I am the sacred tree, evergreen for eternity.

"Uncle...can you bring my mother back to life?"

In the darkness, Ao saw a pair of eyes—obsidian-like, bright, and full of trust.

He opened his eyes; it was still dark, but he could no longer fall asleep.

Ao took the stone heart out of his bosom.

Beneath the grayish-white stone surface, that eerie, murky aura still lingered.

Suddenly.

A chill ran down Ao's spine; he felt it—

The fluctuation of that turbid air has come alive!

The originally scattered and weak turbid air quickly condensed, vaguely pointing towards a clear target.

"Everyone, get up!"

A proud voice boomed through the night, instantly waking the team members who grabbed their weapons, their minds racing.

"Captain, what's wrong?"

Ao did not answer, but held the stone heart in his palm. The spiritual light seeped into the stone heart and extended outward along the direction of the turbid energy.

Ten li, twenty li, fifty li...

found it!

About sixty miles ahead, there is a small town.

That was a border town under the Southern Xinjiang branch, built beside a tributary of the Tianhe River, guarding the vital passage to the inland.

A totem pole stands in the center of the town, protecting the livelihoods of hundreds of ordinary people.

The target of this evil, foul energy was that small town—

Qingxi Town.

As the sun begins to set in the west.

Ao led his team, following the trail left by the turbid air, and finally arrived.

He sealed the stone heart in an iron box, wrapped it in three layers of animal hide soaked in spiritual light, but it still couldn't stop the chilling aura from seeping out from the cracks in the box.

Just as the town gate was about to close, the guards recognized the patterns on Ao's iron armor and did not stop him.

He walked straight toward the town's patrol team's camp, crushing a few withered leaves under his feet.

The garrison captain, named Meng, was in his early fifties and had broken through the cultivation limit. He was squatting in the courtyard sharpening his knife.

Upon seeing Ao enter, he drew his knife and went to meet him.

Before Ao could exchange pleasantries, he deftly removed the iron box from his waist, revealing a grayish-white petrified heart.

"Captain Meng, have you seen this before?"

Captain Meng glanced at it suspiciously, his expression changed drastically, and he was about to speak—

A muffled thud came from the iron box.

The petrified demon's heart has stirred!

The cracks in the stone core spread like a spider web, and the grayish-white outer shell peeled away piece by piece, revealing the dark red flesh inside.

It began to throb, faster and faster, making a thumping sound like muffled thunder.

"What...what's going on?" Captain Meng's voice changed.

Ao did not answer.

He was about to reach out and grab the stone heart when, the moment his fingertips touched the surface, a scorching, foul heat shot up his fingers, like a venomous snake bite.

Looking at the fingertips again, a ring of purplish-black had appeared.

"Go and knock on the totem pole!"

Ao stood up, his voice strained.

"Use the highest level of distress signal!"

"Gather all the combat-capable warriors in town here, quickly!"

Meng was stunned for a moment, then turned and ran.

The totem pole of Qingxi Town stands in the central square of the town. It is eight zhang tall and its body is engraved with spiritual patterns.

Meng pressed the signal stone into the groove at the bottom of the pillar, and the spiritual light climbed upwards along the patterns, exploding into a dazzling flame at the top of the pillar.

Within half an hour, travelers began to arrive from all directions.

There were patrol teams stationed at border outposts, guards for caravans passing through the area, and hunters hunting in the nearby mountains and forests.

...In the end, there were over a hundred totem walkers gathered in the square.

The vast majority were young people in the Qi Gathering and Body Refining stages, but there were also about a dozen experts who had broken through their limits.

They carried all sorts of weapons, their faces etched with tension, but they still volunteered to come.

Standing proudly beneath the totem pole, he retrieved the stone heart.

The heart had been fully awakened, and the dark red light made the surrounding bluestone slabs look as if they were soaked in blood.

"The target of evil spirits and turbid energy is here—"

"Those things will come tonight."

"Brothers, I will live and die with you!"

Ao's voice wasn't loud, but everyone heard it clearly.

Nobody asked "what is it?"

News of the border monster attack had already spread far and wide; everyone had heard of the eerie, turbid aura and the undead, half-alive creatures.

No one retreated, no one ran away.

Night always comes.

Dozens of bonfires were lit in the square, the firelight casting long, distorted shadows of the totem poles.

Standing proudly atop the town gate, the night wind swept in from behind him, ruffling his disheveled hair.

Meng crouched behind the wall, clutching an iron-rimmed bow in his hand, his eagle eyes scanning the surroundings.

Hundreds of travelers were scattered around the town according to their assigned areas, guarding key positions and remaining vigilant at all times.

"Uncle, could it be...?"

A young guard asked the veteran beside him in a low voice,

Before he could finish speaking, he was glared at fiercely, causing him to swallow the rest of his words.

Time moved on, moment by moment.

Midday on the moon.

A layer of gray-black mist rose over the wilderness outside the town.

The fog came very quickly, rolling along the ground, as if something was wriggling within it.

Wherever it passed, the grass withered and shriveled, and the soil was covered with a layer of white frost.

Turbid air.

The stale air was so thick it was visible to the naked eye.

He gripped the knife handle tightly, his knuckles turning white.

The foul air stopped ten feet outside the town gate, as if blocked by an invisible wall, churning, piling up, and rising.

Then, the murky fog split open.

A figure emerged from the mist.

The first thing to emerge was a huge snake head—its neck was as thick as an ancient tree, its dark green scales were charred and cracked, and a dark red glow like embers shone through the cracks.

Several pairs of vertical pupils were squeezed into the temples of the snake's head, amber, blood red, and pitch black, eerie and distorted.

The snake's body was covered in fleshy growths and crooked bone spurs, and large pieces of scales were peeling off.

Every now and then, a fleshy tumor would burst open, revealing a tiger's claw, a centipede's appendage, or half a bear's paw, which would paw at the ground before retracting.

It's like a cobbled-together rotting corpse, a deformed freak.

However, the terrifying and sinister aura emanating from its very core made even the surrounding air tremble.

A terrifying giant monster comparable to the one in the Seeking the Dharma stage!

It twisted and wriggled as it crawled toward Qingxi Town.

His heart pounded like a drum, and an iron sword was held horizontally in front of his chest.

In his eyes, a resolute determination to fight to the death had already risen!

"Release the arrows!"

Meng's voice ripped through the night sky.

The first volley of arrows fell like a torrential rain upon the giant serpent's twisted body.

Most of them were bounced off by the scales, while a few became embedded in the fleshy growths at the seams.

The thing didn't scream; it simply slowly opened its hideous maw.

next moment.

Thick, foul air surged from the depths of its throat, like a raging flood, roaring and pouring forth.

The dark gray fog slammed against the heavy town gate, threatening to engulf Qingxi Town.

The totem pole in the center of the town suddenly lit up, the spiritual patterns on the pole moved ingeniously, and a huge spiritual power burst forth from the ground.

Pure spiritual light burst forth from the top of the pillar, shining like the midday sun in all directions, cleansing the entire town of its turbidity.

The totem pole stands on the newly cleared land, like a lofty beacon.

The murky fog dissipated, and Ao and the others were finally able to catch their breath.

They gripped their weapons tightly, their minds racing, and fought desperately towards the twisted giant serpent coiled in the town...