You said you would practice martial arts. Have you mastered the Tiangang Dharma?

Chapter 515 Xiaoyao
After the transformation, Qiu stood in the breeze, as if even the air had become fresher because of his presence. The sun slanted across his face, outlining a perfect outline. His eyes, like the deep night sky, hid the secrets of the galaxy, black and bright, flashing with a lively light. His thick eyelashes were like small black brushes, and every blink attracted the attention of others.

His eyebrows were naturally long, revealing an unruly heroism. Whenever he stared intently into the distance, his eyebrows would be slightly raised, revealing a kind of firmness and determination.

His nose is straight and strong, adding a bit of fortitude to his face. His thin lips are slightly pursed, as if he is always thinking about some profound questions. The lines of his cheeks are soft but clear, revealing a healthy rosy color, which perfectly sets off his youth and vitality.

His black hair was scattered in front of his forehead, swaying gently in the wind, giving people a lazy and casual feeling. He had an upright posture, wearing a simple white shirt and jeans, but it could not conceal his extraordinary temperament.

He was in a demon tribe, with wild flowers dotted on the grass, towering mountains in the distance, and white clouds floating in the sky. The scene was peaceful and harmonious, as if it was prepared just to set off his arrival.

Qiu stood quietly in this world, his every move was natural, without any deliberate effort, enough to attract the attention of people around him. He was calm, his eyes had both the innocence of a teenager and mature thinking. He seemed to be waiting for something, perhaps a destined encounter, or perhaps just an adventure in his inner world.

He took Axue and continued to move towards Guixu.

The light in the forest flickered, and the sun shone through the dense tree canopy, forming patches of light on the mossy ground. The air was filled with the fragrance of rotting soil and leaves, and occasionally the gurgling of a stream in the distance and the crisp chirping of birds could be heard. A path meandered between the trees, with dense bushes and vines clinging to the tree trunks on both sides.

The young man walked with firm steps, and from time to time he looked back at the girl following him with concern. The girl looked a little tired, but her eyes still shone with curiosity and yearning for the unknown world. Her long hair was tied into a simple ponytail, and the strands of hair on her forehead swayed gently with her steps. She was wearing a light dress and holding a branch in her hand as a walking stick.

The two walked through the woods, occasionally having to push aside branches that blocked their way or step over fallen tree trunks. The small animals in the forest remained alert to the two uninvited guests. Squirrels jumped quickly on branches, and rabbits burrowed into the grass, leaving only a trail. The depths of the forest seemed to hide endless secrets, and every leaf and every tree root seemed to be telling an ancient story.

Suddenly, a bird flew up from a branch, flapping its wings and making a rustling sound, breaking the tranquility of the forest. The boy looked up and saw that the clouds in the sky were changing shapes rapidly, as if they were the projection of another mysterious world. He gently said to the girl, "Let's go, we'll be fine once we get to Guixu."

After hearing this, the girl's tiredness was swept away, and her eyes were full of expectation. The two continued to move forward, and the sound of their footsteps echoed in the forest, interweaving with the sounds of nature to form a beautiful movement. The sunlight passed through the treetops and fell on their shoulders, which seemed to bring endless strength to the travelers, making them firmly believe that no matter how rugged the road ahead was, they would bravely walk on together.

In the deep forest, ancient trees towered and their shadows danced. The sunlight shone through the sparse branches and leaves, and sprinkled on the wet ground in patches, forming a wonder of interlaced light and shadow. In the forest, birds sang and flowers bloomed, full of vitality, as if nature was whispering its thousand-year-old secrets. However, in this seemingly peaceful scene, there was a strange atmosphere that was unknown to people.

From time to time, there were slight noises between the trees, as if some creature was watching from the dark. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew, and a faint strange fragrance filled the air, making people shudder. Then, the leaves rustled, as if something was waking up from the darkness.

Suddenly, a figure appeared not far away like a ghost. Its body was translucent, like a flowing mist. Its slender arms were suspended in the air, and its fingertips emitted a faint blue light, which made people think of the ancient legends in the depths of the forest. The demon's face was twisted and strange, and its two deep eyes flashed with green light, revealing a supernatural power.

Ah Xue was stunned, and carefully huddled behind Ah Qiu. The demon slowly walked towards them, and every step was like walking on water, almost without any sound. They could feel its presence, but could not pinpoint its exact location. Its shadow stretched on the tree trunk, and then disappeared in the next moment, as if it was the master of this forest, able to manipulate light and shadow at will.

Ah Xue clenched the cane weapon in her hand nervously, her heart beating like a drum, but Ah Qiu knew that facing such an opponent, any ordinary attack would be futile. The demon seemed to be testing the reactions of the two. It appeared and disappeared, sometimes close at hand, and sometimes far away. Its breath was cold, giving Ah Xue goose bumps on her skin.

At this moment, the demon tribe suddenly let out a piercing scream, and the whole forest seemed to tremble at this moment. Ah Xue felt dizzy and almost couldn't stand. But Ah Qiu knew that this was a matter of life and death, and he had to stay awake.

"Back off."

Aqiu's words pierced Axue's mind like a magic needle. She was in a trance for a moment, and instinctively followed the instructions. She quickly retreated, trying to distance herself from the demons. The trees left a trail of afterimages behind her, and her mind was all on how to get rid of this unpredictable enemy. Just when she felt her physical strength was gradually running out, the demons suddenly stopped chasing, and their green eyes quietly stared at Aqiu, ignoring her.

Swah——

Aqiu's sword flashed, and he killed it in an instant, then waved: "Come back, there may be a tribe of demons nearby, and they all look like bad people."

Ah Xue's heart, which had been relaxed, became tense again, and she continued to follow him forward, carefully, her already tired body swaying a little.

Thick fog swirled among the towering ancient trees, filtering the midday light into an emerald-colored slurry. Xiaoyao stepped forward on the wet moss, and the ringing of the copper bell on his waist startled a few red-eyed night owls. Their outstretched wings swept over the moss on the rock wall that glowed with faint blue fluorescence, dragging a phosphorescent trail in the mist.

The smell of humus suddenly became pungent, and the miasma wall thirty steps away surged like a living thing. Vines as thick as pythons emerged from the dark purple mist, and the surface was covered with suction cups that were opening and closing. Xiaoyao took off the bone whistle hanging around his neck and blew it. The sharp sound waves caused the vines to spasm and shrink back into the mist - this was the first barrier set up by the Qingteng tribe, which was dedicated to devouring unauthorized intruders. When the last trace of miasma dissipated at the tip of the nose, the entire tribe bloomed before my eyes like a moonlit night-blooming cereus under the moon. The roots of thirteen thousand-year-old blood banyan trees were entangled into a floating plank road, and the luminous hyphae hanging between the treetops woven a dome, enveloping hundreds of tree houses in a soft silver glow. Green smoke was rising from the forge in the southeast corner, and the crisp sound of metal hitting stone was mixed with the hissing of fox fire quenching blades.

"New here?" A hoarse female voice suddenly sounded from behind. When Xiaoyao turned around, his deerskin boots sank half an inch into the mud. Bubbles floated in the dark green swamp, reflecting a face covered with scales. The water demon of the Jiaoxiao tribe poked half of its body out of the swamp, and glowing silver fish swam in its wet hair. "Go to the main hall at 3:30 in the evening. The blood sacrifice of the witch priest is about to begin."

Following her blue-grey fingertips, a hundred-foot-high altar stood in the center of the tribe. On the obsidian steps flowed fresh blood, and the dark red liquid seemed to have life, winding out ancient runes. Eighteen bronze pillars stood around, and a fire spirit in the form of a golden crow perched on top of each pillar. When they flapped their wings, sparks condensed into hexagrams in the air.

When passing by the foxtail grass woven market, the vendors wearing Nuo masks suddenly fell silent. The six-fingered demon's skeleton strings were still trembling, and the blood-red vortex in the crystal ball of the astrologer was spinning wildly. Xiaoyao tightly grasped the wolf tooth amulet given by his mother, feeling the sharp pain of the tooth tip piercing his palm - this was the only token to cross the illusion barrier.

The blood pool under the altar began to boil, and the chants of the twelve tribes elders resonated with the bone flute. The witch priest stepped barefoot on the stone steps, and the star pattern on the black robe flickered with his steps. When he took off the bronze mask, all the fire spirits cried at the same time. The moment the face covered with spells turned to Xiaoyao, Xiaoyao heard the crisp sound of his bones growing, and the new demon pattern on his right shoulder blade burned like an iron.

The blood in the pool turned into thousands of red butterflies, which landed on the boys' exposed skin, carving ancient memories into their blood. Xiaoyao's fangs pierced his lower lip, and in the bloody smell, he saw the truth of the world for the first time: the meridians of each fallen leaf were telling stories of the ancient past, and the spiritual power surging deep in the earth's veins was as clear as breathing.

When the moonlight penetrated the crown of the blood banyan tree, the outline of the entire market suddenly twisted into flowing water waves. The vendors wearing deer bone masks stretched out like stick insects, and the animal tooth wind chimes hanging in the air solidified into upside-down ice spikes. Xiaoyao's shadow split into three strands on the bluestone slab, pointing to the four directions of east, south, west and north respectively - this was a sign that the illusion barrier began to erode reality.

The swamp mermaid spread out her palms, and three glowing silver fish formed an incomplete star map between her fingers: "When the blood moon is in the sky, even shadows will betray their masters." Mucus seeped out from the gaps between her scales, etching a warning totem on the bluestone slab, "Follow the second shadow, and don't touch the frosted spider silk."

The wolf tooth amulet suddenly became scalding hot, and the blood beads oozing from the tooth tip floated in the air, condensing into red fireflies that pointed the way. The window frames of the tree houses on both sides turned into countless bronze mirrors, reflecting thousands of blurry little ones. One of the mirror images suddenly reached out and grabbed the window frame, and the protruding bone spurs on the knuckles pierced through the mirror surface, and dark red blood plasma flowed along the cracks.

The smell of burning wafted through the air, and the Six-Fingered Zither Demon's stall was ablaze with green flames. The strings made of human tendons broke in the fire, and every crack tore a crack in space. Xiaoyao glimpsed the other side of the tribe through the crack: the bronze altar was stuck upside down in the blood cloud, and the skeletons of the twelve tribal elders were suspended by chains, slowly rotating to some ancient rhythm.

The crisp sound of the crystal ball bursting pierced the illusion, and the Nuo mask of the astrologer witch broke into two halves. Her left eye turned into an hourglass, and a group of black-winged mayflies swarmed out of her right eye: "The deepest fear in your heart is about to awaken!" Before she finished speaking, the snowy field where her mother died in battle appeared under her feet, and the wolves frozen under the ice were wailing in her voice.

The wolf tooth amulet suddenly let out a long howl, and the undead trapped in the ice collectively opened their eyes. Their pupils reflected the true location of the blood pool altar. Xiaoyao took the opportunity to bite the tip of his tongue and sprayed his blood on the gluttonous pattern on the nearest bronze pillar. In the severe pain of time and space being torn apart, the cry of the fire spirit in the direction of the altar suddenly became clear.

When he finally touched the bronze door knocker of the main hall, Xiaoyao's right arm was covered with spider-web-like crystal lines. The fragrant mist wafting out of the door was filled with memory fragments: the scene of the gods falling and the desolate southern wilderness a few years ago was being replayed in the mist. The moss stepped on by countless monsters turned into poisonous thorns, and the mist they breathed condensed into blades. The last one who walked to the altar alive actually disintegrated into bones in front of the blood pool.

The voice of the witch priest came from the hall, and every word shook off the dust that had accumulated on the beams for a hundred years: "Illusions are not deceptions, but mirrors that reflect the truth." The star patterns on his black robe began to flow, and Xiao Yao's crystal arm returned to its original state. "Only those who can get rid of their own inner demons are qualified to witness the truth of the demon race and gain the power of the gods."

On the altar, the blazing flames were like the breath of a demon, constantly devouring everything around. The towering stone pillars and heavy steps were covered with mottled bloodstains, as if telling of the end of countless lives. The air was filled with a strong smell of blood, which made people sick. The occasional wailing made people feel cold in their hearts.

Around the altar, there were dense crowds of people, their faces were gloomy and solemn, as if they were infected by the terrifying atmosphere around them. They held torches in their hands, and the weak light seemed particularly fragile in the darkness. No one spoke, and only the "crackling" sound of burning torches broke the dead silence.

In the center of the altar was a huge bronze tripod, which emitted a faint light that made people dare not look directly at it. A blazing flame burned in the tripod, and oil kept dripping into it, making a "sizzling" sound accompanied by bursts of thick smoke.

At the end of the altar was a tall statue with a hideous face, as if it would jump out of the stone wall at any time and devour everyone. The eyes of the statue revealed a cold murderous intent that made people shudder.

The entire altar was shrouded in darkness, with only the flames flickering in the darkness, as if ghosts were dancing. There was no life or hope here, only death and fear.

Suddenly, a shrill scream broke the silence, and a sacrifice tied to the altar was thrown into the cauldron and instantly turned into a ball of fire. The fear among the crowd reached its peak, but they still did not dare to run away. They could only stand there silently, waiting for their fate.

On the altar, the flames continued to burn as if they would never go out. Here, life was just a fragile spark that could be swallowed by darkness at any time.

And an unexpected guest arrived.
(End of this chapter)