Stone Fairy!

Li Yun looked at her daughter, who was surrounded by Gu worms on the altar, her lips moved several times, but she ultimately did not utter a single word.

Li Qing walked past her father.

As the father and son brushed past each other, Li Yun's lips twitched slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't speak.

Li Qing walked steadily up the stone steps of the altar.

The venomous insects covering the altar retreated as he approached, rustling as they crawled to the sides, revealing a narrow path leading to the top of the altar.

They were terrified because they felt a suppression originating from their bloodline.

Li Qing walked up to Li Lan.

At this moment, Li Lan had fallen into a coma. Her body was limp in the center of the altar, her eyes were closed, and there were still wet tears on her eyelashes.

Li Lan's face was bluish, her lips were purplish, and her fingertips had an abnormal grayish-white color.

Although most of the Gu worms crawling all over her body were driven back by Li Qing's aura, the Gu poison had already seeped into her body.

Li Qing squatted down and looked at her sister's face.

His dark red eyes revealed heartache as he reached out and gently wiped away the tears on Li Lan's face.

Then, he extended his right hand, palm up, fingers slightly clenched.

A golden light shone from Li Qing's palm.

Within the golden light, something was wriggling, as if a living creature was moving under his skin.

Soon, a crack appeared in Li Qing's palm, and golden light poured out from the crack. A golden centipede slowly crawled out from inside.

The centipede was only about an inch long, golden all over, each segment of its body like a small, meticulously polished piece, shimmering brilliantly in the sunlight. Its hundred legs were as thin as hair, gently gliding across Li Qing's palm, while the tentacles on its head trembled slightly, as if sensing something.

Li Qing placed the golden centipede on the back of Li Lan's hand.

The centipede crawled around on the back of Li Lan's hand, then stopped at a vein on the inside of her wrist. Its body arched slightly, its mouthparts opened, and it gently pierced Li Lan's skin.

Li Lan's body trembled violently, her brows furrowed, her lips moved slightly, and she let out a low, unconscious moan.

The golden centipede burrowed into her blood vessels.

It was clearly visible that a golden light was slowly moving beneath the skin of Li Lan's wrist. Wherever it passed, Li Lan's bluish-gray skin gradually regained its color, and her cold limbs gradually warmed up.

Li Lan's complexion gradually became rosy.

Li Qing looked at her sister's face and, after confirming that she was out of danger, slowly stood up.

Li Qing turned around and faced the ancient banyan tree.

Raise both hands, spread your fingers, and face the giant tree.

The worms that covered the ground raised their heads at the same time.

They took flight, thousands upon thousands of Gu worms flapping their wings simultaneously, the sound like muffled thunder rolling across the sky, making one's eardrums ache. Finally, they converged into a black torrent, rushing towards the ancient banyan tree.

The ancient banyan tree began to sway. This ancient banyan tree, which had lived for over a thousand years and whose roots stretched deep into the ground, began to slowly tilt under the gnawing and pulling of countless venomous insects.

Everyone in the village who witnessed this scene knelt down on the ground.

Their foreheads were pressed tightly against the ground, their bodies trembled violently, and they mumbled incoherent words.

"God of Gu, please forgive me..."

"God of Gu, please forgive me..."

"God of Gu, please forgive me..."

Some people kowtowed until their heads were covered in blood, some collapsed on the ground unable to move, and some curled up in a ball, clutching their heads...

For generations, they have worshipped the Gu God, revering him and regarding his will as an inviolable supreme principle. But now, someone is personally uprooting the Gu God's abode.

With a loud bang!

The roots of the ancient banyan tree were finally completely severed.

The colossal tree, which blocked out the sky, slowly lifted off the ground, supported by countless Gu worms.

It hovered in mid-air, like a small mountain that had been uprooted, casting a huge shadow.

Then, where the ancient banyan tree was uprooted, a huge crack appeared in the ground.

The crack was wide and deep, and soil and gravel were falling down its edges.

A dark red light shone through the crack, rising from the depths of the earth and growing brighter and brighter.

Then, a heart the size of a fist slowly emerged from the crack.

It is dark red all over, and its surface is covered with dense blood vessels and meridians that pulsate slowly, each pulsation producing a dull, drum-like sound.

A strong stench of blood emanated from that heart.

Li Qing looked at the heart, her dark red eyes showing no fear or awe. She reached out and gently beckoned to the heart.

The heart obediently flew towards him, hovering above his palm and slowly rotating.

Li Qing clutched her heart in her hand, then turned and headed towards the back of the mountain.

The countless Gu worms gathered behind him, transforming once again into a vast, dark cloud.

Li Qing stepped onto the swarm of insects, her figure slowly rising, her robes fluttering in the wind.

In the village, the people who had been kneeling on the ground finally dared to raise their heads.

"Is he... going to the forbidden area?" someone murmured to themselves.

Li Yun stood below the altar, looking at his daughter who was still unconscious on the altar, his eyes flashing with heartache and guilt.

On the mountaintop,

Xie Ning took in everything. Her gaze followed the departing swarm of insects, her brows furrowing slightly, and her hand unconsciously tightened its grip on the spear.

The old turtle spoke up, "It's our turn to make a move."

One man and two beasts sped toward the forbidden area.

We passed through dense forests, crossed streams, and climbed mountain ridges.

The path behind the mountain is completely different from the one in front of the Gu Village; the trees here are much older and denser.

The green snake coiled around Xie Ning's wrist, its blood-red vertical pupils slightly narrowed, its forked tongue flicking incessantly.

"Hold your breath." Qing She suddenly spoke, her voice crisp and cold: "A kind of poison permeates the air."

Xie Ning immediately did as instructed, circulating his spiritual energy to seal his breath, and at the same time pushing the breath-concealing technique taught by the old turtle to its limit, completely concealing all his aura.

The old turtle lay in Xie Ning's hair, its emerald green eyes constantly darting about, and the runes on its carapace glowed faintly, as if it were calculating something.

"To the left."

"Go forward."

"Go around that boulder."

"downhill."

Xie Ning followed the old turtle's guidance and traversed the dense forest.

The once lush and fragrant forest gradually became desolate.

The mountain walls on both sides became higher and steeper, and their color changed from grayish-white to bluish-black, and then from bluish-black to jet black.

Xie Ning's brows furrowed more and more, but she didn't stop walking.

At the end of the canyon is a steep stone wall.

The stone wall is several tens of feet high, and it is as vertical as if it were cut by a knife.

In the very center of the stone wall, in the most conspicuous position, stands a huge stone statue.

The stone statue was five or six zhang tall, carved into the mountainside and integrated with the mountain itself.

It sat cross-legged, with its hands folded on its knees, in a solemn and dignified posture, like a meditator entering deep meditation.

Its face was no longer visible, but Xie Ning could barely make out the clothing worn by the stone statue, which was exactly the same as that of the people in the Gu Village.

The area around the stone statue was piled high with bones.

The bones were arranged in a regular pattern, surrounding the stone statue, as if in worship.

"This is it," the old turtle said softly.