Darkness shrouded in shadows...

The mist hung like a faint veil, murky and obscure, while the intertwined tree shadows on both sides cast bizarre illusions.

If it weren't for the winding and twisting bluestone ancient path that stretched into the dense fog, Zhang Kui might have thought he'd entered his own Black Fog Space.

"This place truly feels peculiar..."

Gazing ahead, Zhang Kui couldn't help but frown and speak aloud.

The Cave Abyss Skill had reached level three, allowing him to not only see invisible ghosts but also see through illusion arrays, spirit veins, and invisibility skills.

Yet, at this moment, even a hundred meters ahead appeared hazy and indistinct in his vision, while beyond the tree shadows on either side was pitch-black.

Zhu Sheng also raised his alertness, explaining as they walked, "It's said that the Qin Mountain Ancient Path was built during the Great Zhou Dynasty and remained in use until several hundred years ago. This mountain path has an age-old rule: don't travel it at night."

"My master once suspected that evil spirits were causing trouble and came to investigate, ultimately discovering this place."

Zhang Kui nodded, "This place isn't like a Ghost Wall; perhaps it's an ancient illusion array, but I can't understand it either. Everyone, be careful."

Just then, Fatty Tiger suddenly sniffed,

"Master Kui, there's a scent of blood!"

"Hmm..."

Zhang Kui furrowed his brow, and the Lu Li Sword instantly appeared in his hand.

With poor visibility on the mountain path, they moved at a moderate pace, and two hundred meters later, the scent of blood grew stronger.

Finally, the carcass of a black bear appeared before them, its upper body shattered as if torn apart by something.

"Just an ordinary beast..."

Zhu Sheng squatted down to examine it, "Judging by the bloodstains, it happened last night; it probably wandered onto the path by mistake."

Zhang Kui remained silent and looked further ahead.

There, by the roadside, lay several broken snake bones, and the head alone was a meter high, definitely a demon.

It appeared to have died at least a century ago...

Zhang Kui frowned, "Did Senior Songfengzi mention encountering anything the last time?"

Zhu Sheng nodded, "Master said that on his way back, he heard strange sounds in the mist, slashed with a sword, and quickly left without seeing what it was."

Just as the words fell, a wailing sound echoed through the mist.

It was like wind whistling through a hollow, or a wild fox crying...

"Watch out!"

Zhang Kui pushed Zhu Sheng aside and simultaneously bumped Fatty Tiger to safety.

Crack, crack, crack!

Several shadows flashed by, sparks and stone chips flew, and deep gouges appeared on the ground.

"What was that!"

Zhu Sheng was startled, pressing down on the sword box.

The thing moved incredibly fast, and he hadn't sensed its presence.

What was even more terrifying was that not a trace of killing intent or evil qi was emitted.

Zhang Kui stared intensely ahead,

"Brother Zhu, get ready..."

Zhu Sheng nodded, forming a spell with his fingers. The Nether Void Sword immediately flew from the box with a clang, humming and hovering nearby.

Whoo~ The strange sound arose again!

Zhang Kui snorted coldly, extending his left hand and employing the Qi Prohibition Skill on the suddenly appearing shadows.

The Qi Prohibition Skill could seal all things under heaven, as long as the opponent existed within the five elements and possessed a qi mechanism or aperture.

The shadows stiffened for a moment, then quickly broke free from the spell and continued their charge.

But the Nether Void Sword had already shot out like lightning.

Clang, clang, clang!

The constant metal collisions echoed, with sparks weaving a tapestry in the thick fog, creating a striking spectacle.

As the sound of metal hitting the ground resounded, the Nether Void Sword shakily returned to the sword box, and Zhu Sheng coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Zhang Kui was startled, "Brother Zhu, are you alright?"

"What a hard object, the Nether Void Sword actually lost its sword qi..." Zhu Sheng shook his head, quickly sitting cross-legged and taking a pill from his bosom.

It was the Sunflower Water Heart Cleansing Pill bestowed by Celestial Water Palace Master Gu Ziqing, a pill excellent for regulating qi veins, indicating Zhu Sheng had suffered internal injuries.

"Fatty Tiger, protect Brother Zhu."

Zhang Kui instructed gravely, then with a flash of his figure, instantly arrived by the fallen objects.

He initially thought they were mechanical hidden weapons, but upon seeing the items before him, he was taken aback.

On the ground lay several ancient green bronzed urns verdigris-coated, with half-moon bronze blades still spinning at their edges. And at the mouth of one urn was a human head already mummified.

The face twisted, the eye sockets hollow, seemingly in extreme pain, much like that famous painting "The Scream" from my previous life.

What is this thing?

Zhang Kui glanced to the side and his pupils contracted instantly.

In a cracked urn, there was an oddly mummified human body, crammed in full, as if forcibly stuffed into the urn, and a few pieces of bronze were stuffed inside its abdomen.

Zhang Kui pulled one out and took a look.

Engraved on it were bizarre runes, but unfortunately, layers of patina covered it, along with black grime, making it impossible to decipher.

Zhu Sheng had also regulated his breath and approached, frowning deeply upon seeing it.

"This thing, it looks like a method of the Square Immortal Road…"

"Square Immortal Road?"

Zhang Kui was taken aback.

He had heard of the Square Immortal Road, which flourished during the Great Zhou, but later led to chaos in the dynasty, and the lineage was long lost.

Zhang Kui looked ahead, lost in thought.

"The Qin Mountain Ancient Path was built during the Great Zhou, could this be some relic of the Square Immortal Road?"

The two exchanged a glance, raised their guards, and continued forward.

Fortunately, they did not encounter anything like that again on the way, and soon two split paths appeared before them.

Both were dead ends, one with broken stone steps, horizontally laid with massive stone pillars, densely entangled with withered vines, behind which lay a dark fog.

The other side revealed a large cave over a hundred meters wide, with stone steps spiraling down, and faint light shining out from the darkness.

"Brother Zhang, this should be the Geng Metal Evil Cave."

Zhu Sheng pointed at the large cave and said.

Zhang Kui nodded, without the curiosity to explore the fog at the split path.

He was now absolutely certain that this was indeed an array method of the Square Immortal Road, just beyond his understanding, with definite dangers flanking the path and outside the fog.

Zhu Sheng casually picked up a tree branch and tossed it into the cave.

The branch fell a few meters and then abruptly broke, instantly shredded like by countless blades, turning into fragments.

Fatty Tiger, who was watching curiously, felt his scalp tingle, hurriedly shrank back, "Taoist, why are you looking for this ghost place?"

Zhang Kui laughed heartily,

"Great!"

Finished speaking, he strode to the cave entrance, extended his hands forward, and launched the Demon-slaying Skill.

Threads of black light dispersed instantly, and within a visible range of several dozen meters, a thick frost began to form, while white mist continuously emanated from within the cave, converging towards his arms.

To Zhang Kui, judging the quality of the Evil Qi was simple. After learning the Demon-slaying Skill, his arm became like a house, with more potent Evil Qi repelling the lower quality ones.

Fatty Tiger shivered from the cold and swiftly retreated, but looked at the surrounding dense fog, felt a bit scared, and just shivered, keeping watch nearby.

Zhu Sheng was also miserably cold, yet his expression remained unchanged, pinching a spell, the Nether Void Sword flew from the sword box, spiraling within the cave.

Geng Metal Evil Qi could also refine the Flying Sword, and the Sword Qi had been damaged earlier, it was perfect for refining once.

As the Cold Yin Evil Qi completely dispersed, the suction power of Zhang Kui's arm suddenly increased, strands of visible white light continuously converging into his arm.

The strength of the Demon-slaying Skill lies in infinitely compressing the Evil Qi, boosting the lethality to the maximum. These compressed white Geng Metal Evil Qi even showed a faint golden tint.

After about a quarter of an hour, Zhang Kui's arm finally felt a swelling pain.

Slaying the Old Mountain Demon had granted him six skill points, Zhang Kui thought for a moment and simply upgraded the Demon-slaying Skill to level five.

In an instant, the Geng Metal Evil Qi on his arm compressed once again, completely turning golden, and simultaneously, the suction power increased sharply.

Countless white rays surged forth, with winds howling inside the cave, and incessant fine metallic chopping sounds.

Zhu Sheng was astonished, hurriedly retracted the Flying Sword, stepped back, and watched the spectacle before him in amazement:

Brother Zhang said he wasn't afraid of Evil Qi, no mistake indeed, looking at this scene, he was practically a human-shaped Flying Sword.

This time lasted even longer, until the last wisp of Geng Metal Evil Qi flew out from the cave, then Zhang Kui felt that throbbing pain.

By then, the entire arm was spinning with golden radiance, Zhu Sheng and Fatty Tiger watched with pounding hearts, feeling as if swords and knives were slashing between their brows.

Zhang Kui laughed heartily, casually drew the Lu Li Sword, its blade glowing gold, and with a casual slash, a sword scar tens of meters deep appeared on the Bluestone ground.

Zhu Sheng's brow twitched, he cupped his hands and said with a bitter smile:

"Congratulations, Brother Zhang, your skill indeed rivals the power of the Nether Void by several degrees."

Zhang Kui wore a full-faced smile, "I must thank Brother Zhu."

After speaking, he looked down at the large cave.

The Evil Qi inside had dissipated, with Bluestone steps spiraling down, mist faintly veiling, deeply obscure, leading to some unknown place.

Zhang Kui became interested,

"Brother Zhu, do you wish to find out what's below…"

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