"These demons are mostly minor demons, whose lifespans are even shorter than those of humans. They will never be able to cultivate into human form in their entire lives. The immortal sects have sent people to check on them a few times, but seeing that they can't really cause any trouble, they haven't pursued the matter further."

"I wish I had the chance to go and see it."

Tao Pianpian felt a sense of longing.

Ajahn said, "Let's go to the East China Sea first, and we can take our time to see it on the way back."

As expected, the Heavenly Centipede Ship did not stop there, but went straight to Gaodu City.

Gaodu City is within the Holy Mountain's sphere of influence and is a bustling metropolis. Caravans will stay there for a longer period of time, giving them ample opportunity to explore.

Those who cultivate immortality do not need to rest, but the mortals in the caravan certainly cannot. So that night, they camped at the foot of a hill. The Heavenly Centipede Ships lined up end to end to encircle the camp. The accompanying cultivators set up a defensive array, with a campfire in the middle. Everyone rested around their respective sedan chairs. If anything happened, they could immediately leave on the Heavenly Centipede Ships. This was the usual practice when camping out.

Around midnight, a light rain began to fall. The rain was not heavy, and the raindrops were so fine that the people in the hazy atmosphere did not notice it for a moment.

Although A Jiang and his two companions also set up tents, they still rested at Mirror Residence.

Although the rain was light, the temperature dropped significantly, and the campfire dimmed as well.

The person who was woken up by the cold outside rubbed their eyes groggily and got up to go to the toilet.

He stepped out of his tent and saw that it was raining outside, so he muttered a few curses under his breath.

The sky was dark and gloomy, without a glimmer of light. He had no idea what time it was. He pulled his clothes tighter and hurried toward the outhouse.

As they walked, they looked around by the firelight, but found nothing unusual.

However, there was an opening where the bow and stern of the Heavenly Centipede Ship were connected, and it seemed as if countless cold winds were blowing in from that side.

He shivered, thinking he was seeing things.

He wanted to walk a few steps over there to take a closer look, but he did feel his feet getting heavier and heavier, as if a lot of mud was sticking to his feet, making it difficult for him to take a single step.

[This doesn't make sense. Such a light rain... Wait, the defensive array the caravan set up at their camp included a waterproof array, how could it be raining?]

He looked up at the dark sky, and out of the corner of his eye, he could feel the scenery in his field of vision changing.

The things around him seemed to be getting higher and higher. He hurriedly looked around and then looked down at his feet.

He was sinking into the ground, as if he were stuck in a swamp, unable to move. How could this be!

He didn't realize that when he opened his mouth to call for help, mud from all directions rushed into his mouth. His eyes were bloodshot and he struggled desperately, but it was no use and he didn't make a sound. Then the surrounding scenery went completely dark.

The rain continued to fall, and the warning bells hanging outside the defensive array remained silent. The raindrops drifted and scattered, as if this were just the most common sight in the world.

When Ajahn sensed the noise and came out to investigate, the camp had changed drastically.

The outer ring of the centipede boats has disappeared, and the surrounding tents are scattered in disarray, some half-submerged in the ground, and others with only the tent roof remaining.

The campfire in the center was still burning, but the flames had dwindled considerably.

"What's wrong?" Tao Pianpian asked.

"We've fallen into an ambush," Xiao Songjing said definitively.

"Wow, we've encountered a monster! Are we in danger?" Tao Pianpian was very nervous.

But beautiful lady, don't forget, you yourself are a kind of spirit or monster, okay?

A-Jiang frowned as he looked around. The caravan's cultivators were quite capable. They had been caught off guard earlier, but now they had organized themselves, formed an array, and cast a spell, using the campfire as the center to temporarily protect the remaining people.

The sky remained overcast with no stars or moon visible. A light drizzle was blown by the breeze and fell on A Jiang and the other two. The soil beneath their feet was also very soft.

The people by the campfire saw the three of them suddenly appear and hurriedly shouted, "Come over here quickly, this rain is strange."

Xiao Songjing also sneezed at this moment, which shows that the environment was not good for his health.

Ah Jiang threw out a high-grade talisman, its golden light tearing through the darkness.

The talisman burned, transforming into several firebirds. The firebirds soared into the sky, circled once, and then landed, with one perched beside each person. The light from the firebirds formed a halo, protecting everyone within it from the cold rain.

This was a gift A-Jiang received when he became an apprentice. Although this talisman is a one-time use item, it has very strong protective capabilities. It can maintain the Firebird Barrier for an hour and can withstand three blows from a Golden Core Realm cultivator and one blow from a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator.

Everyone present felt relieved, believing that the fairy's magic was extremely powerful and that they would surely overcome this crisis safely.

Then one of the cultivators, who appeared to be the leader, spoke up.

"Thank you for saving me, fairy. May I ask your name and where you cultivate?"