Starting as a stray dog, I embarked on a journey of cultivation.

Soon, as the airship continued to fly, its altitude gradually decreased.

Once the sea of ​​clouds recedes, the distant, continuous mountain ranges come into view.

Unlike the Monster Mountain Range, which is covered with vegetation, this mountain range is bare, with black rocks everywhere.

The further they flew, the thicker the clouds in the sky became, and the sunlight could hardly penetrate, as if they had entered night.

The Evil Bone Taoist pointed to a valley in the distance and said to the crowd, "That is Ghost Gate Hill."

Following the direction pointed out by the Evil Bone Taoist, everyone looked and saw two solitary peaks standing on either side of the valley.

From a distance, it looks just like a huge stone gate.

The valley was shrouded in a gray mist, making it impossible to see anything inside. Only gusts of cold wind blew from the direction of the valley, carrying a putrid and chilling smell.

Instead of continuing to move the flying boat forward, the Evil Bone Taoist slowly guided it to land on a wide, flat area outside Ghost Gate Hill.

The flying boat's aura subsided, and it landed steadily.

The Evil Bone Daoist turned around, looked at Gou An, a faint smile on his lips, and asked in a feignedly polite manner, "Fellow Daoist, we've arrived. What's next?"

There was a hint of amusement in his eyes; he clearly wanted to see how Gou An planned to act.

Gou An glanced at the direction of Ghost Gate Hill from afar, silently weighing his options.

This place is clearly not a safe haven. The Overlord Saint Lord, who resides within the valley, is a malevolent cultivator at the Primordial Spirit level and is not easy to deal with.

If we rashly lead our troops into the enemy's territory at this moment, we will easily fall into their trap and suffer losses for nothing.

Gou An immediately turned to look at the Golden-haired Rat among the ten demon generals and ordered in a deep voice: "Golden-haired Rat, go ahead and scout out the situation. Be careful and hide well. Do not alert the enemies in the valley. Once you have found out any information, return immediately."

"Yes!" The golden-haired rat quickly clasped its fists and accepted the order. Without saying much, its body swayed slightly, and its demonic power flowed. In an instant, it disappeared underground and silently headed towards Ghost Gate Hill in the distance.

Gou An then looked at the remaining people and ordered, "The rest of you, rest where you are, conceal your presence, be on guard around, and wait for the Golden-haired Rat to send back a message. No one is allowed to act on their own."

As soon as the command was given, the remaining nine demon generals sprang into action.

Huangmao Niu, holding a large black iron shield, went to the outer perimeter to stand guard.

Pig Steel Teeth stood guard on the flank with the Black Iron Spear in his hand, while Black Tiger and Black Monkey stood on either side. The four demon generals, the other demon generals, and Gou An Xie Gu protected the center.

Gou An glanced at the other four demon generals.

The Sword Immortal Yang held the ninety-nine sword box in front of him, ready to activate the spiritual swords at any time.

Although the spotted snake and the red-eyed rabbit were both sitting and resting, their eyes kept scanning their surroundings.

The Qiankun Chicken, holding the array plate, was constantly analyzing the surrounding terrain to guard against hidden formations.

Only the fat catfish looked much more relaxed; it found a flatter rock, lay down, and started to doze off.

This positioning allows them to immediately enter combat mode should they be ambushed by the enemy, which makes them appear quite professional.

Gou An also found a rock to sit on and quietly waited for news from the golden-haired rat.

Time passed slowly, a cold wind blew incessantly through the mountains, and the gray sky grew darker and darker, leaving the entire area around Ghost Gate Hill deathly silent.

But despite waiting patiently, the golden-haired rat never returned.

Before we knew it, two whole hours had passed.

Gou An, who had been relatively calm, gradually felt a sense of anxiety rising in his heart.

The golden rat is skilled at hiding and burrowing underground, and as a Golden Core cultivator, it is extremely fast. Ordinary investigations would not take this long.

His prolonged absence is truly worrying for Gou An.

He immediately turned to look at Black Tiger beside him, frowned, and asked in a deep voice, "General Black Tiger, so much time has passed, and Golden-haired Rat still hasn't returned. This seems rather unusual?"

Black Tiger's expression hardened slightly, realizing that something was wrong. He immediately flipped his hand and took out a fist-sized, pure white Soul Lamp that appeared in his palm.

The lamp wick flickered steadily, emitting a faint, ethereal glow.

He stared intently at the lamplight and explained in a deep voice, "Don't worry, Protector, the Golden Rat's life lamp is still intact and the flame hasn't gone out, which means there's nothing seriously wrong."

After a pause, Black Tiger continued, "It's possible that Ghost Gate Hill is riddled with formations and has a heavy yin energy, coupled with its complex terrain, so we'll need to spend more time investigating."

"Furthermore, the Golden-haired Rat has extremely strong concealment skills. Even a Nascent Soul level expert would be very difficult to detect unless he actively exposes himself. It would be better to wait a little longer."

Upon hearing this, Gou An breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Since Black Tiger has said so, there's nothing else I can do but wait.

But another hour or so passed while they waited.

The surroundings remained silent, with a howling wind and the desolate black rock mountain devoid of any life.

Gou An glanced at the crowd. The nine demon generals remained at their posts, their formation perfectly intact, each guarding their own side without daring to relax for a moment.

Only the Evil Bone Taoist was already sitting cross-legged, his eyes slightly narrowed, seemingly having entered a meditative state, as if nothing else mattered to him.

Just as Gou An was about to give up waiting, the ground beneath their feet suddenly rose slightly, and the soil began to churn rapidly.

Everyone's eyes immediately focused on it, their minds tense.

The next second, the soil exploded and broke open, and a gray-furred rat the size of a puppy suddenly broke out, finally crashing heavily to the ground.

Before anyone could get a better look, the gray rat twitched and struggled on the ground a couple of times before its limbs went limp and it fell completely still.

The entire room fell silent instantly.

Black Tiger's expression changed drastically. He instantly darted forward to investigate, his expression extremely grave.

Seeing that the rat had already stopped breathing, he quickly took out the golden rat's life lamp again.

At this moment, the flame in the life lamp was still flickering steadily, showing no sign of going out, which reassured him somewhat.

He pointed to the motionless rat carcass on the ground and quickly said, "This is a clone created by the Golden-haired Rat using its fur. It used its clone to return and deliver a message. The fact that its life lamp is still lit means that its original body has been captured by the enemy."

These words caused everyone present to feel a chill in their hearts.

Gou An's lips twitched violently, and he was speechless.

He never expected that this expedition, which he had been so careful about, would start with such a disastrous beginning.

Even the golden-haired rat, who is best at hiding and gathering information, has been captured. This shows how clever the enemy's methods are!

Upon hearing this news, the Evil Bone Daoist slowly opened his eyes, a subtle smile flashing across them. He feigned surprise and sighed softly, "It seems the Overlord Saint Lord was prepared! Fellow Daoist Gou, now that the scouts have been captured, what are your plans?"

Faced with the somewhat mocking tone of the Evil Bone Daoist, Gou forced himself to calm his anger and said, "Fellow Daoist Evil Bone, you previously said that this Overlord Saint Lord only has the cultivation of a Divine Master, but I'm afraid he's more than that, isn't he?"

Gou An deliberately raised his voice and continued, "If he were only at the Divine Control stage, how could he have discovered the Golden-haired Rat? And how could he have allowed him to be in such a dangerous situation right now?"

Upon hearing this, the other nine demon generals all turned their gazes toward the Evil Bone Daoist, their eyes filled with a hint of resentment.

This was also Gou An's deliberate act, since everyone present was a demon except for the Evil Bone Taoist, and instinctively everyone would distance themselves from the Evil Bone Taoist.

Facing the gazes cast upon him by the demons, the Evil Bone Daoist smiled slightly and said to Gou An, "Guardian Gou, you're mistaken. I told you that the other party was probably at the Divine Control stage, not that it was definitely at the Divine Control stage. When you get there, you'll have to judge for yourself. How can you blame me?"

Gou An ignored Xie Gu and turned his gaze back to the Black Tiger demons, then asked, "Do you have a way to pinpoint the Golden-haired Rat's location?"

"Okay!" Qiankun Chicken took a step forward and said, "We ten generals have all been marked. As long as the Golden-haired Rat is still alive, I can find his location through the array plate."

Upon hearing this, Gou An immediately replied, "Then go look for it right away!"

"Yes, sir!"

Upon hearing the sound, Qiankun Chicken immediately stepped forward with a solemn expression, quickly forming hand seals and suspending the Qiankun Array Plate in front of him.

As his fingertips moved swiftly across the array plate, streams of fine spiritual light flowed out, traveling along the rune markings, creating light and shadow, and the power of the array was fully unleashed.

In a short while, a three-dimensional floating topographic map condensed above the array plate, clearly outlining the mountains, ravines, and black rock formations of the entire Ghost Gate Hill.

In the center of this map lies the Black Mist Zone where Ghost Gate Hill is located.

Deep within the black mist, a small, mouse-shaped mark remained silently in place, motionless.

The Qiankun Chicken stared at the array plate and said in a deep voice, "Guardian of the Nation, found it!"

"The mark of the golden rat is in the heart of the black mist at Ghost Gate Hill. It remained completely still without any sign of moving, which means it must have been captured and imprisoned by the enemy and is unable to escape."

Gou An's gaze sharpened as he stared intently at the mark, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"Now that we've located the position, let's set off immediately and meet this Overlord Saint!" Gou An made a decisive decision and gave the order in a deep voice.

Upon hearing this, the Evil Bone Taoist slowly ceased his meditation posture, snapped open his folding fan with a snap, and said with feigned nonchalance, "Gou Huguo!"

"The golden-haired rat, which was hidden in the heavens, was still easily discovered and captured alive, which shows that the enemy was on guard and even set up many traps."

"Are you sure we're just going to walk in like this?"

Upon hearing this, Gou An merely smiled faintly and said, "I sent the Golden-haired Rat to scout ahead, intending only to find traces of the enemy. Now that we've found them, shouldn't we launch a full-scale attack instead of sending more men in to deliver themselves to their doom?"

Changing the subject, Gou An's gaze fell on the Evil Bone Daoist, his tone carrying a deliberate air of superiority, and he said, "Besides, even if we're no match for him, don't we still have you, Evil Bone Protector?"

"Among everyone here, you are the only one who has reached the Nascent Soul stage, possessing the highest cultivation level and the strongest strength. With you here, we are even more confident, so why should we hold back?"

"It's impossible for the Evil Bone Protector to stand idly by and not offer any help, is it?"

These words, seemingly respectful and admiring, actually placed the Evil Bone Taoist on a high pedestal, blocking his escape route of letting things slide later and sitting back to watch the outcome unfold.

Otherwise, when they return from this trip, the ten demon generals will surely report back on the battle situation.

At best, you'll offend the reclusive scholar of Zhenyue; at worst, you might be punished by the Demon King.

A glint flashed in the eyes of the Evil Bone Daoist. He cursed Gou An inwardly for his cunning, but could only laugh and say, "Fellow Daoist is joking. Since it is a mission given by the Demon King, we will naturally advance and retreat together."

"Then let's do as you say and set off!"