In the misty canyon.

Qingsu led the group closely following Zhang Rongfang, quickly heading towards the depths of the canyon.

Along the way, because of their rapid pace, no one spoke; they were solely focused on the journey.

After traveling in this manner for over ten minutes, Qingsu vaguely felt that something was off.

"Sir, may I ask how much further we have to go?"

"We're almost there! Just ahead!" Zhang Rongfang replied without turning his head.

"Yes!"

The group felt slightly reassured; after witnessing Zhang Ying, the Daoist's power, they had significant trust in him.

If it were someone else, perhaps everyone would feel uneasy.

But with the Daoist leading, everyone's confidence was high.

Buzz...

In a daze, Qingsu seemed to hear some subtle sounds in the distance.

The sound quickly approached, growing louder.

"Sir, did you hear any sounds?" Qingsu's face slightly changed as she quickly asked.

But after looking around and then forward, she was horrified to find.

The leader was gone!?

The surrounding mist had thickened significantly too.

"Everyone stop, stay on guard! Don't move!" Qingsu quickly ordered.

"Take out your hoods!"

Anticipating poisonous bees, everyone had prepared leather hoods in advance.

The group immediately put them on.

The buzzing sound grew nearer and more frantic.

"Sir... why do I feel a bit dizzy?" one person in the group couldn't help but say.

"Me too!"

"Same here!"

Others spoke up one after another.

"Take the antidote immediately!" Qingsu commanded sternly, crushing the antidote placed under her tongue and swallowing it.

But it was useless; a strong drowsiness overwhelmed her.

Qingsu didn't even get the chance to issue more orders before she felt her body go limp and collapsed to the ground.

In a haze, she seemed to see, in the mist, a pale bare foot slowly approaching them.

Around her, countless black bees surrounded her,

*

*

*

"Regardless of whether you're real or not, our goal should now be to leave here!" Zhang Rongfang said coldly, his voice heavy.

At this moment, at the other end of the misty canyon.

He and Xue Tong stood in a tense standoff, a noticeable tension between them compared to their previous harmonious atmosphere.

"Leaving here... I've tried for many years." Xue Tong stroked the white beard on his chin, "To leave here, in fact, shouldn't be difficult for you. For those like you who haven't been targeted. The Wish Girl won't use most of her power to trap you, as long as you meet a few conditions."

"Could you please speak directly, senior?" Zhang Rongfang had come to understand a bit about this place now.

The mist clearly had the effect of disrupting perception.

If he had a clear enemy, he wouldn't be afraid, but the problem now was, he didn't even know where the opponent was.

That was troublesome.

"The more you know, the more disadvantageous it is to you." Xue Tong sighed, "Do you know the way godly entities exist?"

"I don't." Zhang Rongfang shook his head; his current knowledge of godly entities was limited to documents, rumors, and legends.

He didn't understand anything besides that.

Sometimes, he could infer a little from the hints in the attribute column, but those were fragmented pieces.

"I know, but I regret it...." Xue Tong walked slowly to Zhang Rongfang's side, standing by the stream, looking down at the flowing water.

He seemed about to speak but stopped, taking a deep breath instead, and didn't speak again.

The sound seemed to suddenly quieten.

Zhang Rongfang frowned deeply.

"Senior, could you please clarify?"

He hated it when people spoke only half of what they meant.

"...It's not that I don't want to clarify, but...." Xue Tong sighed, "If I told you, the situation would worsen."

"You just need to know that when you encounter them, do not look directly, do not try to understand them; you can use substitute symbols, names, to refer to them, but never truly interact with them." Xue Tong sternly warned.

"Any real interaction you have will only make them more entangled with you."

His words immediately made Zhang Rongfang think of a few connections.

"Understood, thank you for the warning, senior. So, how should we leave here? Please let us know.

If we succeed, I will surely repay the favor." Zhang Rongfang said earnestly.

He didn't care whether the person was Yue Dewen or what they intended; he only wanted to find a way to leave here quickly.

"There are three ways." Xue Tong said solemnly.

"First. Follow the stream upwards, and along the mountain walls on both sides, find a hidden cave.

Inside the cave, there is a statue of the Wish Girl; you need to destroy it. Once you destroy it, you can leave here, breaking the blockade of this enigmatic fog."

"Enigmatic fog blockade?"

"Yes, once godly entities descend to this world, the enigmatic fog naturally ensues, an inherent principle of heaven and earth. This layer of fog helps them avoid being discovered by more people. It also has the effect of causing hallucinations and disorientation among ordinary people." Xue Tong sighed.

"I see...." Zhang Rongfang nodded in understanding.

"Let's go; I'll lead you to the cave first. Many of your people have come, and it might be troublesome if we don't hurry." Xue Tong decisively, without any delay, took the lead, heading upstream along the creek.

Zhang Rongfang closely followed.

Instead of wandering aimlessly in this enigmatic fog, it would be better to try pushing through with this person. If it doesn't work, he still has...

In the white mist.

The two quickly rushed forward on the damp, pebble-lined ground by the creek.

Both moved at high speed.

Xue Tong was surprised that the person behind him could keep up with his pace, so he sped up again.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Rongfang could still keep up.

Xue Tong's interest was piqued; he accelerated once more.

So, the two chased each other, covering more than ten kilometers in a short amount of time.

Finally, Xue Tong slowed down his body technique and stopped by the edge of a rock wall.

He gently stroked the rock wall with his hand, seemingly searching for a mark.

"Here it is." Suddenly, his hand paused, and he gave the wall a light pat.

Suddenly, the rock wall slowly emitted a rumble, moving to the left, revealing a semi-circular deep cavern.

Zhang Rongfang was slightly stunned, not by the cavern itself, but by the distance they had just covered. It must have been over ten kilometers, but it was clearly not all flat road by the stream.

He should know that he's entering a canyon, which should be full of stones and rocks.

But just now, they were walking on flat road... The ground seemed covered with fine gravel.

"Don't overthink it. Now, blindfold yourself."

"Blindfold?"

"Yes, don't look. Close your eyes and go inside, then destroy the statue. It's simple. The statue's hardness varies for everyone. If it were me, the difficulty would be completely different from yours," Xue Tong said in a deep tone.

Zhang Rongfang squinted at him, remained motionless.

"What? Are you scared?" Xue Tong asked in surprise.

"Of course, I'm afraid there are traps inside this cavern," Zhang Rongfang answered. "But it seems I have no other choice now." 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"Then it's up to you to decide." Xue Tong remained indifferent.

His face, Zhang Rongfang just realized, was a younger version of his master's, Yue Dewen.

No wonder he felt it familiar before.

Turning his head, Zhang Rongfang looked at the cavern.

The inside was deep and pitch black.

He couldn't look; he could only go in with closed eyes and destroy the statue.

In such a case, who knows what kind of monster dangers are hidden inside?

Silence fell for a long time.

Suddenly, a faint scream sounded from afar.

Zhang Rongfang's expression turned cold.

At this time, any human voice might mean trouble for his subordinates.

He must hurry.

"You're right, it has begun. The more time you delay now, the more danger your subordinates will face," Xue Tong said coldly beside him. "Make your decision."

Swish!

Without hesitation, Zhang Rongfang stepped swiftly, closed his eyes, and entered the cavern, disappearing in an instant.

He entered straight without any hesitation.

Outside the cavern, admiration flashed in Xue Tong's eyes, but he had no intention of going in. He sat cross-legged at the entrance, meditating quietly, waiting.

The inside was pitch black.

Zhang Rongfang closed his eyes, without blindfolding, and kept his head down.

He didn't dare gamble that Xue Tong's words were false; as the other said it couldn't be gazed upon, he followed first in this unfamiliar territory.

Unable to see, he groped his way, moving from fast to slow, testing ahead like a walking stick.

Occasionally, he would dig out a handful of rock fragments from the wall, throwing them forward to determine the situation ahead through echoes.

'It's still rather inconvenient,' Zhang Rongfang furrowed his brow, stopping.

He suddenly thought of the guide stick commonly used by the blind.

Immediately he touched the stone wall on his right side, formed a knife shape with his palm, and suddenly cut.

Crash!

Soon, after a few palm knife strikes, a two-meter-long stone staff appeared in Zhang Rongfang's hand.

He tested it, and it was adequate for probing the way forward.

The two-meter-long guide stick, as thick as an adult's forearm, sped up his pace considerably.

After advancing approximately two hundred meters in the dark.

Suddenly, Zhang Rongfang's steps halted.

The end had come.

The guide stick touched something upright.

Boom.

He forcefully struck forward.

The guide stick broke.

That thing seemed unharmed.

Zhang Rongfang slowly extended his hand, approached to touch that thing.

Slowly....

Slowly....

He touched a hand.

A cold, soft-textured forearm!

Zhang Rongfang's heart raced.

For some reason, chills surged up inside him, goosebumps erupted on his skin.

Following the hand upward, he slowly moved.

Touched the shoulder, then the neck.

The skin was smooth and delicate, unobstructed by clothes, yet extremely cold and soft.

Yet just now, Zhang Rongfang clearly remembered that when using the stone pillar guide stick, he had touched something hard.

The guide stick was broken.

But now he was feeling soft skin?

Cautiousness rose in his heart, he slowly moved upward.

His hand followed the neck, reaching for the opponent's face.

Poof!

Suddenly, a pair of hands firmly gripped his forearm, with such immense strength that Zhang Rongfang couldn't continue to reach forward.

Heeheehee....

A strange girl's laugh sounded in front of him.

Zhang Rongfang clenched his fist suddenly, punching forward.

Boom!!

With a loud boom, he shook off the pair of hands single-handedly, throwing a fierce punch forward.

But it hit nothing, striking the rock wall, producing a large area of stone fragments.

Since he had already acted, Zhang Rongfang steeled his heart and disregarded everything. His arms swept like battleaxes.

Swish swish a few times.

He carved deep scars into the surrounding rock walls.

Rumbling, the entire cavern began to tremble.

The sounds were from the arms colliding with the rock.

He resisted the urge to open his eyes and quickly retreated.

"Get out quickly! The cave's collapsing!" Suddenly, a voice called from outside.