The First Venerable of All Paths

"Tantai Caiyun?"

Fang Xuan was somewhat surprised to see the beautiful figure entangled by the skeletal tentacles.

"How did she get here?"

Tantai Caiyun is a disciple of Luoxia Valley. Fang Xuan had met her once in the Qinglian Secret Realm.

He also remembered that the other person's gaze was quite meaningful before they left.

Unexpectedly, we met each other in this Valley of Death.

"Do you know him?"

Li Guanlan was somewhat surprised, but more curious about the relationship between the two.

"I've met you before, but we're not close."

"Then let's just leave it alone."

Li Guanlan said, "This thing is extremely powerful; it's beyond our ability to deal with."

Fang Xuan nodded, constantly increasing the distance between himself and the skeletal tentacles as he dodged them.

The skeletal tentacles extending from below have no known origin.

However, based on this limited glimpse, Fang Xuan could roughly deduce that the entity below was at least several hundred feet in size.

The aura it exuded had already surpassed the seventh level of the Divine Intent Realm.

Such a being is indeed beyond Fang Xuan's current capabilities to deal with.

As for rescuing Tantai Caiyun, they have no kinship or connection. Even if she is very beautiful, it's not enough for Fang Xuan to risk his own life to save her.

"Walk!"

Fang Xuan stepped onto the Phoenix Cry Sword and was about to leave, speeding away into the distance.

"Fang Xuan?"

At the same time, Tantai Caiyun also saw Fang Xuan.

A hint of surprise flashed in her previously dim eyes, and she quickly said, "Fang Xuan, if you can help me escape, I can take you away from the Valley of Death."

Fang Xuan paused for a moment, then turned and flew forward on his sword without looking back.

"Fang Xuan, don't go yet."

Seeing that Fang Xuan ignored her, Tantai Caiyun said urgently, "I know a hidden passage that can safely leave the Valley of the Dead."

Fang Xuan sighed, then turned around, controlled his flying sword, and transformed into a streak of light as he rushed towards Tantai Caiyun.

"Fang Xuan, are you out of your mind?"

Li Guanlan was taken aback, then cursed angrily and hurriedly followed Fang Xuan.

"She knew the way out of the Valley of the Dead."

Fang Xuan explained that his sword-riding speed had increased several times over.

Skeletal tentacles blotted out the sky and, in the blink of an eye, turned the surroundings into a scene of utter devastation.

Several thick tentacles, carrying a violent gust of wind, stabbed towards Fang Xuan.

Fang Xuan did not confront it head-on, but instead used his agile movements to perfectly evade it.

"Just avoid them as much as possible, and don't make a move."

Fang Xuan didn't forget to remind Li Guanlan.

He worried that angering these tentacles would lead to something bad.

Despite the interference from the skeletal tentacles, Fang Xuan quickly approached Tantai Caiyun.

However, her limbs were bound by even smaller white bone tentacles, rendering her unable to use her aura at all. Her once flawless and beautiful face was now deathly pale.

But her beautiful eyes sparkled as she looked at Fang Xuan.

"Whoosh whoosh!"

Upon getting close, Fang Xuan flicked his finger without saying a word, and several sword energies shot out, striking the skeletal tentacles.

"Clang! Clang!"

However, the sharp sword energy failed to shatter the tentacles, leaving only shallow marks on them.

"This thing is so hard."

Fang Xuan felt a chill run down his spine and was about to use his natal flying sword to sever the tentacles.

"Fang Xuan, don't force it."

Tantai Caiyun quickly stopped her, saying, "This thing cannot be broken by brute force."

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

Fang Xuan felt somewhat helpless.

"Heavenly fire has a natural advantage against it; you can give it a try."

Tantai Caiyun said quickly, "Hurry up, or its true form will awaken."

Fang Xuan frowned slightly and glanced at Tantai Caiyun.

He saw no other emotions on the other person's face, only anxiety and fear.

"Then I'll give it a try."

Sheathing his longsword, he unleashed the Azure Lotus Karmic Flame, which enveloped his palm.

Next, Fang Xuan grabbed the skeletal tentacles that were wrapped around Tantai Caiyun's ankles, and began to refine them with his mind.

Just as Tantai Caiyun said, the skeletal tentacles were indeed restrained by the heavenly fire.

However, it only loosened Tantai Caiyun's grip; she was not refined by the Azure Lotus Karmic Fire.

But this is enough.

Just as Tantai Caiyun pulled her jade leg out, more tentacles came rushing in and wrapped around Fang Xuan and the other two.

"call!"

Fang Xuan clenched his fist, and a huge flaming blue lotus enveloped him and Li Guanlan within it.

At the same time, green flames appeared in Fang Xuan's hands, and he directly grasped the tentacle on Tantai Caiyun's wrist.

However, this action required him to face Tantai Caiyun, and at a very close distance.

It looked like they were embracing.

Looking at the young man so close to her, feeling the intense heat emanating from him, Tantai Caiyun, who had never been so close to a man before, had a slight glint in her beautiful eyes and her cheeks flush.

"Let's get going!"

Just as Tantai Caiyun was in a state of confusion, Fang Xuan's urgent voice rang in her ears.

Then, a large hand grabbed Tantai Caiyun's hand and pulled her away into the distance, flying through the air.

In just a few breaths, they escaped the range of the skeletal tentacles.

"etc!"

Sensing this, Tantai Caiyun tugged at Fang Xuan and said, "My junior brothers and sisters are still downstairs, could you...?"

"cannot!"

Fang Xuan interrupted Tantai Caiyun directly, saying coldly, "I only agreed to save you, not anyone else."

"you......"

Tantai Caiyun's expression changed several times, then she took a deep breath and said seriously, "You're right. It's a favor to agree, and it's one's right to refuse."

"Fellow Daoist Fang Xuan has already risked his life to save me; Caiyun shouldn't push her luck."

Fang Xuan looked at Tantai Caiyun with some surprise.

He didn't expect that Tantai Caiyun would not only not force him to save her junior brothers and sisters, but would also say these words.

Moreover, Fang Xuan could sense that what Tantai Caiyun had just said was exactly what she was thinking.

"It's good that you think that way."

Fang Xuan said, "But how did you get here? And what is that Ghost Hand Bone Demon?"

"It's just a sect training mission."

Tantai Caiyun gave a wry smile and said, "As for the Ghost Hand Bone Demon, it is a strange existence unique to the Valley of the Dead."

"You can think of it as the skeleton of a demon beast warrior who, due to various special reasons, developed a certain level of intelligence and became extremely terrifying and powerful."

Tantai Caiyun said with lingering fear, "The Ghost Hand Bone Demon in the Valley of Burial has reached the peak of the Divine Intent Realm. If it weren't for its low intelligence and being in a deep sleep, we would have had no chance to escape."

"I see."

Fang Xuan glanced at Tantai Caiyun and said, "But you're quite bold. You only have the cultivation of a half-step Divine Intent Realm, yet you dare to come here for training."

"no way."

Tantai Caiyun smiled bitterly and said, "I have no choice but to come here and take risks in order to seek a breakthrough."

"If that's the case, doesn't your Sunset Valley have any elders accompanying you?"

"Originally there were two elders, but the Ghost Hand Bone Demon suddenly awoke, causing us to be separated."

Tantai Caiyun sighed softly and said, "An elder and four disciples are all dead."

"The Ghost Hand Bone Demon will not awaken without reason."

At this moment, Li Guanlan, who had been silent all along, suddenly said, "Unless someone has disturbed it."

"What do you mean?"

Tantai Caiyun looked at Li Guanlan with a scrutinizing gaze.

"You'll have to ask yourselves that. How would I know?"

Li Guanlan said, "Didn't you say you knew the exit? Take us there."

Tantai Caiyun glanced back and saw that the skeletal tentacles had already returned to the depths of the earth and disappeared.

If it weren't for the fact that the ground was a complete mess and the thick, chilling aura lingered in the air, what had just happened would have seemed like an illusion.

Tantai Caiyun looked thoughtful, then shook her head, pointed in a direction, and said, "Go this way."

Immediately afterwards, Fang Xuan, accompanied by Tantai Caiyun, flew eastward on his sword, with Li Guanlan following closely behind.

Fang Xuan noticed that Tantai Caiyun seemed a little down, for reasons unknown.

In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the three of them landed in front of a lake.

"This doesn't look like there's an exit."

Fang Xuan glanced around and frowned slightly.

Tantai Caiyun smiled slightly, pointed to the lake, and said, "The exit is down below."

"Down here?"

Li Guanlan asked warily, "You're not joking, are you?"

"You two saved me, how could I joke about something like this?"

Tantai Caiyun said, "However, you two will have to wait a moment. I can't open the exit by myself."

"But it's getting dark."

Fang Xuan glanced at the sky.

"We agreed that we must meet here before dark."

Tantai Caiyun said, "If they are still alive."

"What if you can't come?"

Li Guanlan poured cold water on the idea.

Tantai Caiyun didn't say anything, but simply took a pill and sat down to refine it.

"You believe her?"

Li Guanlan transmitted his voice to Fang Xuan.

"Do we have any other options?"

Fang Xuan said, "If we leave through the entrance we came in through, we will definitely encounter resistance."

The Gu family and the people from the Sihai Chamber of Commerce are definitely blocking the entrance, waiting for them.

Especially after Gu Tang's death and Lu Fa's serious injury, both families will definitely send their top experts to guard the entrance.

"Wait a while. If it really doesn't work, we'll find a place to rest for the night."

Upon hearing this, Li Guanlan said no more and waited patiently.

Just as the sky was gradually darkening, the sound of wind breaking suddenly came.

Fang Xuan turned around and saw that the person in the lead was a middle-aged beautiful woman at the Divine Realm.

Behind him followed several disciples of Luoxia Valley.

"Caiyun, I'm so glad you're alright."

Upon seeing Tantai Caiyun, the beautiful woman's face immediately lit up with excitement.

"I'm sorry to have worried you, Auntie. I'm fine."

Tantai Caiyun also stood up and said softly, "Thanks to Fellow Daoist Fang Xuan for saving me, otherwise I would not have been able to see my aunt."

"But Elder Hou and the other junior brothers and sisters were not so lucky."

At this point, Tantai Caiyun's expression turned somewhat somber.

"You can't blame yourself. Who would have thought that the Ghost Hand Bone Demon would suddenly wake up?"

After offering a word of comfort to Tantai Caiyun, the beautiful woman looked at Fang Xuan, her smile becoming even gentler, her tone full of gratitude.

"Thank you for saving Caiyun. My Luoxia Valley will remember this favor and will repay it handsomely once we leave."

"You're too kind, senior. It was just a coincidence that we met."

The beautiful woman was increasingly pleased with Fang Xuan's modesty.

But one of the disciples from Sunset Valley jumped out and questioned, "Hey kid, you said you saved Senior Sister Tantai, so what about the others? Why didn't you save them too?"

"Exactly, and you're only at the Qi Condensation Realm. How could you possibly rescue Senior Sister Tantai from the Ghost Hand Bone Demon?"

"Some people, in order to curry favor with Senior Sister Tantai and gain benefits, have no shame whatsoever."

The middle-aged beauty also had delicately arched eyebrows, and her gaze toward Fang Xuan held a hint of suspicion.

Fang Xuan smiled calmly, looked at the disciple, and spoke in a tone that was neither humble nor arrogant.

"You mean, Tantai Caiyun is lying?"