The Northern Song Dynasty returned south, seeking the truth of the Dao.

Wang Zhenhuan was startled. He immediately bent down and, taking advantage of the moment he turned around, suddenly twisted his arm behind him. Bang! A dull thud rang out as his arm was blocked by a hand.

"Don't attack, it's me!"

Ao Shuang's voice came from above Wang Huanzhen's head. He frowned and straightened up. Sure enough, standing in front of him was Ao Shuang herself.

"Brother, how did you find me?" Wang Zhen asked in confusion. The wind within the barrier was fierce, and the snow that had previously covered the ground had now turned into a murky mist.

"I have my own way. Don't forget that I'm different from you. Be vigilant and watch out for any sneak attacks from those evil cultivators." Ao Shuang explained in a low voice as she stepped forward and stood in front of Wang Zhenhuan, exposing her entire back without any defenses.

Seeing his actions, Wang Zhenhuan felt slightly reassured. He followed him, turning his back to him and looking around. As the wind howled, the surrounding fog grew even thicker.

He couldn't even clearly see what was within a ten-foot radius in front of him. In this situation, rushing into the barrier would be tantamount to suicide. Wang Zhen was secretly glad that he hadn't acted rashly.

Coincidentally, he had encountered a similar situation not long ago. So this time, he was prepared. However, waiting like this indefinitely didn't seem like a solution.

If that evil Taoist priest is determined to hide and drag things out until this barrier ends, wouldn't Wang Zhenhuan have suffered a talisman attack for nothing? Besides, the situation now is different from before.

Now that they had reunited with Ao Shuang, there was no longer any risk of accidentally harming friendly forces. They could now proceed with confidence. Thinking this, Wang Zhenhuan slightly turned his head and whispered to Ao Shuang.

"Brother, now that we've reunited, why don't we take the initiative and catch them off guard? What do you think?"

"That's exactly what I was thinking too. This evil path is cunning and treacherous. None of us alone can defeat him. Only by banding together can we deal with him and find a weakness," Ao Shuang nodded.

"Then let's move forward slowly like this. If you see that Taoist priest, go for it. I'll assist you from the side. This time, I'll make him bow down," Wang Zhenhuan replied while looking around.

"Well then, that's settled. I'll leave my brother's future to you." Ao Shuang hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement. She exchanged a glance with Wang Huanzhen, then took a step forward, slowly feeling her way forward.

Wang Huanzhen leaned against Ao Shuang, carefully observing their surroundings. The two walked for half an hour without finding anything. The fog around them, however, grew thicker and thicker.

"No! Brother, this courtyard is only three zhang wide, how come we can't walk to the end in half an hour? Stop, we must be going in circles!" Wang Zhenhuan said to Ao Shuang.

"I've noticed it too. It seems we can't sense our surroundings within this barrier. Otherwise, we wouldn't be going around in circles like this. What should we do?" Ao Shuang turned around and asked Wang Zhenhuan.

Wang Zhenhuan raised his hand, and seeing him turn around, he simply pointed to the right and said, "How about we change direction? Maybe we're going in the same direction as that evil path, which is why we've been going in circles."

"That makes sense. Since our direction is contrary to his, why don't we go back the way we came? This courtyard is only so big; we're sure to run into that evil pathist." Ao Shuang said after thinking for a moment.

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhenhuan hesitated. Returning the way he came meant he would have to go first. Although the innate Dao Qi True Scripture had passively restored his spiritual energy, it was only about half full.

He feared that his attack would be slowed down due to the limitations of his spiritual energy, causing him to miss the opportunity to slay the evil path. Therefore, after thinking it over, Wang Zhenhuan shook his head and refused.

"Let's go to the right, or should we wait here for a while? Maybe we'll run into that evil path."

"Hmm... alright, since that's the case, then let's wait and see..." Ao Shuang said, and was about to turn around when Wang Zhen Huan suddenly felt that the mist behind him seemed to have dissipated a bit.

He tilted his head to look behind Ao Shuang, and suddenly a huge fire wing, over three feet long, flew out of the mist. Ao Shuang, who was facing Wang Zhen Huan at the moment, saw his pupils suddenly dilate and knew something was wrong.

The fiery wings suddenly attacked Ao Shuang from behind, but Ao Shuang reacted instantly. She gathered her energy, lightened her body, and stomped heavily on the ground, using the momentum to propel herself forward. She instantly dodged to the right.

His dodge would expose Wang Zhenhuan. Wang Zhenhuan frowned, then took a half step forward, reaching into his robes as if to retrieve a talisman to fight. Ao Shuang's voice came at that very moment.

"Watch out, Fiery Sky Soar! Don't take it head-on! Get out of the way quickly!"

To his surprise, Wang Zhenhuan suddenly pulled a yellow talisman from his robes and threw it at him. The talisman spontaneously combusted upon leaving his hand, instantly transforming into a golden rope.

The rope seemed to be sentient; after appearing, it flew straight towards Ao Shuang and immediately wrapped around his waist. Wang Zhenhuan gripped the other end and pulled hard, dragging Ao Shuang back.

At the same time, he stepped back. Caught off guard, Ao Shuang was pulled back by Wang Zhenhuan and stumbled. He looked at Wang Zhenhuan in confusion, not understanding why his little brother would suddenly want to harm him.

But there was no time for him to think about that anymore. The fire wings were less than ten feet away from him. Since he couldn't escape, he had no choice but to take the hit.

Left with no other choice, Ao Shuang took out a yellow talisman from her sleeve, quickly made hand seals, and silently chanted: "May the incantation rise like clouds, reach the underworld, terrify the demons and monsters, and make them retreat!"

"Supreme Dao Lord, by the command of the law! Appear!"

As he finished chanting the incantation, the yellow talisman spontaneously combusted. A cloud of black mist suddenly rose from beneath his feet, enveloping him entirely. At that moment, the fiery wings arrived before him and plunged into the black mist.

boom!!--

A loud bang shattered the golden rope in Wang Zhenhuan's hand. The surrounding gale seemed to pause for a moment before howling again. The gale dispersed the black mist, revealing Ao Shuang within.

He was kneeling on the ground, in front of him an old city gate, taller than two people, its double doors tightly shut. A faint green light emanated from the lintel, and in the center of the lintel hung a horizontal plaque.

Through the black mist, Wang Huanzhen could vaguely see the words "Fengdu" written on it. Although the gate of Fengdu blocked Li Huo Tianxiang, it also became transparent and gradually dissipated.

Ao Shuang rose from her knees, turned to look at Wang Zhenhuan with an incredulous expression, and asked in a hoarse voice, "Why??"

Wang Zhenhuan stood up from the ground expressionlessly, looked at Ao Shuang, and said coldly:

"Because I want you dead!"