Qing Xuanzi stroked his beard and smiled: "The form of a dragon already possesses the aura of a true dragon. It seems that Yin Gu Zhenren has given you a great gift."

Xiao Jin transmitted a message to everyone: "Master, little master, we can no longer cross the Sea of ​​Fog."

"It's very dangerous there. There are many beings like Yin Gu Zhenren. He's just one of the less powerful ones on the fringes."

Rong Jiaojiao asked, "How did you know? And how are we going to get to the rainforest?"

Xiao Jin replied, "I know this from the remnant soul's memories. As for the past rainforest, we need to enter the forest from the east side of the sea. The air currents there are turbulent, but we can only walk there. We can't fly by sword or by purple spirit."

Qing Xuanzi looked at the sky and said, "In that case, let's get a good rest tonight and recharge our energy so we can continue our journey tomorrow."

Release the wooden house and let everyone go to restore it. Xiao Jin also took the time to digest the memory fragments obtained from the remnant soul.

Rong Jiaojiao had Yue Ling restore her spiritual power in her place, while she used the small secret realm to restore her divine soul power ten times over.

The next day, everyone set off again, full of energy.

This time, following Xiao Jin's instructions, they left the coast and ventured into the mountains to the east.

The moment they stepped inside, the air around them suddenly became thick and sticky, as if invisible shackles were quietly binding their movements.

Qing Xuanzi attempted to fly on his sword, but found that his spiritual energy was like being stuck in a quagmire, unable to support even a trace of the power to fly.

"Just as Xiao Jin said, the spatial rules here have been distorted." Qing Xuanzi's expression grew increasingly solemn. With a gentle wave of his sleeve, a soft silver light appeared in front of them, opening up a narrow passage.

Rong Jiaojiao followed closely behind, a top-grade Heavenly Thunder Talisman between her fingertips, and she warily scanned her surroundings.

The trees here are exceptionally tall, with layers upon layers of leaves that block out the sun, leaving only scattered patches of light that filter through the gaps and fall to the ground like twinkling stars.

A damp, decaying smell permeated the air, and the faint, low roars of beasts could be heard in the distance, telling of the dangers lurking in these mountains and forests.

Zi Ling shrunk her size and landed lightly on Rong Jiaojiao's shoulder, whispering, "Master, there are many ferocious beasts hiding in this forest. We must be careful."

Xiao Jin transformed into a golden dragon, swimming around the crowd. Its golden scales shone brightly even in the dim light, like a flowing golden light.

It raises its head from time to time, alert to any possible threat.

Suddenly, a rustling sound came from the bushes ahead; something was quietly approaching.

Qing Xuanzi raised his hand to signal everyone to stop. His gaze shot towards the source of the sound like lightning, so sharp that it seemed to be able to penetrate all disguises.

A large, black-striped tiger slowly emerged, its scarlet eyes fixed on them, gleaming with greed and ferocity.

Its saliva dripped from its mouth, corroding small pits in the ground and emitting a pungent, sour smell.

"Watch out for its saliva!" Qing Xuanzi shouted, and the Crimson Blood Sword in his hand flashed with a sword light, piercing straight for the black tiger's brow.

Black Tiger roared and nimbly dodged the attack, then pounced on Rong Jiaojiao.

Rong Jiaojiao was prepared. A flash of silver light appeared on her brow, and a divine soul impact struck the Black Tiger's mind.

Black Tiger froze, roaring in pain as his soul was severely damaged.

Just then, Xiao Jin suddenly darted out, swung his dragon claw, and sent the black tiger flying several feet away.

Black Tiger crashed into several large trees and struggled to get up, but Little Gold bit his neck and killed him instantly.

"Well done!" Rong Jiaojiao praised.

Xiao Jin released the black tiger, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes: "Its flesh and blood are also beneficial to me."

Qing Xuanzi nodded: "There are many ferocious beasts here, we should not stay any longer, let's continue forward."

Qing Xuanzi helped Xiao Jin put away the prey, and the group quickened their pace and continued forward.

After that, one or two ferocious beasts would occasionally jump out, but they were all easily dealt with.

They rested in the woods at night, taking turns keeping watch in case of any unforeseen events.

Rong Jiaojiao sat cross-legged by the campfire, closing her eyes to rest.

“Master,” Zi Ling suddenly pricked up her ears, her voice extremely low, “something is approaching…not a ferocious beast.”

Qing Xuanzi suddenly opened his eyes, and the Crimson Blood Sword silently appeared in his hand, its blade gleaming coldly in the moonlight.

The little golden dragon coiled around the tree trunk, its scales slightly open, its eyes locked on a certain direction in the darkness.

rustle--

A few eerie green lights suddenly appeared among the shadows of the trees, like flickering will-o'-the-wisps.

Immediately afterwards, a hunched human figure walked over on decaying leaves, its withered fingers gripping a white bone staff.

The rotting animal hide wrapped around its body revealed grayish-purple skin covered with eerie totems, making it look like an evil spirit crawling out of hell.

"Living people?" The creature chuckled, like sandpaper scraping. "It's been a long time since I've smelled a living person in this forest."

"A Western dark wizard? Peak Earth Master realm!" Qing Xuanzi's sword suddenly flashed with a three-inch red light. "Step back! His witchcraft can devour souls!"

The Heavenly Thunder Talisman at Rong Jiaojiao's fingertip ignited instantly, and purple lightning struck down in a flash.

The black wizard slammed his white bone staff heavily on the ground, and several cracks suddenly appeared in the ground. Dark vines shot out like venomous snakes, covered with barbs, and dripping foul-smelling slime from their tips. They intertwined and grew, instantly enveloping the black wizard.

The purple lightning struck the dark vines, but it was absorbed by the strange plants as if it had vanished into thin air.

Dark red, vein-like patterns appeared on the surface of the vines, intertwining around the black wizard to form a hideous face.

Zi Ling spewed out lightning flames, burning the vines until they snapped into pieces.

However, the broken vine turned into black smoke as soon as it hit the ground, and then quickly condensed back into shape, rushing towards the crowd as if it were an endless nightmare.

Qing Xuanzi snorted coldly, and with his Crimson Blood Sword, he drew a talisman in the air, and a wall of crimson fire suddenly rose up, blocking the black smoke outside.

The firelight illuminated the surroundings, and the group discovered that the woods were now filled with black wizards dressed in the same attire. They had silently surrounded the camp, each holding a white bone staff with ghostly green flames dancing in the skull eye sockets at the top, like messengers from hell.

The leading black wizard raised his bone staff high, chanting a spell that Rong Jiaojiao and the others couldn't understand.

Rong Jiaojiao instinctively knew she couldn't let him finish reciting, so she threw out a handful of Soul-Burning Talismans, instantly enveloping everything in the forest in a ghostly blue flame.

Their Xuanqing Sect may not have much else, but their talismans are definitely top-notch. Qing Xuanzi followed closely behind, scattering a large number of Heavenly Thunder Talismans.

In an instant, the entire forest was transformed into a hellish landscape by the interplay of lightning and fire.

The ghostly blue soul-burning fire and the purple-white lightning exploded in the night sky, making the figures of those black wizards appear ghostly.

However, the chanting continued.

The leading black wizard stood amidst the flames, his white bone staff raised high. The black-robed figures behind him exploded, transforming into a sea of ​​blood that rushed towards Rong Jiaojiao and the others.