The great wizard was silent for a moment, then said: "Yes."

  The ghost fell silent.

  The Grand Shaman slowly said: "This sacred artifact concerns the life and death of countless people in Nanjiang, I only hope you can help us Nanjiang people a bit."

  Guilei's eyes twitched slightly at the corners as he said, "The five tribes of Nanjiang have countless people; why must you seek help from an outsider?"

  The great witch shook her head, her voice was bleak, and said: "Since the five tribes split up, the witchcraft has been declining day by day. Now it's already hard to find a decent person who can undertake this mission. You asked me to help your friend with the soul-calling matter, I agreed to you, but what you said is different from the situation in Nanzhong in the past, and I'm not confident either. However, I'll do my best, tomorrow morning, I'll accompany you to Zhongtu."

  Gui Li and Xiao Bai were both stunned, not expecting the great witch doctor to be so anxious. Gui Li, for Bi Yao, wasn't even afraid of death, how could he care about risking his life to seize some legendary holy artifact? But in his heart, although joyful, he still saw that the great witch doctor was heavily injured, and said: "Senior, your battle last night... shouldn't you rest for a few days first?"

  The Grand Wizard let out a soft sigh and said, "I don't have many days left, so before that, I'll do my best for you one last time. I only hope you can take pity on this dying old man and lend a hand to the countless people of Nanjiang."

  The demon was silent, but in fact he could also see that the great witch's body was weak, but he didn't think it would be to this extent. And on the side, Xiaobai suddenly said: "Great Witch, you mentioned earlier that only when the five holy artifacts are returned to the ancient cave together can the beast demon be resurrected, right?"

  The great wizard nodded and said, "Not bad."

  Xiao Bai said: "Since that's the case, even if one of the sacred artifacts is lost among the Miao people, there are still four others left, so you don't have to be too anxious..."

  "Two are two!" The great wizard suddenly interjected, and after he finished speaking, a violent cough burst forth from his mouth once again.

  "What?"

  The great witch waited for the cough to subside, took a deep breath and said: "On top of our tribe's sacred artifact, the black staff, is another sacred artifact, the bone jade. That was two hundred years ago when our Miao people snatched it from the Li people."

  Xiaobai let out an "ah" and his face turned a bit strange, but he didn't say anything else.

  The great shaman fell silent for a moment, then said: "Actually, two hundred years ago, we had already discovered that something was amiss. From the secret information we obtained, the sacred artifacts of the Zhuang, Tujia, and Gaoshan tribes had mysteriously disappeared one after another over the past few hundred years. At that time, only our Miao tribe and the Li tribe still had their sacred artifacts in hand. At that time, among the five tribes, only the witchcraft on our Miao tribe's altar still had a bit of power, so we seized the Sacred Bone Jade from the Li tribe and kept it in our altar to be safe. Who would have thought that in the end...

  Guili and Xiaobai both didn't speak up, snatching a sacred object from someone was after all not a very glorious thing to do.

  The great wizard also knew this, and didn't want to say more about it. He turned his head to look at Gui Li, saying: "So now the situation is really extremely critical. The five sacred artifacts have all been lost, who knows if that beast demon was behind it. And last night's spell used by the Li tribe's demon, was actually the former beast demon's black fire magic. I...I...I am really worried..." Before he could finish speaking, he started coughing violently, his voice hoarse and strained.

  The ghost took a deep breath and slowly said: "I promise you."

  The great wizard was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly, saying: "Thank you very much."

  Xiao Bai sat aside and suddenly said: "Great Witch, what was the name of that witch maiden back then? I really admire her!"

  The great wizard's face changed, and he let out a sigh. He slowly sat up straight, and a look of reverence appeared on his face as he said:

  "That maiden's name is Linglong!"

  The darkness that sees no daylight, the towering black trees entwined with each other, the remnants of human and animal bones scattered throughout the forest, and the phosphorescent glow flickering between the white bones - these are what Jin Ping Er is now facing.

  Since she tracked the witch, entered the mysterious and gloomy world of Ten Thousand Great Mountains, after trekking through two treacherous mountain ranges, she entered a vast black forest, and what was presented before her was this scene.

  This was her third day in the Black Forest.

  The darkness ahead seemed endless, as if it had solidified and was motionless. Jin Bao'er's charming face also showed a faint hint of anxiety. She took a step forward, but her foot made a soft sound. Looking down, she saw a white human skull rolling to the side on the ground, its age unknown.

  Jin Ping'er sighed and used her foot to gently sweep the skull aside.

  Although she had mentally prepared herself before entering the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, Jin Bao'er still did not expect that this place would be so eerie and treacherous. Everywhere was filled with highly toxic miasma, and if one wasn't careful, they could easily lose their life. Along the way, she encountered many strange beasts that she had never heard of before. They were called strange beasts, but it wasn't quite right to call them that - these creatures mostly seemed like variations of some kind of fierce beast, such as a tiger-leopard hybrid or a pig-bear fusion, and so on. However, they didn't seem as intelligent as the fish people she had seen before, who were a relatively smart alien species.

  However, these monsters are relatively easy to deal with for Jinpinger, who comes from the demonic sect of Hehuang. The real challenge is the ubiquitous poisonous miasma that fills the air, making her extremely nervous and on edge every day, not daring to relax for a moment.

  And the witch who was being tracked from afar, apparently didn't think that someone would track her to the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, so until now, Jin Bao'er hasn't lost her yet. However, the evil dragon by the witch's side is really giving Jin Bao'er a headache. No matter how she hides her figure, as soon as she gets close to the witch, the extremely sensitive evil dragon almost always has a warning sign. After several attempts, Jin Bao'er didn't dare get close to the witch again.

  Now, Jinpinger relies on the secretly transmitted tracking technique of the Huahuan School to chase after the witch demon far away. Since they entered the Black Forest one after another, the witch demon has not rested for three days, and has been shuttling through the forest at the same speed all along.

  Jin Ping'er's endurance was quite deep, and for her, not resting for three days was still manageable, but no matter what, she would feel a bit tired, while the witch in front of her seemed almost inhuman, walking at this same speed all along.

  The phosphorescent fire in the Black Forest flickered like a faint, uncertain glow in the darkness, and also seemed to be a pair of silent, watching eyes staring at this intruding woman.

  Suddenly, a loud roar in the darkness, a monster with a pig's head and a bear's body suddenly rushed out from the side, pounced on Jinping'er. Jinping'er frowned, her body flew up, her slender hand brushed down in mid-air, a dazzling purple light flashed in the darkness.

  Violet Fang Blade!

  The monster rushed past where Jin Bao'er was standing, and then rushed out several steps further. Suddenly, it let out a strange and mournful howl, and at the same time, its entire body emitted a faint muffled sound. With a loud "bang", blood splattered everywhere, and the monster split into two pieces from the middle of its body. After twitching twice on the ground, it finally came to a stop.

  The flowing blood, under the faint glow of phosphorescence in the dark forest, gradually seeped into the earth and turned into a deep color.

  Before Jinpinger fell to the ground, a burst of roars from countless wild beasts suddenly erupted in the darkness ahead, shattering the original tranquility. Like a hundred beasts howling at the sky, the darkness was filled with the sound of rustling and roaring. In an instant, from behind the flickering phosphorescent fire, pairs of eyes, large and small, began to appear, flashing menacing glows in the darkness.

  Jin Bier took a deep breath and her face seemed to have turned several shades whiter.

  With a long, mournful howl, it suddenly came pouring down like a mighty river, the pounding footsteps piercing the dark silence and rushing in, gradually spreading out and surrounding Jin Bao'er in the middle.

  "Roar......"

  In that instant, countless monsters burst out of the darkness and pounced on that slender body.

  Jin Ping'er's figure fluttered about, dodging and weaving amidst the endless tide of beasts that filled the sky and earth. Her hands flashed with purple light as she swung her arms, each movement sending a monster screaming to its death. But this sudden influx of beasts was simply too much, and in an instant they had crowded out all available space, leaving Jin Ping'er barely enough room to stand. In the end, she found herself dancing across the backs of various strange wild beasts.

  However, in a short while, the number of monsters that died under Jin Ping'er's purple mang blade had exceeded twenty heads. But Jin Ping'er's pants legs were also torn apart by the monsters, revealing several openings. And from the distant darkness, it seemed like an endless stream of monsters was emerging, and it was unknown where so many monsters came from in this dark forest.

  Jin Bier's mouth twitched, knowing she couldn't entangle with these ferocious creatures. Her right foot stretched down and tapped the back of a tiger-headed leopard-bodied monster, and her whole body soared into the air, flying upwards.

  Originally, according to Jinpinger's intention, she was unwilling to fly out of the black forest. Firstly, it would inevitably expose her target, and secondly, there seemed to be a toxic swamp above the forest. Moreover, after flying away from the black forest, it would be even more difficult to track down the witch in front.

  It was at this time that she couldn't care about so much anymore. Her body suddenly flew up, and the monsters on the ground were fierce, but they didn't seem to be able to fly in the sky. Countless monsters crowded on the ground, roaring and howling, extremely ferocious and truly terrifying.

  Just as Jin Bao'er was about to fly to the top of the tall trees, a sudden strange noise sounded. The originally entangled black trees suddenly came to life, and countless black shadows rushed down from above, accompanied by a strong bloody smell, and possibly even deadly poison.

  Jin Bier, though startled, did not panic. Her body was suspended in mid-air as a purple light flashed above her head, forming a purple halo. The black shadows that had been descending upon her suddenly shattered into pieces, emitting a cracking sound, and within an instant, over a dozen dark silhouettes disintegrated and dispersed in all directions. From afar, they resembled black tree branches, but amidst the splashing debris in mid-air was also a foul-smelling black liquid.

  Although Jin Bier managed to block the strange tree that fell from the sky, her body was still knocked down. The countless monsters on the ground suddenly became excited, and many of them jumped up and pounced towards Jin Bier's falling body.

  Jin Ping'er's face turned pale, her slender hands waved continuously, and the purple mang (a type of energy) surged greatly. In an instant, it moved from the top of her head to her body, and before she even hit the ground, a chilling "hissing" sound began to echo non-stop. Within the range of the purple mang, over a dozen monstrous beasts were blown to pieces, their blood splattering everywhere, and even Jin Ping'er's body was stained with a large patch of red.

  The bloody smell seemed to excite the surrounding monsters even more, and in an instant, countless other monsters pounced again. Jinping's forehead was already sweating, and without hesitation, the purple mang blade danced and blocked a batch of monsters, her body exerted force and floated up, charging forward with all her might.

  At this moment, Jin Bao'er's situation was indeed precarious to the extreme. Below her were countless ferocious beasts chasing after her, and above her were innumerable strange trees blocking her way. With no way up or down, she could only use all her strength to fly forward through the middle of the forest.

  In the Black Forest, at this moment, the howling of monsters can be heard everywhere, echoing far and wide, with a gust of black wind, it's like a human hell.

  Dodging the beast's sharp claws that jumped into mid-air, Jin Bao'er cut down a whole black tree that blocked the way with one knife, and flew over from the middle. And what appeared in front of them was even more monsters and endless black trees that seemed like demons...

  Just as they were struggling to move forward, it was unclear how long had passed when, just as Jin Bao'er felt that she was gradually losing strength, the originally dark front suddenly revealed a glimmer of light.

  Jin Bao'er was overjoyed and her spirit was greatly shocked, the purple mang blade burst out with a loud noise, and she chopped down a giant gray wolf that had pounced on the ground with one knife, and she flew towards it with all her might.

  Shadows danced, like demons howling, countless black trees pressed down from mid-air, Jin Ping'er was surrounded by a cluster of purple mangroves. Along the way, she saw beasts killing beasts, encountered trees and hacked them down, killing all the way, with flesh and blood flying everywhere, ghosts wailing and wolves howling. She was forced to kill her way out of this eerie and unpredictable black forest, creating a path of destruction behind her. Everywhere in her wake were broken branches, beastly corpses, fresh blood, and dark sap splattered across the sky.

  When she rushed out of the dark forest, this originally charming woman was covered in blood all over her body, like a bloody person, with an unspeakable ferocity and horror.

  As she looked around, gasping for breath, her face changed color. She found herself on a cliff, a huge rock exposed in the dark forest below, with clouds drifting and the sky shining through, as if there was a strange glow flowing.

  Jin Ping'er took only one glance, and she knew that the colored clouds were the most toxic miasma, which could kill a person instantly. At this moment, the black forest behind her erupted with the roars of countless ferocious beasts, right at her back.

  Jin Ping'er's teeth clenched, her grip on the purple-haired blade tightened, and with a swift turn of her body, she felt a buzzing noise in her head, almost unable to stand upright, and her body swayed several times. In recent days, she had not been resting well, and today she was facing countless ferocious beasts and demonic trees, even an iron man would be exhausted.

  She was shocked in her heart, and the thought of "Could I really die here?" flashed through her mind in an instant. She couldn't help but feel some secret regret for venturing into this place after discovering the mysterious relationship between the witch and Shangguan Ce. But just a moment later, she suddenly realized that although those monsters were still howling and snarling, even standing at her position, it was vaguely visible that there were monsters jumping and pouncing in the dark forest, extremely angry, but for some reason, none of them had come out of the black forest.

  Perhaps they were originally non-existent creatures in this world, so they could only live in that eerie forest...

  This discovery finally allowed Jin Bao'er to breathe a sigh of relief, and under the light, those black demonic trees seemed to have solidified as well, no longer making any attacking moves towards her.

  Standing on the rock, she felt a mountain breeze blowing from behind the cliff, carrying a faintly foul smell. Jin Bao'er's body softened and she almost sat down.

  The wind blew her clothes, and only then did she discover that her surroundings were covered in filthy animal blood. In any case, Jin Bao'er was a woman after all, and this discovery made her feel a wave of disgust, hastily lowering her head to tidy up.

  Suddenly, in the midst of the dark forest, a loud roar burst forth, instantly suppressing the countless howling voices of the monsters. Before Jinping could even lift her head to look, a massive black shadow leapt out from the dark forest and pounced towards her.

  Jin Ping'er suddenly felt the entire sky darken, and she was enveloped by a black shadow. She let out a startled cry and instinctively raised her Zixia blade to shield herself. Just as the purple glow of the blade began to emanate, the black shadow pounced, unleashing a massive force that sent Jin Ping'er flying. Her body soared through the air, and she could already see blood spewing from her mouth.

  She was seen tumbling in mid-air, and after a few flips, she had flown out of the rocky outcropping beneath her feet and fallen down. The mountain wind howled, and in the blink of an eye, her figure was gone from sight.

  "Roar!"

  With a low growl, the black shadow fell to the ground, and it was the evil dragon beside the witch. At this moment, only its bloody mouth was open, and its fierce eyes scanned the surroundings. The strange beasts in the dark forest seemed to be extremely afraid of this evil dragon. At this time, there was no movement at all, and they all ran away quietly.

  A dark shadow fluttered, and a black-robed witch emerged slowly from the dark forest, passing by the side of the evil dragon, to the edge of the cliff. The massive evil dragon followed closely behind him.

  The witch leaned forward, looking down at the cliff, and saw that in the colorful misty clouds below, something was stirring up waves. It seemed that something had fallen down. He turned his head, nodded slightly, and patted the evil dragon's body lightly.

  The evil dragon growled.

  The witch let out a cold laugh, without looking back, floated into the dark forest. The evil dragon was about to follow, but suddenly stopped in its tracks, looked towards the cliff, but there was only silence, nothing had happened.

  The fierce dragon's eyes gleamed, paused for a moment, and finally turned its head to follow its master in the direction of the run. In the dark forest, the "sizzling" sound rose, then gradually subsided until it disappeared.

  The mountain wind blew by, rolling up the fine dust on the ground, covering up the remaining bloodstains, as if nothing had ever happened here.

  After a long time, suddenly a low hum, the cliff edge purple fluff flashed by, a figure emerged from under the rocks, it was Jin Ping'er.

  She fell to the ground, immediately panting heavily. Her originally snow-white face had a crimson bloodstain at the corner of her mouth, clearly showing that she was seriously injured. On her right side, the purple aura gradually retracted and returned to her sleeve. However, her gaze turned to her left hand, and at some point, a strangely-shaped knife suddenly appeared beside her left hand. The back of the knife had a serrated shape, with an ancient and clumsy blade that emitted a cold glow, clearly engraved with two characters:

  Killing!

  Jin Ping'er slowly raised her head, gazing in the direction where Wu Yao and the evil dragon had left. The dark forest was quiet. She stared for a long time, as if thinking about something. After a while, her gaze returned to the strange knife in her hand.

  In her eyes, there seemed to be a strange light quietly rotating, and when the mountain wind blew by, I faintly heard her soft murmurs.

  "Killing monks..."