Although the Li Ring was the most precious treasure of the Phoenix Clan, it was suppressed by the fiery wind, causing the Li Ring to be unable to display its full power. Gu Zheng understood this.
After all, at that time, if he had a precious treasure, he would have died long ago. Even if he tried his best, it would be impossible to conceal the aura of the Phoenix Clan. It would attract the attention of some people, or perhaps the Ancestor would have taken action.
At that time, although he had the gourd, it was something he borrowed. It was useless even if the other party took it away. As for the Judgment Pen and the Book of Life and Death, although they seemed to have good effects, they were mainly used in the Underworld. In terms of power, they were not as good as the five rings in Gu Zheng's hand.
In the eyes of those people, the jade ring was at most a good treasure. Even now, it was not enough to move them to put down their pride and fight for it.
However, it was precisely because of this that Gu Zheng had invested a lot of effort into Li Huan, a powerful magical treasure. At the very least, the ignorant little bird inside was still ignorant even now. However, it was already very close to him. Without his permission, it could not even use the Fire Wind perfectly when it first got its hands on it.
The Phoenix Clan might know about the existence of the little bird, but they might not realize that the little bird could also produce the Cleansing Glass Fire. This was the reason why he had the confidence to enter.
However, at this time, its power was too weak. It could not be compared to the power of the Cleansing Glass Fire. Perhaps only when the seal was broken could it fully display its power. At that time, he would not be afraid of anyone fighting for his things.
With a layer of protection maintained by the little bird, the moment Gu Zheng stepped inside, the surrounding gray fog surged up and stopped outside of him, not daring to approach.
Gu Zheng saw with his own eyes that some of the gray fog rushed in, but they fled at an even faster speed. However, the gray fog on his body was reduced by half.
There were grey mists of varying sizes everywhere in this space. If they were to charge at him all at once, with Gu Zheng's little bit of Cleansing Fire, he probably wouldn't be able to withstand it. Fortunately, the other party didn't have any intelligence and only had instinct. It wouldn't do such a thing, which made him feel more at ease.
Looking around, this place was just as Elder Piao had said. It was like an absolute land of death. However, perhaps due to the issue of protection, Gu Zheng did not sense any auras from the outside world coming to disturb him. It was as though he had entered an ordinary place. The only difference was that there was something strange about it.
After looking around, other than some strangely shaped stones, there was nothing out of the ordinary. It could even be described as a sealed and gloomy cave.
Knowing exactly what he needed to do, Gu Zheng only stopped in place for a few breaths of time before continuing to fly forward. He used a speed that was not too fast, so as to avoid running into that very faint layer of gray fog and expending the little bird's strength.
After walking for a few years, a huge monster appeared in the distance. It was a tree that was even bigger than the one in the cave. Because of its height, its huge branches looked like a forest hanging down from above.
Unlike the barren land outside, these branches were the size of an arm. They were like caterpillars that kept wriggling. However, this was all that could be seen from afar. If he wanted to see the details, he would have to get closer to see it clearly.
However, just as he took a few steps forward, he saw a figure in white lying on the ground. Black and gray fog were constantly moving around her body. Her entire body was emitting red and golden light, which looked a little strange.
"It's not too late."
Seeing this, Gu Zheng really breathed a sigh of relief. Regardless of whether the other party was injured or controlled by some unknown change, she was not in the worst situation. The other party's instincts were still resisting this place. It was not too late. It seemed that this time would not be difficult.
Taking a few steps forward, Miss Bai, who was lying on the ground, suddenly stood up. A huge aura burst out from her body. The black and gray fog were all swept away, forming a temporary safe space around her body.
"Miss Bai, right? I came from outside to bring you back. Now you … "
Gu Zheng said with a smile. Suddenly, he stopped and looked at Miss Bai in front of him in surprise. Apart from some mud on her body, there were no signs of injury. There were also no signs of fighting nearby. However, at this time, one of her eyes was emitting a strange gray light, while the other was emitting a strange black light. They were staring at Gu Zheng in a daze.
"Ugh!"
At this time, Bai Jiu suddenly groaned in pain. She covered her head with both hands as if she was enduring endless pain. She kept growling.
"Want to take my life? You bastards are still too inexperienced. Die with me."
After screaming in pain, White Nine turned around and rushed towards the huge tree behind him. Gu Zheng understood what he meant without needing to say anything.
Bai Jiu must have been affected. She knew that she couldn't withstand it, so she could only use the first plan from before. She would die together with Bai Jiu. Perhaps even Gu Zheng didn't notice.
Countless black Qi in the vicinity began to riot, crazily wanting to rush over. Unfortunately, the moment they entered within ten feet of her body, it was as if they had collided with an invisible layer of protection. They could only continue to press against the outside, quickly forming a huge black ball. On the other hand, the gray Qi seemed to have lost interest in her. Instead, they began to surround Gu Zheng, constantly swimming around in the surroundings.
Gu Zheng couldn't just watch her die like this. He immediately chased after her. After just two steps, he found the gray fog in the way. With a thought, a white line of fire rushed forward, forcing open a space for him to move forward alone. Only then did he speed up and quickly arrive in front of Bai Jiu.
"Miss Bai, please stop. I'm here to save you. Leave the problem here to me." Gu Zheng looked at Bai Jiu, whose eyes were closed, and immediately said anxiously.
"Demon, ghost, you still don't want to give up?" Bai Jiu's body stopped. She forced her eyes closed and said in a hoarse voice.
However, before she could finish her words, Gu Zheng's figure immediately left his original spot. A red beam of light shot out from his opponent's palm and brushed past Gu Zheng's body. That enormous power made him break out in a cold sweat.
Bai Jiu was a quasi-sage expert. If it wasn't for the interference, he would have been seriously injured by her casual attack.
And just as Gu Zheng dodged, Bai Jiu rushed out again. She didn't care at all. After all, Gu Zheng's aura was there. It didn't pose a threat to her.
At this moment, Gu Zheng had a bitter smile on his face. He didn't know what to do.
He wanted to save her, but it was clear that the difference in strength between the two of them was too great. It was impossible for him to stop her, but he couldn't just watch her die. He immediately set off and chased after her, shouting at White Nine.
However, it was obvious that Bai Jiu didn't take Gu Zheng seriously. She treated him as a phantom to harass her. As long as he didn't block her way, she wouldn't ask. She would groan in pain from time to time. Obviously, she didn't have much energy to distinguish whether Gu Zheng was real or fake.
As he got closer, Gu Zheng became more anxious. He didn't think of this when he was outside. However, if he was in her shoes, he would be extremely vigilant even under normal circumstances. After all, the idea that no one could enter this place was deeply ingrained. Moreover, Bai Jiu was disturbed now. She was probably only thinking about how to complete her mission.
Just as Gu Zheng was racking his brains on how to stop her, Bai Jiu, who was advancing in front of him, suddenly stopped. Just as he hurriedly stopped and didn't want to accidentally bump into Bai Jiu, he heard an extremely tyrannical cry. The sound was very unpleasant. He couldn't tell what kind of creature it was.
He looked up. It turned out that he had unknowingly approached the giant tree. On the pitch-black branches, there were hundreds of black phoenix-like creatures with their wings open. They were flapping their wings and crying constantly. Their pitch-black eyes were so bright in this dimly lit space. They were like stars hanging in the sky. However, they were filled with a terrifying radiance. It was as if they were going to devour people along with their bones.
Those black phoenixes didn't seem strong on the surface. Or rather, each of them had the same cultivation as Gu Zheng. Not strong was only relative to a quasi-sage like Elder Piao. This was also something that he couldn't understand.
There were many of them, but it shouldn't be too difficult for Bai Jiu. However, looking at her closed eyes and serious expression, it was obvious that there was something he didn't know.
With a loud cry, hundreds of black phoenixes flapped their wings and flew down from the branches. They pounced on Bai Jiu. While they were still in mid-air, rays of black light emerged from their eyes and shot towards Bai Jiu in the center. They didn't even have the interest to look at Gu Zheng, who was not far behind.
Gu Zheng immediately retreated to the side. If he took it head on, he was afraid that he would be vaporized. At the same time, he looked towards Bai Jiu.
Facing Gu Zheng's unstoppable attack, White Nine didn't dodge. She only stretched out a hand and staggered a step forward. A red flame instantly surrounded her, forming a ring of fire that was constantly burning. When the attacks landed on it, they only created a large amount of sparks. It was as if the Thunder God was big but the raindrops were small.
The confrontation between the two looked very harmonious. The black phoenixes seemed to know that their attacks couldn't cause any harm. They just accelerated and directly crashed into Bai Jiu.
Under Gu Zheng's surprised gaze, a black phoenix in front seemed to be committing suicide. Its whole body rushed up directly. Its huge body didn't give it any advantage. The moment it got close, he clearly saw that its whole body shrank rapidly. It was actually sucked into the seemingly ordinary ring of fire. However, the center of the ring of fire seemed to have dimmed a little.
Gu Zheng's eyes couldn't help but twitch because the second phoenix had appeared again and crashed into the ring of fire. It looked like it was committing suicide to break the opponent's defense. Bai Jiu's posture was even more strange. It seemed like she was waiting for the opponent to come. She didn't have the unique aura from before. However, it seemed that the interference of the opponent didn't increase. It was puzzling.
Although he didn't know what Bai Jiu was thinking, Gu Zheng had already thought of a good idea.
Bai Jiu's goal was the black tree's mouth. He couldn't forcefully pull her back. As long as he destroyed and completed the mission in advance, she wouldn't sacrifice herself and do something unnecessary. And from the looks of it, Bai Jiu was being held back by the black phoenixes. Even if he didn't know the reason, he knew that he couldn't let go of such a good opportunity.
The next moment, Gu Zheng's figure slowly dissipated in midair. Even though he felt that it wasn't very effective, Gu Zheng still hid his body and circled around from afar. He approached the giant tree from another direction.
Therefore, he could circle around an empty place in the gray fog. The place they were circling was one of the few peaceful places here.
Gu Zheng knew this, but he only wanted to hide it from the black phoenixes. To his surprise, they didn't seem to notice him, allowing him to approach them very smoothly.
As he approached, the gray fog that always surrounded him had already quietly left. It seemed to be afraid of the giant tree as well. However, the black aura here was even denser. Standing below, he could see countless black auras rising from the branches. They were all the things that he had seen standing on them previously. They looked like enlarged caterpillars. The wrinkles on their bodies and the fluff on their bodies were extremely disgusting up close.
There was only a small hole that looked like a mouth on it. Countless wisps of black gas came out of the small hole as the body wriggled, turning into wisps of black smoke that rose up. The higher one looked, the denser the black smoke became. After reaching a certain point, it had already formed a thick black cloud.
Seeing this, Gu Zheng sucked in a breath of cold air. There was nothing to hide in the surroundings, and he could see that there was no unforgettable mouth below. Clearly, it was at a higher place, which was also the most dangerous place.
He turned his head and glanced behind him. At this moment, half of the black phoenixes had disappeared. Half of the fire circle below had also been dyed black. Gu Zheng didn't know when Bai Jiu had advanced by a large margin. The nearest branch that hung down was less than ten feet away from him. There wasn't much time left for him.
If he continued thinking like this, when the other party perished together with him, everything he had done would have been for naught, and what he had planned would naturally be for naught.
Gu Zheng no longer hesitated. His body appeared outside, and he exerted force with his feet. His entire body soared into the air, reaching a height of more than ten meters. A pressure came from above. He suddenly stepped on a branch, and with a crisp crack, the branch under his feet broke into two. Gu Zheng took the opportunity to leap into the air again.
He didn't use his magic power. He wanted to rely on his body to get as close as possible. However, the chick still propped up a defense outside his body. He didn't want to deal with the black smoke that he couldn't see through.
Perhaps it was because of his cautiousness, or because he was weak, or even more so because White Nine outside already helped him draw attention. If the giant trees here had their own consciousness, they would clearly know what their old rival was going to do this time, and perhaps they wouldn't attach so much importance to him. In short, Gu Zheng already smoothly touched the black mist's cloud layer.
He could clearly see that after countless black fog entered, it didn't completely stay inside. Some of it continued to be drawn away by the top. As for the top, it could no longer be seen clearly. If he wanted to know, he had to break through this barrier.
With a thought from Gu Zheng, the little bird that had been sitting quietly on Gu Zheng's head began to spread its wings, as if it was about to fly. A layer of bright white light quickly gathered on its body.
He knew that no matter how low-key the other party was, if he really broke in here, the other party would definitely take measures. At that time, it wouldn't be so easy. He just hoped that the other party wouldn't pay so much attention to him in the beginning. After all, the fellow below was powerful and had the attitude of perishing together with him. No matter what, on the surface, he was stronger than him, who was only at the late stage of the Zenith Heaven Realm.
Swoosh.
The chick closed its wings and quickly flew into the sky. A ferocious flame pounced out of its body and rushed toward the black fog. Wherever it passed, it forcefully opened a passage that only allowed one person to pass through.
Gu Zheng followed closely behind. In the blink of an eye, he broke through this layer of black fog and arrived at the world that the other party had deliberately hidden.
Here, the entire place was covered in fog. It greatly compressed his vision, causing him to be able to see things within ten meters at most. From his line of sight, he could only see numerous black cocoons that were as tall as a person growing on various branches. Along with the rhythmic heartbeat of the black cocoons, a small portion of the surrounding black fog was sucked in.
Looking at these black cocoons, his heart suddenly jumped. It seemed like something terrifying was being nurtured within them. Once it was released, it would definitely bring an extremely great disaster to the world. Fortunately, the other party seemed to be in a state of deep sleep. Perhaps only by leaving this place could he completely release its might. At this moment, he slightly understood why the Phoenix Clan suppressed this place and didn't allow these things to come out.
Gu Zheng only paid a little attention to this. Then, his gaze had already penetrated the boundless black fog and looked towards a certain location in the sky. Although he couldn't see what was there, he had a feeling in his heart that there seemed to be someone of his' kind 'there. Moreover, the other party was deliberately releasing his aura to attract him over.
"Heh, I'd like to see what kind of tricks you're playing."
Above Gu Zheng's head, a passageway without any black fog appeared in mid-air. The path was a little crooked in order to bypass some impassable places. It was obviously a passageway specially prepared for him.
Regarding this, he didn't mind at all. He even felt that the other party was playing with fire. The expected entanglement didn't come, so he naturally wouldn't let go of this opportunity. He quickly flew up along this passageway.
In just a short span of a dozen breaths, after crossing a height of a hundred meters, Gu Zheng finally saw the thing that had invited him up. It was the mouth that he was looking for.
Although it was called a mouth, there was actually a shape that looked like a mouth at the position of the head. It was like a flattened circle, and below it was a human body and limbs. The only pair of eyes were also at the position of the chest where the breasts were.
Waves of black gas were continuously sucked in from his navel. Then, at the position of the head, there was also a round hole that looked like a mouth. However, it wasn't black gas that came out, but an extremely thin layer of gray fog that continued to rise upwards.
So the origin of the gray fog was actually here.
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