Jieqing Sect, southern region.
Aside from the mist-filled Fifty Thousand Li Great Marsh, there is another location known as Liuxian Valley.
'Liuxian'—the name 'Liuxian' has a grand origin.
Legend has it that in the primordial era, when Yunmeng Township was in a state of Chaos, an Immortal God descended from the Nine Heavens and used supreme Divine Ability to reshape the Yunmeng world.
When the world became clear, the Immortal God wished to depart.
It was in this Liuxian Valley that the god bade farewell to the Disciples under its tutelage.
It is rumored that on that day,
Three thousand Disciples knelt in the valley, begging the Immortal God to stay.
They pleaded for three whole days and nights.
Yet, they could not change the Immortal God's intent to leave.
The Immortal God left behind only one sentence: 'The Dao is walked alone,' then brushed its sleeves and vanished into the void, never to be heard from again.
Later generations named this place Liuxian Valley to commemorate the event.
The truth of this is long lost to history.
However, the reputation of Liuxian Valley has spread far and wide.
In truth, if one were to speak of it,
Liuxian Valley does not differ much in terrain from the Fifty Thousand Li Great Marsh.
The only difference is that this place lacks the boundless, ubiquitous marshes, consisting mostly of continuous, rugged mountains.
In one hidden valley, surrounded by sheer cliffs, not a blade of grass grows.
Suddenly, a streak of black light tore through the clouds in the sky, falling indifferently.
Bang.
The black light slammed into the dry valley floor, scattering the dense miasma nearby.
When the light faded, it revealed its true form.
It was a pitch-black dog demon.
The dog demon was not tall, appearing somewhat scrawny and aged.
Its black fur was patchy and falling out, revealing scarred, dark red flesh beneath.
It hunched over, panting heavily, its eyes filled with unconcealable exhaustion.
Yet, the aura radiating from its body held a faint, heart-palpitating pressure.
In the right claw of this Old Dog Demon,
It still tightly gripped a plain, unremarkable hemp rope.
At the other end of the rope, an old man with failing Qi was bound.
Although the old man was covered in dust and his hair was disheveled,
Judging by the material of his tattered clothing, he was clearly no ordinary Loose Cultivator.
But at this moment,
This old man of unknown identity was deathly pale.
He could not stop trembling, his terrified gaze scanning the surroundings.
'W-where is this? You Beast, what is your plot in bringing me here?!'
'...'
Hearing this,
The Old Dog Demon turned its head indifferently, baring its yellow-toothed mouth in a mocking arc.
Just as it was about to speak,
A violent, dull vibration suddenly came from the surrounding cliffs.
Crumbled rocks tumbled down, and even the valley floor shook faintly.
Two hulking figures flew out from the depths of the cliffs, bringing with them a foul, fishy wind.
As they arrived before it,
The old man widened his eyes, instinctively taking a step back.
It was two more demons.
They were over a zhang tall, covered in hard gray fur, with scarlet eyes that revealed undisguised cruelty and bloodlust.
On their protruding fangs, there even hung bits of fresh meat and blood droplets.
Thick Demonic Qi raged without restraint.
One of the jackal demons glanced casually at the old man sitting on the ground, then turned its gaze to the old black dog.
'Oh?'
The jackal demon's voice was rough, revealing a hint of surprise.
'You really found him?'
The Old Dog Demon restrained its previous casualness, straightened its hunched back slightly, and its expression suddenly became solemn: 'I have not failed the Second Young Master's instructions; I have finally found this Old Thing.'
'Well done.'
The other gray wolf demon was much calmer.
It took a step forward and reached out a broad palm indifferently.
'Hand the person to me.'
Seeing this, the Old Dog Demon's expression shifted slightly.
Its claw gripping the hemp rope tightened involuntarily, and it squeezed out a forced, awkward smile.
'Um... is the Second Young Master not here?'
'The Second Young Master promised that whoever found this person could break the rules and serve as a guard by his side.'
'If possible, I would like to hand him over to the Second Young Master personally.'
The gray wolf demon raised an eyebrow, a look of undisguised mockery flashing in its eyes.
'What is the Second Young Master's status? Is he someone you can see just because you want to?'
It sneered: 'Enough, just wait. Hand the person to me, and when the Second Young Master remembers, he will naturally credit you.'
The Old Dog Demon's Face sank.
It slowly clenched its palm.
Having struggled and crawled in Yunmeng Township for so long, how could it not understand the implication?
If it really handed the person over just like this, who would remember such a lowly, wretched Old Dog Demon?
But knowing was one thing.
As a helpless Loose Cultivator demon in this Yunmeng Township, what could it do?
The Old Dog Demon forcefully suppressed the urge to retort and question.
Its scarred claw suddenly loosened powerlessly, and it handed over the rope: 'This little one understands... thank you for the guidance, my lords...'
The gray wolf demon didn't even look, turning directly away.
The jackal demon reached out and took the rope.
Then, it unceremoniously yanked the old man up.
It glanced contemptuously at the hunched Old Dog Demon before it and shook its head.
A mere stray dog of a Loose Cultivator, actually delusional enough to want to ascend to the heavens in one step?
It shouldn't even bother looking in a mirror... with such a pathetic appearance, even if it were allowed to stand by the Second Young Master's side, it would likely just dirty the Second Young Master's eyes.
Until the two figures, along with the old man it had painstakingly found, vanished from sight,
The dark valley returned to dead silence.
After a long while,
The Old Dog Demon finally dared to bare its fangs, angrily spitting at the surroundings: 'A piece of trash that isn't worth a damn...'
...
And far away from where the Old Dog Demon was cursing in secret,
Above the cliffs,
Three figures hidden within the rolling miasma silently took in the entire scene from the valley floor.
'I can't believe they actually found him...'
Lin Feiyan couldn't help but swallow.
She withdrew her gaze and looked at the calm girl in white robes beside her.
Recalling the situation on the flying ship, Lin Feiyan couldn't help but feel a bit guilty.
She had originally done this to save Face, not wanting to return to the sect in such a dejected state.
She also knew well that she was a half-baked fighter and dared not wander recklessly in this dangerous Yunmeng Township.
Hearing that demons were entrenched in Liuxian Valley, she had casually made up an excuse.
Her goal was merely to trick this Guest Elder with unfathomable strength into coming here to serve as a reliable protector.
Who would have thought,
That the moment they stepped into this Liuxian Valley, they would actually run into the tracks of demons.
And,
What made her even more terrified was... besides that low-class Old Dog Demon, the two wolf demons that had appeared and taken the old man away possessed terrifying auras that were steadily stronger than her own.
Eight Chess Pieces of Strategy?
Perhaps even higher.
A layer of cold sweat seeped out on Lin Feiyan's back.
Thank goodness, thank goodness.
She hadn't been hot-headed and charged out just now.
If she had acted regardless of the consequences, perhaps the ones being tied up and taken away right now would be the three of them.
'What do we do now?'
Lin Feiyan lowered her voice, her tone filled with a hint of wariness.
Jiang Yuechu stopped her contemplation and suddenly spoke: 'Follow them.'