  Besides, there seemed to be a young man standing behind them, with a very unfamiliar face, whom Zhang Xiaofan had never seen before.

  Tian Linger suddenly whispered in his ear, "Xiao Fan, it seems that there are many factions within the Demon Sect?"

  Zhang Xiaofan only felt a tingling sensation in his ears, but his heart was inexplicably bitter. He didnt dare to think too much and nodded slightly, still looking outward. Indeed, as Tian Linger had said, the demonic sect members outside had roughly formed a semicircle, facing one direction together, where two or three people were seated, but the others were still divided into groups, sitting together in their respective factions, with clear distinctions between them.

  At this moment, one of the three people spoke in a low voice: "Everyone, please be quiet."

  At this moment, everyone in the demonic sect fell silent, as if the owner of this voice had immense authority.

  Zhang Xiaofan was a bit far away and couldnt tell who the voice belonged to at first, so he quietly stretched his neck to look out into the field. But as he felt the clothes beside him lightly brushing against him, he realized that Tian Linger was also peeking out to take a look.

  The torches on the stone wall burned quietly, occasionally making a crackling sound. Suddenly, a tall, dark-skinned man stood up in the demonic sect and loudly said: "Respected Master, this time the Ghost King Sect gathered us to come to this desolate island, saying that there is a rare beast Qiu Niu that appears only once every three thousand years. But now, after searching for so many days, not even a single cow hair has been found, and instead, those annoying guys from the Orthodox sect have been brought over, constantly entangling us in battle. Please ask, what should we do now?"

  Zhang Xiaofan was taken aback and asked Tian Linger in a low voice, "What is a Kui cow?"

  Tian Linger thought for a moment and finally shook her head, saying: "I dont know either."

  The two of them looked into the field again, and saw that the man had started, and immediately many people followed suit. Among them, the wild dogs tone was not high, but his temperament seemed to be very fiery, so in the crowd, his voice sounded the loudest.

  "That makes sense. The Ghost King is high above, and naturally wont bother with such trivial matters, but why should we suffer in vain here? At least give me an explanation!"

  The old man beside him heard his impolite words, frowned and was about to stretch out his hand to pull him over and tell him to be quieter.

  Just then, amidst the hubbub of discussion and chatter, a sweet yet detached female voice suddenly spoke up, saying, "Do you really want to know the reason?"

  As soon as the womans voice came out, Zhang Xiaofan was greatly shocked in his heart, and his body involuntarily stretched out a few more inches. Under the illumination of the torches, it could be seen that in the direction where the demonic cult members were facing, there was a green-robed woman who slowly stood up.

  It was indeed Bi Yao.