Demon, come and cultivate for me.

Zhou Chu's heart sank when he saw the words on the note.

What could have happened that made Chen Xiangzi and the silent gourd both run away, without even having time to find their companions?

Since Chen Xiangzi, Menhulu, and Chen Ji have all left, why not take A Niu with them?

There can only be one explanation: this "danger" is only directed at them, the outsiders.

Zhou Chu asked A Niu, "Which way did your third uncle and cousin go?"

Ah Niu pointed south and said, "He rode his horse that way."

As soon as Ah Niu finished speaking, an old voice came from the courtyard:

"Ah Niu, who are you talking to? Come in quickly."

Ah Niu made a face at the three of them and ran back into the courtyard.

Zhou Chu and his two companions had no time to think. They mounted their horses and headed south, eventually leaving Chen Family Village.

Outside Chenjiazhuang were vast rice paddies, but there wasn't a soul in sight. Even if one tried to find out where Chen Xiangzi had gone, there was no way to do so.

The three of them could only wander south along the road like headless flies.

After walking for about ten miles, the three found a dilapidated temple with two horses, one brown and one red, tied at the entrance.

Zhou Chu recognized the two horses; they were the mounts of Chen Xiangzi and the Silent Gourd.

The dilapidated temple stood alone on a barren slope overgrown with weeds taller than a person, and there was no road leading to the temple.

It looks like no one has been to this dilapidated temple for a long time.

"This temple is a bit strange," Zhou Chu said, pulling on the reins.

Zhao Ji said, "I also find it strange. Who builds a temple that faces north?"

"I've seen temples that face north before, but this one has a hillside to the north, which is quite strange," Xu Yuan said, stroking his chin.

The three of them talked as they walked toward the dilapidated temple.

Before even entering the house, I could hear a fierce argument coming from inside the dilapidated temple.

Zhou Chu and the other two went inside, where Chen Xiangzi was arguing heatedly with his cousin Chen Ji, neither of them willing to give in.

The silent man sat quietly to the side, watching the uncle and nephew as if nothing had happened.

Zhou Chu stepped forward to stop the two and asked what had happened.

Chen Ji didn't mince words and told Zhou Chu everything about what happened in Chenjiazhuang.

Chen Ji said that he had only returned to Chenjiazhuang last month and noticed the abnormality upon his return.

He discovered that everyone in Chenjiazhuang seemed to be under the influence of an unknown, magical force.

During the day, things are barely normal, but at night, everyone turns into monsters.

Anyone who isn't from Chenjiazhuang will fall victim to these monsters.

As for why this happened, Chen Ji doesn't know either.

After listening, Zhou Chu felt there was something wrong with Chen Ji's words, so he asked:

"If that's the case, how did you escape from these monsters after discovering them?"

Chen Ji said, "You don't need to know that. You just need to know that if you stay there tonight, no matter what your cultivation level is, you will definitely fall victim to the monster."

After saying that, he pointed to the silent man and said, "There's nothing between us."

The man with the taciturn expression looked up at Chen Ji, a strange glint in his eyes, and unusually asked a question:

"Are you like me?"

Chen Ji nodded and said, "Same as you, but not as serious as yours."

"Oh." The taciturn man fell silent again.

Zhou Chu and his companions were completely baffled by their conversation.

What do you mean you two are the same? But he quickly understood.

Because Zhou Chu could not sense any fluctuations of true energy from Chen Ji, this situation was exactly the same as that of the silent gourd.

What did they go through to become like this? Is Chen Ji dead or alive? The people of Chenjiazhuang have been corrupted by demonic forces; could it be related to him?

A series of questions filled Zhou Chu's mind.

The reason Chen Xiangzi and Chen Ji were arguing was because Chen Xiangzi wanted to go back to the village to see how his parents were doing and how the people of Chenjiazhuang turned into monsters at night.

Chen Ji refused to let him go, fearing that he would be corrupted by demonic influence once he arrived at Chen Family Village.

Chen Xiangzi asked Chen Ji why he hadn't been contaminated after living in the house for more than half a month.

Chen Ji couldn't give a clear explanation either.

As night fell, Chen Xiangzi, carrying his satchel, went back to find out what was going on.

Chen Ji held him tightly and said:

"The entire clan places high hopes on us. The future restoration of the Chen family's former glory depends entirely on the two of us."

Now your uncle has lost all hope, and you are all alone.

If they are unfortunately corrupted by demonic forces on this journey, the Chen family will have no hope left.

Chen Ji and Chen Xiangzi were the most talented juniors in the Chen family, and the family devoted all its resources to nurturing them.

From the moment they were born, their fates were inextricably linked to their families.

Everything they do must be worthy of their family.

These ideas were instilled in Chen Xiangzi from a young age by his clan, to the point that all his actions were for the sake of the family.

After hearing Chen Ji's words, Chen Xiangzi stopped being stubborn, but he still couldn't let go of the matter in his heart, and even had some doubts about his uncle.

After all, since meeting Chen Ji today, Chen Xiangzi had asked him no less than three times why he was still alive.

But Chen Ji kept changing the subject and didn't give a direct answer.

Regarding the ashes Chen Xiangzi brought back, Chen Ji admitted that the corpse in the Black Wind Ridge Mountain Lord Cave was him. But that was him in the past, not him now.

Even if you told this explanation to a four- or five-year-old boy like Ah Niu, he might not believe it, let alone the well-informed Chen Xiangzi.

Chen Ji said that he didn't want to hide this matter, but he didn't know how to say it, and he didn't even know how it happened.

Seeing that the uncle and nephew were about to quarrel, the taciturn man spoke up again, saying to Chen Xiangzi:

"I'll take a look for you."

Having said that, he left the temple alone.

Fearing that Chen Xiangzi might secretly follow them, Chen Ji stayed in the dilapidated temple to guard the others.

A moment later, the silent man returned.

"How is it? Have the people in Chen Family Village really turned into monsters?" Chen Xiangzi stared at the taciturn man, hoping he would give a negative answer.

Chen Xiangzi nodded and sat back down in his seat without saying another word.

The silent man didn't know Chen Ji and felt there was no need for him to lie, so Zhou Chu and the others believed Chen Ji's story.

Chen Ji said, "I suspect that the demonic nature of Chenjiazhuang after nightfall is related to the Ten Thousand Mountains."

According to Chen Ji's speculation, the Ten Thousand Mountains are slowly expanding, constantly encroaching on the surrounding land.

The place where Chenjiazhuang is located is at the border between the Chu Kingdom and the Baiyue Kingdom, and it was the first place to be swallowed up by the Shiwan Mountains.

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuan frowned and said, "The Ten Thousand Mountains aren't alive, how can they devour other places?"

Chen Ji said, "How do you know the Ten Thousand Mountains aren't alive?"

"Huh?" Xu Yuan looked at Chen Ji as if he were a fool, not knowing how to respond for a moment.

Although Zhou Chu shared the same thoughts as Xu Yuan, he did not express them.

"Look," Chen Ji said, pointing to the temple gate, "why does this temple face the mountain?"

Xu Yuan said, "How would I know?"

Chen Jidao said, "When this temple was built, this place was still flat land. This mountain only 'grew' up in recent years."

Upon hearing this, the group all looked at Chen Xiangzi, hoping to get confirmation from him, since he had grown up here.