A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

The space beneath that pile of rocks was pitch black.

As soon as Duan Rong entered, he immediately blew on a tinderbox, lit a torch, and then glanced around the dark space before heading in a direction from his memory.

"Duan Rong, where are we going?" Guo Tian asked from behind.

"Stay close to me!" Duan Rong said in a cold voice, "We're going to where the ghost infant is hiding."

"Where is the ghost baby hiding!?"

The people behind Duan Rong were stunned, but they instantly understood what Duan Rong meant.

Since the ghost baby has been able to evade the ghost bride's pursuit, its hiding place must be unique. As long as they hide in the ghost baby's hiding place, they will surely be able to avoid the ghost bride's evil pursuit as well.

The crowd's hopes were greatly increased, and they followed closely behind Duan Rong in the dark space.

Duan Rong ran frantically through the darkness, relying on his memory of the directions. Time was of the essence; the evil ghost bride could enter at any moment.

Not long after, he saw a few leaves of the Azure Flame Grass on the ground. Duan Rong's eyes flickered, indicating that he was in the right direction. Sure enough, as he moved further into a certain corner, the number of Azure Flame Grass leaves on the ground gradually increased.

The leaves of these Jade Flame Grasses spread across the ground like a map.

Soon, Duan Rong saw where the ghost infant was hiding.

He stood at the entrance of the cave, holding a torch and looking inside. He saw that the somewhat cramped space was empty except for the walls inside which were covered with green flame grass!

Duan Rong then stepped inside and said in a deep voice, "This is it. Come in with me!"

The group then followed Duan Rong into that space.

Duan Rong looked at them and said, "The innermost wall is covered with Azure Flame Grass. Now we'll crush the leaves of the Azure Flame Grass and smear them on the walls of this space."

Lu Chu's eyes flickered as he asked, "Why do you do this?"

Duan Rong glanced at him and said, "That's exactly what the ghost infant did. If I'm not mistaken, the scent of the Jade Flame Grass leaves should be able to block the ghost bride's ability to track scents without alerting her. Otherwise, the ghost infant wouldn't have been able to entangle with her for so long without being caught."

At this moment, Guo Tian and Lu Chu, illuminated by the torches, saw traces of rotten leaves smeared on the wall beside them, though some areas had already begun to dry. With so many of them gathered together, their odor naturally surpassed that of the ghost infant. To prevent the ghost bride from tracking their scent, as Duan Rong had suggested, they should indeed smear more leaves of the Azure Flame Grass.

Seeing that no one had any questions, Duan Rong began to go to the innermost part to pick the leaves of the Azure Flame Grass. He then threw the torch in his hand on the ground, stomped it out, and said, "Don't make a sound anymore, the evil spirits may come at any time!"

Upon hearing this, everyone pursed their lips and, in the darkness, began to grope for leaves to smear on the walls of the space...

Upon seeing the vast expanse of Azure Flame Grass deep within the space, Guo Tianyi understood why Duan Rong had found this place so accurately.

Duan Rong had returned to this space alone to pick the Azure Flame Grass, and at that time, his group had just been attacked by the ghost infant.

Therefore, it seems that Duan Rong obtained the Azure Flame Grass from the hiding place of this ghost infant.

Thinking of this, Guo Tian couldn't help but feel a chill.

To obtain the Azure Flame Grass from the hiding place of the ghost infant, one must first entangle with the ghost infant alone. At that time, it is unknown what methods Duan Rong used to suppress the ghost infant.

Since entering this relic of gods and demons, Duan Rong's methods have been so complex and his mind so meticulous that he has repeatedly subdued Guo Tian.

In fact, Guo Tian was also an arrogant person at heart, and rarely submitted to others. However, since entering this divine and demonic ruins, Duan Rong had impressed him many times.

He originally thought that Duan Rong was just exceptionally talented, which was why he was able to cultivate by the patriarch's side. Now it seems that this person's temperament and strategy are far superior to ordinary people, and he is definitely not someone to be underestimated.

The ruins of gods and demons, illuminated by the blood moon, were shrouded in a dense crimson light, making the entire space resemble a battlefield of carnage, exuding a terrifying and eerie atmosphere...

The ghost bride, a malevolent spirit, stirred up gusts of yin wind, soaring through the night sky like a kite, bathing in and absorbing the rich blood light while searching for Duan Rong and the others.

After circling the pile of rubble several times, she finally absorbed the blood's glow. At this moment, her face was as beautiful as a peach blossom, as if she had been reborn, and her lips were a vibrant, blood-red color...

But she did not find any trace of Duan Rong and his group.

The evil spirit of the ghost bride began to fly low in the air, skimming over the water like a swallow, passing through various hidden places.

A hint of doubt flashed across her fresh-faced face. She was very sensitive to people's scents; even if there were only one person, let alone five, she could smell them from a great distance.

But as she flew around in this area, she couldn't smell a single human scent.

The ghost bride suddenly rose into the sky, her eerie eyes surveying the surrounding space illuminated by the blood moon. She hadn't taken long to capture the ghost infant, and those creatures had been nearby the rubble; they couldn't have gone far in such a short time. She guessed they must be hiding somewhere near the rubble, which was why she was searching the area.

But after searching the area, she found no trace of her.

A hint of doubt flashed across the ghost bride's pretty face. She looked at the pile of rocks that stretched like a mountain range, and suddenly her eyes narrowed.

The evil spirit of the ghost bride flew towards the pile of rocks like a large bird and landed somewhere on it.

Under the glow of the blood moon, she looked up and saw a sizable gap among the fallen rocks not far away, big enough for a person to pass through.

The ghost bride's malevolent face revealed a human-like thoughtful expression. The next moment, like a bat entering a cave, she flew in through the crack and disappeared into the pitch-black darkness.

Time was limited, and those guys couldn't possibly have gone far. She had searched the entire area, but found no trace of them. The only place she hadn't searched was the space beneath this pile of rocks.

Meanwhile, in a corner of the dark underground space, Duan Rong and his companions had already covered the walls of the entire space with rotten leaves, and then squatted together in the deepest part of the space.

They all pressed their lips tightly together, not daring to make a sound, even their breathing was very soft...

In the darkness, where it was almost impossible to see one's own hand in front of one's face and one could not see with one's eyes, they all pricked up their ears to listen to the sounds around them.

However, in the darkness, all was quiet, without a single unusual sound.

But just then, a cold wind seemed to suddenly rise from the space below, its howling sound like a sob echoing throughout the quiet, dark space, sometimes near, sometimes far...

Everyone's heart tightened; they knew the ghost bride had arrived. The mournful sounds coming from near and far were definitely not the sound of the wind.

Now it all depends on whether Duan Rong's method of saving their lives will work. Everyone's foreheads are covered in cold sweat, and they are gripping their weapons tightly. Although they know that force has limited effectiveness against evil spirits, when faced with a life-or-death situation, they have no choice but to fight.

After howling back and forth in the dark underground space, the eerie wind gradually receded into the distance and finally disappeared completely.

The group huddled in the corner, letting out a soft sigh of relief. It seemed Duan Rong's method had truly worked; the evil ghost bride hadn't even noticed them.

This greatly increased their chances of survival.

As long as they hide here and survive this blood moon night, the evil spirits' malevolent power will be suppressed as soon as dawn breaks and daytime arrives.

Moreover, tomorrow is the day the sect's grand formation will be activated, and the passage to the Nine Provinces World will appear near their original location. As long as they run there, they can return to the Nine Provinces World.

That night, they all remained silent, crouching deep within the cramped space. More than an hour later, the eerie wind howled once again in the space below.

And then the howling sound even wailed past them not far away. But the ghost bride still couldn't find their trail. After a while, the howling sound moved away and finally disappeared into the space below.

Duan Rong's eyes flickered in the darkness. He was truly puzzled. The leaves of the Jade Flame Grass actually had a very faint scent, almost no scent to them, yet this thing could block the Ghost Bride's tracking of the scent. It was truly amazing.

If the ghost infant hadn't been hiding here, he would never have known this.

After two investigations, the evil spirit of the ghost bride never entered the underground space again until dawn.

Although the space below was pitch black, once it got light, they could still see light shining through the cracks in the rocks in the distance.

"It's dawn!" Lu Chu yawned and said.

Guo Tian said, "The sect's grand formation will be activated today. The formation consumes a huge amount of energy and can only be maintained for a limited time. The agreed time is noon, so we'd better go there in a while to avoid missing the activation time!"

The blood moon has passed, and the evil power of the malevolent spirits will be suppressed during the day. The ghost bride evil spirit may not bother them anymore. They are also some distance from the place where the great formation opens, so it is indeed time to set off.

Duan Rong said, "We spat on the leaves of this Azure Flame Grass, then ran wildly all the way to the place where the passage opened. If we're lucky, the evil spirits might not bother us at all."

Everyone agreed with Duan Rong's reasoning, so they picked more leaves of the Jade Flame Grass, crushed them in their palms, and applied them to their faces, hands, and necks.

After they finished applying the cream, their necks all felt sticky.

"Let's go, let's get out!" Duan Rong said, and walked out of the cramped space.

In the darkness, the group walked toward the brightly lit crevice between the rocks.

They reached the crevice between the rocks, where Duan Rong lay down, looked around, and then slowly walked out.

As soon as they emerged from the pile of rocks, they sprinted off in a certain direction. The evil spirit of the ghost bride had lingered here quite a bit last night, and it might still be nearby. They'd better get as far away from here as possible for their safety.

The group ran as fast as they could, keeping an eye on their surroundings to avoid being followed by the evil spirit of the ghost bride.

Perhaps they were lucky, because even after they ran all the way to the vicinity of the sect's grand formation passage, they still didn't see the ghost bride's evil shadow.

They ran for several hours straight, and everyone was covered in sweat. They were all sitting on the ground, panting heavily, but when they looked at each other, they couldn't help but laugh.

By this time, it was almost noon.

At noon, the passage to the Nine Provinces world will appear, allowing them to leave this ruin of gods and demons. They will have truly escaped!
Once everyone had caught their breath, they rested there, quietly waiting for the sect's grand formation passage to appear.

About half an hour later, a blurry tremor suddenly appeared in a certain area of ​​the void not far away, and then a small circular space there began to ripple like water...

"It's here! It's the sect's grand formation passage!"

Everyone immediately jumped up and ran towards the place where the strange phenomenon had appeared. Looking at the void that rippled like water, they all showed joy.

"Finally, we're going back!"

At that moment, their smiles froze on their faces, and their eyes revealed terror.

Three zhang away, the evil ghost bride had appeared and was now standing there.

The veil covering the ghost bride's head was lifted, revealing a face still as beautiful as a peach blossom, except for a faint lividity on her right cheek.

It seems that as the night of the blood moon passes, the nourishment from the blood light absorbed by the ghost bride's evil spirits is slowly fading.

Everyone stared at the evil ghost bride with horrified expressions. Duan Rong's gaze sharpened even more, for he noticed that the dense darkness beneath the ghost bride's feet had not only expanded in area but also seemed to have grown even denser, like a deep, bottomless abyss...

At this moment, the sect's grand formation behind them was still taking shape and was not yet stable. Only when the black crystal mirror appeared would the passage be considered stable. Before the black crystal mirror appeared, anyone who stepped into the passage would be shattered by the energy turbulence.

The formation of the sect's grand formation passage is estimated to take a quarter of an hour, but the evil ghost bride has already arrived!
These final fifteen minutes are a race against time, a matter of life and death!
Duan Rong's eyes were filled with ruthlessness. He knew he had to find a way to hold off the evil ghost bride for a quarter of an hour, but it was clear that the blood light nourishing the evil ghost bride had not dissipated, and the darkness under her feet was obviously more intense. He wondered if his soul thorns could still threaten this evil spirit.
Duan Rong stopped thinking about it. Whether the Soul-Slaying Thorn could suppress the Ghost Bride could only be known by trying it, and he didn't have time to think about it anymore. At this moment, in the deep darkness beneath the Ghost Bride's feet, red dots began to emerge. Duan Rong knew that those red dots were red veils, and under each red veil was a ghost face...

The evil spirit of the ghost bride has clearly already made its move!

Duan Rong did not hesitate any longer and shot out a Soul Piercing Strike, aiming straight for the dense darkness at the ghost bride's evil footsteps, which was the true form of the evil spirit.

The divine soul pierced the deepest part of that dense darkness, but unlike before, it did not emit wisps of white smoke as thick as a child's arm. Instead, it only flashed by a faint wisp of white smoke as light as a feather before dissipating on its own.

Duan Rong's heart skipped a beat, and his face turned very ugly.

After being nourished by the blood, the evil spirit of the Ghost Bride has obviously become much stronger. The Soul Thorn that could have seriously injured her is now just like a tickle.

Let alone a single Soul-Slaying Strike, even if he fired all the Soul-Slaying Strike he had crafted, it would only amount to a few wisps of smoke, unable to harm the evil spirit in the slightest.

Meanwhile, within the dense darkness surrounding the ghost bride's sinister footsteps, the original red dot grew larger and larger. Then, one red veil after another flew out from the depths of that dense darkness, floating in the air above the ghost bride's head...

Amidst the fluttering red veils, eerie children's voices emanated from the spinning and dancing red veils.

"The ugly girl is getting married, and Sister Pomegranate is the matchmaker. A long handkerchief hangs on the door, a short handkerchief wipes the lamp, making it sparkle. The dowry is prepared in the apricot garden, and the wedding is held in the peach garden. Father gives me a golden ring, Mother gives me a water dragon skirt..."

The fear in everyone's eyes grew increasingly intense. (End of Chapter)