After walking another hundred feet or so, the strange sound grew louder and louder, and the whispers around them gradually subsided and eventually disappeared. It seemed that the disciples from both the Buddhist and Taoist sects had quieted down in order to find the source of the "cooing" sound.
Finally, the source of the sound was revealed to everyone. At that time, the Buddhist, Taoist and demonic forces were separated by a distance of thirty or forty feet, surrounding a black swamp and looking at it curiously.
This black swamp, located at the very center of the marshland, is roughly circular, with a maximum width of over a thousand feet. Bubbles of varying sizes churn within it, emitting a "gurgling" sound. Wisps of white smoke rise from above the swamp, seemingly due to its extremely high internal temperature. Above the swamp, in addition to the white smoke, a dense, lingering demonic aura also swirls.
Upon arriving here, the cries of ghosts suddenly arose, each sound reaching the ears and sending chills down one's spine.
Looking up, Liuli could vaguely see ghostly figures drifting aimlessly amidst the white smoke and dense demonic energy above the swamp.
Suddenly, a unified voice began to chant the Rebirth Mantra word by word, the solemn and dignified voices echoing back and forth, spreading throughout the land.
Upon hearing this voice, Li Molin gave a cold laugh. He raised his voice and said, "Fly over to the swamp and search carefully for any trace of the treasure!"
"Yes!" the demons responded, and one after another they flew up and flew towards the top of the swamp.
Just as the demon's black lights began to illuminate within the mist, various colored lights appeared on the demon's left side almost simultaneously.
The demon and the Taoist priest flew over the swamp and dispersed, while the monks calmly chanted the Rebirth Mantra, repeating it more than a dozen times before finally stopping. By this time, the number of ghosts on the swamp had decreased considerably, but strangely, many ghosts still lingered, unable to be reincarnated despite the monks' chanting of the Rebirth Mantra infused with Buddhist power.
The monks exchanged puzzled glances. After a moment of silence, Shi Ning gave a command, and beams of golden light shot up and flew into the sky above the swamp.
Above the swamp, white and black mists, along with wisps of ghostly spirits, intertwined, greatly reducing visibility, making it impossible for people to see each other even when they were more than ten feet apart.
Under Li Molin's repeated urging, Liuli, holding Ahua in her arms, followed closely behind him. Yu Ke, Ji Jue, and Lang Yuan also accompanied them.
Because she was afraid of the elusive ghosts, Ahua was now huddled in Liuli's arms, burying her head and refusing to look at her surroundings.
When they first walked from the outer edge of the swamp inwards, there was only a faint layer of demonic energy around them, so the Buddhist, Taoist, and demonic groups didn't get lost. However, after wandering around in the thick fog above the black swamp, they quickly lost their way and didn't know where they were.
Li Molin, Liu Li, and the other two demons searched the top of the swamp like headless flies for a long time. They finally approached the center of the swamp by accident. Just then, Li Molin keenly sensed a strong demonic aura.
"Young Master," Yu Ke said in a low voice, "did you feel it?"
"Hmm." Li Molin nodded, a hint of joy appearing on his face, and said, "The treasure is probably nearby."
"Li Molin, look!" Liu Li suddenly exclaimed, pointing to the mud below, "Look!"
Li Molin looked in the direction she pointed. Through the thick fog, he could vaguely see a short staff sticking out of the mud about ten feet away from the three people and three demons. Originally, the staff would not have been easily visible due to the dense fog, but it was the thick black aura emanating from it that made Liuli notice it.
"Senior Brother Han, I've found it!"
Just then, a surprised voice came over, and then, through the thick fog, beams of light of various colors could be seen gathering, clearly indicating that many righteous people had also discovered the short staff.
"Yu Ke, summon the clansmen!" Li Molin said urgently. "Ji Jue, Lang Yuan, come with me to seize the treasure!"
Ji Jue, Yu Ke, and Lang Yuan responded in unison. Yu Ke flew to the surrounding area and summoned the demons scattered around one by one.
Liuli was about to follow Li Molin to join in the fun when she suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar figure in the mist out of the corner of her eye. Overjoyed, she changed direction and flew over there.
Because Liuli changed lanes in time, she quickly stopped that tall, thin figure.
At that time, Shi Chan and Shi Ning were searching for traces of treasure above the swamp. Just now, the two were very close to the short staff, but they did not see it. It was only after hearing a sound that the two turned in the direction of the sound. Before they could fly forward, a woman in white suddenly broke through the mist and appeared before them.
"Little monk!" Liuli didn't even see Shi Ning. Her bright eyes were fixed on Shi Chan, her face beaming with joy.
Upon seeing the glass, Shi Chan's body trembled violently, and his expression changed.
“Junior Brother Shi Chan,” Shi Ning said coldly, looking at Liu Li, “Do you remember what your senior brother told you?”
Only then did Liuli see Shi Ning. Upon seeing him, she frowned in displeasure and muttered under her breath, "They're both monks, so why is there such a big difference? Humph, annoying monk!"
Shi Chan stared at Liuli as if stunned, completely oblivious to what Shi Ning had said.
Shi Ning turned to look at Shi Chan, his expression growing even more somber. He raised his voice and called out in a deep tone, "Shi Chan!"
Shi Chan snapped out of his daze, turned to Shi Ning in a panic, and called out in alarm, "...Senior Brother..."
Shi Ning's face was ashen, and he coldly uttered two words: "Make your move!"
"Senior brother..." Shi Chan's expression changed again, his face full of difficulty and helplessness.
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