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This made him somewhat uneasy.

"We're approaching the Demon Race realm. If we still can't find anyone by the border, we'll have to think of another way," Fu Fengyuan. "We can't rashly venture into the Demon Realm."

Now, Fu Fengyuan has not only broken through to the Nascent Soul, but also has the composure of a sect's young master. He is the one who deals with the cultivators from various sects he encounters along the way.

Because of the rumors that the Divine Pillar was about to collapse, many cultivators rushed to the border of the three races to find out. However, the area where the Divine Pillar was located was surrounded by multiple barriers, and ordinary cultivators could only see the outer clouds and mist.

They stood around the Divine Pillar, only able to watch the spectacle.

According to what Qiaoqiao saw in her dream, they had deviated from the main road and arrived at a peach blossom path.

"According to the divination..." Qiaoqiao said, "It should be nearby."

"If only the sect leader or my master were here."

With Mu Liuyun's Mahayana cultivation level, her Divine Sense was enough to cover the entire peach grove. However, after the Nangong incident was resolved, Mu Liuyun returned to her sect, and her master never appeared. The disciples had no idea where he had gone.

"There is indeed Yao Qi around here." Fu Fengyuan squatted under a peach tree, picked up some soil from under the tree, and tried to discern the Yao Qi within it. Behind him, wisps of black mist quietly surrounded him, and he felt a gust of wind rush past his head.

Almost instantly, Fu Fengyuan reacted. He turned around and swung his sword, the bright flames blazing, dispelling the black mist, which quickly surrounded him again.

The fog was thick and slippery, like some kind of living creature, floating in the peach grove. The omnipresent, unseen gazes made Fu Fengyuan feel like prey that had been locked on.

His palm, gripping the sword, was Devil Qi slightly; he sensed the Devil Qi growing stronger.

There is more than one kind of Devil Creature lurking in the black mist.

In the distance, a fog had risen in the peach grove, obscuring his vision. His third senior sister and junior sister, who were clearly beside him, had vanished, their very presence now concealed. A sense of unease crept into his heart.

It was clear that a trap had been set in the peach grove, just waiting for them to step into it.

He was blocked here, which put his junior sister and third senior sister in danger!

"Heh heh." A hoarse laugh came from within the black mist. "You still have the leisure to worry about others? You should worry about yourself first!"

"Young Master Liuyun, you will surely perish here today!"

The path through the peach grove was shrouded in a thick fog, soaking my clothes.

Qiaoqiao was diligently searching for her second senior sister's whereabouts when she suddenly noticed the fog around her thickening. Looking up, she saw only a vast expanse of mist and utter silence. The peach branches swayed in the fog like ghostly shadows.

"Third Senior Sister?"

Fourth Senior Brother?

No one responded.

She took a step into the mist, and the scene before her suddenly changed.

The peach blossoms on the branches were dazzling. Standing beneath the tree were two figures, one tall and one short. The one in white had an aura as pure as snow, one hand behind his back, and said leisurely, "Qiaoqiao, the Ethereal Sword Style emphasizes intent over form. Did you understand my demonstration just now?"

His voice was like a clear, melodious spring under snow, and his long sleeves, black as clouds, cascaded down like a waterfall, making him seem like a fairy in the forest, captivating all who looked at him.

Standing beside him was a pretty girl in an apricot-colored dress, her hair styled in double buns, with a pale yellow ribbon draped over her shoulders. Her eyes were fixed on the white-robed immortal. "Master, are you unhappy?"

Why do you ask that?

"Because... our senior brother betrayed the sect for the sake of a demoness from the Demonic Cult, becoming a traitor despised by everyone," the little girl said. "Master must be heartbroken."

The peach grove fell silent.

The man in white was silent for a moment, then sighed softly, "The illusion is hard to dispel. That was the path he chose; no one can bear the consequences for him."

"But Master intervened and still managed to get the four major sects to show mercy to Senior Brother. Isn't that precisely to give Senior Brother a chance to turn back?"

Qiaoqiao hid behind a peach tree, listening to the two's conversation, and was very surprised.

[Isn't this me and my master?]

[But I don't remember this ever happening?]

[Could this be... a peach blossom forest illusion?]

When Master emerged from seclusion, Ziling was already dead, and Senior Brother hadn't been bewitched by the demoness. Why then was there such a conversation?

Even more strangely, looking at the scene before her, she had a vague feeling that... this event had really happened, sometimes blurry and sometimes gradually becoming clear in the depths of her memory.

"Qiaoqiao, it's time for you to practice your sword."

"Oh." The girl in the apricot-colored dress gestured enthusiastically with the wooden sword. "Does Master think I've improved today?"

"Not a single step forward." The man in white stared at her, speaking coldly.

"Master, how can you say such cold words?" The girl's eyes drooped. "I've clearly made tremendous progress!"

"Oh?"

"Yesterday I could only cut off ten petals, but today—a full eleven!" she exclaimed proudly. "At this rate, in less than three months, I'll be able to cut off ninety-nine peach petals with a single Sword Qi, just like my master, and become a master swordsman!"

Bathed in the glow of the blooming peach blossoms, the girl's radiant face was even more captivating than the flowers themselves.

The man in white gazed at her silently for a long while, then raised his hand and opened his palm. In his palm were two peach petals, one intact, the other broken and missing two corners.

Therefore, the difference in control over Sword Qi is immediately apparent.

The girl's eyes darted around. "My master and I are different because of our swordsmanship. My master's sword is one that shows compassion for flowers."

Bai Fu raised an eyebrow. "What about yours?"

"My sword?" The girl smiled, brandishing the wooden sword with a couple of quick, sweeping gestures. "It's 'Ruthless Flow'."

As the fog thickened, the figures of the white-robed immortal and the girl in the apricot-colored dress gradually blurred into the fog.

Qiaoqiao was engrossed in watching when she heard a whisper in her ear, "Illusory Scenery of Demonic Mist, isn't it beautiful?"

Someone gently blew a breath on the back of my neck, and the chilling breath spread along my spine to my whole body. A chilling fear crept up from behind, making my back stiff and unable to move.