Chapter 104: Forbidden Land

Cheng Xi shook her head gently, her voice tinged with a trace of exhaustion and confusion as she said to Baohua, "It's not sadness, just a sudden feeling that the road ahead is vast and uncertain. With the opening of the Wanxing Sect imminent, there are too many variables; I truly am not sure if my choices are correct."

Baohua nestled obediently against Cheng Xi, rubbing her head against her arm, and comforted her: "But Xixi, you have always been the one with the best judgment. No matter what decision you make, Feng Huo and I will always be by your side, forever standing with you."

Cheng Xi reached out to stroke Baohua's head, forcing a smile to the corners of her lips. Just as she was about to rise, a strange, faint aura carrying a trace of chill quietly drifted from the depths of Wanxing Mountain. Cheng Xi's expression changed abruptly; she stood up instantly, her eyes scanning the surroundings with vigilance. Almost at the same moment, Feng Huo also sensed the anomaly; the flames around its body "whooshed" and burned brighter, instantly flying to Cheng Xi's side as if to build an invisible protective barrier for her.

"What is this aura? Why is it so eerie, making one's blood run cold?" Cheng Xi murmured to herself, her voice full of vigilance and doubt.

No sooner had she spoken than a black shadow flashed through the woods like lightning, moving so fast that it was almost impossible to see clearly. Cheng Xi did not hesitate and immediately took off in pursuit, with Baohua and Feng Huo following closely behind her. After chasing for quite a distance, Cheng Xi finally saw the black shadow stop in a clearing. When she saw the true face of the shadow, she could not help but frown slightly.

Before her stood a mysterious person clad in a black robe. The hood of the robe was pulled very low, completely obscuring their face, revealing only a pair of eyes as cold as frost, devoid of any warmth.

"Who are you? Why are you spying here?" Cheng Xi asked sternly, her voice carrying an unquestionable majesty.

The mysterious person let out a low, eerie laugh, as if it had come from hell: "Little girl, you are very sharp. However, I came here only to remind you that some people do not wish for the Wanxing Sect to be opened smoothly."

"What do you mean? Who exactly are you? Who is the one behind all this mischief?" Cheng Xi pressed, firing questions like a volley of shots.

The mysterious person did not answer, but their figure flickered and vanished into the darkness like a ghost, leaving only Cheng Xi standing in place, her brows locked in a frown, the doubts in her heart growing ever heavier.

After returning to Qingtian Peak, Cheng Xi lay on her bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep all night.

The next morning, just as the sky was beginning to brighten, Cheng Xi rose early and hurried to the Library Pavilion of Qinghe Academy.

Perhaps the key clues to the Wanxing Sect were hidden in the Library Pavilion. Thick books were flipped through rapidly in her hands, the sound of paper rubbing against paper sounding exceptionally clear in the silent pavilion. Finally, she found a yellowed book that recorded the legends of the Wanxing Sect.

The book recorded that the Wanxing Sect connected the Mortal Realm to another mysterious and unfathomable world, a place possessing powerful strength that people yearned for, but which also hid endless dangers and unknowns.

In the past, countless powerhouses, harboring ambition and dreams, had attempted to open the Wanxing Sect to obtain the power within, but most of them never returned, vanishing without a trace as if they had never existed in this world.

Just as Cheng Xi was reading intently, immersed in the world of the book, the door to the Library Pavilion "creaked" and was slowly pushed open; Li Zhi'an walked in.

Seeing Cheng Xi, he said gently, "I knew you would be here."

Cheng Xi closed the book, looked up, and told Li Zhi'an everything about meeting the mysterious person last night and what she had seen in the book.

After listening, Li Zhi'an's expression became exceptionally grave: "It seems we must be even more cautious."

Cheng Xi nodded, and the two searched the Library Pavilion carefully for a long time, not missing a single corner, yet they found nothing else of use.

After leaving the Library Pavilion, Cheng Xi decided to visit Jiang Zhongqiao. In her heart, Jiang Zhongqiao was knowledgeable and might know some unknown secrets about the Wanxing Sect.

Arriving at Jiang Zhongqiao's residence, Cheng Xi explained her purpose.

After listening, Jiang Zhongqiao pondered for a moment and said slowly: "I only know a little about the Wanxing Sect. Years ago, my mentor participated in the operation to Seal the Wanxing Sect. I heard him say that the forces behind the Wanxing Sect are intricate and deeply intertwined. There is a power that has been stirring in the shadows, attempting to break the Seal. These past few years, the Seal has loosened repeatedly; I fear it has something to do with this power."

"Then do you know where this mysterious power comes from?" Cheng Xi asked.

Jiang Zhongqiao shook his head: "There were no signs before, but since you encountered Ye Wujin this time, I think it might have something to do with the Fox Clan and the mountain demons. Wanxing Mountain stretches endlessly, and there are countless rare beasts in the mountains; there are not a few like the mountain demons that have gained intelligence and cultivated on their own."

Cheng Xi was lost in thought.

Li Zhi'an said from the side: "Is it because the Spirit Essence near the Wanxing Sect is dense?"

"Perhaps," Jiang Zhongqiao said. He looked at Cheng Xi: "When you clashed with Ye Wujin that day, did you have any other discoveries?"

Cheng Xi shook her head: "To be able to command mountain demons, there must be a secret technique. It is a pity we do not know it; if we did, it would be good if we could break it, so that Ye Wujin would have less help."

Jiang Zhongqiao's teacup tapped lightly against the stone table, startling a few falling locust flowers. He gazed at the surging sea of clouds in the distance and suddenly said, "The day before yesterday, while sorting through my master's relics, I found half a torn page in the lining of the *Eight Desolations Strange Records*."

Li Zhi'an immediately pressed: "Is it related to the mountain demons?"

"The torn page records the Blood Sacrifice Technique of the Fox Clan," the old man took a piece of tattered silk with a bronze luster from his sleeve, "Every new moon, using the Seven Orifices Exquisite Heart as a guide, one can command a hundred beasts as soldiers. It is just that this latter part..."

The scorched edges of the tattered silk curled like a snake. When Cheng Xi took it, she smelled a faint scent of dragon ambergris. A vague premonition flashed through her heart; this fragrance was actually three parts similar to the faint, cold scent on the black-robed person from last night.

As the water clock dripped to the third quarter of the Shen hour, Cheng Xi said: "In the Mist Miasma Forest on the western foothills of Wanxing Mountain, a mirage formed by illusion-mist appears every sixty years."

Li Zhi'an's pupils constricted: "The old site of the Demon tribe that Ye Wujin slaughtered three years ago is right there."

The three pairs of eyes met, and Jiang Zhongqiao said: "Let's go take a look."

Li Zhi'an nodded at Cheng Xi, and the three immediately rushed toward the depths of Wanxing Mountain.

The dew was heavy in the deep night as the three snuck into the forbidden area of the back mountain.

The tattered silk in Jiang Zhongqiao's bosom suddenly grew hot, and the mottled vines on the stone wall began to squirm eerily under the moonlight. When he pressed the tattered silk into a groove shaped like a fox head, the entire mountain wall emitted a dull boom.

"So Master hid it here."

The hoarse voice startled Cheng Xi into turning around. Jiang Zhongqiao held a pine torch, light and shadow interweaving on his face: "This is the *Record of Rebirth* written in the blood and tears of the Fox Clan; it records the method to break the blood sacrifice..."

A sound of chains struggling suddenly came from the depths of the dark chamber, and the hair on Cheng Xi's body stood on end instantly. In the shadows where the torchlight could not reach, a pair of amber vertical pupils were staring at them gloomily.