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  Unlike the dark currents surging in the major gates of Central Plains, thousands of miles away in Nanjiang, after the beast disaster, people of all ethnic groups silently rebuilt their homes. Although this is the place where the damage was the most severe, it seems that no one remembers this place under the vast sky. Anyway, the desolate land of Nanjiang does not enter the vision of the wealthy and prosperous people in Central Plains.

  In the Jin tribe's settlement of Qīlǐ Dàn, the scars brought by the beast demons are still visible everywhere. However, on top of the ruins, many new houses have been built. On the back mountain of Qīlǐ Dàn, the mysterious altar entrance is still frequented by many people making offerings. At this moment when everything is being rebuilt, the protection of their ancestors seems especially important to the Jin people.

  People get up with the sun and rest with its setting, days go by like this day after day. As the sun sets in the west and night falls, many people return to their homes, relax their tired bodies, have dinner, and gradually fall asleep under the starry sky.

  In the dead of night, a white figure appeared in the seven-li gorge, like a faint glow in the darkness, and after several ups and downs in the quiet mountain valley, it had already quietly approached the foot of the mountain where the altar was located.

  At the entrance of the mountain, there were still two golden armored soldiers guarding it. Suddenly a gust of night wind blew over, and they only felt that a white light as fast as lightning flashed before their eyes, with a faint scent like the gentle fragrance of flowers at night, and they both suddenly became dizzy.

  In their midst, a ghostly white figure emerged from the darkness, slowly seeping onto the platform at the entrance of the altar. She was dressed in white, with an enchanting beauty that seemed to attract all the starlight in the sky. But who was this woman, if not Xiao Bai?

  She glanced around a few times, then looked into the dark cave again. Although it was still pitch black in there, Xiaobai's gaze flowed slowly, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of her mouth. Suddenly seeming to feel something, she silently shook her head and let out a soft sigh.

  The defense here is much worse than she expected, and it's completely different from the scene when she came to see the great witch with Gui Li. The sturdy soldiers at the foot of the mountain are not worth mentioning, but there should be many priests carrying magic in this altar, which is now almost defenseless. It seems that the beast calamity has caused a huge loss for the Jin tribe.

  It's not just the Jin family in front of us, looking at the world, for that one beast god, how many innocent people have lost their homes and been displaced, it's really hard to say what is right or wrong.

  Xiao Bai slightly shook his sleeve, stopped thinking too much, and his body rose up, transforming into a white light that shot straight into the mountain cave. Most of this cave was still the same as before, the path had not changed, and after a short distance, there was a torch on the stone wall, just like usual. However, Xiao Bai sensed that in this vast cave, people were extremely scarce, even if there were only a few, they were breathing slowly and steadily, probably asleep.

  Xiao Bai didn't even bother to respond, and instead flew silently through the cave according to her memories. With her thousand-year-old cultivation, not to mention these lowly Golden Tribe priests, even a deeply cultivated Daoist might not have noticed her. Before long, she arrived outside the spacious cave that had once been the residence of the Great Witch.

  She stopped her body here, slightly frowning, looking into the cave. Although it was far away, she already felt that there was another person inside, and this person seemed to be different from the others she had sensed earlier. At least he wasn't sleeping.

  In the cave, that pile of flames still emitted bright light, and in the shadow of the light, the stone-carved dog god statue was visible in the flickering light. Xiaobai's gaze focused on the dog head on the statue for a moment, then returned to fall in front of the fire heap.

  A young figure sat quietly in front of the fire, his back to the entrance of the cave. Xiao Bai couldn't see his face clearly and could only roughly make out that it was a young man. He faced the blazing flames, occasionally tracing mysterious and eerie patterns in the air in front of him, while softly and devoutly reciting something in the language of the Golden Tribe.

  Xiao Bai quietly appeared behind the man, the firelight gradually shining on her body, and a long shadow was drawn out behind her. She listened intently to the man's low, song-like voice, which echoed in this ancient cave, as if telling something.

  That low and muffled voice seemed to be endless, from the side, that young Jinyi priest was full of devotion, mostly already completely immersed in that illusory world.

  A faint look of confusion appeared on the pale face, and then he let out a soft sigh. This strange sound immediately startled the young Jīn tribe priest, his body shook, and he was about to turn around to see what's going on, but before he could move, a slender white hand flashed in front of his eyes and landed on his forehead, gently patting it once.

  The young Jinyi suddenly flipped his eyes and trembled, losing consciousness in an instant, falling to the ground beside him.

  The mysterious chanting voice in the cave, along with the echo, gradually subsided into silence. Xiaobai looked at that young face and suddenly smiled, saying softly: "As for whether there really is a dog god, or whether the dog god will protect your tribe, I don't know. But with someone as devout as you around, I'm sure the great shaman can rest easy."

  After finishing, she slightly shook her head, skirted around the young priest's body and the bonfire, and walked straight towards the dog god statue. All along, the Jin people believed in the dog god, thinking that the dog god had given them a new life, protecting this clan from flourishing, so even if it was the sacrifice in the cave, they did not dare to approach the statue easily.

  At this moment, Xiaobai stood in front of the dog god statue carved out of black stone.

  The idol's body was carved from the black stone produced in southern Xinjiang, with a glossy black color and a faint silver glow emanating from it. Xiao Bai had a deep understanding of southern Xinjiang and naturally knew that this was not the dog god's divine manifestation that many gold people deeply believed in, but rather a rare species found in black stone, containing micro-bright silver scales that formed this mysterious and beautiful micro-light.

  However, the purpose of her visit was naturally not to admire this golden dog-headed statue. After a moment, her attention focused on the dog's head. This statue was carved with pure skill, vivid and lifelike, with every detail perfectly rendered, without any ambiguity. If it weren't for the obvious stone material in front of her eyes, one would almost think it was a real black dog with its mouth slightly open.

  On the head of the dog god statue, in the most eye-catching place, is a pair of eyes that seem to have a spirit, and are quietly staring at Xiaobai.

  Xiaobai's heart skipped a beat, and she took a step back. Suddenly, the pressure on her body eased, and her mind cleared up immediately. She frowned slightly, looked at the statue again, and hummed: "There is actually such a bewildering restriction." Then she seemed to be thinking deeply, hesitated for a moment, still with a hint of confusion, and said softly: "But this is clearly the Taoist method of Zhongtu, how can it appear here?"

  She thought for a moment, shook her head lightly, and threw away the boring idea. At this moment, it was not what she wanted to explore. She re-examined the statue, and finally her gaze fell on the vivid eyes of the statue. She seemed to hesitate for a moment, and gently pressed on those pure and profound black eyes.

  In the ancient cave, a low rumble suddenly echoed, the sound was not loud, but it seemed to make the spacious cave tremble. The ancient dog god statue was right in front of Xiao Bai, and in that low hum, it slowly descended into the ground, sinking until half of its body was covered, leaving only the head still on the surface.

  Behind the statue, a smooth stone wall appeared, different from the surrounding stone walls. On it seemed to be shrouded in a faint black air, making it difficult for people to see clearly. However, this was not enough to stump Xiaobai. A faint smile appeared at the corner of her mouth as she walked forward, her embroidered robe fluttering, and a gentle breeze swept out from under her hand, blowing across the stone wall and instantly dispersing the black air.

  A golden light suddenly appeared on the stone wall, and after a moment, another one appeared. The golden lights, like a sudden divine miracle, emerged one after another on the stone wall, forming a series of mysterious pictures and texts. Even Xiaobai's face, standing not far away, was faintly illuminated by the reflected golden light.

  Xiaobai gazed at the mysterious text and patterns unfolding before her, her eyes scanning line by line. In front of her lay the last secrets of countless ancient witch tribes, her gaze leaping with excitement, sometimes solidifying, sometimes joyful. Finally, she saw the massive fire dragon pattern that soared towards the sky, untamed and fierce.

  Xiaobai took a deep breath, and a hint of a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth. She then confirmed everything once again before closing her eyes slightly, as if silently memorizing the images and text, committing them to memory.

  When she opened her eyes again, the ripples of water swept over the stone wall and muttered to herself: "I didn't expect those guys to have left this trick behind. Did they know that the witch tribe was going to be destroyed?"

  As she spoke, she smiled faintly, seemingly too lazy to bother with the troubles of some ancient person from who-knows-how-many years ago. Just as she was about to turn around, her brow suddenly furrowed, and her gaze abruptly fixed on a spot - it was at the very bottom of that glittering golden text, beneath the image of that enormous, ferocious dragon, where there seemed to be a small patch of black air that was different from its surroundings, still clinging to the stone wall.

  Xiaobai was slightly surprised, hesitated for a moment, and ultimately still didn't want to let it go easily. Just as she was about to take a closer look, her heart suddenly moved, and she quickly turned around, her eyes instantly cold, staring icily ahead.

  In the vast cave, it was empty and desolate, with only the burning fire occasionally making a crackling sound as the wood split, except for the young priest who was still unconscious on the ground, there was not a single person.

  Xiao Bai's gaze swept over the young priest, then carefully examined the surrounding cave, and after confirming that there was nothing unusual, she slightly furrowed her brow and slowly turned around.

  Could it be that being in this strange and eerie place for too long has made me somewhat suspicious and paranoid as well?

  Xiaobai shook his head, smiled bitterly, calmed himself down, and then raised his hand. A gentle breeze blew out, but the force was slightly stronger than before. After a moment, the remaining black air finally dissipated.

  On the stone wall, there were indeed several lines of text.

  Xiaobai's spirit lifted, and she looked carefully. After a moment, her face suddenly showed a look of surprise and joy, and she blurted out: "So, the Soul Summoning Technique is actually here..."

  As her gaze moved, the joyful color gradually dissipated, replaced by a heavy and bewildered expression.

  Finally, after finishing reading all the words, she slowly stepped back a step, as if possessed by a spirit. The small black air suddenly surrounded her and covered up those mysterious lines of characters again.

  Xiaobai slightly lowered his head, silent for a moment, and after a long while, he let out a soft sigh and said in a low voice: "So that's how it was. The ancient Wu tribe was destroyed like this... This is... How can I do this? Should I tell her about all this?"

  She seemed to have suddenly encountered great confusion in her heart and was hesitant for a moment.

  The black air that had been blown away slowly gathered again, and the text pattern that was originally emitting a brilliant golden light was also slowly covered up. Xiao Bai slowly turned around, and the low rumbling sound behind her started again. The Dog God statue rose back to its original position, covering up the secret once more.

  In the ancient cave, everything returned to calmness. Xiaobai's figure slowly walked out, she walked very slowly, looking like she had a lot on her mind, but after a moment, her figure finally disappeared into the cave.

  Stillness, once again descended upon this place. It was unknown how much time had passed when the ancient dog god statue silently gazed at everything in the cave, its eyes reflecting a glimmer of light, appearing so profound.

  Suddenly, the body that had been lying on the ground for a long time moved slightly. The young Jīn tribe priest cautiously got up and looked towards the entrance of the cave. It was quiet there, with no signs of movement, apparently the mysterious woman in white had already left.

  He finally let out a sigh of relief, his tense body slowly relaxing, and he smiled wryly, saying in a low voice: "It was close, if not for my clan's self-sealing divine technique, the six senses would have been extinguished, or else I really wouldn't have been able to deceive her..."

  His eyes suddenly became fervent, and he turned around abruptly, gazing at the Dog God statue.

  In the Jin family, they have always been afraid of gods and spirits, especially this statue that has been worshipped since ancient times, which is revered to the extreme.

  This young man has rarely even looked directly at the statue since childhood, let alone touch it, because in the clan's rules, that is also a very disrespectful behavior.

  At this moment, his eyes reflected the blazing flames, and his body seemed to be burning up as well. He stared at the statue, and the statue's pair of eyes seemed to be staring back at him.

  Right then, a huge invisible force seemed to be driving quietly from behind, the young priest clenched his teeth and stepped forward towards the statue one step at a time. The ancient statue's eyes reflected the figure getting closer and closer, as if it also carried a hint of sorrow.

  Finally, he walked up to the statue, his trembling hands slowly lifted into the air, hesitating and stopping again and again, but ultimately reaching out. The expression on his face seemed to be a mix of pain, struggle, and being tormented by a flame.

  Those hands had yet to be withdrawn and were still pointing at the god's eyes.

  Suddenly, the low rumble sounded again, and the entire cave began to tremble slightly. The statue slowly sank into the ground once more, and the mysterious stone chamber appeared before one's eyes.

  The young priest's eyes emitted a frenzied flame, he could no longer bear it, and rushed forward, his hands waving wildly. In an instant, the black air was scattered in all directions. The golden light reappeared slowly, illuminating his face brightly.

  An ancient text pattern, as if it had a mesmerizing effect on people's minds, appeared one by one in front of him. His expression was like drinking strong wine, revealing an indescribable frenzy and satisfaction, even his hands were trembling.

  He lightly touched the mysterious stone wall with his trembling hands, muttering something in a low voice, filled with immense joy. The words and patterns seemed to be transparent to him as he gazed at them intently, so absorbed that he forgot everything around him, including the small patch of dark energy condensed at the bottom of the text, almost blending into the surrounding darkness.

  Golden text, brilliant patterns, seemed to have completely occupied his mind. Next to him, the dog god statue with only its head still on the ground, a pair of eyes still looked so deep and profound. But at this moment, under the golden light of the flames and stone walls, the young priest's shadow was reflected in his eye sockets, except for the initial hint of deep sorrow, it seemed to have added a deeper sadness!