The First Venerable of All Paths

"Looks like we need to find a way to get out of here as soon as possible."

Not long after they entered, they encountered the Fire-Eating Heavenly Worm and the Strange Wind.

He still doesn't know what the force that suddenly imprisoned him was.

Fang Xuan dared not imagine what even more outrageous and terrifying power he would encounter next.

After pausing for a moment, Fang Xuan was about to get up when he suddenly noticed a fist-sized insect lying at his feet.

It was the black and gold Fire-Eating Insect King.

This insect king, which had one wing cut off by the Phoenix Cry Sword and had also experienced a strange wind, was originally dead. Unexpectedly, Fang Xuan discovered that the insect king's tentacles actually moved slightly.

"Not dead?"

Fang Xuan's gaze sharpened.

He touched the Insect King with the tip of his sword, turning it over for him.

Fang Xuan noticed that the abdomen of this insect king was different from that of the other insect kings.

The abdomen, a mix of black and gold, also features a purple line as thin as a hair.

"Purple stripes? This is... a mutated Insect King?"

Fang Xuan was somewhat puzzled, but then he thought of something and took out a sandalwood box and put the Insect King into it.

"Although the Fire-Eating Heaven can devour heavenly fire, it can be a powerful weapon if used properly."

With a slight smile, Fang Xuan affixed a few more talismans to the box before storing it in his storage ring.

No sooner had they finished doing all this than the opening was violently broken open.

Li Guanlan stepped out of the cave and looked at Fang Xuan with an annoyed expression, saying, "Do you have a death wish?"

Faced with Li Guanlan's questioning, Fang Xuan smiled awkwardly and said, "Sorry to have worried you."

"Who's worried about you?"

Li Guanlan said, "I'm just afraid of being implicated by you."

"Damaged?"

Li Guanlan sneered and said, "I've already been implicated by you."

The thought that he had insisted on bringing Li Guanlan into the Valley of Death made Fang Xuan feel even more guilty.

Seeing that Fang Xuan remained silent, Li Guanlan also felt a little regretful.

Were her words too harsh?

No matter what, Fang Xuan's actions were all because of himself.

"I......"

Just as Li Guanlan was about to speak, Fang Xuan's expression changed, and he said, "Someone's coming! Let's go!"

Li Guanlan's spiritual power was stronger than Fang Xuan's, and he also noticed that several powerful auras were rapidly approaching them.

"Could it be someone from the Gu family?"

Li Guanlan said in a deep voice, "They've entered the Valley of the Dead too?"

"Whether it is or not, we have to leave as soon as possible."

Fang Xuan said, "If they really are from the Gu family, they are definitely not someone we can deal with right now."

What he's worried about now is that the person who came is the Gu family elder who chased them before.

That person's cultivation level is far superior to Gu Xiao's.

"Walk!"

Without further hesitation, the two headed straight for the depths of the Valley of the Dead.

Not long after Fang Xuan and his companion left, Lu Fa and his group arrived here.

Gu Can's eyes lit up as he looked at the corpse of the fire-eating worm on the ground and the cave with signs of human intervention.

"It was definitely Fang Xuan and his group; they stayed here!"

The figure shrouded in purple robes picked up a handful of sand from the ground, rubbed it gently, and said slowly, "Two people, a man and a woman, left not long ago."

"To retain the essence of sand?"

Gu Tang glanced at the man and said, "I didn't expect you to be skilled in such secret techniques. I truly admire you."

"It's just some low-level tricks, I'm afraid Elder Gu will find it laughable."

The man said something and returned to Lu Fa's back.

Gu Can scoffed, "Playing tricks."

"shut up!"

Gu Tang coldly retorted, "Don't be rude!"

"I didn't say anything wrong."

Gu Can said somewhat unconvinced, "Such obvious marks, even a fool could figure it out. Who else could it be but Fang Xuan and that little bitch?"

"What do you know?"

Gu Tang reprimanded, "Twisting sand to leave traces is a long-lost tracking technique. In addition to being able to identify the other party's traces, it can also track the target's movements."

"This secret technique is unique to the Lu family, but not everyone can cultivate it."

Gu Tang transmitted his voice, saying, "This person holds an extremely high position in the Lu family. Aren't you afraid of bringing trouble to the Gu family with your rudeness?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Can was stunned.

A secret technique that only core members of the Lu family can cultivate?

Although the Gu family entered the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce, it was thanks to the eldest son of the Lu family that they were able to join.

Therefore, Gu Can naturally felt inferior in front of the Lu family.

Thinking of this, Gu Can could only obediently shut his mouth and dare not say anything more.

"Okay, it's nothing."

Lu Fa said, "Finding Fang Xuan is the priority; don't waste time here."

At the purple-robed man's signal, the group quickly chased after Fang Xuan and his companion in the direction they had left.

Not only were Fang Xuan and his group worried about the strange power in the Valley of Death, but Lu Fa and his group were also afraid.

the other side.

Fang Xuan and Li Guanlan walked cautiously through the Valley of the Dead.

"In this Valley of the Dead, day and night are two completely different extremes."

Looking at the lush vegetation and the various wildflowers in full bloom around him, Fang Xuan sighed, "I wonder how this place was preserved."

According to records, Burial Valley is just an ordinary valley with only some common monsters. Many family disciples also come here for trials.

Li Guanlan said, "But one day, a strange force descended upon the Valley of Death and wiped out all the living beings there."

"Among them were several experts at the Qi Condensation Realm who brought their clansmen to the trial."

Li Guanlan was alert to his surroundings, taking precautions to avoid any potential accidents.

"After receiving the news, their clan sent a powerful expert at the Divine Intent Realm to investigate, but they were unable to leave."

"In the years that followed, the power in the Valley of the Dead became increasingly bizarre, gradually turning it into a forbidden area for martial artists that they feared to even mention."

Upon hearing this, Fang Xuan's brows furrowed even more deeply.

"So, these strange forces in the Valley of the Dead didn't exist from the beginning, but appeared suddenly and have been getting stronger all the time."

Fang Xuan's expression suddenly turned serious, and he said, "Do you think there might come a day when the power here will be enough to annihilate even a Transcendent Realm expert?"

"Who knows?"

Li Guanlan said, "But regardless of whether it will happen or not, at least for us right now, the longer we stay here, the more dangerous it will be."

Fang Xuan nodded in deep agreement.

Let's not even talk about the fire-eating cricket.

The strange winds he had encountered before were enough to terrify anyone.

"Is that Star Grass?"

Fang Xuan suddenly noticed a strange plant shaped like a star on the cliff, and his face showed surprise.

"Is this thing valuable?"

"The main ingredient for refining the fourth-grade elixir, Star Cold Pill."

Fang Xuan said, "However, this kind of exotic herb usually grows in places with extremely cold and yin energy. In this place, I did not sense any particularly strong cold and yin energy."

"This Valley of the Dead cannot be judged by ordinary standards, so it's not surprising that there is Star Cold Grass here."

Li Guanlan said, "If you want, I'll pick them for you."

"Don't create unnecessary trouble."

Fang Xuan shook his head and said, "This Valley of Death is strange in every way, and I don't want any more accidents to happen."

"Whatever you want."

Li Guanlan didn't insist, and he and Fang Xuan quickly passed through the canyon.

"Swish, swish, swish!"

Unexpectedly, at the cliff where the star-like grass grew, loose rocks began to fall rapidly.

The next moment, the rocks collapsed, revealing the stark white bones within.

The sheer number of skeletons was so great that it resembled a mountain of bones, a truly shocking sight.

There are human skeletons and monster skeletons.

"this......"

Looking at the scene before him, Li Guanlan said in a deep voice, "These cliffs on both sides, could they be made entirely of corpses?"

Corpses formed the valley.

How many people and how many monsters will die?

"No wonder there isn't a single wild beast to be seen in this Valley of the Dead."

Fang Xuan said, "I think all the martial artists and demonic beasts who died in the Valley of the Dead are here."

"Never mind that for now, let's go."

Li Guanlan said, "Those people behind us are getting closer and closer."

"They arrived so quickly?"

Fang Xuan said, "It seems they really came for us."

Just as the two were about to cross the Bone Mountain and enter the depths of the Valley of the Dead, a sudden change occurred.

From within that mountain of bones, a gigantic skeletal hand emerged, radiating an overwhelming aura of malevolent death, and lunged towards Fang Xuan and his companion.

"not good!"

Sensing the terrifying aura emanating from the giant skeletal hand, Fang Xuan's expression changed, and he was about to grab Li Guanlan.

"Don't worry about me, just take care of yourself."

Li Guanlan swayed slightly, stepping on the Soul-Controlling Hairpin, narrowly avoiding the giant skeletal hand.

Fang Xuan then remembered that Li Guanlan was a peak third-grade Soul Master who could control Soul Weapons to fly.

Withdrawing his hand, the Phoenix Cry Sword hovered beneath his feet, supporting Fang Xuan like a streak of light as he dodged the grasp of the giant skeletal hand.

Before Fang Xuan could catch his breath, another giant skeletal hand emerged from the mountain of bones and slammed down on him.

The aura emanating from the skeletal hand was comparable to the full-force attack of a fourth-level Divine Intent Realm expert.

Fang Xuan's expression hardened. He stepped into the void, sword energy surging forth as he nimbly dodged the attacks. He stood shoulder to shoulder with Li Guanlan, staring in horror at what lay below.

From within the mountain of bones, a skeletal giant, as tall as a mountain and resembling a god or demon, slowly rose to its feet.

"Boom!"

As soon as it appeared, a powerful aura of malevolence swept out from the skeleton, shattering countless bones into dust.

The skeletal giant's empty eyes flickered with eerie ghostly flames as it looked at Fang Xuan and his companion.

Its mouth moved, uttering a muffled syllable.

"eat."

The next moment, the skeletal giant raised its massive hand and continued to grab at Fang Xuan and the other person.

"Want to eat me?"

Fang Xuan's eyes turned cold, and with a swift movement, the Azure Lotus Sword appeared in his hand. He then slashed down at the skeletal giant.

"One sword pierces the peak!"

The sword energy, astonishingly powerful, pierced through the void and struck the giant skeletal hand directly.

"when!"

The giant skeletal hand was so hard that it actually blocked Fang Xuan's sword strike.

"Whoosh!"

Immediately afterwards, a hairpin, swift as lightning, pierced the skeletal giant's eye socket.

"soul?"

The skeletal giant uttered another syllable and reached out to grab the Soul Hairpin.

Before it could crush the Soul-Controlling Hairpin, countless sword energies slashed at its body, finally severing the arm that had grabbed the Soul-Controlling Hairpin from its wrist.

"Its weakness is in its eye socket!"

Fang Xuan said, "I'll keep it occupied, you find an opportunity to make your move."

Li Guanlan nodded, his Soul-Controlling Hairpin swirling around the skeletal giant, searching for an opportunity.

Fang Xuan kept drawing his sword, attracting the attention of the skeletal giant and creating opportunities for Li Guanlan.

Although the skeletal giant was extremely powerful, it was slow-moving. Fang Xuan's sword speed was extremely fast, and each sword strike was faster than the last, making the skeletal giant struggle to keep up.

It wasn't very intelligent and could only be led by the nose by Fang Xuan.

"Buzz!"

Fang Xuan swung his longsword, and dozens of sword shadows slashed at the skeletal giant simultaneously.

"roar!"

The skeletal giant roared, clenched his fists, and slammed them down wildly.

"Now!"

Li Guanlan, who had been waiting for a long time, finally found an opportunity. With a surge of his divine soul, the Soul-Controlling Hairpin pierced the skeletal giant's eye socket with lightning speed.

"puff!"

As the will-o'-the-wisp died down, the skeletal giant became even more agitated.

It roared to the sky, and the mountain walls on both sides of the canyon collapsed wildly, revealing a horrifying mountain of bones.

One after another, skeletal giants rose from the mountain of bones.

These skeletal giants, though not powerful, were numerous.

Even more astonishingly, these skeletal giants were armed with bone bows and bone spears, and their ranks were perfectly aligned, like a well-trained army.

"Buzz!"

The skeletal giants wielding bone bows drew their bows and released a barrage of bone arrows, which hurtled towards Fang Xuan and his companion.