"Why are you so stubborn? I've practically put my blood right in front of your lips, and you still won't drink it. The stuff inside isn't as scary as you think. You'll be fine if you drink my blood. Hurry up and stop dawdling."

Wen Qiyu yanked Zhu Yanniang to her side and then roughly shoved her own blood into Zhu Yanniang's mouth, gesturing for her to drink it quickly. She didn't listen to a word of Zhu Yanniang's refusal.

As a result, Zhu Yanniang was forced to have Wen Qiyu's blood on her mouth.

She took a drag instinctively, then shoved Wen Qiyu away.

"I just don't want to go and die, why are you forcing me? I agreed to be your bodyguard and accompany you to find the golden thread snake. Now that we're almost there, if you're not afraid of death, go in by yourself. I'm not going in, you brat. If you dare to make me go in again, I'll drag you to the woods and ruin your innocence, you believe me?"

"You... what are you afraid of? What's so scary about this place? If you don't believe me, wait for me to open the door."

Seeing that he still couldn't convince the woman even after all that, Wen Qiyu strode to the door and opened it.

There was no lock on the door, and Wen Qiyu opened it with a gentle push. Just as she saw the small mountain of white bones piled up at the door, a suction force suddenly burst out from inside, instantly sucking Wen Qiyu and Zhu Yanniang inside.

"Ahhh!"

Once inside, the entire room was filled with Wen Qiyu's deafening screams. In contrast, Zhu Yanniang, who was terrified outside but had been thrown into the pile of bones as soon as she entered, did not make a sound.

As Wen Qiyu crawled out of the pile of bones and looked into the dimly lit room with occasional glimmers of light, she screamed even more horrifically.

"That's enough. Didn't you say you weren't afraid?"

After Zhu Yanniang scrambled to her feet like a dog falling into the mud, she stood with her hands on her hips and glared coldly at Wen Qiyu, who was still yelling.

"This place is too eerie, the atmosphere around it is a bit cold, and these skeletons! These skeletons... it looks like a lot of people have died."

Wen Qiyu stammered, her lips trembling.

"It's not just that many people died; it's that many people actually died."

Zhu Yanniang glanced at the spot where they had just fallen and sighed softly.

"You're so cruel, don't... don't be so blunt, okay?"

Wen Qiyu uttered the most cowardly words in the harshest tone, causing Zhu Yanniang, who had been looking around, to burst into laughter.

"How come you're suddenly not scared anymore?"

Wen Qiyu really couldn't understand why the woman who was trembling violently outside suddenly became a completely different person as soon as she came in, and was even smiling so happily.

"I don't know why, but as soon as I came in, I didn't feel like the other person was going to strangle me anymore. Maybe it's because your blood had an effect."

Zhu Yanniang shrugged, indicating that she couldn't understand either.

"That's strange. The sense of warmth I felt as soon as I came in disappeared. Could we have really stumbled into a murder den?"

Wen Qiyu now has a chilling feeling of being watched, as if someone in the shadows is about to devour him at any moment.

"No, this place is more like an altar, or a sacred site. Look at the things on the table right in front of us, and look at the portrait hanging there. It's a man holding a golden snake. Maybe this place holds the secrets of the Miao region for thousands of years."

"Moreover, I have another guess: this place was once desolate. The reason why this white building looks clean and tidy now must be because someone has taken care of it. Perhaps we did not enter by accident, but someone guided us and deliberately sent us into this white building."

Zhu Yanniang observed the passageway on both sides of the portrait hanging directly in front of her and spoke slowly.

"My goodness, can't you say something nice? If you're right, then we'll really be someone else's meal."

After hearing Zhu Yanniang's explanation, Wen Qiyu felt a chill run down his spine, as if he were about to be devoured.

He had just finished thinking that when suddenly two gusts of wind swept out from behind the main hall, instantly pulling the two of them into two different caves.

Zhu Yanniang's side was covered with tiny golden thread snakes and Gu worms, while Wen Qiyu's side was being tightly strangled by a large golden-gray python.

Both of them were more dangerous than the other.

...

In the small wooden cabin on the mountain, Chu Mian knocked on his master's door.

"how's it going?"

The white-haired old man didn't let him in, but instead asked a question indifferently.

"They've all gone in; we should have the results in about a day."

Chu Mian stared coldly at the door and responded indifferently.

"That's good. Let's all wait. It won't make a difference if we wait a little longer."

“But Master! I received a letter from my junior brother an hour ago. He said that outsiders had broken into Miao territory, the Miao King was dead, and the soul he released more than two months ago had escaped and captured the High Priest. People from the Central Plains have discovered the anomaly here, and they will be coming to investigate soon. At the same time, the Holy Maiden also sent a letter, with roughly the same content.”

Chu Mian was afraid of complications, and a hint of urgency appeared in her otherwise indifferent expression.

“Those people in the Miao Palace are indeed a bunch of useless fools. They can’t even keep a secret. Oh well, the time is almost right. Let them come. Go and reinforce the formation to make them waste more time.”

"good!"

Seeing that his master had taken his words to heart, Chu Mian responded and turned to leave.

Meanwhile, outside Bagua Mountain, a group of people who had agreed to meet arrived as scheduled, except for Jun Jianchou.

Jun Jianchou disappeared that morning and never returned; no one knew where he went. Cen Xi wanted to ask Lu Duling if he had gone to look for them, but in the end, she didn't ask anything and left with Shen Jinchen.

Some people are simply not meant to be provoked; let them be.

No matter what, they can never go back to the way things were before.

Upon arriving at Bagua Mountain, these successive array formations were child's play for Shen Jinchen, a master of array formations. They moved through as if they were in an empty field, breaking through twenty overlapping arrays in half a day.

Unfortunately, they don't know how many traps the enemy has set up, or how long it will take them to expend their efforts.

Outside a small wooden house near the White Building, Chu Mian frowned and pushed the door open without knocking, entering the house directly.

What's making you so flustered?

As soon as he entered, the white-haired old man glared at him.

"Master, our formation has been broken, and the attack is unstoppable. I'm afraid we won't be able to hold out for long."

Chu Mian's expression was solemn and her tone urgent.

"Do you know who came in?"

The white-haired old man suddenly stood up, grabbed Chu Mian, and asked.

"Those Central Plains people who entered Miao territory, they came too fast. According to my observation, one of them is far more skilled in formations than we are. It's only a matter of time before they get in."

Chu Mian stared intently at his master and told him everything he had seen.