Chapter 817: Gray Mist

At a glance, all the lush, green vegetation had vanished, replaced instead by a desolate, gray, and eerie scene.

Between the two mountain peaks, white stones were scattered everywhere. Each was oval and smooth, with the larger ones the size of a human head and the smaller ones roughly the size of a fist.

Looking further into the distance, a vast expanse of gray mist appeared. It was hazy and obscured the view, making it impossible to discern what lay within.

However, this gray mist remained confined to a central area about a hundred *zhang* wide. On both sides, blood-red light mist filled the air, surging inward like a tide, constantly sweeping and pressing towards the center. Yet, upon reaching the mist's edges, it seemed to hit an invisible barrier, unable to advance further.

"Is this the passage you spoke of, fellow Daoist?" Lu Weiying let out a breath and slowly asked.

"Yes, this should be it. Brother Lu, do you sense anything amiss?" Marquis Nanlong paused, then couldn't help but ask.

"Those blood-red mists are definitely the valley's restrictions, no doubt," Lu Weiying said, gazing at the distant gray mist. "But this mist doesn't seem ordinary either. Was it mentioned in Senior Cang Kun's posthumous notes?"

"No, this mist wasn't mentioned," Marquis Nanlong replied after a slight hesitation. "Perhaps he didn't deem it important."

"I always feel there's something unusual about this gray mist," the old man surnamed Lu said with a solemn expression, shaking his head. "It's better to be careful."

"Is there a problem? We can just test it," Han Li suddenly interjected.

"Fellow Daoist Han is absolutely right," Marquis Nanlong said, clapping his hands in agreement. "I happen to have a few 'Thousand-Mile Orioles' that I usually use to search for spirit herbs. We can use them to test it now."

Upon hearing this, Lu Weiying did not object.

Immediately, Marquis Nanlong took a small spirit beast pouch from his waist, tossed it into the air, and let out a low cry.

A small bird with golden-yellow feathers shot out from the pouch like an arrow and immediately began to circle in the air.

Marquis Nanlong raised his hand, and a green talisman flew out, striking the little bird.

The bird spread its wings, and a small, subtle green light shield suddenly appeared around its body.

Marquis Nanlong issued a command through his divine sense. The little bird let out a sharp cry, transformed into a streak of golden light, and shot towards the distant gray mist.

Before the bird could even reach the distant gray mist, a blue light flickered rapidly in Han Li's eyes as he focused his Spirit Eyes for a closer look.

But after his gaze inadvertently swept over a certain spot to the side, his expression subtly changed, and a hint of strangeness appeared in his eyes.

Marquis Nanlong and Lu Weiying were entirely focused on the Thousand-Mile Oriole and did not notice Han Li's unusual expression.

The Thousand-Mile Oriole had already plunged headfirst into the gray mist and disappeared from sight.

Han Li could not see what was happening within the mist, and to be cautious, he didn't rashly use his divine sense to probe it. He simply turned his head to glance at Marquis Nanlong's expression.

Marquis Nanlong had his eyes slightly closed, connecting with the spirit bird through his mind. His expression seemed normal, indicating that the spirit bird hadn't immediately encountered trouble after entering.

As Han Li was thinking this, Marquis Nanlong's body trembled. His face suddenly paled, and his eyes snapped open.

"What happened?" Lu Weiying, who was also observing Marquis Nanlong's expression, hastily asked.

"It seems there's a demonic creature in that gray mist; it swallowed the Thousand-Mile Oriole in one gulp. It seems to be a..." Marquis Nanlong's expression was strange, as if he was somewhat uncertain.

Han Li and the old man surnamed Lu exchanged surprised glances.

"It seems to be a giant python; yes, it must be," Marquis Nanlong mused for a moment, then finally stated with certainty. "This gray mist should be the demonic mist sprayed by this giant python."

"A giant python? That's rather strange," Lu Weiying mused. "If such a demonic beast existed, why wouldn't Senior Cang Kun's posthumous notes mention it at all? Unless it's..."

"Unless the giant python came into this passage later," Han Li said, finishing Lu Weiying's hesitant sentence.

"Precisely, that's what I meant."

"Both fellow Daoists make a valid point," Marquis Nanlong said, nodding in agreement. "However, a giant python that can safely survive in the Devilfall Valley is likely no ordinary demonic beast; it should be some kind of ancient beast. We cannot enter the inner valley without eliminating this beast. This is a bit troublesome!" This seemed to be the only plausible explanation.

"It's no big deal," Lu Weiying said calmly, a cold light flashing in his eyes. "Since this gray mist is just demonic mist and not a restriction, there's no need to be overly apprehensive. With the three of us working together, dealing with one ancient beast shouldn't be too difficult. It can't possibly be more difficult to deal with than that Fire Toad Beast!"

"Whether it's as formidable as the Fire Toad, we don't know yet," Marquis Nanlong said. "But as things stand, we must eliminate this giant python. Let's all three attack together." As he spoke, he opened his mouth and spat out a small, glittering golden sword.

The old man surnamed Lu rubbed his hands together, and a dazzling white Dharma banner appeared in his grasp.

Seeing this, Han Li gave a wry smile.

These two were remarkably decisive; as soon as they saw it was unavoidable, they intended to act immediately, without the slightest hesitation.

"Fellow Daoists, I have no objections to your plan to eliminate this beast," Han Li suddenly said, his face grim, to a seemingly empty spot to one side. "However, before we do that, perhaps we should invite another fellow Daoist to show themselves. You've been hidden nearby, watching for so long; surely you've seen enough?" At the same time, he flicked his fingers, and several streaks of green sword energy shot out.

Moments later, the sword energy exploded into thin air several dozen *zhang* away.

A figure emanating yellow light and holding a giant shield strangely appeared there.

Marquis Nanlong and Lu Weiying couldn't help but stare in astonishment.

"It's a misunderstanding! Please don't be angry, three seniors," the figure in the yellow light, a gaunt man around forty years old, hastily said, bowing and scraping to the three. "This junior just arrived here not long ago and will leave immediately." Yet, fear was evident in his eyes.

"Huang Tianming, it's you!" the old man surnamed Lu exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the person.

"What? Brother Lu, you know this person?" A fierce glint flashed across Marquis Nanlong's face as he asked grimly.

"This person is a cultivator from a small sect in our Heavenly Dao Alliance, his cultivation aside," Lu Weiying said, his expression displeased as he stared coldly at the gaunt man. "But I heard he once obtained an ancient cultivator's invisibility talisman, which grants incredibly miraculous concealment. I didn't expect this to be true. He hid here, and even we didn't discover him."

"Three seniors, this junior truly just arrived here," the gaunt man quickly explained. "I was just curious when I saw you casting spells here, so I followed." Hearing the somewhat unfriendly words from Marquis Nanlong and the others, his face instantly went bloodless.

"Following us stealthily, what good could come of it?" Marquis Nanlong snorted, then turned to the old man. "Brother Lu, he's from your Heavenly Dao Alliance. What are your thoughts on this?"

Lu Weiying heard this. His face remained expressionless, but his eyes narrowed.

"My opinion... naturally, is to eliminate him."

The old man spoke unhurriedly, and as soon as the words left his mouth, his figure suddenly blurred, and he vanished instantly in a flash of white light.

Upon hearing this, the gaunt man was scared out of his wits. Immediately, disregarding his fear of the three Nascent Soul cultivators, a spiritual light flashed around him, and he transformed into a long rainbow, soaring into the sky.

At this moment, the old man, having used some unknown escape art, reappeared at the spot where the man had originally stood. He raised his head and cast a cold glance at the fleeing yellow light, then shook the Dharma banner in his hand and threw it out.

The Dharma banner, once thrown, transformed into a white hurricane. With incredible speed, it roared and swept the yellow light, which had flown a dozen *zhang* away, into its vortex.

The giant shield in front of the man flashed wildly a few times before shattering inch by inch within the hurricane.

After a cry of agony, he himself was torn to shreds by the countless wind blades within the hurricane, scattering a shower of blood.

Seeing this, the old man surnamed Lu nodded calmly and beckoned at the hurricane, which then transformed back into the white Dharma banner and shot back into his hand.

"Good, Brother Lu handled that appropriately," Marquis Nanlong said, clapping his hands and chuckling softly. "This way, we won't have to worry about this passage being leaked."

"It's nothing," Lu Weiying said indifferently. "A mere Core Formation cultivator dared to secretly follow us. He deserved his death."

He then made a grasping motion towards the ground, and two items flew out from the bloodstains into his hand.

One was the gaunt cultivator's storage pouch, and the other was a pale yellow jade talisman.

The old man surnamed Lu didn't stand on ceremony. After a quick glance, he put them into his own storage pouch.

"This time, we truly owe it to Fellow Daoist Han," Marquis Nanlong said with a smile, turning to Han Li. "Otherwise, we really might have 'capsized in a ditch' (suffered a minor setback due to carelessness). Moreover, Brother Han can even see through ancient concealment arts. No wonder you've gained such a great reputation."

"It's nothing," Han Li replied with a faint, indifferent smile. "Just a stroke of luck. Both of you fellow Daoists could also see through his movements. It was just a moment of carelessness that allowed him to exploit an opening."

Marquis Nanlong shook his head upon hearing Han Li's modest words but said nothing further.

At this moment, Lu Weiying also walked back.

"Let's quickly get to it," the old man said, "lest lingering thoughts bring more complications!"

The old man's expression was slightly solemn. However, there was some truth to his words.

Han Li nodded, and with a flip of his hand, a stack of glittering, crystalline formation flags appeared in his grasp.

"When we eliminate the giant python later, the commotion will definitely be significant," Han Li said, stroking his chin. "I'll first set up an isolation formation to restrict the impact as much as possible within this area. This way, we won't have to worry about other cultivators passing by."

"Brother Han is indeed a meticulous person," the old man said, a hint of a smile appearing on his face as he couldn't help but praise. "This is excellent."

Han Li immediately transformed into a streak of green light and laid out the formation flags in his hand one by one between the two peaks.

A moment later, a large-scale magic formation was completed.

The main function of this formation was simply to suppress sound and spiritual energy fluctuations as much as possible within its area; this was why such a large-scale formation could be completed so quickly. When Han Li, as a streak of green light, returned to Marquis Nanlong and the old man, the old man surnamed Lu calmly spoke, shaking the Dharma banner in his hand:

"Since Fellow Daoist Han has finished setting it up, let me use this Hurricane Banner to disperse that demonic mist, so that the giant python has nowhere to hide."

As soon as he finished speaking, the old man tossed the treasure into the air again and began to chant incantations.

Seeing this, Marquis Nanlong also pointed a finger at the small golden sword in front of him.

Immediately, the sword transformed into a golden rainbow and shot up into the sky. After a rapid spin high in the air, it glowed brilliantly and rapidly expanded.

In a flash, a massive golden sword, five to six *zhang* long, appeared above Marquis Nanlong.