Chen Xiao had traveled a lot in his previous life, so of course he had eaten it before. Although he didn't fall in love with it after eating it once, the crispy taste was very impressive. Now seeing the god-like winter cicada, he recalled the taste at that time and couldn't help swallowing his saliva.

Tang Ruru felt like she had found a soulmate, and immediately shared the taste of the special food with Chen Xiao. The friendship between the two of them actually improved because of this.

Tong Nuonuo refused at first. However, after it was done, Chen Xiao ate it so deliciously. Tang Ru's eating manners were not to be relied upon, but Chen Xiao was still a very trustworthy foodie. Tong Nuonuo hesitated again and again, and waited until the two of them almost finished the small bowl of fried winter cicadas before quickly grabbing one.

After putting the last one into her mouth, Tong Nuonuo licked her lips and felt that it was not as disgusting and scary as she had imagined.

The three of them took turns to be on duty at night, and Chen Xiao was still the first one. After the handover, he crawled into the thick blanket. Under him was a thick leather mattress that isolated the cold air. In addition, the snow cave had a good warming effect, so Chen Xiao did not find it difficult to sleep.

The next day, after drinking hot water and eating rations, the three of them continued on their journey. It was only when they were on the road that they understood what Tong Nuonuo meant by saying that there was no time to rest. That night was used to recuperate, and there was no proper camping afterwards. Except for a short break during meals, the rest of the time, including the night, was on the road, which was a hundred times more tiring than the forced march during the training.

During each break, Tong Nuonuo and his partner would meditate to recover. However, meditation didn't work for Chen Xiao, so he would take a nap on a leather mattress wrapped in a thick blanket. The total nap time was four hours a day. Chen Xiao kept chasing like this, and slowly adapted to the rhythm. After all, he was young and in good health.

Following the marks left by Xi Yunting, they chased him day and night for half a month and finally arrived at a mountain range.

"Where is this?" Tong Nuonuo asked Chen Xiao. Tang Ru was responsible for paying attention to the signs, while Chen Xiao was responsible for determining the direction. He just stared at the backs of the two people, responsible for not getting lost. With his sense of direction, plus the weather was either snowing or cloudy, and there were very few sunny days, he had long lost track of east, west, south, and north.

Chen Xiao said, "We are now in the northwest of the beast area, about 4,000 miles away from the route we passed before." He originally had a very good sense of direction, and with a compass he could adjust the direction at any time, and he created a map in his mind while walking. Tong Nuonuo could answer without thinking when asked.

Tong Nuonuo immediately looked at Chen Xiao with admiration and almost knelt down to him.

Chen Xiao coughed awkwardly and asked Tang Ru: "Did you see any new marks? We haven't found any in two days."

Tang Ru said, "Maybe there was an unexpected situation and Brother Xi didn't have time to leave a new mark. Don't worry, as long as the direction is correct, we won't lose you."

After walking for another half day, when it was almost dark, they finally saw the new mark left by Xi Yunting. If someone who didn't know the situation saw it, they would only think it was the claw marks left by a large beast or a fierce beast on the stone or tree. Xi Yunting attached a faint golden and fire essence to it, which made it easy for his companions to recognize it. This essence did not exist for a long time, and it dissipated in just seven or eight days.

After finding the new mark, the three of them could finally eat and rest. Chen Xiao was lying down to sleep after eating, when he was suddenly awakened by an inexplicable feeling. A moment later, Xi Yunting appeared in the slanting wind and light snow.

"Brother!" Chen Xiao quickly got up, shivering from the cold.

The other two people then noticed Xi Yunting. He was silent and no one knew how Chen Xiao found out.

Seeing Chen Xiao's expression, which was colder than the wind and snow, warm up, he quickly came to Chen Xiao's side: "Brother Xiao, don't worry."

After getting used to the cold wind, Chen Xiao put away the blanket and asked, "Brother, you're back. Did you find a place?"

Xi Yunting's expression turned cold again. He said, "Yes, it's in a cave ahead. Those evil cultivators set up an altar there and used those children to create a dangerous place. In addition to those five people, there are accomplices, less than twenty people in total."

Tong Nuonuo frowned: "What kind of cultivation are they?"

Xi Yunting said: "Only one person who goes by the alias Zhao Jiao is in the Nascent Soul stage. The others are four in the Golden Core stage, seven in the Foundation Establishment stage, and the rest are cultivators."

Tang Ru said with a gloomy face: "With so many people, it is difficult for us to deal with them. I am afraid we have to wait for reinforcements."

Tong Nuonuo had a different opinion: "As long as we can separate them, Fellow Daoist Xi can deal with the Nascent Soul Stage, or at least contain him. The four Golden Cores can also be defeated one by one, and as long as the rest are trapped, there won't be a problem."

Tang Ru was very surprised, and couldn't understand where a mechanical engineer like Tong Nuonuo got such great confidence. They only had one Jindan, two foundation-building and one body-refining stage, and the other side had only one Yuanying stage, which could beat them down.

Xi Yunting nodded slowly: "Those children are under strict guard. As long as we make a feint to the east and attack in the west, it won't be a problem to trap some of them. These evil cultivators are not to be worried about. The difficulty lies in the fact that there is a vicious beast, the Viper, in the dangerous place."

Tang Ru gasped, and Tong Nuonuo was shocked: "What? There's a poisonous viper!"

Only Chen Xiao was very confused. He knew that after 500 years, a snake could transform into a Jiao, a low-level dragon. With the word "poison" added, was it still the legendary creature he knew?

Xi Yunting carefully explained to him that the viper was a very dangerous beast that was not easy to provoke. It liked to live in dark and damp places. It was like a snake or insect, with a huge body, solid skin and flesh, and strong venom.

Chen Xiao's scalp tingled when he heard this. The two were so similar that they might be from the same family.

Xi Yunting said: "After the evil cultivators performed rituals, they fed the dead bodies of children to the poisonous snakes. Although the two are not on good terms, they are living in peace. If we are not careful when we act, we may alarm the poisonous snakes. Then we will be attacked from both sides and will surely die."

Tong Nuonuo was gloomy. It was difficult to deal with a group of evil cultivators, and it was even more difficult with a poisonous snake. The most worrying thing was that they had to come up with a solution as soon as possible, otherwise the children would not be able to save their lives.

After a night's rest, Chen Xiao suggested going to see the situation on the spot. Sitting here and daydreaming, no good ideas can be thought of. Tong Nuonuo also agreed. He is a mechanical engineer and can design mechanical devices according to local conditions. Knowing the terrain, maybe he can blow up the cave in one fell swoop. Of course, this is the worst option. Even if the lives of those children are not considered, burying them alive is useless for fierce beasts and practitioners above the foundation-building stage.

So the four of them, led by Xi Yunting, quietly lurked into the cave. The cave was connected in all directions and had many exits. Xi Yunting took a day to get in from another place. It was difficult to walk, and one had to bend over. Even the narrowest places had to be crawled through.

This was an underground cave, with jagged rocks and a natural cover, allowing the four people to climb to the top without much effort.

Looking down from a high place, you can see the stronghold of the evil cultivators.

These evil cultivators were not skilled enough to build decent buildings. They only used pillars and cloth to set up tents, put furniture on them, and divide the areas into different areas.

Zhao Jiao occupied the largest area, and farther away were the four Jindan realms, and those scattered around were the foundation-building realms. The cultivators were the most miserable, living in the lowest, dirtiest, and smelliest places. The children were the most pitiful, being kept in a pen like animals. The only places to sleep were rags and haystacks.

"I can't bear it anymore!" Tong Nuonuo's eyes turned red when she took a look at the children, and she wished she could fight those evil cultivators immediately.

"Don't be impulsive! Nuonuo." Chen Xiao said in a suppressed tone, "Otherwise you won't be able to save anyone!"

Tong Nuonuo took a deep breath and finally calmed down. He asked, "Is there any way to get rid of these bastards as soon as possible?!"

Chen Xiao looked around and whispered, "Although I have never seen it before, according to records, this kind of terrain is likely to be a dangerous place. A dangerous place is also a kind of earth vein, where no birds or animals can be seen, and no grass can grow. There must be evil spirits above a dangerous place, and there may be a fierce dragon. If I can successfully find the fierce dragon's acupoint, I will be sure to rescue these children safely."

Tong Nuonuo was overjoyed when he heard this: "Really? Then go find it quickly."

Chen Xiao said in a deep voice: "I'll go find him right away, you and Tang Ru stay here and watch." He turned to Xi Yunting and said, "Brother, please come with me."

Xi Yunting was most familiar with this place. After putting down another one, he asked, "How confident are you?"

Chen Xiao said: "I felt the evil spirit as soon as I entered this cave. It is very strong. It is very likely that the place where the poisonous viper is is where the blood is. I just need to confirm it with my own eyes."

This was not the first time that Chen Xiao had found the lair of the beast by relying on the earth's aura. Xi Yunting had more confidence in him than he did. Chen Xiao said that he needed to confirm it with his own eyes, and Xi Yunting had already begun to think about how to use this to lay out his plan.

After thinking for a while, Xi Yunting came over and hugged him tightly in the midst of Chen Xiao's puzzled gaze. Without waiting for Chen Xiao to react, Xi Yunting said, "The power of the poisonous snake is above the Nascent Soul stage. I need to use a magic weapon to hide. You stay close to me for a while, and don't move."

Chen Xiao felt the heat coming from Xi Yunting, and his body began to heat up involuntarily. He nodded stiffly: "Okay, I won't move."

Chen Xiao was almost carried by Xi Yunting, with only a little of his feet touching the ground. Xi Yunting moved very quickly, and Chen Xiao didn't have time to think about anything else. He walked through a dark passage and came to another open cave.

As soon as he entered the cave, the surging evil spirit hit him in the face. Without even looking, Chen Xiao could be sure that this must be the place where the evil dragon was conceived.

Xi Yunting hugged him tightly, stepped lightly, and quickly climbed to a high place, hiding behind a sharp and scary rock. Xi Yunting said nothing, but gently led Chen Xiao out and asked him to look into the cave.

The cave was not completely dark, as the moss growing in the damp places emitted a faint light. With this little light source, Chen Xiao could see the appearance of the viper clearly.

The viper had an extremely strange head, with wheel-sized eyes on both sides of the flat round head, and a body without a neck. At first glance, it looked like a giant python that had grown for hundreds of years and was sleeping soundly with its body bent.