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The Python Cave is said to be headed by a thousand-year-old giant python, an ancestor of all snakes in the East Sea Prefecture. With a single command, the entire East Sea Prefecture will change.

Today, all the immortals who cooperate with the people are descendants of this thousand-year-old snake, so the Python Clan Cave can be said to have a long history and a profound background.

Dimu Temple is a Taoist temple in the mountains. The temple is lush with vegetation, and all who come and go are plant spirits. The flowers, vines, leaves and trees are devoted to cultivation and have a peaceful nature.

They often help shamans treat sick people, and this faction has the best reputation and popularity among shamans in Donghai Prefecture.

To this day, no one knows who the master of Dimu Temple is; all that is known is that it possesses power no less than that of a thousand-year-old snake immortal.

The Pantian Peak is a newly emerging faction of spirits and monsters that has emerged in the last two hundred years. Located at the highest peak of the mountain, all of them are birds. The peak master is a three-clawed white-headed bulbul that came from another place and is extremely powerful.

After occupying the highest point of Pantian Peak, the White-headed Old Man quickly rose to prominence in Donghai Prefecture, becoming one of the three major factions alongside Mangzong Cave and Dimu Temple.

Many people who want to become shamans join these three factions, which makes the three factions prosperous in Donghai Prefecture, with many senior brothers, sisters, junior brothers and sisters.

Of course, besides the three major factions, there are many other powerful spirits and earth immortals who have no interest in fighting for territory. They hide in their mountain caves day after day, cultivating diligently. If a destined person can find their hiding place and ask to become their disciple, they will not be refused. After being summoned, they can even unleash power that is no less than that of the earth immortals of the three major factions after they are possessed.

If Ning Xiu wants to find out the identity of the mastermind, he must go into the mountains and have a good talk with these earth immortals.

Donghai Prefecture is, after all, the territory of the Great Shang Dynasty, and no one can violate the rules of the Great Shang Dynasty on this land.

[102] Mangzong Cave, Fox Hill Village

The terrain of Donghai Prefecture is quite unique. It is surrounded by coastal areas with numerous beaches and wetlands, while the center of the prefecture is dominated by towering mountains and clouds.

Forming peaks and ridges, one after another, each ridge forming a whole.

To avoid entanglement with the mortal world, all the earth immortals dwell in the mountains, making them very difficult for ordinary people to see.

Ning Xiu and Chang Fenghai left the dragon outside the mountain and went into the mountain.

With Chang Fenghai leading the way, Ning Xiu easily entered the mountains. The originally complex and winding roads gave Chang Fenghai the feeling of strolling in his own backyard.

Where there seemed to be no way forward, after a few turns by Chang Fenghai, Ning Xiu suddenly found himself in a completely new path.

“My lord, there are many immortal caves in these mountains. Some immortals are kind and gentle, while others do not like to get close to people. Now that we have come here, we should be careful. Please stay close to me and do not wander around.” Chang Fenghai turned around and reminded him.

Ning Xiu nodded: "Of course, no problem."

As you venture deeper into the mountains, you can clearly feel that the air inside becomes much fresher than outside.

The vegetation was lush and green, the flowers were vibrant and fresh, and ancient vines hung down from the treetops above.

A dull-looking brown bear emerged from the nearby bushes and immediately made eye contact with Ning Xiu and his companion.

Encountering a brown bear in the wild is undoubtedly a very dangerous thing. Even the best hunter cannot fight an adult bear by himself when he encounters one.

Just as Ning Xiu was about to make his move, the brown bear surprisingly nodded at Chang Fenghai in a very human-like manner.

Chang Fenghai immediately returned the greeting, indicating that the two were familiar with each other.

"This is a friend of the Earth Immortal in my family. In terms of seniority, he is quite senior in these mountains," Chang Fenghai explained, noticing Ning Xiu's confusion.

The earth immortal of the Hu family that Chang Fenghai worshipped was called Hu Taigu. Although she was not as powerful or influential as the three major monster factions.

But in terms of strength, they are a force to be reckoned with in these mountains.

After the brown bear left, Chang Fenghai continued on his way, encountering many wild animals along the winding road.

A village nestled on a hilltop instantly came into Ning Xiu's view.

The village is filled with houses built from a mixture of hay and mud, and is covered with bushes full of red flowers, making it a truly beautiful place, like a paradise on earth.

As soon as Ning Xiu entered the village, he saw two foxes, one yellow and one red, emerge from a bowl-shaped mud house. Upon seeing Chang Fenghai bring an outsider, they immediately ran over with curious eyes, staring at Ning Xiu and scrutinizing him.

"What are they?" Ning Xiu asked.

“The great-aunt’s descendants are all kind-hearted fox demons.” Chang Fenghai took out the almond candies he had prepared earlier from his pocket and gave one to each of the two foxes. Watching them squint their eyes and happily lick them, Ning Xiu’s impression of this demon village improved slightly.

It seems that this place is not as chaotic and polluted as I had imagined before I came.

In this hilly village, there are many little fox spirits like this. According to Chang Fenghai, only those powerful and skilled fox spirits know how to transform into humans. These little fox spirits with shallow skills can't even perform a decent spell, let alone become local immortals, cooperate with people, and help them become shamans.

Upon learning that a shaman, a local immortal, had arrived in the village, many little fox spirits ran out of their bowl-shaped houses and gathered around Chang Fenghai, sitting obediently and looking up to wait for him to feed them almond candy. The scene looked quite harmonious.

"All of you, step back! What kind of behavior is this? You'll make a fool of yourself!" A fox-like voice suddenly rang out. Ning Xiu couldn't understand what it was saying, but he could clearly see all the little fox demons immediately slink away from the place.

Meanwhile, a few eyes still lingered, yearningly glancing back at the candy in Chang Fenghai's hand. However, due to the fox's reprimand, they had no choice but to swallow their saliva and leave.

Ning Xiu looked in the direction of the sound and saw a white fox walking upright, wearing clothes and shoes, slowly approaching. Its gait and posture were just like a human's. If he didn't know that this was a fox village, Ning Xiu would have even suspected that someone was wearing a leather suit inside.

"Mr. Chang." The white fox greeted Chang Fenghai in a human voice.

"Greetings, Aunt Hu. I have come today to take this gentleman to pay his respects to my great-aunt," Chang Fenghai explained.

The white fox looked at Ning Xiu. Although he was dressed simply, it instantly understood Ning Xiu's identity just from Chang Fenghai's address of "sir".

Ordinary local officials and shamans would never bring them here to expose the existence of this village. The only one who could make Chang Fenghai do this is the Demon Subduing Division in Jingzhou.

As the Demon-Subduing Guards, who are specifically tasked with dealing with evil spirits within the Great Shang territory, any shaman who dares to disobey their orders is essentially already halfway into the crime of being a 'demon.' Therefore, the Earth Immortals all expressed their understanding of Chang Fenghai's actions.

"Greetings, Lord Fumowei," Aunt Hu immediately bowed.

Don't be fooled by the fact that this fox is only half a person's height; its strength and aura are around the fourth rank, which would be considered a great demon in the mortal world.

"I've come today because I need Aunt Hu's help. Could you please introduce me to her?" Ning Xiu said, cupping his hands in greeting.

"Well... okay, sir, this way." Aunt Hu hesitated slightly, but immediately agreed.

It couldn't see through the strength of the Demon-Subduing Officer in front of it, which meant that the other party's strength was far above its own, falling into the category of the upper three ranks.

This strength would make him a proper Silver Tiger Demon Subduing Captain within the Demon Subduing Division, and a big shot anywhere in the Great Shang Dynasty. Aunt Hu dared not be negligent, and turned around to lead Ning Xiu and the other two towards the mud house built on the highest hill in the village.

This mud house is arguably the most unique place in the entire village. A large, curved tree grows from the roof of the mud house, and many butterflies and dragonflies with various colors of light flutter around the treetop, making it very beautiful from a distance.

When Ning Xiu entered the mud hut, he saw a red fox lying on a bamboo chair, leisurely smoking a pipe. It looked more like someone wearing a leather cloak than Aunt Hu.

"Great-aunt Master." Upon seeing the red fox, Chang Fenghai immediately bowed and greeted her.

This was the fox spirit that Ning Xiu had seen behind him when he was treating patients at his residence.

"You've arrived." Red Fox seemed to have already guessed, and was not surprised at all that Ning Xiu and his companion had come to his residence at this time. He placed his pipe on the wooden table next to him and stood up.

"Ma Fangfang is dead. Is that why you came to the mountains to find me?" Aunt Hu sighed.

Ning Xiu nodded: "So you already know, Aunt Hu. Then do you know who killed her?"

"Please tell me what happened first. Ma Fangfang was connected with one of my children. I only learned about Ma Fangfang's death from the child just now, but I don't know the specifics."

Ning Xiu then recounted how he had witnessed Granny Ma talking to the mastermind before being murdered.

"It seems there's a local deity in the mountains who has broken the rules we've all agreed upon over the years. What a scoundrel!" Aunt Hu said angrily.

In fact, the practice of witchcraft in Donghai Prefecture was only hidden from the general public. How could the Demon Subduing Division, which oversaw the affairs of the entire Shang Dynasty, not know about it?

However, after investigating the situation of these demons and immortals in the mountains of Donghai Prefecture, the Demon Subduing Division compiled a danger assessment and ultimately decided that this custom could be preserved, allowing the demons and immortals to coexist harmoniously with the people and help them.

This would save the Demon Subduing Bureau from sending people to Donghai Prefecture to deal with evil spirits harming people. These demon immortals would be the first to step forward and help solve the problem, and this trend might even evolve into a completely new system of great paths in the future.

As long as these demon immortals don't commit crimes or cause trouble, and are willing to sincerely cultivate through the path of incense offerings, the Demon Subduing Division can certainly provide them with some conveniences.

Therefore, the earth immortals in the mountains of Donghai Prefecture, led by three major factions, jointly agreed on many rules to restrain everyone from doing anything that would invite punishment from the Demon Subduing Division.

The recent incidents of children going missing in numerous fishing villages, coupled with the murder of Granny Ma, a shaman, clearly indicate that a mountain spirit is secretly at work, severely disrupting the peace that has been maintained in the mountains for hundreds of years.

If the situation is not stopped in time and the number of victims continues to increase, the consequences could be disastrous.

"Aunt Hu, do you have any guesses about who the mastermind behind this is?" Ning Xiu asked.

"I'm sorry, sir, with just a black claw, I can't get any useful clues from it, nor can I determine which immortal in this mountain it is. However, I do have a way to communicate with Ma Fangfang and ask her to tell us what she knows."

"Oh!" Ning Xiu's eyes lit up: "Please speak, Aunt Hu."

"The Python Clan Cave has a technique called 'Seven-Day Soul Return Technique.' As long as the deceased has been dead for no more than seven days, their remnant soul can be gathered and brought back, allowing them to bid a final farewell to their loved ones. Once this technique is used, we can speak with Ma Fangfang, and the truth about Black Claw's identity will naturally come to light."

"Alright, let's not delay any longer and set off for the Python Cave."

……

There is a village in Donghai Prefecture that has become rich in recent years. A few years ago, this village was impoverished and could barely catch any fish. In the end, it had no choice but to rely on the surrounding fishing villages for relief.

But for some reason, in recent years, this village has undergone a complete transformation. Every time they go out to sea, they can bring in a huge amount of money, and they can also catch some rare and valuable items, which they can sell to high-ranking officials and nobles. Basically, they make money without lifting a finger.

Because of their sudden wealth, the village's dilapidated fences have been replaced with stone walls, and the old wooden houses have been transformed into exquisite two- or three-story buildings.

The people in the surrounding villages were very surprised by the strange changes in this village, but they couldn't find any problems.

After all, you can't possibly suspect someone of having ulterior motives just because they suddenly become rich out of nowhere.

Fengmeng Village.

The shaman Pang Chao was sitting in his home preparing herbal medicine. This medicine could cure any aches, pains, and injuries with great efficacy.

The shaman then took it out and sold it everywhere. Over the years, he has made a lot of money by selling medicine. His family even raised horses and carriages because of this, and he enjoys a grand travel experience.

Just as Pang Chao was concentrating on making medicine, a dark figure suddenly appeared behind him and said, "Go and do something for me quickly, don't delay."

Upon hearing the voice, Pang Chao was instantly startled and quickly stood up: "Grandpa Shan, what brings you here all of a sudden?"

"Stop talking nonsense. Go to the easternmost village right now and destroy the shaman's body. We absolutely cannot give her a chance to come back to life on the seventh day after her death."

Seeing the figure's extremely ferocious tone, Pang Chao, though unaware of what had happened, could sense the seriousness of the situation and immediately agreed: "Yes, Master Shan, I'll go right away."

"In addition, during this period, you should tell the villagers to be careful and not to have any more contact with the mountains. No one is allowed to go to my place. If anyone comes to your village to ask, they must answer that they do not know."

"Understood, Grandpa Shan. I will make sure everyone keeps quiet."

After Pang Chao confirmed it, the dark figure disappeared.

"Something terrible has happened." Pang Chao couldn't help but wipe his face. In the past, Grandpa Shan had never shown such panic. Pang Chao knew very well that this was a reaction that could only come from something serious.

Thinking about all the shady things the village had done for this mountain god over the years, Pang Chao couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. He muttered to himself, "Could it be that our village is involved? What are we going to do now?"

Pang Chao quickly went outside and called over a few villagers who usually obeyed his orders. They headed straight for the fishing village where Granny Ma lived.

……

If the mountains are divided into three parts, the area occupied by the Python Cave is truly a gloomy and sunless place.

According to Aunt Hu, this place is often shrouded in clouds, preventing sunlight from reaching the ground. In addition, the vegetation in this area is very lush, so even if sunlight does shine through, it is mostly blocked by the branches and leaves of the trees, making it difficult for sunlight to reach the ground.

This makes the Python Cave gloomy and damp, unsuitable for most demons and immortals to live in, but very suitable for snakes and pythons to inhabit, making it a perfect habitat for cold-blooded animals.

Looking at the gloomy forest atmosphere and the occasional animal skeletons on the ground, Ning Xiu's first impression was that this Python Sect Cave didn't look like anything good.