"Let me go. Let me go. I don't want to go. I don't want to die. I'm willing to do anything."
Accompanied by a fearful scream, a wide river gradually appeared not far in front of them.
The entire Soul River was hundreds of feet wide. It could even be called a surging sea. Countless black fog floated in mid-air and shrouded the surroundings. The closer to the center of the river, the denser it was. Only half of the black fog in the middle was enough to make it difficult to see inside.
The surging river kept lapping at the shore. Occasionally, some waves would fall on the shore and accumulate in the surroundings. The land on the shore had a strange black color and was trembling.
This was the place where Demon Spirits would turn pale at the mention of a tiger.
"Shut up!"
Gu Zheng felt his eardrums vibrate. Then, he shouted at the screaming Hua Xin in a low voice, ignoring her pleas for mercy.
Unfortunately, Hua Xin didn't seem to hear him. She was still screaming in fear.
"Wu wu wu …"
In the next moment, her screams stopped abruptly. It was as if her mouth was blocked. She kept sobbing.
Feeling the quietness in his ears, Gu Zheng felt a little better. He still walked forward resolutely and stepped into the edge of the black fog.
As soon as she entered, Hua Xin's voice suddenly stopped. Her eyes were a little dazed as she looked straight at the Soul River. It was as if there was something there that was attracting her. Even though she was bound in the air by Gu Zheng, her body still wanted to get closer.
"So evil?"
Gu Zheng stood at the edge and carefully analyzed the black fog. However, he didn't find anything that affected him. It was just like an ordinary black fog. It could only suppress some divine senses.
After thinking for a while, Gu Zheng controlled Hua Xin and slowly retreated from the edge of the black fog.
The black fog was like a protective barrier. It was all condensed in a certain range. Once out, it wouldn't affect the outside at all. It was very clear.
After coming out, Hua Xin's body stopped struggling. Her eyes also recovered from their dazed state. When she saw the black fog in front of her, her eyes widened. Then, she opened her mouth and was about to scream again.
"Shut up. If you scream again, I'll throw you in."
Gu Zheng took a step forward and once again used a ball of air to block the other party's mouth, stopping the other party from screaming, and then fiercely threatened.
Hearing this, Hua Xin hurriedly nodded, indicating that she would definitely not make a sound. Only then did Gu Zheng allow her to speak.
"Sir, let's not go in. You have a way to stop it, but as you can see, I lost control the moment I went in." Hua Xin said anxiously as soon as she could speak. There was still fear in her eyes. She didn't want to die here.
This Soul River was the place that all demon souls feared. From the Silver Ghost General who was at the peak of the Grand Heavenly Realm to the Black Soul who was only at the Heavenly Immortal Realm, no one was spared. At most, the stronger one was, the more affected the area.
With Painting Heart's strength, as long as she didn't go in, she wouldn't be affected at all. Those Demon Souls with lower cultivation would become confused when they got close, and they couldn't help but jump in.
Gu Zheng knew that the Soul River was powerful, but he did not expect it to be so domineering.
Just at the edge, he could feel Hua Xin's struggle. There was even an invisible force that wanted to remove his control over Hua Xin.
This made things difficult for him. However, just walking along the edge wasn't safe at all.
Just as Hua Xin said, as long as they didn't go in, the other party still had the ability to patrol the edge. In his plan, even if they didn't walk by the river, they had to walk through the central area and hide inside. Only then could they completely avoid being discovered by the outside.
Gu Zheng's eyes looked aimlessly at the fine black fog. He was thinking about how to go in. He didn't feel at ease letting the other party bring him along. Even if the other party cooperated, he wouldn't feel at ease letting the other party bring him along.
Even if Hua Xin was in his hands, the other party would most likely not do this for the sake of her life. He could also kill the other party at any time. He wouldn't trust the other party and would rather take a detour.
There were too many things that could threaten him along the way. Especially if he met an enemy who wasn't inferior to him, the chances of him being exposed were too high. He didn't want to lose this gamble.
If the other party found a chance to inform the enemies along the way, he wouldn't be able to stop them. The other party had too many tricks up their sleeves. There was no way to guard against them. If they were to ambush him, he might not be able to escape. The risk was too great.
"Hmm? What's that? "
Gu Zheng's eyes narrowed. He turned his head and looked to the side. A dim red light that was only the size of a fist was faintly discernible. It was moving slowly along the bank of the Soul River in mid-air.
If not for Gu Zheng's amazing eyesight, he wouldn't have been able to see the special situation inside. He straightened his body and turned his head to ask Hua Xin, who was still frightened.
"Is there anything special in the Soul River or at the edge? Like something red? "
"No. Other than the rare water demons, nothing else can survive in there. What do you see?"
Hua Xin replied as she tried her best to stretch her neck out and look forward curiously. Even the fear in her heart didn't affect her curiosity. Unfortunately, with her eyesight, everything was black. She didn't see the red light.
"Wait here. I'll go take a look!"
Gu Zheng saw the red light quickly coming from behind to between him and continued to move upwards. He felt a sense of familiarity. It seemed to have something to do with him. Afraid that the other party would leave, he immediately ran inside after saying that.
"Hey, hey!"
Hua Xin watched as Gu Zheng disappeared into the black fog in front of her. She reached out her hand and wanted to say something. Just as she opened her mouth, the other party's figure had already disappeared into the black fog. She couldn't continue speaking.
"Should I take this opportunity to leave this place?"
Seeing that she was the only one around and the other party hadn't placed any restrictions on her, Hua Xin's heart suddenly became active.
As long as she left a distance and used her innate talent, she would definitely be able to prevent the other party from finding her and escape from the other party's evil clutches.
With this thought, her body had already turned around and stepped out. However, a terrifying thought suddenly appeared in her mind.
"What if the other party is deliberately testing me? I have to know that I can't get close to the demon soul. The other party thinks that I'm a burden and is waiting for me to leave so that he can find an excuse. "
With this thought, her body stiffened. She slowly turned her body and looked at the black fog. It was as if there was an evil beast hidden in it, waiting for her to fall into its trap and swallow her whole.
"If I follow the other party, the other party definitely won't kill me. If I escape and the other party finds me, I'll be dead for sure."
Thinking about how familiar Gu Zheng was with the Painting Soul Race, his expression immediately became righteous. Then, he took a few steps back and stood there, continuing to wait for Gu Zheng's return.
It was as if his action just now was to stay away from the black fog and he didn't have any other thoughts.
But as a matter of fact, Gu Zheng had completely forgotten about the heart of the painting outside because as he approached the red light, he sensed a familiar aura coming from it. With just a slight differentiation, he knew whose aura it was.
Pan Xuan!
Thinking of this, his speed increased again. In just a few breaths, he had already crossed the area in the middle and arrived in front of the red light.
"Who are you?"
To his disappointment, the one who appeared in front of him was a girl of about ten years old. She was wearing an ordinary red cloth dress and looked a little rustic. She didn't look much different from an ordinary human child. However, her pointed ears and the black plate in the middle of her forehead revealed her identity. She was also a Demon Soul born and raised in this place.
Gu Zheng's sudden appearance also frightened the other party. She looked at Gu Zheng in a daze. She didn't expect to meet other people here.
One had to know that a few steps further in would directly reach the edge of the Soul River. Almost no demon soul could come here.
Looking at the demon child who was at a loss in front of him, Gu Zheng observed her. There was a red stone in her hand. Irregular red patterns spread out on it and surrounded it, emitting a faint red light. It propped up a simple shield to protect the other party. Behind her, there was a small bamboo basket on her back. Inside it were a few brown and red plants that looked like mushrooms.
There was nothing special about her. The red stone in her hand had Pan Xuan's aura. However, the Little Goblin Child in front of him only had the strength of a Celestial Immortal. Judging from the other party's unstable aura, she hadn't been born for many days.
He didn't reach out to take the stone, because the other party was obviously relying on the stone to walk here.
"Where did you get this stone? Why are you here?" Gu Zheng said condescendingly.
However, to Gu Zheng's surprise, the little medicine child didn't care about him at all. She turned around and ran in the direction she came from.
However, after just two steps, she found that there was nothing under her feet. Her whole body was floating in the air. Her legs were kicking in the air and she couldn't control her body. Then, her body slowly turned around and floated in front of Gu Zheng. Her head was at the same level as Gu Zheng.
"Tell me where you came from. Where did this thing come from?" Gu Zheng looked into the other party's eyes and asked in a deep voice.
"I don't know."
The flustered little eyes didn't dare to look at Gu Zheng. She turned her head away and said.
"If you don't tell me, I'll take your stone and throw you into the Soul River." Gu Zheng pretended to be sinister and said. He even controlled the other party's body to sway slightly in the air.
This made the little medicine child break down. She immediately burst into tears. At the same time, her mouth was crying, but she didn't say anything.
When Gu Zheng saw this, he didn't expect the other party to answer honestly. Since it was news of Pan Xuan, he naturally had to go.
"Don't throw me in. Someone is sick. I'm here to collect some herbs and give them to the doctors in the nearby city. Then, I'll take them back to treat the illness."
Seeing that Gu Zheng was really going to throw her, her body was lifted up high and she immediately shouted.
"So, it's to treat the illness. Is it the herb behind you?"
Gu Zheng pretended to be enlightened and put her down at the same time.
"Yes, this herb is only available here. It's very rare. I was sent to find it. This is the only thing missing. This stone was given to me by the person who entrusted it to protect me. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to come so deep." The little medicine child forced her desire to escape and agreed.
"Wait here."
Gu Zheng left such a sentence without rhyme or reason. Then, in an instant, he disappeared in front of the little medicine child.
Looking left and right, the little medicine child tried to take a few steps back. After confirming that the situation wasn't the same as before, she was sure that the other party had left. Then, she immediately ran back.
As for making her wait, she wasn't that stupid. Even if the other party didn't seem to have any intention of hurting her, she wouldn't stay in the same place.
After running for half a day, her galloping figure slowly slowed down. Her little face was filled with joy. She was glad that she got rid of the other party. She was very satisfied with her prompt decision. If she really stayed there foolishly, there would be something wrong with her brain.
Although she was weak and had only been born for a short time, it didn't mean that she was completely stupid.
Unfortunately, when she was completely relaxed, her body suddenly couldn't move. An invisible force bound her. Her whole body maintained a flying posture in mid-air. Only her eyeballs moved back and forth in her eye sockets.
"You ran so fast. It must be fate that we met. Take these things back to save someone."
A familiar voice sounded in her ear. Then, she found that she could move again. Her body even flew quickly according to her last thought. The huge contrast between the two made her fly a little. Her whole body fell to the ground, and the stone in her hand was almost thrown out.
She quickly stood up from the ground and looked back. However, she didn't see anyone. The man who scared her didn't appear by her side. It was as if the voice just now was just an illusion.
The herbs on her body had fallen to the ground. She quickly gathered the herbs nearby and put them in the bamboo basket. Only then did she realize that there were only four or five herbs. Now, there were twice as many herbs. This made her crazy with joy.
One had to know that these things were very difficult to find. The amount she had before was barely enough. After meeting that scary man, she didn't dare to look for them anymore. In addition, she had been out for a long time and didn't know the situation in the city. She planned to go back first.
Thinking of the voice just now, the other party must have deliberately sent it to her to let her know that she had misunderstood and that the other party might not have any malicious intentions.
"Thank you!"
After thanking him softly, she put the bamboo basket on her back and sped up again. She had been out for a long time. This time, she wanted to go back.
Gu Zheng didn't hear her thanks because he just thought of a problem on the way here. After wasting so much time, Hua Xin might have escaped. That was why he hurried back.
After all, if it wasn't for him, it would be impossible to go around the other party's core. Just the four surrounding cities that were tightly guarded were enough to stop anyone who had bad intentions. This was also the reason why Gu Cheng couldn't enter even though he had lost a lot of people.
Along the way, he quickly arrived at the place where he had been. He originally thought that Hua Xin had left. Although he had left a trace of his consciousness on her, it was still very difficult to find her. He didn't expect that she was still in the same place. She was still talking nonstop, and he could vaguely hear her voice.
"Should I take the opportunity to leave? Or should I stay here safely? "
Although she knew that she was useful to Gu Zheng, she didn't dare to take the risk. It was better to be safe than sorry.
When it came to making arrangements for one's life, that was what the whole clan was doing. As long as she could survive, anything was negotiable.
However, she felt that if she didn't run, she would be letting down such a heaven-sent opportunity. Hence, she was conflicted. Then, she waited until Gu Zheng arrived. She was still conflicted.
"Looks like you're really obedient. If you ran, I would have poisoned you. I specially prepared it. In less than 45 minutes, it would have taken your life. This is the antidote. I'll give it to you once every seven days."
Seeing this, Gu Zheng came in front of her silently. Then, he laughed and threw out a normal pill. It was a pill for basic recovery.
After hearing this, Hua Xin heaved a sigh of relief. She was glad that she had made the right choice. How could the other party not be prepared? She just didn't know. Luckily, she had made the right choice.
She swallowed the pill without hesitation. She felt much better and believed Gu Zheng's words even more.
"Alright, let's go now. We won't go up the bridge below first," Gu Zheng immediately instructed after seeing that she had finished eating.
Hua Xin didn't ask much and followed behind Gu Zheng. Anyway, as long as they didn't go in, everything was negotiable.
In just one day's time, Gu Zheng brought Hua Xin to the bridge below.
This bridge was made of black stone bricks. There was a straight black guardrail at the side. It looked very ordinary. If it wasn't for the layer of black light surrounding the bridge to block the black fog, people would believe that it was casually built by an ordinary person.
It was too simple and crude!
There was nothing outside. It was a large open area. Gu Zheng brought Hua Xin and set up a simple concealment barrier. Then, they waited there at ease.
"Are we going to wait here for someone?"
Hua Xin and Gu Zheng hid in the barrier at the side. Then, they stood there for a long time before they reacted.
"Just wait. It'll take at most one day."
His purpose for coming here was very simple. The other party had obviously come in contact with Pan Xuan, and it wasn't an ordinary contact. Otherwise, they wouldn't have given her that special stone.
Since there was no other way to obtain it, he might as well use the simplest method, which was to follow the other party and let them lead him to find Pan Xuan. The chances of finding her were very high. Even if he couldn't find her, he could get news of Pan Xuan from the person behind her.
This was the only passage. According to the other party's speed, they would arrive in less than a day. Although it was slow, it was safe.
Hua Xin didn't speak anymore. She continued to think about the method that had been used on her. She wanted to find out. Unfortunately, no matter how hard she searched, she couldn't find any clues. This made her feel even more terrified.
Time passed in a flash. For Gu Zheng and the others, it was no different from the blink of an eye. Even their initial posture hadn't changed.
Before the Little Goblin boy arrived, a small group of people ran over from the opposite road. However, looking at the other party, they seemed to be being chased by something and were in a sorry state.
This place was too far away from the Demon Soul. There was no value in guarding against it. Moreover, it was the only passage connecting the two sides.
After the Demon Soul stationed here was attacked multiple times, they directly gave up on this place. It became the fastest way to enter and exit from the two sides. Soul Alliance and bandits had to pass through this place.
It wasn't completely impossible. If one wanted to go around and directly follow the Soul River, it would take half a year to reach the bottom of the Soul River. There wasn't any black fog there and people could fly through it. As for the end, no one had explored it.
Therefore, this was the only safe passage without anyone guarding it.
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