The First Venerable of All Paths

"Something's happened!"

Lu Ling's face turned deathly pale. She glanced around and called out, "Master Xuantian? Manman? Can you hear me?"

However, there was not a sound around.

The fog churned more and more violently, completely obscuring the view.

"I must leave here as soon as possible, otherwise I will also be implicated."

Lu Ling quickly sped up and left the place.

After more than an hour, Lu Ling finally emerged from the thick fog, panting heavily, her face still showing lingering fear.

She looked at the mist in front of her, and after catching her breath, a crisp voice came from behind her.

"Sister Lu Ling, why are you so slow?"

Lu Ling suddenly turned around, looking at Fang Xuan and Manman in front of her with a look of disbelief on her face.

"How did you all get out?"

At this moment, Fang Xuan and Manman appeared completely unharmed.

And judging from their appearance, it seemed like they had been waiting for a long time.

"It just happened as I was walking."

Manman said, "Sister Lu Ling, what happened to you just now? Brother Xuan Tian and I called you for a long time, but you didn't respond."

"Wh...what?"

Lu Ling felt a chill run down her spine and said in a trembling voice, "Did you call me? It was clearly..."

Lu Ling suddenly stopped talking and took three steps at a time to walk up to Fang Xuan and the other person.

"Master Xuantian, Manman, let's go quickly!"

Lu Ling said in a trembling voice, "The formation left here has completely gone out of control. If we don't leave quickly, it might affect this area."

"Then let's get going!"

Fang Xuan dusted himself off and asked Lu Ling, "By the way, Miss Lu Ling, we've been here for so long, why haven't we seen that young master Lu?"

"There is only one entrance to the blood pool, but once you enter, you will be randomly assigned to different locations."

Lu Ling explained, "It's basically very difficult to meet someone like that."

"So that's how it is."

Fang Xuan nodded knowingly and said, "In that case, I'm afraid we can only meet them at the Blood Pool."

That's how it should be.

Lu Ling hesitated for a moment and said, "I'm just a little worried that something might happen in the Blood Pool Secret Realm."

"How so?"

"I've only been through this confusing fog once, but my brother and I have checked it several times, so I'm unlikely to go the wrong way."

Lu Ling said in a solemn tone, "However, I have never heard of the Soul-Disturbing Mist suddenly forming such a thick fog as today. I almost lost my way."

"Pfft!"

Manman almost burst out laughing, but quickly covered her mouth.

Lu Ling looked at Manman, but Manman was hiding behind Fang Xuan, which made Lu Ling frown and look puzzled.

"Miss Lu Ling is right."

Fang Xuan nodded in deep agreement and said, "An anomaly in the secret realm is no small matter. Let's get down to business."

Then, the three continued on their journey.

Along the way, they did not encounter any remnants of formations or any other unexpected events.

Lu Ling's confusion deepened.

"Miss Lu Ling, what's wrong?"

Noticing Lu Ling's unusual behavior, Fang Xuan asked, "Are you feeling unwell?"

No, no.

Lu Ling's face turned slightly pale, and she waved her hands repeatedly, saying, "I just suddenly remembered that there is a demon king's territory not far ahead. Daoist Xuantian, you must be very careful."

"The Demon King's territory?"

Fang Xuan raised an eyebrow and said, "She's only equivalent to a Qi Condensation Realm martial artist, why is Miss Lu Ling so nervous?"

"That demon king is a Rifttooth Lionhound, a pack of demon beasts."

Lu Ling said, "Once they've got their eye on us, getting away won't be easy."

"A Spadetooth Lionhound? It certainly is a troublesome one."

Fang Xuan said, "Then let's speed up and get through this road as soon as possible."

"Remember to stay close to me later."

Fang Xuan looked at Manman and gave her a wink.

"Okay, Brother Xuantian."

Manman nodded emphatically, tugging hard at Fang Xuan's clothes.

Seeing that Manman was so close to Fang Xuan, Lu Ling frowned at first, but then relaxed.

"Come on, follow behind me, and don't make a sound."

Lu Ling took the lead and plunged into a narrow path.

Fang Xuan, holding Manman's hand, followed leisurely behind.

"Awoo!"

"Awooo!"

After walking a few steps, they could faintly hear the roars of monsters.

"Swish, swish, swish!"

Immediately afterwards, the sound of wind breaking came.

Several dark figures emerged directly from the dense forest and pounced on Fang Xuan and his two companions.

That was a monster the size of a three-headed hound, half lion and half dog, with a ferocious appearance.

The three-headed monster had bloodshot eyes and sharp teeth.

His entire body exuded a brutal and ferocious aura.

"It's a Spadetooth Shih Tzu!"

Lu Ling's pretty face changed, and she exclaimed, "Master Xuantian, protect Manman!"

Then, she made a clenched fist with her five fingers, and a long whip appeared in her hand. She lashed it out at the frontmost Split-toothed Lion Dog.

"Sizzle!"

The Cracktooth is extremely fast and has very sharp claws.

With a single claw strike, the long whip was sent flying.

Seeing the Rifttooth Lion Dog open its blood-red maw and bite at her, Lu Ling flashed and flicked her wrist, her long whip wrapping around the Rifttooth Lion Dog's body.

"Thump!"

With a lash of the whip, the Cracktooth Lionhound slammed into a giant tree, howled, and disappeared into the dense forest.

After dealing with the fanged lion dog, Lu Ling looked towards Fang Xuan, her pupils suddenly shrinking.

She saw it.

Facing the two fanged lion dogs, Fang Xuan merely flicked the whisk in his hand.

The soft whisk suddenly straightened, striking the two Split-toothed Lion Dogs on the head like a spear.

"Pfft!"

With a muffled thud, the heads of the two Split-toothed Lion Dogs exploded, turning them into corpses that crashed to the ground, twitched a few times, and then remained still.

"this......"

Lu Ling was completely stunned.

The Rifttooth Lionhound is a fourth-tier demonic beast, fast and strong.

Achieving an instant kill is not something an ordinary person can do.

"Awooooo!"

At the same time, seven or eight figures, like sharp arrows, rushed out of the mountains and forests, each pouncing on Fang Xuan and his two companions.

"not good!"

Lu Ling cried out in surprise, shifted her body, and used her movement technique to avoid the attacks of the two split-toothed lion dogs.

As for Fang Xuan, he had to deal with six demonic beasts at the same time.

The most crucial thing is that he also has to protect Manman.

"Master Xuantian, there are more and more of these beasts. Why don't I take Manman away first, and you hold them off?"

Lu Ling's voice sounded somewhat urgent.

"Isn't this inappropriate?"

Fang Xuan looked troubled and said, "How about this, we split up and meet up at the blood pool?"

"Alright!"

Lu Ling said, "Master Xuantian, please take good care of Manman. I'll lead them away."

After saying that, Lu Ling lashed out with her long whip, striking three fanged lion dogs. Enraging them, she led them away quickly down a small path to the left.

But the remaining five fanged lion dogs, without the slightest hesitation, pounced on Fang Xuan and Manman.

"mysterious......"

Fang Xuan didn't speak, but simply swung his whisk rapidly.

"Bang bang bang!"

After several Rifttooth Lion Dogs were knocked away, Fang Xuan pulled Manman and quickly retreated, rushing towards another path.

"Brother Xuantian, they're coming!"

Manman looked back and saw five fanged lion dogs chasing after her relentlessly.

Not only that, but more Spallation Lion Dogs emerged from the dense forest and chased after them.

"Brother Xuantian, there are more and more of them."

Manman's little face turned deathly pale with fright.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here for you."

Fang Xuan smiled calmly, showing no sign of nervousness.

"But what about Sister Lu Ling..."

"She'll be fine."

Fang Xuan's speed seemed slow, but in reality, his body twisted and turned, transforming into a golden dragon fish and disappearing into the dense forest.

He completely left the several demonic beasts behind.

Seeing that Manman was quite frightened and breathing rapidly, Fang Xuan thought for a moment, then quickly found a place and hid Manman with her.

"Let's rest here for a bit."

Fang Xuan took out a bottle of pills, handed it to Manman, and said, "Eat these; they can help you restore your qi and blood."

Fang Xuan discovered that Manman's physique was far too weak.

In just a short while, Manman had already reached her limit.

"Thank you, Brother Fang Xuan."

As soon as Manman finished speaking, she quickly covered her mouth, her eyes darting around in a panic.

"Alright, stop covering it up."

Fang Xuan said speechlessly, "Tell me, how did you find out? Did your mother tell you?"

"I could tell."

She said in a clear and crisp voice, "I recognized Brother Fang Xuan the moment I first saw him."

"What?"

Fang Xuan was somewhat surprised, staring at the little girl in front of him, and asked, "How did you figure that out?"

"Use your nose."

Manman lowered her voice and said with a grin, "Although Brother Fang Xuan has changed his appearance, his aura is very familiar."

"I see."

Fang Xuan was somewhat amused and said, "I didn't expect you to have such a keen sense of smell, little girl."

"That's right."

Manman said with an arrogant look, "I can smell anyone I've ever met, no matter what they look like."

"That amazing?"

Fang Xuan pinched Manman's nose and said, "Isn't that like a puppy?"

"Ugh, Fang Xuan, you're so annoying!"

Manman slapped Fang Xuan's hand away and said angrily, "Manman is ignoring you."

"Um?"

Fang Xuan's expression suddenly changed, and he abruptly blocked Manman's path.

"How did these beasts find us?"

Manman said nervously, "Brother Fang Xuan, it's those big guys!"

"Stay here and don't move."

Fang Xuan slipped a talisman into Manman's hand and said, "Take this, I'll be right back."

After saying that, Fang Xuan took a step and disappeared from the spot.

A few meters away, a Lionhound with a split tooth had just poked its head out when its head was smashed by the whisk.

Then came the second one, the third one, the fourth one...

Just as Fang Xuan was wreaking havoc, a fanged lion dog as big as a calf suddenly leaped up and slammed its paws down on Fang Xuan.

"puff!"

With that swipe of his claw, Fang Xuan exploded like a deflated balloon, crashing into the dense forest and falling completely still.

The Lion-Dog King roared to the sky and turned to leave.

Soon, the herd of beasts left.

It's as if it never existed.

Before long, a figure appeared furtively.

She glanced at the spot where Fang Xuan had disappeared, sneered, and then walked toward where Manman was hiding.

"Sister Lu Ling, what brings you here?"

Upon seeing Lu Ling, Manman was initially delighted, then exclaimed, "Why are you the only one here? Where's Brother Xuantian?"

"Manman!"

Lu Ling's eyes reddened, and she choked out, "Master Xuantian... he's dead."