"Many thanks to the senior for the tea. My surname is Yuan, may I know how to address the senior?" Yuan Ming thanked him and asked.

"Zhao Gui." The old farmer did not mind that Yuan Ming gave only his surname and responded.

"The junior sees the senior has an extraordinary demeanor, and you're clearly not of the same clan as those outside, could it be that you are an Immortal from Golden Sunflower Island?" Yuan Ming complimented him before asking again.

"Haha, I am just an old servant, how can I be considered an Immortal? Even my ancestors were nothing more than servants to the Golden Sunflower Immortal." Zhao Gui laughed self-deprecatingly and said.

"Golden Sunflower Immortal?" Yuan Ming's eyes lit up.

"Indeed. The Golden Sunflower Immortal is the master of this Immortal Island. Unfortunately, he has left the island for who knows how many years. Originally, my ancestors' clans have been following him. Regrettably, when he left, he did not take my ancestors with him, leaving them to live or perish on this Golden Sunflower Island. Now all of my kinsfolk have perished, leaving only me behind," Zhao Gui explained.

"Then, what about those outside?" Yuan Ming asked, puzzled.

"Those are the Fire Horned Tribe who were originally on the island. With their low spiritual intelligence, they pose no threat to you, so there's no need to harm them without cause," Zhao Gui advised.

"The junior is just a passerby who stumbled in by mistake, naturally I won't make troubles without reason. But could the senior tell me about the situation of this Golden Sunflower Immortal Island? Despite bearing the name of an Immortal Island, why are there such scorching suns and a peach forest that traps and kills?" Yuan Ming quickly said.

"Since it is where Immortals dwell, this place naturally contains extraordinary mysteries. For Immortals who live here, it may be as sweet as honey, but for us mortals, it feels like living in purgatory," Zhao Gui answered, shaking his head.

"Senior has a point. As circumstances prevent me from staying here long, could you possibly tell me how to get out of this peach forest?" Yuan Ming inquired.

"Not to worry, let me first tell you about the situation on this island. As you have seen, there is not just one sun in the sky here; to be precise, there are seven suns," Zhao Gui said, gesturing with his hand.

On hearing this, Yuan Ming felt a chill in his heart and did not speak, just nodding noncommittally.

"The concept of time here is different from the outside world. There are no twelve-hour day and night cycles. Typically, after every two hours, one more sun will appear in the sky. When seven suns hang together for seven days, that is the most scorching time for the entire Golden Sunflower Island. After surviving that two hours, the remaining six suns will set, leaving only one sun in the sky. At that time, the temperature will fall to its lowest," Zhao Gui explained.

Hence, the sky of Golden Sunflower Island never darkens. After the extreme heat passes, all that remains is a brief respite, followed by the cycle of one sun rising after another.

As the two spoke for a while, suddenly cheers could be heard coming from outside the house.

Yuan Ming looked at Zhao Gui in surprise, but the latter had already stood up.

"Let's go, it's a good time to go out and see," said Zhao Gui calmly, without a hint of surprise on his face.

Yuan Ming, who wanted to continue asking about how to leave, saw this and could only follow him outside.

Upon stepping outside, he was astonished.

He felt the surrounding void darken slightly, and the temperature noticeably dropped a lot.

He quickly looked up, eyes peering through the gaps in the leaves above, and saw that in the sky there was now only one solitary sun, its radiance softer.

At this moment, the village was bustling with Fire Horned Tribe members, crawling out of their simple semi-subterranean houses. One after another, they let out excited shouts, running into the peach forest, disappearing outside the village.

"What are they doing?" Yuan Ming wondered aloud.

"They are collecting a type of Spirit Grass in the forest, which can alleviate the fire sores on their bodies," Zhao Gui answered.

"But don't Qing Gui leaves alleviate Fire Poison? Why do they still need to go out and find it?" Yuan Ming was confused.

"Qing Gui leaves can only alleviate mild Fire Poison. Besides, the Fire Horned Tribe's physical structure is different from ours; they more readily absorb Fire Attribute Spiritual Energy and are also more prone to accumulate Fire Poison. The poisons in their wounds have festered over so many years, they can no longer be cured by just Qing Gui leaves," Zhao Gui shook his head as he explained slowly.

"I see. But they just run out like that, aren't they afraid of getting lost in the peach forest?" Yuan Ming nodded and asked.

"There's no need to worry. The Peach Forest on the periphery of this area doesn't have those drastic changes, and since they have lived here for many years, they will not lose their way," Zhao Gui assured him.

Yuan Ming felt a bit disappointed upon hearing this.

He had thought that these Fire Horned Tribe members had some special method of finding their way.

"Right, senior, you mentioned earlier that you would inform me of the way out..." Yuan Ming's words were not yet finished when a rumbling noise came from the Peach Forest outside the village.

Immediately following that, the wails of the Fire Horned Tribe members resounded.

Yuan Ming's brows furrowed, and he quickly hurried towards the direction of the noise, with Zhao Gui taking a step at his side, his figure floating effortlessly towards the outskirts of the village, his movement incomparably smooth.

By the time the two arrived in the Peach Forest outside the village, they saw a group of about a dozen Fire Horned Tribe members surrounding Lei He and Yan Xiang in the middle, each one wielding spears and poised to attack.

Although they appeared brave, they had already suffered a heavy loss; not far in front of Yan Xiang lay the bodies of two members of the Fire Horned Tribe.

Yan Xiang, with fury flashing in his eyes, had cultivated a Fire Attribute Technique, but being trapped in the peach forest for so long, his body was already covered in fire sores. During the time when the seven suns were at their peak, he felt as if his blood was boiling and he was about to burst into flames.

Fortunately, he held on until the end.

Just when he thought he was about to find an oasis, he was blocked by these red-skinned members of the Alien Clan. All he wanted now was to kill all of these uncivilized red-skinned beasts.

Hence, he held a large red sword in his hand, which was painted with swirling patterns of brightly burning flames, and slashed it towards a Fire Horned Tribe member in front of him.

As the sword's fiery pattern flashed, several balls of flame burst forth with a whoosh, flying straight at the Alien.

As the fireball drew near, the flames surged violently, resembling a fierce beast of fire, about to engulf the creature.

"Stop." Zhao Gui's face showed anger, and his figure suddenly disappeared.

The next moment, a dilapidated hoe emanating a faint yellow light materialized in front of the great sword.

With a clangorous boom!

The hoe blocked the great sword, and the fiery red flames dispersed, causing Yan Xiang's body to tremble violently as he staggered back three steps.

Yet the worn hoe remained immovable, and Zhao Gui's figure appeared beside it, holding the handle with one hand.

"Who are you?" Yan Xiang exclaimed in shock and rage, ready to attack Zhao Gui immediately.

However, Lei He, who was nearby, remained calm. Seeing how effortlessly Zhao Gui had blocked Yan Xiang's assault, he couldn't help but feel surprised.

When he noticed Yuan Ming was also present, a look of delight clearly spread across his face.

"Fellow Daoist Yan Xiang, hold your hand, we're all friends here," Lei He quickly intervened.

Yan Xiang was puzzled by his reference to "friends" and didn't know how to react, so he didn't continue to attack.

"Why are you killing people here for no reason?" Zhao Gui put down the hoe and asked with a cold voice.

"This... Fellow Daoist, it's not that we were killing without reason, they attacked us suddenly, and we had no choice but to fight back," Lei He explained with a bow.

Yan Xiang started to speak but a glance from Lei He silenced him.

"Fellow Daoist Yuan, please explain to this Daoist. We are companions who inadvertently stumbled into this place, and we mean no harm to the people here," Lei He then said, turning quickly to Yuan Ming.

"You know each other?" Zhao Gui frowned and asked.

"Senior, I did come here with them. We got separated earlier in the Peach Forest," Yuan Ming explained.

Hearing this, Zhao Gui's expression softened somewhat.

"Let it be, the ignorant are not guilty. Considering this is your first offense, I'll let it pass this time. But, let there not be a second," Zhao Gui glanced at Yan Xiang and spoke indifferently.

Feeling his gaze, Yan Xiang felt a surge of annoyance flare up within him.

Even he didn't understand why he was so irritable today.

Zhao Gui walked over to the two dead bodies of the Fire Horned Tribe and placed their severed heads back onto their necks. Numerous black tendrils, resembling roots, emanated from his palm and entered their bodies.

The battered bodies of the Fire Horned Tribe swiftly healed and, within a few breaths, they shakily stood up again.

Yuan Ming and the other two couldn't believe their eyes.

Those two members of the Fire Horned Tribe were undoubtedly dead, yet they were revived!

"Senior really is an expert. May I ask if you could guide us out of the Peach Forest?" Yuan Ming bowed respectfully.

Witnessing the farmer's resurrection technique, and realizing that this unremarkable-looking farmer knew how to leave this cursed place, Yan Xiang's expression became much more restrained.

Lei He, too, was visibly elated and quickly said, "Please enlighten us, Daoist friend."

"I can tell you how to leave the Peach Forest, but you must first do something for me," Zhao Gui replied.

"What is it?" Yuan Ming sighed, sensing it wouldn't be so easy.

"I need you to go thirty li northeast from here and collect some Golden Sunflower Spiritual Grass for me," Zhao Gui said.

The three exchanged looks, filled with questions.

"Fellow Daoist seems to reside here. You are more familiar with the surroundings than us. Why don't you go and pick the herb yourself?" Lei He asked, puzzled.

"I naturally have my reasons for not going, and you don't need to worry about them," Zhao Gui replied with no intention of explaining.

"How do we know you're not deceiving us? How can you prove that you have a way out of the Peach Forest?" Yan Xiang couldn't help but ask.

"The reason you can't leave this Peach Forest is due to the influence of the Liu Ren Qimen Formation within it, which continually shifts your position. Being unable to break the illusions that misguide you, I have a way to let you remain unaffected by the Qimen Formation. Otherwise, had you not gotten lost upon entering the forest, how could you possibly bring back what I need?" Zhao Gui said, not bothering to look at Yan Xiang.

Yuan Ming was taken aback. He had not heard of Qimen before, but Lei He and Yan Xiang's expressions changed drastically.

"Senior Lei, what is Qimen?" Yuan Ming inquired through a message to Lei He.

"Qimen is a type of Formation that incorporates Array Patterns, changes in Spiritual Energy, and even Mathematics, earth veins, Sun and Moon, Stars, and so forth. The most accomplished Qimen Formations even merge the elements of time and space, far more complex than ordinary Formations. On the Yunhuang Continent, there are many Array Masters but very few who are proficient in Qimen Formations," Lei He replied through a message, his voice unable to hide his astonishment.

"I see. Since the senior has commanded it, we will naturally go," Yuan Ming said, nodding at Zhao Gui.

"I can try as well," Lei He stated.

Yan Xiang didn't speak, but his expression was no longer opposed.

"Good. Since that is agreed, I must say something in advance. My method will only last for a quarter of an hour, during which you'll be completely unaffected, so don't think about using this time to escape. The distance of thirty li and the collection of the Golden Sunflower Spiritual Grass will be quite pressing on time. I hope you don't try any tricks," Zhao Gui said flatly.

"Our words are trustworthy, and we will carry through with our actions. We will not break our word," Lei He declared.

Yuan Ming and Yan Xiang both nodded in agreement.

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