el like we weren't going to an underground parking garage, but rather to a dark and mysterious subterranean cave.The grandfather had dug out a tomb within a tomb in the hills behind his ancestral home...Zhang Fatty woke up slowly, but his soul had been away for too long, and he wasn't doing well.

His eyes were vacant, his face contorted, and his heavy body lay at the roots of a tree, his limbs strangely drooping downwards. It was rather eerie.

"Feifei... are you alright..." He slanted his eyes toward Liu Feifei.

Liu Feifei not only didn't appreciate it, but also cursed him.

I understand your feelings, after all, that fat guy got hit first and then went crazy. He almost scared Liu Feifei to death.

But Liu Feifei's mouth was really poisonous, constantly saying things like "You deserved to die," or "Why don't you just go die"

"Alright, show some decency," I snapped.

Liu Feifei probably felt a little afraid of me and didn't dare to shout anymore.

Zhang Fatty just kept muttering, saying that she was fine.

Could this be the legendary...dog licking its master

"Little Qiao, this spirit of the giant serpent originally wanted to possess that man and escape from here," Jiang Qiyun pulled me aside, frowning slightly. "But now he has released both people. Doing so, he is nothing more than asking me to help him escape this tree formation."

"Do you think you can release the spirit of this great serpent" I was a little nervous. The giant tree's hollow beneath the prison, those giant eyes, were deeply etched in my memory.

"Everything has a spirit. Cultivation and demonic cultivation are just different paths. As long as one doesn't create karma of killing, helping them is harmless... Besides—" Jiang Qiyun gazed at me with a deep, unwavering look.

"What about"

Besides, it specifies that you have to take it out.

"Huh Me Why"

"You've been to the Demon Realm, its true form has seen you," Jiang Qiyun said in a low voice. "This is an opportunity... Aren't you worried about those mortals who fell into the Demon Realm"

Yes, my brother, Damao, and Huqing and Xiao Tou.

"... This giant serpent is a demonic beast under the command of the Crimson Sky Demon Lord. Its status far surpasses that of ordinary demons. If this could be used as an exchange, perhaps..."

Maybe it can be exchanged back! My eyes lit up — if that were possible, that would be fantastic!

"I'm willing to help!" I blurted out. "But... how can I possibly help..."

"The box."

"Inside... but a fox demon was already hiding in the box..."

“First, release the fox demon. It has followed you for a long time and should not do any harm. Even if it does, dealing with it would be as easy as flicking my fingers.” Jiang Qiyun said, “I’m going to use業火 (industry fire) to burn this place down. This giant tree is at least eight hundred years old. If it continues to linger here for another thousand years, it might become a spirit creature. It's best to cut off this karmic obstacle, otherwise… Heaven will bear the burden. I fear that what the ancestors of Qingyu Taoist Temple did will be carried by Ling Xuzi and the other junior Taoists.”

Qingyudao Guan is not only the birthplace of Beitaidi Jun but also a place where Taichi Zun Shen Dao is enshrined. It is truly blessed by divine beings, who offer protection and blessings to all.

"Alright, I'll lead these two away first, then release the fox demon." I nodded in agreement.

Jiang Qiyun rarely gives me things, but everything she does give me is very useful.

This box wrapped in the Kong Ming lock is a void, a space where hiding is akin to being under house arrest.

"...Would you like to stay here" I whispered to the giant serpent.

The pitch-black main hall was silent. It fell still for a moment, as if weighing whether or not to believe me.

“You… are indeed able to travel between the three realms… a rare sight… looking at you, you seem like a kind person. Following you is much better than being trapped here… It's as if millions of hands are holding me back, preventing me from leaving…” The giant snake’s hoarse voice hissed.

I opened the box, and the kitsune spirit slowly materialized. As soon as it felt the energy here, it trembled and cowered behind me, not daring to look at Jiang Qiyun's way.

“How should I address you” I asked the serpent.

"Ah… name… I've almost forgotten… Just call me 'Mang'... " the giant serpent hissed.

A wisp of black mist began to drift out from the entrance of the main hall.

This resembles the swallowing mirage, but the difference is that this gas carries a hint of ominousness.

Jiang Qiyun looked at these gases, and said with some worry: "The thoughts of the Demon Examination, demons entering the world, monsters rampant... These auras spreading, I don't know how much trouble they will cause..."

"These...are not mine...they are the resentment of the believers buried here... souls scattered, leaving only malice..."

The Serpent Spirit's breath grew heavier, preparing to break free from the tree formation.

I sent Liu Feifei and Zhang Fatty out from the mountain gate, letting the little ghost keep a close eye on the two of them from afar.

Liu Feifei, seeing that I didn't charge money, scrambled away with the fat man to try and retrieve her phone.

It's good that these two left, they wouldn't want to see Jiang Qiyun casting spells.

Crimson lotus fire, incinerating karmic obstacles.

Jiang Qiyun's fingertips flickered with a faint light, and the flames of karma burned like fiery butterflies, flapping their wings and landing on the towering tree in the middle.

The God of Night, the Mountain God, and the Earth God responded to the incantation and arrived. They whipped up a gust of yin wind to fan the flames.

A mountain gate, inside and out, like two different worlds.

Outside the mountain gate, the moon was bright and cold, and the night air was filled with frost.

Within the mountain gate, a chilly wind howled, and infernal flames raged across the land.

The funnel-shaped courtyard resembled a volcano, flames layer upon layer peeling away the tangled vines and spreading downwards.

"Control the fire and prevent it from spreading to the surroundings." Jiang Qiyun gave an order.

"Yes..." Ye Youshen bowed respectfully.

I stood inside the mountain gate, pressed against the side door, watching Jiang Qiyun. He turned and walked towards me.

The moonlight outside the little gate bathed his face, while the flames behind him cast a red glow on his back. It was as if ice and fire were merging together.

He had just taken a few steps toward me when he suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong" I had a bad feeling about this.

I seem to have heard something—

Growls, screams, maniacal laughter... It seemed to rise from the depths of the earth, shrill and frenzied, sending chills down your spine.

Jiang Qiyun stood beside the burning giant tree, staring coldly at it.

The ground was covered by tree roots and vines, and one couldn't imagine what a tangled mess they formed underneath.

"What are those sounds" Jiang Qiyun asked.

The flames hadn't reached the vines on the main hall yet, and the spirit of the giant serpent couldn't escape. It pondered for a moment before speaking in a low voice: "I don't know... I haven't been in the world for eight hundred years... This land has been nourished by resentment. The moment my spirit arrived here, it was as if ten thousand hands were dragging me into an abyss, the harder I tried to break free, the tighter I was entangled..."

"But there are no vengeful spirits here," I added quietly.

Those small stone steles planted in the ground only had a trace of resentment, no ghostly apparitions were seen.

"...The stone tablet I was enshrined on was stolen... so I can only temporarily inhabit this house. The entire house is covered in vines, and the resentment on every single one of them burns my spirit, driving me to madness..." The serpent's voice grew more and more pained.

The fire is almost reaching the main hall.

As soon as the vines covering the main hall are burned, it will be able to escape.

Crackle—

A roaring explosion echoed through the air, sending a tree trunk intertwined in the center crashing down. It slammed into the side courtyard at an angle.

The courtyard wall was already flimsy, and with this smash, sparks flew, quickly igniting the surrounding area.

What's even more terrifying is that the fall caused the giant serpent statue, which was nestled in the middle, to be "pulled out." The statue was twisted and deformed, and the soil beneath its base instantly collapsed!

Those bloodcurdling wails came from there. were speaking in their native tongue, which I couldn't understand. I only saw them using a long hook to snag something that was lodged beneath the floorboards.That thing was a large, black mass. It...