Qiliangtan, Miao ethnic minority altar.

  A new day, as if the sunlight reflected on the altar platform, feels like it also has a brand new flavor. Guili and Xiaobai stood on the half-mountain platform in front of the altar, gazing at the land below that had been ravaged by war.

  Everywhere can be seen the ruins of walls and houses, Miao people come in and out, from a high place to look down, they are like busy ants for their own home.

  Xiaobai sighed and turned his head to face the ghostly figure standing beside him, saying: "You'd better think carefully, the monsters in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains aren't so easy to deal with!"

  The ghost's face remained unchanged, saying: "I'm not afraid of death, what else can I be afraid of?"

  Xiao Bai shrugged and smiled wryly, shaking his head. Just then, a strange "squeak" sound came from the side, and the two turned their heads to look, only to see Xiao Hui running over with an unusual gait.

  After a moment, the two of them suddenly looked at the monkey's hands at the same time. Xiaohui was holding one in each hand, and on both sides were big bags, which were the large wine bags used by the Miao people to hold wine.

  The ghost's expression turned stern and he remained still for a moment before slowly turning his head to look at Xiaobai. Xiaobai forced a smile and said, "Don't look at me, I don't know either."

  Xiao Hui quickly ran over, looking excited and laughing with his mouth wide open, a faint smell of wine emanating from the two large wine bags in his hands. The two wine bags were bulging, apparently filled to the brim with Miao liquor, a stark contrast to the small amount left over from the previous days' drinking contest.

  Yesterday, when Gui Lie, Xiao Bai and the Great Witch were discussing in detail, the monkey Xiao Hui was waiting at the gloomy altar and was really bored. The monkey was lively and couldn't bear it, so he quietly slipped out. At that time, Gui Lie's mind was preoccupied with heavy thoughts, and he was both surprised and delighted, but didn't even notice Xiao Hui slipping away.

  Xiao Hui unwittingly thought of the fine wine he had drunk that day, and his craving became overwhelming. He slipped away to the foot of the mountain at Qi Li Gorge. After the intense battle, the Miao people's homes were in shambles, and it was a chaotic time. Moreover, Xiao Hui looked like just an ordinary gray-haired monkey, so who would have paid attention? After several searches, amidst the chaos, the monkey actually found two large bags of unopened strong liquor in the ruins.

  Yesterday evening, I don't know where Xiaohui hid the two big bags of wine in a secret place. Today early in the morning, when it was about to leave, the monkey ran out and pulled back the two big bags of wine, apparently planning to taste them well on the way.

  Just at this moment, the master and Xiao Bai's faces looked a bit strange, and Xiao Hui was somewhat puzzled. The monkey opened its eyes to look at the two of them, and after a while, Xiao Bai covered her mouth and chuckled, saying to Gui Li: "Forget it, you've already agreed to such a big thing for Miao Ren, even if you take... uh, take their two bags of wine, it's not a big deal!"

  Before she finished speaking, she herself burst out laughing. Guī Lì shook his head and slowly turned around, leaving only Xiao Hui staring with wide eyes at both Xiao Bai and Guī Lì. He put down one of the wine bags, freeing up a hand to scratch his head, looking rather perplexed.

  Deep in the altar, Miao Zu Zong Tu Ma Gu and the great witch sat opposite each other, with no one else around.

  Tuma Bone remained silent for a long time, and the great shaman didn't speak either. The air was filled with an oppressive atmosphere that made it hard to breathe. Finally, Tuma Bone's expression changed, as if he couldn't bear it anymore, and said: "Great Shaman, you're injured so badly, why do you still want to follow these two people from the Central Plains?"

  The Grand Wizard let out a soft sigh and said, "Didn't I just tell you that?"

  Tuma Bone gritted his teeth and said: "The Li tribe has taken our sacred artifact, we will risk our lives to take it back, why do we need to go ask outsiders for help?"

  "The great wizard shook his head and said: 'You are wrong.'"

  "What?"

  The great wizard fell silent for a moment, then said in a low voice: "If it were really the Li tribe that stole our sacred instrument, I wouldn't be so worried. What I fear is... Alas!"

  Tuma Bone did not untie, and said: "Great Witch Doctor, what do you mean by this?"

  The great witch doctor said: "Do you still remember that beast demon legend passed down from generation to generation in our Miao ethnic group?"

  Tu Ma's face changed greatly, and he exclaimed in shock: "Could it be that the legend is true?"

  The great wizard let out a bitter laugh and said, "It's true, originally. Back then, Linglong Niangniang sacrificed herself to seal the beast demon in the Demon-Sealing Cave, leaving behind a will that strictly forbade later generations from allowing all five Beast Demon Holy Instruments to return to the Demon-Sealing Cave at the same time. But now, all five holy instruments have been lost, and it's likely that this is truly an omen of the beast demon's resurrection."

  The expression on Tuma's face changed, and as the head of the Miao tribe, he naturally knew the weight of that legend. However, after a while, he couldn't help but say: "Great Shaman, in this situation, you can't leave here even more, just in case... with you here, our tribespeople will be at ease."

  The great wizard shook his head silently and said, "This old life of mine will have no more than thirty days of sunshine left."

  His body shook with fear.

  The Grand Wizard sighed, "Actually, I didn't want to leave either. This time, I'm afraid it's going to be a foreign death. But now that the five tribes of the southern border are divided and scattered, the talents are all withered away. If my guess is correct, I'm afraid no one can cope with the crisis. That young man from Central Plains may not be old in years, but he has extraordinary skills, and that black rod by his side, the evil energy is so heavy, the evil spirit is so great, it's really rare in my life. However, what's most important is..."

  He gazed deeply at Tuma Bone, lowered his voice and whispered: "The most important thing is the 'Xuanhuo Mirror', known as the essence of ten thousand fires, which is on his body."

  Tu Ma Gu's eyes widened in shock, saying: "What? This thing isn't from incense burning..."

  The great witch doctor showed it with his eyes, and Tuma Bone understood, staying silent but with a look of surprise in his eyes, which only grew stronger.

  The Grand Wizard said slowly, "When he first met me that day, the dog god stone statue behind me had an omen, and the sacred fire also warned. The two beast demon artifacts, the black stick and the bone jade, were both uneasy. If it weren't for the supreme sacred object 'Xuanhuo Mirror' that suppressed the beast demons back then, there would be no other objects. As for how this sacred object flowed out of Fengxiang Valley, I don't know."

  Tu Ma Gu's face was silent and speechless.

  The Grandmaster paused for a moment, then continued: "Later on, while speaking, I intentionally revealed the origin of the Xuanhuo Mirror. Those two were indeed shocked and amazed. Especially when mentioning the 'Eight Trigrams Xuanhuo Formation', their faces changed even more drastically. It seems they must have a close relationship with this treasure formation."

  Tu Ma's long face let out a sigh, apparently these words were things he had never thought of before.

  The great witch doctor said faintly, "You also know that the legend passed down through generations of our Miao people can only be suppressed by the Xuanhuo Mirror and the Eight Trigrams Xuanhuo Formation. Now, let's not mention that the Xuanhuo Mirror is not in our hands, even if we snatched it from that young man, I'm afraid no one can activate it. Moreover, there's also the mysterious and unpredictable Eight Trigrams Xuanhuo Formation, which no one knows about. Therefore, under these circumstances, that young man has already become the only hope for the people of our southern border. Even if I die in a foreign land, I will follow him, hoping to save his friend's life before my own death, and wish that he will help our Miao people in the future out of gratitude."

  Tu Ma's bones, mouth and lips slightly trembled, the old face with deep wrinkles, unknowingly, quietly seeped out a tear. He faced the great shaman, slowly bowed down, his head pressed against the cold ground.

  The great wizard smiled, his expression also somewhat desolate, and said: "After I leave, you don't have to worry about it either. If that young man has a heart, he will come to send my remains back to my hometown. This matter is all up to you now."

  Tuma Bone didn't raise his head, speaking in a low voice with a hint of choking: "Great Shaman, you can rest assured."

  The Great Witch said leisurely, "This time I go, it's just a death, and it doesn't count for much. But you are in the southern border, where the waves are treacherous and the winds are fierce every day. The other four tribes don't know the height of the sky or the thickness of the earth, they see my Miao tribe losing power, and I'm afraid they can't help but kick us when we're down. And in the vast mountains, the beast demons may revive at any time, a great calamity is approaching, you bear the heavy burden, and you must also take care of yourself."

  Tu Ma Guo gritted his teeth and responded with a "yes".

  The great witch slowly stood up, looked around and suddenly said: "If the situation is really critical in the future, although this Seven Mile Fort has been the place where our Miao people have lived for generations, it is not indispensable. As long as we are alive, there will be hope in the future."

  Tu Ma's face turned a few shades paler, and he slowly said: "Yes."

  The great wizard let out a long sigh and slowly walked away.

  When the hunched figure, supported by Tuma Bone, followed by Gui Li and Xiao Bai, walked down from the altar on the mountain waist, not many people noticed.

  But with the footsteps, the figure of the great witch doctor who had not appeared on the streets of Qiliang Village for a long time was finally noticed by the Miao people, and with shouts of surprise, more and more Miao people put down their work and gathered around.

  The great witch smiled and waved her hand at the surrounding Miao people, but she never stopped walking towards the exit of Qili Gorge.

  At last, the Miao people gradually felt that something was wrong. In the crowd, some people began to shout loudly in the Miao language. Gui Li and Xiao Bai couldn't understand much, but they probably knew what the Miao people were shouting about.

  The grand wizard's face also seemed somewhat desolate, with a smile gradually disappearing from his weathered face, replaced by a clear sorrow.

  He remained silent nonetheless.

  Just wave goodbye.

  Walk slowly into the distance.

  Tuma Bone also stopped in his tracks, standing at the front of the crowd, silently gazing at that hunched back.

  The crowd erupted into a cacophony of wails and cries, with many people panicking and even more already kneeling down towards the old man who was slowly walking away.

  The ghost Jie, walking behind the great wizard, silently looked at the old man and suddenly found that tears were streaming down his withered face.

  Finally, I walked to the path leading out of the valley, and the crying sound behind me echoed throughout the entire valley.

  The old man's body began to tremble slightly, and suddenly he turned around violently, once again gazing at this land, this valley, this sky...

  The distant Miao people exclaimed, and many people jumped up from the ground in surprise.

  However, the next moment, the great wizard closed his eyes tightly, as if to engrave everything on this land in his heart, furrowed his brow, and turned around again.

  In the valley, there was suddenly a complete silence.

  Innumerable eyes, as if silently shouting behind me!

  The Grand Wizard's facial muscles twitched slightly as he slowly stepped out and disappeared into the passageway.

  In the depths of Qili Village, an eerie silence prevails.

  After a long time, it was unclear who cried out first, but in an instant, the entire valley was filled with mournful sounds.

  The Great Wall of China

  Beyond the Black Forest, after crossing seven treacherous mountain ranges, lies a high mountain shrouded in perpetual black mist and howling wind. At the foot of this barren, treeless, and grassless mountain, there is a massive cave. The entrance to the cave is three zhang high and one zhang five wide, with an endless gust of eerie wind blowing out from it, accompanied by sharp, strange noises, as if some enraged spirit is perpetually roaring within.

  Right in the center of the cave entrance, a stone statue stood upright, as large as a real person. It looked like a beautiful woman, facing deep into the demon-suppressing cave, standing silently. The cold wind that howled all year round never stopped blowing on the stone statue, producing a low-pitched sound, just like a fragile wooden board covering from the wind and rain in a storm.

  But she seemed never to retreat!

  A black-robed witch stood before the stone statue at this moment, silently gazing.

  The fierce dragon beside him seemed to be particularly afraid of the stone statue, subconsciously keeping a distance, looking around for a while, letting out a roar, opening its four claws and running up towards the high mountain. Not long after, it disappeared into the dark mist.

  The icy wind pierced through the dark robes of the witch, and in this desolate landscape, the person seemed to be gradually becoming vague and unreal, with a hint of unreality.

  He just kept staring like that for a long, long time, until even Jinpinger began to suspect that the man in black had also turned into a stone statue.

  He narrowly escaped from the black forest and unexpectedly found a deep-seated killing knife inserted into the rock crevice under the cliff, making Jinping'er vaguely guess that the great general of Guiwangzong, Shengsheng, had entered here even earlier than himself?

  The killing knife is still there, but the killer monk is nowhere to be seen. The person is gone, but the treasure remains, and this danger can be imagined. I'm afraid the killer monk has probably met with disaster. In the vast mountains, every step is a deadly trap.

  But after Jinping'er hesitated, she still secretly followed the witch's footsteps. Along the way, she learned that the witch had a strange technique and became even more cautious, not daring to be careless at all, nor did she dare to approach the black-clothed monster and the evil dragon casually. Moreover, the witch thought that the person following behind was already dead in the dark forest, so she didn't notice Jinping'er behind her, thus allowing Jinping'er to follow her all the way to the entrance of the Town Demon Cave.

  At this moment, Jin Bao'er was hiding behind a small hill in the distance, gazing far away at that black figure, and couldn't help but start to wonder if this man in black would stand in front of this stone statue of a woman for his whole life.

  From arriving at the town of Mo Dong to now, the witch has been staring motionlessly at this stone statue for more than four hours.

  Just as Jin Bier was about to fall asleep, the witch's shadow finally moved. Jin Bier's spirit was shaken, and he hurriedly looked carefully.

  The black-robed witch seemed to have gone through a long period of contemplation, or struggle, and finally made a decision. She silently bowed her waist towards the stone statue of the woman and respectfully curtsied.

  In the distance, Jinpinger saw the witch, facing the stone statue, saying something in a low voice, but it was too far away to hear anything. Then, the witch's body slowly turned around and floated towards the depths of the Demon-Suppressing Cave.

  Jin Ping'er's eyebrows were tightly furrowed, and the puzzle in her mind grew bigger. There was obviously a huge secret in that ancient cave, which might be related to the mysterious person mentioned by Shangguan Ce when he talked to the witch. But how could there be such a stone statue of a woman in this remote and desolate place, standing right at the entrance of the stone cave?

  Looking at the witch's expression towards this stone statue, it is clear that she has a close relationship with this stone statue, and there may be unspeakable past events.

  Just as Jin Bao'er was watching the witch disappear into the ancient cave, planning to sneak out and take a closer look at the stone statue, suddenly, the witch's body stopped moving.

  Jin Bier was startled, almost thinking that she had accidentally exposed herself, and couldn't help but feel a pang of regret in her heart. Just as she was getting anxious, she realized that the witch hadn't turned around to look in her direction, seemingly unaware of her presence.

  She finally put her mind at ease and quickly hid her body, then stealthily poked her head out again to gaze in the direction of that ancient cave.

  She couldn't help but stare at him with wide eyes.

  Right in front of the stone statue of the woman, the entrance to the Demon-Subduing Cave suddenly gave birth to a mass of white air, which formed a strong contrast with the surrounding black air and gloomy wind. The witch also stopped her body and silently stared at this mass of white air.

  The white gas gathered more and more, gradually condensing into a shape, transforming into a human figure. From Jinpinger's perspective, it was a tall and majestic man, with his right hand holding a giant sword and his left hand grasping a large shield. His body was entirely composed of white gas, swaying unsteadily in the gloomy wind, but his movements and even the expression on his face were surprisingly clear and visible.

  Jin Ping'er was stunned and speechless, after a while she took a deep breath of cool air, and whispered to herself: "What a sinister spirit!"

  She was from a demonic sect and knew something about such ghostly affairs: it has been passed down since ancient times that in human life, only the soul is indestructible. When one's lifespan ends, the soul leaves the body and transmigrates to the next life, reincarnating endlessly. However, there are vengeful spirits in the world who, due to the three poisons of greed, anger, and delusion, or due to fear, hatred, and terror, cling to the mortal world, look back on past memories, and do not want to move on to the next life; these are known as "yin ling" (shadow spirits).

  At that time, Gui Lie was still Zhang Xiaofan, a young apprentice of Qingyunmen, and he fell into the Dead Spirit Abyss at the bottom of Wanshang Mountain's ancient cave with Lu Xueqi. On the shores of the ruthless sea, they encountered countless yin spirits from the depths of the abyss. However, those yin spirits were all mortal souls that had been killed by Lianxuetang and could not be reincarnated. While ordinary people would certainly be harmed if they encountered them, in the eyes of cultivators, they were not particularly formidable evil spirits. Therefore, at that time, Zhang Xiaofan and Lu Xueqi's Taoist skills were still incomplete, but they could still barely hold on for a long time.

  The yin spirit that Jin Bao'er saw was not one of those ordinary yin spirits, but rather the legendary and extremely rare "malevolent spirit". This type of soul was often a deeply cultivated person in their lifetime, but after death, due to some extremely deep-seated resentment or obsessive thoughts, they would abandon reincarnation and willingly guard a certain object, becoming a desolate wild ghost, drifting between the world of the living.

  This is a fierce and evil spirit, its cultivation has already reached a high level, and after death it possesses ghostly powers, making it even more ferocious. Ordinary cultivators are no match for it, and it can be said that it's a rare and formidable ghostly entity. However, cultivators often place greater importance on reincarnation than ordinary people do, so few abandon their chance at rebirth. That's why such evil spirits are rarely seen. Jin Ping'er was startled to suddenly see one this time.

  However, looking back, the black-robed wraith seemed to show no surprise, facing this fierce spirit that blocked his way, he simply slowly raised his head.

  The malevolent spirit's body, composed of white gas, was extremely tall and majestic, almost blocking the entire entrance to the Demon-Subduing Cave. The witch gazed at this evil spirit, which held a sword and shield like a god of war, and suddenly let out a sigh.

  "You've finally agreed to come out and see me?" he said in a low tone.

  The evil spirit gazed coldly at the witch, his white aura and her black dress and shadow, like two uncompromising extremes.

  "You traitor who has abandoned your mother, what qualifications do you have to dare say this?"

  The witch's body seemed to tremble slightly, and the forever unfathomable him was actually pierced by this sentence, causing his whole body to ache severely.

  He looked up at that angry face, for a long time, but remained silent, slowly lowering his head.