I am Guhuoniao, not an umbrella demon, please do not disturb me.

The girl was around sixteen years old. Even through the sphere of light, Bai Qingyu could feel a warm, divine quality emanating from her. It was a strange feeling; he subconsciously thought she was a goddess who brought light and hope to people.

"How do I break this thing?" Bai Qingyu tried to pat the ball of light, but it had no effect other than producing some green, quicksand-like stardust.

This sphere of light wasn't a manifestation of faith; rather, it seemed like some kind of seal, or perhaps a means of self-protection for the girl inside. Breaking it in a short time was virtually impossible; the sphere of light felt connected to the labyrinth to her.

The good news was that, just as she had thought, the goddess inside the sphere of light was indeed not dead. Her body was rising and falling rhythmically, and her eyes were closed and her body was curled up as if she were fast asleep.

Bai Qingyu studied it for a while longer, and after confirming that there were no flaws in the light sphere, he got up and flew to the other half.

She only saw one green orb in the sky. As for the other one, it was not her fault. The color of this orb blended perfectly with its surroundings, giving it an overall black appearance. It could only be seen when you got close.

Unlike the emerald green orb, this black orb didn't contain a sleeping girl, but rather a fox?

Bai Qingyu stood in front of the ball of light, stroking his chin, also feeling puzzled.

She had never seen this creature in the sphere of light before. It didn't seem like a demon, but rather a fox and a wolf. She wondered what connection it had with that girl, who seemed like a deity at first glance, while this fox evoked no particular feeling.

The same goes for the orb of light; when you press your hand on it, only stardust slowly flows down, and nothing else.

"How come such a place hasn't attracted the attention of cultivators?"

Bai Qingyu stopped studying the light sphere and flew high into the sky, looking down at the enormous labyrinth below. The more he looked, the more awe-inspiring he became. Such a place was absolutely impossible to create by human power alone; even cultivators might not be able to accomplish it.

For cultivators, such a maze can be replicated, but its characteristics cannot. For example, the ability to block one's power upon entering the maze, and the ability to prevent flight. The faith in the sky and the two spheres go without saying; only the most powerful beings could create them.

Yet this mysterious place has remained intact for over two hundred years.

Given the nature of those cultivators, they would never allow such a miracle to remain outside.

Bai Qingyu stopped looking and flew away, easily passing through the faith barrier and arriving outside the realm. She suddenly realized that this barrier was probably the core of the labyrinth; most of the faith power produced daily by the people of Xizhou was absorbed by Xishan, with only a small portion coming here.

After breaking the barrier, without its power, will she be able to free the human and demon sealed inside?

Just one glance was enough to tell that the blonde girl wasn't a bad person; the golden merit mark on her head was so dazzling it was almost blinding.

If what Roche said is true, then she should indeed be rescued.

The fact that Xizhou has become what it is today is not the fault of the goddess. Her blessings are not an excuse for the people to be lazy. At first, the goddess only wanted to make Xizhou have good weather and abundant harvests, so that the people of Xizhou could farm more easily and have higher yields. However, after witnessing the power of the goddess, these people gradually began to give up.

He started by farming himself, but gradually he only wanted to sow seeds. He was unwilling to do anything else, like tilling the land, irrigating, pest control, and weeding, and he pushed all of that onto the goddess.

They planted the seeds and then left them to their own devices, waiting to harvest them. Later, they even had the goddess help them with the harvest.

This also shows that the goddess's personality was too gentle.

The gradual concessions allowed this group to taste the sweetness of getting something for nothing, and they became even more brazen.

The goddess was at a loss. If she didn't help, the people wouldn't work, and large tracts of land would be left to rot. If she did help, her power was limited, and she would only be thankless and end up supporting a bunch of lazybones.

All we can say is that if the goddess bears any responsibility, then these two hundred years of imprisonment can be considered her punishment.

She should also come out and see the outside world again and enjoy freedom.

Of course, Bai Qingyu thought that after seeing Xizhou in this state, her gentle personality would probably make her feel guilty and continue to help the people here. But the problem is, she doesn't know how to help others at all. Xizhou was like that before, let alone the current state of Xizhou.

This is hellish difficulty.

“This child looks so much like Huang, but Huang has changed. Let the current Huang interact with her, and it should change her as well.”

In Bai Qingyu's view, this goddess was very similar to the former Son of God, Huang; both were excessively gentle and yielding, which led to their own and others' injuries. They were inherently gentle people, and this wouldn't change until they experienced certain things.

Putting aside her thoughts, Bai Qingyu glanced around.

What would happen if she ran away at this moment?

To think that those two weaklings can keep her in check is to seriously underestimate her.

Without hesitation, Bai Qingyu transformed back into his original form and flew away. His colossal 23-meter frame vanished in the blink of an eye. Two disciples of the Life Sect, tasked with monitoring Bai Qingyu, exchanged a glance and quickly gave chase.

Unfortunately, given their speed, Bai Qingyu had already spotted them, and they chased after them without seeing a single feather of Bai Qingyu.

Ahead, Bai Qingyu could already see the river on the border of Xizhou. As long as she could get out of there, the sky would be the limit.

However, just as she flew to the edge of Xizhou, Bai Qingyu saw a layer of light and shadow barrier covering the land ahead. Her eyes narrowed, and she simply crashed into it with her body.

Bai Qingyu didn't know when this barrier appeared, and it didn't seem to be very strong.

But when she crashed into it, she realized she had overthought things. For some reason, the barrier, which was clearly very fragile, was extremely resilient in front of her. No matter how she crashed into it or attacked it, the barrier just wouldn't break.

Stopping in his tracks, Bai Qingyu observed carefully and discovered that this semi-transparent barrier was also a kind of faith power.

However, this belief was completely different from the beliefs she had encountered during this period.

It's less a belief and more a desire. This desire stems from the people of Xizhou's wish that the Divine Phoenix would not leave the land of Xizhou and continue to bring them blessings. In their prayers, this semi-transparent barrier was formed to bind the Divine Phoenix.

"No wonder that old guy wasn't worried about me leaving; he was plotting something here."

Suddenly I understood why the goddess couldn't get out of the maze; such a barrier made it difficult for her to escape.

Bai Qingyu wasn't in a hurry; she was confident she could break through that layer.

By mixing one's own blood with the karmic obstacles that have been stripped from the power of faith over these days, the barrier before one's eyes can be broken.

Bai Qingyu didn't have time to try, because a golden figure with his hands behind his back strode towards him. His movements seemed slow, but each step covered thousands of meters, and in the blink of an eye, he arrived behind Bai Qingyu.

Luo Tian, ​​with his hands behind his back, asked, "Is the Divine Phoenix planning to leave Xizhou?"

A cold smile appeared on his face. He had seen Bai Qingyu crash into the barrier earlier.

Just as he had thought, Bai Qingyu's strength was insufficient to break through this barrier. There was only one way to leave: kill the people of Xizhou.

"Hmph." Bai Qingyu turned and flew towards the Western Hills.

Luo Tian narrowed his small eyes. It seemed he hadn't been tough enough; he'd been too polite to Shen Huang. He wouldn't behave unless he taught her a lesson.

He glanced back at the border of Xizhou.

In Luo Tian's eyes, there was also a barrier there, much thicker than the barrier Bai Qingyu had seen, more than ten times thicker.

Bai Qingyu could break the barrier with blood and karma if he had the chance, but Luo Tian couldn't. The barrier that locked him was too strong. For him, there was only one way to get out: make 80% of the people in Xizhou disappear.

Compared to Bai Qingyu, the people of Xizhou were even less willing to let the leader of the Ming Sect leave.

The power that trapped Luo Tian was more complex than the power that trapped Bai Qingyu, and it even contained the lingering resentment and hatred of the people who had already died.

After returning to Xishan, Bai Qingyu was locked up.

A massive amount of faith power surged into her courtyard. If she didn't manage it, the prayers of these people would continue to echo in Bai Qingyu's ears and heart, like a demon in her heart.

Bai Qingyu was extremely annoyed, knowing that this must have been done by that cult leader.

We might as well just ignore her and let her leave. She'll start sorting out her beliefs when she gets out of there. Otherwise, we'll just keep dragging this out.

·

Another half month passed, and the mountain was unusually quiet.

Not only was Mushan quiet, but the entire Nanshan was as quiet as it was. The demons around Nanshan had prepared themselves for being wiped out by the Lord of Nanshan, but the eerie quiet during this period felt like the calm before the storm.

Indeed, this was the case. During this time, Shuten-dōji, Chōsei, and Ibaraki-dōji were recuperating at home.

They found the demonic sect in one day and fought for it in another.

After risking their lives to wipe out the Demonic Cult, the three of them greatly increased their strength.

Above the Nascent Soul stage is the Void Refinement stage. Shuten-dōji has reached the Void Refinement stage, Changsheng is at the early stage of the Void Refinement stage, and Ibaraki-dōji, though slightly weaker, still possesses the strength of the late Nascent Soul stage.

If Shuten-dōji at this time were to face Roche six months ago, Shuten-dōji would be even stronger. He could fight Roche on his own as a single demon. With the help of Bai Qingyu and Ibaraki-dōji, along with his underlings, the outcome would definitely not be like it is now. At least his aunt would not have been captured.

Unfortunately, there aren't that many "what ifs".

He was able to become so much stronger in the past six months, even while risking his life.

He risked his life to enter the Ghost Gate to cultivate and wipe out the surrounding demons.

There are also powerful demons among the Nanshan demons; there is more than one demon who has put Shuten-dōji in a tough battle and forced him to fight to the death.

Then they even dared to attack the Demonic Sect, whose strongest member was a cultivator at the peak of the Void Refinement stage.

In the battle against the Demonic Sect, any mistake they make will result in their deaths.

Shuten-dōji is a madman when he fights, while Ryū Chōsei is a madman with reason.

During the two weeks they spent recuperating and digesting the benefits, they were not idle. With the help of the Heavenly Sect, they obtained a large amount of information about the Fate Sect.

Luo Tian, ​​the leader of the Fate Sect, is one level stronger than the Refinement Void Realm cultivator. He has reached the Perfected Integration Realm and will take another step to reach the Great Ascension Realm.

Humans and demons cultivate differently; what Shuten-dōji and his companions were comparing was only their strength.

Luo Tian is a whole realm stronger than Shuten-dōji, which Shuten-dōji considers a worthy opponent.

Any stronger and it won't work; any stronger and it's suicide.

Besides Luo Tian, ​​the three vice leaders include one at the early stage of the Integration Realm, two at the peak of the Refinement Realm, and an elder and a high priest whose strength is suspected to be at the Integration Realm.

It has to be said, this person is very strong, extremely strong.

But there is hope.

They have already begun searching for the next hiding place of the evil cult, and will strike as soon as they find it.

As the two humans and the demon drank heartily in the courtyard, Ji Xuan and Zhen Tian had developed a very harmonious relationship. She was a clever woman and knew that Bai Qingyu liked children. Since Liu Changsheng didn't want to have children with her, she would cultivate good relationships with the other children so that Bai Qingyu would surely like her when he saw her.

These are some of her little tricks, but to be fair, she really likes the atmosphere here.

The children are adorable, well-behaved, and obedient, which is enviable.

She should teach her children this way if she has any in the future!

The courtyard gradually became lively with the arrival of Ji Xuan and Chang Sheng. On the other side, Shu Tun laughed loudly, "This is the place. What do you think, Brother Liu?"

Pointing to a spot on the map, Shuten-dōji's eyes were filled with anticipation.

This is a message from the Heavenly Sect, another location of the Demonic Sect.

“Okay.” Carrying the demon sword on his back, Liu Changsheng nodded.

"My dear friend, what do you think?"

"I'm fine."

"Alright, let's settle on this place. Once we take it, the next training ground will be Xishan!" Shuten-dōji was filled with ambition. If his strength wasn't enough, he would make up for it with Xishan!

They had already discussed it with Liu Changsheng, and planned to kill them all without leaving any survivors once they arrived at Xishan.

If the Heavenly Cult wants to take over, then let the Heavenly Cult send its own people over.

Just as everyone was about to finalize their plans, they suddenly sensed something.