A dark shadow sweeps through the wind, revealing natural and man-made disasters.

Huaiwen's black hair was completely loose, and there was a noticeable blush on his fair face. The smile on his face when they met again made Xuan Ye feel as if it were yesterday.

But Xuan Ye quickly came to his senses; this was no longer the case. So he pulled hard, securing Huai Wen firmly to his side.

The next instant, Huaiwen's shoulder was grabbed by Xuanye, and the two of them broke through the black whirlwind with a surge of force.

After escaping the Black Whirlwind, Xuan Ye was the first to inquire about her physical condition. He was relieved to learn that Huaiwen was only slightly disoriented.

Huaiwen put away the hairband and asked, "Why did you come here?"

Before Xuan Ye could answer, she answered herself, "Oh... a curse."

Xuan Ye suppressed his anger and tried his best to calm himself down: "What did I tell you? How could you not do it!"

"It happened so suddenly, as you know. My magic is just so-so, I couldn't do it." Huaiwen felt wronged, but she was powerless and really didn't mean it.

Xuan Ye suppressed his anger and said, word by word, "Ruan Huaiwen, I'm telling you now. There is only one Ruan family member. You are a descendant, you are a descendant, you cannot die, do you understand?"

You are still bound by curses and shackles, your fate is yet to be decided, how can you die!

Huaiwen was taken aback by Xuan Ye's solemn and imposing manner. She thought to herself, "So Ruan Shiyun is that important to me, that she would protect me for her sake." Regardless of the reason, she should thank Xuan Ye for protecting her.

Huaiwen nodded obediently as if he knew he had made a mistake, and after calming his thoughts, he asked, "You caught up with him, but what about Jiang Liyan? How is he? What places in the city did you search?"

Xuan Ye glanced at Huai Wen, thinking she was heartless, and replied, "How would I know if he's still alive or not?"

Huaiwen choked up: "..."

As darkness fell, Huaiwen didn't want to waste any more time there. Her top priority was to get back and find Jiang Liyan. Therefore, Huaiwen, whose cultivation was not high, asked Xuan Ye to take her back.

Although Xuan Ye was sulking, he still agreed. However, instead of flying on a sword, he conjured a magic rope, tied one end to Huai Wen, and held the other end, letting her float in the air like a balloon.

Huaiwen wanted to cry but had no tears left. He regretted saying that.

As we approached the city, we could vaguely see billowing smoke and dust, a fiery red glow. Upon closer inspection, we realized that the fiery red glow was actually a raging fire.

Fires raged throughout the city, seemingly impossible to extinguish, and people scattered in all directions. Huaiwen shouted, "I must save people!"

Xuan Ye did not release the immortal ropes binding her, but instead instructed, "Then remember my words: do not act rashly and rush into the sea of ​​fire. Cherish your life!"

"good."

In an instant, the magic rope binding Huaiwen disappeared, and Xuanye gently placed her on the street. Several people ran towards them, and Huaiwen rushed forward to guide them to escape in another direction. However, the people who had been listless suddenly became energetic and their eyes turned red when they saw Huaiwen. They bared their teeth and claws and charged at Huaiwen.

Seeing this, Huaiwen immediately jumped onto the roof. The others followed. Huaiwen had no choice but to turn and run. Fortunately, she wasn't far from Xuan Ye. The moment she ran back, Xuan Ye killed the others behind her with a single move.

"Watch out!" Xuan Ye shouted, "They seem to have been infected with something."

Huaiwen said worriedly, "Could it be that the black cloud of gas caused the infection?"

Xuan Ye's eyes sharpened, and he said sternly, "I'm sure I'm right."

Huaiwen's expression grew uneasy. She had read so many books, but none mentioned the black mist infection. Furthermore, if she was connected to the stone tablet, the golden armor, and the black mist, was she a scourge?

Huaiwen couldn't help but feel afraid.

The fire was spreading too quickly, and there were still ordinary people fleeing for their lives on the streets. Huaiwen put aside her thoughts and calmly said, "The most urgent task is to rescue all the uninfected people. Lord City Lord, please, please save everyone, okay?"

Xuan Ye nodded, looking down at the entire city of Zhiyang. He knew that from this moment on, disaster was about to strike.

A human and a demon walked side by side, looking at the "patients" all over the streets, frantically trying to infect others. Moreover, their method of infection was very simple: they only needed to touch the body to guide the black energy there, which would then attach itself to the body, and they could be infected.

The entire city was in chaos, flames raged, and people scattered in all directions, only to perish in the inferno. Huaiwen felt a dull ache in her chest; she didn't know what to do. She and Xuanye wandered through different streets, finally finding Jiang Liyan in one place.

He was surrounded by a sea of ​​fire. Just as Huaiwen was about to call out to him, many "patients" emerged from the flames and walked towards him. The "patients" emitted a deep blue light and formed a circle, trying to surround and kill Jiang Liyan.

Jiang Liyan, who was unarmed, already had blood on the corners of his mouth.

"Don't hide! Come out and fight me one-on-one if you dare!" Jiang Liyan said through gritted teeth. "What kind of hero hides in the dark!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Liyan swept the floor and charged forward, causing the circle of "patients" to fall one after another. Jiang Liyan leaped up and rushed straight in front of him, punching so hard that the eaves split in two. With a "sizzling" sound, Jiang Liyan and the enemy hidden in mid-air faced off for more than a dozen rounds.

Jiang Liyan was getting impatient; he wanted to finish the fight quickly! So he landed from mid-air, preparing to unleash a powerful attack!

But a bolt of lightning appeared in mid-air, striking Jiang Liyan at the same time as the "patients" attacked him. With multiple pursuers, it seemed that only a dead end awaited Jiang Liyan.

In an instant, a glass umbrella shielded Jiang Liyan from all the disaster. The glass umbrella spun continuously, shooting out glass ice arrows that shattered all the "patients".

Jiang Liyan looked up, and Huaiwen and Xuanye, who had rushed over, also looked in the same direction. They saw the owner of the glass umbrella walking towards them through the air. She grabbed the glass umbrella, twirled it once, and shot out an ice arrow.

The person who had been hiding finally revealed their true colors.

Once the true face was revealed, everyone understood.

He is none other than the Immortal of the Path of the Mist – Cang Lun.

Xuan Ye's heart skipped a beat. He turned to look at Huai Wen, only to see her rushing towards Jiang Liyan. He frowned, feeling a pang of disappointment.

Cang Lun lifted the black cloak from his head, his expression calm. He looked up at the people in front of him, and finally fixed his gaze on the owner of the glass umbrella.

"Canglun!" It was Shi Yulu, who was holding the glass umbrella, who spoke.

Cang Lun concealed the coldness in his eyes and forced a smile: "Long time no see, Shi Yuluo."

Shi Yulu had many questions she wanted to ask, but she couldn't ask them now. She could only detach herself from her emotions and ask, "Why did you hurt that mortal?"

Cang Lun glanced at Jiang Liyan and shook his head, replying, "He thought that group of people were acting on my orders to kill me! I didn't even have time to explain. That makes sense."

After saying this, the two turned to look at Jiang Liyan, only to see Huaiwen helping Jiang Liyan up and preparing to flee the scene. Naturally, the two wouldn't let them go, throwing out a magic rope to try and tie him up, but it was interrupted.

The two looked up and saw that the person who had come was Xuan Ye.

This person was unfamiliar. Cang Lun didn't recognize him and instinctively joked, "So you have other friends too. You wouldn't happen to be some kind of immortal cultivators from the mortal realm, just here to join in the fun, would you?"

Huai Wen ignored Cang Lun and took out two pills from her treasure bag, giving them to Jiang Liyan to swallow. Cang Lun descended in front of Huai Wen and the others, followed by Shi Yulu. Cang Lun tried to get closer but was blocked by Xuan Ye.

Cang Lun took a step back and said thoughtfully, "I shouldn't have hurt him physically."

Xuan Ye glared at him and retorted, "If it wasn't a serious injury, how could it cause such severe vomiting of blood?"

I am in the wrong, so I will keep quiet for now.

Suddenly, Shi Yuluo blurted out, "He doesn't distinguish between newcomers and friends; if anyone is wrong, it's him too."

A ripple of emotion stirred in Cang Lun's heart, but the shock in his eyes vanished in an instant. Shi Yulu, seeing Cang Lun's expressionless face, remained silent.

Xuan Ye, however, saw all of this. His condescending attitude was so intense, and his eyes were so deep, that no one could guess what he was thinking.

In contrast, Jiang Liyan felt better after swallowing the medicine. Hearing their conversation, he couldn't help but speak up: "Stop talking, I'm almost dead. And this place is burned so badly, aren't you going to think of anything?"

Shi Yulu said calmly, "There's nothing we can do for now."

The others: "..."

Huaiwen had regained her composure and questioned Shi Yuluo and Canglun about their identities.

“A Taoist cultivator.” Shi Yulu coldly uttered two words.

This statement did have some credibility, so Huaiwen and Jiang Liyan didn't press the matter further. The fire continued to burn fiercely. Seeing this, Shi Yulu flew high into the sky and hung her glass umbrella high above.

The moment the spell was cast, accompanied by lightning and thunder, followed by a torrential downpour. The fire was gradually extinguished in the rain. Although some people in the streets were still cheering for the timely rain, most others had already fled the city.

Shi Yulu couldn't tell who was infected and who was an ordinary person...

They dared not approach the crowd. Shi Yulu flew down from the sky. She looked at the group and said, "It seems we can't seal off the city."

"Why can't we lock down the city?" Huaiwen questioned. "Are we going to let those infected with the black energy leave here and infect others outside?"

After looking Huaiwen up and down, Shi Yulu explained, "Why don't you think about how those who aren't infected will be trapped here after the city is locked down?"

Huaiwen fell silent, feeling somewhat ashamed that she hadn't considered this point. However, she still asked with concern, "But what about those who didn't escape from the city?"

"You don't need to worry about that." Shi Yulu began to shoo them away. "It's not appropriate for you to stay here. Leave now."

Jiang Liyan shouted, "Then why don't you leave? It's not suitable for us, and of course it's not suitable for you either."

Shi Yulu frowned and looked at Huaiwen and Jiang Liyan. She urged them again, "Can you do what I did just now and extinguish the fire in the entire city?"

Clearly, neither Jiang Liyan nor Huaiwen could do it. The two were speechless, unsure what to do.

Xuan Ye understood her from Huai Wen's eyes. He stopped being silent and walked out to face Shi Yulu: "They can't, but I can. I don't care who you are, I want to be here, right here."

"You?" Shi Yulu stared at Xuan Ye meaningfully and said.

Xuan Ye asked provocatively, "Otherwise what? Do you want to have a match with me?"

Huaiwen, who was watching from the sidelines, was worried that Xuan Ye would fight with Shi Yulu. She mustered her courage and stepped forward to argue: "You say you are a Taoist cultivator, but do you still remember the ideals of Taoist cultivators? To exist for the benefit of the world! Since you want to benefit the world, then we are the same. Although we are weak, our determination is great."

These words stirred up a storm in Xuan Ye's heart. He turned slightly to look at Huai Wen and fell silent.

Shi Yulu was also silent; she hadn't expected Huaiwen to say such a thing.

Finally, Shi Yulu took a deep breath, looked at Huaiwen with a determined look in his eyes, and sighed, "The reason I didn't let you come is because you are as weak as ants. It's for your own good not to let a few of you interfere. Also... do you think only the people here were besieged by that black aura?"

"What do you mean?" Jiang Liyan asked, her eyes wide.