Take the lead

On the third day at dusk, Mo You suddenly stood up. Ren Xiangxiang came out of the cave, and she was all alone.

"Xiangxiang?" Mo You stepped forward.

Ren Xiangxiang silently shook her head and walked out.

Mo You, confused, hurriedly chased after her and grabbed her.

"Xiangxiang, how could you...you're not..."

"I—" Ren Xiangxiang looked up, her eyes instantly reddening, and just kept shaking her head, "I, I don't know... I was wrong, I was really wrong, there was no such thing as 'Shadow of Truth' at all, let's go, Mo You, I beg you... let's go..."

As Ren Xiangxiang spoke, tears streamed down her face, and her hand holding Mo You trembled slightly.

"But where is what you want?" Mo You asked.

"I don't know!" Ren Xiangxiang suddenly burst out, crying her heart out, "Mo You, I really don't know anything, I can't do it..."

Huo Xiefei walked up to Ren Xiangxiang with a furrowed brow. Ren Xiangxiang looked up at her with teary eyes. Huo Xiefei spoke quietly, "Xiangxiang, we consider you a friend. What is the purpose of your visit this time?"

for……

When the setting sun is completely swallowed by the horizon, what awaits in the remaining darkness: overwhelming despair or the struggling, yearning dawn?

On Yanshi Ridge, Gu Ao, who had sensed the Gu King's summons, appeared anxiously outside the cave. The swaying demon corpses near the cave dared not approach.

From Gu Lang and Gu Nu to the current Gu Ye, she is now the only one left.

Gu Ao's face turned deathly pale, and she couldn't explain why her body began to tremble slightly, but she couldn't disobey the Gu King's decree that had given her life.

So she stepped into the cave with trepidation. After she entered, a fire lit up the ceiling of the dark cave, which was green and somewhat eerie.

"Gu, Gu King..." Gu Ao uttered the name with difficulty, her voice trembling.

Why?

This fear that arose out of nowhere?

Could it be because of Gu Master's death? But didn't the Gu King not care? Yes! He's the Gu King, how could he possibly care about them?

What exactly is it...?

As she was pondering, a white shadow flashed before Gu Ao's eyes and swept past her from behind, while Gu King's deep and weak voice came from deeper within.

"Come……"

Gu Ao's knees buckled, and a sense of fear rose in her heart—a primal reaction before death.

Without a second thought, Gu Ao turned and ran.

Almost simultaneously, a white figure flashed with sword light in front of her, and Gu Ao was caught off guard and was instantly blasted away by that evil force.

She fell heavily to the ground, and when she looked up, she saw a woman in white holding a long sword.

"Queen of Gu, what are you doing?"

The Gu Queen was both panicked and furious, but then she heard the Gu King's voice ring out behind her again.

"Come on... don't run away..."

Gu Ao quickly got up and looked warily into the depths. The dim light revealed a dark outline that seemed to be slowly flowing towards her from the ground.

"What does the Gu King mean by this? Or is there some explanation he wants to give?"

Gu Ao had already touched the silver bracelet on her wrist, which was her weapon, the Entangling Shuttle. Seeing the puddle approaching, she subconsciously took a step back.

"Your existence is for my sake."

As soon as the words were spoken, the mass of things surged out with astonishing evil power.

The terror in Gu Ao's eyes widened infinitely, and she shouted, "Entangling Shuttle!"

The silver bracelet landed with a whoosh, and the light swept across the area. The woman in white only paused for a moment before severing Gu Ao's feet with a single sword strike.

"Ahhh!" Gu Ao screamed in agony as blood gushed out instantly.

The woman in white paused, and seeing that Gu Ao was still desperately trying to crawl out, she swung her sword again, severing both of Gu Ao's hands.

"Ahhh! No—"

A piercing scream echoed inside the cave. Gu Ao lay in a pool of blood, her features contorted, yet she was still desperately trying to crawl out.

"Your binding shuttle is completely ineffective against a Gu Queen who has no self-awareness. How can you be so foolish?"

The Gu King's cold voice, tinged with a sneer, struck Gu Ao heavily in the chest. Gu Ao couldn't believe it; the blood-soaked severed limbs blurred her vision.

"No, you can't, you can't—"

The greenish substance swallowed her scattered limbs in an instant, then slowly raised itself up, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue.

No, no—

As the Gu woman struggled desperately in the pool of blood, she subconsciously turned her head and saw a fleshy lump on the back of her neck. The last image that flashed through the Gu woman's mind was that of someone who was already terrified to the extreme.

She stood in a desolate graveyard, looking at her hands covered in blood, and wept bitterly.

Why? Why didn't I die?

—They're so young, my grandchild, she's still so little? Why not me?

—God, let me go with them, let me join them! I don't want to live anymore, I can't go on living, let me...

The image shattered into flowers, and she sat emaciated in a dark place when suddenly someone handed her something.

—If you eat it, you might die right away.

The voice carried a playful chuckle, and without a second thought, she swallowed it.

Unexpectedly, immense pain instantly swept through her entire body. She felt as if every bone in her body was being torn apart. She didn't want to think about it, or was afraid to think about it.

She started to get scared.

It's not that I'm afraid of death, it's that I'm afraid of pain.

"Haha..." Gu Ao suddenly laughed as she looked at the approaching eerie green, and then closed her eyes in relief.

How could she forget?

She should have died long ago. If she had died, she could have gone to find her family. I just wonder if they have forgotten her after all this time.

The pool of eerie green liquid instantly swallowed the Gu Queen along with the offspring Gu that was about to emerge from her body, and then slowly flowed back in.

A soothing sigh echoed from the deep cave.

"That's good... Soon... we'll be able to see each other again..."

After that sound, the cave returned to darkness.

In the stillness of the night, just before dawn, a sudden downpour began.

The rain lashed down on the land, accompanied by a gust of wind that rattled the windowpanes.

Shu Huixin sat up abruptly, her back suddenly covered in cold sweat. She touched her chest and instinctively pushed open the door.

The storm outside suddenly rushed in. Ignoring the wind and rain, Shu Huixin hurriedly wheeled her wheelchair to the backyard where Shui Buyun lived and knocked loudly on the door.

"No! No!"

Whether it was the sound of the rain or the lack of water that made her sleep too soundly, Shu Hui's unease grew stronger and stronger. Ignoring everything else, she forcefully pushed open the door with two green vines.

Feng Yu and Shu Huixin rushed in together, but the room was so quiet that not a sound could be heard.

"You won't allow it?" Shu Huixin touched his neatly made bed, trembling with anger.

The rain came quickly and went quickly. In the dim morning light, raindrops fell one by one from the broad leaves to the ground.

A rabbit suddenly poked its head out from the grass. A rustling sound came from not far away, and the rabbit immediately pricked up its ears and scurried away.

After a rustling sound, Shui Buyun, who was soaked to the bone, vigorously wiped the water off his face and looked ahead with a somewhat gloomy expression.

If it weren't for this nasty downpour, he would have already reached the Gu King's lair.

Let's go all the way and kill them once and for all.

He looked ahead with some annoyance, still subconsciously thinking about how to explain things to Shu Huixin later. He figured she would probably kick him out without any mercy!

"Ughhh!" He scratched his head in frustration. "Whatever, we're already here!"

Ahead lay a dense bamboo forest, lush and verdant, stretching as far as the eye could see. Just as Shui Buyun set foot on this land, the surrounding wind suddenly became turbulent.

Almost without being able to react, Shui Buyun made a decisive move and swept out with his sword.

Ding! Bang!

The two demonic forces collided violently. Shui Buyun used the force to his advantage, nimbly dodging the attack. He then turned his sword and slashed diagonally upwards. The sword tip struck a long saber with a clang. He looked up and saw that the other person was burly and wore a dark red robe. In the blink of an eye, the other person disappeared without a trace.

Bang!

"Aqua!"

The bamboo forest, which had just been rained on, was instantly covered with countless water droplets. The next second, the sword light and the water droplets attacked the depths of the bamboo forest at the same time.

boom!

Inside the bamboo forest, the dark red figure was finally forced out; it was none other than Xiu Shen, the chieftain of the Bow-Clad Clan.

Xiu Shen, controlled by the Gu worms, had red eyes, but the way he looked at Shui Buyun was exactly the same as when he first met Shui Buyun.

What skills could the pretty boy kept by Hui Xin, one of the Six Immortals who was skilled in demon refining, possibly have? He was nothing more than a watchdog.

Shui Buyun didn't care about other people's opinions as long as she could stay by Shu Huixin's side, and this time was no different.

"So it was you, you big, flowery python. Even in death, your corpse was whipped and controlled...tsk tsk..."

Shui Buyun shook his head, treating the other party as if he were dead, and planned to go over to find the Gu King.

Xiu Shen had no intention of letting him go, and slashed out with his long sword.

boom!

The force struck suddenly, and Shui Buyun was unable to dodge in time. He was directly thrown into the bamboo forest and nearly injured by the dying bamboo stalks.

"Hiss... You asked for it!"

Enraged, Shui swung his longsword and charged directly at Xiu Shen.

The morning sunlight spread across the ground. In the courtyard, a mosquito the size of a palm buzzed down. Xiao Cangdao looked at Wenting strangely. Mie Chenhuan threw away the foxtail grass and was about to make a move when Wenting suddenly flew towards Fuyi. Fuyi raised her hand, and Wenting instantly transformed into a line of words.

"Stop him! He's going to find the Gu King!"

Xiao Cangdao's vision blurred, and Mie Chenhuan immediately sat up straight. Fu Yi had already swayed and rushed out.

Shui Buyun, who was engaged in a fierce battle in the bamboo forest, was unaware of all this. He deflected Xiu Shen's attack with his sword, and before he could catch his breath, another powerful slash came down.

boom!

Half of the vast bamboo forest was destroyed in an instant. Bamboo leaves flew everywhere and dust billowed. Two thick bamboo stalks were cut down by Xiu Shen with a single stroke and fell heavily, crushing another grove of bamboo.

Xiu Shen's scarlet eyes scanned his surroundings. The next second, a cold glint flashed past, so fast that Xiu Shen didn't even have time to react. His eyes snapped open, and a trickle of blood slid down his throat.

It was a fatal blow to the throat.

"Heh!" Shui Buyun, who was about to sheath his sword, saw Xiu Shen reveal a strange smile, wiped the blood from his throat, and said in a hoarse voice, "You don't actually think you can kill me like this?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiu Shen's gaze turned cold, and Shui Buyun immediately withdrew and retreated, his eyes flashing with a cold light.

not good!

The immense demonic power exploded above the winding path, its force sweeping across and completely destroying the nearby bamboo forest.

Fuyi had taken a detour, and as she walked along, she seemed to sense something and looked towards the winding path, subconsciously quickening her pace.

That place is Xiu Shen's territory.

The strongest cultivator of the Bow-Clad Clan.

Shui Buyun coughed up blood and, risking being stabbed, pierced Xiu Shen's heart with his sword. To his surprise, it had no effect on Xiu Shen. Shui Buyun was astonished and then struck down with his palm.

The two demonic forces collided violently, and the backlash almost caused Shui Buyun to vomit blood on the spot.

Oh right, he's already dead, so you can't kill him?

Shui Buyun suddenly realized that she had overlooked something, and vaguely remembered that Xiangxiang had once said that these demons controlled by the demonic Gu seemed to have some weakness...

Just as he was about to remember, Xiu Shen's longsword swept across, its overwhelming demonic power sweeping away everything Shui Buyun had just recalled.

I'll fucking kill you!

Shui was so angry he was about to explode. Without thinking, he charged forward with a flash of sword light.

Sword light, knife light, and water light intertwined and overlapped. Shui Buyun's swordsmanship was superb, and he moved like a rabbit. Xiu Shen couldn't gain any advantage for the time being. However, he was not stupid. He waited and saw what would happen. Once he made a move, Shui Buyun would still not gain any advantage.

boom!

Shui Buyun was once again forced back by Xiu Shen's domineering demonic power. His head buzzed, and he suddenly remembered a sentence that Xiang Xiang had said.

—The weakness of demons parasitized by the Gu lies in the second vertebra, where the Gu worms control them.