Transforming into a stunningly beautiful fox spirit, leaving a scar on the heart of a prodigy.

This is a land forsaken by God.

Looking around, all one could see was a deathly gray and black.

The earth was cracked and parched, like a skeleton drained of its flesh and blood, with wisps of cold air rising from the crisscrossing ravines.

There were no clouds or birds in the sky.

Only countless enormous black rocks, defying all logic, floated in mid-air.

They were still, yet they gave people a sense of oppression, as if they might fall at any moment and crush all living things into a pulp.

The earth element here is so concentrated that it's so heavy that it makes it hard to breathe.

Gu Xiang reined in the black horse, which snorted uneasily and pawed at the hard ground, unwilling to take another step forward.

Su Qing's figure floated beside Gu Xiang. Her originally solid soul was now somewhat transparent due to the pressure of the heavy earth element.

Her face was pale, and her brows were tightly furrowed.

Something's not right here.

Su Qing's voice was soft, tinged with weariness.

"The earthy atmosphere here is too heavy, which greatly suppresses the soul. I feel like I'm floating with a mountain on my back."

Gu Xiang reached out to help her, but his hand passed right through her arm.

His hand froze in mid-air, then clenched into a fist and withdrew.

"Go back to the jade pendant."

Gu Xiang's voice was beyond question.

"I can handle this by myself."

Su Qing glanced at him but didn't try to be brave.

In her current state, staying outside would only distract Gu Xiang.

Be careful.

Su Qing gave a word of instruction, then her figure transformed into a streak of red light and disappeared into the blood-red dragon-patterned jade pendant at Gu Xiang's waist.

The jade pendant flickered briefly before returning to stillness.

Gu Xiang reached out and touched the jade pendant, feeling the faint warmth emanating from it, which calmed his anxiety slightly.

He dismounted and patted the horse's back.

As if granted a pardon, the black horse took off running back, disappearing into the hazy distance in the blink of an eye.

Gu Xiang straightened his sleeves, concealing the dagger engraved with runes in his cuffs, then found a huge black rock and hid behind it.

He held his breath and suppressed his aura.

This is the territory of the Moving Mountain Sect.

Now that we're here, we have to follow the rules.

Let's grab a tongue and ask for directions first.

About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn has passed.

A muffled whooshing sound came from the distant sky.

Gu Xiang looked up.

Three enormous stone lions, their feet seemingly stepping on the void, flew in from afar.

The stone lion is grayish-white all over and is carved to life. Every time it steps into the air, it creates a ripple of earthy yellow.

On the back of each lion sat a man dressed in an earth-yellow robe.

The three individuals exuded a calm aura, their spiritual energy fluctuations subtle and unclear, clearly indicating that they had all opened their spiritual palaces and were cultivators at the Opening Palace Realm.

"Senior brother, are we really sure it's okay to do this?"

On the stone lion on the left, a younger disciple asked a question, his tone revealing a hint of worry.

"Elder Liu has given a strict order this time, commanding us to bring that tree back. But the Ancestor is still asleep. What if he wakes up and blames us..."

The older disciple in the middle snorted and interrupted him.

"What are you afraid of?"

"Elder Liu did that for the sake of the sect's greater good."

"That phoenix tree is a divine object, containing immense vitality. If we can refine it, it might help our ancestor break through his shackles and live another life."

"At that time, our Mountain Moving Sect will be able to make a comeback and no longer have to stay in this godforsaken place."

The disciple on the right echoed this.

"that is."

"Besides, our Mountain Moving Sect has a connection with that phoenix tree."

"It is said that in ancient times, our ancestor attained enlightenment under a phoenix tree."

"Moreover, our goddess Houtu is also here. With her protection, nothing will go wrong."

As the three talked, they controlled the stone lion to slowly descend.

The place where they landed was only a dozen or so feet away from the rock where Gu Xiang was hiding.

"Alright, enough with the nonsense."

The eldest disciple jumped off the stone lion and dusted himself off.

"Hurry up and scout ahead, Elder Liu is still waiting for our reply."

The three were about to take a step.

A dark figure darted out from behind the rocks like a ghost.

There was not the slightest fluctuation of spiritual energy.

Only pure, extreme speed and power.

Gu Xiang was like a cheetah hunting its prey, instantly covering a distance of more than ten zhang and appearing behind the older disciple.

Start.

The palm fell.

"Bang!"

A muffled thud.

The older disciple didn't even utter a sound, rolled his eyes, and collapsed limply to the ground.

The other two disciples also reacted extremely quickly.

The moment they heard the sound, the two turned around simultaneously, forming hand seals.

"Who goes there!"

"Enemy attack!"

however.

Before their hand seals could be formed, Gu Xiang's fist had already arrived.

Gu Xiang did not use his righteous energy, nor did he use a dagger.

To deal with these cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage, his physical body, tempered by the Righteous Qi and Phoenix True Fire, was more than enough.

"Bang! Bang!"

Two more muffled thuds followed.

The two disciples felt a sudden darkness before their eyes, a sharp pain in their necks, and then lost consciousness.

The whole process took less than two breaths.

Gu Xiang stood among the three people who had fallen to the ground and shook his wrist.

He crouched down and began searching the person.

His movements were as practiced as a habitual offender's.

Storage bags, waist tags, communication jade slips...

He searched out everything that could prove his identity or be used to send messages and threw it aside.

After confirming that the three people had nothing left to send a message, Gu Xiang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He patted the jade pendant at his waist.

"Qing'er, come out."

A flash of red light.

Su Qing appeared beside Gu Xiang.

She glanced at the three unlucky men on the ground, then at the junk that Gu Xiang had thrown aside, and a smile appeared on her lips.

"Lord Gu's technique of ambushing people is becoming more and more skillful."

"It seems that these three years as prime minister were not in vain. He may not have learned anything else, but he has certainly mastered the skill of being ruthless and cunning."

Gu Xiang ignored her teasing.

He pulled a rope out of his sleeve.

That's a specially made Immortal Binding Rope, designed specifically to bind a cultivator's spiritual power.

The three people were tied up like rice dumplings and thrown together.

"Wake them up."

Gu Xiang said.

Su Qing flicked her fingers lightly.

Three beams of red light entered the three people's foreheads.

"Well……"

The three groaned and slowly opened their eyes.

As soon as they regained consciousness, they found themselves unable to move, and their spiritual energy was also being suppressed.

In front of them stood a man and a woman.

The man was dressed in all black, with a cold and stern face, and his eyes exuded a chilling murderous aura.

The woman was dressed in red and had an exquisitely beautiful face, yet she exuded an eerie aura.

"Who are you?!"

The eldest disciple was the first to react and shouted sternly.

"How dare you trespass into the Forsaken Land and ambush the disciples of the Mountain Moving Sect! Do you have a death wish?!"

Gu Xiang remained silent.

He simply watched them quietly, toying with the dagger in his hand.

The dagger flashed between his fingers, its cold light gleaming.

"I ask, you answer."

Gu Xiang's voice was calm, yet it carried an undeniable air of authority.

Where is that sycamore tree?

Upon hearing the words "wutong tree," the three disciples' expressions instantly changed.

They exchanged a glance, a resolute glint in their eyes.

"Don't even think about it!"

The eldest disciple roared.

next moment.

His cheeks suddenly bulged out, as if he were about to bite his tongue and commit suicide.

The other two did the same thing, and one of them even started to reverse his meridians, trying to self-destruct.

Gu Xiang's eyes narrowed.

He hadn't expected the disciples of the Mountain Moving Sect to be so fierce, willing to die at the slightest provocation.

This isn't a cultivator; it's clearly a suicide squad.

"Want to die?"

Gu Xiang snorted coldly.

He flashed and instantly appeared in front of the three of them.

"Snap! Snap! Snap!"

Three crisp sounds.

Gu Xiang acted with lightning speed, dislocating the jaws of all three men.

Immediately afterwards, he pressed several acupoints on the three men, sealing their meridians.

"Ugh! Ugh!"

The three men stood with their mouths agape, drool dripping from the corners of their lips, their eyes filled with anger and despair.

Gu Xiang stood up and looked down at them.

"In front of me, dying isn't that easy."

"I have a hundred ways to make you wish you were dead."

Gu Xiang's words turned the anger in the three people's eyes into fear.

This man is a devil.

Su Qing floated over.

She looked at these three tough nuts and her brows furrowed slightly.

"How does the Mountain Moving Sect train its disciples? They all seem to have been brainwashed."

"It seems that I have no choice but to resort to some means."

As Su Qing spoke, a red light flashed in her eyes.

That's the Heavenly Fox's Enchanting Technique.

Although she is currently only a soul and her cultivation has plummeted, she is still more than capable of dealing with a few minor cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage.

"Look me in the eyes."

Su Qing's voice became erratic, carrying a strange magic.

The three disciples subconsciously raised their heads and looked at Su Qing.

They were stunned when they saw it.

The anger and fear in his eyes froze the moment he saw Su Qing's face.

Followed by.

That initial shock turned into bewilderment, and finally into fervent worship.

Gu Xiang was preparing to watch Su Qing use her methods to extract a confession when he noticed that the three people's reactions were a bit off.

They did not struggle, they did not suffer.

Instead, it was as if they had witnessed some incredible miracle.

"Ugh... ugh..."

The older disciple tried desperately to speak, but because his jaw had been removed, he could only utter indistinct sounds.

But tears streamed down his face uncontrollably.

Those were tears of excitement.

The other two disciples knelt on the ground and kowtowed desperately to Su Qing.

The way he acted was even more affectionate than when he saw his own father.

Gu Xiang and Su Qing exchanged a glance, both seeing the bewilderment in each other's eyes.

What's going on?

The charm technique hasn't even been used yet, why are you kneeling down?

Su Qing blinked and pointed to herself with some uncertainty.

"You...know me?"

The three disciples nodded vigorously.

Gu Xiang frowned.

He stepped forward and reached out to put the older disciple's chin back down.

"Tell me, what happened?"

As soon as the eldest disciple's chin recovered, he immediately prostrated himself on the ground, his voice trembling with boundless piety.

"Disciple...disciple pays respects to the Goddess Houtu!"

"The goddess has appeared! The goddess has appeared!"

The other two disciples had the same reaction after Gu Xiang helped them fix their chins.

"Greetings, Goddess Houtu!"

"This disciple deserves to die for daring to use force in front of Her Majesty!"

"Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"

The three knelt on the ground, their heads hitting the ground repeatedly, their foreheads covered in blood, yet they were completely unaware.

Su Qing was dumbfounded.

Gu Xiang was also dumbfounded.

Houtu Niangniang?

Who is that?

Su Qing looked down at herself.

Dressed in red and barefoot, with an absolutely stunning face.

This clearly looks like a nine-tailed celestial fox, how does it resemble the goddess Houtu at all?

"Are you... mistaken for someone else?"

Su Qing couldn't help but ask.

"There's absolutely no mistake!"

The older disciple raised his head and stared intently at Su Qing.

"In the main hall of the sect, there is a statue of the goddess."

"This disciple grew up looking at the statue of the Goddess. I would never mistake this face or this aura!"

"You are the Goddess Houtu!"

"You must have sensed the sect's call and descended here specifically to save us!"

Su Qing's lips twitched slightly.

She turned to look at Gu Xiang, her eyes asking: Are these people out of their minds?

Gu Xiang touched his nose.

He probably guessed what it was.

Most of the statues of gods in this world are figments of later generations' imaginations.

Perhaps the Earth Goddess worshipped by the Mountain Moving Sect happens to resemble Su Qing in some ways.

or……

What untold secrets lie behind this?

But in any case, this is an opportunity for him.

Since they regard Su Qing as a deity, things become easier.

Gu Xiang gave Su Qing a wink.

Su Qing is quite the actress; she understood instantly.

She took a deep breath, and her expression instantly became solemn and sacred.

Its original eerie aura has been somewhat toned down, replaced by a touch of compassionate divinity.

She slightly raised her hand, offering a gesture of support.

Get up.

His voice was cold and clear, exuding an air of superiority and authority.

The three disciples trembled with excitement as if they had heard celestial music, but dared not disobey. They stood up obediently, with their hands at their sides, not even daring to raise their heads.

"Let me ask you."

Su Qing spoke calmly.

"What is the current state of affairs within the sect?"

The eldest disciple immediately bowed and answered, not daring to conceal anything.

"Reporting back to Your Majesty."

"The sect is now... no longer the glorious place it once was."

"Since that battle ten thousand years ago, the sect has retreated to this place, barely surviving."

"Currently, only three elders at the Transformation Realm are in charge of the overall situation within the sect."

"I have several hundred disciples, most of whom have low cultivation levels."

At this point, the older disciple paused, his tone becoming somewhat somber.

"Our ancestor... Our ancestor has been asleep for three thousand years."

"If he doesn't wake up soon, I'm afraid..."

Su Qing's heart stirred.

The Three Realms of Transformation.

A sleeping Great Sage.

With this kind of strength, they might be considered a powerful force in the outside world.

But in the face of Gu Xiang and Su Qing now, as long as that Great Sage doesn't wake up, it's not a big problem.

Where is that sycamore tree now?

Su Qing continued to ask.

"In the Abyss of Burial Gods."

The older disciple answered immediately.

"Elder Liu is leading two other elders to set up an array in the Burial God Abyss."

"They wanted to use the vitality of the sycamore tree to awaken their ancestors."

A cold glint flashed in Su Qing's eyes.

They really wanted to use her true form as a sacrifice.

"lead the way."

Su Qing coldly uttered two words.

"Go to the Abyss of Burial Gods."

The three disciples were taken aback.

"Your Majesty, are you going to the Burial Abyss?"

"What? It won't work?"

Su Qing raised an eyebrow, and an invisible pressure emanated from him.

"No! No!"

The three of them were so frightened that they knelt down again with a thud.

"This disciple will lead the way!"

"It is my honor to guide Your Highness!"

Gu Xiang watched from the side, secretly amused.

These people are really easy to fool.

But this is for the best.

It saved a lot of trouble.

He stepped forward and untied the ropes binding the three men.

"Let's go."

Gu Xiang said.

The three quickly got up and summoned the stone lion.

"Your Majesty, please take a seat."

The eldest disciple respectfully pointed to the largest stone lion in the middle.

Su Qing didn't stand on ceremony; she floated down and landed on the stone lion.

Gu Xiang jumped up as well, standing behind Su Qing like a loyal guard.

The stone lion soared into the air and flew deep into the land abandoned by the gods.

The wind howled.

Su Qing sat on the stone lion, looking at the gray sky in front of her, lost in thought.

Houtu Niangniang (Goddess of the Earth).

This title made her feel vaguely uneasy.

There are no coincidences without a reason in this world.

If she really does look like that so-called Empress Houtu.

What kind of cause and effect is hidden behind this?

Gu Xiang seemed to sense her thoughts and gently took her hand.

Although all she held was a cool sensation, that unwavering determination resonated deep within Su Qing's heart.

Regardless of the cause or effect.

Whether it's a god or a demon.

As long as he's there, even if the sky falls, someone will hold it up.

Jiang Chengzi: The Land Forsaken by God

Black rocks hang in the air, obscuring the sun and stars.

Without the spirit of the soil, grass will not grow.

The stone lion was trampled, and the three sons spoke with trepidation.

Suddenly, a red-clad woman appeared amidst the clouds and mist.

They all kowtowed and worshipped the gods.